a birthday of epic proportions.

psyched for the big day.

showing off his new teeth/t-shirt ("not lucky, just cute")

being whisked away for the first gift...

a dump truck full of cheerios...what to do...

nice work buddy.

fortune cookie + clover ears (<-- katie's request)

birthday cake!

of course.

opening presents...

beth-el. house of God.

playing with mom & dad's gift.

wipe out.

what a phenomenal birthday. for a phenomenal kid.

cannonball!

now that i've officially told my family what i'm doing this summer, i figure it's appropriate to share with my blog-readers.

i'm going to give away the end of this blog at the beginning, in case you're in a hurry or don't care (i'm usually in that boat..). i have not chosen door 1,2, or 3. (A TWIST! - i should be in television).

continuing with the door analogy, i felt that there were specific verbs and motions assigned with each door that were preventing me from going through the right way.

door 1 (LBBC): i felt like i was being pushed through the door. inside the door was definitely comfortable and fun. [which of course is desirable]. but it just never felt right, and i couldn't bring myself to fill out the application. i need to grow. [i'm not at all saying LBBC is a growth vacuum, there is no doubt i had enough growth last summer to stretch a couple summers wide].

door 2 (St. Paul): this door was opened a crack, but i never wanted to step in. i've spent too many summers working jobs that i hate. at this point i need to do something that will help me out with my future life. and i doubt data entry is gonna get me there.

door 3 (Vegas): alas this door. i've been knocking on every door, window, and vent of the place for weeks now and have barely had a peek. i was almost to the point of knocking it down. it just didn't work out. and as much as i tried to deny it, i'm not ready for this. i need more ministry experience fo sho.

so what are my 3 problems?
1. need to grow
2. something that will push me in my career direction
3. a place to gain experience

[which looking at it now seems like 3 different ways of saying the same thing.]

last tuesday (the 17th?) a door presented itself that answered all 3 questions. it happened so fast and i never thought that i'd be heading this direction a month ago. nextstepministries is a missions organization (with 4 locations in the U.S.) catered to non-Christian workers. that being said, the mission is two-fold: do essential construction projects on the mission site & preach the apologetic gospel to those who come to work.


side-note/interlude/explanation:
my secret childhood dream, [that i've definitely tossed aside for the past few years], is to go into public speaking. i feel like i have the necessary skillz to do an okay job at it, but how the hell am i supposed to network that one? [for starters, i probably shouldn't say hell..]. so while i had long since conceded my deepest aspirations to go for a more typical youth ministry career, i got slapped in the face with my own dream. God hooked me up.


6 nights a week i will be preaching the apologetic gospel (my fav) and leading music worship in......... ........... ..... hancock county, mississippi. it is here that junior high, senior high, and college students will come in and out all summer for 6 day mission trips. hancock county is what FEMA designated as ground zero of hurricane katrina - the hardest hit spot of the hurricane. the mission? rebuilding houses and buildings to move towards a rebuilt city. you can read more on their website :)

once i'm finished with the summer, i will be able to put the title 'worship director' on my resume and finally be able to hop on some internships that require speaking experience. WOW. my life is moving a bit fast, but it's oh so good.

i leave june 3rd, and i'll be back a week before school starts. WOW. that's all i can really say.

i'm so excited. and scared.

so there it is. questions? concerns? this would probably be a lot easier to explain in person. give me a call.

i will miss camp dearly. i don't even like to think about it.
i'll be sure to hit up the twins games in september, and of course the inevitable world series in october.
vegas will still be there next summer. or the next. i hope.

as for you, letters will be exchanged. i'll vid blog the whole experience. maybe escape for a phone call once in awhile. we'll make this friendship thing happen.

i promise.

attention everybody. i have a very important announcement.

alas it is time. to discuss my summer. it's been a hot topic playing pong in my brain for too long, and i have finally made a decision. and because i'm never going to get to write a novel, i think i'm going to make this TWO-PART (!!) blog a cliff-hanger. because i can. without further ado, here are doors 1, 2, and 3.

door 1: returning to LBBC.

august 9th, 2008. my feet left lake beauty soil. i started a mental countdown until staff training of '09 would start. i didn't think i could wait that long. i was psyched to return for a second summer, probably a third, and maybe even a fourth. this fall i went through somewhat of a recession (not quite depression) after camp was over. i missed the shenanigans, my friends, and the utter chaos of camp. i finally got sick of the constant nostalgia and decided to put the idea of closure into prayer. i prayed that i would be able to move on and focus on school. and God came through big time. i woke up one day in november and was finally over it. finally. but a little more over it than i thought i would be. for once it wasn't set in stone that i would return. over the next few months i started to pursue other summer options and put LBBC out of mind. until JD got ahold of me. he made me promise to put it back on my plate and pray about it. so i did. and the idea started to get a lot more appealing...

