"That is 'Hell's Kitchen Catholic Church' ironic...."

Well, time for me to finally recap this last week. It all started on Wednesday when Nate showed up. We sat around for a while watching World Series of Pop Culture and eating spaghetti. Afterwards, we headed off to the Faribault County Fair in Blue Earth. We stopped at Wal-Mart first and made a nice investment in a couple walkie-talkies. We wandered around the fair and met up with Brice, Kimmy, Owsald's, and eventually John. It was a good time seeing Nate make all the carnies angry by telling them how Valleyfair does things. We got some good stuff from the Free Barns and the random grab bag lady. Playing Bingo was great too.

On Thursday, we woke up and decided to play some The Godfather. It ended up taking about 6 hours until we left (at least 1 of which Nate slept through). Then we decided to prank Shayla. She was coming down to Frost for a movie night at Oswald's, so we told her that we were in Mankato. She decided to beat us up the rest of the night after she found out it wasn't true. When Melissa got home from work at about 9:30, we put in the movie of the night, "Yum Yums: The Day Things Went Sour." Very intriguing plot line. After that, Brice left and we watched Donnie Darko. Great movie, but very strange. Melissa left for bed, and we decided to watch another movie. Kimmy wanted to watch Wedding Crashers, so Nate put in the documentary Grizzly Man. John, Tommy, Kimmy, Nate, and I laughed at the randomly selected third chapter. John left, and we watched part of Wedding Crashers before Kimmy left. Nate, Tommy, and I slept in the tent. Before we fell asleep we played a great round of "Actor Connections." Nate dominates that game, but it was a great time.

Friday was declared Godfather day. We played an hour or so of The Godfather before heading out to eat at, where else, Godfather's. Kimmy was very "pleased" to see me, Brice, Nate, and Tommy, and she had us leave some pizza in her car after we left. I found out later that one of her coworkers called the boss saying some guys were messing with her car when he left for delivery. Nate and I watched the Twins lose in extra innings when we got back, and we finished the night by watching The Godfather.

Nate left on Saturday, and I didn't do much. I did about the same today, except today was the Guardian Angel supper for San Antonio. The people who gave money to support us showed up to hear about our trip and eat. It was a good time.

Word from the Frontline: Number of times this month I've heard "Get Down" by Audio Adrenaline -- way too many to count.

This is the sound of me wanting to puke....

I know what you're thinking. "What is Aaron Bauer doing awake at 5:22 in the morning?" I'll answer by saying this: I'm posting a blog, of course...I thought it was obvious since that's the timestamp on this post.

I've never been anything close to a long-distance runner. The thought of running a mile usually makes me cringe, but there is the odd occasion when I just feel like running. This morning was one of those occasions. I decided to definitely run a mile, then see what was what. By the time the mile was finished, I was determined to complete a goal I've never dreamed I would.

Now, it definitely wasn't the fastest, nor the most well-paced, nor the swiftest, but it was my first ever 2-mile run. I'll admit I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I'm so happy and proud to finally run 2 miles nonstop. On the other hand, I feel like crap. I'm steadily drinking water and such, but I will probably puke sometime soon (I know you all wanted to know that).

So I'm switching from quotes to random information now at the end of my posts.


Word from the Frontline: Time, in minutes and seconds, it took me to run 2 miles this morning -- 18:13.77

Mody Beiter for life!

TEC 64 will now be known to me as two different things:
1) Seeing a good friend really grow spiritually for the first time
2) My first true Mody Beiter experience

At TEC 62, I made many appearances and all, but it wasn't anything like this time. On Friday, I went to Ben's talk. I love that kid to death. He's so energetic that I can't help but have energy when I'm around him. After the talk, I went to Matt's for the night, but not before we checked on the pictures at Wal-Mart. Of course, something went wrong and they weren't in the one-hour. We decided to check again in the morning.

On Saturday morning, we woke up and headed back to Austin for Jackie's talk. We checked Wal-Mart quickly, and the pictures still weren't done. After Jackie's talk, Matt, Levi, and I went back to Albert Lea. Greg had resent the picture order, and they were ready to pick up. I learned a fun fact about Levi's house while we were there: it is impossible to find! On our way back to the church, Dean called us and asked if we took Kyree's stereo. Of course, we wouldn't take our shenanigans that far. We noticed her door was unlocked the day before, and we chose her for our weekend target, but we definitely didn't take her stereo. Then we went to Betsy's talk. I wasn't an actual guest, but I sat by the door for it (I apologize for that, but at least I wasn't in anyone's way). The next thing I can remember is walking upstairs and having people ask if I took someone's car. Again, our shenanigans don't go that far.

Agape was incredible! I got to see how Shayla was doing, and she was crying instead of me. I also learned something else there: never stand next to Ben Hoogland at Agape! He likes to cause trouble.

After Agape, we all went on our traditional trip to Perkins. It was a good time, but we had to go back to the church because A) Matt forgot his sandals, and B) we had unfinished business.

