I meant to blog about this sooner, but the past 3 days have been devoted entirely to cleaning and moving out of my apartment. I am officially moved out of The Quarters, and am in a state of transit until move-in on Aug. 10th to The Venue. I can't freakin wait to move in. A side note: for those of you who are living with roommates, make sure to start the move out clean up as soon as possible, preferably with as many of the roomates as possible since there is inevitably more to clean than there appears. Just a little heads up so whoever is left doesn't get shafted with all the cleaning.
Anyways, on to the reason for the post. The AA CMP team came down this past week and it was really great getting to meet a lot of the young'uns. One of the biggest blessings actually came as a surprise. I'm not gonna lie, worship in our church (Ann Arbor) is amazing. There's something powerful about worshiping with hundreds of other ppl that you can't seem to replicate even with an intimate congregation.
When the missions team joined us on sunday, there was a world of difference. It was so great being able to experience the unity of spirit and fervency of praise of similarly passionate Christians. Of course, worship is not meant to be pigeon-holed into certain characteristics, but when you are part of powerful worship, you just know: and that Sunday was awesome.
Thanks AA missions team.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Now we celebrate!
Just wanted to let you all know that I got a call like 30 min ago that I got the elementary teaching position!!! Starting this 2010-2011 school year, I am an official, legit teacher. I'm really excited to start, but I really want to thank God for providing this opportunity. Seriously, I've never gotten a job by my own interviewing merit (ever), so this is such a big blessing.
Thank you for all your prayers and support, I wish I could take you all out to eat somewhere but I can't, so this will have to suffice. WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Thank you for all your prayers and support, I wish I could take you all out to eat somewhere but I can't, so this will have to suffice. WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Now I wait
Hey all,
Just wanted to thank all of yous who lifted up a prayer for my interview. I'm not gonna lie, I got really nervous this morning, but after making sure to drink 2 bottles of water (I get cotton-mouthed when I'm nervous) and bringing another bottle for the interview, I made the 40 minute drive to the school.
First impression? The school is HUGE. First of all, it's located in the boonies of hicktown, but it is easily bigger than my high school in Troy. It's only 2 years old, and the place looks really nice. When I entered, the thing that struck me was how bright and colorfully painted the school was. It just made you happy to be in there and can see how kids would love coming in too.
When I met the principal and two teachers, I couldn't help but notice how young they were. The principal seemed to be around mid-late 30s and the teachers seemed to be my age or a bit older.
How'd the interview go? Surprisingly well! Well, I was incredibly scared during the first two questions (Tell us a little bit about yourself and your education background) and I think I came off really nervous and insecure (which I was). But I think people started praying cuz I began loosening up after that and the rest of the interview went really well. I was even able to make a couple jokes and tell some stories from working at the middle school and it seemed like they liked me.
Anyways, we'll see by the end of the week which is when I'll hear back. Until then, all I can do is wait and see. But Thanks THANKS THANKS again for all your prayers, it was much appreciated. =)
Just wanted to thank all of yous who lifted up a prayer for my interview. I'm not gonna lie, I got really nervous this morning, but after making sure to drink 2 bottles of water (I get cotton-mouthed when I'm nervous) and bringing another bottle for the interview, I made the 40 minute drive to the school.
First impression? The school is HUGE. First of all, it's located in the boonies of hicktown, but it is easily bigger than my high school in Troy. It's only 2 years old, and the place looks really nice. When I entered, the thing that struck me was how bright and colorfully painted the school was. It just made you happy to be in there and can see how kids would love coming in too.
When I met the principal and two teachers, I couldn't help but notice how young they were. The principal seemed to be around mid-late 30s and the teachers seemed to be my age or a bit older.
How'd the interview go? Surprisingly well! Well, I was incredibly scared during the first two questions (Tell us a little bit about yourself and your education background) and I think I came off really nervous and insecure (which I was). But I think people started praying cuz I began loosening up after that and the rest of the interview went really well. I was even able to make a couple jokes and tell some stories from working at the middle school and it seemed like they liked me.
Anyways, we'll see by the end of the week which is when I'll hear back. Until then, all I can do is wait and see. But Thanks THANKS THANKS again for all your prayers, it was much appreciated. =)
Monday, July 12, 2010
PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!
My first call for interview teaching 4th Grade at Camino Real Elementary! please please please please pray for me! I'm excited but nervous too!
Do You See What I See?
A couple take-aways from an AMAZING world cup.
