Today, I pulled myself out of bed at 8:45 to get ready to go to my church's contemperary service at 9:30. I went, and it was alright, as usual. Not too great. Then I went to the college sunday school class. There were a few more people there than last week. After that, nobody in the church had lunch prepared for us, so we went to Sonic, and then decided to take it to Forsythe Park to eat. It was nice outside. After we finished eating and playing with our little toys we got in our Wacky Paks, we all left and I went home. Not long after I got home, I got on my bed and slept til about 4:15. Then I went to my old youth group at 5:30. We ate Dominos Pizza, the youth played a game, and then Andy (youth director) led us in worship. He played his guitar and sang some songs while we sang with him, and then we talked about John 4. I think I have heard that lesson about 8 times in the past year. It's the one about the Samaritan woman at the well, and Jesus tells her about her past, and then she goes and tells the other people about him, etc. Anyway, I knew all about it. After youth, I hopped in my truck and came back to Tech. I have been working on my calculus homework for several hours now. I only have 8 problems, but they are in several parts and are taking forever. It's kinda hard when I don't know what I am doing, too. I'm going to finish my Calculus now since it is 1:00 and I have an 8:00 class tomorrow.
MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2003
I had an 8:00 calculus class this morning. I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night. After Calculus, I went to my sociology class and passed little Emily and Lindsey, who happen to be in my class, on my way. I looked at the time, and realized I had 30 minutes before the class so I went and chilled with Emily and Lindsey in the student center until class started. I took some notes in class and then he let us out 30 minutes into it again. It was nice. I like that class. Then I went back to my room and slept til 12:15 when I got up and went to Chapel at the BCM. After that, I went to the student center to eat with Matt Carter and a girl I met today, Ashley. She was really interested in track and kept asking questions about it. She was cool and is going to come to my meet Wednesday. Just a side note, anybody who reads this, please pray for me for Wednesday, that I don't do too bad and that I don't pass out after running the 400. I'm so nervous. Anyway, after I finished eating my Whopper Jr. and Fries, I went with Kristen to our English class. I seemed to be in a really good mood so it was pretty fun. We split off into groups to summarize some paragraph, and I met two girls that are in my class. Lauren and Houng were the girls in my group. They were really nice. After we finished that, we were able to go, but I waited on Kristen cause she had to use my cell phone to call Matt. Matt met us outside the GTM and I talked with them for a while, but then I walked really fast back to my dorm where I changed to go to track practice at 4:00. At track practice, we did some block starts (where we start running using a pair of blocks), and then ran a 250. We were suppose to cross the 200 in 22 seconds flat and the 250 mark in 30 seconds. I was really proud of myself becuase I stayed ahead of Troy and Anthony til the 200 mark where I crossed in 21.8 seconds and I crossed the 250 in 27.4 seconds. If that is accurate, I am much faster than my best time last year. In district last year, I ran the 200 in 22.4 seconds. After that, I went by the field house training room to get some ice and stem on my legs. Maegan helped me with that. She is one of the trainer-helpers that always helps with the team. Troy always tells me how he likes her. I don't really say anything to that, though. After that, I came to my dorm, took a shower and then went to eat. I got my food and then went to get a drink. I saw four guys on the track team sitting near the drink machine. When I get my cup out of the cup holder, I always grab it and kinda flip it around to where it is right side up.....well when I did it this time, the cup slipped out of my hand and went pretty high up in the air and I tried to catch it, but it hit the floor. The guys on the track team and a few other sitting around happened to see it. I was so embarrassed. So I got another cup, filled it up, and went to sit over on the other side of the cafeteria with Jake, Rachel and Kyle. When I finished eating, I walked back to my dorm and called Matt from my cell phone to see if he wanted to go to Walmart with me to get some milk. So we went to walmart....and got some milk. But he also got buttons pad for his cell phone. We saw Maegen in there, so we talked to her for a little bit, and we are all going to go to Wesley together Thursday for their Bible Study. Then I came back to my room, talked on instant messanger, ate some of my mom's brownies with the milk I just bought and added some of my friends' pictures to my page. That's about it for today.
TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2003
This morning, I woke up at 9:01 and went to my chemistry class at 10 with Jarred and Andrew. After that I went to hang out in Wyly tower until I needed to go to Soul Food Cafe at 12:00. That was fun and spiritually uplifting. After that, i think I came back to my dorm and slept. Not too sure.... After that I went to the field house so I could get some stuff done on my legs so they wouldn't hurt so bad. Then, since it was raining, I didn't go to practice but to the TAC where we were suppose to have our pre-track meet meeting. I found out the times for my races, and the lanes I would be in for the 400 and the 4x400 relay. I also found out that Coach Jackson's mom had died and that he was in New York so he would not be at our meet. Billy told us that after the meeting and then Troy led the whole team in prayer. It is really nice to see my team all join together in prayer. After the meeting, I went up to Troy and invited him to come to Common Ground with me. He had not been able to last quarter because he had a lab at the same time. He told me he would go, so after I got all cleaned up and stuff, I called him and went to pick him up. He was kinda nervous because he hadn't ever been before. Once we got there, I introduced him to some people and then we went and sat near the front. He said he usually sat in the back in church. A few songs into CG, he started to sing some and get a little into it. About 20 minutes into CG, he took out his earrings and told me that his mom always told him not to wear them in church. After it was over, I introduced him to a few more people, then I took him home. Matt had ridden with us, so after I dropped Troy off, we went to KFC so I could get some food, then I dropped him off at his truck and went to fill up my tank since war is suppose to start tomorrow. When I got back to my dorm, I started working on my calculus. I didn't finish my calculus homework. I will just use it for one of my drop grades.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2003
Today is the day of my meet. I have been praying almost constantly for it for about the past week. I went to my Calculus class and then to sociology class. After sociology, I went to eat....I guess it was brunch with Emily and Matt (who plays the mandalin in the BCM band) in the cafeteria. I thought it would be a good idea to just eat some then and then not eat for the rest of the day so I wouldn't get sick at the meet. I had some cereal and a plate full of fruit. Troy told me I needed fruit, so I took his advice. Then i went back to my dorm where I slept until 12:11. Then I woke up and went to chapel. Right after chapel, I didn't see Lauren there, so I tryed to find someone else to straighten my hair for my meet. Then I saw Lauren, and she straightened it in the sancuary. She did a really good job of it. Usually, my head gets burned or my head really hurts from hairs being pulled, but I got none of that from Lauren. After that, I went to my 2:00 class that I had an excuse for, but I went because I needed to go to do the Free writing. At 2:30, I rolled out and went back to my dorm to change for my meet. I pulled out the little shorts and, I didn't realize they were so tiny until I put them on. I was sure my friends in the stands would make fun of me, but I wore them anyway, and I didn't hear anything from them. I warmed up for about 2 hours until it came time for me to run. I said a few more prayers in my preparation before I went to my starting point. I pulled my hair back into a pony tail and set my blocks in lane 6. There was a guy in lane 7; that is good cause I can chase him. The starter said "mark, set, go" and then did two gun shots. That meant that someone jumped the gun. It happened to be the guy in lane 7, so he was disqualified and I was on the outside lane. We started again, and I stayed ahead of everybody until the 300 meter mark when my legs suddenly stopped responding. It was a horrible feeling. I was struggling to make them move, but they weren't going fast. That' s why I like the 100 and 200. Only 3 guys passed me, though, so I got 4th with a time of 50.9 seconds. I figure that's not bad for my first college meet. After that I went to the middle of the field and collapsed from exhaustion, headache, aching legs, and lack of breath. I had about an hour and a half before my 4x400. I finally felt a little better, so I walked across to the other side of the field, barfed, and then I felt a lot better. I went back to the pavilion and rested there for a while. Then for the 4x400, I went over there, and stripped down to my little shorties and got ready to hop my lane when it came time to pass the baton off to me. I didn't take off soon enough, and the hand-off was kinda awkward, but I took off. I felt like I was striding, but I did not want to feel the pain I felt after the 400 again. Then I sped up a little bit after the first curve. We got 4th. After the meet, I went to eat at ...some Cajun restaurant whose name I forgot with my parents. I was kinda out of it the whole time. I am still really tired. I guess it won't get better til I get some sleep.
THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2003
Today, I woke up and went to my Chemistry class. Afterward, as I passed through Centinial Plaza on the way to eat, I noticed there was a carnival thinggy going on. Spring Fling was what it was called. I went to eat and then came back out and put on a body suit that looked like a sumo wrestler, and I wrestled Justin. We body-slammed each other and threw each other around, and a guy that was taking pictures got a shot of me laying on the ground while Justin was in the air about to fall on me. I was still tired from the track meet yesterday, so I didn't have much strength my legs to get up. It was really hard. At one point, I fell on top of Justin and started tickling his feet, and he could do nothing. After that, I went to the blow-up obstacle course and raced Heath. The very first obstacle, my left calf muscle started cramping REALLY bad, so I went through the whole course mostly with just my right leg. Needless to say, I lost. That was all I had time for at the time. I then limped to Chapel at the BCM. My leg hurt the rest of the day. After chapel, I came back, and watched some more people sumo wrestle. I wanted to do it again, but I also didn't, because I wouldn't have been able to move or get up if I fell down. Matt and I, took our books back to our rooms, and then came back. I got Amanda to spar with me using those rods with the padding on either end. I forgot what it was called. I knocked her off her platform a couple of times, then we just fought not-on-the-platforms. I twisted her rod up with mine and grabbed it from her. Then I threw it like a spear at her. It looked pretty cool from my point of view. After we finished, I tried to do a back flip, cause we were on a space walk thinggy, but I didn't quite get all the way around. So I just looked stupid. Then we went to did the obstacle course a couple times; I did it once with Amanda, and once with Cori. My leg didn't cramp again, so I was able to move a little faster....so I won. After that I did the bungee run. When I ran, I jumped and grabbed the center divider thing where I was suppose to put the sticky thing. I tried to pull myself further, so I could get the sticky thing the farthest, but the bungee cord was pulling too tight. I don't think I am making myself very clear, calling stuff things and thinggies. After that, I had to go back to my dorm and get ready for practice at 4:00. We ran 7x30 second runs. It wasn't so bad. Then I went to get some ice on my leg and went back to my dorm. I took a shower, and then called Matt, and we went to Nights at the Well (a Bible study) at the Wesley foundation. We met Maegen and her roommate there. After the Bible study, we had communion, prayed some, and then hung out with some Wesley people. Then Amanda took me and Matt to our dormitories. I think that was the end of my night.
FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2003
I woke up and went to my Calculus class as usual at 8:00. Sociology class was canceled for today so I had some more free time. Um...I don't really remember what I did after that. I think I went to eat breakfast and then went to my dorm to sleep until Chapel. Maybe I slept after Chapel. Crap, I can't remember. I had practice at 3:30. We lifted some weights and then went out and ran up the stadiums some. First we ran, then we hopped on each leg, then hopped using both legs, all four times each. After practice, I went back to my dorm, took a shower, and then came home. I was planning on going to my youth group's "Coffee House" that they have every fourth Friday of the month. Melissa called me around 6:30 and told me that Kate's date had canceled on her at the last minute. I knew Kate because she frequented the youth group a bit. I didn't know her that well, but she seemed like a sweet person. I didn't like the idea of such a fine young lady going to a dance where she hardly knew anybody by herself, so I told Mel that I would go. Right before I began getting dressed, Mel called back and said that Kate had a date now. So that was good, so I went to the coffee house. I payed my $5 and grabbed a Black Cherry Soda and talked to Mrs. Tammy and Tim a little bit. Then Melissa called her mom's (Mrs. Tammy's) cell phone and wanted to talk to me. She informed me that Kate no longer had a date and if I would still come meet them at Monroe's restaurant. I was about half way done with my Soda, but I told people bye and went back home anyway. Mrs. Tammy called me a sucker, but I didn't really know that many people at the Coffee house so I figured it would be more fun to go to a dance anyway. This is going to be a pretty long journal entry, I think. As I left the church parking lot, I called home and told my parents to get my clothes ready again. I got ready and drove really fast to Monroe's where I just walked in and went straight to the back where my group was. I sat with Kate, Melissa, and her boyfriend Daniel. Later Gennie (my ex) came in with her boyfriend and started giving me dirty looks. She was apparently not happy that I came. It turns out she got really pissed off when she found out I was filling in for Kate's date. She stayed in a pissy mood the whole night. Throughout dinner she kept saying stuff outloud about hating me and something about me talking behind her back and and flipping me off and whatever else she could think of. I thought it was kinda funny, but I was also astounded. I had never seen anybody show so much hatred for someone as she was showing for me. It's not like I broke up with her, she broke up with me and was crying while she did it. That was over two years ago. I would have thought she'd gotten over it by now. I was fine with her breaking up with me though. I was a lot happier afterwards. But I never did anything to deserve such intense hatred from her. I wasn't the one who gave her a bad reputation. She did that all by herself by telling people about the activities she participates in. Anyways, I heard that her boyfriend was planning on beating me up or some crap like that. He was smaller than me, so I didn't worry about it too much. Everybody else was making a big deal about it though. Daniel was talking to everyone and made sure they had my back if anything happened. It was nice to know that people would side with me if anything DID happen. Daniel is not very tall, but he is pretty bowed, but I think I could handle anything Jarrod tried on me. I was getting a