Since Kyree was out of the picture for this weekend, we chose a new victim at Perkins. Who was that victim? Nate, of course. His truck looks beautiful draped in high-quality industrial saran wrap!

The back of Nate's truck...with a great message!1) Ben will be President someday...and 2) "I can get Mody Beiter" turned into "I got Mody BeiteredMmm...saran wrap...

We also decided to honor the fact that we promised not to get Bob's car by just leaving her a little present on the windshield. It's too bad she came out of the dance for some air while we were standing by it.

I think it's very attractive...

We wrapped Kimmy's car a couple of times around, and then we did the same for Curtis. We wanted to be able to say we got the TEC trailer, so we slipped a small piece over part of the hitch. Our last big project was started by Bob (even though she likes to deny it). It happened to be the Reiter van. I wish I would've taken pictures, but Dean came outside and chased us around like he was actually mad.

As we left the church, a cop passed by us and turned around. After I pulled over and he went past me, I thought he was going for Matt. Lo and behold, he passed by Matt too. The night was a blast, with or without Nate supposedly watching us wrap his truck.

Today was the least coordinated closing service I've ever seen. It was still great, and Matt and I almost screamed for Bob as loud as we could. We were close. I also got my part of the revenge from Nate in small-scale. I had left clothes at the church on Saturday, and Nate decided to duct tape them into a ball before he gave them back.

That was my weekend. It was a blast, and I don't see how it could've been better (other than the theft situations). My application for 65 will officially be in the mail tomorrow.

TEC 64 MODY BEITER TEAM (plus Bob)
SERVING GOD THROUGH SARAN WRAP SINCE 2005

Insomnia: The everlasting Gobstopper of freedom

The clock strikes 1:26 a.m. The rain has stopped falling; the thunder fades. Two teenage boys are wide awake, and they aren't in any rush to find a place to rest their heads. The plans running through their minds are too strong. Phones, scones, and randomness all occur within the confines of this night. Let us see what beauty it beholds. Welcome to the World of Insomniactisctisdism. Enter at your own risk.

1:29
The plan begins to unfold. The boys phones connect with clarity. They choose their first victim: Mariah Tappe.

1:33
The call is made. After waiting for the answering machine, they begin. The boys make fun of Mariah for not answering (ever!). They also ramble on about having too much fun and Nate's younger sister.
"Holy bat vomit! You suck more than I do!" -- random sound clip

1:41
The next call, made to a Megan Olson. Yes, she was sleeping. She was told that her lost dog was found, but it started to make sheep noises in the background. What does Megan do in return for this incredible call? She falls asleep on the phone.
"I can make a sheep noise." -- Nate

1:46
Tim Parrott doesn't answer his phone. A message is left letting him know the disappointment the boys feel when he doesn't answer. It is cut short, but still quite entertaining.
"Nate, let me tell you some random facts about Tim...." -- Aaron

1:59
A young Betsy Norell is sleeping and doesn't respond to the ringing of her phone. The boys decide to play the old game MASH and let her know the results. Her future looks very bright. She will be marrying Aaron Bauer, driving a vomit-colored Hummer, live in Austin, and other various aspects of life.
"If any of these things are inconsistent with your hopes, I'm sorry. We can't do anything about that." -- Aaron

2:05
The boys are angry with Ann Monson. She sounded tired as she answered the phone, but she hung up almost instantly. They didn't try again.
"MONSON!" -- Aaron

2:07
The next call was made to Kyree Wobbrock. Yet another answering machine. Random things like beatboxing, black guys, and issues with time and space.
"I open the gate to make phone calls." -- Nate

2:15
The choice is made, and the threat from Janet Youngers to shut off her phone is challenged. Of course, her threat has failed. She answers, and the boys start the timer. Janet has five minutes, and only five minutes, to enjoy the honor of their vocal presence.
"Your five minutes is up." -- Aaron

2:22
Quick break is taken to check the new voicemails. The first is from Kyree, responding to her own message. The second, on the other hand, is Kyree thinking she can leave a second message.
"I gotta work on staying up late for college." -- Kyree

2:28
The remaining list of 12 is decreased to only 5. The next selection happens to be Abby Marshall. She doesn't answer her phone, but the boys decide to make her first insomniac experience memorable by singing to her their rendition of Kanye West's "Gold Digger."
"I'll be Kanye, you be Jamie." -- Aaron

2:37
Her time has come. She has recently become the proud owner of a cell phone, and the boys must utilize this fact. Sadly, Laura Satturland has her phone shut off, hence making the boys leave her a message. A fantastic song was sung to end this phone call, and then the boys called it a night.
"Na na na na. Na na na na. Hey hey hey. Goodbye." -- Giesenbauer Inc.

