Saturday, May 28, 2005
Change
A photograph never grows old. You and I change, people change all through the months and years, but a photograph always remains the same. How nice to look at a photograph of mother or father taken many years ago. You see them as you remember them. But as people live on, they change completely." -Albert Einstein.
Lately, I have noticed that last sentence to be more and more true. And I'm not sure it's change in a good way (although, what is meant by "good" is subjective).
Some friends no longer resemble the people I remember them as, for whatever reason... and it's something that honestly saddens me. It's tough to see those close to you change into people you never thought they'd be. And it's even worse when it's someone you're interested in or involved with romantically, but realize that they have changed into someone that is no longer appealing as a spouse.
It's really hard to hear about friends that used to vow to live sober lives but have turned into alcoholics and partiers. I'm not trying to disrespect those people who live that lifestyle, but it's just not for me. I could go on for hours why... but we'll just leave it at this: the logic behind it doesn't make sense to me.
Similar to this is how people change because of relationships, whether that be while they're in one or after it's over (I know I'm guilty of this). It may be because of personality dispositions or control issues or whatever, but I just feel helpless when people change (for the worse) into someone they aren't. I've witnessed this numerous times with friends who were/are in bad relationships and 1) is one of the worst feelings out there, and 2) makes me want to severely injure their spouse/ex. (I'm kinda protective of those I care about, in case you couldn't tell)
Change is a natural process in everyone's life, including my own, and is required for progress. However, not all changes are improvements.
I ask of all of you that if you notice a negative change in me, do not hesitate in confronting me about it. I like to think of myself as having a good understanding of who I am and what I want, but I know I'm far from perfect. I'm always open to suggestions of ways to make myself a better person and friend.
Lately, I have noticed that last sentence to be more and more true. And I'm not sure it's change in a good way (although, what is meant by "good" is subjective).
Some friends no longer resemble the people I remember them as, for whatever reason... and it's something that honestly saddens me. It's tough to see those close to you change into people you never thought they'd be. And it's even worse when it's someone you're interested in or involved with romantically, but realize that they have changed into someone that is no longer appealing as a spouse.
It's really hard to hear about friends that used to vow to live sober lives but have turned into alcoholics and partiers. I'm not trying to disrespect those people who live that lifestyle, but it's just not for me. I could go on for hours why... but we'll just leave it at this: the logic behind it doesn't make sense to me.
Similar to this is how people change because of relationships, whether that be while they're in one or after it's over (I know I'm guilty of this). It may be because of personality dispositions or control issues or whatever, but I just feel helpless when people change (for the worse) into someone they aren't. I've witnessed this numerous times with friends who were/are in bad relationships and 1) is one of the worst feelings out there, and 2) makes me want to severely injure their spouse/ex. (I'm kinda protective of those I care about, in case you couldn't tell)
Change is a natural process in everyone's life, including my own, and is required for progress. However, not all changes are improvements.
I ask of all of you that if you notice a negative change in me, do not hesitate in confronting me about it. I like to think of myself as having a good understanding of who I am and what I want, but I know I'm far from perfect. I'm always open to suggestions of ways to make myself a better person and friend.
Friday, May 13, 2005
A somewhat boring but great week
Where to begin? I think I'll start with the winner of the last guessing game: Peter. The real answer was 44 pages, but had all of it been double spaced, it would've been around 60! While I'm on the subject of school, I earned a 3.93 this semester. Those of you that know how much homework I had probably realized that I specifically chose the word "earned" and not other synonyms like "got" or "received." This semester SUCKED, but I pulled out A's in all my classes (even bowling, which is mostly pass/fail) aside from Social Psychology (A-). It's kinda strange how I took more credits this year (31; which included 2 lab sciences, english, and five 300 level classes) than last year (28; all intro classes), yet got better grades (3.88 all last year, 4.0 and 3.93 this year). Next semester should be interesting though, with my first semester of Chinese and all.
Anywho... onto what I've been doing since the last update.
