no high fives for YOU

I've noticed a growing trend lately (and was also reminded of this trend by one of my boss's tweets) . It's not something that should be embraced, nor is it a hype-train to be boarded proudly. In fact, this very act makes me want to avoid certain social behaviors that I typically am known for on a daily basis. SO what exactly am I referring to??

People not washing their hands after using the friggin bathroom!

I honestly don't understand it, in the least. Is it a case of being raised incorrectly? Or laziness blowing up into such a huge factor in life that washing one's hands is far too difficult & complicated? I mean SERIOUSLY! I'm not a germaphobe by any mans, nor do I carry around a bottle of sanitizer in case I suddenly have the itch to cleanse my hands every 2 minutes... but still... this is just too much.

Obviously I'm speaking from a guy's perspective here, since I haven't the slightest clue if this also carries over to being a common thing for women... so YES, I am ratting out a good chunk of my gender for this gag-nasty habit. Be afraid, ladies... be very afraid. And on that note, I leave you with this picture found via Google search!

carefree public embarrassment

i could preface this video with saying "man... why can't everyone be like THIS guy??"... but if that were the case, life would be a whole lot less interesting if everyone acted with this level of carefree abandon in public (because it would be considered normal)

random blurb time (8-22-10)

*August is almost over. What the heck??

*I need to start planning ahead for times like these past 2 weeks, where I'm slam-busy with packing & working & moving stuff back here to Lynchburg... I feel that I'm losing blog-followers with the big gaps in-between posts

*It's been a hectic week, in the best way! I started my new job as an event planner with Student Activities here @ Liberty University, and it's been fantastic so far. We worked 50+ hours this week with a total of 9 events during Freshman Orientation Week. I love this job already (seriously)

Majority of us LU S.A. staffers on the football field with Sparky the mascot

My desk (in the process of being personalized & decorated)

*Speaking of these events, we held 3 karaoke events in the campus dining hall. As you can imagine, the awkward freshman provided some golden moments as they fumbled over their choice songs. We even managed to get a guy & his mom to sing a duet ("Lean On Me")

*Moved into a new place closer to campus, and my 4 roommates are a quality bunch of dudes. Our backyard is Peaks View Park, so I have plenty of trails to ride my new bike on (even though it's a beach cruiser... don't hate, I love it)... AND direct access to some disc golf anytime I want. This year is going to be superb.

*Classes start this week... luckily my actual first day of class isn't until Tuesday. Phewww... plenty of time to get my parking pass & last book @ the bookstore. I may need to carry a Nerf sword with me to fight through the crowds tomorrow to get that final book for my Digital Illustration class

*The annual LU Block Party is this coming Saturday (the 28th), and one of my all-time favorite bands is headlining the event! Family Force 5, that is. Their live show is something to be seen & experienced, whether you dig their music or not

*I bought some Lego's the other day for the heck of it. Still just as fun as they were when I was a wee 'lil Jake. Believe it.


-That's all for today, time to go slave over some more piles of laundry. Thanks for stickin' with me thru the frequent periods of non-blogging!

really brave or extremely idiotic

I'm all for taking the occasional risk and experiencing something thrilling (ex. the Intimidator 305 coaster @ King's Dominion... people nearly black out on that ride)... but there's just some things I will NEVER do



Such a captivating video, but still.... c'mon! That's just nuts. I love my life, and God gave us the common sense & knowledge that are to be utilized in decision-making. Sitting on a floating board, with aquatic death-bringers & their rows of teeth swimming beneath me? No thanks.

Guest Blogger: Austin Evans!

So I got a message via facebook last night from one of my most treasured & glorious friends, Mr. Austin "ACE" Evans, and he asked if I could share this post of his somehow..... and what better way to do it, then as a guest-blogger entry! Austin is currently in Nashville, living the dream and working towards bigger & better things as a song-writer and all-around creative mastermind. Basically he rules. Anyways, here are his thoughts via blog post:

Ok so the pastor at Brentwood Baptist tonight was reading this Bible passage that told this story: There was a rich farmer and a poor farmer. The rich farmer had a ton of sheep. Rams, ewes, you name it, this farmer was loaded. (I am obviously paraphrasing the Bible here, call it the ACE translation). The poor farmer however, could only afford one little baby sheep. And he loved that sheep. It ate from his table, it drank from his cup, it slept with him...basically it was a pet. The Bible says he "loved it like a daughter." So one day a visitor comes to the farm and its customary to feed them. Well back in the day you didn't go to the grocery store and buy a Tombstone Pizza, you slaughtered one of your animals and prepared a feast. Well the rich farmer looks out on his flock and decides he doesn't want to sacrifice any of his sheep, so he straight up takes the poor farmer's sheep and uses that. Well King David hears about this and it says "anger burned in his heart" and he said "As sure as the LORD lives, this man should be sentenced to death for his lack of compassion." Now, David didn't kill him, but its pretty obvious that this was a serious crime.

This is where I admittedly tuned out the pastor for a minute to kind of take my own line of thinking. God prodded me with this thought and I really wanted to share it: So the sheep itself didn't have any special value. It wasn't a rare sheep, or a big sheep it was just a plain ole sheep. The reason the rich farmer's crime was so heinous was because the poor farmer LOVED the sheep. The sheep was loved by someone, which made it very special. How much more does God love us than that farmer loved his sheep? And beyond that, this guy was just a farmer... we're talking about an all-knowing, all-present Creator of the Universe that loves us! I mean, if nothing else we have EXTREME value if for no other reason than that there is an ever present Lord who loves us and desires a relationship with us. So next time you're feeling down, or that you don't have value, or that God can't use you, or that you've wasting your time, or that you just broke up with someone and they were a huge part of who you were, or you just got into a relationship and they are becoming a huge part of who you are, or your parents weren't the best and you're wondering how you're ever going to be capable of having a family, or maybe you did something really stupid and you're wondering if you're worth saving...GOD LOVES YOU AND YOU HAVE MORE VALUE THAN YOU CAN FATHOM. 

Summer, what happened??

I feel wrong for saying this... but I'm ready for summer to be over. Don't get me wrong, I love not having to wake up for class... worry about papers & projects... or stressing over finances with books & supplies... and I absolutely love all the time spent with friends/family that I don't get to see when the semester is in full swing...

BUT! The weather this summer? Completely ridiculous. I'm shocked that I didn't get sick from the back & forth changes between enjoyable and totally miserable. I would be the happiest person ever if the weather would just stay between 70-75 degrees, and NO HUMIDITY. I despise humidity. I feel like a freak when the heat/humidity combo causes me to sweat by simply just walking around outside. In my mind, I shouldn't be sweating unless I'm doing something strenuous or extreme. I love being comfortable outside (not too cold, not too hot)... to the point of wearing a t-shirt & shorts during the daytime, and maybe a hoodie at night if I feel like it.

Phew... okay now that all of that is outta the way... I had a fantastic summer!

• midnight movies (for the most part...*ahem* The Last Airbender... BLAH)
• concerts & live shows
• road trips (especially to PA!)
• all things LSM (work, events, trips, etc)
• ultimate frisbee & disc golf
• theme park enjoyment (Busch & Kings Dominion)
• sleeping in on Friday/Saturday mornings

Etcetera! It's been a jam-packed season that definitely flew by at hyper speed. Hope yours has been just as enjoyable, if not moreso!