Two. Zero. One. Six. Those four numbers in that order contain 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, and 31,536,000 seconds. In all those seconds, many, many, many things happened. There were birthdays, celebrations, holidays, vacations, tests, projects, elections, to name a few. But there were also the more important things that so many people let pass by, take for granted or forget about until they need it most. I'm referring to the moments, memories, and realizations that make life as great as it is. From those simple times where you find yourself in a boat in the middle of a Wisconsin lake at sunset and the world feels right to the crazy times you're the best man at your best friend's wedding and the party goes late into the night. So without further ado, sit back and enjoy 2016 in review.
While many people may look upon 2016 and say "This year sucked!" I say quite the opposite. Sure it was at times like an undisciplined child and yes loved ones and celebrities we adored have passed on, but I can say for myself that so many other wonderful things happened that made me glad to be alive. In May I finally graduated college with my Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering. I knew it was going to be rough, it took longer than I thought, and there were many times the thought of giving it all up entered my mind. But I persevered and now I have an expensive piece of paper that says I'm qualified to be an engineer. That was pretty big.
The year was also filled with weddings and by that I mean ten couples I know tied the knot and I had the honor of attending five, being the best man in one. Go check out my wedding post for all the shout outs and info on that. Congrats again to all you crazy kids who got married this year.
My love for travel took me on many adventures this year. Two brief tours of Chicago, trying deep dish for the first time. Raced high speed go karts in Austin, TX and explored the weird city. Cruised on down back to Raleigh for a wedding, devoured delicious food and drink downtown, and hung out around a campfire with old and new friends under the starry sky until the late hours of the night. Took an extended stay in the Big Apple and took a few bites out of my ever growing bucket list (for all those wonderful adventures see my NYC series posts). Canoed out onto a quiet lake as the sun bid me adieu in the great outdoors of northern Wisconsin, casting a line chasing the ever fun large mouth bass. Disappeared for a weekend in the great hills of Hocking, OH with the bros as one of them would soon be wed. As well as many other small adventures along the way.
I had the pleasure of seeing Kenny Chesney live in concert for my second year in a row as well as the ever talented and ever lovely Carrie Underwood for the first time. Both experiences were phenomenal.
My love for baseball was well fed as I went to five regular season Indians games, one Pirates game, and one Yankees game, as well as Game 1 of the ALDS which featured the Indians vs the Red Sox. The home team one seven out of eight games I attended. The best parts were watching the Indians come down from two runs in the bottom of the 9th to win it in walk off fashion, being in the first row bleachers at Yankee Stadium, and going nuts with the home crowd as the Tribe smashed three home runs in one inning off Boston ace Rick Porcello and ended up winning the game.
My geocaching hobby has really taken off this year as it is an adventure all in itself. If you still don't know what that is, go to www.geocaching.com for more info, but be careful, you may become addicted. As of the moment I am writing this post, I eclipsed the 1,000 finds mark and now stand at 1,051 caches found. That's a pretty big milestone I'm proud to have hit this year.
This year was also a pretty awesome year to be a Cleveland sports fan (except of the browns but that's come to be expected). The Cleveland Cavaliers brought home Cleveland's first major professional sports championship since 1964 (which was also the Cavs first) that put the reality into Believeland and 1.3 million people came to witness the championship parade live. The Cleveland Indians made a magical run straight to game 7 of the World Series when no one thought they would stand a chance with their small market, their injuries, and them just being Cleveland. Even though they didn't come away with the ultimate victory, it was still an amazing season and I believe they'll go all the way next year.
There are also many less extravagant moments that I've had this year that'll remain in my memory for years to come. The small moments in life that we sometimes take for granted but turn out to be crucial points in our lives. A few brief examples include being at a conference and entering into a conversation where someone is going through a bit of stress because of everything they have going on. I then explained to the others in that conversation why this person was stressing out and that the job wasn't as easy. This person then responded with "I love you so much right now." It wasn't meant in a romantic way at all but rather a friend's appreciation for me understanding. That response made the rest of my day. There was also the many nights I hung out with the bros and for the most part I didn't care what we were doing, but what mattered most is we were together and it felt like family, because they are.
Lastly, I want to say this. People, the media, the internet, and the world have portrayed 2016 as an awful year. I can state others years that could be considered "worse" that didn't gain this type of response. So for me, I'm still breathing. I have a roof over my head, a family that loves me, many friends who I consider family, I graduated college, I'm still able to enjoy life, I'm still proud to be an American, and the Lord is still Lord.
As we welcome 2017, take each day as it comes, love the people that you do and tell them so. Keep friends close. Turn off the media. Don't let social media rule your life and the way you see the world. Take risks. Do the things you love. Keep your head up and never stop fighting.
What a year. Bring on 2017!
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Friday, November 25, 2016
Thoughts With A Twist
It's very close to the end of November and I haven't written here in over a month. Why is that detail important? Well I made a small commitment to myself. After I got into a habit where I wasn't writing here often and this blog was going to become obsolete. I didn't want that to happen. So my commitment was that I would write here once a month. The reason for this is twofold. The first being that whenever I need an outlet for my emotions, thoughts, etc I can place all that here. More than I would with strangers or friends, but still not every aspect of my thinking because I don't want to be too exposing of myself nor do I want to say something that will cause someone to hate me. The second is that even though I know not many people read this or even have the time to, but some do. I keep writing for you. Because it's a two way street. I have a bookmark folder titled "blogs" and, outside of Humans of New York, all the blogs in there are those of my friends. I like to know what's going on in their lives and the things that make them...them. Which is another reason I use Facebook so much. It's because I'm interested in my friend's lives and even though I may not interact with them much, even on Facebook, I'm still thinking about them and wondering how they are and whether or not they got that job, or have that special someone, or got married, or have a kid on the way or have kids, or are seeing the world, etc etc etc. And if any of you who I have not talked to in a long time or knew me from years ago but have forgotten and some how are reading this, I haven't forgotten you. And if you wonder what I mean by that, let me give you an example.
In September 2014 I bought a car. In October I got a phone number for a childhood friend I hadn't seen or heard from in 11 years and I called him. In December I drove 10 hours to Boston, MA on a cold, drizzly Tuesday to spend less than 24 hours with him and then drove back 36 hours later on a rainy Thursday. Here's someone I knew as a kid and hadn't seen or heard from him since the age of 12. But I never forgot him and when the chance arose to see him again, I took it. Twenty hours of driving, $150 in gas, the cold dreary days, the possibility he had forgotten about me...none of that mattered. What mattered is being able to see him again.
Those nights I spend getting food, watching sports, roaming the town, bowling, watching a new movie, playing cards, celebrating someone's next phase in life, playing frisbee or basketball or any other sport, I could go on and on. I take none of these for granted. I cherish these moments in life the most. When Grace was here in Cleveland, she put on all these different events. Whether in was a Fall Fun Day, a white elephant party, a friendsgiving, a going away event for Madeline, or even simply just go over to their house just to hang out, those were the best. If you ask Grace, some of them she may tell you didn't go completely as planned or that she could've done something better, but I wouldn't see it that way. I saw it as wonderful times spent with the friends I care so deeply about no matter how much we sometimes get on each others nerves or may disagree with the many things that make up the human life experience , or whatever. Why? Because this life is short and we only have so much time with those we love and care about and those times and all the other above mentioned events brought us together. To share a laugh. To enjoy life's pleasures. To be with each other. That's also why going to NYC meant so much to me. I got to experience things I always wanted to, but I also got to do it together with not just one, not just two close friends, but many. And I met some more who I will also never forget.
Now if you skimmed up to this point, I'm ending on a note that will catch your attention. People may rib me for this, but screw it. I'm saying it anyways. Y'all know how much I love weddings so this is my official announcement saying that I'm getting MARRIED!...
...eh no. Made your heart jump didn't I? Can't do that without finding a girlfriend first. Actually what I really wanted to say was that I want a big wedding. There I said it. I can hear it now. "You're a guy. Since when do you think about your wedding? Especially since you are single. Only women do that. Please turn in your mancard." You get the point. The reason for this is because by the time I get married, after all the family and close friends have been invited, I'll have to invite all those whose weddings I had the honor of attending which means I'll need a big wedding! Joking and temporarily inflated ego aside, there are so many people that mean so much to me that I want as many as possible to share in this future happy day.
Now that I've pour out my thoughts for this month, I'll ask you this. If there's something you want me to discuss here or something you want to know about me and would like me to answer it here, let me know. I think it'd be fun to do a piece based off of those questions. Until next time.Thougt
In September 2014 I bought a car. In October I got a phone number for a childhood friend I hadn't seen or heard from in 11 years and I called him. In December I drove 10 hours to Boston, MA on a cold, drizzly Tuesday to spend less than 24 hours with him and then drove back 36 hours later on a rainy Thursday. Here's someone I knew as a kid and hadn't seen or heard from him since the age of 12. But I never forgot him and when the chance arose to see him again, I took it. Twenty hours of driving, $150 in gas, the cold dreary days, the possibility he had forgotten about me...none of that mattered. What mattered is being able to see him again.
Those nights I spend getting food, watching sports, roaming the town, bowling, watching a new movie, playing cards, celebrating someone's next phase in life, playing frisbee or basketball or any other sport, I could go on and on. I take none of these for granted. I cherish these moments in life the most. When Grace was here in Cleveland, she put on all these different events. Whether in was a Fall Fun Day, a white elephant party, a friendsgiving, a going away event for Madeline, or even simply just go over to their house just to hang out, those were the best. If you ask Grace, some of them she may tell you didn't go completely as planned or that she could've done something better, but I wouldn't see it that way. I saw it as wonderful times spent with the friends I care so deeply about no matter how much we sometimes get on each others nerves or may disagree with the many things that make up the human life experience , or whatever. Why? Because this life is short and we only have so much time with those we love and care about and those times and all the other above mentioned events brought us together. To share a laugh. To enjoy life's pleasures. To be with each other. That's also why going to NYC meant so much to me. I got to experience things I always wanted to, but I also got to do it together with not just one, not just two close friends, but many. And I met some more who I will also never forget.
Now if you skimmed up to this point, I'm ending on a note that will catch your attention. People may rib me for this, but screw it. I'm saying it anyways. Y'all know how much I love weddings so this is my official announcement saying that I'm getting MARRIED!...
...eh no. Made your heart jump didn't I? Can't do that without finding a girlfriend first. Actually what I really wanted to say was that I want a big wedding. There I said it. I can hear it now. "You're a guy. Since when do you think about your wedding? Especially since you are single. Only women do that. Please turn in your mancard." You get the point. The reason for this is because by the time I get married, after all the family and close friends have been invited, I'll have to invite all those whose weddings I had the honor of attending which means I'll need a big wedding! Joking and temporarily inflated ego aside, there are so many people that mean so much to me that I want as many as possible to share in this future happy day.
Now that I've pour out my thoughts for this month, I'll ask you this. If there's something you want me to discuss here or something you want to know about me and would like me to answer it here, let me know. I think it'd be fun to do a piece based off of those questions. Until next time.Thougt
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
What Lies Ahead
I'm in this weird phase of life, but I don't know how many can relate. What phase is this you ask? Well to put it simply, it's the graduated-college-five-months-ago-chose-not-begin-the-job-search-until-then-end-of-summer-now-wants-a-job-and-it-feels-weird phase. Catch that? Let me decipher that for you. If you haven't read my previous blogs or haven't talked to me since May, It took me seven years to finish undergrad. I was done with school and rather than jump into the work field, I was going to enjoy my summer. And enjoy it I did. But now that the weather has turned, aspirations of future trips, moving out, and a dwindling bank account, waking up each morning without a job feels strange. And I don't like it. I don't like the feeling of needing a job and I don't like the feeling of not having a job.
During the summer, I had money saved to cover it as well as all the time in the world. And by the Lord's mercy, zero college debt. During college, to save money, I lived at my parents house and had no urge to leave. Those of you who have seen the lay-out of my room see the years of myself that I put into it and every time I thought of packing it up, it was a sad feeling. But now that the summer and college are over, now that there are many things I want to do in life before a family comes along, those tides have changed.
There's a trip to Australia coming up in August of next year. As soon as that was announced, I immediately began to plan/save. Yes, part of the reason I want to go is my love of travel, but when the young people from Australia came to visit us last December, it was such a blast and a blessing. So most of the desire to go is to visit them and a church outside of the good ol' USA. But that costs money. Being in my mid 20s and done with school has me contemplating a future spouse and kids. But for those things to happen, I'd like to be out of my parent's house. That also costs money. I could go on, but you get the point.
I suppose you could say that this part of the adult life is finally kicking in. A little late according to many, but the truth of the of the matter is that I have no regrets. I don't regret going to CSU, I don't regret taking a year off, I don't regret enjoying my last free summer, I put my trust in the Lord. I don't know what lies ahead, it's weird how points in life change your outlook, but I know He has my back. Oh and I have a job interview tomorrow.
During the summer, I had money saved to cover it as well as all the time in the world. And by the Lord's mercy, zero college debt. During college, to save money, I lived at my parents house and had no urge to leave. Those of you who have seen the lay-out of my room see the years of myself that I put into it and every time I thought of packing it up, it was a sad feeling. But now that the summer and college are over, now that there are many things I want to do in life before a family comes along, those tides have changed.
There's a trip to Australia coming up in August of next year. As soon as that was announced, I immediately began to plan/save. Yes, part of the reason I want to go is my love of travel, but when the young people from Australia came to visit us last December, it was such a blast and a blessing. So most of the desire to go is to visit them and a church outside of the good ol' USA. But that costs money. Being in my mid 20s and done with school has me contemplating a future spouse and kids. But for those things to happen, I'd like to be out of my parent's house. That also costs money. I could go on, but you get the point.
I suppose you could say that this part of the adult life is finally kicking in. A little late according to many, but the truth of the of the matter is that I have no regrets. I don't regret going to CSU, I don't regret taking a year off, I don't regret enjoying my last free summer, I put my trust in the Lord. I don't know what lies ahead, it's weird how points in life change your outlook, but I know He has my back. Oh and I have a job interview tomorrow.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
May We All
May we all is the title of a new song by Florida Georgia Line and I'm obsessed with it. But not because it's popular. Because it connects with the things I'm thinking right now. Most of the things they mention in this song are things that matter to them in their lives, but the way I actually see it is they are focusing on two points; the memories and the little things. As I listen, I would love to experience some of the things they are talking about (like get a one star hand me down Ford to fix up or find a sweet little thing who wears your ball cap backwards), but I also reminisce on the memories and small things in life that I could also insert in this song.