1. You either love soccer or you don't. There's no possible way for someone to be a casual fan of it. I can see how people don't enjoy long stretches of "no action" and low scoring games, but for me, I love watching how the teams kinda test and probe each other's defenses, as well as seeing individual stars dominate weaker players. There's an amazing ebb and flow to the game that is rare in other sports.
2. Soccer fans are crazy/emotional. I love all the crowd shots after something amazing happens (missed PKs, last second goals, etc). They ALWAYS find the fans who start sobbing uncontrollably and I love it.
3. Trading jerseys at the end of the game is probably the coolest sport tradition I can think of. Period. If I had money, I would do that in pick up games. Not only are you keeping memories, but it's such a great sign of sportsmanship. Hey, sorry man, I may have cleated you during the game, but here's my jersey. We're still buddies. Well, I guess it might suck if your opponent has ugly jerseys, like the Dutch.
4. People will ALWAYS see what they want to see. I am starting to dislike watching sports with people who root against my team. Unfortunately, soccer is a very subjective sport where, yes, players had a propensity to dive and put on theatrics, but I don't see that ever get completely wiped out of the game. It's amazing what casual watchers will simply overlook when their team commits a penalty, but woe to the opponent who commits a similar penalty. Please. It just makes me not want to ever comment on games with them. I get it, you're a fan of X-Nation, but you can still be reasonable in your complaints. I know I'm the same way when I cheer for my teams. I know I get obnoxious, but I try to temper what I complain about to things that are major. It's like sportsmanship for watching games with people.
With that being said, I was so happy that Spain won. Did they dominate? No. Did they look weak? For sure (especially first half of the finals). Did they deserve to win? Heck yeah. Even with a Dutch team that was playing amazing defense in the first half, the Spanish were creating opportunities to score. I'll overlook all the nasty fouls committed by the Dutch in the first quarter of the game and say the Dutch were looking like they were going to win. They had the quicker first step, their creativity was better, and Robben was a blur. Every time he touched it I held my breath cuz I was scared.
Second half, different story. Netherlands finally opened it up a bit instead of playing defensive and holes started to open up for Spain. That's when Spain rammed their control-style game down the Dutch throats. From the beginning of the second half, you could see the momentum shift. Other than some scary counters by Robben, Spain dominated and finally capped off with Iniesta's great goal. Espana!
PS. I loved Torres' contribution to the finals. He got onto the field at +106 minutes, a couple minutes afterwards he ran into a defender and fell. In the final minutes of the game, ran for a long overhead pass and pulled up injured. He sucks.
1. You either love soccer or you don't. There's no possible way for someone to be a casual fan of it. I can see how people don't enjoy long stretches of "no action" and low scoring games, but for me, I love watching how the teams kinda test and probe each other's defenses, as well as seeing individual stars dominate weaker players. There's an amazing ebb and flow to the game that is rare in other sports.
2. Soccer fans are crazy/emotional. I love all the crowd shots after something amazing happens (missed PKs, last second goals, etc). They ALWAYS find the fans who start sobbing uncontrollably and I love it.
3. Trading jerseys at the end of the game is probably the coolest sport tradition I can think of. Period. If I had money, I would do that in pick up games. Not only are you keeping memories, but it's such a great sign of sportsmanship. Hey, sorry man, I may have cleated you during the game, but here's my jersey. We're still buddies. Well, I guess it might suck if your opponent has ugly jerseys, like the Dutch.
4. People will ALWAYS see what they want to see. I am starting to dislike watching sports with people who root against my team. Unfortunately, soccer is a very subjective sport where, yes, players had a propensity to dive and put on theatrics, but I don't see that ever get completely wiped out of the game. It's amazing what casual watchers will simply overlook when their team commits a penalty, but woe to the opponent who commits a similar penalty. Please. It just makes me not want to ever comment on games with them. I get it, you're a fan of X-Nation, but you can still be reasonable in your complaints. I know I'm the same way when I cheer for my teams. I know I get obnoxious, but I try to temper what I complain about to things that are major. It's like sportsmanship for watching games with people.
With that being said, I was so happy that Spain won. Did they dominate? No. Did they look weak? For sure (especially first half of the finals). Did they deserve to win? Heck yeah. Even with a Dutch team that was playing amazing defense in the first half, the Spanish were creating opportunities to score. I'll overlook all the nasty fouls committed by the Dutch in the first quarter of the game and say the Dutch were looking like they were going to win. They had the quicker first step, their creativity was better, and Robben was a blur. Every time he touched it I held my breath cuz I was scared.
Second half, different story. Netherlands finally opened it up a bit instead of playing defensive and holes started to open up for Spain. That's when Spain rammed their control-style game down the Dutch throats. From the beginning of the second half, you could see the momentum shift. Other than some scary counters by Robben, Spain dominated and finally capped off with Iniesta's great goal. Espana!
