Big week, scattered thoughts

From Friday last week to today has been pretty huge. It was last week that we headed out to Bloomington. At that time, the items that weighed heavy on my mind included a layout and elevation presentation in AutoCAD, a research paper, math exam, English portfolio, and OLS marketing project.

Now, the only thing that remains is the English portfolio.

In the midst of it all, I managed to get the stomach flu (again). There seems to be a direct relationship between eating at Earhart and how much time I spend running to the bathroom. Despite this, I ended up eating at Earhart only two days later. They had foot long hot dogs, so it was worth it.
Anyway, Bloomington was a ton of fun. The car trip down was of course cool, as car trips tend to be. My poor little Topaz was quite loaded down. Even with just two bikes on the bike rack, the back end was sagging quite a bit. Add to that another bike, luggage for three more people, and three guys in the back seat, and what you get is a very loaded down car. Despite this and some severe weather, she got us to our destination as she usually does.






I really like how the bikes set off the Environment plate.



If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time a girl has driven my car. It was quite a special time.

Among the things we did in Bloomington were shearing goats. In this picture, we can see how we didn't quite let Ticky (sp?) out of the garage in time.



The goats looked very funny.



After Andrew got back from purchasing a new used car, we all headed out to go "around the block" which was just over 10 or 11 miles. I was really surprised to learn that we rode that far, it didn't seem that long at all. We even stopped to enjoy the scenery a bit.


Later that night after dinner, we headed out to the IU campus and met up with Nathan and had a grand ol' time. We ended up having quite a bit of fun with Orson Wells and his statue.







Nathan gave me a piggyback ride. It was a pretty special bonding time.


Nathan did a few other things that night. Pictures of said things won't be posted here. If you want to see them, you'll either have to get creative or know who to talk to in order to gain access to them. I bet Sara is thanking me for this.

Though it was apparent before Sunday, it really wasn't until that afternoon that it sank in with me that I have gained a new biggest fan. Paul Wegener has developed quite the liking for me. It's really kinda cool to have a biggest fan. Everyone should have one.

On Monday I think I ran across some verses that I think just might rank right up there along with my favorites. John 11:49,50 says "But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, 'You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.'" It struck me as amazing first of all just how clearly it lays out the role Jesus Christ was to carry out while he was on earth. Earlier, Jesus was explaining that no one was taking his life, but he was giving it like a shepherd for his sheep. That just blew my mind that he would willingly go through what he did, being separated from God the way he was, so that I, a sinner, wouldn't have to be.
Then it struck me how Caiaphas was speaking in political terms, rather than in terms of salvation. Despite this, God used his words in quite a profound way.

Then I did lots of homework. It's kind of a blur. My sleep cycle is messed up, hence how late I am up right now.

Today I was able to go out on a bike ride with Andrew, Kara, and Sara. It was only to Wal-Mart, but it was still nice to get out and enjoy the weather after turning in my projects. And along the way, we saw a really cool turtle. Kara, convinced that it wasn't a snapping turtle, tried picking him up. What the turtle did in response to that was amazing. I did not know that turtles could move that fast. I also did not know that Kara could move that fast.

Then there was a rally. Pastor York encouraged us to memorize the book of James, which seems like a lofty, but good, goal. Afterwards we went on a photo scavenger hunt where we crammed about ten people into my tiny room (I got some comments from my floormates about that one) and then we got on the roof of the recitation building. It was pretty cool. I should go to bed now.

Goodnight, I'll catch you on the flip side.