2:44
This tale of near-epic proportions ends with a mutual goodbye from the two teens. They go their separate ways for the night.
"Peace." -- Nate

The minds of these boys will meet again sooner than some may think in the World of Insomniactisctisdism, and they will once again terrorize the phones of many of their cohorts. When will this be? Only time will tell. Will you be involved? It's just a roll of the dice. Yet if your number exists in the depths of either of the boys' phone books, you can bet that someday you'll be a victim of the randomness. Farewell, goodnight, and sleep well knowing that tonight was a night to be remembered. As will the next.

Lyrics

After my last post, I decided I need a place to post lyrics whenever I feel the need. Where would that place be? Well, not here, of course. It will be at http://bauerbuilt-lyrics.blogspot.com

Yes, it's a similar URL, but more specific as to what it's for. So if you ever feel like reading what songs are running through my head at the current time, go ahead and check out that site.

Tunes

I have nothing to blog about tonight, so I'm going to post the lyrics from "I Liked You More" by Lost and Found. It doesn't apply to my life or anything right now (I know people would think that), but it's been stuck in my head all day and I love the tune of it.



I saw you out walking with a guy last night
The one you told me all you ever did was fight with
Well I don't know what's become of the girl that I knew
Between your old boyfriends and your new boyfriends
God only knows where the boys will end
I liked your friends more when you belonged to me

And now you tell me that you've really changed your mind about
What you need to live and what you can't live without
I don't care what you think as long as your thoughts are your own
But you're strutting around like you own the world
And you claim to be a woman when you act like a girl
You had a spine when you belonged to me

You say you need to know where I've been and with who
You tell me you'll tell me if I tell you
My heart don't want to hear what your heart has to say
I can break it myself, yeah, thanks anyway

You told me that you wouldn't never go to bed
With no smooth-talking guy without using your head
You said "My eyes are open ain't nobody gonna get me free"
But you been with three guys since I saw you last
And then you say you can't respect me on account of my past
I respected you more when you belonged to me

I liked you more when you belonged to me

I liked your friends more when you belonged to me



Random quote del día: "If God cannot work, neither can we." -- Sioux Center Sudan

¡Hola y bienvenido!

Today was the day I returned from the ELCA National Youth Gathering in San Antonio, Texas. The theme was Cruzando: Journey With Jesus. How was it? It was fun, informative, and hot.

We left at about 9:30 on Sunday night (the 9th), and drove to Oklahoma City. I slept for aobut 3 out of the many hours it took to get there. We we arrived, we were officially rained out of the so-called Six Flags. We went in and saw a "magic show" (was really a thing for little kids) until the rides opened up. We rode most of the rollercoasters and a few of the other rides, and then we left to check into the hotel. It was a very, very nice Holiday Inn. Huge rooms, nice restaurant and bar, and power outages.

Things I learned on the bus ride:

- Ian will kill you if he doesn't sleep.

- Found one of the nation's top places for fountain drinks.

- There is only 1 comfortable position to sleep in on the seats of a charter bus. Only God knows what it is. Good luck finding it.

Things I learned in Oklahoma City:

- Don't mess with the lady at the Swing ride. She's tough.

- Filming a documentary in a hotel without electricity is highly entertaining. Blair Witch makes a great twist in the plot.

The rest of the ride to San Antonio was fairly simple. We went through one of the greatest towns on the planet: Kyle, Texas. I think I shed a tear of joy as we passed by. Our hotel in San Antonio was 9 miles away from the downtown area where most of the Gathering activities were, and it also wasn't as nice as the Holiday Inn in Oklahoma. Yes, it was the Airport Hilton, but the rooms were small and a bottle of Fiji water cost $4.50 if you opened it. We just hung around the hotel for awhile until we decided to head for the Riverwalk. After deciding not to wait an hour at Hard Rock for a table, I went to an amazing Italian restaurant called Paesano's with a few people. Afterwards we met up with Fran, Boyum, Amanda, Dan, and Julie upstairs at Ben and Jerry's. It was great to see some TEC folks down there on the first day.

What I learned:

- Jorge is not an Italian name.

- Cheese tortellini is on my list of top 3 Italian dishes.

- There is a $500 fine for even pretending to jump into the San Antonio River.

The next day was the start of the actual Gathering. We had a good time seeing Hawk Nelson and Superchic[k], and Tony Campolo was a great speaker. We were also introduced to Bond....Steve Bond. He was the Bibly Study leader for the week. The last thing I remember from this night was doing open mic with Melissa and Jenny. What did we sing? It's a very repetitive and mostly annoying TEC song. First person to guess it wins a not-so-shiny penny.

What I learned:

- Don't tune your guitar while Tony is speaking.

- Hawk Nelson needs more energy in their shows.

- Taking a zip line over thousands of people onto a stage looks too fun to be legal.

Donald Miller, one of my favorite authors, turned out to be a great speaker. He has so much humor to add to his stories, and he seems like a very down-to-earth guy. I still dont' like the music of Krystal Meyers, but I was very impressed with The Katinas, who I'd never heard of before. They had a lot of energy, and their exit was very humble and incredible.

