What a week so far! It has been nice because it hasn't felt so busy. Plus, we've had quite a bit of snow and my friends and I have taken advantage of it by making a snowman, sledding and snowboarding. It's weird because sometimes growing up people try to act so cool and grown up and then when you get to college something happens that makes you wanna be a little kid again.
Tonight we were out for the second time this week and we spent a couple hours snowboarding down a hill by Sauder Visual Arts Center. It's not a huge hill, but big enough that I'm unable to stay on a snowboard. We decided part of my problem is that I have such big feet (size 14 shoes) and so my heels touch the ground instead of staying on the board. So we got the bright idea that I should stand on the plastic sled and use that as a sort of snowboard. And now I'm in pain. I got going pretty fast on that thing and then landed right on my shoulder. The other guys said it was one of the coolest wipe outs they had seen so far that night though, so that was some consolation at least. But I was definitely on the ground for a little while, and my first thought was "I wander if I broke something." It's gonna be sore in the morning.
I just realized that I never talked about Tony Campolo (see my last post where I mention my world getting rocked). Anyway, if you've never had the chance to read anything by him or hear him speak, I definitely recommend you check him out. He is an incredible speaker who really challenges you.
But hearing him speak last week really shook me up. He was brought in for our Spring Spiritual Life Week, so that was kind of the point I suppose. He talked a lot about how we are so wrapped up in our earthly comforts and things that we don't even care about things like kids dying of starvation or the AIDS epidemic. It hit me because lately I've been so excited about the job search and finding a good paying job so that I can pay off my loans and save up money that I have been only focused on myself. God definitely showed me through Tony's message and also some Bible verses later that night that I'm gonna be ok, but that I need to refocus on the types of things that I should be focused on. This doesn't mean that I'm going to be a missionary in some third world country (who knows though), but what it does mean is that my options need to be broadened and I need to seriously considering what it is God would have me do with my life.
So yeah, I've been doing a lot of thinking the past week and I'm not sure what I'll be doing next year. Who knows, it might be finding some job and volunteering some time helping out at a homeless shelter or something like that. Or it might mean a year of service in some other area that needs help. I really don't know, but it's been at the forefront of my mind lately, and I don't think it's going to go away.
I feel like I've covered a lot of ground in this post and the different themes might not fit together as well as you would like, so let me sum up the points that I was trying to get across in my stories. First of all, don't be afraid to just go and have fun. Sure, you might be a little sore later, but it's worth it. Secondly, be thinking about the path you want your life to take and be open to changing your focus. God has a way of shaking up plans sometimes, so it helps to keep an open mind and be ready to adjust.
It's late and I'm tired. Good night.
Until next time,
Scott
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Whoa
I apologize for what has proven to be my longest absence yet from blog writing. But alas, I am back, and I have tales for you that include, but are not limited to, staying up until 4 in the morning playing SimTower (actually, that's the whole story, I was just bored and I had the next day off from my internship because of President's Day), a road trip to Indianapolis, and my world being rocked. Let's dive right in, shall we?
There has been a lot going on this past week. It started out last weekend when I tried to make my computer run faster. Since I've had the same computer that I got because I came to college, it's been running really slow lately. I'm not really a tech guy, but I am ok with computers so I was only a little scared I was going to delete everything. I tried to format my hard drive, but it wouldn't really work. All my stuff is still on my computer, and it runs a little faster I suppose, but at least I found Sim Tower, which is a pretty old game that I forgot I had. So that's been my new time waster this past week.
Then on Monday I had to take a standardized test that all Business majors here have to take. Something like a 1000ish colleges around the country take it as well and it just lets the school know how the business professors are doing. It's actually kind of impressive because normally Bluffton seniors average around the top 70th percentile out of the whole country. As an incentive to students to do well and take it seriously, if you score in the top 90th percentile the EBA (Economics, Business, and Accounting) department gives you $100. So, I don't know if I did, and I'm not sure when we'll find out, but I think I did well. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Later that night Mary and I went to Fort Wayne to stay at her house for the night. It is always fun to get off campus and I love spending time with her family, so it was nice to be able to do that. Then we got up early Tuesday morning and went to see her sister and brother in Indianapolis. We got to babysit for her niece and nephew for a few hours and I discovered that I am apparently a pretty sweet babysitter. Aka, the kids loved me. I don't like to toot my own horn, but- beep beep.
We spent some time talking with her brother later that evening about jobs and what we are planning on doing. He has quite a few connections in the area and has been helping us in our search for a job in Indianapolis. Plus we sat down and talked about expenses and what we would have to make to afford living in the area taking into account rent, groceries, loan payments, etc. It was a little depressing to think about, but at least it painted a realistic picture.
