The new blog is up....

http://valparaisanblogger.blogspot.com/

I'm comin back.... expect a new blog within the next week or two.

4 and a half months since my last post. I didn't really plan on going AWOL, but I haven't felt like blogging anything until now. If I haven't lost too many readers due to no updates, I may post more often.

What's new:

I'm busy polishing up my resume and talking with various companies about working with them once I graduate this August. I'm pretty optimistic about my chances of staying local to Niceville and my family and church, but it's possible I may end up elsewhere. Other than that, I'm [still] working fulltime at Papa Juan's and slowly making my way through these last few classes at UWF.

Here, in uber-condensed form, is what I would've posted about since my last post if I had posted anything [in chronological order]. Over the past 4.5 months, I've:

turned 21
seen Dierks Bentley [twice] and Montgomery Gentry and Charlie Daniels live at the Mullet Festival
lost a friend
stayed awake in downtown Atlanta for 2 full days
seen ROTK 6 times
had a friend go [literally] insane for a couple weeks
found out a friend is gay
weathered 2 weeks of a whole bunch of people trying to get me to join some Quixtar scam


Maybe I'll elaborate on some of that stuff later on.

For now, I'm gonna get back to the Super Bowl, so if you want something to do, go check out Jon Barlow's Howard Dean clip.

Honi's got a blog now. She's actually had it for a month and I had no idea till she told me today. Then I felt obligated to blog about it. So thank Honi for the new post.

I think this is going to be a good year. All my classes are fun, all my teachers are at least somewhat not-boring, I'm keeping busy with ACM, I'm getting paid more at Papa Juan's, I'm meeting lots and lots of really cool people, and I'm trying a few different churches around Pensacola (I'm not leaving Trinity or anything, but sometimes I don't feel like driving all the way to Valparaiso).

Stephen, James, Jason, John and I are all completely moved in now. Stephen, James and Jason have a townhouse 5 minutes away and John and I are still at the Fountains. We all have keys to both places, and we've designated mine and John's apartment (because it's closer to campus) for hanging out between classes, eating and being lazy, and the townhouse for napping and studying. I may post some pictures before long.

Sorry for the lapse....just haven't felt like blogging. Every minute spent online is precious, and I've got lots to do. I'm sure once school starts I'll need some form of escapism to keep me sane, so I'm sure I'll be blogging more often pretty soon.

We're all moved in. The set-up looks NICE. Our last apartment was so empty compared to this one. I'm gonna miss having a balcony, but it'll be nice being able to park right at the front door and not have to climb 3 sets of stairs. We'll also be doing without internet [not even dial-up], so I'll have to drive over to the computer labs [where I am now] to check my e-mail and whatever else. So if you don't see me online, call me. You'll have better luck reaching me that way.

Jeremiah, Jonny, John and myself went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean again [my third time]. If you haven't seen it go now for two reasons: Johnny Depp and Kiera Knightley[!].

This is the day where we move everything over into our new apartment. Sam, Matt, Micah and Devonte are gonna help John and I with the really heavy stuff. I got the keys to the place yesterday — it's small, but really pimpin'. Wood cabinets and counters, 2 big closets [we had to share 1 in the last apartment, so this is good], lots of trees, and far away from the road [so traffic noise won't be so bad]. Inspection is at 9AM tomorrow morning, then all we have to do is unpack everything and wait for the cable/electricity to get hooked up. Gonna be fun.

According to this article via the Washington Post, Senator John Kerry may be in trouble come voting time for ordering a sandwich at a Philadelphia diner with Swiss cheese rather than Cheez Whiz. I hope this is just stupid speculation. I wouldn't vote for the guy to begin with if I did live in Philly, but not because he ordered something I wouldn't. God-fearing, wise men are good candidates — not a guy who's "in touch" with the general public [Kerry is neither].

"There is no doubt blogging is something to think about. Blogcount has estimated that there are more than 2 million blogs, though many never touch on politics. Although estimates are that just 4 percent of the online community reads blogs, they are followed by a better-educated and more upscale, influential audience than that for talk radio. Bloggers claim that their musings and influence over journalists indirectly forced Trent Lott to resign as GOP Senate majority leader after his Strom Thurmond remarks." [...]