For example, lately I've been thinking about all those summers spent at Cedar Point. I still remember the first time in 2007 when David Wang created the trip to go and I got invited. It was my first time ever at Cedar Point and it was the beginning of many to come. Tim Chai came that year and we somehow convinced him to get on Top Thrill Dragster. He screamed, we laughed, it was great. This was also the grand opening year of the Maverick. And it wasn't just people from Cleveland. We had people from Ann Arbor, Indianapolis, Columbus, and even Toronto. The picture below is the group that went.
Not shown (because we left before it was taken) Joe Samulak, Luke Bixler, Seth Johnson, Stephen Johnson, and myself (I also borrowed this photo from Kat Bi).
Over half the people in this photo I hardly see anymore, but I won't forget that day. Each summer we went, the group was never the exact same group of people, but no matter who went, I have stories to tell and memories for a lifetime. I remember the only year we ran into rain, Stephen Johnson and I waited three hours to ride the front car of the Millennium Force. It was still raining a little and at 93 mph, those rain drops stung! Many other park goers bailed because of the rain, but we hung around, the rain tapered off, and we had short wait times everywhere. I remember the year we rode the Millennium Force at night and my hands were covered in bug guts and blood. I high-fived Rachel Harknett after the ride and she screamed when I she realized what I had done. There was the year Florine from France joined us and had a blast. Another year we rode the Thunder Canyon ride where 8 people are put in a spinning raft and you never knew who was going to get soaked...except Kayla Holloway. She went four times in a row and somehow remained nearly dry.
One of the most burning memories from those trips was the very last time I went as a group. The weather was perfect, the rides didn't have issues (for the most part), the waits weren't bad and at the end of the day, something incredible happened. We all hopped in line for a last ride on the Millennium Force (this coaster is addicting) and about halfway through, it broke down. So half of us (me and David Wang included) left the line and ran over to the Mantis (now Rogarou). We got in line and made it on the last ride of the night. Then as soon as we got off, we ran all the way back to the Millennium to try and beat the line closure. I remember as we dashed through crowds of people, tired and moving at a snail's pace from the long day, almost running into quite a few, I saw an older couple about to cut off my only open path so I jumped up on a wooden ledge and as I parkoured off it right in front of them, a though seared through my head. "This may be the last time you do this." As David and I dashed on through the light show, this thought was on replay. The incredible thing is that we beat the line closure by mere seconds AND made it onto the very last ride on the Millennium force for the night. What a way to cap off a fantastic day.
Going back to that thought. It actually became a reality. That year was the last year I went with that group or any group for that matter and the last group trip happened only once more. That thought forced me to recall all the joys and memories I had of those trips that night and to really cherish them not knowing at that time that they would be the last ones I made.
Another series of memories I've been reflecting upon lately are all those days in the summer Jeremiah, Mark, and I spent at Mark's cabin in Vermillion. The first time I went, it was Mark's 15th birthday. He called me up and asked if I wanted to go jetskiing. As a 16 year old and an adrenaline junkie, there was no way I was refusing this offer. During that weekend, I got to drive it. With Mark holding on for dear life behind me, I went full throttle and roared straight into a four foot wave. We went airborne and I felt the jetski wobble as if it was going to flip. Thankfully we didn't and ended upright, but with a monster splash. Mark still had a death grip on my life jacket. That was the beginning of so many amazing trips here.
As we got older, we'd go out for weeks at a time, just the three of us, with occasional guest appearances by Timothy Miller, Aaron Johnson, Nathan Johnson, and Cody Grimm (there was also the time Caitlin and Melissa crashed the party but we'll get to that later). There are so many memories of this place, but I'm going to snapshot a handful below.
I remember the time we went tubing and tried to throw each other off, Mark got whipped so hard he tumbled 5 or 6 times off the top of the water before he submerged. There was the time Jeremiah tried to cook a sheepshead and it was the nastiest thing ever. Or the time we spent so long talking, we forgot to get food and everything in the town closed at 11pm. So we drove around getting nowhere until we finally stopped at a convenience store and bought microwavable mac & cheese. We also tried to go to giant eagle, but it was closed and we ended up running over the freshly sealed blacktop on accident, leaving tire marks all over. We had times where we charged into the lake at midnight during a thunderstorm to rescue the jetski, woke up on a cold/rainy Monday morning to find 10 foot waves, boats scattered on the shore, and we had to rescue ours. There were the days we explored the town eats making Micky D's runs, Huggy Bear's ice cream, Geppettos for a rack of ribs and pizza. I remember when we blew up an entire box and a half of wolfpack fireworks, nearly burning ourselves by stuffing two copperheads in one tube and having a Roman candle battle after. We watched movies on the projector, held poker matches, grilled many meats off the deck, and had many fires on the beach at sunset with our butts in the sand. There was also the time we spent a week out there and halfway through, Caitlin and Melissa unexpectedly showed up. While we fished, they chased us down in rough waters on the jetski. Or we had the pleasure of dragging them around in the tube, seeing how far we could go before they had enough. Or the moment where I tried to be all macho and take them out on the rough waves in the jetski, only to hit one too hard and end up with many gallons of water smashing me in the face.
The one scene that will never leave my mind is I was riding the jetski as the sun was setting. While I was roaring about, I eased off the throttle, then killed the motor. I just drifted as I took in the scene before me. To my left was a golden sky with a bluish hue and the sun dipping below the waves. And to my right was a navy blue sky with the moon already high and surrounded by a handful of stars. I was caught in the middle of two worlds and for the first time in a long time, felt I was in complete serenity. Last year was also the last time the three of us went and we didn't get a chance to go this year because Jer is now married and has tons of bills to pay. This also could be the last year the cabin is in the Greenwood's possession, so this may be another chapter ending...which is indeed sad. But the memories and the times I had with the people I was with here are priceless.
Going back to my intro, these were some long running events that impacted my life and are what I would think of when FGL sings the first two verses. To put it into complete perspective, I'll close with this:
May we all find our adrenaline high,
Find the courage to spread our wings and fly,
Enjoy the freedom with friends on a summer night,
The laughs, the joys, the thrills that feel so right.
Make memories that last forever,
Cause' you don't know when now will become never.
May we all find our beach on the coast,
Where the setting sun warms your heart the most.
Where boys can be boys and ride life's waves,
Catching trophy fish is what we crave,
Sleeping in late and not bothering to shave,
And talk about the adventures we had until we rest in the grave.
May we all.
For example, lately I've been thinking about all those summers spent at Cedar Point. I still remember the first time in 2007 when David Wang created the trip to go and I got invited. It was my first time ever at Cedar Point and it was the beginning of many to come. Tim Chai came that year and we somehow convinced him to get on Top Thrill Dragster. He screamed, we laughed, it was great. This was also the grand opening year of the Maverick. And it wasn't just people from Cleveland. We had people from Ann Arbor, Indianapolis, Columbus, and even Toronto. The picture below is the group that went.
Not shown (because we left before it was taken) Joe Samulak, Luke Bixler, Seth Johnson, Stephen Johnson, and myself (I also borrowed this photo from Kat Bi).
Over half the people in this photo I hardly see anymore, but I won't forget that day. Each summer we went, the group was never the exact same group of people, but no matter who went, I have stories to tell and memories for a lifetime. I remember the only year we ran into rain, Stephen Johnson and I waited three hours to ride the front car of the Millennium Force. It was still raining a little and at 93 mph, those rain drops stung! Many other park goers bailed because of the rain, but we hung around, the rain tapered off, and we had short wait times everywhere. I remember the year we rode the Millennium Force at night and my hands were covered in bug guts and blood. I high-fived Rachel Harknett after the ride and she screamed when I she realized what I had done. There was the year Florine from France joined us and had a blast. Another year we rode the Thunder Canyon ride where 8 people are put in a spinning raft and you never knew who was going to get soaked...except Kayla Holloway. She went four times in a row and somehow remained nearly dry.
One of the most burning memories from those trips was the very last time I went as a group. The weather was perfect, the rides didn't have issues (for the most part), the waits weren't bad and at the end of the day, something incredible happened. We all hopped in line for a last ride on the Millennium Force (this coaster is addicting) and about halfway through, it broke down. So half of us (me and David Wang included) left the line and ran over to the Mantis (now Rogarou). We got in line and made it on the last ride of the night. Then as soon as we got off, we ran all the way back to the Millennium to try and beat the line closure. I remember as we dashed through crowds of people, tired and moving at a snail's pace from the long day, almost running into quite a few, I saw an older couple about to cut off my only open path so I jumped up on a wooden ledge and as I parkoured off it right in front of them, a though seared through my head. "This may be the last time you do this." As David and I dashed on through the light show, this thought was on replay. The incredible thing is that we beat the line closure by mere seconds AND made it onto the very last ride on the Millennium force for the night. What a way to cap off a fantastic day.
Going back to that thought. It actually became a reality. That year was the last year I went with that group or any group for that matter and the last group trip happened only once more. That thought forced me to recall all the joys and memories I had of those trips that night and to really cherish them not knowing at that time that they would be the last ones I made.
Another series of memories I've been reflecting upon lately are all those days in the summer Jeremiah, Mark, and I spent at Mark's cabin in Vermillion. The first time I went, it was Mark's 15th birthday. He called me up and asked if I wanted to go jetskiing. As a 16 year old and an adrenaline junkie, there was no way I was refusing this offer. During that weekend, I got to drive it. With Mark holding on for dear life behind me, I went full throttle and roared straight into a four foot wave. We went airborne and I felt the jetski wobble as if it was going to flip. Thankfully we didn't and ended upright, but with a monster splash. Mark still had a death grip on my life jacket. That was the beginning of so many amazing trips here.
As we got older, we'd go out for weeks at a time, just the three of us, with occasional guest appearances by Timothy Miller, Aaron Johnson, Nathan Johnson, and Cody Grimm (there was also the time Caitlin and Melissa crashed the party but we'll get to that later). There are so many memories of this place, but I'm going to snapshot a handful below.
I remember the time we went tubing and tried to throw each other off, Mark got whipped so hard he tumbled 5 or 6 times off the top of the water before he submerged. There was the time Jeremiah tried to cook a sheepshead and it was the nastiest thing ever. Or the time we spent so long talking, we forgot to get food and everything in the town closed at 11pm. So we drove around getting nowhere until we finally stopped at a convenience store and bought microwavable mac & cheese. We also tried to go to giant eagle, but it was closed and we ended up running over the freshly sealed blacktop on accident, leaving tire marks all over. We had times where we charged into the lake at midnight during a thunderstorm to rescue the jetski, woke up on a cold/rainy Monday morning to find 10 foot waves, boats scattered on the shore, and we had to rescue ours. There were the days we explored the town eats making Micky D's runs, Huggy Bear's ice cream, Geppettos for a rack of ribs and pizza. I remember when we blew up an entire box and a half of wolfpack fireworks, nearly burning ourselves by stuffing two copperheads in one tube and having a Roman candle battle after. We watched movies on the projector, held poker matches, grilled many meats off the deck, and had many fires on the beach at sunset with our butts in the sand. There was also the time we spent a week out there and halfway through, Caitlin and Melissa unexpectedly showed up. While we fished, they chased us down in rough waters on the jetski. Or we had the pleasure of dragging them around in the tube, seeing how far we could go before they had enough. Or the moment where I tried to be all macho and take them out on the rough waves in the jetski, only to hit one too hard and end up with many gallons of water smashing me in the face.
The one scene that will never leave my mind is I was riding the jetski as the sun was setting. While I was roaring about, I eased off the throttle, then killed the motor. I just drifted as I took in the scene before me. To my left was a golden sky with a bluish hue and the sun dipping below the waves. And to my right was a navy blue sky with the moon already high and surrounded by a handful of stars. I was caught in the middle of two worlds and for the first time in a long time, felt I was in complete serenity. Last year was also the last time the three of us went and we didn't get a chance to go this year because Jer is now married and has tons of bills to pay. This also could be the last year the cabin is in the Greenwood's possession, so this may be another chapter ending...which is indeed sad. But the memories and the times I had with the people I was with here are priceless.
Going back to my intro, these were some long running events that impacted my life and are what I would think of when FGL sings the first two verses. To put it into complete perspective, I'll close with this:
May we all find our adrenaline high,
Find the courage to spread our wings and fly,
Enjoy the freedom with friends on a summer night,
The laughs, the joys, the thrills that feel so right.
Make memories that last forever,
Cause' you don't know when now will become never.
May we all find our beach on the coast,
Where the setting sun warms your heart the most.
Where boys can be boys and ride life's waves,
Catching trophy fish is what we crave,
Sleeping in late and not bothering to shave,
And talk about the adventures we had until we rest in the grave.
May we all.
Friday, August 26, 2016
The People, The Trips, This Summer, And So Much More
I've been itching to write this post but holding back due to some of the things I want to say in it. But I feel that if I don't, I'm going to regret it later. This post is going to cover a lot as the title suggests and I hope that many read it even though I have a feeling few will.
First I'll start with this summer. I knew that as soon as I graduated from being in college for seven long years that I was going to enjoy this summer to the fullest. I wasn't going to worry about work and I didn't have to even consider planning for the fall semester because there wasn't going to be one. My first plan of action was the five weddings I'd been invited to. I had to plan for gas, hotels, how long I was staying, etc. Money for the whole summer was never going to be an issue since I had that saved up from the last couple co-ops I did. But that didn't mean I was going to book a five star hotel and be wined and dined like a king every night. And in case you didn't know, I love weddings. If I get invited, it'll take a lot for me to miss one. For example, for Paul and Sarah's wedding, I convinced my parents to change our vacation dates so I wouldn't miss the wedding.
The five weddings I attended were Timothy and Sarah (April), Cody and Angie (May), Sam and Mindy (June), Jeremiah and Michaele (July), and Ian and Shulamite (July). These five took me to Chicago, North Carolina, NYC, the Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo, and the beautiful shores of Vermillion, OH. To be at each one was a blessing. To witness and celebrate the unions of dear friends deeply in love, to reconnect and enjoy the company of people I haven't seen in years, and the memories gained to last a lifetime. In Chicago, I got to hang out and cruise around with David Wang (we shared a room), reconnect with Amarilis and Matt Grobie (Amarilis right away brought up the time she stayed at our house after jr high camp one summer), hang out with Timothy's friend Kyle (this dude was awesome), see Jesse and meet his wonderful girlfriend Lauren, and laugh at Sean's jokes in his speech. In North Carolina I got some much needed friend time with Paul and Sarah as well as Derek and his friend Ben. I got to spend time with the Hayslette and Asch clans. And we had a post wedding celebration from midnight-2am at Cody's parent's house with a bonfire (this was special as I made some great memories here in 2012). NYC I spent a week in and it was the #1 city on my bucket list. This was one of the best trips I've ever taken and there was so much about it that I wrote six blog entries on it (see my previous ones for the whole story). I had the privilege of being Jeremiah's best man, the next chapter in the continuing story of our awesome friendship. The zoo was an awesome setting and more great times were had with the Cleveland bros. Lastly, Ian and Shulamite's wedding also has a special place in my heart because of the number of people there that I haven't seen in awhile, that I spent the summer with, and the joy this wedding brought to many.
