Years Gone By (30)

I must say that the year 2007 has been my best year so far. I live for events and trips, and last year I had my share of trips. In February I traveled with the Academy to Kauai to help Kahili Mountain Park and Adventist School with some much-needed grounds work. Afterward, we visited Oahu to do some sightseeing. The trip was a blast and the hard work made it all the more enjoyable. One sour note punctuated the end of the trip; my good friend Corey was leaving, not to return to W.A. But that's how my next adventure developed. After staying at my house for the college and academy graduations, Corey invited me down to his house. So a couple weeks later I walked up the stairs in Sac Intl Airport, through security, and into a new state of independence; I was traveling all by myself! For the next week Corey and I rode bikes, swam at the pool, and practically killed ourselves hiking the 25 miles up and down 11,499 ft San Gorgonio. I had a great time with the Harms and it was with reluctance that I bade them farewell and climbed aboard the plane for home.

But the year was far from over. My sister Rachel returned from China a couple weeks later with just enough time to unpack, repack, and then leave again - this time for Europe for our family vacation! Visiting my grandparents in the Netherlands, we traveled around the country, seeing various museums, touring the canals, and of course shopping. My uncle and I embarked on a 2-day cycling trip from the center of Holland to Groningen in the north. I won't easily forget that trip, with the smell of fresh-cut hay from the fields making my nose run uncontrollably, the
tremendous fatigue after cycling 90 miles in one day, and most memorably, the beautiful Dutch countryside rolling slowly by. The rest of of our time abroad we spent in Wales, returning to London to do some sightseeing and catch our plane home.

Things slowed down after returning home. I worked the rest of the summer, preparing breakfast at the cafe at 5:30 a.m., enjoying making fun of Carsten every time he had to make more garlic feta dressing, and eating raisin bread at breakfast each morning. School arrived with all its inconveniences and character-building circumstances. Thanksgiving and Christmas slipped by in close succession and before I knew it, 2007 was nearly over. As the clock ticked its way toward 12:00, I felt a twinge of sadness. I didn't want 2007 to end. Remembering all the fun times of the past year, I wished I could grab onto those last seconds that were quickly slipping through my hands. But then I realized that greater things are in store for the future. So with a light heart and the anticipation of new adventures to come, I stepped into the brand new year.

Imagine if . . . (29)

Okay, here's the background (don't ask me where this prompt came from!): It's my first time back at the grocery since the manager, in a not-so-kind manner, told me never to bring my kids (this is definitely fiction) into his store again. I'm secretly relieved to have to leave them home with my spouse.Thirty minutes later, I return home--without groceries. Egg yolk is dripping from my hair, chocolate syrup is smeared across my shirt, and smashed produce is sticking to my shoes. What happened?

Well, it went like this: Some deranged customer got mad at me for a really silly reason. I was just wheeling the cart to the checkout, when this man suddenly got extremely angry at me for getting a good spot in line ahead of him. Unable to control himself, he picked up the first thing he could find - a fresh egg - and hurled it at my cranium. What happened after that is a blur of events that I couldn't quite follow in the excitement of the moment. The next thing I knew, people were throwing food at each other, someone was stomping on chocolate syrup bottles and food was everywhere! I was trying to make a dash for the bathroom when the manager suddenly showed up. Recognizing me, he immediately concluded that I was the source of this chaos and his face turned red, then purple.
"Get out of my store! You're even worse without your kids! Don't ever come here again; your business is NOT welcome." With that he seized my arm and dragged me out the door, without even allowing me to buy my groceries. And that's how I arrived home minus the groceries and wearing the remains of my ordeal. Maybe I'll just try ordering my groceries online from now on.

