Knight Life: The Tales of a Disciple of the Knight

Yes ladies and gentlemen, in what I believe shall be my last post for today, I shall discuss my last 2 Sundays at church. Both have been at Grandview Assembly of God Church.
Last Sunday was so-so. My Sunday School was great; we are talking about why we even should come to church, and what we can do to make the young adult program here better. Our Sunday School teacher is a great guy who really studies the Word. He is definitely touched by God. The message, in all honestly, was terrible. A lot of time was taken up by the announcement that one of the ladies who helps run the kids ministry had finally got her doctorate. She is in her 60s I believe. That took a while, cause she rambled. Then, the guy who gave her the diploma, the district superintendent, gave the message. It was honestly terrible. It was a generic message telling us to get saved, and then to "be filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the outward manifestation of speaking in other languages." Bleh. One of the doctrines I really have a problem with. One of these days I will give my whole view on it. The only cool thing was that the speaker referenced a verse that was also referenced in Sunday School. Which was cool for God and the S.S. teacher, and not so much for the speaker.
This Sunday was along the same lines. S.S. was great. The service had a bit acknowledging all the people graduating high school, college, trade school, etc. Then the head pastor spoke. Side note: there are two pastors at this church; the head pastor, who has been around a while, and the assistant/music pastor, who is new, and also in charge of the young adults ministry. The head pastor is a so-so speaker who gives a mix of generic and fire-and-brimstone messages. He is not that good. The assistant pastor is an excellent speaker who has unique, engaging messages. Obviously, I like the assistant pastor better for speaking. Sadly, we are lucky if he speaks every other Sunday. Moving on. So, the head pastor spoke about...something. He hopped through several verses, going from 2 Chronicles, to Revelation, to Judges, and one or two other books. Yeah. If you are scratching your head, don't worry; when I wasn't fighting to stay awake, so was I. I think he was speaking on staying true to the Christian faith. But I can't be totally sure.
Some of you may wonder why I even go. Well, there are several reasons. First, many of my friends, many of them from school, go there. I just know more people here than at the Olathe church my parents usually attend. Second, I love the young adult program. Wednesday nights are almost always incredible. And like I said, the YA pastor is great. Third, Sunday School, as I said before, is great. Finally, much as I may disagree with some of the doctrine, I like the more energetic atmosphere and more dynamic worship that this place offers. It may not be perfect, but it is still a great church.

And just as a footnote, expect me to make my posts about once a week. I usually won't have time until the weekend.

Here we have a report of my current and future reading plans.
At the moment, I am reading Debt of Honor by Tom Clancy. After I finish it, I will go on to Executive Orders, Rainbow Six, and The Bear and the Dragon, all by the same author, in that respective order. I have read them all before, but enjoyed them enough that I wish to read them again. Clancy is one of my personal favorite authors.
After those books, I have a few miscellaneous readings.
Then, I plan to finish reading through my Lord of the Rings books. I am currently at the halfway point.
Then, I shall read through my entire Chronicles of Narnia collection that I got.
After that, who knows what I shall read? Ah, the joys of summer reading...

Yeah, I found a title theme for today. So sue me. You'll just get debt...
Yeah. So.
Monday night was fun. I got off work, hopped over to my nearby church, and hopped into my friend's car. We went to his downtown KC apartment, thinking we were gonna throw a party for another of my friends. Come to find out, he was off working and studying for finals. (Inicidentally, this same friend, Chase, has managed to work himself to junior status with some summer classes, some classes in high school, and over 20 hours the last two semesters. He plans to get his master's degree by the time myself and my other friend Tim graduate with bachelor's degrees. Oy ve.) So, those of us who had gathered decided to party anyway. We ordered some pizza and grabbed a couple of movies and some ice cream. We had a fair amount of fun.
Tuesday night I went to the graduation for my old school. All of 3 seniors. It was cool to see all the people I knew from school. But I somehow felt a lot older than all of them.
Wednesday, I went to church in the evening, and then afterwards we all went to Wendy's and finally had that party. Several of us then went to see Shrek 2. It was okay. Not an incredible movie, but some decent laughs. A whole heck of a lot of innuendo.
Thursday was uneventful.
Friday was about the same.
Ditto with Saturday.
Today will probably be the same. The day isn't over, so I can't be sure.
On to the books...

