The Normal Life

The Definition of IRONIC

2007-09-22T16:51:00.000-06:00

The Normal life for this author has changed drastically from where it was a year ago at this time. As of last September I was beginning student teaching, and was set to graduate in May with a degree in Elementary Education, then move on and teach somewhere. I was actually pretty stoked for this.

Well, like I said, things change, even in Normal, Illinois and despite my best efforts to prove otherwise, Illinois State University decided I was not fit to become a teacher and thus will not let me graduate with my elementary education degree.

Officially, I am not allowed to graduate because of sever concerns regarding my disposition, which basically means, they don't think I have the character/moral integrity to teach.

The only reason I bring that story up is so that you all can truly appreciate the following:

FACT 1: In questioning my character/moral integrity, ISU is effectively questioning how ethical I am, my ability to make ethical decisions or understand the ethical implications of my actions.

FACT 2:Because my graduation got pushed back due to insufficient hours to graduate with a general degree, thus I am taking 12 hours of online courses from Triton Community College.

FACT 3: One of the classes I am taking right now from Triton is Ethics.

Considering all three of the above facts, I find it particularly humorous and ironic that I woke up today after a hard night of partying (if I'm not allowed to teach I might as well enjoy myself) and immediately sat down at my computer to take my first test of the semester, which was a test in my Ethics course, which I finished in about 20 minutes (40 questions, we were allotted 50).

The real kicker is I got a 95% ... I wonder if I can resubmit my appeal to ISU considering this new information. Haha, hope you all enjoy the irony here as much as I do!

Summer update and the Great Debate

2007-08-02T15:50:00.001-06:00

Howdy Normal Lifers! It's been awhile, I know, but lately I've been feeling like I should be blogging more, and hopefully it's contagious.

Anyways... I think you can blame this summers lack of blogging on the fact the Jim now has a working cell phone!! I am NOT making this up, I repeat, I am NOT MAKING THIS UP!! I think it's been working for at least six to seven weeks straight now. This is a personal record for Jim, so leave a comment and congratulate him.

Now for a quick rundown of this summer's activities:

1. Tuesday soccer games: The grampus won two games this summer and have one game left in the playoffs. We didn't finish last!

2. Wednesday nights at the Pub II. Ranked in the top 100 college bars, this is always a great time, and has sparked what we've now deemed "The Debate". I'll explain more later...

3. Several great parties, from which new Normal Life favorites have emerged:

Extreme Spoons
Water Balloon Capture the Flag
Beer mug Checkers
Redneck golf (I think that's what it's called anyways)
Kitchen sink sprayer fights

And now, for The Debate:

Q. "What is the best pickup line"
A. "How do you explode?"

Explanation: We discovered while chatting one Wednesday night at the pub, that the girls don't explode after the "pound" the same way guys do. (You know, the modern day version of the high five.) For those of you are still lost, i suggest you ask someone cool and stop spending so much time on myspace.

So, on the night of this revelation, the debate started, and we started involving random bar patrons. It seems that most people from out of town pull back when they explode, whereas the guys in our are explode through after the pound. It seems for women, they always pull back. By the end of the night, people we hadn't even talked to about this were debating it among their own little groups. We literally had the whole bar debating what the proper way to explode is.

Our answer is defintely to explode through, and as Scorno says: "You gotta go with inertia in this case." (For those of you who have forgotten, Scorno graduated, and yes it still sounds weird when he says something smart when he's drunk.)

So that's just a glance at some of the fun we've had this summer, feel free to leave your input. Catch ya'll later!

Par-TAY!

2007-06-01T11:37:00.000-06:00

Hey all...just figured I would throw something up since it never seems to make it here anymore...Party TONIGHT at The Oaks #40...call someone if you don't know where...and be there!

Cinco de Mayo/Last party EVER! (at apt #10)

2007-05-02T11:09:00.000-06:00

Sat night, our place. Whenever you wanna show. I realize there will be some people out of town and some people may have graduation parties to attend, but we'll be up late into the evening and we have several liquids we don't wish to move. (wink)

That is all.

You know you're from Normal when

2007-03-08T16:03:00.000-06:00

I was cruisin facebook the other day and saw a group, you know you're from chicago when....
I know we can totally beat their reasons hands down, so i decided to come up with a few of our own.

You know you're from Normal When...

...Everyplace you go you think to yourself, I remember when this was a cornfield.

...Cubs and Cardinals fans will riot when the Sox win the world series.

...It seems to take just as long to get to St. Louis, Chicago, or Indianapolis as it does to get across town.

...you've been pulled over by the radio station and thought it was the cops.

...driving after 2 in the morning on a friday or saturday night means you will definetely be followed by the cops for at least three to four blocks. If you make it that far.

...You've sat through the same traffic light three times for a grand total of twenty minutes before crossing the street.

...you meet someone new and the first thing they ask you is if you know their friend from Bloomington.

....you've been stopped by the same train three times in ten minutes.

...you've had the fans from another sporting team jeer at your players after we just routed you.

...you asked where you're from and you refer to the name of your subdivision as if it were a subburb.

These are just the ten i've come up with so far. I'll add more as i think of 'em. Feel free to add any ya'll can think of

Happy Birthday, Walter!!

2007-02-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

We had a birthday yesterday!! Happy 21 to Mr. Walter Allen!! :o)

Party this weekend at the Snyder/St. John/Vanderbusch apartment:

Saturday, February 3rd
Festivities commence at 8:00 and will last until barhopping begins at midnight
The party's semi-formal, so dress to impress!
Some beverages will be provided (and some food, of course!), but feel free to bring your own.
Please RSVP to me (knsnyde@yahoo.com) by this FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd at the latest!!

Hope to see you there!!

Pho-tos

2007-01-10T10:33:00.000-06:00

Hello friends!! Hope everyone likes the pictures on the sidebar - please add more! :o)

XOXO
Kel

Update

2007-01-03T22:44:00.000-06:00

So while heading to BWW's tonight with the guys from church.... I ran into to someone who made a special requests.

Denise Fornoff would like everyone to know she is in town. (This should be sufficient reason for someone to begin organizing a party immediately) She requested I let everyone know. (Hence this post.) There ya have it. I think she plans on making BWW's this upcoming tuesday as well.

New Blogger!

2006-12-28T17:50:00.000-06:00

YEAH! Blogger has finally updated, which means everyone will see some crazy changes int he next 24-48 hours!!! (Seriously, I'm on Christmas break, I've got mega time!) ...

For team members on the blog, if you access your dashboard and can't access the new blog this link may help: http://help.blogger.com/bin/topic.py?topic=9085

And if it doesn't I'll just re-invite you to the blog, so let me know if you are having trouble and that link doesn't help!

ALELO PUKA!

2006-12-26T02:02:00.000-06:00

For anyone who wants to know Bill went out and got his tongue pierced.

Of course he think it's hot.

But I told him his new nickname was now ALELO PUKA, which is Hawaiian for Hole in Tongue or Tongue Hole.

Thus ladies and gentleman, I proudly introduce a new group nickname ... ALELO PUKA!

P.s. admittedly he's a major Pronk!

The Countdown Begins!!

2006-11-28T15:59:00.000-06:00

Flying into Midway Airport around 10:15 on the night of Sunday 17 December!

Then a much-needed and long-awaited Denny's run when we get back to town!!

Freedom!!

2006-11-17T11:20:00.000-06:00

FYI... I can now drive anywhere i wish once again. You never know how lucky you are that you have this ability untill you lose it. I know several of you will be disappointed, becuase some of the best comedy I've seen has come from you guys in the last few months, relating to my inability to go wherever i feel like whenever i feel like. Feel free to comment on any of the good ones you came up with. (mainly because i want to use them as ammo if it ever happens to any of ya'll).

Best part is, I no longer have to listen to Matt talk to me like I'm a dog "Here boy, wanna go for a ride?"

England Pics :o)

2006-11-07T07:55:00.000-06:00

Create Your Own!

Halloween 2: the return

2006-10-30T12:21:00.000-06:00

Well, this was a return for some of us anyways. Others of us were either out of town, out of the country, or were just too narcoleptic to make it. Needless to say we still had some good times.

Attendance. I think at one point we had maybe twenty people over. A bit less than last year. But post party analysis shows that weak advertising had a big role to play in this. Narcoleptic friends don't help either. Right Jim? *He's got a decent excuse, it's ok*

Anyways, we had some neighbors join in as well as the old Colby 4 crew, who last year were voted the best sports team, and as the returning champs, i'd have to say, they defended their title. Other costumes were, Gambit from X-Men, Sara was the red gothic princess who was the 40 year old lung cancer victim. (Someone is sick every year) Abby definetely had the best costume of the night. She wore her moms old Purple Reebok Jane Fonda workout pants and a purple cape, with a black T-shirt. she was feminist woman. or something like that. Walter came as Tiger woods, and managed to get pulled over on a food run to McD's. We think the policeman just wanted Tiger's autograph. Walt managed to slip the ticket somehow. Beerman also made an appearance, and paired with St J beat me and Andrew at two straight games of beer pong.

After suffering a tragic defeat at beer pong, everyone headed outside to watch Dave attempt to light Aces on fire and then throw them. (cuz that's what Gambit does for those of you non comic book lovers.) First off, the cards would not light. already i'd say that this Myth is BUSTED. But in true mythbusters fashion, if it doesn't work the right way, involve a highly flammable chemical, then try it again. Dave burnt himself a few times, but still managed to get a few cards on fire, but the second he threw them, they went out. This all would have been a major let down if not for sweet shot put up by Dave in the last second. In an attempt to return the lighter to Matt...Dave tosses it back to him while he's standin about eight to ten feet away. The lighter lands squarely in the bottom of St. J's Whiskey and Coke! Great shot!

Our next mission: To get D. Lamb wasted
We decided the best way to do this was to cheat. We pulled out a deck of cards and played a little f*** the dealer. D Lamb got the deal after two passes, and with the help of Matt and Kyle standing behind him, was never able to ditch the deal. Mission accomplished.

After this the party started to fizzle out a little. The neighbors went back to their place, the sports crew took off, and Scorno, Abby and I were left to play name that band with the random music on the 360. This got old after a while, and eventually everyone went their own way.

Party Aftermath:
Somehow, two bottles of Guiness and a coke were left in the freezer. Needless to say, we now have two tubs of Guiness flavored Ice Cream, and Chicken fingers with a hint of Coca-Cola. The responsible parties have hereby lost all freezer priveliges at our apartment. Permanently. We believe this to be the third such instance by the person(s) responsible, and made it easy to track them down. You know who you are.

Good Times. Catch ya'll later.

Anyone know about the possibility of BWW's Tues from the left over soccer money?

Hello (again) from England!

2006-10-08T12:00:00.000-06:00

Hello to everyone!! It's been a wonderful three weeks so far over here!

Spent the first few days in London, going through IFSA-Butler Orientations (I'm sure Megan has fond memories of those . . .) :o)

After the first night of orientations, a group of us went looking for a place to grab a drink after our FREE dinner. Whoever was up front must've been confused . . . we ended up at a pretty snazzy-looking place called the Verve. In retrospect, we have decided that it was definitely a gay club. We really got our time in London off to a start with a bang! lol

Tuesday night we were all taken to a play (also free of charge for us) called A Moon for the Misbegotten, starring Kevin Spacey and Colm Meaney. It was wonderfully done! The play dragged a bit in parts, and seemed to kind of circle back to say the same thing that had already been said, but all in all, superbly acted. Full of passion from beginning to end.

On Wednesday afternoon, all of the Royal Holloway (that's my school!) kids got bussed down to Chandler's Ford (don't worry, I hadn't heard of it before my trip, either) for our three-day-long family stay.

I stayed with a very nice woman named Danie Reeves, and her sixteen-year-old son named Laurence.

