Tag: journal

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And another Monday morning! Except this Monday morning just happens to be the last Monday of classes. WHAT!

And in other news, we turn in our senior project this afternoon, finally! Tomorrow = lit exam and energy management presentation. Wednesday = lean exam. Ugh. At least…I’m finally on the homestretch. One final push and school is done. Forever! I’m still unsure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

Oh and this weekend was another weekend of awesomeness, of course! Don’t really have time to go through all that we did, but let’s just say Saturday was full of breakfast deliciousness at Peach Valley and millions of books at the Friends of the Library booksale(of which I only bought about eight – picked up some classic Asimov and Card and found a sweet 1909 copy of The Odyssey) and disc golf with Rob(after which we satisfied our hunger with a delicious pepperoni pizza at Pizza Hut, mmm….) and contra dancing with the gang…and wow that was a really long sentence. And after all that, went home exhausted and sweaty(dancing is hard work!) but supremely satisfied with yet another Sweet Saturday!!

It was so delightful to be able to worship at church on Sunday…but sadly after that, the whole day was spent on senior project. Boo. After which I was finally able to come home(about 11:30) and eat a salad and burrito(nothing better – especially when the salad contains tomatoes and olives…!).

Anyways, I’ve written more than I should have. Now, it’s time to meet Dream to pick up our caps and gowns. For GRADUATION. Eek. Or rather…YES. I don’t know what I’m feeling more!

Peace out!

James HoganLeave a comment

Wow, it’s been a long week…and yet again, it’s another late night in which I should just go to sleep!! But yet again, have had another sweet night and just wanted to share my joy! Had good times with Dream and Laura and Laura and David and David and Allison at Gator Dining…a freshman year reunion! Haha, nothing like going back to the dining hall in which we literally spent hundreds of hours a few years ago…having crazy times and eating too much. Yep. Freshman year all over again!! After that, hung out at Dream’s place for a few minutes(had to finish my time there with a Muse dance party. Yeah, you know!) and then I made my way back home.

Rob and Galan were chilling here at home and after a few minutes Rob had the urge to go use our free softdrink coupons at the Kangeroo gas station…so me and Rob went on a late night expedition to claim our drinks! After we got those, we decided we couldn’t end the night so soon…and so we went on an adventure to Wal-Mart. Haha, nothing like midnight in Wal-Mart! It was just so sweet talking and chilling with Rob after a busy week in which we barely saw each other. Man. I’m going to miss my brother.

But indeed…God is good. And tonight was one of his many blessings to me.

And now. Sleep.

YES.

James HoganLeave a comment

So…I’m quite exhausted and I really should go to sleep now. But why am I still up? Well, just wanted to talk about how amazing tonight was…was at the LAST Creekside Wednesday night college group meeting…after four sweet years, it’s finally over. And what a blessing it’s been!! Tonight after singing some awesome songs, four of us seniors(Dream, Andrew, Katheryn and me) talked to the rest of the group. And it was just SO encouraging hearing how God’s been blessing their lives these past few years…and then I got to share for a little bit and it was just…I don’t know how to say it. But just being able to talk about my heavenly Father and about how He’s changed MY LIFE…I felt so overwhelmed. And I still feel that way. All glory to our Messiah!!

And now, as happy as I feel…I am about to pass out from exhaustion. It is time for sweeeet sleep. G’night all!!!

James HoganLeave a comment

It’s a beautifully cold morning!!! Even though it’s April, winter decided it wasn’t dead yet and gave us sub-40 degree weather. Gorgeous!! I’m so happy that before the deadly onslaught of blistering heat we get one last crisp day! And of course, since we had lit class today, I made my coffee and thus felt warm inside and cold outside and it was good.

Lit class was as awesome as always…I just so much enjoy discussing books and social theories with others…and hearing other people’s views. Because they’re so different from my own. I’m going to be sad when this class is over…

Alright…I should probably amble off to class. I guess I’m just too comfortable here in the computer lab typing away! It was cool earlier – I was sitting here emailing someone when Shari walked in! I love seeing friends randomly…it’s so awesome that after four years here at UF, as I walk around campus daily, I always see people I know(whether it be from a function three years ago or even someone from high school!)…I’m going to miss that when I move to Houston – not sure if I’ll have quite the extended network there that I do here!

Mm, now I really need to get to class, which starts in fifteen minutes. Ah well. Two hours of class is sometimes fun. Actually wait. Nope, it’s never fun. Well, I hope everyone is having an amazing day!! I definitely will, enjoying the cold and the blessings surrounding me…praise be to the Father!!!

And now, signing off…Class time.

James HoganLeave a comment

The sun is finally coming out!! I’ve been sitting here doing homework(I know, shocking, isn’t it!?!?!) at the christian study center and it’s been gray and gloomy and raining most of the morning…but now at least I see the sun outside the window! I think I may go outside now! And I finally finished up my homework – it’s due in an hour and I very successfully put off doing it until this morning. So sadly this morning wasn’t as relaxing as some of my Monday mornings…but I was most productive!!