little excited though. I've never been in a real fight before. Jarrod didn't look like he really cared to fight me though; it just looked like Gennie did. I went to go to the bathroom at one point and Mel and Daniel got up at the same time to go talk to Mel's dad at the bar. I had only seen Melissa's dad once in my life, so I thought I would go say hi. Suddenly, Gennie grabs my arm and yanked me her way and said that we needed to talk. I tried to shove her away, but she kept hanging on, so I grabbed her arm and pried if off of mine, and she told me to let go of her (when I say tell or told when referring to Gennie, I mean 'yelled.'" I glanced over at Melissa, because I thought that was kinda rediculous that she would say that to ME. I threw her arms off of me and said, "NO, YOU let go of ME." Then the bartender told us that if we were going to do that, we needed to take it outside. That was a first for me. Gennie continued making a scene and yelled, "I was trying to take him outside, can't you see that?!" I'm glad there were hardly any people in the restaurant. Then she got up in my face (not very pleasant experience) and told me that if I had something to say about her to say it to her face and not keep talking behind her back. I had no idea what she was talking about and told her that I had not said anything about her. Melissa and Daniel intervened and told her that I hadn't said anything about her. Gennie said that five of her close friends told her that I had and that they would not lie to her. So I told her that they had lied to her, and Daniel said the same thing. Gennie then shoved Melissa out of the way, which made me really mad, and then went back to the table. She said some other stuff after we had all sat back down. I don't really remember what she was saying, I just remember me and Kate laughing. I told Melissa and Kate what my dad had told me to say to Gennie if she said anything. He said that if she had said anything rude to me (example "What are you doing here you faggot") to just ask her if she farted. My dad said he woudl pay me $20 if I said it to her, but I didn't remember that until after the huge scene at the bar. I was really upset that I had forgotten. Later Gennie told Melissa that she wasn't going on the bus with us. That was fine with me, but it would have added some laughter and more stories to my evening if she had. When we got to Frenchman's Bend Country Club, where the dance was, we signed in and hung out in the hall a little bit. I saw my other ex, Marcia. I knew she would be surprised to see me, and she was. However, she came up, smiled and said hi anyway. Kate whispered in my ear, "wow, she's nice." I thought it was kinda funny that the only two girls that I have ever gone out with were at that dance and that one was really psycho mean and the other one was really nice. When I was dancing a slow dance with Kate, at one point, I saw Marcia with her guy and she smiled at me. When I rotated to where I was facing Gennie, she saw me and flipped me off. I also found that really funny and told Kate and Melissa about it. Gennie and Jarrod were dancing pretty nasty. The first dance, I noticed that Jarrod had his hands full of Gennie's butt even though there were chaperones all around. I'm not going to say anything more about that. Around 11:00, some of my group went back out to hang out in the bus. Instead of going to the bus, Kate, Stephanie, and I went to see one of Kates friends that lived right down the road from the country club. Andrew was a pretty cool guy and we talked to him for a while and told him about how the night had been going. Around 11:45, we left his house and walked back to the bus. We rode back to Gennie's house to drop some people off, and then to Monroe's where my truck was. I took Stephanie home and then headed home myself. I would have taken Kate home as well, but she wanted to ride with Daniel, Melissa, and Charlotte.
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2003
This morning, my mom barged into my room and said it was 12:00 and opened my blinds and started asking me how my night was and stuff. I didn't want to get up. I didn't answer very many of her questions. I did not appreciate being awakened early on a day I get to sleep late. I felt my cat, Nip, jump up onto my bed and start walking towards the head of it where the window sill is. When I felt him get up about next to my head, I turned to look at him. I felt him flinch really bad. He had obviously not known anybody was up there. He decided to continue with what he was doing anyway. He attempted to jump up on the window sill, but didn't quite make it and fell off. He got embarrassed so he sat at the end of my bed and groomed himself until he felt better and then left the room. After that, my friend, Laura, who has been going to boarding school in Pennsylvania and who I never get to see, called and told me she was heading over to say bye to me before she left town again. So I jumped out of bed, took a shower, and got dressed before she got here. As I was getting out of the shower, I heard the clock ring 12 o'clock. My mom had told me it was 12, like, 40 minutes before. Anyway, Laura and I talked for a little bit, but she didn't have long because she had to go say bye to some other friends before she left. It was nice seeing her again, though. Later, I went over to Melissa's house to go eat with her, Daniel, and Charlotte at Rays PeeGee. On my way over there, my check gages light came on. It seemed my engine was overheating again. I had just filled up the radiator with water just three weeks ago. I apparently had a leak. I didn't worry about it at the time, though. I just put some water in it and took Charlotte to Rays, where we met with Daniel, Melissa and this dude, Jeremy. Daniel and Jeremy only had an hour for lunch, so we had to hurry up. After we ate, I brought Melissa and Charlotte back to Mel's house where I hung out with them for a little bit. Mel's step dad took a look at my truck to see where the leak was coming from and it turns out my water pump is leaking, so I have to get that replaced. I then played with Melissa's little sister, Emily, on the trampoline for a while. Then I got tired and we went back inside. Around 5:30 or so, I decided it was time to come home to eat supper, because we were having steaks. The steaks and curly-Q fries were good. After that I came to the computer and worked on my journals because I had gotten a few days behind.