Thursday it was arranged for all of the students (9 of us girls!) to visit nearby Winchester, for a tour of the town and to see the Cathedral. It was a very pretty place, and I took loads of pictures. That evening, my host mum, Cass (another girl on my program), Cass's host mum Chris and I went to a Jazz Night at a local sports club, to see Cuff Billett (a trumpet player who's something of a local legend) and his six-piece New Orleans-style jazz ensemble play. They were wonderful!! (The clarinet had an embouchure to die for!)

Friday they arranged for all of us Royal Holloway girls to take a walking tour of Southampton (also very close, in the opposite direction from Winchester). Our tour guide was wonderful; unfortunately the weather was not . . . After a very rainy tour of Old Southampton, we hit the local (indoor!) shopping centre, and I lightened my wallet a bit with a trip to H&M!! (wonderful, wonderful store . . . but it sure is a good thing there isn't one nearby to campus!) That evening I went to a modern dance concert with my Host Mum. She was ushering, and I got a ticket for a pretty good deal. The first piece was weird, but I really liked the second two (a male-female duet, then an all-male piece).

Saturday morning we said goodbye to our host families and were bussed over to Royal Holloway to get moved in!

The following week brought fits of shopping (both in the local Egham and in Staines, the next town over by train), and endless departmental meetings. They don't believe in online (or even organised, for that matter!) registration and class enrolment over here . . . However, they do believe in weekly markets at the Student's Union! (hoo-ray for fresh produce!)

What we couldn't get at the market we got in town . . . and then carried back via - erm - borrowed shopping carts . . . Again in the rain (it's something of a trend over here, the rain is . . .)

Much excitement in my flat, day one brought an overflowing shower (made my room stinky for at least a week), and an always-running toilet. Both fixed, eventually, to my immense relief.

Saturday, IFSA-Butler took us on the first of our semi-free daytrips; this one was to Hampton Court and Windsor. As the Hampton Court was the free part, we opted to just stay there, rather than take the bus over to Windsor. Turns out that Royal Holloway is about a 20-minute train ride from Windsor, anyway, so we'll get there eventually . . . The palace was beautiful!! The maze was fun, too, and we got through that in record time! Again, I took loads of pictures . . .

Monday brought the first week of classes for Royal Holloway . . . but I didn't actually have class until Tuesday!

It's a good thing, too, because I was sick as a dog on Monday with something they call "Fresher's Flu", which most Fresher's get during their first autumn at university, apparantly.

Tuesday (feeling mostly better), I started off classes with my Intro to Medieval Lit Lecture in the morning, followed by the Medieval Lit Seminar just after lunchtime, and then finally Music and Society in Purcell's London from 4-6 that evening. Tuesday also brought our likely-to-be-weekly event: Whiskey Monday (yes, on Tuesday.) Some very funny pictures ended up a result of this . . . Anyway, I tried my first bit of whiskey (I took 2 shots of it), and played King's Cup for the first time. Lotsa fun!

Wednesday is my other free day, so (what else?) I went shopping in Staines. :o)

Thursday I only have one class, in the morning: History of Music II. I actually did some work on Thursday (all of my classes have lots of out-of-class required reading associated with them . . . but not assigned readings, just a very long booklist to choose from. We're responsible to be well-read in our subject through our own choices in texts.) I did an hour or so of reading at one of RHUL's libraries, and then Thursday evening it was time for my first society meeting! Cass and I went to BALADS, which is the Ballroom and Latin Dancing Society. The first meeting was huge! There were almost 90 people there, although they usually have around 30 or so. It was tons of fun, but far too crowded for a cohesive dance lesson; we're looking forward to the crowds thinning out over the next few weeks or so . . .

Friday brought my final class, Shakespeare. The lecture was amazing! I felt like I was supposed to be applauding when Dr. Fernie finished speaking. I think I'm really going to enjoy this class, in particular. Friday afternoon was more shopping (including the purchase of some wonderfully comfortable sweats!), followed by Kyle and my first attempt at Skype, a free computer-to-computer talking service. It really was pretty wonderful to be able to talk with Kyle for two hours without worrying about how much money I had left on my phone! If anyone else would like to talk sometime, just go to http://www.Skype.com, and download the application. It's easy-to-use, FREE, and downloads in less than 10 min. My Skype ID is knsnyde, so let me know if you wanna talk sometime! :o)

Saturday (yesterday) brought more shopping in Staines (I think I'm addicted . . . ), again followed by a Skype session with Kyle! Later that night, I watched How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days with Cass and Carli (my wonderful flatmate, also on my program). It was squished, but good times. :o)

Today, I haven't done much else besides study. I went to Founder's Library and spent about 2 hours reading 14 or so pages for my Purcell's London class; I'll have to go back tomorrow to finish the last 10 pages, but I just couldn't read any more . . .

Anyway, please send me an email, or IM - I'd really love to hear from everyone, and I check facebook and my email constantly! Or Skype me if you want!! Hope everyone is midway through a wonderful semester back home . . . More from me soon!!

Love to all,
Kelly :o)

ps - here are some links to my pictures!!

Merrie Olde England
England, Part the Deuce
Thrice the Fun in England
England Times Four

Thoughts on the Office

2006-09-26T17:07:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, i work in a large office/corporate community. I will leave this unnamed since i could have complications with my job if I publicly declare which company i work for on the internet.

Anyways, here are some random thoughts that have accumulated over my last year on the job

1. How do they get the water in the urinals to stay blue? Is there like a giant tank somewhere that they just drop a couple hundred 2000 flushes tablets in?

2. Why do they do this? Do they do it because they know guys will admire the lovely green color the water turns when you're doing your business? Is this an effort to give you something to look at while you're doin your duty?

3.The serial crapper! That's right, we've got this guy that must wait a whole week to take a crap, then leaves it in the John. This is no ordinary log we're talking about, this thing practically crawls out. I'm seriously talking like four inches wide and a foot and a half long.

4. In an effort to save money by not having to pay the cleaning people second shift rates, they now clean the building during the day. This means the cleanin people are always hauling those plastic trash bins on whells all over the place. Why do they always decide to leave that *darn* thing sitting right by my desk for the last hour and half of the day? Is this the cleanin people way of getting back at someone for something? (Guess i shoulda at least tried to flush the turd.)

5. The caferia workers. That's right these guys have gotten a serious upgrade since sixth grade. The guys are all mexican, and are pretty cool guys, but they hit on every woman that comes through the door. If a 100 year old decomposed corpse walked in with only one eye and a bad case of lepracy, they'd go for it. They also ask every guy who comes through their line who or what they slept with that weekend. This is only funny because you can't understand a *darned* word they say, and after sayin what five times, they shout it out in better english than even I can manage. Is there not a chapter in whatever english class they take that teaches how talk real quiet like in passable english? Someone should look into that one.

6. How can and Eighty year old man with one arm possibly be a security guard? (as Larry the Cable guy would sayLord i appologize for that there)

7. You know how the connections thing works in hiring in office communities. Well the Old Security guy managed to get his old lady hired too. Use your imagination. (Lord i apologize for that there.)

8. We have a department that's in charge of moving everything from the power and communications lines in the floors to any of the bigger equipment around the office. These guys have GOT to be the best Rummy players I've ever seen. They have to be with as much practice as they get. Hey anyone know why we gotta wait a month to move that printer?

9. How annoying is it when you get an e-mail from the person sitting right next to you?

10. How much more annoying is it when they e-mail you to ask what the cafeteria is serving for lunch, which has had the same weekly lunch menu since I've started.

11. If you see a lone rubberband go flying through the air... take cover. There's never a single rubberband launch. Hundred's more will soon follow.

12. When you have a problem with someone, you have to run through an Equal Opportunity complainer checklist before you can complain about them to your supervisor. (Basically you can never complain about someone without discrimination of somekind) You gotta realize, we don't hate what you are, just who you are. (Sorry Lord, last time I promise)

13. Is there a guy with a radio controlled button that shuts down the escalators from a distance at the most opportune moment? I've always dreamed of being able to fly, but this isn't quite what i had in mind.

14. What if Chuck Norris was my supervisor?

And finally...

15. Would Chuck Norris have a bigger office than my supervisor? Or would that be unfair to the other supervisors? Would they would be affraid to say anything because they'd be discriminting him because he's Chuck Norris? How would Chuck react if they did complain? would there be any supervisors left? Would that then make Chuck the boss? I wonder if Chuck is a fair boss. Probably not, maybe it's best that Chuck Norris is not my supervisor afer all.

ENGLAND!!

2006-09-23T16:52:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm finally here (with connected internet).

It's been a hell of a week (wonderful but busy), so I'll try to get a post up sometime to let everyone know what's going on with me over here in the UK.

Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm still alive and all that, so hope all is well with everyone at home, and I'll be posting soon!

hugs all around,
Kelly :o)

ps - send me your post addresses, and leave me messages on my Instant Messanger - I'd love to hear from you guys!! :o)

Fox Broadcasting could learn a thing or two

2006-09-10T16:00:00.000-06:00

So after waiting all week to watch the biggest rivalry in the NFL, after five minutes I'm already suffering through the pains of watching a terrible FOX SPORTS broadcast. Only this time, it's much much worse than usuall.

For some unknown reason that the incredibally smart retards at fox sports decided that they needed to add some dumb soundeffects to the banner that runs across the top of the screen during regular gameplay. A second after every snap, the down indicator in the banner wipes, and is acompanied by an extremely annoying high pitched zipping noise. A slightly less annoying sound takes place every time a flag is thrown as well.

I realize fox broadcasts have never been great, but this whole, "high tech robot" theme they've been screwing around with these last few years is the last straw. Unfortunately, no many how many channels i get, the only was to watch this particular Bears V Packers game is on some sort of Fox broadcast.

If you feel the same way. Go to www.fosxports.com/feedback and let 'em know how you feel.

Labor Day Cookout

2006-08-31T17:16:00.000-06:00

The basics

Cookout at our place on Labor Day this Monday. Early evening meaning 5 or 6. Whenever you feel like gettin here really.

I have brats and hotdogs and buns. If you come please bring a side dish (chips, fruit etc...) or something to drink.

Let me know if you're coming or leave a comment here and if you're bringin anyone so i know if i have enough food.

See ya'll then.

Our Weekend

2006-08-27T23:02:00.000-06:00

So this school year I share an apartment with Bill, Shane and Jake ... and this was quite the weekend for all of us.

Bill - took down an entire bottle of vodka single-handedly Thursday night, and ended up sucking face with some random chick in the living room of another friend's apartment. He then preceeded to top this drunken last night while shit-faced by snagging home a drunken ride from a police officer at like 3 in the morn, and of course told his life story in that 3 minute journey from Willow to Fell/Irving. Haha .... true story.

Jake - When Bill and I left Friday evening all was normal in Normal. When we returned Saturday afternoon and evening respectively our apartment living room wall was adorned with a gian (and I mean giant) diamond shaped construction road sign ... and I was like I need to know the story for that. Apparently the story of how we got the road sign is simple: Jake got drunk. Haha, ah the good times.

Shane - Got a drinking ticket Friday night. Him and apparently every other under-21 partyer at ISU on School street that night.

Jim (me!) - passed out on the bathroom floor last night, only to be discovered by Shane and Jake. (So I was drunk, the room was spinning and I was pretty sure I was gonna hurl ... and I was drunk, just in case that wasnt mentioned. So I thought "Hey, I'm Narcoleptic, I can sleep anywhere. And Im sure Im gonna hurl, I dont wanna do it in my room. I better go camp out in the bathroom. So I took my pillow, put up the toilet seat, sprawled out on the bathroom floor and fell asleep. I never did puke, but Shane and Jake thought it was hilarious.

What a weekend!

God only knows what this means for the rest of the year!