Indeed. Yes folks, I am still alive.
So. On Monday I started work at the library. I worked from 8-5. I had the same hours on Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday, I worked from 8-12 at my old school. Thursday was 11-3 at the school. And of course, Saturday was 8-12 at the library.
For those of you to whom I have not yet described my job at the library, here it is. As a page, my primary job is to get books on the shelves of the library. I take the books that have been checked in, and get them back where they belong. I also keep the materials on the shelves relatively straight, and do a few other odd jobs around. Let me tell you, a whole day of this can get quite long. Three whole days seems really long. Oh well. I am probably just adjusting from having done nothing for a week.
At the school, I am purging the files. This refers to the student files. I am removing all but the bare minimum of academic records for students. Everything else gets shredded. Which is a bit amusing to do. It at least throws a bit of variety in my week. If only there was a legal way to burn all of that paper. It would be a big fire...
I think my biggest problem related to work is that this week was an enormous switch. I went from doing nothing and sleeping till noonish, to working every day, at least 4 hours a day, and usually getting up around 7. I will probably adjust in a couple of weeks.
Hey, at least the pay is good...

Wednesday night at my young adult church service, the YA pastor read us a print-off of a website. Supposedly it is a church up in Iowa. I personally believe this to be a parody. I pray it is a parody. This site is the ultimate example of legalism. Definitely something to steer clear of...

*sounds of celebration*
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this will be my first post reviewing a book. I doubt it shall be the last.
The book was The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy. He has always been one of my personal favorite authors, with his attention to details and realism, while still being able to tell a good story. I have always enjoyed his level of character development. This book was no different.
(Warning: the rest of this post contains a synopsis of the plot. If you really want to read this book, and want the plot to surprise you, do not read the rest of this.)
(Second Warning: this is going to be a long post.)
The setting is essentially current times. Most of the major events that have occurred in our world have occurred now in the book world. There are still adjustments for the earlier books occurrences, of course. He blends these fairly seamlessly. Clancy has always been able to do this with his books. There are three main characters: Brian and
Dominic Caruso, fraternal twins that are cousins of John Patrick Ryan,Jr., the son of John Patrick (Jack) Ryan, the main character of almost all the previous books. Brian is a Marine recently back from Afghanistan. Dominic is an FBI Agent, who just took out a criminal. The criminal had kidnapped a young girl, probably did...things...to her, and then killed her. Dominic ended up killing him, with absolutely no regret. He had the chance, to quote one of the other characters,"...to be the law. God's Own Avenging Sword. And you know, it felt good." This is definitely an idea I can wrap my head around...
Moving on. The actions of the twins brings them to the attention of a group called "the Campus." This is a small government group that is only somewhat connected to the government. It was formed under the Presidency of Jack Ryan,Sr. It has no real connections to the government. There is not really any oversight or restrictions. It is extremely small, and has very few real resources. They gain access to the data obtained by NSA and CIA, and then analyze it themselves. They funded themselves. They had only one real purpose: to kill terrorists who are threatening the U.S.A. They do not take out political targets. They target those who fund, organize, and recruit terrorists. They do this extremely efficiently, with no real traces. Instead of a gun or some other such "traditional" method, they go high-tech. They have pens that contain a needle that delivers a highly lethal toxin that leaves no traces in the body, and makes the death look like a heart attack. The delivery of this to the target is up to the twins.
Jack,Jr., is in the data analysis area. He is essentially doing what his father did so many years ago in the CIA. He also displays his father's talent for analyzing data. He helps the Campus select several of their targets, even though at first he does not realize this.
The twins go through the necessary training for their operations. Then, at a training exercise in a mall, they have an unexpected encounter. A group of terrorists come into the mall and just start shooting up the place. They have cheap automatic weapons, and end up killing and injuring many. The twins manage to stop them, and the incident cements their resolve.
The rest of the book consists of the twins making hits, describing where they are and who they are killing. They only take targets they are sure are terrorists. Jack,Jr., actually joins them when they go after the last target. After a freak incident, Jack ends up taking out the target. The book ends with Jack heading back home.
(Sorry about the length of the post folks. I have a tendency to talk, or in this case, type.)
On to my thoughts of the book.
First reaction: I loved it. I have always enjoyed Clancy's work, and this is no exception. This book is well written, and well researched. One needs patience to get through it, but that is the mark of a great book. It has more than just cool explosions and such. There are details, plot, and characters. The concept he presents (the Campus) is honestly quite appealing to me. It certainly would get more done than the enormous bureaucracy that the regular government is made up of. And there is just a certain appeal to the idea of being "God's Own Avenging Sword."
Longer thoughts: This idea, while it has merit, is a bit shaky. I can already here the heart attacks the ACLU and Democrats would have if this was actually done. In fact, some of my comrades at school may not like the idea. Which is fine. People can have different opinions on this kind of thing. That's the beauty of America. On that note, I still stand by my opinion that this is not a bad idea. It would get much more done than what is currently going on. Not all terrorists are in the wild areas of the earth, or in a position of political power. Sometimes, to actually stop these people, more...severe...measures ought to be taken. I am not advocation interrogating every person of Middle Eastern descent. I definitely do no advocate the Patriot Act, or at least parts of it. What I do advocate is a team that takes out confirmed terrorists. There would have to be a lot of information confrimed before a hit was made. Nonetheless, the idea could work. So long as something like the Campus operated completely independent, and was not just the personal hit squad of the government, but a self-contained part of the government, it could work. I highly doubt I would lose much sleep over the idea of confirmed terrorists being...removed from the equation.
That is my 55 cents. Come back again when I review another book (who knows when that will be.) In fact, come back before that. Later, folks.

