Good day for Michael. I got to play volleyball with my fatherly one, one of our favorite cooperative recreational activities. On the LSAT front, I studied in Barnes and Noble using one of their prep books...without paying for it! Bwahaha! My frugality (acceptable substitutes: thriftiness, creativity, mischief) has led me to a free study aid, although I can't write in it. A fair trade, by all means. I'm looking forward to the test. Before every test this semester I entered the classroom singing either the theme song from Rocky or "The Final Countdown" by the musical genius that is Europe; I don't think walking into the LSAT will be any different.
Thought: I need a good theme song for this summer. 2 years ago was "Final Countdown." Last year was "Total Eclipse of the Heart." Any suggestions for this year?
Here are some early possibilities:
-Let My Love Open the Door?
-You're the One that I Want? (Note - I do not endorse smoking or leather clothing on a hot day)
-or something that wouldn't diminish my street cred, like this (thank you to Andrew Rehagen)?
Summer Goals
1. Speak in accents as often as possible. This includes, but is not limited to: various Southern accents in order to shape people's perceptions of Missouri; my Irish accent, which has been picking up steam lately; my Italian accent, or perhaps just speaking in Italian - gotta brush up for any possible Italian exchanges; my Russian accent, which at this point consists of me saying "Mother Russia" after any particular statement; and, along with the Southern accents, my "Texas Cowboy" character, who shall hereafter be referred to as Colonel Leroy "Bolo" MacIntire (subject to change).
2. Find some method of physical fitness. Maybe there's a gym nearby in Maryland. Maybe there's a playground where I can do pull-ups and abdominal exercises on the monkey bars, or perhaps squats with a pile of small children on my back. I'll call it "MichaelFit."
3. Discover Abraham Lincoln's gold, which I've falsely told people is buried in Jefferson City, Missouri. Or is it? Wouldn't you like to know...
4. Further develop my robot kidney, and perhaps pitch the idea to the Pentagon in hopes of a Department of Defense grant. This could save the world! Come on!
4 days until my departure. Operation: Mr. Michael Goes to Washington shall commence next Monday. Get pumped, world.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Wisch Wedding, End of Pre-Summer
Yesterday marked my first peer wedding - 2 of my same-age friends got married, beginning a likely onslaught of weddings for the next few years. This is wonderful to be a part of.
With this new wedding experience under my
belt, I can now share the secrets of groomsman-ing. Ironically, little to no actual grooming takes place, contrary to the above picture.
A groomsman is somewhat of a utility player for a wedding. Any tasks that need to be done may be relegated to the groomsmen. For example, ushing, which I use as the verbed form of "usher" (Verbed - to transform a non-verb word into a verb).
Other important tasks include set-up and breakdown of the ceremony and reception sites, a task that can go late into the night. But above all, a groomsman's primary task is to wear a snazzy suit (preferably with vest), stand and smile, and simply enjoy everything. Amidst the hustle and butle of a wedding, it is easy to lose sight of the reason you're there in the first place - the bride and groom and their new life together. Weddings are quite complex nowadays, making it difficult to truly realize the depth of marriage until the ceremony happens. This depth hit me midway through the ceremony as the pastor addressed Ryan and Kelly.
Weddings are about a lot more than just two people pairing up. They constitute a public profession of faith, to God and spouse, in front of family and friends, people who will hopefully love and support the couple and hold them accountable to their vows. Marriage is a slightly deeper view of God's Love for us, of which I understand very little. But, like His Love for us, marriage is a commitment to always love, treasure and support one another in perhaps the closest human Relationship we can experience (I use "perhaps" due to my own lack of life experience; I am just a young, childless, unmarried college student, after all). God loves us through everything, no matter how bad circumstances are or how much we mess things up. He's a lot more solid than we are, however, so there are a lot of challenges and hardships in this life. Fortunately there's a lot of joy and fun too. We just have to enjoy what comes along, good or bad, and seek God in all of it. I mean, it's all "Good" in the long run (Romans 8:28).
I suppose that's my take on marriage after yesterday's ceremony. I'm grateful to have been a part of it, and I offer my best wishes to Ryan and Kelly Wisch. They're great; you should get to know them.