I also had the pleasure of celebrating Sam Chen's last days as an unmarried man in Austin, Tx. I got to meet some swell guys, explore the beautiful city of Austin, race uber fast go-karts, and check another state off the bucket list.
I'd also like to give a shout out to the five other couples who got married that I know and love. They are Mike and Sarah, Paul and Jessica, Karis and Erik, Hannah and Tim, and Enoch and Do Hee.
This summer allowed me to do everything I wanted and more. Along with the weddings, I had a blast serving the kids at Jr High Camp, got enriched hearing about the tabernacle at Vision Week, enjoyed the blessings that Mountain Top brings, got my inner child on at VBS, went to four Indians games in this amazing baseball season, saw Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood in concert, and spent a week in the great outdoors and hung out with family in Wisconsin. All told I traveled 8,259 miles this summer.
As the summer is nearing it's unfortunate end, it has given me more opportunities to go to one of my favorite places (Lakewood Park), sit on the solar steps, watch as the sun dips beneath the water, and release my thoughts. Now be forewarned, some of the things I write from here on out are raw, real, and untold.
The most recent thought is, to put it in baseball terms, a double play. It's heavy, it should be two thoughts on its own, but can be combined into one. Plus it brings joy to one side and pain to the other. Take that as you will. When I moved here, there was a core group of young people who welcomed me in and became more than friends to me. They became family. But as time went on and life went on, everyone took the next step in their life's journey after high school. Many moved for college, some went straight to work, and some took other routes. In that 4-6 year period, I couldn't help but feel a slight lack of completeness. People who I had seen and enjoyed life with 3-4 times a week I was now only seeing a handful of times a year. And in some cases, hardly ever due to the fact that they left for college, found work, followed their dreams, got married or basically chose to live there. Now I know it would be selfish of me to want them all to stay in one place and adhere to my realistic world, but that's not what I'm trying to portray at all. All I'm merely saying is that this is the part of life that is hard and these people matter to me dearly so not having them around as often stings from time to time,
The second part of this is that the Lord gave me a breath of fresh air near the end of my college years. He started bringing people to Cleveland. Some home from school and some for work, but it didn't matter to me because this group of people filled that small emptiness inside. Let me explain. It first started when a handful of us Cleveland guys started a bible study in Tim Chai's basement. That group originally consisted of Mark, Tim, Timothy, Sean, Seth, and Jesse. But then college grads were coming home and a lot of sisters were moving to Cleveland so we formed this large group. This group consisted of the above mentioned as well as John Chen, Jon Tzeng, Isaac Yeh, David Wu, Tim Watkins, Esther Miller, Sarah Watkins, Hannah Bontje, Grace Wang Madeline Fei, Erin German, Caitlin Sprau, and Sarah Michels (I apologize in advance if I forgot anyone. It's super late while I'm writing this and I should really go to bed but I can't). The thing so special about this group was not the fact that we came together to study the bible, but we were basically one big family. We hung out together, had fun holiday events together, had dinner together, and basically enjoyed life together. And with each person that moved here, they each brought friends that were really cool to meet and know and fit right in. Some of my favorite memories come from the times I shared with them...
...but now life has chugged along and things are once again different. The bible study no longer happens. Madeline is in Columbus furthering her education. Jesse is back in Chicago doing TFA. John got a job in Columbus. David is in Virginia per his Marine Corps. Grace just left for Boston/Harvard. Hannah got married and moved to the east side. Erin moved closer to where she teaches. And even though not everyone is leaving/moving/away, what I had with all this group together was a joy that will be missed.
The biggest reason why these thoughts and feelings come up so often is probably because I'm still single. Am I upset that I am? No. Am I concerned? Not yet. But being 25 and having that lack of companionship creates a bigger desire to be with friends more and more. Especially when you don't know when their career will move them away, when they'll get married and their family will be their major focus, or how long you or they have left on this earth. The flip side of the coin is I'm finally at that point where I'm in my 20s, done with school (hopefully for good), have zero student loans to worry about, and gone are the days of "you're too young", "you don't know what love is", "you have your whole life ahead of you", "wait until you are done with school", etc etc etc. So naturally, from those wiser in years who care about me, ask, joke, and suggest about who that "one" will be. I look at it this way. I'd like to be married by 30. So that means I have fourish years to take care of that (i'm almost 26). But that also means I have fourish years to continue exploring the world and try to find out what I really want to do with the rest of my life. I mean why worry? I've trusted the Lord for over 17 years, why stop now? This is is where faith is so crucial. And by this faith I know that whoever she is, she will be everything I need, everything I want, and more.
Congrats if you've made it this far. If you've ever read any of my writings (poems, stories, other works) you notice a trend. Most are not short. That's because my imagination, my desires, my dreams are so big that it is impossible for me to say what I'm trying to say in a short and sweet version. Even the intro to this next thought is a bit long, thus proving my point.
Now this next bit may rile some people up, some may see a certain word/name/topic and immediately block out what I'm actually saying and go straight to their arsenal of retorts...but for those that don't, for those that actually get what I'm trying to say and ignore the thoughts and ideas already implanted deep inside, I'll be forever grateful.
With the strength of social media, the power of the world wide web, and with the media playing a big part in how we think, how we act, and how we perceive what is truth, people are losing sight of what really matters. So much has happened in the past two years that stirs up people. That makes people do things they never did before. That turned the sane insane. So much so in fact that each month it seemed something different was all the rage. Each month new groups of people would rise up and let their voices be heard on what they believed is right. Each event cause different levels of chaos where friends were on opposite sides. Family members were split. Father against mother. Sister against brother. This, my dear friends, is the sad reality we live in. And it's all just...noise. It's annoying. Painful to listen to. Doesn't make sense. But yet we continue to listen. To try to figure it all out. When all we really need to do is tone it out. Because all it is doing is distracting us from what really matters.
Christ.
Imagine if people were as adamant for the gospel as they are at a political rally. Imagine if those voices proclaimed salvation instead of spew words of anger and hate. Imagine if instead of investing all our time and energy into who the next president should be, or who should be allowed in what bathroom, or tearing someone's head off for not putting their hand over their heart during the national anthem, we focused on offering people and Eternal hope. We strove for the Word to take root in the hearts of men. We just love Christ. Then nothing else truly matters.
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."~Romans 13:1
"For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended."~Romans 13:3
First I'll start with this summer. I knew that as soon as I graduated from being in college for seven long years that I was going to enjoy this summer to the fullest. I wasn't going to worry about work and I didn't have to even consider planning for the fall semester because there wasn't going to be one. My first plan of action was the five weddings I'd been invited to. I had to plan for gas, hotels, how long I was staying, etc. Money for the whole summer was never going to be an issue since I had that saved up from the last couple co-ops I did. But that didn't mean I was going to book a five star hotel and be wined and dined like a king every night. And in case you didn't know, I love weddings. If I get invited, it'll take a lot for me to miss one. For example, for Paul and Sarah's wedding, I convinced my parents to change our vacation dates so I wouldn't miss the wedding.
The five weddings I attended were Timothy and Sarah (April), Cody and Angie (May), Sam and Mindy (June), Jeremiah and Michaele (July), and Ian and Shulamite (July). These five took me to Chicago, North Carolina, NYC, the Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo, and the beautiful shores of Vermillion, OH. To be at each one was a blessing. To witness and celebrate the unions of dear friends deeply in love, to reconnect and enjoy the company of people I haven't seen in years, and the memories gained to last a lifetime. In Chicago, I got to hang out and cruise around with David Wang (we shared a room), reconnect with Amarilis and Matt Grobie (Amarilis right away brought up the time she stayed at our house after jr high camp one summer), hang out with Timothy's friend Kyle (this dude was awesome), see Jesse and meet his wonderful girlfriend Lauren, and laugh at Sean's jokes in his speech. In North Carolina I got some much needed friend time with Paul and Sarah as well as Derek and his friend Ben. I got to spend time with the Hayslette and Asch clans. And we had a post wedding celebration from midnight-2am at Cody's parent's house with a bonfire (this was special as I made some great memories here in 2012). NYC I spent a week in and it was the #1 city on my bucket list. This was one of the best trips I've ever taken and there was so much about it that I wrote six blog entries on it (see my previous ones for the whole story). I had the privilege of being Jeremiah's best man, the next chapter in the continuing story of our awesome friendship. The zoo was an awesome setting and more great times were had with the Cleveland bros. Lastly, Ian and Shulamite's wedding also has a special place in my heart because of the number of people there that I haven't seen in awhile, that I spent the summer with, and the joy this wedding brought to many.
I also had the pleasure of celebrating Sam Chen's last days as an unmarried man in Austin, Tx. I got to meet some swell guys, explore the beautiful city of Austin, race uber fast go-karts, and check another state off the bucket list.
I'd also like to give a shout out to the five other couples who got married that I know and love. They are Mike and Sarah, Paul and Jessica, Karis and Erik, Hannah and Tim, and Enoch and Do Hee.
This summer allowed me to do everything I wanted and more. Along with the weddings, I had a blast serving the kids at Jr High Camp, got enriched hearing about the tabernacle at Vision Week, enjoyed the blessings that Mountain Top brings, got my inner child on at VBS, went to four Indians games in this amazing baseball season, saw Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood in concert, and spent a week in the great outdoors and hung out with family in Wisconsin. All told I traveled 8,259 miles this summer.
As the summer is nearing it's unfortunate end, it has given me more opportunities to go to one of my favorite places (Lakewood Park), sit on the solar steps, watch as the sun dips beneath the water, and release my thoughts. Now be forewarned, some of the things I write from here on out are raw, real, and untold.
The most recent thought is, to put it in baseball terms, a double play. It's heavy, it should be two thoughts on its own, but can be combined into one. Plus it brings joy to one side and pain to the other. Take that as you will. When I moved here, there was a core group of young people who welcomed me in and became more than friends to me. They became family. But as time went on and life went on, everyone took the next step in their life's journey after high school. Many moved for college, some went straight to work, and some took other routes. In that 4-6 year period, I couldn't help but feel a slight lack of completeness. People who I had seen and enjoyed life with 3-4 times a week I was now only seeing a handful of times a year. And in some cases, hardly ever due to the fact that they left for college, found work, followed their dreams, got married or basically chose to live there. Now I know it would be selfish of me to want them all to stay in one place and adhere to my realistic world, but that's not what I'm trying to portray at all. All I'm merely saying is that this is the part of life that is hard and these people matter to me dearly so not having them around as often stings from time to time,
The second part of this is that the Lord gave me a breath of fresh air near the end of my college years. He started bringing people to Cleveland. Some home from school and some for work, but it didn't matter to me because this group of people filled that small emptiness inside. Let me explain. It first started when a handful of us Cleveland guys started a bible study in Tim Chai's basement. That group originally consisted of Mark, Tim, Timothy, Sean, Seth, and Jesse. But then college grads were coming home and a lot of sisters were moving to Cleveland so we formed this large group. This group consisted of the above mentioned as well as John Chen, Jon Tzeng, Isaac Yeh, David Wu, Tim Watkins, Esther Miller, Sarah Watkins, Hannah Bontje, Grace Wang Madeline Fei, Erin German, Caitlin Sprau, and Sarah Michels (I apologize in advance if I forgot anyone. It's super late while I'm writing this and I should really go to bed but I can't). The thing so special about this group was not the fact that we came together to study the bible, but we were basically one big family. We hung out together, had fun holiday events together, had dinner together, and basically enjoyed life together. And with each person that moved here, they each brought friends that were really cool to meet and know and fit right in. Some of my favorite memories come from the times I shared with them...
...but now life has chugged along and things are once again different. The bible study no longer happens. Madeline is in Columbus furthering her education. Jesse is back in Chicago doing TFA. John got a job in Columbus. David is in Virginia per his Marine Corps. Grace just left for Boston/Harvard. Hannah got married and moved to the east side. Erin moved closer to where she teaches. And even though not everyone is leaving/moving/away, what I had with all this group together was a joy that will be missed.
The biggest reason why these thoughts and feelings come up so often is probably because I'm still single. Am I upset that I am? No. Am I concerned? Not yet. But being 25 and having that lack of companionship creates a bigger desire to be with friends more and more. Especially when you don't know when their career will move them away, when they'll get married and their family will be their major focus, or how long you or they have left on this earth. The flip side of the coin is I'm finally at that point where I'm in my 20s, done with school (hopefully for good), have zero student loans to worry about, and gone are the days of "you're too young", "you don't know what love is", "you have your whole life ahead of you", "wait until you are done with school", etc etc etc. So naturally, from those wiser in years who care about me, ask, joke, and suggest about who that "one" will be. I look at it this way. I'd like to be married by 30. So that means I have fourish years to take care of that (i'm almost 26). But that also means I have fourish years to continue exploring the world and try to find out what I really want to do with the rest of my life. I mean why worry? I've trusted the Lord for over 17 years, why stop now? This is is where faith is so crucial. And by this faith I know that whoever she is, she will be everything I need, everything I want, and more.
Congrats if you've made it this far. If you've ever read any of my writings (poems, stories, other works) you notice a trend. Most are not short. That's because my imagination, my desires, my dreams are so big that it is impossible for me to say what I'm trying to say in a short and sweet version. Even the intro to this next thought is a bit long, thus proving my point.
Now this next bit may rile some people up, some may see a certain word/name/topic and immediately block out what I'm actually saying and go straight to their arsenal of retorts...but for those that don't, for those that actually get what I'm trying to say and ignore the thoughts and ideas already implanted deep inside, I'll be forever grateful.
With the strength of social media, the power of the world wide web, and with the media playing a big part in how we think, how we act, and how we perceive what is truth, people are losing sight of what really matters. So much has happened in the past two years that stirs up people. That makes people do things they never did before. That turned the sane insane. So much so in fact that each month it seemed something different was all the rage. Each month new groups of people would rise up and let their voices be heard on what they believed is right. Each event cause different levels of chaos where friends were on opposite sides. Family members were split. Father against mother. Sister against brother. This, my dear friends, is the sad reality we live in. And it's all just...noise. It's annoying. Painful to listen to. Doesn't make sense. But yet we continue to listen. To try to figure it all out. When all we really need to do is tone it out. Because all it is doing is distracting us from what really matters.