Wednesday (5/4): Had a group presentation (from 8-10 am) as my last "final." Went home and started packing/rearranging my room, then went and sold back most of my books... I still have a social psychology book if anyone is looking for a good read, lol. I then went bowling with Peter, Ben, Steven, and Matt... good times even though I sucked hardcore. Now, both knuckles on my right ring finger (the one I'm supposed to put in the ball) are sore and wayyy bigger than they're supposed to be, so I couldn't even put my finger in my ball if I tried (unless I wanted it to hurt real bad, of course). Anywho... on the way back I stopped off and said bye to Erica and Stefanie in WD. Later that night, I ended up hanging out with/saying bye to Shannon, Katy, and Stephanie, Laura, and Dani too.
Thursday (5/5): Woke up at 7 am and left for home at 8. Why so early, you ask? Because I had been telling people back home that I was coming home on Friday, and wanted to surprise them. The first person I was planning on surprising was Jessica (my senior ball date who came and visited me at school a month ago). I was planning on waiting for her at her car when school got out at 2 pm, thus why I needed to leave so early. The drive over wasn't bad... made a stop in Othello to say hi to my grandma Char, and made a quick phone call to my grandpa Mel. Anywho... got back to Bethel in time, and was sitting out on the hood of her car for like 15 minutes after school... but no Jess. Finally, I go inside and try looking for her. No success. Then I call her... no answer. She calls me back a few minutes later, upon which time I find out she's in Seattle with her friends cuz it was Senior Skip Day! DANG! With my cover blown, I tell her that I'm back in town and was going to surprise her... I don't think it had quite the same effect, but she still thought it was sweet. After that, I went out and hung out in the dugout (I knew like half the guys on the team and the coaches) while the Bethel baseball team demolished their district rival, Spanaway Lake. I then decided to head on back to my friend/neighbor Adam's house (who also was under the impression I'd be home Friday). I kinda got a little scare out of him cuz he was trying to sleep when I burst into his room... he thought I was his dad coming to yell at him, lol. After that came the best reaction of all though.
My mom called me while I was at Adam's to tell me that I had a fine for dropping my forensic bio class, and that I should "take care of it before I leave tomorrow" (Friday). Well... the phone kept cutting out since I didn't have the greatest reception, so Adam and I decided to head on back to my house, which is only a couple blocks away (see diagram below). Well, as we were on the way there, my mom called again, and I found out that she had just pulled into the driveway. So, being the funny guy that I am, I pulled in behind her (she couldn't see me since she was facing the house and the trees made her mirrors useless) and started honking my horn while I was talking to her. It startled her a bit, then she yelled out a "YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Oh man, I almost died laughing. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, but for those of you that haven't been to my house, hopefully this will clear up any questions you may have, lol:
Since Then: I really don't remember what happened on specific days since then, but I know I went and saw "The Interpreter" (great movie) with Jess and had dinner with my dad at Kanpai (Japanese restaurant) sometime last week. This week has consisted mostly of doing yardwork for my mom in preparation for selling the house. I mowed and raked the yard (a time consuming task, even with a riding mower), pressure washed our 180 foot driveway (mainly just to get pine needles and random grass clippings off of), moved a pile of rocks, moved 5 or 6 huge bags of OLD peat moss (that had been in the same spot for a good 12 years), sprayed bleach on the roof of our house to kill moss, and cut some branches off the trees overhanging the driveway. All in all, not too fun. I also applied to be a yard loader at Lumberman's... but I haven't heard back from them yet (*crosses fingers*). There has also been some hanging out with Adam and Jess... but they're both still kinda busy with school so even that's been sparse.