Then the next day we went to a job fair in downtown Indy and realized that maybe we would have to keep looking since there were only 12 companies there. It was pretty funny actually because we actually stayed in line to get into the room for longer than we spent in the job fair. Plus, Mary and I brought the average age down by probably 20 years. If we had made the trip just for the job fair and didn't see her family, it would have definitely been a wasted trip. But it was a blast getting to see them all and spend some quality time with them. Oh, and I had an interview with some sales company that wants me back for a second interview, but I'm not sure if I will at this point. I'll keep you posted.
I just realized that I have written quite a bit and I haven't even touched the "my world getting rocked" part yet. I think I'm just going to write about it next time because I did not expect to spend so much time on what I did. So, I'm keep you in suspense for a couple days, but trust me, it'll be worth the wait.
Until next time,
Scott
There has been a lot going on this past week. It started out last weekend when I tried to make my computer run faster. Since I've had the same computer that I got because I came to college, it's been running really slow lately. I'm not really a tech guy, but I am ok with computers so I was only a little scared I was going to delete everything. I tried to format my hard drive, but it wouldn't really work. All my stuff is still on my computer, and it runs a little faster I suppose, but at least I found Sim Tower, which is a pretty old game that I forgot I had. So that's been my new time waster this past week.
Then on Monday I had to take a standardized test that all Business majors here have to take. Something like a 1000ish colleges around the country take it as well and it just lets the school know how the business professors are doing. It's actually kind of impressive because normally Bluffton seniors average around the top 70th percentile out of the whole country. As an incentive to students to do well and take it seriously, if you score in the top 90th percentile the EBA (Economics, Business, and Accounting) department gives you $100. So, I don't know if I did, and I'm not sure when we'll find out, but I think I did well. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Later that night Mary and I went to Fort Wayne to stay at her house for the night. It is always fun to get off campus and I love spending time with her family, so it was nice to be able to do that. Then we got up early Tuesday morning and went to see her sister and brother in Indianapolis. We got to babysit for her niece and nephew for a few hours and I discovered that I am apparently a pretty sweet babysitter. Aka, the kids loved me. I don't like to toot my own horn, but- beep beep.
We spent some time talking with her brother later that evening about jobs and what we are planning on doing. He has quite a few connections in the area and has been helping us in our search for a job in Indianapolis. Plus we sat down and talked about expenses and what we would have to make to afford living in the area taking into account rent, groceries, loan payments, etc. It was a little depressing to think about, but at least it painted a realistic picture.
Then the next day we went to a job fair in downtown Indy and realized that maybe we would have to keep looking since there were only 12 companies there. It was pretty funny actually because we actually stayed in line to get into the room for longer than we spent in the job fair. Plus, Mary and I brought the average age down by probably 20 years. If we had made the trip just for the job fair and didn't see her family, it would have definitely been a wasted trip. But it was a blast getting to see them all and spend some quality time with them. Oh, and I had an interview with some sales company that wants me back for a second interview, but I'm not sure if I will at this point. I'll keep you posted.
I just realized that I have written quite a bit and I haven't even touched the "my world getting rocked" part yet. I think I'm just going to write about it next time because I did not expect to spend so much time on what I did. So, I'm keep you in suspense for a couple days, but trust me, it'll be worth the wait.
Until next time,
Scott
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
So weird to be back here...
Greetings blog readers. After about a week of no posts, I am back. This past week has been a little weird because my schedule has been getting kind of busy and I'm getting over being sick. Plus I have two job interviews in the next week that I'm trying to prepare for which just adds to everything.
I have been pretty excited about the job search up until this point, but lately it's been getting me down. If you're familiar with Ben Folds, you'll know he sums it up pretty well when he sings "It hurts to grow up, but everybody does, it's so weird to be back here, let me tell you what, the years go on and we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it..." I love the thought that I'll be out on my own sometimes, but other times it just seems like too much. Even though I'm excited about my life after college, I also know that I'm gonna miss this place and the late nights talking with my friends, random trips to the Flying J, and even staying up all night writing papers and studying for tests. (Well, at least I'll miss my friends and the Flying J.)
So yeah, I guess you could say I'm embracing my future but fighting it at the same time. There are days that it seems like I will never get everything done and I'm just annoyed with all of the things I have to do- those are the days that I am ready to say goodbye. But then there are days that I have a few hours to relax and spend time with friends and play Rock Band and watch Scrubs unti the wee hours of the morning- those are the days that I know I'll miss. It's like I can't win.
But alas, time stops for no man. And tomorrow morning I actually have my first job interview. It is in Findlay with a financial investment company and I don't really know what to expect. I have been practicing (and will no doubt continue tonight) interview questions and shining my shoes (fyi, be careful when doing this at home or you might end up getting polish on your jeans like I did) and re-editing my resume for the 139th time and it's finally just time to do it I guess. Wish me luck.