And maybe I should go through how sweet my past weekend’s been, but seriously, every one of my weekends is always awesome! On Saturday, I had a gloriously relaxing day that ended up with some sweet volleyball with Deanna and others and after that me and Andrew and Deanna went back to her place and we relaxed with Shari and Amy there a while. And indeed, I felt so blessed!! To be able to talk and chill with your friends without a care in the world…truly I’m going to miss times like this.

Anyway, as much as I’d like to finish up chronicling the weekend, I think it is time to go and enjoy the now-beautiful day! And I’m sorta hungry too. I haven’t quite eaten today. Oops. Well, off to have an adventure on campus…and by adventure, I mean class. But class just sounds SO much more boring.

Alright, farewell all!! Have a wondrously awesome day!!

James HoganLeave a comment

What a beautiful Saturday morning!! It’s absolutely amazingly beautiful outside and I’m sitting in our living room looking out at the perfect blue sky while I have my classic breakfast of coffee and bacon…mmmm, soo good!

This has been a long and interesting week…it’d be hard to try and explain it all, but I can at least say this: God is good. And abundantly forgiving and loving!!! Oh, and I pretty much have the best friends ever. Just saying.

Oh and I almost forgot…I’m officially going to be working in Houston this summer. Wow…the time for entering “the real world” comes ever closer and closer…so I shall..run away!! Nah, I really am excited. But yes, if I wasn’t a little anxious too, that would just be weird.

Ok, I’m going to finish my breakfast and do some more reading now…hope everyone has an awesome Saturday!!

James HoganLeave a comment

Well, it’s once again a beautiful morning in Gainesville!! I’m(of course!) relaxing at the christian study center with a delicious strawberry mocha – I’ve never tried that before, but it’s surprisingly good! It’s the start to another week and I’m quite grateful that it’s another relatively quiet one, homework-wise. I really should be doing my lit assignment now, but I just cannot muster up the enthusiasm for it! We’re currently in our “fantasy segment” of our class so I was looking forward to writing a short fantasy story or something of the like…but sadly our teacher decided to make it a visual assignment so I need to draw a comic strip instead. And…I can’t draw. So yeah, this is going to be interesting.

But besides that(since I don’t want to be thinking of my impending artistic doom!), I’ve had a quite delightful weekend!! Friday night was going to be our church camp-out, but since the weather was looking a little crazy, we decided to just go out for dinner instead. A bunch of us went to Conestoga’s, where I had quite a delicious burger. Good times were had there and then afterward we walked on over to Dan and Betsy’s house down the street(but before we got there, we were sidetracked into a coffee adventure! Deanna decided that we must try the Ivy House, a cool-looking restaurant/coffee bar…so we did and it was awesome). Anyways, at Dan and Betsy’s place, we had fun times playing games…including an epic stretch of Catchphrase. Just such a delightful night!! I love being with my friends and I love relaxing with them, knowing that they love me as much as I love them. I am so blessed!! The next day was spent in much relaxation(I slept in to almost 11 – inconceivable!) and yesterday(Sunday) was another amazing day! Church was super sweet(I had fellowship hall duty for the A/V team, so Deanna and Shari kept me company…) where we sang so many of my favorite songs(including Come Thou Fount, Amazing Grace, and Lord of All Creation) and I was just reminded of our Savior’s great love for us!! My car went to Hot Wok for lunch, which I’d been craving lately…so me, Deanna, Shari and Hope had a yummy lunch there before going home. That afternoon was just gorgeous, so I couldn’t in good conscience NOT spend it outside! So me and Deanna and Shari and Rob relaxed outside by the lake, soaking in the sun and feeling oh-so-alive in the gentle blowing of the wind!! God’s blessings are amazingly bountiful and I can never be grateful enough!

Last night was a great end to a great day! We went to church where the pastoral interns spoke their first sermons…it was so sweet to hear Dan give a sermon on Psalm 130(one of my favorite Psalms…ok, well actually a lot of the Psalms are my favorite). After talking with Dan and Betsy for a little while we went home where I got some reading done…and then promptly fell asleep. Before 11. Craziness!! But I feel delightfully and deliciously awake now and my heart is full of God’s goodness to me. I am so unworthy. And yet so loved!

Ahh, I wish I could write more, but alas, I need to probably do my lit homework. Art. Ugh. Wish me luck!! Hope everyone is having an AWESOME day!!!!

James HoganLeave a comment

I’m at the Union right now, checking my email and relaxing for a few minutes before it’s time for my last class of the week!!! This has been a rather long week, full of hours of “iPod transfer testing” for my senior design class. It’s fun stuff, but it takes way too much time. Ah well, I guess I do sort of need to graduate! I had a sweet lunch with Rebekah Hope just a few minutes ago…good times indeed. I realize that every time I talk with one of my friends how blessed I am to be able to know such godly and passionate people!! It actually makes me quite sad…realizing that I’ll be leaving them all in a few short months. I will indeed miss a LOT of people.