What's up next: Tomorrow morning/afternoon I'm going to hang out with Jess. Dunno what we're going to to yet, but I'm sure it'll be a good time. Tomorrow evening I'm going up to the 'Hood, the Fairhood, to hang out with Ryan after he gets off work. Then on Sunday, its up to the UP (University Place) to hang out with the soon-to-be Shannon Dorsey (I'm assuming she's taking John's last name)... and maybe catching a free drama performance at Bethel that evening that a friend told me about today. Then, next Saturday marks the return of me donning a tuxedo... for Jess' senior ball. I'm REALLY excited for that... it should be an awesome time with an awesome girl. Oh, for those of you visual people, check out my myspace (on the right)... my picture is of Jess and me a couple summers ago. Then, in a week and a half, I'm supposed to be going to an M's game with my pops... we'll see though.
That's about all I have for y'all... except my new email address is bkoe22@gmail.com, so hit me up on that. But, before I go...
Guessing game: What did I find on the very top of our roof (yes, I mean the apex), some 40 feet off the ground?
Anywho... onto what I've been doing since the last update.
Wednesday (5/4): Had a group presentation (from 8-10 am) as my last "final." Went home and started packing/rearranging my room, then went and sold back most of my books... I still have a social psychology book if anyone is looking for a good read, lol. I then went bowling with Peter, Ben, Steven, and Matt... good times even though I sucked hardcore. Now, both knuckles on my right ring finger (the one I'm supposed to put in the ball) are sore and wayyy bigger than they're supposed to be, so I couldn't even put my finger in my ball if I tried (unless I wanted it to hurt real bad, of course). Anywho... on the way back I stopped off and said bye to Erica and Stefanie in WD. Later that night, I ended up hanging out with/saying bye to Shannon, Katy, and Stephanie, Laura, and Dani too.
Thursday (5/5): Woke up at 7 am and left for home at 8. Why so early, you ask? Because I had been telling people back home that I was coming home on Friday, and wanted to surprise them. The first person I was planning on surprising was Jessica (my senior ball date who came and visited me at school a month ago). I was planning on waiting for her at her car when school got out at 2 pm, thus why I needed to leave so early. The drive over wasn't bad... made a stop in Othello to say hi to my grandma Char, and made a quick phone call to my grandpa Mel. Anywho... got back to Bethel in time, and was sitting out on the hood of her car for like 15 minutes after school... but no Jess. Finally, I go inside and try looking for her. No success. Then I call her... no answer. She calls me back a few minutes later, upon which time I find out she's in Seattle with her friends cuz it was Senior Skip Day! DANG! With my cover blown, I tell her that I'm back in town and was going to surprise her... I don't think it had quite the same effect, but she still thought it was sweet. After that, I went out and hung out in the dugout (I knew like half the guys on the team and the coaches) while the Bethel baseball team demolished their district rival, Spanaway Lake. I then decided to head on back to my friend/neighbor Adam's house (who also was under the impression I'd be home Friday). I kinda got a little scare out of him cuz he was trying to sleep when I burst into his room... he thought I was his dad coming to yell at him, lol. After that came the best reaction of all though.
My mom called me while I was at Adam's to tell me that I had a fine for dropping my forensic bio class, and that I should "take care of it before I leave tomorrow" (Friday). Well... the phone kept cutting out since I didn't have the greatest reception, so Adam and I decided to head on back to my house, which is only a couple blocks away (see diagram below). Well, as we were on the way there, my mom called again, and I found out that she had just pulled into the driveway. So, being the funny guy that I am, I pulled in behind her (she couldn't see me since she was facing the house and the trees made her mirrors useless) and started honking my horn while I was talking to her. It startled her a bit, then she yelled out a "YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Oh man, I almost died laughing. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, but for those of you that haven't been to my house, hopefully this will clear up any questions you may have, lol:
Since Then: I really don't remember what happened on specific days since then, but I know I went and saw "The Interpreter" (great movie) with Jess and had dinner with my dad at Kanpai (Japanese restaurant) sometime last week. This week has consisted mostly of doing yardwork for my mom in preparation for selling the house. I mowed and raked the yard (a time consuming task, even with a riding mower), pressure washed our 180 foot driveway (mainly just to get pine needles and random grass clippings off of), moved a pile of rocks, moved 5 or 6 huge bags of OLD peat moss (that had been in the same spot for a good 12 years), sprayed bleach on the roof of our house to kill moss, and cut some branches off the trees overhanging the driveway. All in all, not too fun. I also applied to be a yard loader at Lumberman's... but I haven't heard back from them yet (*crosses fingers*). There has also been some hanging out with Adam and Jess... but they're both still kinda busy with school so even that's been sparse.