door 2: staying in st. paul, working @ bethel & interning at my church for the summer.

this prospect is ironically the most lucrative of the three. by FAR. i'd be working 40 hour weeks at $10/hour. not too shabby. and i'd be living for dirt cheap at bethel. of course my parents are jazzed about this idea. and a summer in the cities would be pretty awesome. shows at night..just being on the scene would be sweet. and on top of that, i could continue to intern at the church i've been at since september. and with the news that the youth pastor would be having a baby in august, sticking around would be much to my advantage considering the quite possible takeover of the youth group this fall.

door 3: LAS VEGAS.

ahh yes, the dazzling door. after reading the gutter (go read it NOW) i've been super interested in this ministry. it's basically a ministry sends a loving message to the porn industry. not so much "hey we love porn!" but more "hey, we love Jesus, Jesus loves you, and we love you too". anyhow, this ministry (xxxchurch) has decided to bring it to the homefront: the vegas strip. in june they are opening up a church on the strip that caters to people from all walks of life. talk about a sick job for a 19-year-old. as an intern, i'd be doing everything from playing piano in the new church to traveling to porn conventions to pass out bibles and high five porn stars. unfortunately, this position pays pennies, but with fundraising and support and such, i just might be able to make this work. now if i could just talk the father into letting me go...

so. these are the three options. i've lost hours of sleep over them. i've spent hours on applications for all of them. and i have finally made a decision.

i'll let you know in a few days.

feel free to let me know which door you want me to choose. maybe i'll change my mind. HA.

the oscarz.

so i watched part of the oscars last night. before i fell asleep like a pathetic loser.

but i just wanted to note, that i give a triple thumbs up to the winners of the big awards.

slumdog millionaire = phenomenal. [or millonare as the announcer would pronounce it].

milk = perhaps even more phenomenal than the above, but sean penn deserved the oscar fo sho.

dark knight = heath ledger, may he rest in peace. i'm sure his rotting corpse is psyched about his new wall decoration. okay, that was a bit harsh. he did do a great job as the joker.

that's it. sorry i haven't been blogging much lately - life is busy. you know how it is.

due to the opening of our new student center after spring break, i'm actually more excited for spring break to be over than i am for it to happen. the BC is gonna be party central i decided. new coffee shop, cafe, dining center, bookstore, underground concert hall, etc. can't wait.

ben hanowski did indeed break the record. in case you were wondering. i heard it was pretty phenomenal.

BYE.

hourly internet consumption.

my sister and i were discussing time management the other day and we were working through her 'tv addiction'. i don't watch much tv, and she proceeded to ask me how i spend my free time. i thought about it for awhile, sure i nap and do my homework, occasionally hang out with friends & roommates, but there's more free time during the day than that. and then it hit me. the internet. and not just facebook. there are SO MANY ways the worldwide web can suck you in, for hours at a time.

restated: facebook is addicting. we all know this. ever since the 'wall-to-wall' feature has been available, stalking has been inevitable. everybody knows it.

just last night, i found this website entitled fmylife.com. i was on it for 2 1/2 hours before i finally had to forcefully shut my computer and go to bed. i warn you, do not go there unless you have a few hours to kill.

some of my blogs are off the top of my head, which is always a delight for me. but some of them take several revisions, which can also be time-consuming. as can "blog research". <--putting it that way makes it sound less lame.

my friend a-town gave up "googling" for her addiction and recovery class. my first reaction was a puzzling look, but after her explanation, it was pretty clear. "sometimes i'll sit on google for hours at a time, searching various diseases and poisons. and celebrities." i do use google as a help every so often, but it does not fall in my hourly consumption category. but maybe it does for you.

ben hanowski, a senior hockey player from my high school, is 8 points away from breaking the all-time minnesota point-scoring record in a high school career. collectively the flyer hockey team is undefeated (23-0), and is rated 2nd in state. next to our fav, st. thomas academy. not only have the boys been winning every game, they've been demolishing every single opponent. breaking into double digits is not uncommon for these goal-scoring hounds. beings that i work on tuesday and thursday nights and cannot attend any games, i spend a fair amount of time pouring over results and news articles. not to mention the blog following ben's progress, point by point. and don't forget that the all-star goalie (9 shutouts this season) is a member of the LF vespers team and also Bethel-bound. booya.