But…right now, I’m just enjoying the amazing times God is giving me! All glory to Him!!

And now. Class. And then, it’s WEEKEND TIME!!! Farewell, all!

James HoganLeave a comment

Once again, it’s a beautiful Monday morning at the christian study center!! Ok, well actually it’s sorta gray and gloomy outside, but I’m inside and drinking my peppermint mocha so I feel quite warm and content. Mmm….

Anyways, I really really really should be working on my lit homework that is due tomorrow, but I cannot get myself inspired. Oh dear. This could be a problem. Well in the meantime, I’ll just update y’all on what I’ve been up to lately! Yes, this is a great way of distracting myself!

But really, this past weekend was just AWESOME. Even if it was insanely busy and I am now recovering from a long and frenetic week. On Friday, I had my lean exam and for the first time in a little while, I feel I’ve dominated an engineering exam, YES! It was a good feeling after all my studying to know that my grade will prove my efforts! After that, I went home where I made lasagna. Lasagna is a very time-consuming process…but it’s all worth it in the end. And the reason I was doing this is because my mom and Maryanne and Laura were coming to visit Gainesville this past weekend! They came in on Friday afternoon and we then went over to the Lebos for dinner…where we had great times eating, talking and playing games…it was so awesome to be able to have some of my favorite people in the same place at the same time. After a long night there, we went home(my mom and sisters stayed at Deanna, Amy and Shari’s place). The next morning, after I got some errands done, my mom and sisters came over to my place where I had bacon and coffee ready and we had a nice relaxing morning…culminating in a delicious lasagna lunch! Maryanne helped me make the garlic bread and Laura helped make the salad…and of course, the lasagna was already almost ready since I’d made it the day before. Deanna and Rob were with us too, so we had a delightful lunch. Even though the lasagna didn’t quite stand up firmly, it tasted delicious…so I was happy. So much fun to be able to make my family my favorite meal!!

That afternoon, we all went to campus where I showed my mom and sisters all the best spots of campus(the stadium, the Union, the place where I study at Library West…wait, maybe that last isn’t the *best* spot..) My mom and sisters thought the campus was quite beautiful and the fact that it was a GORGEOUS day outside didn’t hurt! It was a beautiful spring day with a nice breeze blowing…and flowers blooming everywhere! Anyway that evening, me and my sisters hung out with Rob and had a typical college night. And by typical I mean frozen pizza and Guitar Hero and Family Matters. Yes. Oh, and my sisters helped me hang up some posters in my room, since I almost always forget to do that on my own. The next morning we all went to church, which was a great service(James Walden was back in town!) and my family got to meet lots of my friends. I have to say, sometimes I forget(how dare I!) how blessed I am to have such great friends AND such a great family…I was reminded of this as they intermingled in church!

Afterwards, me and my mom and sisters went out to Subway for lunch and after a few pictures and parting words…they left for Tampa. Upon which I promptly took a nap. It was indeed a wonderful weekend and I only wish I’d done it sooner!! God is so good to us!!!

Now I really do need to do some of my lit homework…not sure how much of it will even happen now, as I’m meeting Katie and Lars for lunch at Larry’s Subs in a few minutes. Ah well. There’s always this afternoon!! Farewell, all!

James HoganLeave a comment

Just had a sweet lit class and am now at the computer lab…where I was going to study some for my lean exam tomorrow, but decided to write a quick entry here instead!

Lit class was(as always!) most enjoyable. I had a sweet discussion with a friend there…we were just talking about the fact that we so often as people pigeonhole others into little boxes of what we expect them to be. And then we surround ourselves by others like us and think of ourselves as the only real people…while those people we don’t know are caricatures of our own design. Why do we not realize that EVERYONE has emotions and feelings and desires and ambitions and deep thoughts and deep pain…instead we think of others as two-dimensional static portraits. That makes it quite easy for us to dismiss those we sense as too different or unknowable while we ourselves are comfortable in our own little closet. Instead of pushing others away(which is all too easy!) we ought to be embracing the similarities of our own humanity and trying to find out how we can love those around us(in our ACTIONS, not just thoughts/words). And I feel that as a follower of Christ, this is one of the reasons I am on this world – to reach out and declare the love of Christ to everyone we see, not just those few that are oh-so-similar to myself.

Sorry if that was a little too much rambling there…but I just wanted to write this down while it was still hot on my mind. Just think of the fact that as we’re walking through campus or through a mall or down a busy street…every person has a unique perspective on life and has just as much emotional turmoil as you or I. And by God’s grace, I will not shrink away from the people different from myself, but embrace them!

And now I really should get some studying done. And then time for lunch with Rob and Dan! Farewell, all – hope everyone’s having a simply glorious day!!!