What I learned:

- 25,000+ voices singing "Here I Am To Worship" sounds so beautiful....

- "Dish soap makes you skinny."

- Krystal Meyers still can't sing....I'm sorry....

- Thousands of cell phones lit up together looks incredible.

I can't really remember any other specifics from each day, so I'll put general comments from here on out.

- On the first night, our group was first in line at the Alamodome to get good seats. We sat there from 4:30 until the doors opened at 6:30.

- On the last night of gathering in the Alamodome, a group from a TEC east of the Cities got in line at 1:00 (they wanted to get good seats for Newsboys). What did they do to pass the time? Made over 80 placemats for TEC 75.

- Mark Hanson, the presiding Bishop of the ELCA, can dance. They did a version of the "YMCA" that was called "ELCA" (written by none other than Lost and Found).

- Lost and Found, though an acquired taste, is still amazing. Even if you don't like their singing voices, you have to see one of their shows to hear the humor. Absolutely hilarious. Be prepared for me to pull some of their humor at the upcoming TEC.

I'm not sure what else to write other than my overall thoughts on the week. So here it goes:

I did feel God there this week, but I didn't think this experience did anything to strengthen my faith. I feel like there was too much emphasis on poverty, slavery, and immigration to do anything for me other than make me aware of and understand these situations. I did have a great time, and I would gladly do it again. I just wish there would've been less of the politics involved. At morning worship every day, it was pretty good. The Bible Study always had a good message, but they still took it to the extent of the things that politics usually cover. The only thing I liked about all that was the fact that governments aren't doing enough to stop these situations, and we as Christians can at least take steps in the right direction to help out.

That's all I've got. I'm having one heck of a time keeping myself away from Fight Night Round 2 right now, so I'm going back to that. Feel free to ask me anything more specific in a comment (I'll reply as a comment also).

Much love to you all, and God bless!

P.S. Sorry for the humidity up here while I was away. We had beautiful 100 degree weather with a nice dry breeze. Humidity? What humidity?

Random quote del día: "He's mad because he couldn't stop the knockout because he couldn't get the two little circle things into the middle thing to get up." -- Tommy

Go Joe....Go Johan....Go Twins!

As of 9:00 tomorrow night, I will officially be headed off to San Antonio. I had a difficult time deciding what my last blog would be about before I left, but seeing as the All-Star Break begins on Monday, I figured I should blog about my beloved Minnesota Twins. More specifically, I wanted to blog about what I love about them right now.

1. Johan Santana
The man is a machine. He currently has a 2.76 ERA with a record of 9-4. Santana also currently leads the Major Leagues in strikeouts (131). He was a great choice to be voted onto the AL All-Star team, and I hope he does well. I've been very happy with his pitching, and I have yet to see a game where he disappoints me beyond belief.

2. Francisco Liriano
How can you not be happy with the young-blood. Tonight alone he pitched 7 shutout innings with only 4 hits, 3 walks, and 95 pitches thrown. He also racked up 8 strikeouts. After tonight his record improved to 10-1, and his ERA dropped to 1.83, making it the lowest of Major League starters (Santana is 5th). So why didn't he get the last AL vote for the All-Star game? I have no clue. I honestly wanted to "Punch A.J.", as the campaign stated, when I heard Pierzynski was voted in. Liriano deserved it, and if he continues to pitch how he has, the Twins would be stupid not to keep him in the starting lineup.

3. Joe Nathan
After getting 15 saves in 16 opportunities so far this year, Joe Nathan has been showing just as much skill as he has in the past. I started liking Nathan during his amazing season last year. After closing out tonight's game, he has thrown 52 strikeouts in 36 innings. Nathan also has a 5-0 record this season with a very nice 1.75 ERA. My favorite thing about him? His characteristic exhale. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch him pitch.

4. Joe Mauer
Young-blood. Hometown Hero. The should-be AL starting catcher in this year's All-Star Game. But why isn't he? Because the popularity contest that is All-Star voting came up with Ivan Rodriguez. Do I agree with this? Of course not! Mauer has a batting average of .383, the best in the Major Leagues. His defense is also unparalleled. Out of 496 chances, he has made 467 putouts. He also has only 3 passed balls and 2 errors. Personally, if I were Ozzie Guillen coaching this year's AL team, I would kick Rodriguez to the curb and let Mauer show everyone what Minnesota blood can do.

5. Justin Morneau
At the beginning of the season, Morneau was in a slump like no other. At the start of June, his average was just .244, and it is now up to an astounding .301. He also has 23 home runs and 73 RBIs (the most of any AL first baseman) this season. If Morneau continues his method of swinging less and waiting for his pitch to come, I believe he will become more of a key player for the Twins than he already is.

6. Current Standings
After tonight's game, the Twins are 11 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central race for the playoffs. If they continue to play as they have been, the Twins can make up some of that ground. If we don't get closer, we can still gain on the White Sox in the Wild Card race, where we're only 8 games behind (following a White Sox loss tonight).