Well, I best get back to the business that is the rest of my night.
Until next time,
Scott
I have been pretty excited about the job search up until this point, but lately it's been getting me down. If you're familiar with Ben Folds, you'll know he sums it up pretty well when he sings "It hurts to grow up, but everybody does, it's so weird to be back here, let me tell you what, the years go on and we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it..." I love the thought that I'll be out on my own sometimes, but other times it just seems like too much. Even though I'm excited about my life after college, I also know that I'm gonna miss this place and the late nights talking with my friends, random trips to the Flying J, and even staying up all night writing papers and studying for tests. (Well, at least I'll miss my friends and the Flying J.)
So yeah, I guess you could say I'm embracing my future but fighting it at the same time. There are days that it seems like I will never get everything done and I'm just annoyed with all of the things I have to do- those are the days that I am ready to say goodbye. But then there are days that I have a few hours to relax and spend time with friends and play Rock Band and watch Scrubs unti the wee hours of the morning- those are the days that I know I'll miss. It's like I can't win.
But alas, time stops for no man. And tomorrow morning I actually have my first job interview. It is in Findlay with a financial investment company and I don't really know what to expect. I have been practicing (and will no doubt continue tonight) interview questions and shining my shoes (fyi, be careful when doing this at home or you might end up getting polish on your jeans like I did) and re-editing my resume for the 139th time and it's finally just time to do it I guess. Wish me luck.
Well, I best get back to the business that is the rest of my night.
Until next time,
Scott
Thursday, February 7, 2008
I'm back!
It's been kind of a weird week. I apologize for not posting earlier, but I have been feeling a little under the weather, which means that I haven't really done a whole lot, which means it wouldn't have been that interesting anyway. Except for the fact that I watched most of season 6 of Scrubs yesterday as I stayed back from my internship to rest. Like I said, I haven't done much.
Other than being sick, it has been an ok week. I got a couple of bigger assignments out of the way which is a great feeling. My professor in my Christian Ethics class gave us a lot of options as far as how we would be graded, and even let us put together our own syllabus. There are a lot of choices to do (movie reviews, journal entries, a creative project, tests) that are each worth a certain percentage of our overall grade. We just had to pick enough things to add up to 100%. Each one has a specific due date, so I'll essentially be done with my graded assignments in that class by the middle of March and I will already know my grade. I'm pretty excited about that. I mean, I'll still have to go to class and take notes (we have notebooks that he collects periodically that count as part of our grade), but it will clear up my schedule quite a bit as far as assignments go.
And I am really excited about this weekend. On Friday, Mary and I are going to go to her house in Fort Wayne and stay until Sunday. I'm excited to hang out with her parents and just relax. After a few days of not being able to sleep and just feeling sick, it will be nice to get off campus, get a change of scenary, and relax. I love her going to her house and seeing her family.
Looking ahead, the countdown is on until my first job interview. Mary and I are heading down to Indianapolis in a little less than 2 weeks to attend a job fair, do some interviews, and see her family around that area. I also really enjoy those people as well, and we all have a lot of fun when we're together. It still feels weird knowing that I'm interviewing for jobs already. It's cliche, but I feel like you will end up saying it too- college has been some of the best years of my life, but it's also gone by crazy fast.
Well, I'm off to study for my Christian Ethics test. Until next time,
Scott
Other than being sick, it has been an ok week. I got a couple of bigger assignments out of the way which is a great feeling. My professor in my Christian Ethics class gave us a lot of options as far as how we would be graded, and even let us put together our own syllabus. There are a lot of choices to do (movie reviews, journal entries, a creative project, tests) that are each worth a certain percentage of our overall grade. We just had to pick enough things to add up to 100%. Each one has a specific due date, so I'll essentially be done with my graded assignments in that class by the middle of March and I will already know my grade. I'm pretty excited about that. I mean, I'll still have to go to class and take notes (we have notebooks that he collects periodically that count as part of our grade), but it will clear up my schedule quite a bit as far as assignments go.
And I am really excited about this weekend. On Friday, Mary and I are going to go to her house in Fort Wayne and stay until Sunday. I'm excited to hang out with her parents and just relax. After a few days of not being able to sleep and just feeling sick, it will be nice to get off campus, get a change of scenary, and relax. I love her going to her house and seeing her family.
Looking ahead, the countdown is on until my first job interview. Mary and I are heading down to Indianapolis in a little less than 2 weeks to attend a job fair, do some interviews, and see her family around that area. I also really enjoy those people as well, and we all have a lot of fun when we're together. It still feels weird knowing that I'm interviewing for jobs already. It's cliche, but I feel like you will end up saying it too- college has been some of the best years of my life, but it's also gone by crazy fast.
Well, I'm off to study for my Christian Ethics test. Until next time,
Scott
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