Top Secret: Do Not Read (28)

Censorship – a controversial word that brings to mind images of Communist officers rifling through books and writings, looking for forbidden material. The tables seemed to have turned as of late. In an increasingly dangerous world filled with terrorists, the governments of such free countries as the U.S. are removing freedoms to protect the security of the people. But certain questions start coming up when this is done. One of them involves censorship; should it be allowed, and if so how much? Freedom of the press has long been argued in the U.S. and it has stood as a symbol of the free world. But when the government has unlimited access to personal emails, simple or not-so-simple opinions become dangerous to the individual expressing them. Depending on what you write, you never know when government agents will come swarming into your house. Yes censorship is definitely becoming a problem. There are always going to be a few nutcases that write the stupidest things; a few terrorists do get caught as well by their incriminating messages. But these isolated cases are eventually going to make it such that opinions can’t be freely expressed anymore. Opinions will become national threats. Right now, it is still possible to chew out the government without getting in trouble. But add a few key words like “blow up”, “A l Kyduh”(just making sure I don't get arrested!), and other such terrorist-linked words and you’ll be serving time. After a while, other individuals may be targeted, as new kinds of “threats”. It’s a slippery slope that gets steeper and steeper, terminating in a cliff looking over empty space devoid of a Constitution.

What did you say? (27)

I’ve been hired to write a dictionary of phrases and words that my peers and I often use. (So where’s the money?) Here are a few words that a person starts hearing over and over again at W.A.

Like - adv. : The universal gap-filler of teenage conversation. Can be inserted into almost any part of the sentence to substitute for harder-to-find words. “I was like…” “It’s like this…” “He like didn’t know what to like say…”

Dang-it : Euphemistic expression directly derived from a much stronger phrase. Used to express frustration. Not the best phrase as it sounds almost exactly like its unholy relative.

Cool - adj. : Common descriptive adjective used by almost every American teen that can be used to describe almost anything pleasing or satisfying.

Go Levi! : Not really sure how this phrase originated, but Marshall says it a lot. Overall, it seems to enhance the morale at W.A.

Stranded In Comfort (26)

Here’s a good one: If you were to be stranded on a deserted island for ten years and you were allowed to bring one item from each of these categories – a book, person, CD, food item, drink item, piece of clothing, and one miscellaneous item – what would you pack? Here’s my list of what I would bring:

Book: Boat-building for Dummies

Person: A ship captain

CD: Any CD would be perfect; the signaling qualities of a disc’s reflective side are stupendous.

Food item: My sister’s vegan cheesecake; no particular reason except the exquisite flavor.

Drink item: Water. It’s just the best beverage out there.

Piece of clothing: A robe from a Sahara nomad. It’s bound to get hot and I want to keep cool.

One miscellaneous item: A large tree. How else am I going to build my boat?

Okay, there are a few flaws in my list. First of all I’m supposed to be on the island for ten years. Naturally I would be picked up afterwards, so the items I bring are just to keep me busy. My book and lovely large tree would be useless (I'd still need a saw and nails anyway). Of course I could use t the pages to make paper airplanes and climb the tree to fly them . . . Here then are the things I would change on my list:

Book: 1001 Things To Do When Stranded

Person: An expert desert-island farmer – to provide the eats.

CD: The Bible and Ellen White’s Writings – for spiritual sustenance.

One miscellaneous item: Solar-powered laptop with Microsoft Flight Simulator pre-loaded onto it. With it I’d be able to read the books on the CD as well as keep my instrument flying skills sharp.

T'is the Year After Christmas (25)

It’s good to be back at the keyboard blogging away. Let me bring you up-to-date as to what happened over break – if I can remember. Ah yes, a number of interesting things happened over break, one of them being the arrival, and of course the inevitable subsequent departure, of Christmas day. I got some much needed R&R, and I continued to take calls at the Welcome Center a few hours a day. Socialization on campus was out of the question as every young person had fled the grounds for Christmas break and un-vegan gastronomics. I stayed home to keep company with my mom’s delectable Dutch apple pie (perfectly vegan and loaded with sugar) and the computer.

Yes, a number of exotic locations were graced by my virtual presence as I flew my simulated aircraft all over the world through Microsoft Flight Simulator. I did manage to get out and see some people, however, on New Year’s Eve at a church social in Meadow Vista. Maria and I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Cullinan’s group games. I again indulged in the foolishness of staying up till midnight to watch the Old Year transform into the New through the passing of a single second. Christmas break was far from sensational for me, but I definitely enjoyed the respite from the frenzied life at W.A.

It’s back to the grind, but variety is indeed the “spice of life”. Breaks get equally as old as school does. One day all the Scotch broom behind the house will be pulled and nothing will be left to do if vacations were to continue forever. I am ready to return to the institution of learning, to continue furthering my education. Tighten your backpack straps; here we go!