Greetings, one and all. If any of you were worried, be so no longer. I am at home, safe, sound, and sedentary.
I left Friday, around 3 in the afternoon. My father and I went as far as McAlester,OK, that evening. We grabbed a hotel room, and a bite to eat. There was a little restaurant there that advertised "home-style cooking." It lived up to that. I could feel my arteries clogging just reading the menu. I had a wonderful piece of fried chicken, and it was just overall greatness. We awoke the next day (Saturday), grabbed a quick bite to eat, and off we went. We arrived home at approximately 2PM. We unloaded my junk, rested a bit, and then started doing stuff around the house. We cleaned up a lot of leaves in the backyard. I felt so much at home. Not home 24 hours, and I was already doing menial tasks...Ah well. That evening, I went with some of my friends to a performance of Guys and Dolls at the old high school of one of my friends. His sister was the choreographer. It was a decent performance. An interesting play. We then went to his house and lounged around, until I convinced one of them to drop me at home (since I had hitched a ride in the first place).
The next day was of course Mother's Day. It went well. I always appreciate my mother, not just on one day out of the year.
Then came today. This was a great day. I lounged around, and did, well, nothing really. Watched some TV, and surfed the net a bit. In other words, I did as little as possible. This is my plan for the next week or so. Do very little, and hang out with friends. Next week I start working...What happened to the days when summer had nothing but laziness in it? Sometimes I long to be a young child again...
Well, before I get too reflective, I will go on to other things.
*goes off to do...stuff*

Well folks, the day has almost arrived. In fact, in less than an hour, it will technically be Friday. Friday is the day I finish packing, finish cleaning, and leave for home. Obviously, I won't be on for a couple of days. After that, IM will be sketchy if there at all. Once I figure out whether or not I can get my computer hooked up to cable internet, I will know more. I will definitely be able to post. And email is still open. So, if you wanna keep in touch, those are guarantees for doing so. IM will be harder...
I will probably be working about a week after I get back. More on that later. Until then....
L'chayim to all!!!

I just realized: since I am not taking my accounting final, my last test was yesterday. Which means that I am not longer a freshman, no matter how you look at it. I have finished my first year of college. Check back in a week or two when I get really excited about it.
Yay.