Soccer Wednesday

2006-08-27T22:48:00.000-06:00

So for everyone who doesnt know where the Sale Barn is for Wednesday's 6pm soccer game u can see a map here.Basically take Main street south almost out of town and at Hamilton road turn right (you'll see a big Mcdonald's at the corner). See everyone there!

Snakes on a Plane and a Near Death Experience

2006-08-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

So tonight, Me, Nick, Bobby, Tommy, Juan, Keegan, Jamie, Dave T, and a lady Dave brought whose name I cannot remember saw the much anticipated Snakes on a Plane.

IT WAS FREAKIN' AWESOME!

Anyhoo...

As we were heading out, we were met by a massive electrical storm. Crazy massive. We try to head out anyway. Nick runs to get the car, pulls around, picks Me, Bobby, and Jamie up and we head out. By the time that we reach the edge of the parking lot at the Palace Cinema, the windows had fogged up and we could barely see out the window. As Nick continues to drive, I come to the realization that he is in the left lane, across the yellow line. I tell him that we should probably pull over until the fog and/or the rain let up, not to mention the crazy every other second lightning.

We pull off onto a country road, its so foggy, dark and rainy that we can barely see anything. We sit there admirring the spectacle that was the electicity for about a minute. Some of the lightning seems like it is striking around in nearby fields. All of a sudden, a power line about ten feet in front of us was struck by lightning. None of us knew there was a line there, it was too dark and stormy.

As the line is hit, it was super bright. Then all of a sudden, there was a loud bang and two showers of sparks came down just feet away from our car, though Bobby says it came onto the car and that he heard a buzz. Naturally, I respond with an "OH SHIT!" As I say that, Nick decides we need to get the hell out. After vocallizing this, he throws it in gear and does a three point turn and we turn tail.

As we pull away, I could feel this huge lump in throat. We still can't see. We're running from what was probably a downed powerline. We don't know what the hell we were doing.

It was crazy as shit. I'm not too proud to admit that it really did scare the shit out of me. We were like ten feet away from being struck by lightning. A near-death experience. At the very least, this becomes my "Something interesting that happened to you this summer" story for the first day of class.

Another weekend of Soccer ...

2006-08-18T17:47:00.000-06:00

So got another weekend of SOCCER!! WOOOO!Here's the following activities...

1. THE ENGLISH PREMIERE LEAGUE STARTS THIS WEEKEND!!! (That's the equivalent of the NFL). It's one of the world's best leagues, arguably the best ... and the Fox Soccer Channel airs and re-airs all the games!!! WOOOO! True story ... for you Insight customers (so everyone) that's channel 401 on the digital package, which we get at my house and now ... AT THE APARTMENT! SOOOOO... who's up for watching the games? They are as follows on Saturday:
     - Newcastle vs. Wigan - 9am / replayed at 4pm
     - Tottenham vs. Bolton - 11am / replayed at 10
     - Middlesborough at Reading - 1pm / replayed at 1am

2. The games on Sunday are as follows...
     - Manchester City at Chelsea - 10am, replayed at 4pm
     - Argentina League Soccer: River plate at Racing - 2pm

3. Finally the fall team's first game is tentatively Tuesday at 6pm ... and after hearing a lot of requests we are going to have a kick-around at 6pm on Sunday night at Sugar Creek, if for some reason you come late and we aren't there we'll be at Prairieland ... of course it's open to the fans and media ... I'm organizing it, so I'm hesitant to call it a practice as Im not a coach haha... Please spread the word and please be there!

Back to School: Day 3

2006-08-16T23:31:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first day of classes for me. UGH! It only reaffirmed how much I hate El Ed majors (I know, ironic). Now dont get me wrong, outside of class I love many of these people ... and I am sure most of them will make great teachers. But I can't lie, AAAAHHH! They make me want to stab myself in the eye over and over and over.

Today wasn't so bad. I purposefully didn't dress up and wore a ball hat today to our two hour intro to technology seminar this morn. Even showed up ten min late. Just hoping to rile my teacher up ... piss her off a bit. Sadly she wasnt there, haha, but I did know a few people running the presentation (benefits of being in the district for so long) and everyone thinks I am that much more of a loose cannon. In fact at dinner we decided that outside of my teaching, in this program I am/going to be a cross between Maverick and the movie Top Gun and Agent J and the movie Men in Black. Haha, perfect! I'll be like a hilarious black Maverick who fights aliens in a fighter jet while being chewed out by an instructor named Agent Viper (wasnt that pretty much the plot for Independence Day?!?) ... I just wish I had a Goose. Anyway...

The one interesting tidbit, which my little brother totally ruined my amazement at during dinner, was that during our presentation the computer was projected onto this giant screen (nothing special). But the screen wasn't any normal screen, it's called a touch pad. And you could literally touch the pad like a mouse on an icon and it would open. U could open up all sorts of cool gadgets, like a spotlight or a pen and just go to town during a presentation. It was like having a chalkboard/touch screen monitor in one. I thought it was like the coolest thing since sliced bread. And then I was floored to find out that this wasnt strictly for like the big disctrict conference room we were in. That instead every Elementary school in the district had one in their IMC and that two of the schools (Praireland and Northpoint, two biggest), had portable one that was easily wheeled anywhere.

This is like cutting edge shit. This is like the shit you see in a demo at a convention or that you read about as te new wave of technology that you're like, "yeah right, just like how every student takes notes on a laptop" ...I mean this looked expensive, and while I am sure the people at State Farm have these everywhere ... for a school district to have one in every elementary school of all places. WHOA! I was like, when I was leaving the 6th grade it was a big deal that the new classrooms were going to have dry erase boards rather than chalk boards .... and the tech people were talking about how in like 10 years every classroom or like every other classroom would have one or something. I'm floored with out amazingly space age and sweet this is ... and when I tell the story at dinner, Brian is all like, "Duh, old news man, thats not new technology". And Im like well sorry Mr. I'm 13 and have grown up with this my whole life, but some of us never had anything more than a chalkboard and a regular projector ... some of us couldnt imagine every IMC int he district have a dry erase board instead of a chalkboard, let alone this technological marvel. So I called him spoiled and told him about the good old days of walking to school barefoot (uphill both ways!)

Back to School: Day 1

2006-08-14T22:22:00.000-06:00

Today I went back to school. *Sad*. And pretty much it was exactly, and i mean exactly like RA training ... just different scenery, different people ... same gig.

On the bright side, before I even did half of what I was asked to do, just because I knew how to do it, the principal at Glen pretty much offered me a job. So that was exciting.

Principal: Oh we have got to keep you around! How long are you here for?
Me: 6 weeks
Principal: And when do you graduate?
Me: May
Principal: And what about after that, are you going to be looking for a job around here? (Or something like that)
Me: I'd love to be hired onto a paying job anywhere
Principal: Well you just keep us in mind whenever the time gets close, ok?

Haha, so anyway ... my teacher wasnt there, but I met and helped out like half the teachers, so I'm already well-liked ... haha, having a helper like me around for a whole day ... and i knew what I was doing ... Haha, I was fought over. I just wanted to be like, my services go to the highest bidder ... but anyway...

Thereafter Bill, Meg and I went to Kyle's team's baseball game (they won!) to keep track of score. Real good times. Bill has a new theme song ... and its hilarious. It's about Jose Cuervo but sung to the tune-ish of "My bologna has a first name) .... Haha, and then the three of us went to Chevy's (Bill loves his Margaritas) .... ah good times.

Tomorrow should be much of the same. Except I'm supposed to be in a class from like 9am -3pm ... and even with a lunch break that makes me want to shoot myself already.

And then at 4 its back to the Car Plant to keep score for another game! Good times! Woooo...

Soccer amidst a Hurricane, and then came the real storm...

2006-08-13T10:41:00.000-06:00

I forgot to relay this event from Thursday night, and i wanted to blog it before I forgot.

So Thursday night was quite the awesome time! First, we had a pick-up soccer game going at Kingsley around 6:30 ... about 7 or so, it began raining. Everyone ran off the field (following my lead sprint to get the Jeep windows up), to throw their gear in their cars and then we ran back ont he field where we played through 90 minutes of pouring rain. In the words of Brandon Gibs (SF counselor), "I didn't know Illinois had Hurricanes." For a good 20 minutes the rain was coming down sideways in such a pelting fashion that is stung to look into the direction it was coming. This of course made offense interesting for my team as we had to run into the sideways pelting rain to reach our goal. The visibility was, well, non-existent. Good times were certainly had by all ...

Then a few of us went bowling at Circle lanes. After getting there in the middle of Katie Rassi and Dave Benedict finishing a game, (in which Dave bowled like a 148 to Katie's 80-something), we bowled another game where Dave and I went back and forth until he pulled out for good (bowling like a 130 to my 103 to Katie's 90.).

Then came the big moment, the last game ... we handicapped Rassi 45 pins to make it interesting and the bet was, the second and third place losers would buy the first place winner a milkshake.

Dave came out all guns firing, with three straight spares and I came out whimpering. Katie did just fine for herself. Long about the 6th frame this bet idea of mine seemed like a horrible idea and I was regretting it. I had like a 55, hadnt spares or struck anything. Katie had like 80 and Dave had a few pins less although was clearly poised to breeze right by her.

Then came the greatest bowling comeback and greatest collapse the Normal Life has ever seen. Think NCAA Elite Eight Zona vs. Illinois from a few years ago. I struck the 7th and 8th frame and spared the 9th.

Going into the tenth Dave, down by a handful of pins to Rassi, blew it and ended up with a 110. Rassi who had like 112 in the tenth finished with like a 122 or something. So I strolled up. The consensus being that if I spared the tenth I give myself a chance to win it if I bowl something high in that third shot. This was quite exciting considering only a few frames early it looked like my last few frames were merely for pride. I had the audacity to say to the group, conversing with me about the strike. Well, how about I just get a strike and put it all away right now. I then proceeded to walk up and throw a strike, putting myself two pins down to Katie. I threw an 8, giving myself the lead and then barely missed the spare, thus finishing with a final score of like 130.

All in all, Katie was happy, Dave was pissed (in a fun way, not a Bobby knight way ... altho he did kick a chair a la Bobby knight) and I was flying high. Haha, naturally I did everything I could to rub it in for 24 hours. Ah, the good times we have ...

and for the record, the one to stick with me through it all (not necessarily believe I was gonna win, but not abandon me) was Kyle. Figured he'd want some props for each time he told me "Dont suck" before I threw a strike. Haha.

Soccer update

2006-08-09T22:56:00.000-06:00

FYI: People will be going out to play soccer from 6:30 to dark now (moved from 7:15)!! WOOOO!

Soccer Madness!

2006-08-05T00:09:00.000-06:00

Got three big soccer events in the next week to let everyone know about.

1) Saturday (TODAY): THE MLS ALL-Stars play Chelsea (the Yankees of English soccer) in what may be an incredible match at 5:30 on ESPN!! I'm watching it! And with soccer the bigger the crowd the better ...

2) Tuesday at 7:15pm at Kingsley Jr. High we're getting a pick-up soccer game going (as suggested by the Kyle). By all means anyone is invited, no need for shinguards or cleats to play (although may of us will be sporting both) ... so come on out and have a good time for as long or as little as you'd like ... Males and females are welcome of any age.

3) Thursday at 7:15 at Kingsley Jr. High another pick-up soccer game ...

Leave a blog note or contact me or Kyle if u're interested in any of the three...

Cockroach

2006-08-04T11:39:00.000-06:00

THAT got your attention.

Haha. After taking some time out to read the SFdaycamp blog, i stumbled across sherries story of a camper and the cockroach taking up residence in his shoe. At which point Jim commented on how stepping on a cockroach will release it's babies or something, furthering the cockroach population. This brought back some memories of the good old days.

*Flashback Scene* *Flashback Music* *Flasback viual effects*

I take you back to the old Normal Community High School. That's right the Old School. For those of you who went there, you remember the six to eight inch cockroaches (sometimes ten or more if you were brave enough to go into the catacombs.)