On another note, this wedding marked the end of my pre-summer. Now I am officially in summer, complemented by the 90ish degree heat of the last 2 days (which, I might add, made for a very sweaty tuxedo). I have moved out of Columbia and will not live there until next January due to study abroad. I am currently in Jefferson City studying for the LSAT and preparing for Washington, DC and the adventures ahead. I have no idea what to expect, but I am looking forward to new people, new experiences, and things being completely different than what I'm used to.
Unfortunately I am terrible at relaxing. Hopefully this trend changes for the week.
With this new wedding experience under my
belt, I can now share the secrets of groomsman-ing. Ironically, little to no actual grooming takes place, contrary to the above picture.A groomsman is somewhat of a utility player for a wedding. Any tasks that need to be done may be relegated to the groomsmen. For example, ushing, which I use as the verbed form of "usher" (Verbed - to transform a non-verb word into a verb).
Other important tasks include set-up and breakdown of the ceremony and reception sites, a task that can go late into the night. But above all, a groomsman's primary task is to wear a snazzy suit (preferably with vest), stand and smile, and simply enjoy everything. Amidst the hustle and butle of a wedding, it is easy to lose sight of the reason you're there in the first place - the bride and groom and their new life together. Weddings are quite complex nowadays, making it difficult to truly realize the depth of marriage until the ceremony happens. This depth hit me midway through the ceremony as the pastor addressed Ryan and Kelly.
Weddings are about a lot more than just two people pairing up. They constitute a public profession of faith, to God and spouse, in front of family and friends, people who will hopefully love and support the couple and hold them accountable to their vows. Marriage is a slightly deeper view of God's Love for us, of which I understand very little. But, like His Love for us, marriage is a commitment to always love, treasure and support one another in perhaps the closest human Relationship we can experience (I use "perhaps" due to my own lack of life experience; I am just a young, childless, unmarried college student, after all). God loves us through everything, no matter how bad circumstances are or how much we mess things up. He's a lot more solid than we are, however, so there are a lot of challenges and hardships in this life. Fortunately there's a lot of joy and fun too. We just have to enjoy what comes along, good or bad, and seek God in all of it. I mean, it's all "Good" in the long run (Romans 8:28).
I suppose that's my take on marriage after yesterday's ceremony. I'm grateful to have been a part of it, and I offer my best wishes to Ryan and Kelly Wisch. They're great; you should get to know them.
On another note, this wedding marked the end of my pre-summer. Now I am officially in summer, complemented by the 90ish degree heat of the last 2 days (which, I might add, made for a very sweaty tuxedo). I have moved out of Columbia and will not live there until next January due to study abroad. I am currently in Jefferson City studying for the LSAT and preparing for Washington, DC and the adventures ahead. I have no idea what to expect, but I am looking forward to new people, new experiences, and things being completely different than what I'm used to.
Unfortunately I am terrible at relaxing. Hopefully this trend changes for the week.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Pre-Summer
Dear world,
I have successfully completed my 3rd year of college. As I turned in my final paper yesterday, I looked back at the semester that was and thanked God for getting me through it. On paper it seemed like way too much to handle, but in practice it turned out very well. The past week has been a series of "goodbye-for-nows" (terminology from Dollywood's "Dreamland Drive-in" production) as I've finished each class, job, and extracurricular activity.
State capitol
Last Wednesday was my last official day of work for the Missouri House of Representatives. It was chock full of adventure. I got to lead a tour group of 82 grade-schoolers to the capitol dome, ate 2 pieces of pie (I recommend the Hawaiian Strawberry), passed out bills and amendments on the House floor, mailed out obituaries and condolences to constituents from my representative's district, and more. At the end of the day, Peggy, my legislative grandma of sorts, reminded the Rep.(who shall not be named for the sake of confidentiality) that it was my last day. They thanked me for a great semester of work and presented me with a resolution commemorating my efforts, a Missouri state flag, and a glass jar shaped like the capitol dome. It was a great finish to a wonderful legislative adventure. I'm going back for the last day of the legislative session to watch the inevitable havoc of which I've been told. Then that will be that.
Young Life
For the first time in 6 years, I am not officially involved with Young Life. It didn't really hit me until the last club (weekly gathering for those not familiar with Young Life) that I wouldn't be coming back, at least not for a while. This semester has been most fun I've had as a Young Life leader. I cannot fully express how much I enjoyed the team at Helias. There are some incredible people there, and I'm grateful to have been a part of it. Big things are going to happen.