Christ.
Imagine if people were as adamant for the gospel as they are at a political rally. Imagine if those voices proclaimed salvation instead of spew words of anger and hate. Imagine if instead of investing all our time and energy into who the next president should be, or who should be allowed in what bathroom, or tearing someone's head off for not putting their hand over their heart during the national anthem, we focused on offering people and Eternal hope. We strove for the Word to take root in the hearts of men. We just love Christ. Then nothing else truly matters.
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."~Romans 13:1
"For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended."~Romans 13:3
"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."~1 Timothy 2:1-4
"And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again."~2 Corinthians 5:15
"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."~Romans 8:31-39
Friday, July 8, 2016
NYC The Last Day: An End to an Incredible Adventure
She woke me like she did every day I was there. Bright, loud, and early. They don't call her the City That Never Sleeps for nothing. By now that didn't bother me as much because she was still pretty good to me while I was there. I had one last must-see item on my list that I hadn't hit yet and was debating on if I should actually go through the long process to see it while I was there. I was debating it hard until a small voice inside told me I was going to regret it if I didn't. So I walked the five blocks to the subway and took it about an hour all the way down to lower Battery Park in lower Manhattan.
Upon arriving in this chill area yet again, I made my way in a direction I hadn't before. I followed the crowd and stood in the line. I weaved and turned until I finally reached the ticket window. I parted with the ticket money and hopped in another line. I slowly made my way towards a giant tent and passed a guy doing his finest to sell selfie-sticks. Once in the tent, I had to pass through security and watched in anguish as impatient Americans and foreigners who spoke little English gave the security guards quite a lot of trouble. After passing this checkpoint, I now was ushered onto a large boat and climbed to the top deck to be out in the open. After what seemed like forever, the boat left the dock and made it's way towards my ultimate destination. I stood on the deck, felt the wind in my face and watched in awe as we became closer and closer to the most popular lady in New York, Lady Liberty. Yup the Statue of Liberty was where I was headed for a view up close and personal.
I'd seen her in movies, tv shows, ads, books, heck my phone background even has her next to the American flag. But as she approached, I was in sheer awe. Standing on that deck and thinking about the immigrants and possibly my ancestors riding a boat across the Atlantic, after months at sea and all the hardships they endured, to see Lady Liberty herself and erupt in cheers as they realized the freedom and the new life they longed for was finally in reach. One of my favorite patriotic songs has a line that goes "There's a lady that stands in a harbor for what we believe." And here I was, up close and personal with this larger-than-life symbol of freedom.
Once I was satisfied with my visit and sick of the crowds of people, I got back on the boat and enjoyed the ride back to the the NYC harbor. The boat did make one stop in between which was Ellis Island, but I didn't get off because I had other plans and the total time for this adventure was about four hours long. Once I made port, I jumped on a subway and headed up north.
I now found myself in a place I had overlooked the whole week. Rockefeller Center. I began by strolling past and admiring Radio City Music Hall (one day I'll see a show there) and pictured crowds of people waiting to get into America's Got Talent. I heard there was a Lego store in the heart of RC so I continued to wander. I passed Rockefeller tower by which a doorman beckoned me to step inside and see the "Top of the Rock." I didn't because I figured what I saw from the Empire State Building would be similar and didn't feel like spending the money.
Rockefeller Center was beautiful. A giant, gold colored statue guarded a large, man-made waterfall. There was a restaurant you could step down into and eat nearby the waterfall. Then, like a lighthouse on the coast, the Lego store appeared before me. I entered and was like a young lad again. There was a giant green dragon made of Lego, a decent sized Lego Porsche, and an entire wall from floor to ceiling filled with thousands of Lego bricks. Childhood nostalgia on overload.
Now it was time to meet up with my friends for more adventures. Tim, Vincent, and I ended up at Sam Lee's apartment which is located right near Juliard. His pad was super nice and we chilled on his rooftop deck for awhile before finally going out.
We grabbed an Uber, but for some strange reason, he decided to go through Times Square. That was a nightmare especially since we were in rush hour. After a couple blocks and 15 min of not really moving, we got out and walked to a subway. Since we were going to be out awhile, we needed a snack to tide us over so we met up with Carol at a place called Wisefish Poke (pronounced pokay). They made salads with raw fish. The flavor and taste was amazing, but it was hardly filling, even for a snack and a tad pricey.
Some of us being exhausted we went to get coffee. I didn't need any so as I waited outside, there was this eerily cool robot woman mural across the street that unfortunately was marred by bad graffiti. After the java was installed, we walked to this beautiful park called the High Line. It used to be a train track that ran above the streets, but instead of letting it rust in peace, they turned it into a beautiful park. There were gardens on either side of you and places to stop and enjoy the view. The further you walked, the more interesting it became. For example, at one point the park ran right through a cafe with artists, DJs, and drinks. At another point we passed a large sign that said "Beware, Nude sunbathers may be past this point." And finally we came across a statue of a sleepwalking man in his underwear that looked extremely life like. Some people had to do double takes to make sure he wasn't real.
We eventually exited the High Line and made our way to a place by the harbor that had a rooftop lounge. We got into the elevator to go up, and the man told Sam that he had to check his golf clubs in at the front and that they don't have mini-golf here. We made our way up and the first level was enclosed, but had a hot tub in the middle of the room with a bar not far from it. We wanted a better view so we went to the top where we were now on the roof, standing on felt, and were able to see the city in an evening setting and the view was spectacular. Being able to see the city from so many different perspectives was indeed a joy and a wonder.
Moving on, we made our way to our ultimate destination at Chelsea Piers. This place was a bunch of entertainment complexes built right on the pier near the harbor. Our first stop was the driving range to whack some golf balls. The range was pretty interesting due to the fact that it had four levels of people whacking balls and the green was an extended pier enclosed by a large net to keep the balls from flying in the harbor. Sam Chen met up with us at this point and game 5 of the 2016 NBA finals was starting so Sam Chen, Tim, Carol, and I made our way to the bowling alley right next door to watch our beloved Cleveland Cavaliers put the hurt on Golden State. We talked, we laughed, we ate, and watched the Cavs put on a clinic. At halftime, we decided to do a little bowling and at this point, Vincent and Sam Lee joined us. We got two games in and cheered as the Cavs took care of business.
I was told multiple times while I was there that I had to try the food stand chicken and rice. Seeing as most of our group hadn't eaten since Wisefish Poke, we left the piers and walked to a food truck. As we walked, with the night air blowing and the city lit up like fireworks on the 4th of July, I reminisced in my mind of how amazing and memorable this adventure truly was. It was about 12:30am when we got to the food cart. I wasn't super hungry so I didn't order anything, but was encouraged to try some. Now I love anything spicy or hot and there was some hot sauce in the dish. I took a bite of the chicken and rice dabbed in the sauce and as I was putting it in my mouth, Carol tried to warn me, but it was too late. She was watching me intently to see my reaction and warned me it was hot. I told her that hot is my forte and she started laughing as my faced turned dark red and my eyes began to water. Holy cow Batman! That sauce was extremely hot! After a few minutes, I couldn't feel my tongue anymore and had to finish off the lettuce in the bowl for some relief. Other than that, the food was delicious.
Finally, we called it a night, said our goodbyes, and I grabbed a subway all the way back to Northern Manhattan for one more night's sleep before I left NYC in the morning.
Final thoughts: Experiencing the NYC up close and personal was eye opening and amazing. All the people everywhere, living completely different lives, yet all mingled and meshed in the concrete zoo. People did what they had to. I saw a guy perform amazing dance moves on a moving subway. I saw a brother/sister group singing with amazing pitch and harmony in a subway terminal (Infinity's Song, check em out on youtube). I saw many people come and go off the subway begging for money. I even paid $2 for two pieces of candy a guy was selling for charity and as we were parting ways, he told me I looked like Matt Damon (and that's not the first time that's happened). No matter where you turn, there was always something new and exciting to explore. And unlike Cleveland, you still had to learn to cope in a large city. Navigating, dealing with people, what to see and how to see it, and on and on. This trip was definitely worth the time, money, and effort put in. There's still so much more to experience and I hope to return one day. Until next time.
Upon arriving in this chill area yet again, I made my way in a direction I hadn't before. I followed the crowd and stood in the line. I weaved and turned until I finally reached the ticket window. I parted with the ticket money and hopped in another line. I slowly made my way towards a giant tent and passed a guy doing his finest to sell selfie-sticks. Once in the tent, I had to pass through security and watched in anguish as impatient Americans and foreigners who spoke little English gave the security guards quite a lot of trouble. After passing this checkpoint, I now was ushered onto a large boat and climbed to the top deck to be out in the open. After what seemed like forever, the boat left the dock and made it's way towards my ultimate destination. I stood on the deck, felt the wind in my face and watched in awe as we became closer and closer to the most popular lady in New York, Lady Liberty. Yup the Statue of Liberty was where I was headed for a view up close and personal.
I'd seen her in movies, tv shows, ads, books, heck my phone background even has her next to the American flag. But as she approached, I was in sheer awe. Standing on that deck and thinking about the immigrants and possibly my ancestors riding a boat across the Atlantic, after months at sea and all the hardships they endured, to see Lady Liberty herself and erupt in cheers as they realized the freedom and the new life they longed for was finally in reach. One of my favorite patriotic songs has a line that goes "There's a lady that stands in a harbor for what we believe." And here I was, up close and personal with this larger-than-life symbol of freedom.
Once I was satisfied with my visit and sick of the crowds of people, I got back on the boat and enjoyed the ride back to the the NYC harbor. The boat did make one stop in between which was Ellis Island, but I didn't get off because I had other plans and the total time for this adventure was about four hours long. Once I made port, I jumped on a subway and headed up north.
I now found myself in a place I had overlooked the whole week. Rockefeller Center. I began by strolling past and admiring Radio City Music Hall (one day I'll see a show there) and pictured crowds of people waiting to get into America's Got Talent. I heard there was a Lego store in the heart of RC so I continued to wander. I passed Rockefeller tower by which a doorman beckoned me to step inside and see the "Top of the Rock." I didn't because I figured what I saw from the Empire State Building would be similar and didn't feel like spending the money.
Rockefeller Center was beautiful. A giant, gold colored statue guarded a large, man-made waterfall. There was a restaurant you could step down into and eat nearby the waterfall. Then, like a lighthouse on the coast, the Lego store appeared before me. I entered and was like a young lad again. There was a giant green dragon made of Lego, a decent sized Lego Porsche, and an entire wall from floor to ceiling filled with thousands of Lego bricks. Childhood nostalgia on overload.
Now it was time to meet up with my friends for more adventures. Tim, Vincent, and I ended up at Sam Lee's apartment which is located right near Juliard. His pad was super nice and we chilled on his rooftop deck for awhile before finally going out.
We grabbed an Uber, but for some strange reason, he decided to go through Times Square. That was a nightmare especially since we were in rush hour. After a couple blocks and 15 min of not really moving, we got out and walked to a subway. Since we were going to be out awhile, we needed a snack to tide us over so we met up with Carol at a place called Wisefish Poke (pronounced pokay). They made salads with raw fish. The flavor and taste was amazing, but it was hardly filling, even for a snack and a tad pricey.
Some of us being exhausted we went to get coffee. I didn't need any so as I waited outside, there was this eerily cool robot woman mural across the street that unfortunately was marred by bad graffiti. After the java was installed, we walked to this beautiful park called the High Line. It used to be a train track that ran above the streets, but instead of letting it rust in peace, they turned it into a beautiful park. There were gardens on either side of you and places to stop and enjoy the view. The further you walked, the more interesting it became. For example, at one point the park ran right through a cafe with artists, DJs, and drinks. At another point we passed a large sign that said "Beware, Nude sunbathers may be past this point." And finally we came across a statue of a sleepwalking man in his underwear that looked extremely life like. Some people had to do double takes to make sure he wasn't real.
We eventually exited the High Line and made our way to a place by the harbor that had a rooftop lounge. We got into the elevator to go up, and the man told Sam that he had to check his golf clubs in at the front and that they don't have mini-golf here. We made our way up and the first level was enclosed, but had a hot tub in the middle of the room with a bar not far from it. We wanted a better view so we went to the top where we were now on the roof, standing on felt, and were able to see the city in an evening setting and the view was spectacular. Being able to see the city from so many different perspectives was indeed a joy and a wonder.
Moving on, we made our way to our ultimate destination at Chelsea Piers. This place was a bunch of entertainment complexes built right on the pier near the harbor. Our first stop was the driving range to whack some golf balls. The range was pretty interesting due to the fact that it had four levels of people whacking balls and the green was an extended pier enclosed by a large net to keep the balls from flying in the harbor. Sam Chen met up with us at this point and game 5 of the 2016 NBA finals was starting so Sam Chen, Tim, Carol, and I made our way to the bowling alley right next door to watch our beloved Cleveland Cavaliers put the hurt on Golden State. We talked, we laughed, we ate, and watched the Cavs put on a clinic. At halftime, we decided to do a little bowling and at this point, Vincent and Sam Lee joined us. We got two games in and cheered as the Cavs took care of business.
I was told multiple times while I was there that I had to try the food stand chicken and rice. Seeing as most of our group hadn't eaten since Wisefish Poke, we left the piers and walked to a food truck. As we walked, with the night air blowing and the city lit up like fireworks on the 4th of July, I reminisced in my mind of how amazing and memorable this adventure truly was. It was about 12:30am when we got to the food cart. I wasn't super hungry so I didn't order anything, but was encouraged to try some. Now I love anything spicy or hot and there was some hot sauce in the dish. I took a bite of the chicken and rice dabbed in the sauce and as I was putting it in my mouth, Carol tried to warn me, but it was too late. She was watching me intently to see my reaction and warned me it was hot. I told her that hot is my forte and she started laughing as my faced turned dark red and my eyes began to water. Holy cow Batman! That sauce was extremely hot! After a few minutes, I couldn't feel my tongue anymore and had to finish off the lettuce in the bowl for some relief. Other than that, the food was delicious.
Finally, we called it a night, said our goodbyes, and I grabbed a subway all the way back to Northern Manhattan for one more night's sleep before I left NYC in the morning.