I know i stepped on more than my fair share of gigantic roaches in my day. According to Jim, this would mean that the students were just adding to the cockroach infestation at the school. No wonder they were so damn big.

*fade to present*
Do you think they ever cleared out the school of roaches before remaking it into a Jr High? If not, by now there's prolly a two foot cockroach queen tucked away underneath the school somewhere getting ready for world domination. This could be a serious threat to our existence. Seriously. We should check this out if we can spare some time. But i don't volunteer myself. No way. I'm not goin down there.

We're kind of a big deal ....

2006-08-01T22:59:00.000-06:00

WOOHOO! Just wanted to note that tonight we all went to B-Dub's and pretty much turned into intense trivia night!!

The peak of the night (for me anyway) definitely occurred when we were playing that two-round game int he middle (not the last game), in which, during what turned out to be a memorable round two Megan and I aced all of the round two questions for all of the possible points. Which ranked us #81 in the nation!!

AND MORE EXCITINGLY ... Put us in the Recent High Scores List for our BWW's .... and not just on the list (which is an accomplishment in and of itself), but PUT US IN FIRST! DETHRONING SOMEONE WHO HAD HELD THE TOP SPOT SINCE MARCH 14!!!!! That's right! WOOOOOO! We are amazing ....

And now we sing, We are the CHampions ... we are the champions! NO TIME FOR LOSERS! CAUSE WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS ... OF THE WORLD!

Who you callin popular?

2006-07-26T11:07:00.000-06:00

So I'm just sittin around on my lunch break today, thinkin over what Kyle was tellin me the other day about googling his name and seein what the results were in order to remove mention of himself from any possible review from potential employers and such....
So of course i just couldn't resist, I pulled up google, and here's what i found out.

1St- I google my own full name. I garner 497 results in .4 seconds. The first one being a presentation on sugars i did in advanced Chem back in HIGH SCHOOL. The very next result...the thanks Jim gave out for the Keggin for Megan party. The other 495 results weren't even close. So yeah, my online rep stands at an advanced chem project on sugar, and boozin. Anyone see that comin?

2nd- i decided to mess around and see how popular Jim is. So i type in Jim first and last name. I garner 3,370,00 results in just .07 seconds. (That's quite a fan club buddy!) Unfortunately, it would not appear that any of the top thirty or so entries have any relation at all to our Jim. Adding the Keyword Normal to the search doesn't help much either. It narrows to 601,000 results in .3 seconds.

3rd-I go back to my results and realize our very own kalmbach is also in my advanced chem class, and decides to see if chemistry is the number one hit for him as well. Mike had 307,000 entries in .33 seconds. It turns out Chem comes in at fourth for mike. The top three bein unrelated.

4th- I decide to see who the most popular member of the crew is... here's the results....

In a distinguished last place... Abby, with 23 entries whose top five are relevant, including one about race for the cure involving her mom I think.

Then comes myself (results mentioned above)

Then comes Scorno- (i used mike scorno here...) with 565 results in .37 seconds. The top three being relevant, (one referencing leary's xanga site)

From here on out, none of the entries are relevant in the first thirty hits or so...(that's as far as i bothered to look)

Bill comes in with 27,100 entries in .35 seconds

Kalmbach comes in at 307,000 entries in .27 seconds

Dave comes in with 761,000 entries in .67 seconds

Roof comes in with 1,860,000 entries in .37 seconds

Sarah comes in with 1,930,000 entries in .43 seconds

Leary comes in with 3,320,000 in .26 seconds

Boyer comes in with the results mentioned abouve

Kelly comes in with 5,940,000 entries in .05 seconds

And for our most popular group members finishing in the top two are...

Walter with 42,600,000 entries in .05 seconds

And the most popular member of the Normal Life is (drumroll please...)

St. John with 58,800,000 entries in .30 seconds

On a side note... i removed Kyle from this becuase he intentionally went and removed his full name from every concievable mention he could find, but when googling Kyle's full name you still come up with...

5,400,000 entries in .07 seconds, puttin him just behind Kelly in the rankings.

What is Perfect Form?

2006-07-24T11:32:00.000-06:00

Sat night was fun... it rocked... THE END.

No really. Sat night the crew started off at Walt's place to meet up with Richie since this would be her last Sat night in Normal before heading to Ecuador.

At this point i'm still sittin around my place not doin much, gettin ready for a possible surprise/not surprise B-day party for Matt, thrown by Andy since he will be unable to make the party on Fri.

Back at Walt's.... The gang debates on whether or not to head to champagne so everyone can hit the bars, Kelly and Walt not being of age to legally enter the bars here in town. After much discussion, everyone decides to meet up over at St J and mines place to party with Matt for a while then head to the bars here in town.

After everyone takes their preferred mode of transportation to our place (remember this, it becomes important later) we sit around for a while deciding which bars to hit, while Walt drools over the 360 and its latest rendering of a video game simulated Porsche via Project Gotham Racing 3.

We discuss the best way to get Richie hooked up downtown and come up with a new game. The "Have you met Mellissa?" game. (She's great..!) Meaning: we spot some likely guy at the bar, drag Mel up to him, and deliver the line, then make a break for it. We decide the only true way to test the effectiveness of this method is to head downtown to Fat Jack's. So, Jim, Kyle, Roof, Richie, and myself pile in my car and head out. (remember the transportation thing.) With Bill to meet us shortly after we get there.

Getting into the bar was pretty funny. The whole way to the bar, Richie was protesting b/c she thought the bouncers would never let her in cuz she looked to young. (Happens when you're only 4'10") When we finally get to the door, we start handing the bouncer all of our id's. He holds on to Mel's for like a minute, while he checks all the rest of ours. You shoulda seen the look on her face, it was a mix between, "I told you so" and "please Mr. Bouncer Man believe me.." HAHA. Anyways, he finally looks at it and gives it back to her with not even a second glance and we proceed inside.

After hangin around inside Fat Jacks's for a while, and talking about random stuff, my stomach starts to growl and i decide to propose a plan in which food is involved in one way or another. At which point i start to suggest... "I've got a plan, first we..." at this point Mel intejects and says "go dance???"

LOL. here's the best part, although i missed it, Jim filled me in. Apparently there was a "look" that Richie gave at this point that was "somewhat suggestive" mixed with a "I don't know, like a,..." I don't think Jim ever figured the rest out. Laughter played a big part of this though. So i ditched the bar hopping food idea in favor of lettin Richie get her kicks in on the dance floor.

I have to note here... normally by the time anyone hits the dance floor, alcohol has been a factor, in which case, looking like a retard and realizing you've got no rhytmn at all does not enter your mind. Needless to say, the only one of us feeling the effects of their liquor at this point was Mel. So since Roof, Richie, Bill and I were just kinda standing there, Bill decided to throw looking cool out the window and to just have a good time. He grabbed both of Mel's hands and pulled out a dance i don't think i've ever witnessed on Fat Jack's dance floor. But they both seemed to enjoy it, and it was loads better than just standin there so ROCK ON!

After this, we headed to Mulligan's where Roof and Mellissa were pretty muched conned into drinking Jim and Mine's Long Island's. We also got a chance to use the "Have you met Mellissa" line for the second time, on my buddy Ryan from work. Unfortunaltely for Mel, she was practicing some sort of high kick cheerleader move the whole time and came off as somewhat of a drunk :-). Strike two.

Then came the crowning decision of the night. FLINGER's!! A night downtown is never complete w/out a late night visit to the best of all pizza places. We put in our order for a large cheese pizza then went downstairs to wait. Upon recieving our pizza, we ran into the second best quote of the night. After realizing the pizza was hot, Mel pipes up and says "But i don wanna burn my mouth.." It was a mastercard moment. Pricelsess. Pretty funny considering her drunken state. A pieces of pizza later the conversation turned to how drunk Melissa was and the possiblity of her throwing up. At which point Bill's record of never having done this since third grade topped all of us drunk rednecks who throw up on a regular basis. How he accomplished this feet with his love for tequila we'll never know.

Anyways, then comes out Richies great throwing up sophomore year story. Apparently, she was sick from "female causes" and called her mom to come pick her up from school. She nearly made it all the way out before throwing up right in front of the car. Thinking she had gone unnoticed, she attended school the next day, and was greeted by some hot guy, (I don't remember the name she gave) with "Hi Puke!" Apparently a girl friend of hers in the senior class that was having class outside witnessed the incident and told a few people. Having told us all of this Melissa then sits back and finishes with "And then Calvin said i had nice form." End Story... Silence.... Laughter. She's now in the top ten of best quotes from a drunken person.

Now on to the road trip part of the night:

Vehicle Status: Jim, Richie, and Kyle have left thier cars at my place, while Roof has her car at Walter's. Bill and I are parked downtown.

We decide to head to Bill/Jim's place for a while while Richie decides if she wants to crash there or get a ride home from Kyle and I.

Jim and Mel ride with Bill back to their place while Kyle, Roof and I head back to my apartment to pick up Kyle's car first.

Back at Bill/Jim's we watch half and hour of Ron White actually performing some good comedy. (Hard to believe ain't it?) Then Mel decided to hitch a ride home. So... Roof gets in with me, and Mel gets in with Kyle and we head BACK to my place to get Mel's car. then Kyle gets behind the wheel of Mel's car, and we all head out to Walt's to drop off Roof at her car before headin out to Heyworth to drop off Richie. Side note, Kyle and I have now seen EVERY cornfield between here and there. After dropping Richie off at her place, Kyle rides with me back to my place to pick up his car before he can go home. ETA with my place was around 3:30 am.

When i finally get upstairs, the funniest site all night greets me. Every light in the place is one, with not a soul around, with the exception of St. J, who appears to be passed out in the living room chair. I give it a minute before deciding i should attempt to wake him just so he doesn't wake up at 10 AM in a chair when he could be in bed. At which point I discover Matt is fully awake, but just incapable of motivating his eyelids to open or gettin his legs to move in the direction of his room. He describes to me the reason for this being "Shot Pong" instead of "Beer Pong" then gets up, and stumbles to bed.

THE END

See ya'll Friday for Matt's B-day.

Not this Friday but the one after this one in other words July 28, 2006

2006-07-18T10:42:00.000-06:00

OK so yeah its been a while since the last big gathering of people from "normal crew" or I should say its been a while since I went to one of those said gatherings. Any hoo long story short Friday night (July 28th... thats the friday after next) we will be having a party here at the apartment. And because we are such wonderful people and would so much enjoy everyones company there will be a keg .

So everyone come it will be a grand ol time.

An update on our recent infamy

2006-07-17T18:34:00.000-06:00

Hopefully this link works, it's a video from Gina Morrison at WEEK (the NBC channel) about the Bloomington cop case. It ran at the top of the page on cnn.com ... and once again, msnbc and fox news failed to have anything on their websites.

Making CNN.com

2006-07-15T01:16:00.000-06:00

On cnn.com I'm surfing around and on the front page, at the top in the list of like the top ten links is this headline: Police Sergeant charged with rapes in college town. I mindlessly click on it, just looking to skim the story. I start reading the first few lines when I scroll back to the top instantly. It took me a moment to process but I realized that it states, right before the story starts, Bloomington, Ill.

It takes a minute to soak in and then it hits me. Man, we hit the prime time ... for all the wrong reasons, but everywhere people in the world are reading about Bloomington, Illinois ... too bad it wasn't Normal, Illinois ... but since their one in the same I figured I'd let you all in on it.

So sad.

Do they blitz in soccer?

2006-07-13T00:28:00.000-06:00

The Boyer family dinner table played host to one of the most hilariously classic moments in the history of the Normal Life ...

so somehow soccer came up and my youngest brother Brian asked if I was good or something and I was like I'm not bad. And then here's what followed.

