I just love summer. Float trips, fireworks, frisbee, friends and food! I am also employed at 3 different locations, so between those and trying to have a personal life (and get just enough sleep to still function), I've been busy. One of the reasons I'm looking forward to classes starting back up is because I'll get a break!
I won't have to wake up at 5:30am and start mowing and weed eating on campus. My most recent job is for the grounds maintenance crew at Northwest. I really do enjoy the job, but 5:30am and me just haven't found a way to get along quite yet. I've already learned a lot in the month I've been there and I've accomplished plenty of visible results, which makes the job rewarding. It also will earn me another paycheck, which is even more rewarding!
I'm still working dispatch, although I haven't logged as many hours there this summer. I still enjoy that job too. It is completely different than grounds though, for obvious reasons.
My big time commitment this summer has been my internship for Maryville Parks and Recreation. Every evening I can be found at the Community Center or the softball fields where I 'supervise' the events taking place at those locations. It's not a tricky job, I just have to help things run smoothly and help with set up and clean up. And although it doesn't pay me, I'm getting those valuable credit hours for doing it, which will help me to graduate in December as planned.
I am still involved in the application process for the Missouri State Highway Patrol. I'm not sure how many applicants are still in the pool, but I am certain there are more applicants than the 40 positions they will be filling with this recruiting class. My first ever polygraph will be the next step, and I hope all goes well with that. I can't think of much in my past worth lying about, so hopefully it won't be too stressful of an ordeal. I still feel that God has his hand in this, and that comfort alone is equal with actually receiving an offer of employment because I know that if for some reason it doesn't work out there is another plan and good will come out of it.
Due to my lack of free time, I haven't been home to Maysville much. I have been fortunate enough to visit a few weekends here and there and even attend church where I can see everyone that I grew up around again though. Driving to Lawson whenever I get the chance (meaning the time) also is how much of my free time has been spent. There's a particular lady down there for the summer that I've grown quite fond of. Another big reason I'm ready for classes to start - she moves back to Maryville!
August is the beginning of the end of my college career, and I'm somewhat nervous as to what's ahead, excited for a big step in my life, surprised at how fast 3 years have gone and glad to have been here and had the opportunities I have and met the people that I have been privileged to meet. It's not over, but the end is in sight. Bring it on.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Big Month!
If you remember reading my post over a month ago of how I planned to keep this blog going [more] regularly, you're probably laughing at my definition of regularly. Frankly, this slips my mind most of the time. It's not that nothing noteworthy has happened. Au contraire. It is that so much has happened that I have forgotten about this, yet again. So much has happened in the last month, in fact, that I will probably forget something or get tired of typing before I finish the list of events. Let's begin.
First, and possibly most important for my personal future at least, I traveled to Lee's Summit for the Missouri State Highway Patrol Fitness for Duty Assessment and written exam. There were about 45 people to show up for the written exam, which was the first thing on the agenda. If the written exam is passed, the individuals are invited back in the afternoon for the physical fitness test. I passed the written examination.
The fitness portion of the day took place at the high school track, conveniently located about 100m from Troop A's headquarters. Push ups, sit ups, and some running were required in a timed fashion. Of the people there, save for three U.S. Marines, I was one of the few that had stayed [roughly] in running condition since the high school track days. Passed the fitness assessment. I will not hear anything from the department until July, they informed us all - probably to keep us from bugging them all summer (can't say that I blame them). So that is good. I am very much excited for this opportunity and am thankful that I have been able to, with the help of others and a little bit (OK, a lot) of prayer to make it this far in the selection process. We will see what God has in store for me in the future; beginning in July.
In other news, the BSU traveled to Stillwater, OK on a mission trip. About 40 of us spent the week 2 blocks from Oklahoma State University's campus, helping with construction of a mission house for Hillcrest Baptist Church. There will be a family of 8 (soon to be 10 - twins on the way) that has come back from being missionaries in China that will be the first occupants. The house will have multi-use, as the church sees fit.
We split up into smaller groups to work on various projects, not limited to: painting, drywall, demolition, framing, siding, roofing, etc. Pretty much, we had a gutted house when we arrived. When we left 5 days later, the exterior was finished, and the framing done, with a little drywall completed. I was in the siding group. I am now semi-professional at installing vinyl siding. We had our share of frustrations, but had a system going that worked quite well and were able to COMPLETE the siding, driving the last nail approximately 5pm on Friday, our last work day!