Final thoughts: Experiencing the NYC up close and personal was eye opening and amazing. All the people everywhere, living completely different lives, yet all mingled and meshed in the concrete zoo. People did what they had to. I saw a guy perform amazing dance moves on a moving subway. I saw a brother/sister group singing with amazing pitch and harmony in a subway terminal (Infinity's Song, check em out on youtube). I saw many people come and go off the subway begging for money. I even paid $2 for two pieces of candy a guy was selling for charity and as we were parting ways, he told me I looked like Matt Damon (and that's not the first time that's happened). No matter where you turn, there was always something new and exciting to explore. And unlike Cleveland, you still had to learn to cope in a large city. Navigating, dealing with people, what to see and how to see it, and on and on. This trip was definitely worth the time, money, and effort put in. There's still so much more to experience and I hope to return one day. Until next time.
Friday, July 1, 2016
NYC Day 5: The Explorer and the Socialite
I had no plans entering today because of all the festivities the day before and the fact that I left it open to do whatever all the other guys wanted. Well the early morning wake-up sucked and I knew everyone else would be out cold until at least noon, so I decided to go explore the north half of Central Park.
I went straight for the North Woods and once I got there, I wondered why I didn't do so sooner. There were all kinds of trails and paths that weren't paved and the cool thing was is that the North Woods is so dense that all the annoying city noise can't penetrate it. I now regret not taking a picture and asking people to guess where I was just to see their reactions when I would reveal that was central Manhattan. Those woods held a lot of cool secrets too. The highest point in CP was here and located at the very top was a small, old fort. Known as Blockhouse No 1 or The Blockhouse. It was built in the early 1800s and was done so in case of a British invasion during the war of 1812. But this fort never saw battle and today would be a child's dream to play in. It's too bad the gate was locked otherwise I would've explored it more.
After letting loose my inner child, I made my way through the rest of the north and passed by a rock with a face carved into it. I wandered through more of CP's gardens and straight to a pond with a beautiful view. The wind was blowing nicely and the breeze felt good. After admiring the view and getting lost in my thoughts, I was going to leave CP, but realized I had one more stop to make. I walked and walked and walked until my destination skewed the sun. The massive obelisk was transported to NYC from Alexandria, Egypt. It's littered in hieroglyphics and amazing to see something that was constructed in ancient Egypt right before my eyes.
My hunger got the better of me and I was really craving a smoothie (it was in the upper 80s). I ventured about five blocks until I found a smoothie place. They were tiny, but their selection looked good. I went for the one with Hawaiian in the name. It was a good choice at first...but once I tasted it, I realized there was ginger in it. Big mistake. I can't stand ginger in smoothies especially on a hot day. I finished half of it then pitched it because I couldn't take anymore. I saw a McDonald's nearby and my sweet tea craving kicked in. I ordered one and some food. Unfortunately, the sweet tea was awful because it was loaded with so much sugar I tasted more of that then the tea.
Finally Tim Chai texted me and I decided to meet him for lunch at Ippudo. I beat him there and nearly missed it because this one you had to step down into to enter it. When Tim arrived, Carol came with him. I knew she looked familiar and had seen her before. She was originally from Ann Arbor and came to Mountain Top back in the day. Sam Lee also joined us. We downed the food then decided to do some exploring. We made our way over to Korea Town and got some bubble tea (a must). Then we went to a hotel with a rooftop bar. The weather was fantastic so when we got to the top, I was more than happy to relax on a cushioned couch with the sun beaming on me hundreds of feet above the city. To be honest, I could've stayed here the rest of the evening...
...but we had more people to meet up with so we left and made our way to a coffee house. Tim caught up with some more friends and we were joined by David Luu, Isaac, and Vincent. Somehow, everyone else got hungry, but since I had been practically eating all day, I decided to go hang with Sean and Jenny for a bit while everyone else had dinner.
Back in lower Manhattan, we enjoyed the view of the setting sun and the statue of liberty in battery park. Sean and I made a lot of noise stepping on musical tiles acting like children. We then headed to a pub called Ulysses and our server had what I'm pretty sure was a Scottish accent. The best part was the place was nearly empty inside, which is a rarity because even in the lesser places of NYC, there were still people everywhere. We finished enjoying our food and then the three of us went up to mid Manhattan where we met up with the guys to play some pool at this neat little place called Space Billiards. The others were content with playing darts while Sean, Jenny and I played a few rounds of cutthroat, each of us winning a game. That wraps up day five and the last day was a joy in itself. Until next time.
I went straight for the North Woods and once I got there, I wondered why I didn't do so sooner. There were all kinds of trails and paths that weren't paved and the cool thing was is that the North Woods is so dense that all the annoying city noise can't penetrate it. I now regret not taking a picture and asking people to guess where I was just to see their reactions when I would reveal that was central Manhattan. Those woods held a lot of cool secrets too. The highest point in CP was here and located at the very top was a small, old fort. Known as Blockhouse No 1 or The Blockhouse. It was built in the early 1800s and was done so in case of a British invasion during the war of 1812. But this fort never saw battle and today would be a child's dream to play in. It's too bad the gate was locked otherwise I would've explored it more.
After letting loose my inner child, I made my way through the rest of the north and passed by a rock with a face carved into it. I wandered through more of CP's gardens and straight to a pond with a beautiful view. The wind was blowing nicely and the breeze felt good. After admiring the view and getting lost in my thoughts, I was going to leave CP, but realized I had one more stop to make. I walked and walked and walked until my destination skewed the sun. The massive obelisk was transported to NYC from Alexandria, Egypt. It's littered in hieroglyphics and amazing to see something that was constructed in ancient Egypt right before my eyes.
My hunger got the better of me and I was really craving a smoothie (it was in the upper 80s). I ventured about five blocks until I found a smoothie place. They were tiny, but their selection looked good. I went for the one with Hawaiian in the name. It was a good choice at first...but once I tasted it, I realized there was ginger in it. Big mistake. I can't stand ginger in smoothies especially on a hot day. I finished half of it then pitched it because I couldn't take anymore. I saw a McDonald's nearby and my sweet tea craving kicked in. I ordered one and some food. Unfortunately, the sweet tea was awful because it was loaded with so much sugar I tasted more of that then the tea.
Finally Tim Chai texted me and I decided to meet him for lunch at Ippudo. I beat him there and nearly missed it because this one you had to step down into to enter it. When Tim arrived, Carol came with him. I knew she looked familiar and had seen her before. She was originally from Ann Arbor and came to Mountain Top back in the day. Sam Lee also joined us. We downed the food then decided to do some exploring. We made our way over to Korea Town and got some bubble tea (a must). Then we went to a hotel with a rooftop bar. The weather was fantastic so when we got to the top, I was more than happy to relax on a cushioned couch with the sun beaming on me hundreds of feet above the city. To be honest, I could've stayed here the rest of the evening...
...but we had more people to meet up with so we left and made our way to a coffee house. Tim caught up with some more friends and we were joined by David Luu, Isaac, and Vincent. Somehow, everyone else got hungry, but since I had been practically eating all day, I decided to go hang with Sean and Jenny for a bit while everyone else had dinner.
Back in lower Manhattan, we enjoyed the view of the setting sun and the statue of liberty in battery park. Sean and I made a lot of noise stepping on musical tiles acting like children. We then headed to a pub called Ulysses and our server had what I'm pretty sure was a Scottish accent. The best part was the place was nearly empty inside, which is a rarity because even in the lesser places of NYC, there were still people everywhere. We finished enjoying our food and then the three of us went up to mid Manhattan where we met up with the guys to play some pool at this neat little place called Space Billiards. The others were content with playing darts while Sean, Jenny and I played a few rounds of cutthroat, each of us winning a game. That wraps up day five and the last day was a joy in itself. Until next time.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
NYC Day 4: The Wedding and the Birthday
It was finally here. Sam and Mindy's wedding day! The only good thing about being wide awake at 8am was that's when I had to get up to be at the wedding on time. You see, I was located in upper Manhattan and it was about an hour trip to make it down to the very bottom of lower Manhattan, to then catch a ferry over to New Jersey. I got suited up and reached the ferry at about 9:45am.
It didn't take long for all the other wedding guests to arrive. I was one of the few Cleveland guys who made it for the 10:15am ferry (Sean and Jenny also were there). One problem...they were super strict with their arrival and departure times. Those of us planning on making the 10:15 ferry wandered over as it parked, but since we weren't in the boarding area, it left promptly at 10:16am. Oops. So we waited around and the other Cleveland guys to began to show. This is one of the many reasons I love weddings, they unite old friends for a special day.
As they rolled in, it was a breath of fresh air to see Dr. Love himself a.k.a. Sam Lee. Since his departure to the Big Apple, he is a rare sight indeed. We stood around, chatted, caught up, then made sure we were on the 10:45am ferry. This was my first time on a boat while I was here and making the trip across the harbor was awesome. The sky was overcast, but the view of the NYC skyline was incredible.
When we stepped off the ferry, we were greeted by music and a host of other wedding guests. The venue was beautiful. It was big, had many windows, and the view from most angles was awesome. Before we took our seats, servers offered us a glass of ice tea or water (it was hot) and that's the first wedding I've been to that's done that.
The ceremony began and the bridal party made their way down the isle, including a cute little flower girl who managed to use all her flowers halfway down. And then came Mindy. She was stunning. The whole wedding was beautiful. At one point, Mindy had happy tears and Sam immediately and lovingly wiped them. They exchanged their own written vows (I love these), rings, and finally kissed the bride.
While they went off for pictures after, the cocktail hour began. I don't know if you could even call it a cocktail hour because there was soooo much food. Right as you entered the building the servers were on you with drinks and tasty morsels. There was a tuna bite on a thin flake, fried shrimp, round noodles in an amazing sauce, sausage bites in sauerkraut, a whole table of fruits, garnishes, and other tasty things. A few of us eventually wandered outside to enjoy the air and the view. Not long after everyone had disappeared upstairs for lunch and the reception to which Jenny quipped "Wait that wasn't lunch?" (referring to the cocktail hour).
The upstairs was just as grand as the lower level. There was a balcony that also had an awesome view of the Manhattan skyline and many pictures were taken there. For lunch was a choice of steak or salmon. I chose the steak and it was juicy and delicious. We were entertained by speeches from the parents, the bridesmaid and the best man. Last but not least the cake was cut. Sam ended up with a little cake on his face.
We left the venue at four, where we then took the ferry back to NYC and mad our way to Woodrow's for some after wedding celebrations. We had the whole basement to ourselves. There were couches and I nearly passed out on one. After hanging out a bit, I headed back to the Airbnb for a little relaxation before I headed out again.
I left the airbnb about 9:45pm and took a subway to central Manhattan. Two observations. The first is that because this is NYC, the subways can be crammed with people all day, even after midnight, even parents with young children...at 1am! Second, even though I was alert and aware, I felt invincible walking the streets at night. I didn't have any creepy people approach me and the city was still extremely active.
I made it to the Ganservoort Hotel where there was a rooftop lounge and a pool. This is where Sam Lee's birthday bash was. It was a fancy, upscale, with doormen, elevator-men with earpieces, and security. I also learned something. Never arrive early to a party...especially in NYC. People don't start showing up until later. The guys finally showed up including the birthday boy himself. I hung around until 1am then left to catch some shut-eye. That wraps up day four.
It didn't take long for all the other wedding guests to arrive. I was one of the few Cleveland guys who made it for the 10:15am ferry (Sean and Jenny also were there). One problem...they were super strict with their arrival and departure times. Those of us planning on making the 10:15 ferry wandered over as it parked, but since we weren't in the boarding area, it left promptly at 10:16am. Oops. So we waited around and the other Cleveland guys to began to show. This is one of the many reasons I love weddings, they unite old friends for a special day.
As they rolled in, it was a breath of fresh air to see Dr. Love himself a.k.a. Sam Lee. Since his departure to the Big Apple, he is a rare sight indeed. We stood around, chatted, caught up, then made sure we were on the 10:45am ferry. This was my first time on a boat while I was here and making the trip across the harbor was awesome. The sky was overcast, but the view of the NYC skyline was incredible.
When we stepped off the ferry, we were greeted by music and a host of other wedding guests. The venue was beautiful. It was big, had many windows, and the view from most angles was awesome. Before we took our seats, servers offered us a glass of ice tea or water (it was hot) and that's the first wedding I've been to that's done that.
The ceremony began and the bridal party made their way down the isle, including a cute little flower girl who managed to use all her flowers halfway down. And then came Mindy. She was stunning. The whole wedding was beautiful. At one point, Mindy had happy tears and Sam immediately and lovingly wiped them. They exchanged their own written vows (I love these), rings, and finally kissed the bride.
While they went off for pictures after, the cocktail hour began. I don't know if you could even call it a cocktail hour because there was soooo much food. Right as you entered the building the servers were on you with drinks and tasty morsels. There was a tuna bite on a thin flake, fried shrimp, round noodles in an amazing sauce, sausage bites in sauerkraut, a whole table of fruits, garnishes, and other tasty things. A few of us eventually wandered outside to enjoy the air and the view. Not long after everyone had disappeared upstairs for lunch and the reception to which Jenny quipped "Wait that wasn't lunch?" (referring to the cocktail hour).
The upstairs was just as grand as the lower level. There was a balcony that also had an awesome view of the Manhattan skyline and many pictures were taken there. For lunch was a choice of steak or salmon. I chose the steak and it was juicy and delicious. We were entertained by speeches from the parents, the bridesmaid and the best man. Last but not least the cake was cut. Sam ended up with a little cake on his face.
We left the venue at four, where we then took the ferry back to NYC and mad our way to Woodrow's for some after wedding celebrations. We had the whole basement to ourselves. There were couches and I nearly passed out on one. After hanging out a bit, I headed back to the Airbnb for a little relaxation before I headed out again.
I left the airbnb about 9:45pm and took a subway to central Manhattan. Two observations. The first is that because this is NYC, the subways can be crammed with people all day, even after midnight, even parents with young children...at 1am! Second, even though I was alert and aware, I felt invincible walking the streets at night. I didn't have any creepy people approach me and the city was still extremely active.
I made it to the Ganservoort Hotel where there was a rooftop lounge and a pool. This is where Sam Lee's birthday bash was. It was a fancy, upscale, with doormen, elevator-men with earpieces, and security. I also learned something. Never arrive early to a party...especially in NYC. People don't start showing up until later. The guys finally showed up including the birthday boy himself. I hung around until 1am then left to catch some shut-eye. That wraps up day four.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
NYC Day 3: The Masses, The Heights, and The Void
Day 3 started off slower then day 2 due to the fact that I had some early afternoon plans and I got a tad more sleep then the night before, but not much. I was meeting Sean and Jenny for lunch at Ippudo (Ramen place) near Washington Park by NYU. They were taking the bus, so I got to the area first and decided to explore Washington Park for a bit. This seems to be a popular area for street performers because they were all over the park. Most of them were musicians performing individually or in groups. There was a performer covered in yellow chalk and I had no idea what they were doing and never found out because I had to leave as I noticed them.
