I'm Going Back to the Start

The year of 2007 was rung in after a long december of dragging through the end of our last first semester of high school, imagining the freedom and fun that awaited us in what could be our finest year. I spent that last night of 2006 living the high life, with best friends, still unaware of how big the year 2007 would be. In some ways it was only the beginning of the end, but at every moment I told myself to hold nn. All of these things that I've done made my 2006 the best it could have been, and I hope the next will be just the same.

I began my last semester as a high schooler in January. Do you remember when I was entering Saint X? Oh how quick it went, but the best was still to come. I was on my way to the homestretch, with the best times that every high school senior looks forward to for years. January, February, and March passed with the usual occurances, but with a great anticipation of what the coming months would hold. My friends and I had one big holiday in Myrtle Beach for our Spring Break trip. With a little help from my friends, it became one of the best weeks of my life. We enjoyed tons of sunshine, and since then I have kept carolina in my mind. After that trip, we kept sitting, waiting, wishing for the good time to keep on coming.

Not long after, we were to dance all night at Saint Xavier Senior Prom. All my friends were excited for the night, and with our dates in tow, we had one hell of a night. It seemed that night we would live forever in this night of pure fun and enjoyment. It was our night to celebrate what the past four years had meant. It's well known you get what you give, and the return on this night was definently worth it. I was even happier when we got to do it all over again for Assumption's Prom. Once again, we let go and had another unbelievable night. Trust me when I say, the carefree enjoyment of celebrating the end of high school by going to prom is awesome. I'm glad I got to do it twice.

But as we all know, proms signify to coming of something even bigger: graduation. Nothing was going in slow motion anymore, as the day approached faster than any of us actually wanted it to. It was time to move on, and say goodbye to the halls of Saint Xavier which shaped the path of our lives for four years, even though it had only seemed like four days now that graduation had so quickly approached. We said good riddance to those we would probably never see again, and were wished best of luck as we were sent out to face the perils and excitement of college life.

We were now in the space between our existence as high school seniors and our appearence as college freshmen. Those few months are like a holiday from real, where nothing matters excpet living life as you have known it forever, before it changes as college becomes a reality. Some of the days in the summer were like heaven. I felt comfortably numb as I spent a night at the Dave Matthews concert with some of my closest friends, went nightswimming as I became an adult on my 18th birthday, and spent days at the lake where I could on think I hope tomorrow is like today. But I was careful not to forget that the summer would soon end and I would find pastures new in Bloomington. But while it lasted, summer was nothing but flowers. And I stopped to smell every one I could.

The rest of my year found me in many ways back at square one. I was off to college at Indiana University in Bloomington. It was a place to begin again, to start over after 4 years of high school and experience so many new things with new people in a new place. I was pn my way, and in between all of my classes, meetings, and down time, I did learn how to party hard. But I love the college life, even though the things I had to leave behind were always in my head.

Hands down, 2006 was an awesome year, and one of huge change, and lots of moments that I had looked forward to for many years. I closed out with a great Christmas with the family and many good nights out with friends.

Here's to a good 2007 for everyone.


There is a little challenge in this post for those of you who are up for the test. If you haven't noticed by now, I created this post with a little help from some song titles. The person who can find and name the artist of the songs will be crowned as awesome.

My Top 10

1. The Shawshank Remption - Morgan Freeman makes this movie unbelievable. This one never gets old.

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Crazy plot with Jim Carrey in his best role.

3. Donnie Darko - This movie just pulls me in. Jake Gyllenhaal's performance is nothing short of spectacular.

4. Enemy at the Gate - Best war movie in my opinion.

5. Wonder Boys - Great adaption of an even better book.

6. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - This whole trilogy is mind blwoing, but this is the best of the three.

7. Shrek - Hilarious. Awesome animation as well.

8. Anchorman - Funniest movie I have ever seen. So many favorite scenes in this one.

9. Plesentville - Tobey Maguire has a great performance, and I love the story.

10. Spiderman - Have always enjoyed this one. Comic book heros at their best.

The Greatest Ever

Attention: If you have not got the opportunity to watch Ali Rap on ESPN, do so as soon as you can. If you are from Louisville, make it even more of a priority.

I saw commercials for the show, but I was not exactly sure what it was about so never put much interest into it. The name kind of turned me off as well considering I'm not much a fan of rap. Tonight, though, as I channel surfed I came upon it and stopped to see what it was all about. It was about one of the greatest figures of our time, in all meanings of the name. I knew he shared the same home town as me, I knew he was a great boxer, and I knew some of his most famous lines, but thats all I knew. That I have found is a shame.