The electricity is something that none of us pretended to be qualified to work on - for obvious reasons. Here is an awesome story of God's perfect timing however:
When the house was to the point where it needed some 'professional' electrical work to progress further on the inside, yet there was no one qualified to do the work, a "God thing" happened. A gentleman stopped by one day and said something to the effect of, "I have driven by here every day this week. Your group has done a lot of work! I have about 50 hours of community service to complete, and I was wondering if there was any way I could help out with this church's project. Oh, and by the way, I'm an electrician."
Can I get an 'AMEN'?
We had plenty of things to keep us busy after a full day of work as well. The first night was the church's open gym night. Naturally, we stuck around to play some pick up ball games with the locals! Tuesday, we were allowed to attend a class titled Perspectives. The speaker was Jon Zumwalt. At first glance, no matter how unbiased you claim to be, you would not think "Oh, that guy must be a pastor." His approximately 12-inch-long goatee and ponytail screamed, "Biker". He jokingly said the church down the street from his house visits him every now and then, brings him a baked good and invites him to church. He said he hasn't got the heart to tell them he's a pastor. Besides, they may not bring him any more treats! Obviously Mr. Zumwalt was a comical man. He was also very inspirational. He talked of - you guessed it - missions. Seems to be a theme here. We all left with a new 'perspective' of missions across the world to unreached people groups.
Wednesday evening we were invited to Chris's house for a BBQ. We were not aware at the time, but Chris was a retired doctor who's 'house' was more of a mansion. Complete with lake and dock. He was a great host and we all had a great time getting to hang out with each other and his family. They are great people and very hospitable!
Thursday we attended the BCM (Their name for our BSU) at OSU. It was a great time as we packed into the medium sized room and met some of the students that had a heart for Christ at one of the largest campuses in the midwest.
It was a great trip overall, as you can probably guess by now. We all had a great time. Oh, and I might mention I got to know a lovely young lady while on the trip who loves Jesus, motorcycles and Johnny Cash - and agreed to being called my girlfriend recently. (Insert cheesy smile)
Instead of the F150, I am now driving a Chevrolet Colorado. It has been great! I am enjoying the improved MPG, more seating, and especially the 4x4, although I have only really needed it once or twice thus far.
New truck, new girlfriend, new guitar, soon to be a new revolver and I was able to harvest a nice turkey Easter morning: I feel like I have the makings of a country song here! I am extremely happy with the past events, yet I realize it is not by any of my power that these 'good times' have been made possible. I have been inexplicably blessed recently. I thank God everyday for this. As the old hymn says, "Without Him, I would have nothing." I know that life will not always be butterflies and rainbows, and I am prepared to praise my Lord through the good times as well as the bad.
On a lighter note: Finals are over! Another semester down. This one seemed to be the fastest so far. Things are flying by. I'll be in Maryville most of the summer working an internship at Maryville Parks and Recreation, which I am looking forward to. Maybe I'll have time to keep this updated. Maybe.
First, and possibly most important for my personal future at least, I traveled to Lee's Summit for the Missouri State Highway Patrol Fitness for Duty Assessment and written exam. There were about 45 people to show up for the written exam, which was the first thing on the agenda. If the written exam is passed, the individuals are invited back in the afternoon for the physical fitness test. I passed the written examination.
The fitness portion of the day took place at the high school track, conveniently located about 100m from Troop A's headquarters. Push ups, sit ups, and some running were required in a timed fashion. Of the people there, save for three U.S. Marines, I was one of the few that had stayed [roughly] in running condition since the high school track days. Passed the fitness assessment. I will not hear anything from the department until July, they informed us all - probably to keep us from bugging them all summer (can't say that I blame them). So that is good. I am very much excited for this opportunity and am thankful that I have been able to, with the help of others and a little bit (OK, a lot) of prayer to make it this far in the selection process. We will see what God has in store for me in the future; beginning in July.
In other news, the BSU traveled to Stillwater, OK on a mission trip. About 40 of us spent the week 2 blocks from Oklahoma State University's campus, helping with construction of a mission house for Hillcrest Baptist Church. There will be a family of 8 (soon to be 10 - twins on the way) that has come back from being missionaries in China that will be the first occupants. The house will have multi-use, as the church sees fit.
We split up into smaller groups to work on various projects, not limited to: painting, drywall, demolition, framing, siding, roofing, etc. Pretty much, we had a gutted house when we arrived. When we left 5 days later, the exterior was finished, and the framing done, with a little drywall completed. I was in the siding group. I am now semi-professional at installing vinyl siding. We had our share of frustrations, but had a system going that worked quite well and were able to COMPLETE the siding, driving the last nail approximately 5pm on Friday, our last work day!