I arrived at Ippudo and Sean tried to sneak up on me, but I saw him from a block away. For lunch we had these delicious buns with pork in the middle and bowls of ramen noodles with bamboo and pork. It was better than Superior Pho here in Cleveland.
I parted ways with Sean and Jenny and headed south to Times Square. I've seen it on TV many times, especially the early mornings for high school when I watched some of the Today Show. But to experience live was sheer joy. All the giant advertising screens, the hustle and bustle of everyday New Yorkers trying to get from point A to point B, the street performers, the stores, and the organized chaos. When I say organized chaos I mean that cars are nearly gridlocked, thousands of people are in and out of buildings, crossing streets, construction, people trying to sell you stuff at every turn, bikers and skateboarders are zipping in and out, etc. And as you watch, you're almost expecting a car to hit someone, or traffic to never move, or a fight to break out. But everything flows in it's chaotic way and life continues on.
The first two stores I entered in Times Square were the Hershey store and the M&M's store. The Hershey store was cool and probably would've wowed someone who had never been before, but I grew up an hour from Hershey, PA so I've been spoiled by the original itself. The M&M's store was awesome. It has giant M&M statues and three levels of store to shop. There was an entire wall of different flavor and style M&M's so you could mix and make your own bag. And the smell was so tantalizing. I thought about buying something, but it was all over priced and a bit too touristy for me. I then decided I was going to sit on the red steps in the dead center of Times Square and just take it all in. The crowds, the traffic, the performers, the vendors, the big screens, everything. It was a grand sight to see and actually added to my perspective of daily life. You hear about these things on TV, in the news, and from your friends, but you have to truly experience NYC for yourself to understand it all.
Another interesting occurrence in TS was that everyone standing around was trying to get you to buy or donate to something. One guy's opening line was to ask me where I was from and upon finding out I am from Cleveland to then relate to the Buckeyes, then ask for a charity donation. The one that took the cake though was a dude with a bunch of his CD's with his music that he was trying to sell. He greeted me with a friendly fist pound. Then he explained his CD and asked me my name. Upon hearing it, he said he was going to call me J-boogie (horrible name), signed the CD cover J-boogie, placed it in my hand without letting go, and asked if there was anything I could "donate" for it. I told him I'd give him a buck, but he said he couldn't let it go for less then $5. Since I don't usually carry cash, I didn't have $5 on me. He said he accepts donations. I felt a little sorry for the guy so I gave him the buck and moved on.
I'm not really the shopping type, so I checked my phone to see how far away from the Empire State Building I was. Oh look a fifteen minute walk. So off I went. This trek was truly the greatest experience of the NYC masses. There were two types of people: the ones who walked if the way was clear and the ones who waited for the light. Well at some points, crowds just started walking and didn't care if cars were coming and if cars had the green, they slowly rolled as close to jaywalkers as possible and blared their horns. One guy stepped into the crosswalk before he had a walk signal and a taxi was stuck in the intersection trying to get through the light. The walk like came on as the guy was in the center of the intersection and the taxi was inches from him. The taxi driver blared his horn, the guy got startled, pounded on the taxi's hood, pointed at the walk light, and flipped the taxi driver off. Welcome to a standard day in NYC.
I finally reached the ESB and knew right away I was going straight to the top. I didn't care about the cost and I love heights. They mass packed the elevator and it shot 80 floors up in a matter of minutes. But you had to get on a second elevator to go to the 86th floor and they gave you the option to take the stairs six floors up. I took the stairs. When I finally got out on the roof, I had to dodge the large crowd and find a spot on the wall to see the view. It was spectacular. To be able to see the whole city, the harbor, the brooklyn bridge, new jersey, and the statue of liberty as a tiny spec was incredible. If I could've and there were no other people, I would've stayed all day.
My last stop for the day was Ground Zero. It's located all the way at the bottom of Manhattan. I wasn't missing this stop even if the world caught fire. Being at the memorial and seeing the crater where the towers stood, the names of those who gave their lives to save others, and remembering the thousands that died here, let's just say I nearly cried. 9/11/01 lives in my mind as clear as crystal. I was too young to really know or care about what happened that day, but as the weeks went by, my heart ached for what happened, my patriotic pride and voice found itself, and that day has never ever left my mind. This was a major highlight of my trip.
I arrived at Ippudo and Sean tried to sneak up on me, but I saw him from a block away. For lunch we had these delicious buns with pork in the middle and bowls of ramen noodles with bamboo and pork. It was better than Superior Pho here in Cleveland.
I parted ways with Sean and Jenny and headed south to Times Square. I've seen it on TV many times, especially the early mornings for high school when I watched some of the Today Show. But to experience live was sheer joy. All the giant advertising screens, the hustle and bustle of everyday New Yorkers trying to get from point A to point B, the street performers, the stores, and the organized chaos. When I say organized chaos I mean that cars are nearly gridlocked, thousands of people are in and out of buildings, crossing streets, construction, people trying to sell you stuff at every turn, bikers and skateboarders are zipping in and out, etc. And as you watch, you're almost expecting a car to hit someone, or traffic to never move, or a fight to break out. But everything flows in it's chaotic way and life continues on.
The first two stores I entered in Times Square were the Hershey store and the M&M's store. The Hershey store was cool and probably would've wowed someone who had never been before, but I grew up an hour from Hershey, PA so I've been spoiled by the original itself. The M&M's store was awesome. It has giant M&M statues and three levels of store to shop. There was an entire wall of different flavor and style M&M's so you could mix and make your own bag. And the smell was so tantalizing. I thought about buying something, but it was all over priced and a bit too touristy for me. I then decided I was going to sit on the red steps in the dead center of Times Square and just take it all in. The crowds, the traffic, the performers, the vendors, the big screens, everything. It was a grand sight to see and actually added to my perspective of daily life. You hear about these things on TV, in the news, and from your friends, but you have to truly experience NYC for yourself to understand it all.
Another interesting occurrence in TS was that everyone standing around was trying to get you to buy or donate to something. One guy's opening line was to ask me where I was from and upon finding out I am from Cleveland to then relate to the Buckeyes, then ask for a charity donation. The one that took the cake though was a dude with a bunch of his CD's with his music that he was trying to sell. He greeted me with a friendly fist pound. Then he explained his CD and asked me my name. Upon hearing it, he said he was going to call me J-boogie (horrible name), signed the CD cover J-boogie, placed it in my hand without letting go, and asked if there was anything I could "donate" for it. I told him I'd give him a buck, but he said he couldn't let it go for less then $5. Since I don't usually carry cash, I didn't have $5 on me. He said he accepts donations. I felt a little sorry for the guy so I gave him the buck and moved on.
I'm not really the shopping type, so I checked my phone to see how far away from the Empire State Building I was. Oh look a fifteen minute walk. So off I went. This trek was truly the greatest experience of the NYC masses. There were two types of people: the ones who walked if the way was clear and the ones who waited for the light. Well at some points, crowds just started walking and didn't care if cars were coming and if cars had the green, they slowly rolled as close to jaywalkers as possible and blared their horns. One guy stepped into the crosswalk before he had a walk signal and a taxi was stuck in the intersection trying to get through the light. The walk like came on as the guy was in the center of the intersection and the taxi was inches from him. The taxi driver blared his horn, the guy got startled, pounded on the taxi's hood, pointed at the walk light, and flipped the taxi driver off. Welcome to a standard day in NYC.
I finally reached the ESB and knew right away I was going straight to the top. I didn't care about the cost and I love heights. They mass packed the elevator and it shot 80 floors up in a matter of minutes. But you had to get on a second elevator to go to the 86th floor and they gave you the option to take the stairs six floors up. I took the stairs. When I finally got out on the roof, I had to dodge the large crowd and find a spot on the wall to see the view. It was spectacular. To be able to see the whole city, the harbor, the brooklyn bridge, new jersey, and the statue of liberty as a tiny spec was incredible. If I could've and there were no other people, I would've stayed all day.
My last stop for the day was Ground Zero. It's located all the way at the bottom of Manhattan. I wasn't missing this stop even if the world caught fire. Being at the memorial and seeing the crater where the towers stood, the names of those who gave their lives to save others, and remembering the thousands that died here, let's just say I nearly cried. 9/11/01 lives in my mind as clear as crystal. I was too young to really know or care about what happened that day, but as the weeks went by, my heart ached for what happened, my patriotic pride and voice found itself, and that day has never ever left my mind. This was a major highlight of my trip.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
An Epic Journey Through the Big Apple: Days 1 and 2
NYC was the #1 American city on my bucket list to see. So when I got the invitation to Sam and Mindy's wedding taking place in Jersey City, I knew I couldn't pass a New York adventure up. I meant to blog this trip as I went, but being super busy and the wifi being so unreliable, I'm doing it all now but I'll break it up so it's not one long exhausting read. And here we go!
The first day was all driving. Yes I drove 7ish hours to Manhattan. That's probably something I won't do again. Not because of the long drive but because driving and parking in Manhattan is a nightmare. Driving through Ohio wasn't and issue. Many long, flat roads, steadily moving cars and the occasional 18-wheeler wall or two.
The majority of the drive was spent going across the state of PA, end to end. This is where the trip go sluggish because when you drive through different states, the roads, the scenery, the whole atmosphere changes. But driving a state like PA end to end can get boring. Especially when you hit all the construction because you're driving one highway the entire time. The worst of it came in the central part of the state where they were doing construction for 15 miles and had only one lane open. That extended my travel time by 45 min. I was not a happy camper.
Once I finally exited PA, New Jersey was a breath of fresh air. The overcast skies were gone, the road became four lanes of freshly redone, well constructed asphalt with lush trees and exotic rock formations to drive through. I felt kinda like I was driving in California.
Finally, I saw the NYC skyline and my heart jumped for joy. I can't describe how excited I was. But as quickly as it came, it had to be put on hold. I was now entering NYC and had to deal with dense traffic, aggressive driving, horns, and chaos. I learned to drive rough real quick. When I reached the neighborhood of the Airbnb I was staying at, I thought I was finally in the clear...nope. Now came one of the world's most difficult tasks: trying to park in NYC. The first challenge is finding a spot. After you spend a half hour doing so, the next challenge becomes making sure whether or not it's legal. Oh look a spot! Nope. Hotel loading zone. Maybe here? Nope. Fire hydrant. Here? Garage entrance. How about here? Only up to this sign, anything past that get's a ticket. Here only certain times of the day and days of the week. It goes on and on and on.
I had one more funny experience that day. I called my Airbnb host to let her know I was going to be there soon. The thing is, she's only been in the country 7 months from Russia and speaks basic English. She couldn't understand most things I was saying and hung up on me. I thought "this week is going to be interesting indeed."
Day 2: Some things you have to experience for yourself. I don't know how anyone sleeps in this city. I fell asleep at 1am or so and was woken up at 4am by blaring music, random fireworks, and the very melodious car horn. I phased in out of sleep until finally getting up at 8am. I'm almost never up this early in the summer, so I decided to grab breakfast. I left the apartment and wandered around upper Manhattan. In a city like this, signage seems to be more popular then ads. "No parking", "No standing", "No house trash or business trash $100 fine", "One Way", "Photo Enforced" "No parking Mon and Thurs 11am-12:30pm", and it went on and on. Then I saw a McDonald's and went in. I entered a room of mild chaos. Two people were trying to order, an old woman with no teeth was shouting and talking like a teenager and barely comprehensible, and an impatient man was barking for some jelly. Welcome to New York.
My first destination was Central Park. I was 50 blocks away so I took a subway. Thirty-Two dollars for a week long unlimited pass was an amazing deal. I made that money well worth it. Once I finally saw the vast amount of green amidst all the steel, concrete, and asphalt, I began to wander. I headed south and made my way towards a geocache. This was more of a challenge than the ones I find in Ohio because people are everywhere. But my expert stealth skills allowed me to climb the rocks and down to where it was hidden. I signed my name and moved on. As I meandered on I came across the elegant Shakespeare gardens and the Belvedere Castle. The castle isn't that big, but it is a castle nonetheless and gives you a sweet view of part the Manhattan skyline.
After I took those touristy pictures, I kept wandering with no particular spot in mind, but each time I came across a sculpture, I went to admire it. The first was Alice in Wonderland. I had to wait for a hoard of kids to take a group picture and dismount it before I got my poorly taken selfie with the Mad Hatter (I hate taking selfies but I was in NYC so what the heck?) I ran into Hans Christian Anderson next (creator of the Little Mermaid). The third sculpture caught me by surprise, but when I saw it, a swarm of childhood memories came back to me. The statue was of the legendary sled dog Balto who delivered much needed medicine in a snow storm across Alaska that saved many children. I saw the movie as a kid and loved it. At the end of the movie, they have the main character in real life visit this exact statue in Central Park. I was in awe.
I only made it through the lower half because I left to meet Sam Chen for lunch at Shake Shack. He then gave me free tickets to the Metropolitan Museum. Holy cow batman! That place is huge! I spent 3ish hours in there and still didn't see it all. There was an entire room that contained an almost complete Egyptian temple, and entire wall dedicated to a massive George Washington crossing the Delaware painting, and an entire rooftop with a garden and bar. It's a must see museum for sure.
To end the day, I hopped on a subway and headed to the Bronx to see a ball game at the historic Yankee Stadium. The Stadium is beautiful and I had front row bleacher seats. The fans, however, don't have heart like Cleveland fans do. They were heckling more than cheering. Half of my section left before the game ended and the Yankees were winning! The fans didn't even stand up or get into it until the very last strike. They let out a 30 second cheer then left the stadium. Besides them, the game was worth it. I had my doubts about taking a subway for 20 min and then walking five blocks after midnight. But there were so many people and I didn't get approached, harassed, or bothered once. Not that I wasn't careful and alert, but my nerves were eased for the week. And this is just the first full day folks.
The first day was all driving. Yes I drove 7ish hours to Manhattan. That's probably something I won't do again. Not because of the long drive but because driving and parking in Manhattan is a nightmare. Driving through Ohio wasn't and issue. Many long, flat roads, steadily moving cars and the occasional 18-wheeler wall or two.
The majority of the drive was spent going across the state of PA, end to end. This is where the trip go sluggish because when you drive through different states, the roads, the scenery, the whole atmosphere changes. But driving a state like PA end to end can get boring. Especially when you hit all the construction because you're driving one highway the entire time. The worst of it came in the central part of the state where they were doing construction for 15 miles and had only one lane open. That extended my travel time by 45 min. I was not a happy camper.