All I can say is: Go Twins!


That's the last of my blogs until I come home on the 17th. First person to give me an update of how Twins players do in the All-Star game gets a free penny.


Random quote del día: "You're tellin' me that suck is not a number?" -- Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs


Quick update on my mom:
She's doing great, and she's having the right attitude about everything. She really wants to get treatment started as soon as possible. Hopefully she'll be starting on Friday.

Uno dos tres cuatro cinco cinco seis

I promised Greg a "completely random and time-wasting blog" while he was gone, so here it is.

My day consisted of very little. I helped my mom wash and wax her car, for starters. Then, I kind of just sat around. Eventually, I ate supper and decided to do something afterwards. I cruised in to Blue Earth craving ice cream. I searched for the personal containers from Blue Bunny (I believe), but I left town with a pint of Snickers ice cream. In all honesty, it was amazing. The best part was probably the incredible chunk of caramel that i found as I was finishing.

Now, after I quit eating, I texted Jill to ask if eating the whole pint was a healthy idea. After she told me it wasn't, I realized my stomach will probably pay me back later. It has yet to do so.

Random quote del día: "ylab true or false" -- Me pretending I was Tommy while texting someone....I have no idea what I meant by it, but he said it would be funny....


I just figured I'd throw in some interesting quotes that I've heard lately and haven't used yet.
"He's taking a two hour ride on the giggle train. TE! HE!" -- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
"It's actually a combover from the back of my neck." -- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
"Stop looking at my bra!" -- Molly to some little kid in Albert Lea
"You know what? Love isn't blind. It's retarded!" -- Yes, Dear (I think that's what it was from....)

"Light green....you're team number four....you now have a madatory 14 minute rest time...."

Yesterday was, in a word, amazing. Mostly because that's the only word that makes this a play on words. Yesterday was the local version of the Amazing Race. It took place in Wells.

It started out with 15 minutes of going door to door (each team on a different street) to raise money for the Kubu family. The team with the most money raised got to start the race first, and each team followed in 5-minute intervals. Our pink-wearing team, appropriately named We Know Janet, started 4th.

The first challenge took everyone forever. We had to hit a coffee can with a golf ball using a slingshot-style piece of rubber (well....sort of rubber). After that the tasks were easier. Dig a plastic egg out of a sandbox, find ribbons in evergreen trees, sink an 8-foot putt, get a ringer in horseshoes, eat an all-American meal of hot dog/fries/jello (only thing was....the hot dog and fries were IN the jello [thankfully we had Tommy to eat that]), etc.

I know I'm missing all of the details, but it'd take me forever and I just don't have that kind of ambition right now. For that, I apologize.

We finished in 5th place, but we still had fun. We didn't win anything initially, but they had a drawing for the teams that weren't in the top 3. We were the first team drawn, and we got a free pizza and movie rental. We took them both and went to Mariah's house to eat and watch Wedding Crashers.

Plans to compete next year? Ready to go.


Random quote del día número uno: "Oh hey!" -- Kimmy
Random quote del día número dos: "When I was six years old, a carnie stole my bicycle." -- Mariah

Final comments: Mine and Tommy's shirts were done last-minute, and we ended up with crappy iron-on paper. They weren't what we wanted and were meant to have sayings on each that we decided we didn't want to put on because it was a hassle. We did add duct tape, so that made it slightly better.

My name: Baron

Tommy's name: Toz

Janet for Convenor

"Just Follow Janet..."

Kimmy and Mariah's shirts were done at about 5 in the morning, and they went pretty much all out. Kimmy's big J in the front and S on the back were falling off the whole time. We thought the S was going to be stuck to Mariah's couch later on.

Kimmy's name: Sexy Kyle

Mariah's name: Ghetto Fab

got janet?

It should be illegal to be this cool

And my final final comment....WE LOVE YOU JANET!

Everybody's workin' for the weekend

Today was a day of work to raise money for the trip to the ELCA Youth Gathering in San Antonio. We had a food stand during the 4th of July festivities in Bricelyn. At this food stand, I did the one job I didn't want to do (oddly enough). Grilling. Any other time I would gladly do it, but there's so much grilling happening that the person doing it has majorly red eyes from the smoke and heat. I actually didn't have this problem. It turned out to be a really good time manning the grill, and I'll probably do the same job next year.

When it started to get dark, we began selling glow sticks to the crowd. Crazy expensive things.... The best quote during this was when we sold a guy 3 sticks, and he told us the colors didn't matter. We gave him a green and 2 yellow. One little boy of his said, "I want the green," and took it. Now the other kid doesn't have much choice, but he says, "I want green!" His diad, "You've got yellow." The tone of the guy's voice was priceless....

That's really all I've got. I had other things to go in here, but I'm going to move on to writing a random narrative about the fireworks from tonight (which were amazing). I'll post it on here in the near future.