The electricity is something that none of us pretended to be qualified to work on - for obvious reasons. Here is an awesome story of God's perfect timing however:
When the house was to the point where it needed some 'professional' electrical work to progress further on the inside, yet there was no one qualified to do the work, a "God thing" happened. A gentleman stopped by one day and said something to the effect of, "I have driven by here every day this week. Your group has done a lot of work! I have about 50 hours of community service to complete, and I was wondering if there was any way I could help out with this church's project. Oh, and by the way, I'm an electrician."
Can I get an 'AMEN'?
We had plenty of things to keep us busy after a full day of work as well. The first night was the church's open gym night. Naturally, we stuck around to play some pick up ball games with the locals! Tuesday, we were allowed to attend a class titled Perspectives. The speaker was Jon Zumwalt. At first glance, no matter how unbiased you claim to be, you would not think "Oh, that guy must be a pastor." His approximately 12-inch-long goatee and ponytail screamed, "Biker". He jokingly said the church down the street from his house visits him every now and then, brings him a baked good and invites him to church. He said he hasn't got the heart to tell them he's a pastor. Besides, they may not bring him any more treats! Obviously Mr. Zumwalt was a comical man. He was also very inspirational. He talked of - you guessed it - missions. Seems to be a theme here. We all left with a new 'perspective' of missions across the world to unreached people groups.
Wednesday evening we were invited to Chris's house for a BBQ. We were not aware at the time, but Chris was a retired doctor who's 'house' was more of a mansion. Complete with lake and dock. He was a great host and we all had a great time getting to hang out with each other and his family. They are great people and very hospitable!
Thursday we attended the BCM (Their name for our BSU) at OSU. It was a great time as we packed into the medium sized room and met some of the students that had a heart for Christ at one of the largest campuses in the midwest.
It was a great trip overall, as you can probably guess by now. We all had a great time. Oh, and I might mention I got to know a lovely young lady while on the trip who loves Jesus, motorcycles and Johnny Cash - and agreed to being called my girlfriend recently. (Insert cheesy smile)
Instead of the F150, I am now driving a Chevrolet Colorado. It has been great! I am enjoying the improved MPG, more seating, and especially the 4x4, although I have only really needed it once or twice thus far.
New truck, new girlfriend, new guitar, soon to be a new revolver and I was able to harvest a nice turkey Easter morning: I feel like I have the makings of a country song here! I am extremely happy with the past events, yet I realize it is not by any of my power that these 'good times' have been made possible. I have been inexplicably blessed recently. I thank God everyday for this. As the old hymn says, "Without Him, I would have nothing." I know that life will not always be butterflies and rainbows, and I am prepared to praise my Lord through the good times as well as the bad.
On a lighter note: Finals are over! Another semester down. This one seemed to be the fastest so far. Things are flying by. I'll be in Maryville most of the summer working an internship at Maryville Parks and Recreation, which I am looking forward to. Maybe I'll have time to keep this updated. Maybe.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Happy St. Patrick's Day
There actually was a Patrick. But he wasn't a saint, per se. Wasn't even Irish, actually. Here's a link telling the story of "Saint" Patrick. Very interesting. It's also interesting, if not perplexing, why a day in his celebration is known for beer. Hm. Also on my mind: Why is the sky blue? The things we'll never know.
Enjoy:
http://theresurgence.com/2010/03/17/st-patrick-one-of-the-greatest-missionaries-who-ever-lived
Enjoy:
http://theresurgence.com/2010/03/17/st-patrick-one-of-the-greatest-missionaries-who-ever-lived
Monday, March 14, 2011
Forgetting To Blog
Obviously, I have all but forgotten about my blogger account. There is no way I would be able to update on what has happened between October 2010 and now and not leave some things out. Nor do I have the time. A lot has happened. Memorable moments include:
I am still working as a dispatcher, and I still enjoy it a lot. Christmas 2010 was great, as is every Christmas. It's my favorite time of year. Snow deserves mention on the list as well. We've had a load of that since October. Classes were cancelled at Northwest for not 1, not 2, but 3 consecutive days. That is unheard of. Needless to say, students were pretty excited. But then we realized we were stuck at our appartments for 3 days. Even though no one wanted to go back to class, everyone was relieved to have something to do. I joined the praise band at the BSU. Love to make music. I play the bass every Thursday night now. I traded in my electric guitar and a little cash to make up the difference for a beautiful black Dean acoustic bass guitar and hard case. Easily the best large purchase I've made in a while. I could count the days that I have not picked it up on one hand. My birthday arrived. A bunch of my friends and I stayed in my hometown and hung out, then went to WinterJam 2011 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. It was awesome. There were people who were not able to get in - it was at capacity. Luckily, we got there early. Also, my parents helped me recently purchase a Ruger GP100 revolver in .357 Magnum. Since it was my 21st birthday, it is now legal for me to purchase a hand gun. So I did. Still waiting on the correct gun to arrive at the dealer in Maryville, but I'm pretty excited about it! This brings us to present, skipping more than a few things, I'm sure.