PS. I loved Torres' contribution to the finals. He got onto the field at +106 minutes, a couple minutes afterwards he ran into a defender and fell. In the final minutes of the game, ran for a long overhead pass and pulled up injured. He sucks.
Friday, July 9, 2010
OMG... DOUBLE RAINBOW!!
Had to share this. Saw this when Touf found it and couldn't stop watching. The guy is clearly a rainbow fanatic.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
1 to go
YES Puyol!!
I love how people said Spain would get crushed and didn't give them a shot at winning. Maybe if Germany didn't play with everyone on defense they might have had a chance.
Netherlands is a solid team though... I'm excited for the final!!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Everybody likes Fireworks
A bunch of us went to the riverfront to watch the July 4th fireworks on Sunday. Initially, I was hoping it would rain so we could just go somewhere and chill instead of sitting out in the humidity and get bitten by mosquitoes. Unfortunately, the rain stayed away the entire day, so we ended up goin to the park after grabbing dinner for Grace's bday.
All in all, playing cards, tossing frisbee a bit, and watching the fireworks with friends was a pretty enjoyable experience: more than I had anticipated. One thing that really stood out to me while I was watching the fireworks was the look on one of the guy's face as he was watching the lights. I kid you not, his mouth was open, eyes glued to the sky and there was such an intense gaze and sense of awe that even after I laughed a bit at the sight, I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous that he was enjoying the fireworks that much.
I want to have that child-like wonder again in my life where all of life's distractions and worries simply don't matter.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Losing Touch
Originally I had looked forward to the summer because I thought it would mean I had more time to write and blog, but I had failed to take into account my laziness. I had read an article months ago about how the internet was causing us (society) to become stupid. My first impression was disdain; how could the internet be considered stupid when there are so many advantages to having it?
However, as I started noticing my own deficiencies in memory and attention span, I think the article starting ringing true for me. Case in point, I had started a blog about why guys are so attracted to war movies in December, but the moment it required planning, I immediately got distracted and just saved it in my "Drafts" to rot.
I'm not blaming the internet for my own personal jump in ADD, but I do notice a loosening in my own resolve to never lose touch with those people I really value in my life. You know the feeling of "I-don't-know-what-to-talk-about" with an old friend you hadn't seen in years? It's not because you guys don't have any interesting things, it's just hard to bring up things that you think they would be able to appreciate/care about. If you haven't, then maybe I just suck and it's just me. But whatever.
For me, I could care less about how many friends I make. Instead, I really believe in having those trusted few: the inner circle, if you will. I've always envisioned that when I was an "adult" and working, we would live in the same city and after work we would hang out like on Friends, doing stupid things together. Life definitely does not work out like that. People move. People change. Sometimes, people just plain forget.
I think I'm at the point I was at a couple years ago, when I was really struggling with figuring how what true "friendship" was. Emo and stupid? Yeah, maybe, but I think it's something everyone needs to wrestle through. It's funny to think back at how upset I was at people back then, and seeing how I'm starting to do some of the same things as them.
I think this line from Mat Kearney's "On & On" sums it up perfectly.
However, as I started noticing my own deficiencies in memory and attention span, I think the article starting ringing true for me. Case in point, I had started a blog about why guys are so attracted to war movies in December, but the moment it required planning, I immediately got distracted and just saved it in my "Drafts" to rot.
I'm not blaming the internet for my own personal jump in ADD, but I do notice a loosening in my own resolve to never lose touch with those people I really value in my life. You know the feeling of "I-don't-know-what-to-talk-about" with an old friend you hadn't seen in years? It's not because you guys don't have any interesting things, it's just hard to bring up things that you think they would be able to appreciate/care about. If you haven't, then maybe I just suck and it's just me. But whatever.
For me, I could care less about how many friends I make. Instead, I really believe in having those trusted few: the inner circle, if you will. I've always envisioned that when I was an "adult" and working, we would live in the same city and after work we would hang out like on Friends, doing stupid things together. Life definitely does not work out like that. People move. People change. Sometimes, people just plain forget.
I think I'm at the point I was at a couple years ago, when I was really struggling with figuring how what true "friendship" was. Emo and stupid? Yeah, maybe, but I think it's something everyone needs to wrestle through. It's funny to think back at how upset I was at people back then, and seeing how I'm starting to do some of the same things as them.
I think this line from Mat Kearney's "On & On" sums it up perfectly.
"Nothing worth anything ever goes down easy."
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