Random quote del día: "I heard you farted while you were singing in the talent show...." -- Me

This blog will self-destruct in 30 seconds

A long, long time ago in a southern Minnesota mall, I was told about a fun little game. More like a challenge.

The Tradehome Challenge

Tradehome Shoes is the home of the most sell-happy employees of any store ever established. If one were to take a step into the store, they would be hunted down like a gazelle by the cheetah-like salesman. No, they aren't fast or have quick reflexes. But they're hungry for that sale.

So, what is The Tradehome Challenge? It's a test of bravery, slyness, and for those who are watched the challenger, ability to keep a straight face and not blow it for them. With this challenge, one must attempt to enter the store, walk to and touch the rear wall, and return back to the onlookers. Sounds easy, right? Well, here's the challenging part: The challenger must do this without having a word spoken to them by any employee. If that were to happen, the challenge is failed.

Number of times I've attempted The Tradehome Challenge -- 1
Number of times I've completed The Challenge -- 0

Number of times I've seen The Challenge attempted by others -- 37
Number of times I've seen The Challenge completed by others -- 3



I am very proud of Mariah Tappe. Why? Because during the shopping spree described in my last blog, we walked past Tradehome Shoes and I thought about The Challenge. I asked who would do it, and nobody spoke up. I looked in to the store again and realized it was prime time to attempt it. Blue was fitting shoes on someone, Green (if I remember colors correctly) was ringing someone up at the cash register, and Maroon was standing nonchalantly by the register.

When I mentioned to everyone that it would be the perfect time to try it, Mariah took the initiative. She started The Challenge fairly slowly, as not to attract much attention. When she got to the rear wall and touched it, Maroon started to move in on her. Kimmy and I thought she was done for. Mariah moved a little more quickly to get out of the store, and she was successful. I commended her by giving her a quarter.


Random quote del día: "How's it goin'?" -- What was said to Tommy by "Blue" as he returned from the rear wall. Challenge failed....

Vote Janet!....And Vote Joe!

I went on a great shopping spree today with Tommy, Kimmy, and Mariah. We've got our pink shirts for the Amazing Race on Sunday in Wells, and we just have to prep them with our team name and sweet slogans.

Of course, Mariah had to leave early because of her dumb sister (first Mac ruins Matt's prom, then she ruins our fun). But we still made fun without her. How?

While Kimmy was in Hollister, Tommy and I sat in the chairs in the entrance. Tommy was saying "Hi" to everyone who walked in or out, and one girl gave a really energetic "HEY!" in reply. So later on, we're in Spencer Gifts and that same girl walks by. Tommy nodded to her, and he said she winked back. What do we do? Decide to follow her and her friend through Target. Eventually we tell Tommy he has to go get her number. We had horrible things planned to do to him if he didn't come back with it. [[Random quote from this moment: Kimmy - "Do you need a pen?" Tommy - "No....I have my phone...."]] We finally got off of the patio furniture to go find him, and he shows us this name in his phone. Lauren (except he spelled it really oddly). Well, I found out later tonight that Tommy is a little liar. He called our friend Shayla and told her to say her name was Lauren when Kimmy called with Tommy's phone.
Moral of the story? Tommy's in trouble tomorrow....

I can't even explain how random the day really was. I ended up walking around Kohl's and through JC Penney with a shirt I got at Old Navy for $2 that said "Greatest Dad 2006." That was quite entertaining.


Random quote del día: "My dad became a computer Nazi and won't let anyone use the new one." -- Brandon on MSN when he was explaining why he wasn't using the upstairs computer.

Please don't mind what I'm trying to say, 'cause I'm, I'm being honest....

Once again the title has nothing to do with the post. I'm just obsessed with the song "Honestly" by Cartel lately, and I wanted to throw a line up there. I also became obsessed with their song "The Minstrel's Prayer" while I typed this blog.


I was up and at 'em yet again this morning to go to my dentist appointment in Faribault. Scheduled for 9:50, my mom and I arrived at about 9:40. My mom finally went in at a few minutes after 10:00, and I had to wait until she was done because we were scheduled to see the same lady for our cleanings. I ended up going in at about 11:15 after reading one and a half issues of Sports Illustrated (cover to cover, every word). The worst part about getting your teeth cleaned is the half hour of no rinsing/eating/drinking after having the flouride treatment. But along with that wait, at least for me, comes a good meal. Today's came straight from Famous Dave's. Great food....

Speaking of great food, I hate canned peas. They are probably one of the few vegetables I can truly say I hate. On the other hand, I love fresh peas. Straight from the pod to the mouth. They're utterly irresistable. I eat them by the handful as snacks. Like candy....

Random quote del día número uno: "Just eating candy." -- My neighbor WB while he was eating fresh peas on my patio
Random quote el día número dos: "Apparently I went to Taco Bell...." -- Chris Porter of Last Comic Standing

Grrness....