The show is dubbed Ali Rap because that is how he talked. He was so quick with his words, full of ryhme and wit. He was just as good at speaking as he was at boxing, maybe even better. The show features his entire life and career, full of his words, spoken both by himself and famous personalities. It gave great insight to his life. Even better it taught me so much about a man that I have heard about all my life, but knew little about.

I'd rather not give all my thoughts on it, but I needed to give some so you would be moved to watch. Now, I want to go to the museum over the break. I've been to all the other museums dedicated to the rich history of Louisville, so its about time I made it there. So whoever wishes to join me, you are more than welcome.

Movies

It's been a while since I have paid much attention to writing any posts. College doesn't give me much time to things of these sorts, but after being here for a semester, things have reached a point where I can return to the Blogger life. One thing I have spent a lot of my time doing at college though is watching many many movies. I love movies, but usually find reasons not to watch them. Also, seeing the new craze that is sweeping across Greg's blog I have decided to welcome everyone back with a rip-off of my own.

I want to know your Top 10 movies. Movies you watched and were immediatly taken in by, and those ones that you always go back to and watch over and over again. Leave them in the comment box.

Can You Hear Me Now?

I have learned one thing, well make that tons of things, since I have gone away to college, but one in particular: time sure can go fast. It seems here in Bloomington that everything is in constant fast forward, and time is measured in weeks and weekends, instead of seconds, minutes, hours, and days. It is now surprise then that this past weekend went even faster than the rest. It was a weekend to compare with all weekends, but now it has come and gone, much too quickly.

The countdown from the time I got my tickets to the Ben Folds concert to the day of started at a staggering 71 days. Thats a week over 2 months, what seems like an eternity before it occurs, but now looking back it was a blur. My brother came in for the concert last Thursday night. Ben Fold put on a spectacular show, filled with old and new songs, quirky Ben Fold stuff and the classic good sound of his music. Greg and I, plus Rick, enjoyed the show immensely and it was well worth the $25 price tag. Check another one off the list. There aren't many more I need to see, but plenty I would like to, or of course see again.

Greg left the next day, but it would not be long until more of the family stopped in. The next morning Mom and Dad dropped in for a fun filled parent weekend. It statred out with the official tour of the campus guided by yours truly. I led them around and let them see where I spent all my time, then led them out the Sample Gates and to downtown to grab some grub. We attended the football, whihc was cold and boring, but there was some entertainment near the end. After the student section had cleared, a student came runing through and tripped an fell while talking on his cell phone. An parent standing by him, as he placed his cell phone back to his face to talk, said "Can you hear me now?". Now, someone jsut needs to send that in for the next commercial. Me and Dad, and eventually Mom laughed about that all weekend. It was classic.

The weekend closed out with some food, shopping, and bowling. It was a great time. Parents are great.

So as I sit here on this very dreary, cold Wednesday, I look forward to this weekend and going home next weekend. Purdue is going to be an all out blast and I can hardly wait to see all those people. Then Thanksgiving will be a great time to relax and see the family. Man, this college stuff goes fast.

Sitting on the Fence Between Past and Future Tense

I've reached it. It being the point at which I have officially stopped being an adolescent, and am now an adult in our American society. Across the globe, coming of age ceremonies occur on a yearly basis to mark that the next group of children have become the youngest adults in the given society. Here in the "civilized" land of the Free, the coming of age ceremony has become less and less dramatic, and more focused on what us Americans truly strive for: success. You may have guessed it already, but I'm heading off to college. I'm going out on my own, and attempting to survive. I'll have a room to call a place of my own, I'll wake up on my own accord, stay out as long as I wish and do practically whatever I choose and face the consequences and rewards they will bring. It's a big step, and that is why it marks my coming of age. Everything my mother, father, siblings, teachers, and peers have taught me over the last 18 years will be put to the test, and hopefully it will all work out for the best.

Going to college, of course, has its changes that are not as fortunate, or atleast hard to cope with for atleast a bit. First off, I will be living on my own. Its a good and bad thing. Second, I will for the first time call a different city, state, and most importantly living space my home. Ever since my birth I have been a citizen of Louisville, KY with my residence at 6904 Roseborough Court. That is not so anymore. Say hello to Eigenmann Hall, Room 1153, Bloomington, Indiana. That's where I will call the majority of the coming year home. With that said, I will miss my home. I will miss the big, comfortable bed found in the green room at the far end of the upstairs hallway. I will miss the piping hot, delicious homecooked meals my mother so regularly placed on the kitchen table for me. I will miss the large backyard, where my lovely pool will sit idle. Most of all, I will miss the familiarty of my only home, its comfortable spots that I have spent my youth enjoying.