I know it's not Friday, but I'm bored and I can post whatever I want, so here:

1. What's the last place you traveled to, outside your own home state/country?

Wow. Now that I think about it, I really haven't been outside of Florida for quite a while. I was in Atlanta last February with Thanael and Shauna (at least I think that was last February...maybe it was this year?), I drove Arch to Mobile a while back but I don't remember when that was, and I have vague memories of driving through Alabama (maybe that was Andalusia?) for some reason or another. Most of my travelling as of late has been inside Florida.

2. What's the most bizarre/unusual thing that's ever happened to you while traveling?

Nothing real unusual...just the standard mixed-up layovers and lost luggage at airports and traffic accidents on interstates that add several hours to trips. I like to take weird detours every once in a while so I don't have to see nothing but interstate and trees for miles. That's sometimes interesting, but nothing bizarre has ever really happened.

3. If you could take off to anywhere, money and time being no object, where would you go?

Ireland, England, Scotland (in no particular order) or New Zealand and Australia.

4. Do you prefer traveling by plane, train or car?

Plane, when possible and/or practical.

5. What's the next place on your list to visit?

Atlanta this October for Radiohead (maybe).

My friend Micah just found out the hard way why I stay away from Bacardi 151

I'd forgotten how good Meet Joe Black was. Sam and I watched that and Moulin Rouge on the way down to Tampa last weekend. Really made the 7-hour trip seem short.

I think I have some controllable form of bipolar. It seems like I'm never in an 'in-between' mood — it's always way high or way low.

I found out yesterday I could switch to another Alltel plan with unlimited nights and weekend minutes and 400 daytime [I was getting 750 n&w and 250 daytime] for the same price [$39.95] that I was paying previously. Man, I wish I had known that earlier. I've gone almost $300 in overtime minutes since I first got my cellphone back in 2000.

Sorry if this post doesn't seem coherent. Just had a few short thoughts I wanted to get out.

this unmarked chopper flew up to the apartment earlier this afternoon and chilled for a good 20 minutes just hanging there a couple dozen feet over the pool. that was weird.

It really irks me when an automated phone system won't take voice commands. Most cellphones don't have touchtone, and seeing as lots of people use only their cellphones to conduct business, you'd think companies would try and accommodate them. It's also frustrating that banks take 3 to 5 business days to get anything done. I can't wait for the day when banks and other companies reach a level of speed and convenience that match the internet's capabilities. It'd be nice to get everything done the second you need it done. I've been able to get my end taken care of [mostly with help from Paypal] , now all I need to do is wait for everything else to catch up.

yet another useless japanese product

I need to know more about this. I've kind of got it figured out for myself, I think, but I'd like to know what those wiser than myself have to say. Are there any books on the subject worth reading?

This next week I've gotta get everything packed so we can move into a smaller apartment in the same complex on friday. I've gotta get the cable and electricity transferred over there, and I've gotta get the place cleaned for inspection. I've already got Mike's and Dan's old rooms all cleaned out, but the kitchen needs a good cleaning (not bad really, except for the fridge and oven). I've gotta make some calls and office visits to get Papa John's on campus during new-student orientation (bureaucracy is what's gonna make that a pain). I've gotta work on the church's website and get started on one for a guy at church. I need to squeeze an oil change in there somewhere. I need to see about switching to a better plan with Alltel — they've got plans that are way better than what I've got now for less than I'm paying now, and my contract with them was up almost a year ago, so it shouldn't be a problem for them to switch me. If it is, I'll just go somewhere else.

I really need to get on a more normal sleep schedule. I've got 08:00 classes this fall and going to bed 4 hours before is not going to work. I'm taking Business Communications, Programming In Java, Decision Support Systems, and Internet Marketting. All of these classes will be MWF and over by 14:30, which leaves evenings and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for work and studying. I'm actually looking forward to this semester. There'll be Chris and Amy's wedding, Josh and Chrissy's wedding, Radiohead in October, the Advance, and, of course, LOTR DVDs and Return of the King in December. Should be a nice rest-of-the-year.

is this November (6th - 9th). The brochure's up. You can download the pdf here.

Finally, work on the trailer will begin in late August.
It will be a type of "super trailer," over 2 minutes in length. Also, don't get your hopes up about seeing shelob in the trailer, she will be teased. You may see just a leg or any eye or just her lair, they really are not considering putting her in the trailer in all her glory.

Also, there is talk of adding a hidden ROTK preview to TTT EE dvd just like what was done with TFOTR EE dvd and TTT hidden preview. Nothing is certain yet.

[link to report from TheOneRing.net]