Just a little bit ago, I heard a knock at the door. I figured it was just someone dropping off a check to pay for gas (my mom's boyfriend works for his dad, who owns the local gas company). Lo and behold, I was wrong. It happened to be a Jehovah's Witness. Of course, she gives me the jazz about it all and hands me a sheet of paper, which I later throw away because I already have a religion. But all this leads up to what I was thinking about while I waited for my mom do get done with her doctor's appointment today in Mankato. What would that be?

Pet peeves....

I don't have a whole lot of pet peeves, but the ones I do have are usually very irritating to me when they come about.

1. When teachers make you take off the fringes from your papers. If it's something like a rough draft for an essay, then I don't have a huge problem with it. But I don't see why it's a big deal when it's on your math homework or something like that.
2. World Cup referees. They have extremely easy jobs, but they can never seem to do it quite right. Who honestly gives a red card for a late tackle? NOBODY!
3. Bi-polar emotions from people without bi-polar disorder. Yes, someone can feel incredibly happy one day and miserable the next, but I find it impossible to make that kind of change within a matter of minutes. Who does this usually occur with? Girls, of course.
4. Having wet hands after using paper towels to dry them off. How do I fix this? I use the most paper towels out of anyone I know when I'm in public restrooms. In addition to this, I also hate it when public restrooms have no paper towels. I can't get my hands dry enough with a blow dryer alone. It just doesn't work that way.
5. This is probably my favorite one. When my shoes are untied and the laces get wet and dirty from the ground. I can't even begin to explain how irritating this is to me. Because then I feel compelled to tie them which makes my hands gross, which in turn makes my clothes gross because that's the only place to wipe my hands. Tying the shoes also makes the shoes themselves gross sometimes.

Random quote del día: What I thought about saying to the Jehovah's Witness after she asked what my brother's cat's name was -- "He doesn't have one. He's mentally challenged."

Movies....I like movies....

Before I talk about my latest movie experience, let me give you a little deal on it from a show on Comedy Central called The Colbert Report:

"The latest live-action Disney film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is intended to be a metaphor of the Crucifixion, with Jesus being played by a lion named Aslan. Now, if this film is intended to be about Jesus, I don't agree on the current title. Can we get that up on the screen?

The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Thank you. So first of all, 'the lion' is actually portraying Jesus, so let's fix that.

The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Jesus, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Great start. Now what else can we do? Well, I don't think Satan quite qualifies as a 'witch'. But close. Drop that.

The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Jesus and the Wardrobe

And I'm sure there weren't 'wardrobes' back in the day of JC.

The Chronicles of Narnia:

The Jesus

What's with all this 'Narnia' jazz?

The Jesus

Good, good. Another word for Jesus is Christ, right?

The Christ

Hmm. Not quite. Christ had some sort of mission in life. Can we fit that in there?

The Passion of the Christ

Perfect! There you have it, folks! The greatest film about Jesus in the history of mankind!"

And now onto what I thought of the movie.

When I first saw the previews, I remembered I had the book. I also remembered the fact that I never really enjoyed the book. I read it again anyway, and I actually liked it. So tonight, I figured I'd finally watch the movie. I wasn't expecting much out of it since I didn't like the book originally. Yet again, I'm wrong about what I'll think of a movie. I loved it. Not even sure what to say was the best part. As for effects, I found the flaming arrow turning into a bird was pretty sweet. All-around amazing movie. I loved the metaphor for the Crucifixion, and I even found myself anticipating the next event (especially the Ressurection).

I've decided to end my "number of the day" and switch to "random quote" and use Spanglish.

Random quote del día: "Question? Question?....No question?....Question?....No?....Ok...." -- from Corky Romano

....

I think I'm going to post this blog as a list of things that happened and/or I learned Tuesday, yesterday and within the last 2 hours. So here it goes:

• I got hit in the face by a frisbee (thanks, Kyree)
  
• I swatted the frisbee out of the air and broke a blood vessel on the palm side of my right middle finger (now I feel like Tim since I keep getting injured playing frisbee)
  
• Stealing Amanda's car was amazingly great. Too bad the brakes were horrible enough for me to not drive all crazy-like
  
• "Kyle" is still on vacation....so please stop using his name until he returns....
  
• My mom is getting pains from the drain tubes, but that means they're about to come out soon. She got one of the two out yesterday. She also has to go to the doctor 3 different times next week for appointments.
  
• Greg never answers his blog! I keep getting that stupid answering blog whenever I click on the link for his
  
• I won a penny because someone fell asleep last night after they vowed not to
  
• Had an awesome sub from Jimmy John's in Mankato
  
• In a recent poll, 28% of the people surveyed believe the Bible is true, down from 38% last year. Consequently, 19% of those people believe the Bible is an "ancient book of fables," up from 13%. I find this pretty heartbreaking....
  
• If a birdie (for badminton) is left out through all types of weather for about a year, the feathers will fall off quickly when you use it in a game.
  