What's up next: Tomorrow morning/afternoon I'm going to hang out with Jess. Dunno what we're going to to yet, but I'm sure it'll be a good time. Tomorrow evening I'm going up to the 'Hood, the Fairhood, to hang out with Ryan after he gets off work. Then on Sunday, its up to the UP (University Place) to hang out with the soon-to-be Shannon Dorsey (I'm assuming she's taking John's last name)... and maybe catching a free drama performance at Bethel that evening that a friend told me about today. Then, next Saturday marks the return of me donning a tuxedo... for Jess' senior ball. I'm REALLY excited for that... it should be an awesome time with an awesome girl. Oh, for those of you visual people, check out my myspace (on the right)... my picture is of Jess and me a couple summers ago. Then, in a week and a half, I'm supposed to be going to an M's game with my pops... we'll see though.
That's about all I have for y'all... except my new email address is bkoe22@gmail.com, so hit me up on that. But, before I go...
Guessing game: What did I find on the very top of our roof (yes, I mean the apex), some 40 feet off the ground?
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Summer is almost here...
After tomorrow at 10 a.m., my summer will officially begin. Three and a half months of no schoolwork, projects, or tests. It will be GLORIOUS!
Today was my only final... in PSYCH 311 (Statistics in Psychology). It was by far the longest final I've ever taken here. It took me just over an hour and a half... scheduled to be three hours long. And when I left, 2/3 - 3/4 of the class was still working on it. It's all good though, because I'm pretty sure I did fairly well on it... which is good since I started studying for it at around 11 last night and it was cumulative. It was my ONLY final and I started studying for it 13 hours before it began... so much for reducing the procrastination.
However, I would've started on it earlier had it not been for my STUPID English 101 writing portfolio. If any of you read my away messages in the past week, you'd have noticed that they consisted of "writing a paper" or other negative statements about English 101. That'd be why. It's all good though because I turned that beast in today too.
Speaking of, guessing game for this entry: how many pages were in my writing portfolio? I highly doubt any of you will guess this exactly, but we'll see who gets closest. To provide some background info, at least 22 pages are required by the English department.
Mmk... well it's time to head off to a group meeting to finalize our project for my class/final/presentation tomorrow. For those of you here at WSU, good luck on the rest of your finals. If you're done, have a great summer and keep in touch! For those of you elsewhere (aka: back home), call me up and we'll hang out soon!
Ahh... Miranda Lambert.
Today was my only final... in PSYCH 311 (Statistics in Psychology). It was by far the longest final I've ever taken here. It took me just over an hour and a half... scheduled to be three hours long. And when I left, 2/3 - 3/4 of the class was still working on it. It's all good though, because I'm pretty sure I did fairly well on it... which is good since I started studying for it at around 11 last night and it was cumulative. It was my ONLY final and I started studying for it 13 hours before it began... so much for reducing the procrastination.
However, I would've started on it earlier had it not been for my STUPID English 101 writing portfolio. If any of you read my away messages in the past week, you'd have noticed that they consisted of "writing a paper" or other negative statements about English 101. That'd be why. It's all good though because I turned that beast in today too.
Speaking of, guessing game for this entry: how many pages were in my writing portfolio? I highly doubt any of you will guess this exactly, but we'll see who gets closest. To provide some background info, at least 22 pages are required by the English department.
Mmk... well it's time to head off to a group meeting to finalize our project for my class/final/presentation tomorrow. For those of you here at WSU, good luck on the rest of your finals. If you're done, have a great summer and keep in touch! For those of you elsewhere (aka: back home), call me up and we'll hang out soon!
Ahh... Miranda Lambert.