Doh!
I have today displayed an enormous lack of intelligence. I got the time for my last final wrong.
Thankfully, I did not need to take this particular test. It was for Accounting Principles 2; like almost all of the business classes, the final is not necessarily required. My teacher drops the lowest of 4 (including the final) test grades. If you don't take the final, the score is 0, and thus dropped. I had a solid B in this course, and was hoping to let this test raise my grade a few points. Somehow, I got it in my head that it was scheduled for a few hours later than it actually was. So, I lazily awoke at 9, thinking I had over 3 hours before my final, when there was a mere 45 minutes. I did not even realize my grand mistake until 15 minutes after the test started. At that point, I had not really studied (once again, thinking I had a couple of hours to do so). Though this test is multiple choice, I still had little chance to improve my grade at that point. Thus, I resign myself to a B, and hope that at least one more class yields an A for me.
And once again: "DOH!"

Clearly, I need one of these.
After all:"Overall Length: 41.00 inches ". Heh. Definitely need one...

So. Now we come to it. This is the beginning of finals week. Really, this is my first real week of finals at college; last semester I had one or two actual tests during finals week. I am hoping to get through with good enough grades to keep my scholarship. I then hope to be able to get more over the summer, but that's another story...
I am not sure what day I will be leaving. Right now, I think it will be Friday. It depends on whether my dad gets jury duty or not. If he does, he gets here on Friday, and that's when I do all the major packing and leave. If he doesn't get jury duty, he comes down by Thursday and we spend the night in a hotel. We then spend all of Firday driving. But my fellow Saturday gamers should not worry too much. I should be able to swing something in regards to time for a session Thursday.
All at once, I can hardly wait to go home, and yet I never want to leave this place and all the people here I know. I hope all have a good summer. (I'll make an "official" farewell post later.)
On to the week...

Monday: CS2: 12:45PM; Comp 2: 6:00PM
Tuesday: Fatness: 12:45
Wednesday: Discrete Math: 12:45

Hm...do we see a theme for the finals times? All in all, not too bad of a spread. I pray for all to have good tests this week. Off we go people...

Wow. It has finally arrived. I sit here, typing, in the wee early hours of the first day of the last week of my freshman year at college. The title is how this year has felt. Sometimes, it has felt like forever. Sometimes, it has felt like a day...
(This is my promised sappy post. Be warned...)
So much has happened. I have joined a great floor on campus. I have also made the acquaintance of a very unique group of individuals. They have become some of the best friends I have ever had. I even made a friend or two who aren't in that little group. Which is good I suppose. Don't want to exclude all other human contact. I may still be getting to know all these great people, and they may be getting to know me still, but I still count them among my real friends.
I came here in the fall, shy and a bit afraid of the future. Well, I suppose the former has changed at least...
I found myself on what I consider the best floor, and what others can't deny as one of the best floors, on campus.
I can honestly say, that I have no regrets when it comes to where live or who I am friends with. This year hasn't been perfect, but then, life isn't perfect.
I don't think I could write all that has happened in this year. But I will discuss some things.
I have watched many movies, some of which have sadly burned into my brain too well, and some I would love to see again. I have read a fair amount. I have participated in many informal play readings of works of varied authors, including Shakespeare. I have done so much, seen so much. I have started a Saturday afternoon hobby that I would have cringed at but a couple of years ago. (I will address the changes in my views in another post.) I have had so much fun this year. It has been mixed with boredom and stress. So much has happened...
It's scary to think it will be like this. Before I know it, I will be in the real world.
One of the final highlights of my year was the fact that I became a senator for my floor. I was sworn in Friday morning in chapel. Part of me can't wait for next year. Another part is reluctant to take on such duties...But I felt it had to be done. It felt like God was leading me down this path. I just have to hope He can continue to do so...
Well, I plan to sleep enough to remain conscious without too much effort tomorrow. I shall shortly retire to bed.
Just a note, it was somewhere around 1 AM when I got to sleep last night. Sorry to disappoint any who thought I would crash earlier...