Let It Be Christmas Everywhere

Well, finals are done, I'm back at home, and Christmas is just around the corner! I've been spending my days at the bank as "Teller #3" and enoying my 'working vacation'. (It'll be nice to replenish the checking account after the Fall Semester took a toll on it.) I enjoy seeing old faces*, listening to the radio play the same Christmas songs over and over, doing something over break instead of sleeping it away, and of course, having an income again. I am excited for this upcomming Christmas as well! I was thinking about all the traditions I have with family, friends and at church over the last 18 Christmases, and it is hard to believe that time is upon us again.
They're calling for about 6 inches of snow tomorrow (Christmas Eve) so that will be great, not so much for travelers, but for people like us who will stay home all day (and hunters, like myself). A short post this time, but hey, it's Christmas. Can't spend all my time on the computer..
Remember the reason for the season.


*Old Faces - 1. People I have not seen in a long time. 2. The elderly.

We are the champions, my friend.

This year, like last, a group of friends went down to Florence, Alabama to watch Northwest play in the NCAA Division II Championship Football game.

Of course, we left a little later than expected, but our destination on Friday night was Jackson, TN. We stayed in the Courtyard Mariott there and got up to drive the final 2.5 hours Saturday morning before the game. It's good to have connections, too. The parents of one of the girls that went with us were employees of hotels, and therefore got us a great discount on this Mariott, which was one of the nicest hotels any of us 'poor college kids' had stayed in.

When we arrived at the stadium about 10:15 the next morning, it was already packed! Tons of people everywhere! We got in line to enter the gates, waited, and finally got in and found our seats.

The first half went very well, with NWMSU scoring 3 touchdowns while holding Grand Valley State to just 3 points. The second half is where it got interesting though. GVSU came back to bring our lead to only 3 points, but the Bearcats managed to pull off a victory (the first in the 5 consecutive years they have made it to the championship game).

We held 3 signs in our group: "Shake and Bake with Blake and Jake" was the crowd favorite (referring to Blake Bolles, the QB and Jake Soy, the go-to receiver.) My personal favorite, "At least it's not raining!" was another. Tyler held one that simply said "?". We thought that was pretty funny too, just because it was different.

We all had a wonderful time and we were fortunate enough to see the Bearcats' victory this year in person. God protected our vehicles on the way from fender-benders, although we did have a closer than preferred run-in with a city bus. But the brakes on the bus were working and it didn't end up inside either of our vehicles.

Posted is a video of one of two HUGE hits that Northwest had during the game. We could literally feel the pain as we heard the crack in the audience, right before the crowd erupted in cheering!

Gotta Love It!

...Northwest Missouri weather, that is. Just two days ago it was 65 degrees outside. Everyone was wearing shorts, opening their windows to let some fresh air in, and some just went and walked around outside.
This morning when I woke up, I looked outside to see about 4 inches of snow. It's cold and windy, but some friends and I ventured out into the bright white frozen abyss to get some food.

Last night Kolby and I stayed up late playing golf. Yes, golf. We set up a few cups in different locations and made a minigolf course right in the hallway. We used everything from a flipped-over table to the stairs and even the elevator! It was great fun, and it took up a lot of free time that otherwise would have been spent doing nothing productive.

This is NOT a drill! (Merely an inconvenience)

Sunday, February 15, 2009
2:11 a.m.
Students in NWMSU's Perrin Hall were evacuated to the sound of "An emergency has been reported. Please exit." over a loudspeaker located in every room.

As I put on my coat and shoes, taking my time (My room is located right next to an outside door) while strobe lights flashed around me I wondered:
a) What is going on!? It's late and I just want to sleep!
b) This better not be a drill. It's not convenient at all!
c) At least if there is a fire, we wont have to be cold while we wait outside.
d) Maybe it's a false alarm, and I'll get to see someone arrested!
(I'm an optimist)

Turns out, someone had taken a fire extinguisher in his room and used it. No one knows why, but he did. It also turns out that the fog from a fire extinguisher sets off a fire alarm. Ironic, isn't it?
One of the even more puzzling things was that Hudson, the building connected to ours was completely quiet, save for some late-night studiers in the upstairs lounge, who curiously watched as we huddled outside for 15 minutes while campus safety officers swarmed around diligently. Not a light or siren or anything woke good ol' Hudson up. Apparently they thought they were too good to burn to the ground with the rest of us...
Let's review:
1. During a drill, Campus Safety arrives within 5 minutes and shuts off the alarm. When campus safety arrives 10 seconds after you've been outside, something's up! (Impressive, officers!)
2. Anti-Fire Chemical will set off a fire alarm.
3. Wear shoes, for crying out loud!
4. During a fire, proceed to the nearest exit...or Hudson, if it's cold outside.

The Brain-Train's a-comin' and I've strapped myself to the clever tracks!

While showering recently (during which some of the best thinking takes place in my brain) I had a thought...
What if Head&Shoulders Shampoo wanted to expand? I think they should consider making a body wash and call it Knees&Toes. I mean, they are already pretty popular and have a decent reputation going. I know I would at least try it. Maybe if that was a success they could start marketing Eyes&Ears or Mouth&Nose as some sort of facial scrub/cleanser. I'm considering writing them a letter outlining these ideas. I wonder if anyone has ever had this thought before me...