• Blue Earth is boring when nobody's around to hang out with
  
• I almost hit Meehan in the Dairy Queen parking lot

That's about all I've got....

El número del día: I don't have a number today, but I do have a funny quote from Amanda -- "I have an underwear problem."

Real quick....

I wanted to make this one short, sweet, and to the point.

1) I got sunburn on my left knee while mowing today. Other than that I didn't get burned.

2) Happy birthday to my favorite Bob in the world....Jodi!

Good story

A friend of mine from Iowa told me an interesting story tonight. It came from a visitor of a church. This visitor was very good friends with the preacher, and he told this story:

"A father, his son, and the son's friend were all out fishing one day. All of a sudden, a horrible storm came in and turned the boat. The father swam through the waves back to the boat, flipped it over, and began to search for the two boys. They were very close together, but the harsh waves seperated them. The son was yelling out, "Help, Daddy. Help!" The son's friends was screaming, "Please hurry! Help!" The man found some rope, but knew he could only rescue one of the children. He finally pulled the child back into the boat. He said to the child, "I love you, son," as he held the son's friend in his arms. The man knew his son had been saved because he believed in God, so he rescued the son's friend who didn't. The father was me. The boy was your preacher."

I just thought this was an interesting story, and it's just very strange to understand how someone could give up their own child to save another. I know it must've helped knowing that his son knew God, but I still can't even comprehend how hard of a decision that would be.


But on that note:
Happy Father's Day, everyone!

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My mom came home from the hospital at about 3:00 today. She's very glad to be back, and she had a lot of visitors and "Get Well" stuff while she was there.


So now, I'll say a few words about the camping trip at Whitewater State Park. I always love being there. God's amazingly beautiful creations just come to life there, and it's impossible to not know that He exists.

The first night, Kyle (who I was rooming with in the tent) had his little brother's airsoft gun and glow-in-the-dark pellets. He decided to randomly shoot at shadows in the dark. The first shot hit a tree, but the second hit someone. [Gun firing] "OUCH!" Broden came to the tent and asked what hit him. I said, "Um....Kyle just threw a rock." Broden has yet to figure out what really happened.

On the second day, Kyree and I decided to hike together. We took the 3 1/2 hour Dakota Trail, but were totally ripped off by the stupid maps. The trail was supposed to go probably another half-mile after Eagle Point, but there was no trail to follow. We backtracked quite a ways, and we ended up taking the random Valley Trail past the group camps (a place like Good Earth Village). That took us to Meadow, and we ended up making our way back to camp in the same 3 1/2 hours it should've taken us.

At one point, most of the group was on top of Inspiration Point (absolutely gorgeous view). Somebody decided to break the law and play with sparklers up there (way to go, Joy). As people were playing with them, a small patch of grass started on fire. Danny freaked out, "PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT! THE WHOLE PLACE IS GOING TO START ON FIRE!" He almost pushed Kyle off the edge in order to get to the fire and stomp it out.

Also at Inspiration Point (the next night), Sarah and Rachel decided to be dumb and climb down the entire cliff instead of taking the stairs/path or the dirt/root climbing path we found. They made it to a grassy ledge before they got stuck. Danny was thoroughly mad, and he took the stairs down to help them. A rock ended up hitting him in the head, and he went to bed mad because they almost killed themselves. Quality entertainment.

On Wednesday, we met an 8 year old boy named Gavin. When people from our group first met him, they thought he was a cool kid and invited him to hang out with us sometime. Turns out he was the spawn of Satan. Go near him, he would freak out. He gave people physical therapy, such as slapping them in the face, shoving fingers in their ears and noses, etc. He even had magic tricks. They were "Now you see it....[throw object]....Now you don't" tricks, and they all ended in him finding the objects in someone's butt.

Just a few quotes from the week:
"Oh jeez!" -- Brett
"I'm private property, darn you!" -- Gavin (the demon child)
"Get back to nature. Hike naked!" -- Map posted on a trail
"Please step out of the vehicle...." -- Me while I was "arresting" someone
"This is the only face she's got." "Well obviously...." -- Me and Ashley
"We don't ask questions. We just go with it." -- Joy
"Duck!" -- Me
"Wet floor, hot floor, hot man!" -- Gavin (pointed to Danny)
"My low point is when everyone hated me. My high point is now, when everyone doesn't hate me" -- Garrett
"Hey Kyle, did you find your pants yet?" -- Joy
"I drooled all over my face. I haven't done that in years." -- Kyle after Joy put water on his face while he was sleeping

"I swear that spider jumped on me!" -- Kyree

"I love random patches of stuff. It makes pictures look better." -- Me

Kyle, Gavin, and Danny

Sam on top of Inspiration Point

Random patch of plants

Kyree in deep concentration

Steve scratching his nose

I'll randomly post more pictures whenever I feel like doing it. I just don't have the ambition to put more on here right now.