Moving outward in the scope of things, I will miss the city I have called home for all 18 years of my life. What a city it is. Its big, but its so small. It's everything you could ever hope for in a city. It has been a great place to grow up, and has provided me with countless opportunities to expand my mind, learn about myself and the world, and just have countless amounts of good time. There are too many things about this city that I will miss but I will tell you there is a lot. I will miss the local hangout hotspots: Stonybrook for our years as freshman and sophomores, Heine Bros. and the Loop it can be found on, as well as the rest of Bardstown Road that strecthes beyond. Who will ever forget the countless days spent playing on the grass of Seneca Park? I will miss my daily driving routes, the long haul to Whitney's way out in God's Country. I will miss the nights spend on the banks of the Ohio on the Great Lawn. It will all be here when I come back, but its those daily things I have come to love over the past couple years that I will miss.

I will miss alot of things when I move away to college. But change comes, and change is needed. Some thing will always be there, and somethings will never be there again. In the end, it has all been a part of my first 18 years in some way and has changed me somehow. Now, I wait in eager anticipation of how the next couple years will change me.

DON'T Get Your Money Back at the Door

I've only been talking about it for ever, and even more since I found out they would be going on tour. Seeing the Counting Crows live in concert has been at the top of my list of things to do for as long as I can remember. Well, I can check it off the list now, and wait to put the next checkmark by it sometime in the future cause you can be certain I will be seeing them again.

The concert was everything I hope it would be plus so much more. On July 12, Kiernan, Andy, Justin, and I went to Riverbend in Cincinati to see them and the Goo Goo Dolls in concert. The drive up was the usual chatting about everyone who was not with us on the trip, recent occurances, and some usually good gossip. Once in the Cincinatti area we stopped for food at Frisch's. A delicious meal to hold us over for the concert.

Our seats were very good, about 30 rows back with a clear view of the stage. The first band, Augustana, was a nice opening act, but it was even better that Adam Durtiz himself came out to introduce the band. The crowd began to grow as Augustana performed in anticpatio of the co-headlining Goo Goo Dolls.

The Goo Goo Dolls performance was fairly good, but it definently could have been better. It was a high energy show that entertained that casual fans such as myself. They played all their classics including Iris, Black Balloon, Slide, Broadway, and Name. Those were all very good, but their new songs and all songs sung by the bassist left something to be desired. Note: The Bassist's voice sounds like he constantly has a huge loogie to hock up. Not sweet sounding at all.

After the Goo Goo Dolls performed, the moment I had been waiting for all summer had arrived. Adam Duritz and the Counting Crows took the stage. The set began with an awesome performance of Anna Begins, which has grown on me lately. An AMAZING performance of Mrs. Potter's Lullaby with story included, and a heartfelt and purely magical peformance of Round Here were included. Omaha, Big Yellow Taxi, Time and Time Again, Black and Blue, and Four White Stallions finished out the set..that is until Adam moved to the piano for an extended version of LONG DECEMBER! It was a truly amazing moment that I love very second of. To cap off the night, the hour and fifteen minute set was encored with Hangin' Around with all the members of Augustana and Goo Goo Dolls included.

It was an awesome night.

High School No Longer Lingers

Today, I can officially say the last strings attaching me to my high school days have evaporated. As I opened the trusty old mailbox today I was surprised to find my AP scores had arrived. And I'm proud to say I beat those damn AP tests. Also, my belief that studying doesnt really help stood true again. I scored 4's on Modern Euro, English, and Gov, while getting a 3 on Calc after studying for 2 weeks.

Oh well, farewell highshool. I'm done with you.

O 69....BINGO!

Every age brings new exciting adventures for one to test the waters. Sixteen brings the responsibilites of driving and jobs, and seventeen signals the last year of high school for many. Then there is the all important age of 18 that brings voting, signing up for the draft, and most importantly the ability to waste my money on the belief that it will bring me more money. And we all know this as gambling.

Most eighteen year olds gamble first by buying that lottery ticket or scratch-off. Here in Louisville a good portion of the rest make a trip to Churchill Downs to bet on the ponies. For me, and many of my friends, the first taste of gambling involved a smoke filled room of old ladies and balls with a number and letter on them. Yes, you guessed correctly, last night my friends and I played the thrill inducing game of BINGO.

I'm sorry to say that none of us came out as winners, but did we ever get into something we had no clue about. I'm pretty sure the lady on the microphone was talking in a foreign languauge and who knew the "lollipop" was a way to win in BINGO? But there were helpful ladies in front of us, and being the newcomers gets you alot of fans. For three hours last night, the balls were all I cared about and they did not fall my way. But now, I can say I gambled legally for the first time and who wouldn't want a nice dabber as a keepsake? By the way, its in my car so I'm prepared the next time we go hit up the local BINGO hall.