Now that it's warming up outside (finally!), I have been back to the Nodaway Humane Society to walk dogs a few times. This is something I greatly enjoy.
I will be graduating in December if all goes as planned, so trying to find a place to live proved to be a little tricky, so as to not have to pay for a year lease when my roommate and I would only be there for half a year or so. We got lucky and found out one of our friends' parents have a house and he is the only one living in it for next year. Now there are 3 of us, likely another 2. With that many people, rent will be around $150/person, which is nice compared to our $225 this year.
I received an internship position with Maryville Parks and Recreation for this summer. I will mostly be supervising/helping with events that MPR does throughout the summer. Scheduling umpires and referees, unlocking equipment sheds, and anything else they instruct me to do. I am looking forward to it; I really enjoy outdoors/sports, so it's the perfect internship (and I get credit for it so I can graduate). I've also been asked to help with recreation at church camp this summer for a week, which I am looking forward to! Always a great time at Grand Oaks.
Spring Break is coming up beginning Saturday. The BSU is taking their annual mission trip this year to Stillwater, OK. Not exactly sure yet on what we'll be doing, but it will be awesome, of that I have no doubt. When we return, I will update on how that went.
Now that I'm once again in touch with blogger, maybe I won't wait so long until I write again. Time will tell.
I am still working as a dispatcher, and I still enjoy it a lot. Christmas 2010 was great, as is every Christmas. It's my favorite time of year. Snow deserves mention on the list as well. We've had a load of that since October. Classes were cancelled at Northwest for not 1, not 2, but 3 consecutive days. That is unheard of. Needless to say, students were pretty excited. But then we realized we were stuck at our appartments for 3 days. Even though no one wanted to go back to class, everyone was relieved to have something to do. I joined the praise band at the BSU. Love to make music. I play the bass every Thursday night now. I traded in my electric guitar and a little cash to make up the difference for a beautiful black Dean acoustic bass guitar and hard case. Easily the best large purchase I've made in a while. I could count the days that I have not picked it up on one hand. My birthday arrived. A bunch of my friends and I stayed in my hometown and hung out, then went to WinterJam 2011 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. It was awesome. There were people who were not able to get in - it was at capacity. Luckily, we got there early. Also, my parents helped me recently purchase a Ruger GP100 revolver in .357 Magnum. Since it was my 21st birthday, it is now legal for me to purchase a hand gun. So I did. Still waiting on the correct gun to arrive at the dealer in Maryville, but I'm pretty excited about it! This brings us to present, skipping more than a few things, I'm sure.
Now that it's warming up outside (finally!), I have been back to the Nodaway Humane Society to walk dogs a few times. This is something I greatly enjoy.
I will be graduating in December if all goes as planned, so trying to find a place to live proved to be a little tricky, so as to not have to pay for a year lease when my roommate and I would only be there for half a year or so. We got lucky and found out one of our friends' parents have a house and he is the only one living in it for next year. Now there are 3 of us, likely another 2. With that many people, rent will be around $150/person, which is nice compared to our $225 this year.
I received an internship position with Maryville Parks and Recreation for this summer. I will mostly be supervising/helping with events that MPR does throughout the summer. Scheduling umpires and referees, unlocking equipment sheds, and anything else they instruct me to do. I am looking forward to it; I really enjoy outdoors/sports, so it's the perfect internship (and I get credit for it so I can graduate). I've also been asked to help with recreation at church camp this summer for a week, which I am looking forward to! Always a great time at Grand Oaks.
Spring Break is coming up beginning Saturday. The BSU is taking their annual mission trip this year to Stillwater, OK. Not exactly sure yet on what we'll be doing, but it will be awesome, of that I have no doubt. When we return, I will update on how that went.
Now that I'm once again in touch with blogger, maybe I won't wait so long until I write again. Time will tell.
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