Brian: But you don't score. You don't have like any goals or assists or anything.
Tyler: THAT'S CAUSE HE PLAYS DEFENSE.
*Pause for laughter*
My Dad, in one of his hilariously sarcastic tones: He just needs to blitz more

and then my Mother, bless he heart ... she had been feeling iffy and had literally just joined the dinner table not five minutes before moving fairly slow, in her pajamas, caps off the conversation by looking at me with the most sincere, honest and innocent look anybody could have and asked, 100% serious, "Do they blitz in soccer" ....

Oh my gosh, everyone, from Brian to my Dad to Megan busted up instantly ... and I felt so bad for my Mom. She was being so serious. And she instantaneously knew it was a silly question, but her apologies and defense of "Im sorry, I dont know anything about soccer" were drowned out by the sounds of my family rolling at the dinner table.

We stopped long enough for me to end the sequence by adding, "Oh yeah Mom. You know, Italy practically won the Cup by blitzing their hearts at. First they'd send their weak side linebackers to get the Keeper all confused and flustered and just when he thought he had it sorted out, BAM! You send your free safety right up the gut past the midfielders and defenseman and its all over."

Seriously tho ...

just imagine that and remember, "do they blitz in soccer?" ...

3rd Annual Bangin' BBQ

2006-06-28T09:40:00.000-06:00

July 4. Fairiview Park. 10am. Bring something.

That is all.

Kyle & Skinny Please Read

2006-06-26T20:23:00.000-06:00

July 22nd Bears tickets? ... nough said

Game 4 and Midseason Report

2006-06-20T21:32:00.000-06:00

The Game 4 and Midseason Report will be posted Thursday evening... or eventually...

4th of July

2006-06-20T15:29:00.000-06:00

OK not that it is really nessecary to post but once again it is about that time to celebrate the birth of the glorious country that we are lucky enough to live in. The plan is going to be about the same as the previous years in that it is at fairview park, and if you want anything specific you might want to bring it.

I will supply the grill there and yes it will be lit by 10 in the A.M. I also plan on buying some hotdogs and bread (poor mans bun). It would be nice if the rest of you'll could help supply some beverages and chips or something. I'll leave that for the comment section.

There will be plenty of stuff to do there at the park so be prepaired for the long haul. And just as a cursiary reminder it is a public park and there is no alcohol allowed. If you choose to drink great do so at your own risk just don't get sloppy cause cops do roam the park throughout the day.

Lastly bring your friends.... come one come all.

Game 3

2006-06-15T23:16:00.000-06:00

Nothing needs to be said. We played bad. We lost. I could summarize the game; however, it would only lead to me finding something each person, including myself, did poorly or that I think they/we should change about their/our game. I think everyone would agree with me on that too.

This game was probably an aberation on what will be a great schedule. That is all I am going to say.

Let's forget it and move on.

Friday Night at the Old-Timey Drive-In

2006-06-14T18:20:00.000-06:00

I propose a Friday night excursion to Gibson City, the home of... well... nothing in particular; however, they do have a drive-in theater.

This week on their two screens:

Cars, a Pixar Film, and everyone's favorite obesse feline: Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties

I know that most of you wanted to see Cars and, not only that, Garfield doesn't look too bad (BTW, I know I'm the only one who saw any of the first Garfield and it wasnt too bad, you got what you were promised. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't good but it was fun. Not only that, Jennifer Love Hewitt was looking good).

Just in case you want to see one and not the other, all you have to do is turn around and change your radio station.

Cost is just $5 and the films begin around 9pm.

The week ahead

2006-06-12T21:37:00.000-06:00

Activities known for the week of June 12-June17:

Monday: OVER

Tuesday: 7:30pm soccer practice (feel free to join or watch),
9:15 Buffalo Wild Wings
After BWW massage party at Kelly's place.

Wednesday: None at the time of this posting.

Thursday: 6pm soccer game. (THat and I have a final for a class, so pray I am at the game by halftime!) *Brian's Edit* Since Jim is having a party Sat night when i was gonna do the pool party and cookout, I'm offering up a cookout and pool party at my parent's place after the game. They just got a huge new pool and then left for Kansas and said we are welcome to use it! I figure... why not?

Friday: None at the time of this posting

Saturday: Mid-day Watching Team USA Soccer vs. Italy and then TBD

tomarrow (6/10/06)

2006-06-09T17:58:00.000-06:00

Party here at the apt... its andy's b-day so come get your drink on.

Week 2

2006-06-08T23:41:00.000-06:00

Okay... so... we did not win and we did not lose... we kissed our sister and tied...

Going into the game, there was a little bit of worry on my part about who was going to be there and the fact that apparently I had a broken rib. Many people on our team had to be at work and/or class until 8pm and our game was at 730pm, so we were looking at 12 people to start the game and we were going to be missing Walter and Tommy for the first half. Our plan was to run a 5-4-1, sitting back until the reinforcements arrived. Basically, playing opossum. I was against the plan, I thought we were playing with fire; however, in a 2-1 decision, the team brain-trust voted for this strategy.

Luckily, Walter showed up at the kick-off. In a spur of the moment decision, we opted for the classic 4-4-2, once again with Walter and Jake at the forwards. The other team, whose name I cannot remember, we will call them Team Evil, drew first blood. One of their forwards broke through our offsides trap beating our stopper, Jeffrey, and our sweeper, Ryan. He had a guy running up the right with him, who I tried to stay on; however, my hoops mentality took over and I tried to get between the ball and the goal. When I left my guy, just before I got the ball, he was hit with a cross and scored the goal. We fell behind 1-0.

Knowing we had to pick it up, our offense picked it up. While attacking, the Lady Fingers struck a ball that went wide to the left of the net. As Scorno hustled to the ball, the goalie dove for the ball and took him out from behind in the box. The ref signaled goal kick and there was confusion abound. Realizing his mistake, the ref altered the call making the call a penalty kick for us. As Jake stepped up to take the kick, there was a feeling of relief on the Lady Finger side of the ball. Jake kicked, the goalie went low-left and the ball went high-right. GOAL! 1-1.

The Lady Fingers kept the pressure on following the goal. As Jake recieved a pass just beyond the mid-field stripe he hit Walter with a sweet one-touch through pass. Walter was all alone with the goalie. The keeper came out and Walt juked him out of his jock-strap, going around the laid-out goalie and placing it in the goal. GOAL! 2-1 LADY FINGERS at the half.

After getting a longer half-time than the first game, the Lady Fingers came out with the intent to keep the pressure on and with Tommy back, the talent level of the team had increased. The Lady Fingers were confident.

That confidence seemed to be sorely misplaced, however. After an early foul, Team Evil placed a free kick, from about 30 yards, on frame. As Vanderbusch attempted to push the ball over the net, it snuck through his hand and into the goal. Tough luck. 2-2.

Once again, the Lady Fingers seemed to be seeing a second half collapse and this feeling kept on coming. On a Team Evil free kick from the left side of the box, a larger player on Team Evil got on my shoulder and blew past myself and Luke and ripped home a header. 3-2 Team Evil.

Disheartened, the Lady Fingers once again went on the attack. After a few unsuccessful runs for the offense, I switched with Jeffrey and moved up to the front of the offense. After one unsuccesful run with Walter, I called for a pass to space from Kurt. Kurt placed a perfect ball that I took up the right side of the field. When the defender turned his hips to the outside, I cut it inside. Seeing Jim in the box, I quickly considered my options. I could shoot or I could pass. The pass was a higher risk play. Jim could have been offsides, I could have made a bad pass, the pass could have been intercepted, etc. There was too much of a risk, so I took a lefty shot. It was the best contact that I have made left footed since I started playing in early May. It bent from left to right and glanced off the goalie's outstretched hands and into the goal. GOAL! 3-3.

Team Evil made some late attacking runs. One shot shaved the left post and another was inches high. The game got rougher as well. Both myself and Ryan were threatened by a player on teh other team who we have affectionately annointed Mr. Flop. Normally, I would have intentionally tripped him and called his bluff; however, it was too risky in a tight game. The game ended in a 3-3 tie and we gained 1 point in the standings.

Team Grade: First Half: A Second Half: B- Overall: B. We played well and short handed in the first half; we had an unexpected lead. We got complacent in the second half and blew what should have been a win, but at least we did not lose.

Play of the Game: Since I can't pick my own (pat's self on back), Jake's sweet one touch pass to Walter for the deke and goal. I had been waiting for a goal like that from them

Player of the Game: Ryan. He really held our team togethor in the first half making hustle play after hustle play. He will be sorely missed in our next match.

Team Improvements from Week 1: The defense was much better. People knew where to be and what to do. Thank you Tommy.

Areas to Improve: Complacency. The defense really started standing around and letting Tommy do all of the work in the second half. We need to hustle every ball out and keep the pedal to the floor and learn to finish a game correctly. Everyone is guilty of this.

Next Game: Um. I'll get back to you. Practice on Saturday at 2pm, Sugar Creek.

Lady Fingers Week 2

2006-06-08T00:33:00.000-06:00

I was going to post a summary on Tuesday night, but I was tuckered out. And I would post one now, but its late...

Tomorrow... there will be a summary...

The Normal Life Comeback begins

2006-06-07T22:12:00.000-06:00

So tonight, not much going on in the Normal Life. I believe a few people are Dave's right now. Hopefully we'll get a word in from them soon ... and I'd dearly love it if Kyle would give us a summary of yesterday's soccer match ('twas a doozie).

Anyway, the lime green socks we ordered for the team aren't in. At least to my knowledge. Scorno, who's on a canoe trip texted me this morning about going to pick them up at his place, but I oculdnt find the box anywhere, so who knows where the team socks are. Anyway, went to St.J/V-Busch apartment after that. Definitely a good decision.

Haha, relived some of the blog glory days. Joked around a lot about us starting a frat ... which surely would resemble some weird cross between Old School and Animal House with a healthy smattering of Family Guy mixed in. Anyway it was St. John, V-Busch, Kyle, Kelly and myself just shooting the breeze.

P.S. We trumped Kelly in parliamentary procedure. Mwuhahaha...

It was damn good to hang out with that crew again. I know I feel like somethin is alway smissing in the group when St. John and Boz aint around. So it felt great to have good laughs with St. J. And for the record, there was NO HATE ont he earlier comments by me, okay Matt. Hahaha...

Anyway, the excitement resulted around Vanderbusch beating Kyle in MLB 2006 for X-Box on a bottom of the ninth walk-off homer off Dontrelle Willis at Tiger Stadium (I think I got all those details right). Then Kyle/Kelly took off ... V-Busch beat me in Fifa ... and then Matt and I played as Brazil against Vanderbusch's Argentina team ... and Vanderbusch drew first blood, but fed by a good pass from Matt I knocked one in and we tied 1-1. Unfortunately, V-busch claims he won because Matt, in his amazing humor (ass wipe, hahaha), decided to score on his own team int he first two minutes of the game ... it really was hilarious. He took the ball from mid-field weaved thrugh his own defense and ran into his own goal. So technically the scoreboard said 2-1 ... but knowing Matt's hijinks, we all know the score was 1-1 ... except Brian. haha ...

Anyway, real good times tonight ... and now it's on to NASCAR 2005 for the ps2 (my latest addiction) .... wooooooooooooo!

Re-energizing the Blog

2006-06-07T20:16:00.000-06:00

So I really want to get the blog re-engergized. And I think step one is the look. I'd love to look into a redesign ... I can pretty much do whatever (within reason and given enough time), so if anyone has any ideas please lemme know.

I think maybe I could use some elements found on the 2 Distant Hearts blog that I designed.

Anyone have any thoughts and should we take a vote on a blog redesign?

-Jim-

Additions?

2006-06-02T16:11:00.000-06:00

So I'm thinking today ... the Normal Life sure has expanded recently. Is there anyone we need to be adding to the ranks of the blog authors?