Once I finally exited PA, New Jersey was a breath of fresh air. The overcast skies were gone, the road became four lanes of freshly redone, well constructed asphalt with lush trees and exotic rock formations to drive through. I felt kinda like I was driving in California.
Finally, I saw the NYC skyline and my heart jumped for joy. I can't describe how excited I was. But as quickly as it came, it had to be put on hold. I was now entering NYC and had to deal with dense traffic, aggressive driving, horns, and chaos. I learned to drive rough real quick. When I reached the neighborhood of the Airbnb I was staying at, I thought I was finally in the clear...nope. Now came one of the world's most difficult tasks: trying to park in NYC. The first challenge is finding a spot. After you spend a half hour doing so, the next challenge becomes making sure whether or not it's legal. Oh look a spot! Nope. Hotel loading zone. Maybe here? Nope. Fire hydrant. Here? Garage entrance. How about here? Only up to this sign, anything past that get's a ticket. Here only certain times of the day and days of the week. It goes on and on and on.
I had one more funny experience that day. I called my Airbnb host to let her know I was going to be there soon. The thing is, she's only been in the country 7 months from Russia and speaks basic English. She couldn't understand most things I was saying and hung up on me. I thought "this week is going to be interesting indeed."
Day 2: Some things you have to experience for yourself. I don't know how anyone sleeps in this city. I fell asleep at 1am or so and was woken up at 4am by blaring music, random fireworks, and the very melodious car horn. I phased in out of sleep until finally getting up at 8am. I'm almost never up this early in the summer, so I decided to grab breakfast. I left the apartment and wandered around upper Manhattan. In a city like this, signage seems to be more popular then ads. "No parking", "No standing", "No house trash or business trash $100 fine", "One Way", "Photo Enforced" "No parking Mon and Thurs 11am-12:30pm", and it went on and on. Then I saw a McDonald's and went in. I entered a room of mild chaos. Two people were trying to order, an old woman with no teeth was shouting and talking like a teenager and barely comprehensible, and an impatient man was barking for some jelly. Welcome to New York.
My first destination was Central Park. I was 50 blocks away so I took a subway. Thirty-Two dollars for a week long unlimited pass was an amazing deal. I made that money well worth it. Once I finally saw the vast amount of green amidst all the steel, concrete, and asphalt, I began to wander. I headed south and made my way towards a geocache. This was more of a challenge than the ones I find in Ohio because people are everywhere. But my expert stealth skills allowed me to climb the rocks and down to where it was hidden. I signed my name and moved on. As I meandered on I came across the elegant Shakespeare gardens and the Belvedere Castle. The castle isn't that big, but it is a castle nonetheless and gives you a sweet view of part the Manhattan skyline.
After I took those touristy pictures, I kept wandering with no particular spot in mind, but each time I came across a sculpture, I went to admire it. The first was Alice in Wonderland. I had to wait for a hoard of kids to take a group picture and dismount it before I got my poorly taken selfie with the Mad Hatter (I hate taking selfies but I was in NYC so what the heck?) I ran into Hans Christian Anderson next (creator of the Little Mermaid). The third sculpture caught me by surprise, but when I saw it, a swarm of childhood memories came back to me. The statue was of the legendary sled dog Balto who delivered much needed medicine in a snow storm across Alaska that saved many children. I saw the movie as a kid and loved it. At the end of the movie, they have the main character in real life visit this exact statue in Central Park. I was in awe.
I only made it through the lower half because I left to meet Sam Chen for lunch at Shake Shack. He then gave me free tickets to the Metropolitan Museum. Holy cow batman! That place is huge! I spent 3ish hours in there and still didn't see it all. There was an entire room that contained an almost complete Egyptian temple, and entire wall dedicated to a massive George Washington crossing the Delaware painting, and an entire rooftop with a garden and bar. It's a must see museum for sure.
To end the day, I hopped on a subway and headed to the Bronx to see a ball game at the historic Yankee Stadium. The Stadium is beautiful and I had front row bleacher seats. The fans, however, don't have heart like Cleveland fans do. They were heckling more than cheering. Half of my section left before the game ended and the Yankees were winning! The fans didn't even stand up or get into it until the very last strike. They let out a 30 second cheer then left the stadium. Besides them, the game was worth it. I had my doubts about taking a subway for 20 min and then walking five blocks after midnight. But there were so many people and I didn't get approached, harassed, or bothered once. Not that I wasn't careful and alert, but my nerves were eased for the week. And this is just the first full day folks.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
A Hard Journey Filled With Grace
This story begins near the end of my senior year of high school. I was well into the process of choosing a college to attend to further my education. This process wasn't as painful as I expected it to be. Pause.
Up until my sophomore year of high school, I was a straight A student. This wasn't because I was intellectually gifted nor because I overachieved, but rather because I put in the time and effort and because I had the one on one attention from being home-schooled for eight years. Then I ran into material I wasn't so familiar with and a few teachers who wanted 150% when only 100% was fathomable. But I made it through my sophomore year with good grades and figured I could handle what my junior and senior years would throw at me...I was half right.
Junior year rolled around and they weren't kidding when they said it was the toughest of the four years. The work load was heavy, I had a teacher or two was slightly nuts, and I realized that the way I learned things became a whole lot harder. I came to the realization that I'm a visual learner. If you tell me how something should work, but don't give me an example or write it down, I might struggle. But as soon as I see the formula, a picture, or an example of how the problem is done, I feel like Thomas Edison when he finally got the light bulb to work. But because schools are under pressure to make sure kids know everything that the board of education requires kids to know, or they have to teach everything on an AP test in a limited amount of time, stuff gets lost. And that's how I felt for all of my junior year. I became burnt out and knew then and there that school wasn't for me anymore. Yet it wasn't something I could stop. Well I could, but I also saw how crucial education is and realized it was going to be a long grind. I couldn't take anymore projects, papers, or tests. I hated nearly every single one. Even if I got an A I still hated it. I had no idea how I was going to make it through, but I knew I had the Lord right beside me every step.
Play. Back to choosing a college. The allure of college never drew me. The thought of moving away, visiting many profound and popular colleges, living the "college life" and "being free" wasn't my forte. I had one school and one school only in mind. The Ohio State University. It was my dream school. From seeing the campus years before, all the photos from friends who went or were currently attending, from the Buckeye's games during football season; that's where I wanted to be. I didn't want to waste my time with college visits or a lot of applications and their nasty fees. I was dead set on OSU. However, like most things in life, the original plans changed.
First of all, I had to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was fortunate enough to know from my early high school years that I wanted to be an engineer. I loved legos as a kid as well as building, tinkering with, and creating things. Engineering seemed like the perfect occupation for me. Thankfully, OSU has an engineering program. Boom. No need for anything else, my heart was set. Then, there are those people that God places in your life to keep you from making too rash a decision. Those people encouraged me to apply to at least one or two more schools just in case I didn't get accepted into OSU. I figured that was a good idea. I researched a bit more and came up with two more schools: The University of Central Florida and Akron University. Both have really good engineering programs and UCF's would allow students to visit Disney World and study the engineering of the rides there. I also knew people at Akron. Someone also mentioned that I should give Cleveland State a shot, but at first I was a firm no. In all honesty, even though I had heard good things about their engineering program, I didn't like their campus, I didn't really know anyone going there, no good sports teams, and in my mind, it was a bottom feeder school. It wasn't happening.
As I began the application process, money started to play a factor. My parents told me that if there was a school I really wanted to go to, I shouldn't write it off due to the cost. That eased my fears a little, but I still didn't want to have them pay for much if anything at all. I also didn't want to be drowning in debt after I graduated. Those feelings ruled out UCF. Sure I knew about financial aid and scholarships, but the tuition, the fees, the housing costs, etc wasn't worth it for me. Again, CSU was mentioned and since I was now taking cost as a factor, I didn't slam the door on CSU. I figured anyone could get into CSU and if OSU and Akron don't take me then at least I'll still go to college.
Three applications were all I sent. OSU. Akron. And CSU. At this point, I was still wrestling with the Lord about OSU and for some strange reason, there was a little nudge towards CSU. Well the good news was I got accepted into college. Matter of fact, I went three for three on acceptance letters. The kicker? OSU took two months, Akron one month, and CSU...two weeks. I was elated that I got into OSU, but yet there was another feeling to not close the door on CSU. Why? Well when the acceptance letters came in, they came with scholarship money. CSU's offer was $500 more then what Akron offered and as for OSU...zilch. I spoke with the Lord again asking Him if I could still go to OSU, but if He really wanted me at CSU, He had to make it very clear and not just small nudges.
Not long after, CSU offered a scholarship competition to all potential incoming freshman. I figured I'd take a stab and see what I could get. I had to take a math exam and write an essay. Neither seemed hard, but I didn't expect much. Thankfully I was wrong and the scholarship money per year for four years that CSU was offering doubled. Plus, when the financial aid numbers came in, they made up the lack the scholarships couldn't cover and then some. Right then and there, I knew the Lord wanted me at CSU and I had to leave OSU behind. It wasn't the easiest decision, but I had put my trust in the Lord and He provided.
Now because I was on partial scholarships and financial aid, didn't mean the four years was guaranteed to be covered. So I took out loans each year that were slightly less then what the scholarships were worth. Unfortunately, those went straight to the school along with the financial aid so any scholarship money went straight into my account. However, I refused to touch it except to help buy books.
My first two years at CSU flew by almost without a hitch. The fear I had that college was going to be way harder then high school evaporated after I breezed through freshman year. This was partially because I had tested out of zero general education classes and those for the most part were a snoozefest. I did, however, have a couple bumps that affected the rest of my college career. Those bumps were Calc I and Calc II.
Going into engineering, I was pretty good at math...except calculus. In high school, I was so far ahead of the game that I didn't need a math my senior year and could've avoided Calculus altogether...especially since they only offered AP Calc and I wanted nothing to do with it. But my math teacher of two years had faith in me and strongly encouraged me to take it. So I did, but reluctantly. From day one I regretted that decision. Sure if I did well enough on the AP test I could get out of taking that class in college. But I stood no chance. My Calc teacher was brand new at Lakewood High and probably not that far removed from her college years. Strike one. The class was at 8AM first thing in the morning. Strike two. She also taught with minimal examples and rushed each section from the pressure to meet all topics for the AP exam. Strike three. That was the hardest class I ever endured in high school and I probably should've dropped it rather then endure such misery. But I never gave up on a class and I didn't want to let my former math teacher down. I fought tooth and nail through that class and an error on my part almost cost me.
I decided I wasn't going to take the AP exam because I didn't want to pay the ridiculous fee for a test I didn't think I was going to do well on. Well...after the deadline passed to sign up for the exam, the math teachers announced that anyone taking the AP exam, regardless of how well they did on it, would get and A on the final and not have to take it. That hurt. So I ponied up, gritted my teeth and made it through the final exam. Senior year was finished and saying goodbye to high school was bittersweet.
Because I didn't get the college credit, Calc I and II loomed over my head. I went in with confidence that I would beat them this time around. But...again I struggled. The professor spent most classes going over proofs rather then the actual way of doing the problem then had a nasty habit of giving homework problems that were 10x the difficulty of what he taught. Same thing happened for Calc II. Two different professors, same last name. They made me forever loathe calculus. Although I did make it through, because calculus was a prerequisite to every engineering class, there wasn't much I could take until I got by Calc. It was not fun.
After two years, an opportunity to take a year off school and serve the Lord full time arose. It was known as the Great Lakes Christian Internship. I wanted to do it, but I had to be sure that the Lord wanted it too. The pros were I would get a taste of serving the Lord full time, I would get an opportunity to go deeper with Him, I would gain knowledge about the Bible, I would not have to worry about papers, homework, and tests for a year, and I would be doing it with many other people I knew and loved. The cons were that it meant no incoming funds for a year, student loan payments would come after six months, possibility of losing a scholarship, college friends graduating before me, the year could backfire and push me farther away from the Lord, and the effect of returning to school after a year off.
The hesitation was momentary and I felt a good leading from the Lord so I did it. And guess what. The Lord supplied in many ways. First, my scholarship got put on hold so I didn't lose it. Second, the unused scholarship money in my savings was $57 more then what my loans were so I was able to pay off the loans for my first two years of college. Third, the first job I ever had was an on campus job and it paid minimum wage, but because I didn't have a car and I didn't get a phone until halfway through my first year off college, I had enough money set aside to support myself for the year. Fourth after the year ended, I had about $500 left in my bank account. Within a month, $300 disappeared due to an illegal lane shift I made that caused a fender-bender. Yet, somehow, that $200 was enough to cover me until the first paycheck came in.
Going back to CSU felt like I'd never left. I was right back at my job, saw my friends, classes didn't seem different, life went on. As my junior year dragged on, life became less fun. Classes got rough, I was on campus 12 hours a day for most of the week, and I was once again burnt out. To make matters worse, that year was so rough that my grades weren't high enough to keep that scholarship. I felt like I fought through sludge to keep that scholarship and they still took it away.
Senior year didn't get any easier. My friends I started with graduated and CSU did something that they thought was helpful to the students, but for the ones who had been around as long I had, it made our last years a living nightmare. For undergrads, CSU went from a four and three credit hour system to just a three credit hour system. The engineering college decided they didn't want to lose that credit hour, so they changed a lot of their four credit hour classes to three credit hour classes with a 1 credit lab or two 2 credit hour classes. Sure the work load for each class was lighter, but we now had more labs we had to take or an extra class which meant more work, more tests, more blah.
This change among a few other things extended me another whole year and I was already in a five year program. When the FAFSA came in for that final year, their only loan offer was $12,000. I was not taking out $12,000 more in my final year. So what the financial aid didn't cover I had to dip into my savings to cover. And it wasn't cheap. Thankfully those co-ops I did helped to replenish my savings.
At this point I was looking to graduate with maybe $2400 in debt. The co-ops paid well and the story that goes along with the struggles and triumphs I faced in those is a book in itself. To make it short, the Lord came through again. I figured after all I've been through, $2400 wasn't bad at all. I had I thought in my mind that it would be great to pay off all my loans and still have $500 left in my savings. I never asked the Lord for this because I figured He had done plenty for me and my return wasn't sufficient. That my friends is highly foolish thinking. He is my Father and loves to care for me, with abundance, even when I fail, even when I squander what He has given. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."~Matthew 7:7 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."~2 Corinthians 12:9a. People have asked me through college after hearing about the struggles I went through if that year I took off was really worth it. My response, never regretted that decision for a second and was one of the best I made in my life.