I miss Fulton Young Life. Not so much "Young Life," but the relationships that stemmed from my time in Fulton. I did a lot of growing there. It was incredibly tough, but I wouldn't trade the experience or the relationships for anything.
Kindergarten
Ah yes, the kindergarten classroom volunteering. I finished my tenure by reading one of my favorite childhood books, The Green Gourd, to the class. It was a blast and a great way to go out. I enjoyed my time with all of the little people. I learned a lot about patience and the necessity of repetition. Hopefully these will make for great parenting skills somewhere down the road.
University-regulated Academics
After going full-speed for the entire semester, the academic side of things waned in the last week of school. Classes finished well; now I simply wait for grades to be posted, inevitably checking online several times daily.
Pre-Summer
So now I am in what I call "pre-summer." School is over, but my summer adventures have yet to begin. Now, what to do with my newly found free time? Catch up on D-Focus videos? Certainly. Study for LSAT? Even more certainly. Play video games for the first time in a year? Maybe. Take part in as many mid-Missouri shenanigans as possible over the next two weeks? Yes.
My official "summer" will not begin until the Wisch wedding on May 23. After that I will accept the reality that is summer vacation...and then I will leave for Washington, DC, with a 2 day layover in Knoxville/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Adventures are on the horizon. Get pumped.
I have successfully completed my 3rd year of college. As I turned in my final paper yesterday, I looked back at the semester that was and thanked God for getting me through it. On paper it seemed like way too much to handle, but in practice it turned out very well. The past week has been a series of "goodbye-for-nows" (terminology from Dollywood's "Dreamland Drive-in" production) as I've finished each class, job, and extracurricular activity.
State capitol
Last Wednesday was my last official day of work for the Missouri House of Representatives. It was chock full of adventure. I got to lead a tour group of 82 grade-schoolers to the capitol dome, ate 2 pieces of pie (I recommend the Hawaiian Strawberry), passed out bills and amendments on the House floor, mailed out obituaries and condolences to constituents from my representative's district, and more. At the end of the day, Peggy, my legislative grandma of sorts, reminded the Rep.(who shall not be named for the sake of confidentiality) that it was my last day. They thanked me for a great semester of work and presented me with a resolution commemorating my efforts, a Missouri state flag, and a glass jar shaped like the capitol dome. It was a great finish to a wonderful legislative adventure. I'm going back for the last day of the legislative session to watch the inevitable havoc of which I've been told. Then that will be that.
Young Life
For the first time in 6 years, I am not officially involved with Young Life. It didn't really hit me until the last club (weekly gathering for those not familiar with Young Life) that I wouldn't be coming back, at least not for a while. This semester has been most fun I've had as a Young Life leader. I cannot fully express how much I enjoyed the team at Helias. There are some incredible people there, and I'm grateful to have been a part of it. Big things are going to happen.
I miss Fulton Young Life. Not so much "Young Life," but the relationships that stemmed from my time in Fulton. I did a lot of growing there. It was incredibly tough, but I wouldn't trade the experience or the relationships for anything.
Kindergarten
Ah yes, the kindergarten classroom volunteering. I finished my tenure by reading one of my favorite childhood books, The Green Gourd, to the class. It was a blast and a great way to go out. I enjoyed my time with all of the little people. I learned a lot about patience and the necessity of repetition. Hopefully these will make for great parenting skills somewhere down the road.
University-regulated Academics
After going full-speed for the entire semester, the academic side of things waned in the last week of school. Classes finished well; now I simply wait for grades to be posted, inevitably checking online several times daily.
Pre-Summer
So now I am in what I call "pre-summer." School is over, but my summer adventures have yet to begin. Now, what to do with my newly found free time? Catch up on D-Focus videos? Certainly. Study for LSAT? Even more certainly. Play video games for the first time in a year? Maybe. Take part in as many mid-Missouri shenanigans as possible over the next two weeks? Yes.
My official "summer" will not begin until the Wisch wedding on May 23. After that I will accept the reality that is summer vacation...and then I will leave for Washington, DC, with a 2 day layover in Knoxville/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Adventures are on the horizon. Get pumped.
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