Week 1 Loss

2006-05-30T23:04:00.000-06:00

So as been noted, we began our Bloomington Parks and Rec soccer league tonight. The matchup:

Confidential (aka the Lady Fingers) vs. Titans United

The game started out well enough with neither team having a decided advantage. TU broke through first, however, at about the 15 minute mark when their 6'5'' African import, who is probably on the IWU soccer team, drew first blood. TU kept the pressure on afterward as the import made a nice move on Vanderbusch and had an open net; nevertheless, no goal was scored because he got to cute with it and tried to pass to his teammate. VB makes a great hustle play to stop it just before it crosses the line.

The Lady Fingers decided enough was enough and began to turn the tide. With the TU goalkeeper out of position, Walter ripped a goal from midfield that snuck in just above the outstretched arms of the keeper and just below the crossbar. A few moments later, a player, I did not see it, believed to be Scorno, on the LF was left alone and ripped a goal. Going into to the half the LF were up 2-1.

The LF decided to sit back and protect the lead in the second half: bad decision. The TU import made a great move and scored off the side of the goal to level the score. Moments later, mental snafus by multiple LFs led to the import scoring another goal, for his hat-trick on the rebound, no hats were thrown. Moments later, the LF saw their first yellow card as Tommy was carded for pulling jersey of an opposing player; this just after a LF, Ryan, was kicked in the face by an irresponsible bicycle kick by the import, no cards were given.

Down 3-2 and with a sense of urgency the LF began to attack at the end of the game. A free kick from Mr. Lake was sent into the box. All alone, yours truely could not muster the needed energy to get that last few inches in the jump for a header. Getting the ball back, just seconds later, Walter ripped a shot that clanged off the right post. TU cleared the ball out of bounds. On the ensuing corner, Mr. Lake (aka Jake), sent a good corner into the box, yours truely took an inside route and once again came up inches short. Time expired and saddness swept across the Lady Finger sideline.

Team Grade: B-/B: we played short handed, lacking two of our better players, Chris and Kristina, and still had a shot to win or at least salvage a tie. You can't ask for much more.

Play of the Game: So many candidates, I'm going with VB's hustle save because as a coach, I love hustle and most players would have given up on the play.

Player of the Game: Tommy. He directed our defense so well that many of us were left wondering what we are going to do without him.

Special Thanks go out to Sarah for the oranges, Kalmach for the Gatorade, and Sarah, Roof, Abby, and what I believe to be two of Ryan's friends for coming out and supporting the team.

Next Game: 7:30 Tuesday against ... well I don't have the schedule on me so I don't rightly know...

The Season Opener

2006-05-30T00:15:00.000-06:00

I'm throwing this post up in case General Manager Kyle doesn't put one up.

FYI to anyone who wants to know, the soccer team's first game is tomorrow night at 7:30 at the Sale Barn!! Anyone is more than welcome to come out and support (there will be multiple spectators present), and if u'd rather just party with us afterward, I'm sure we'll post-game somewhere, so let us and we'll be sure to call you up when all is said and done! Rock on y'all...

-Jim-

Superheros party too

2006-05-22T11:07:00.000-06:00

In what will ultimately be a futile attempt to return the Normal Life to what it was last summer instead of an elaborate schedule, i will relate to you the events of another Saturday night with the Normal Life.

Sat night was Spider Man's B-day party. Known to most of us as Dave, he turned 22 at midnight. Since Dave is probably the biggest superhero fanatic of any of us, (that's sayin somethin, we're all really crazy about this) we decided to throw him a superhero costume party.

Included in this was a twenty person taco bar from Qdoba, which definetely went over great. Taco's are great drunk person food.

Anyways, just about everyone showed up in uniform. i will not give away any secret identities just yet, but appearances were made by Batman, Superman, Beerman, Elastigirl, Wonderwoman, Supergirl, Bowlergirl, Batgirl, some crazy lookin dude in a trench coat (I believe he called himself the dream master), Don Johnson from Miami Vice,One of Heff's girls next door ;-)..., the Green Lantern , and assorted X-men.

Best costumes awarded to:

first place: Elastigirl-who wishes to remain annonymous, but whose picture i will soon add to this post

second place: Beerman- known by most as Scorno

third place: tie between Don johnson and Wonderwoman (who had to put up with a staple imprint on her forehead) Kyle and Abby

Honorable mention goes to batman, whose batsignal sounds like a frog.

Best story of the night-

About one o'clock a few of us (Batman, Beerman, Batgirl, wonderwoman, and Superman) were hangin outside realizing the hard reality we had no cigars to smoke. After debating the mode of transportation, (we decided best not to fly in order to avoid attracting to much attention) we piled into my car and headed to the BP station to buy cigars.

I would've given anything to have had a hidden camera trained on the cashier while we were in that store. He didn't seem to be surprised by the fact that five crazy superheroes had just walked into his store at one in the morning. I'm thinkin he fainted from shock after we left.

Lesson learned for the night-

Beerman and Batgirl are an unstoppable duo when attempting to beat them at beerpong. Go figure.

Thanks go out to Batman for donating the beer required to build the beeramid that now stand in the kitchen. We'll make some sort of plaque up if we get around to it before the beeramid is destroyed by the evils of time and thirst.

Soccer Jerseys

2006-05-16T22:52:00.000-06:00

Attention:

As many of you are aware, we have a rec soccer team this summer and we are ordering jerseys. I have made an executive decision that, assuming we get jerseys, for cost, we will also order jerseys for team supporters with their name and number on the back.

Cost will be around $12.

That said, team members and those who would like a jersey must send me their request (with the correct spelling of their last name and number choice) by Sunday. Also, team members will have first request as to the number to which they would like. Thus, if you are a non-team member wishing to get a jersey please send me five number options. Team numbers will be first come, first serve.

*Edit* I have used the number 23 as leverage to ensure a goalie. Hopefully said player will not disgrace the number.

Thank you and have a good day.

Current Number Requests (Please tell me if your name is spelled wrong) Name on jersey, number:
Me: I just wasn't feeling 38 so I'll put one up in a bit.
(Not Kelly) Snyder: 23
Scorno: 69
Vanderbusch: 17
Trimpe: 7
W. Allen: 10
J. Allen: 9
Scarle: 00
(Kelly) Snyder: 3
Cranmer: 15
Kosic: 8
Huebsch: 24
Kalmbach: 11

Sarah: 18
Roof: 19? TBD.

Back to BWW's

2006-05-15T15:51:00.000-06:00

The consensus after talkin it up with some of ya'll is that tomorrow night at Nine. You know what i'm talkin about... Buffalo wild wings tuesday nights is back! That's right, it's time to party!

So with that said, come one come all, tomorrow night at nine, Buffalo Wild Wings by the airport. You've all been there and know where it is.
We'll need a note from your parents or the doctor if you can't make it. No other excuses will be accepted.

See ya'll tomorrow night!

Talent

2006-05-03T22:08:00.000-06:00

Our goalie - Chris Knudson
(on scholarship at Millikin University)

*ps - he did save that goal*

My baby sister Kristina - backup goalie for our team;
starting varisty goalie for NCWHS as a freshman

*hands off, boys - she's only 16*

Soccer is Set!

2006-05-01T12:18:00.000-06:00

I turned in the roster and payed today down at the government center.

There are three spots still availible to be filled at a later date.

The team name is Confidential.

The Current Roster is:

Kyle Roberts --- manager
Kelly Snyder
Ryan Ash
Chris Knudson --- yet to pay
Mike Kalmbach
Lisa Huebech (sp?)
Tommy Cranmer --- yet to pay
Brian Vanderbusch
Scorno
Mac Scarle
Walter Allen --- co-manager
Jeffery Allen
Trimpe
Bobby Kosic --- yet to pay
Juan Ortega --- yet to pay
Luke Mester

Games are Tuesday nights. I'll give you a schedule when I get it.

Remember, we may be getting jerseys for a low-low cost of around 10 bucks per person. We've decided to go with a color similar to that of Villareal (below), though nothing is set in stone.

A request from Airman Boz!!!!

2006-04-30T22:12:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, Mr. Bryan Boswell is currently in Texas training to become a mechanic on the F-16 Fighting Falcon! Boz got on-line today briefly in his downtime (which he has to pay for getting online) to ask me to put up his addy ont he blog and a request:

PLEASE SEND HIM STUFF! I know that he misses home and all of us, and that while he is doing damn well he could use some lovin' from and reminder of the Normal Life!

His specific wording included: Please ask people to write and send pictures, I've got nothing to decorate with.

So, I know everyone is hellish busy ... me included ... but what do u say we print Boz off some pictures, write him some letters and color him some pictures! I figured we could even save on postage and put a bunch in the same box! Im in debt out my ass, but for Boz, I'm wiling to throw down for postage. So let's say by FRIDAY get me whatever u got and I'll put it in a box and ship it!

We could even all meet for dinner and color together or something! Anyway, I don't think it should stop there, so if u don't want to put yours in a group box, or want to send Boz multiple stuff here is his address:

E-2 Bryan A Boswell
6979
527 G Ave #4957
Sheppard AFB, TX 76311-2840

Shaolin Soccer

2006-04-27T19:42:00.000-06:00

Alright so everything is almost set for the Normal Life Summer Soccer team. The way it's lookin right now Kyle and I are both lookin for an undefeated season. (Kyle will cry if we lose a single game.)

Submit your idea here or just get hold of one of us and we'll all vote on 'em.

It also sounds like we might have the hook-up for some great jerseys at a great price. Not sure what color schemes will be available, but we'll look for suggestions there too.

My suggestion is the title of this post... I'm sure you guys can come up with better than that.
(Besides Kyle's already shot it down.)

*Kyle's Edit*
Here is our current roster with those who have paid, as of Sunday at 9pm:
1. Me.
2. Kalmbach.
3. Girl 1 Kalmbach got.
4. Girl 2 Kalmbach got.
6. Vanderbush
7. Kelly
8. Kelly's Sister
9. Kelly's Sister's Friend 1
10. Kelly's Sister's Friend 2
11. Mac
12. Scorno
13. Walter
14. Trimpe
15. Juan
16. Tommy
17. Bobby
18. Walter's Brother

Rain Delay

2006-04-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

So today it rained more than i've ever seen it rain in my twelve years in Normal. To prove my point, i saw a couple of guys in a canoe in the intersection of mulberry and linden. Yeah, it was pretty sweet.

It took me about half a mile before i found an intersection i thought safe to cross to get across linden. Finally i'm on willow heading towards main when i see an intersection i just can't get across, so i decide to get out and take it all in.

On the corner of willow and fell there was about three feet of water. There was a cadillac that had been parked on the side of the street that had water INSIDE of it that was all the way filled up over the back seat. I sure hope that guy has flood protection for his car!

The worst part of the storm was when i was headin home from easter dinner around three. The radio kept saying the worst part of the storm was hitting north west normal. (right where my apartment is.) So i decide that it's prolly better not to be on the second floor of any apartment building. By this time i can see the cloud, and there is a cloud that went diagonally from the sky to the ground and it was definitely rolling. I could tell it wasn't a tornadoe, but i figured it could get that way real quick. I woulda turned around right then, but i decided that i needed better shoes in case i needed to get out of my car at any point, (I'm wearin sandals.)
I figure that i have a minute or two to get upstairs get on my tennis shoes and get back out to my car to get the heck outta there.

By the time i get back down to my car i can see the rain approaching, it was gonna hit any second, and it was thick! Turns out it wasn't just rain... it started hailing so thick it looked like it snowed.

i eventually made it back to my parents house farther to the east, where i got hailed on again, but this time i could watch it from the relative safety of my parents kitchen.

All in all pretty good times... a few scary moments. But driving around after the storm was pretty cool seein all the flooded areas of the city. Thoughts of Atlantis definetely came to mind.

That's it for me...anyone else have any good storm stories?

