"Ready to Rock!"

Yes, that is a song. (Airbourne - Ready to Rock)
Which brings up a point I had no intention of informing readers of on this particular early-morning 'blogging-while-working' trip. I just remembered: I have a policy. That policy, to which I've adhered as much as possible in the last 3.5 years, involves the naming of each and every one of my beautiful works of art also known as 'typed, double-spaced, at least a page long' papers. Yes, this all started back in my Junior year of high school. It has continued up til now, hopefully improving. I do not have my personal computer with me, so I cannot remember all of the papers I have saved on it. I've titled my papers everything from the Rolling Stone's "Sympathy For the Devil" (for a paper about the villains in Homer's Odyssey) to Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream" (for my research paper about the effects of sleep deprivation and external influences upon dreams). Anyway, they all have something to do with the topic at hand.
Now, back to what I previously was going to write about (also involving my taste in music).
I admire all the traditions here at Northwest...Except one. Sure, I love seeing the Bell Tower through the fog early in the morning or shining bright white as it reflects the sun on those rare occasions the sun decides to shine here in our little weather-challenged community, but the music that it plays leaves something to be desired..
First of all, there are no bells in the bell tower. There are, however, a set of speakers large enough to accompany a small rock band. The tones that are played are the traditional tones of bells that would come from a tower with about 30 bells of all different shapes and sizes. This year I've noticed that the control room operator has lightened up slightly from the classic chiming to playing familiar tunes, such as The Beatles' "Yesterday" and even "Winter Wonderland" around Christmastime. Although they make for a more enjoyable walk to class, they are still in the tones of bells to the tune of these songs. I vote for playing real music and utilizing the speakers we have instead of bells. If they wanted to keep it classical music, I'd be fine with that. I've grown fond of Bach's "Goldberg Variations, BWV, 988" for harpsichord. But if you ask me, some "Hells Bells" by AC/DC would really provide a smooth transition from straight bell tones to hardcore classic rock music. If you're not familiar with it, just listen to the first 60 seconds of it by clicking on the title of the song. There are no words, just bells and guitar.
If this song was played over the bell tower speakers, even if only once, I would be smiling for the next few days, no doubt. I realize I have very little chance of persuading University personnel to change their ways after 105 years of operation, but maybe, in true "Shawshank Redemption" fashion, (where the main character locks himself in the warden's office and uses the PA system to play opera music, which I've also provided a link to) I could lock myself in the computer control room for an hour with my trusty iPod and let Bearcats everywhere on campus enjoy the full potential of those "bells" up inside the tower.

The Late Show

Well, it's past 5am. Usually, after working the night shift most people would be able to say "nothing happened", but not tonight. I've taken calls for everything from a leaky ceiling in the art studio to a stolen vehicle. So far this has been a great night to be dispatching. Of course I've gotten some homework done, but there have been many things going on either with our department or coming over the scanner for the area's other departments. Speaking of which, that's why I can write about those instances - anyone with a scanner in Maryville (and I'm told it's quite a few people) would have been able to hear it. I also stopped by the Station, the campus's equivalent of a convenience store, and picked up a breakfast burrito before I came to work. That turned out to be a great decision! It was delicious, especially about 4am!

The other night, driving from Savannah to Maryville on 71 Hwy, a bobcat leaped out into the highway in front of me. There was a ditch on the right side of the road, and it was dark, so I didn't even see it coming. As he bounded out of the snow, the license plate on my truck (which has been known to stop a few raccoons in its day) caught up to it before he even hit the pavement.* I stopped and backed up. To my surprise, and relief, there was hardly any damage to the cat. So what did I do? Picked it up and tossed it in the truck, of course! Don't worry, I called a Conservation Agent and he informed me since it was a vehicular kill, and out of season, I would need a permit to legally possess it. That is in the works, so no problems. I am thinking it would be cool to have it tanned and made into a rug. You know that kind- the ears back, slanted eyes, teeth-bearing, decorative rug. (refer to past post about decorating our house in Maryville for next semester...)

I'm going to just throw it out there that I am officially excited for the warmer weather. Specifically, to get the motorcycle out. And also partly the small things, like say, maybe seeing something green outside again...

*- There was no damage to my truck, luckily. Headline: Metal bumper beats fur.

Winter Jam 2010!

The last few days of February were spent with great friends! To start off, the BSU staff and small group leaders all went to Blue Springs for the Leadership Conference. We left Friday after everyone was out of class and drove down. We were glad it was only in Blue Springs because other than Missouri Western's BSU, we had the shortest drive of any of the colleges represented there.

We got to stay at the Mariott, so that was nice. The main speaker, Calvin Miller, was exceptional. I really enjoyed hearing what he had to say. He is an almost 80-year-old man who acts like he's 50 still. He is an accomplished writer and read many excerpts from his most recent one, "Life Is Mostly Edges" (which I plan to purchase someday). His humor, practicality, and love of others, his wife and family, and most of all God, were all easily detected. What a guy! I am still impressed with how he has continued to trust God with everything in his life. During one of the songs I saw him slip out of his chair and kneel down. I can think of people half his age that have trouble kneeling, and although it couldn't have been comfortable, he was there on the floor in the presence of The Most High. You can see a short video of this man that I was impressed with on YouTube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-aKb06CBCw

Our weekend finished by attending the Winter Jam concert at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. It was definitely one of the best concerts I've been to. Some of my favorites were there! We all had a great time!

As we proceed into March, and warmer weather hopefully, I've decided to take this month off from eating unhealthy foods. I'm going to not drink soda, eat greasy fatty stuff and just be conscious of what I eat. I'm not concerned with my health or anything, just trying to stay healthy. It's hard to do in college where most things are fried or fatty. There are plenty of healthy options though, and I've been enjoying fruitful breakfasts, small, protien-rich lunches and tonight I even had some grilled fish. I'm just going to see how I feel at the end of the month, kinda as my own little experiment.