another thing that i spend way too much time doing is youtubing. last year that's about all i did. it's true, look at my GPA. it's an epidemic. [* "after i discovered youtube, i didn't work for 5 days."] i could probably write an epic blog about my fav youtube videos, and let's face it, i probably will. this morning i was looking for the disturbia music video created by that young girl that uses special effects such as: turning the light switch on and off, jumping up and down, and sweet props. unfortunately i could not find it, but i stumbled across my new obsession: boyce avenue. these guys (mainly alejandro) have their own original music, but what's more fascinating are their acoustic covers of popular songs. with the likes of disturbia (rihanna), viva la vida (coldplay), and lovestoned (justin timberlake), these covers are diverse and awesome.

* kudos if you can cite the quote.

those are my current world wide web obsessions, which mind you are completely different from last weeks.

PEACE.

[the reason that i haven't been updating my current 'book' & 'cd' is because A) i'm still reading the same book as before, and B) the fray will never stop being awesome.]

untitled.

supa skillz.

i was at the falls cinema with my padre last night and accidentally found myself judging the person cleaning the popcorn machine. she was CLEARLY using the wrong scrub brush, and her water was too dirty.

waaaaaaait. double take. did i seriously just do that?

and i got to thinking, i have acquired some ridiculous skills and knowledge at the four prominent jobs that i have had. let's be real, i've never really made much money, but i've had some SWEET jobs. so i thought i'd take an inventory of the skills/facts that i'm now awesome at just because i've learned them at work. i'll list them by each occupation.

the falls cinema (sept. 2004 - august 2007)
- what a great job. laura hook'd me up with the job when i was a freshman in high school (FIVE years ago) and it was the sweetest job ever. free popcorn, posters, and movies. BOOYA. here's what i learned:

• how to deep clean a popcorn machine - obviously.
• how to make the BEST popcorn ever, i'm a legend - ask anyone.
• how to use a leaf blower.
• how to replace pop syrup, without getting it all over my clothes <-- that one took awhile.
• that one must wear gloves when changing the metal letters on the marquee in below freezing temperatures.
• all movie posters are double-sided, who knew?
• butter stains clothing.
  
• there are several great make-out spots hidden throughout the cinema (i think that goes without saying)

superamerica - (june 2007-august 2007)
this was the worst job ever. 8 hour shifts of hell 4 days a week. i cringe even thinking about it. lest it was the only job that i made real money at. catch 22.

• i can now list every kind of marlboro cigarette - jealous?
• tourney is the cheapest brand of cigarette you can buy in minnesota, at $3.66
• slushies have the capacity to explode (ironically learned that twice in the same day, from a 4-year old child and my father).
• don't buy hot dogs @ a gas station (no explanation necessary)
• some people will spend entire paychecks on scratchies.
• i hate my life.

STARS telecounselor - (february 2008-present)
- i get to call prospective students and MAKE them come to bethel. or at the very least, steer them clear of northwestern.

• you can hear a smile over the phone. you can also hear a frown.
• telecounseling is a perfect way to meet your soulmate according to a certain gentleman that tried to hit on me last thursday. i'm not gonna lie, i was pretty proud.
• harsha - i need not say much more.

lake beauty bible camp - (may 2008-august 2008)
- ahh, what a great job. payed in monopoly money but who cares - i got to hang out with kids and great friends 24/7.

• when playing night games, it is necessary to 'hide your flesh' when crawling through the woods to avoid the shine of flashlights. <-- a life skill, really.
• i learned what chiggers are, that they itch, and that the application of soap will reduce itching.
• not to fight campers when they are trying to push you through a door headfirst.
• adhd meds are a gift from God.
• it's probably not a good idea to remove your pants in the middle of the woods when there are bears around.
• don't go commando to 'come as you are day'.
• pranks are: against the rules, off-limits, and no fun at all. [wink].
• blow pops can save ANY situation.
• i NOW know how to clean up puke. and it has nothing to do with the mop from the lodge kitchen.
  

my career better be awesome if it's gonna live up to my previous sweet life.

that's it.

i'm going to cardio funk with sarah tonight. i'm out of shape and let's face it, i'm gonna look like an idiot doing funk moves.

PEACE.

[obviously]