Co-rec Soccer UPDATED 4/19 at 8:00 PM

2006-04-15T00:16:00.000-06:00

Okay, so in light of my staying here this summer, I set out on a quest in order to find a softball league; however, when that fell through I found a co-rec soccer league and I am currently attempting to get a team togethor.

Its 425 for a team, thus about 30 bucks a person if we have fifteen people. Here are the details.

If you are interested, leave a message here, IM me, or call.

The Current Roster Can Be Found Below: After we get 15, I am no longer actively recruiting
1. Me.
2. Kalmbach.
3. Girl 1 Kalmbach got.
4. Girl 2 Kalmbach got.
5. Girl 3 Kalmbach got.
6. Vanderbush - 1 for 1 on my recruiting abilities, granted i didn't actually do anything
7. Kelly (assumine we play rec and not competitive, which is looking like a great possiblity) - 2 for 2
8. Kelly's Sister
9. Kelly's Sister's Friend 1
10. Kelly's Sister's Friend 2 --- Milikin's full-scholarship goalie
11. Mac
12. Scorno
13. Walter
14. Trimpe
15. Juan
16. Tommy
17. Bobby

*** Note how I have gotten every recruiting target***

People who I am actively seeking to play: (in order of who was talked to first)

5. Walter's brother - Walter's recruiting abilities pending
6. Dave - schedule pending
8. Jim
9. Sarah***
*** New Addition

If you want to play, just say so and I'll put you on the roster.

Returning to old form...

2006-04-09T00:53:00.000-06:00

This weekend has freakin rocked! It seems like the Normal Life is once again returning to old form, both in just hanging out as well as how we party!

Last night we had a party at Abby's ... freakin rocked! I dont know about anyone else but I know that Brian Vanderbusch was feeling damned good ... as was Scorno ... Abby got shitfaced ... and I freaking trashed, which was the first time in so long I cant remember! And it wasnt like a bad trashed, it was like the awesome happy great trashed! Haha ...

Tonight we surprised Kyle with a birthday cake, because het turned 21 like 2 weeks ago. I think we actually surprised him too! He turned pretty bright red. We've got pictures, no worries! Haha ... um, and that was good times. We just sat around talking forever, and then we played pool and video games and then more jsut sitting aroudn talking. I felt like we just did a lot of sitting around and talking so much because the crew hasnt been together like this in forever. It was also good to have a sober night since

MONDAY SCORNO TURNS 21!!!!!!!! So tomorrow night is beer pong and games night at Abby's ... at 9pm! ... and then I'm pretty sure we'll stumble over to have Scorno buy booze or to Mugsy's (right next to Abby's) at midnight ....

and then Monday at 7:30pm at the PUB!!!!!!! We are meeting up and getting Scorno obliterated! If u come before 8pm, u can be under 21!!!! OH MAN! (Our goal is to also get him tanked 8am Tuesday to go in and get his driver's license! Haha, seriously) ...

So yeah, this weekend, LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

Rock on...

-Jim-

Honors Formal 2006: The Midnight Masquerade

2006-04-02T22:24:00.000-06:00

We started the evening with Chilli's chips n dip at Dave's house. Taking advantage of his high school prom-esque family room fireplace, the taking of pictures commenced.

Sarah & Luke

Myself & Kyle

Kayla & Dave

It's official...

2006-03-29T12:27:00.000-06:00

The Nomal Life presents an official Normal Life event...

That's right Ladies and Gents, today is Kyle's 21st Birthday!

In true Normal Life fashion we will celebrate. But in true fashion this celebration will be at an undisclosed location at an undisclose time. More sketchy details to come, stay tuned.

P.S. Last i checked, Kyle is the only Normal Life member to get 2 postings up on his Birthday. (We all know how much he loves the attention.)

Happy Birthday Kyle

Kyle's getting old . . .

2006-03-29T00:04:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Kyle!!

You're like, 80 . . . or 21 . . .

:o)

Re-establishing my Normal Life

2006-03-27T23:31:00.000-06:00

Okay y'all, I figured it was time for an update!

The last few months have been crrraaaazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzyyyyyyy! But then again, would we want it any other way?

As many of you know, I spent much of February and into March fundraising to go to England to see the love of my life, Megan. We did in fact hit that goal, yeah! So the Wed prior to Spring Break I left O'hare at 11:55pm and returned to B-N 12 days later (the Tuesday after break) at around 9:45pm.

It was amazingly good times, which I hope to get details posted about in the next 24 hrs on the 2 distant hearts blog so go check that for updates.

Amidst all that is what made life crazy. In the 7 seven school days prior to break I had like 4 huge five plus page lessons, a couple of assessment and some observations/tutoring for my major classes ... throw in two or three tests and a few papers ... and I was ready to go insane! Oh, and a teacher and I have been in a battle since that point over whether I am going to fail out of a course ... which if I fail out of, I will either have to no work at Daycamp this summer, or presumably student teach all next year and then take another semester for this one class.

And to make matters worse, the inevitable happened, after nearly two full years of fighting with my employer's bullshit, I quit my job as resident assistant. I know, I didnt think the day would ever come ... but they fired an RA over some serious BS (she's the reigning RA of the year ppl, u dont fire the campus RA of the year of a couple hundred RA's unless she does drugs with the residents) ... and so I made it clear that if she goes, so do I ... I did it because while I dont believe in quitting, sometimes u've gotta take a stand, becuase I felt like of all the RA's I was the only in a position to make a statement, because I loathed my boss so much that I didnt feel like I could allow him to speak without becoming irate and beligerent with rage and thus would have been fired anyway, and because I felt like the job was becoming too distracting for my primary objective (schooling) ... I was in danger in a couple of classes of bad things, and I needed to get out to focus on school ... that and I couldnt handle the added work load of being down an RA, let alone Jen and so for myself and my school needed to step away. Jen quit two days before I left for England (the same day I quit) and then I officially resigned the day after I returned, and moved out two days after that.

So as of now I am living at home as my echo base, and then sort of boucning around after that. Liek today I got dropped off at school at 8:50am (so weird) and then hitched a ride home at like 8:45pm. I am pretty sure I am going to spend the rest of the school year being a hobo, sort of traveling from apartment to apartment and dorm room to dorm room. I do know that I think I want to spend Sunday and Tuesday nights on campus because of my 9am class on Mon and Wed ... so if anyone wants to offer up a place to crash ... lol ...

And Bill and I finally got a place to live next year! We got damn lucky too! Its literally right on the edge of campus, across fom Watterson ... $265 a month or so once all is said and done ... um, 4 bedroom. Two guys from the floor (well my old floor) came to me looking for two guys to sign with them in the next week because the guys they were going to live with since like October bailed, and Bill and i were still looking ... so we went and checked it out, its a great location, amazing pirce, big living room with itty bitty bed rooms ... but, its really an ideal senior year apartment ... and we can move in as early as May 19. The three other guys are going to live there all summer and I am going to kind of treat it as a summer home ... sort of live at home by week, there by weekend ....

So yeah, that's my news.

What have u all got?

-Jim-

hmmm

2006-03-27T10:22:00.000-06:00

So. How's life?

Anyone?

BWW

2006-03-14T18:23:00.000-06:00

BWW
Tonight
9 pm
Be there
The End.

Meet the Cast of Harry Potter!!

2006-03-03T10:39:00.000-06:00

Hey all!! Click the link for a chance to win a trip to merrie olde England to meet the cast! ps - vote for me while you're there, and help increase my chances of winning. (Tell me what your champion name is if you get one, and I'll vote for you, too!!)

Upcoming Events

2006-03-01T23:57:00.000-06:00

Hello to all!! My it's been a while since I posted . . . Better late than never, eh? (Story of my life . . .) :o)

Just wanted to post the dates/times of some upcoming concerts I have:

Concert Choir & Madrigal Singers (I'm in both, BTW, and have about six mini-solos in one of the Mads pieces)
--Sunday, March 5 @ 7:00pm
--Should be right about an hour's worth of music . . . perhaps just a bit under
--Visit the CPA box office for tickets! They will be available at the door, as well

Concert Choir & Chamber Orchestra
--Tuesday, March 7 @ 8:00 pm
--Probably just over an hour's worth of music, but this one is one large work, consisting of nine movements (all in Latin) . . . reccomended for the listener who can sit still for a very long time . . .
--Visit the CPA box office for tickets to this one, too.

UIUC's The Other Guys - Spring Concert
--Saturday, March 11 @ 8:00 pm
--Okay, so this isn't a group I'm in, but I'm definitely planning a trip to Chambana to go see this awesome guys' a capella group sing . . . Anyone like to join me?? Concerts are so much more fun when you don't go alone! :o)

All in all, I would highly reccomend the concert Sunday night; we've got a great variety of music, and I would love to see some familiar faces in the audience! Let me know if you're planning to go . . . Hope to see you there! :o)

Benefit Bash 2!

2006-03-01T11:32:00.000-06:00

Soooo, Kegs for Megs was such a blast and I was begged by more people than I count to have a second round ... and while I don't expect anywhere near the same profit, it'd sure be nice to get up to that 655 mark by the time I leave. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....because it was too much fun not to do again, and becuase I like to please the crowd,

2Dh.com proudly presents the SECOND (& FINAL!) can't miss event of the semester...

KEGGIN FOR MEGAN: PART TWO

When: Saturday March 4, 2006

Time: 9pm-ish

Where: 106 W. Locust (click the link to see a map).

It's two blocks north of Manchester (my dorm!)
It's a little house

Who's invited: EVERYONE! Feel free to bring anyone and everyone you know!

Cost:

Attendance is free
BEER KEGS = $5 a cup (There will be multiple kegs)
Some type of Jello Shots (or something) will be available for like a dollar if the demand is high enough ... so who wants something other than beer?

Taxi Info: No Taxi Service, sorry guys. It's in a central enough location, u can take the night ride or redbird express!

RSVP: Not mandatory, but it'd much appreciated so I can get a feel for numbers. Please e-mail me, call me, IM me or leave a comment on this post if you are or might be there and how many people you are or might be bringing.

Don't be afraid to put this in your away message, facebook message, e-mail and tell everyone and anyone you know!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THE CAUSE
BY COMING OUT TO PART-AY WITH US!!!!

Benefit Bash update

2006-02-20T23:06:00.000-06:00

Ok, so there's already new news about the Kegger for Megger/send Batman to London Benefit Bash.

Turns out Jungle Juice was the rumor and Mixed Drinks and Shots are the actuallity.

Here's the scoop.

Shots cost $1.50 each w/o purchase of beer cup, $1.00ea w/purchase of beer cup

Mixed drinks will be $1.00 a piece w/purchase of cup. (This is down from two dollars) W/o puchase of a cup they will be $3.oo. (This has not changed, sorry guys.) This will be the final price. No more changes will be made.

(We would love to charge one flat price for everything, but as ya'll know, the stuff for shots etc... can be expensive, and we need at least a little of that back. Blame me really, this is my part to help Jim get to London, and some to most of what gets brought in from mixed drinks and shots will got to Jim's fund. ) (Which is why it's a fundraiser)

a cup is $5 as previously stated, and you can drink from the keg(s) until it's dry.

Mixed Drink List:

Mai-Tai's

Melon Ball's

Mudslide's

Mad Milkshakes

Long Island's

Whiskey and Coke

Rum and Coke

Screwdrivers

Shot list: (will be updated to add more in the next day or so so bear with me)

Orgasm

Kamikaze

Mind Eraser

Cement Mixer

Kummoniwannalaya

Screaming Orgasm

Flaming Jesus

Slippery Nipple

Brain Tumor

send Batman to London Benefit Bash

2006-02-20T16:32:00.000-06:00

*most of this post is copied over from 2 distant hearts, but be sure to check out the extras section

Benefit Bash

When: FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2006

Time: Festivities kick off at 8:30pm (aka that's when we tap the keg)

Where: Our place, (being St. J, roomie Andy, and myself) 1530 trumbull ave #10

Who's invited: EVERYONE! Feel free to bring anyone and everyone you know!Cost: Free to attend! It will be $5 a cup for the Kegs...