People do many things with their tax refund. Take a vacation. Buy a new toy. Usually something that doesn't involve bills, debts, etc. I usually put it into my checking as a funds boost. This year however, was a little different. When the main refund came in, it covered the cash I lacked and then some for the loans. I was ever so grateful. But then the state refund came in and added to the other refund, it was just over $500 beyond what I owed. I was moved beyond words. I didn't even ask Him for this and He gave it to me anyway. He brought me through the seven years to finish college, carried me through the hard times, and danced with me in the joyous times. He allowed me to go through all I went through, to show that His grace was even more. Now here I am with a certified diploma that states I'm an engineer and debt free. But the real truth is, Christ is enough for me and He is all I need.
Up until my sophomore year of high school, I was a straight A student. This wasn't because I was intellectually gifted nor because I overachieved, but rather because I put in the time and effort and because I had the one on one attention from being home-schooled for eight years. Then I ran into material I wasn't so familiar with and a few teachers who wanted 150% when only 100% was fathomable. But I made it through my sophomore year with good grades and figured I could handle what my junior and senior years would throw at me...I was half right.
Junior year rolled around and they weren't kidding when they said it was the toughest of the four years. The work load was heavy, I had a teacher or two was slightly nuts, and I realized that the way I learned things became a whole lot harder. I came to the realization that I'm a visual learner. If you tell me how something should work, but don't give me an example or write it down, I might struggle. But as soon as I see the formula, a picture, or an example of how the problem is done, I feel like Thomas Edison when he finally got the light bulb to work. But because schools are under pressure to make sure kids know everything that the board of education requires kids to know, or they have to teach everything on an AP test in a limited amount of time, stuff gets lost. And that's how I felt for all of my junior year. I became burnt out and knew then and there that school wasn't for me anymore. Yet it wasn't something I could stop. Well I could, but I also saw how crucial education is and realized it was going to be a long grind. I couldn't take anymore projects, papers, or tests. I hated nearly every single one. Even if I got an A I still hated it. I had no idea how I was going to make it through, but I knew I had the Lord right beside me every step.
Play. Back to choosing a college. The allure of college never drew me. The thought of moving away, visiting many profound and popular colleges, living the "college life" and "being free" wasn't my forte. I had one school and one school only in mind. The Ohio State University. It was my dream school. From seeing the campus years before, all the photos from friends who went or were currently attending, from the Buckeye's games during football season; that's where I wanted to be. I didn't want to waste my time with college visits or a lot of applications and their nasty fees. I was dead set on OSU. However, like most things in life, the original plans changed.
First of all, I had to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was fortunate enough to know from my early high school years that I wanted to be an engineer. I loved legos as a kid as well as building, tinkering with, and creating things. Engineering seemed like the perfect occupation for me. Thankfully, OSU has an engineering program. Boom. No need for anything else, my heart was set. Then, there are those people that God places in your life to keep you from making too rash a decision. Those people encouraged me to apply to at least one or two more schools just in case I didn't get accepted into OSU. I figured that was a good idea. I researched a bit more and came up with two more schools: The University of Central Florida and Akron University. Both have really good engineering programs and UCF's would allow students to visit Disney World and study the engineering of the rides there. I also knew people at Akron. Someone also mentioned that I should give Cleveland State a shot, but at first I was a firm no. In all honesty, even though I had heard good things about their engineering program, I didn't like their campus, I didn't really know anyone going there, no good sports teams, and in my mind, it was a bottom feeder school. It wasn't happening.
As I began the application process, money started to play a factor. My parents told me that if there was a school I really wanted to go to, I shouldn't write it off due to the cost. That eased my fears a little, but I still didn't want to have them pay for much if anything at all. I also didn't want to be drowning in debt after I graduated. Those feelings ruled out UCF. Sure I knew about financial aid and scholarships, but the tuition, the fees, the housing costs, etc wasn't worth it for me. Again, CSU was mentioned and since I was now taking cost as a factor, I didn't slam the door on CSU. I figured anyone could get into CSU and if OSU and Akron don't take me then at least I'll still go to college.
Three applications were all I sent. OSU. Akron. And CSU. At this point, I was still wrestling with the Lord about OSU and for some strange reason, there was a little nudge towards CSU. Well the good news was I got accepted into college. Matter of fact, I went three for three on acceptance letters. The kicker? OSU took two months, Akron one month, and CSU...two weeks. I was elated that I got into OSU, but yet there was another feeling to not close the door on CSU. Why? Well when the acceptance letters came in, they came with scholarship money. CSU's offer was $500 more then what Akron offered and as for OSU...zilch. I spoke with the Lord again asking Him if I could still go to OSU, but if He really wanted me at CSU, He had to make it very clear and not just small nudges.
Not long after, CSU offered a scholarship competition to all potential incoming freshman. I figured I'd take a stab and see what I could get. I had to take a math exam and write an essay. Neither seemed hard, but I didn't expect much. Thankfully I was wrong and the scholarship money per year for four years that CSU was offering doubled. Plus, when the financial aid numbers came in, they made up the lack the scholarships couldn't cover and then some. Right then and there, I knew the Lord wanted me at CSU and I had to leave OSU behind. It wasn't the easiest decision, but I had put my trust in the Lord and He provided.
Now because I was on partial scholarships and financial aid, didn't mean the four years was guaranteed to be covered. So I took out loans each year that were slightly less then what the scholarships were worth. Unfortunately, those went straight to the school along with the financial aid so any scholarship money went straight into my account. However, I refused to touch it except to help buy books.
My first two years at CSU flew by almost without a hitch. The fear I had that college was going to be way harder then high school evaporated after I breezed through freshman year. This was partially because I had tested out of zero general education classes and those for the most part were a snoozefest. I did, however, have a couple bumps that affected the rest of my college career. Those bumps were Calc I and Calc II.
Going into engineering, I was pretty good at math...except calculus. In high school, I was so far ahead of the game that I didn't need a math my senior year and could've avoided Calculus altogether...especially since they only offered AP Calc and I wanted nothing to do with it. But my math teacher of two years had faith in me and strongly encouraged me to take it. So I did, but reluctantly. From day one I regretted that decision. Sure if I did well enough on the AP test I could get out of taking that class in college. But I stood no chance. My Calc teacher was brand new at Lakewood High and probably not that far removed from her college years. Strike one. The class was at 8AM first thing in the morning. Strike two. She also taught with minimal examples and rushed each section from the pressure to meet all topics for the AP exam. Strike three. That was the hardest class I ever endured in high school and I probably should've dropped it rather then endure such misery. But I never gave up on a class and I didn't want to let my former math teacher down. I fought tooth and nail through that class and an error on my part almost cost me.
I decided I wasn't going to take the AP exam because I didn't want to pay the ridiculous fee for a test I didn't think I was going to do well on. Well...after the deadline passed to sign up for the exam, the math teachers announced that anyone taking the AP exam, regardless of how well they did on it, would get and A on the final and not have to take it. That hurt. So I ponied up, gritted my teeth and made it through the final exam. Senior year was finished and saying goodbye to high school was bittersweet.
Because I didn't get the college credit, Calc I and II loomed over my head. I went in with confidence that I would beat them this time around. But...again I struggled. The professor spent most classes going over proofs rather then the actual way of doing the problem then had a nasty habit of giving homework problems that were 10x the difficulty of what he taught. Same thing happened for Calc II. Two different professors, same last name. They made me forever loathe calculus. Although I did make it through, because calculus was a prerequisite to every engineering class, there wasn't much I could take until I got by Calc. It was not fun.
After two years, an opportunity to take a year off school and serve the Lord full time arose. It was known as the Great Lakes Christian Internship. I wanted to do it, but I had to be sure that the Lord wanted it too. The pros were I would get a taste of serving the Lord full time, I would get an opportunity to go deeper with Him, I would gain knowledge about the Bible, I would not have to worry about papers, homework, and tests for a year, and I would be doing it with many other people I knew and loved. The cons were that it meant no incoming funds for a year, student loan payments would come after six months, possibility of losing a scholarship, college friends graduating before me, the year could backfire and push me farther away from the Lord, and the effect of returning to school after a year off.
The hesitation was momentary and I felt a good leading from the Lord so I did it. And guess what. The Lord supplied in many ways. First, my scholarship got put on hold so I didn't lose it. Second, the unused scholarship money in my savings was $57 more then what my loans were so I was able to pay off the loans for my first two years of college. Third, the first job I ever had was an on campus job and it paid minimum wage, but because I didn't have a car and I didn't get a phone until halfway through my first year off college, I had enough money set aside to support myself for the year. Fourth after the year ended, I had about $500 left in my bank account. Within a month, $300 disappeared due to an illegal lane shift I made that caused a fender-bender. Yet, somehow, that $200 was enough to cover me until the first paycheck came in.
Going back to CSU felt like I'd never left. I was right back at my job, saw my friends, classes didn't seem different, life went on. As my junior year dragged on, life became less fun. Classes got rough, I was on campus 12 hours a day for most of the week, and I was once again burnt out. To make matters worse, that year was so rough that my grades weren't high enough to keep that scholarship. I felt like I fought through sludge to keep that scholarship and they still took it away.
Senior year didn't get any easier. My friends I started with graduated and CSU did something that they thought was helpful to the students, but for the ones who had been around as long I had, it made our last years a living nightmare. For undergrads, CSU went from a four and three credit hour system to just a three credit hour system. The engineering college decided they didn't want to lose that credit hour, so they changed a lot of their four credit hour classes to three credit hour classes with a 1 credit lab or two 2 credit hour classes. Sure the work load for each class was lighter, but we now had more labs we had to take or an extra class which meant more work, more tests, more blah.
This change among a few other things extended me another whole year and I was already in a five year program. When the FAFSA came in for that final year, their only loan offer was $12,000. I was not taking out $12,000 more in my final year. So what the financial aid didn't cover I had to dip into my savings to cover. And it wasn't cheap. Thankfully those co-ops I did helped to replenish my savings.
At this point I was looking to graduate with maybe $2400 in debt. The co-ops paid well and the story that goes along with the struggles and triumphs I faced in those is a book in itself. To make it short, the Lord came through again. I figured after all I've been through, $2400 wasn't bad at all. I had I thought in my mind that it would be great to pay off all my loans and still have $500 left in my savings. I never asked the Lord for this because I figured He had done plenty for me and my return wasn't sufficient. That my friends is highly foolish thinking. He is my Father and loves to care for me, with abundance, even when I fail, even when I squander what He has given. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."~Matthew 7:7 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."~2 Corinthians 12:9a. People have asked me through college after hearing about the struggles I went through if that year I took off was really worth it. My response, never regretted that decision for a second and was one of the best I made in my life.
People do many things with their tax refund. Take a vacation. Buy a new toy. Usually something that doesn't involve bills, debts, etc. I usually put it into my checking as a funds boost. This year however, was a little different. When the main refund came in, it covered the cash I lacked and then some for the loans. I was ever so grateful. But then the state refund came in and added to the other refund, it was just over $500 beyond what I owed. I was moved beyond words. I didn't even ask Him for this and He gave it to me anyway. He brought me through the seven years to finish college, carried me through the hard times, and danced with me in the joyous times. He allowed me to go through all I went through, to show that His grace was even more. Now here I am with a certified diploma that states I'm an engineer and debt free. But the real truth is, Christ is enough for me and He is all I need.
Monday, May 2, 2016
A Pyro's Thoughts
Fire. It burns. It consumes. It destroys. Yet, it warms. It cooks. It creates light. It fascinates me. I'm what some would classify as a pyro (short for pyromaniac), but only in the lightest of terms. The true definition of a pyro is someone who has a strong desire to set things on fire and is usually associated with a mental illness to do these things harmfully and without remorse.
However, my pyro status means that although I do enjoy burning things, I would never do it for damage, malicious intent, or harm. I build controlled fires whenever I can. I play with fire, but only to my limit and not to sheer stupidity.
A magical thing about building a fire is its location. Have you ever built or relaxed by one on a beach? With your toes in the sand, the breeze on your skin, the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, and the sun drifting beyond the horizon? The fire then becomes your main source of light as the stars come out and you sit there with your friends, discussing life, taking in the views, and enjoying life. Have you ever built one in the woods in the pitch black of night? Where you can see millions of stars and only hear the sounds of the woods? Where you can swap stories and tales of legend? Or cooked the best campfire treat in the world...a S'more? Have you ever been warmed by one in a friend's backyard? Where there's not much else to do except sit around it, unwind from the day, and enjoy each other's company? Unless you have experienced each of these, the above words don't do them complete justice.
What draws me to it and enthralls me so, is hard to explain unless you've actually built one of your own, sit next to it, tend to it, and stay there until everything has burned to ash. I generally build them high and roaring. People have said that they can tell that this is a "Josh Watkins" fire. And they love it. But then there are times it is necessary to build a smaller, more average size fire. The best part is, that when you build one, people are drawn to it. They'll come sit around it. Sometimes they'll ignore the fire and enjoy each other's company, but that's the point isn't it? To create something everyone loves, that draws people, that creates moments, memories, joy. This is my ultimate purpose. Is to draw people to my creation and smile as they reach a happy place. As the famous movie line from Field of Dreams says "If you build it they will come."
However, my pyro status means that although I do enjoy burning things, I would never do it for damage, malicious intent, or harm. I build controlled fires whenever I can. I play with fire, but only to my limit and not to sheer stupidity.
A magical thing about building a fire is its location. Have you ever built or relaxed by one on a beach? With your toes in the sand, the breeze on your skin, the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, and the sun drifting beyond the horizon? The fire then becomes your main source of light as the stars come out and you sit there with your friends, discussing life, taking in the views, and enjoying life. Have you ever built one in the woods in the pitch black of night? Where you can see millions of stars and only hear the sounds of the woods? Where you can swap stories and tales of legend? Or cooked the best campfire treat in the world...a S'more? Have you ever been warmed by one in a friend's backyard? Where there's not much else to do except sit around it, unwind from the day, and enjoy each other's company? Unless you have experienced each of these, the above words don't do them complete justice.
What draws me to it and enthralls me so, is hard to explain unless you've actually built one of your own, sit next to it, tend to it, and stay there until everything has burned to ash. I generally build them high and roaring. People have said that they can tell that this is a "Josh Watkins" fire. And they love it. But then there are times it is necessary to build a smaller, more average size fire. The best part is, that when you build one, people are drawn to it. They'll come sit around it. Sometimes they'll ignore the fire and enjoy each other's company, but that's the point isn't it? To create something everyone loves, that draws people, that creates moments, memories, joy. This is my ultimate purpose. Is to draw people to my creation and smile as they reach a happy place. As the famous movie line from Field of Dreams says "If you build it they will come."
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