Taxi Info: We will potentially be running a shuttle service for $2-3 roundtrip! (Or half that one way). Please Jim or myself know if you'd be interested in driving for (we have a vehicle if u dont) or in utilizing that service...

RSVP: Please e-mail, call, IM Jim or myself, or leave a comment on this post if you are or might be there and how many people you are or might be bringing. Also please let me know if you will be utilizing our shuttle services.

Extras: There will also be jungle juice for those of you unwilling to try beer, free of charge.

There are also rumors of the possibility of a limited selection of mixed drinks including Mai-Tai's, Mudslide, Mad Milkshakes, and Melon Balls...(or as i like to call them, M&M's) I can neither confirm nor deny these rumors at this time. Ask me at some other point and time....but not right now. (In the event the M&M's become more than just rumor... an extra small donation to the fund would most likely be required to obtain such a drink.)

Don't be afraid to put this in your away message, facebook message, e-mail and tell everyone and anyone you know! And please let me know if you're coming so we can have enough liquid courage for everyone!!!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THE CAUSE BY COMING OUT TO PART-AY WITH US!!!!

B-ball and Racin

2006-02-18T14:11:00.000-06:00

This is quite possibly one of the biggest weekends of the year in terms of sports. well for me and Roof anyway. What does this mean to the rest of you? A chance to watch the Illini play at the same time me and roof go crazy over Daytona.

That's right, NASCAR and the Illini. We figured what better way to catch all the action than to go to our favorite place with all those big screens.....BWW's! Who's in.

Tip off and the flag drops at 2:30 on Sunday.

New website!

2006-02-10T15:59:00.000-06:00

Introducing ... 2distanthearts.blogspot.com

It's a website/blog for Megan and I while she's away in England ... go check it out!

Pictures and Addy from Megan

2006-02-06T11:52:00.000-06:00

Below are all the new England Pictures that I've got for you guys ...

P.S. for anyone wanting to know her address, as it is listed on facebook exactly is:

Megan Trimpe
Lenton & Wortley Hall
University Park
University of Nottingham
Nottingham
NG7 2RD

Nottingham: Trent Building

2006-02-06T11:49:00.002-06:00

Trent building (I have nooooooo idea why is remotely significant)
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Nottingham: Meg's Dorm

2006-02-06T11:49:00.001-06:00

Lenton and WortleyHall lawn (Meg's dorm from the outside)
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Nottingham: Meg's dorm room

2006-02-06T11:49:00.000-06:00

Meg's dorm room (from the desk/bed)
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Nottingham: Student Union

2006-02-06T11:47:00.002-06:00

Student Union ...
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Nottingham: Meg's dorm room 2

2006-02-06T11:47:00.001-06:00

Meg's dorm room (from the door)
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Nottingham: Trent Building courtyard

2006-02-06T11:47:00.000-06:00

Trent building courtyard
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Nottingham: Meg's Dorm from the outside

2006-02-06T11:46:00.000-06:00

Lenton and WortleyHall (Meg's dorm from the outside)
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Nottingham: Meg's dorm floor

2006-02-06T11:45:00.001-06:00

Megan's doorm floor ... it looks really narrow!
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2006-02-06T11:45:00.000-06:00

Random London picture ... once again, she has the battery life of 8 pictures and she picks this ...
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2006-02-06T11:44:00.003-06:00

Random American friends (sorry no Anna)...
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2006-02-06T11:44:00.002-06:00

The Front of the London Hotel...my thoughts here are similar to the bus...
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2006-02-06T11:44:00.001-06:00

Cathedral in Peterborough (her second stop)
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2006-02-06T11:44:00.000-06:00

Another shot of the Cathedral in Peterborough
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2006-02-06T11:43:00.001-06:00

A random double decker bus ... of all the pictures to take, not sure why one made the cut...
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2006-02-06T11:43:00.000-06:00

The hotel room that Megan stayed at in London.
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2006-02-06T11:42:00.001-06:00

The London hotel room ...
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2006-02-06T11:42:00.000-06:00

Buckingham palace
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2006-02-06T11:40:00.000-06:00

The top of the Buckingham palace fountain...ooh, its all golden...
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Bill's Amazingly Blonde Moment

2006-01-31T16:06:00.000-06:00

Humorous story from last night:

So Bill, RA Bridget, and myself are hanging out in my room last night. It's like 12:30, we're all tired from a long day and just sort of bummin, having a good time ...

In the middle of a conversation Bill, who is slouched on the futon sort of zoning in and out of conversation, stares intently at the watch on his rest for a few seconds and then sat upright, sort of waved his right arm and said SHIT! in a very aggravated manner

Bridget and I both give him a startled look and one of us asks him what was wrong. In a disgusted tone he replies, I missed a meeting with a professor today at 3pm.

Of course Bridget and I start cracking him since A) It had nothing to do with anything going on the in the room and B) It was after midnight and he was just realizing it...

Then Bridget, in her most brilliant moment to date, looks at Bill while still laughing, and said something to the effect of, "The best part is you had check your watch first. Like its anywhere near 3 in the afternoon".

Seriously, I felt like Bill Engvall should stepped in and said to Bill, "Here's your sign" or something...

Too funny ... apparently Bill has no memory AND no sense of time!

-Jim-

Pics from Meg's English Adventure

2006-01-31T10:25:00.000-06:00

Since I'm not sure if she's ever going to create a blog about her adventures to England, and I know everyone is curious, I figured I should post these. They aren't actually from Megan. Apparently Megan doesn't believe in sending me pictures, even though she now has a digital camera ... haha, although funny story about that, she can't figure out how to use rechargeable batteries. They die after like 6 pictures, and I'm like wow, I don't know if I can handle this ... if you can't handle batteries how are u being allowed to own the actual camera.

But anyway, I found these up on facebook so without further ado ... here are a few shots of Megan in London and then Peterborough (or something like that), with a few, um, captions below each from myself ... Note: She spent the first week in London and P-Borough before finally getting to her school in Nottingham on Sunday

Megan (far left) enjoys a few drinks with her fellow Americans traveling abroad. The girl on the far left is Anna, whom Megan shared a room (and possibly a bed, although details are sketchy) for the week. Anna and Megan are becoming good friends. Editor's note: This is vital information since obviously Anna is a very attractive girl and cnn.com is reporting she had made-out with another chick before.

Megan (far right) poses for a picture while sharing a few more drinks...Is it just me , or does she seem excessively giggly. Hm, either someone has been hitting the old ale tap a little hard (or she doesn't miss us here in grand old U.S. of A. as much as she claims...

Megan (far right) and three chicks, giggity giggity! On a side note, this is picture three where she's been on the far side of a frame. Apparently she doesn't believe in being in the center of pictures anymore ... the British probably convinced her doing so would steal her soul or something.

Where exactly is Megan loooking in this picture? Haha seriously, notice everyone else is looking at the camera and then look at Megan ... Too funny ...

Once again, where exactly is Megan looking?! Haha ... everyone else is looking at the camera and then look at her line of sight ... and she's got that giggly look back. Apparently Megan shouldn't be allowed to have pictures taken of her while drinking .... at least publicly. Haha...

Super Bowl Sunday

2006-01-26T20:57:00.000-06:00

As some of you may have heard from the rumor train, we have a great location for the super bowl party this year. My parents graciously offered up their house for us to have a super bowl party while they party in Las Vegas.

Some of the highlights of this include a sixty inch tv (as Kyle puts it, any TV that stands on it own is too big.) Is there really such a thing? A pool table, (my parents put my old room to good use it seems.) and a beer fridge.

Game starts at five thirty. Pregame starts at around noon. (I gotta have my beauty rest) Come on over any time after noon.

I'll fire up the grill in the garage before, during or after the game as needed, so bring anything you want to toss on the grill. I should have plenty of condiments available...my parents should anyways :-)

Directions-

507 Centennial Ave, across from colene hoose school in Normal.

from steak and shake on the corner of veterans and G.E. Turn off of Vet and onto G.E. (vernon) head east.(towards campus) cross towanda and head about three quarters of a mile. you will see
Hoose on the left. My parents house is on the right side of the street, it's yellow with a big pine tree on the corner.

If you're coming from campus, head towards veterans on college, turn right on grandview at the stoplight by the church. go two blocks and take the first left onto Karen. After that, take the first right, this will be centennial, go all the way up the street, we're the last house on the right.

BYOB, and go STEELERS

Normal life lost and found: January edition

2006-01-26T20:28:00.000-06:00

Here ya go folks... the January edition of the lost and found as promised.

Items in inventory:

A pair of hoop earings-owned by sarah weller
One black sweater- owner unknown............ 2nd month in inventory
One brown belt- belongs to a guy (that's all i know, and all i wanna know), (unless more
than one female was involved in the removal of said belt)

Items having been claimed from inventory:

One orange shirt- claimed by Jim, time in inventory -three weeks
One pair of superman movies- claimed by Sarah for Dave, time in inventory- six weeks
One green pillow- claimed by Sarah for Dave, time in inventory- four weeks
One blue coat- claimed by Sarah, time in inventory- ten days

Until next month....

She's Alive!

2006-01-24T14:10:00.000-06:00

I don't pretend to think that any of you actually care about this mushy part of my life, HOWEVER, it is my current Normal life so I'm gonna blog about it anyway!

SHE LOVES ME! WOOT WOOT! (Not that it was in question!) ... But Miss Megan left for England on Sunday and it's been awful rough in a lot of ways ... mostly because I haven't hardly heard from her, because she doesnt actually get to the dorm or the town her college is at until like Saturday or Sunday. I got one brief generic e-mail from her and thats sad ... because the last three days I have like flooded her e-mail inbox with e-mails, and daily stories, and sadness, and goofy webcam pics of me and goofy videos, etc. And I knew I wouldnt hear anything back, but any time I feel like I need my Megan fix I try and e-mail her or something ...

So anyway, I get back from being at class from 10-2, thinking about what I gotta do the rest of the day ... just sort of lost in thought and as I got back to my computer, my AIM had five IM's from Megan! AND THEN I OPENED MY E-MAIL and I got like Six e-mails or something from her ... and one was like a novel, and some were way emotional ... and it was very emotional, but it was also very very awesome! I didnt think I'd get to hear from her at all for a whole week and I got an inbox full of stuff and it was good stuff! Sadly, she couldnt open the pictures or videos I sent ... but thats okay.

Anyway, I just got really happy and it totally made my day, and I wanted to share that joy with everyone else! Yeah...

Woot woot

-Jim-

Hostel

2006-01-21T00:08:00.000-06:00

Well... hmm... to put it bluntly... it really sucked...

Lets breakdown the movie:

1. Porn scene --- 30 minutes
2. Secondary Character action scene --- 10 minutes
3. Main Character action scene --- 30 minutes
4. End --- 10 minutes

I want my money back...

I give it a 4.5 on a 10 point scale.

Killin' Time...

2006-01-20T13:29:00.000-06:00

So, I'm currently sitting at ISU's biblioteca killin' time, and I thought what better way to spend my time than blogging! Yeah ...

The reason I have a few moments to kill is because my professor of my 1pm class (first class of my Friday, yeah!) didn't show up ... so about 1:15 everyone bailed out. I was like, I have a 2 pm class on the far side of the quad, so its worthless to go back ... well I guess I'll just go kick it at Milner ...

Anyway, not having class till one on Friday is pretty sweet ... it almost makes up for the fact my two Friday classes are Environmental Geology at 1 follwed by Genetics in Society at 2 ... oh yeah, there's a riveting course load! Such is life ... 18 hours this semester is gonna be a bitch!

Well, I'm off to go do some more surfing! Rock on...

-Jim-