Project 335

rockin' the class

Started building my web page for the TEC355 (web animation) class. So far it's WAY better than the 225 site. In 225, we were building the site according to instructions, and we had to show off the ability to do certain things (whether we wanted to or not). This semester, I made the page look how I wanted off the bat. Our first project was drop down CSS menus. I'm pretty proud of mine. So check them out and compare. Let me know what you think...

TEC 255 - last semester
TEC 355 - this semester

Social

life hasn't flatlined

Traveled down to Berea last night after class with Chris G. One of our friends from my Graphics Comm/Web classes (Logan) is in a band, Delorean Grey (myspace), and invited a couple of us to see his band play.

They were awesome. But I can definitely tell that I'm getting older. The music was way too loud. They did a great job, though. The lead singer's voice reminded me of the lead singer of Incubus. The concert was fun, and on the spur of the moment. Some of the best kind of moments to have.

Guitar Hero

mark your calendar

LiveWire is hosting a Guitar Hero tournament all during February. You come in sometime each week during the first three weeks, play, and get ranked to see if you play in the final week. I think I'm going to sign up, I mean, I'm in there enough. I've only played the actual game once, but I've played a guitar game at an arcade in Ohio several times.

Here's where you guys can help. We're supposed to come up with a rocker name for the tournament. I need a name. The winner will have the honor of me choosing that name as my own. :)

Madly

...in love with a girl...

There's a series of messages currently going on at St. Awesome's. It's called God Trusts Us... And this past weekend it was God Trusts Us... with our sexuality. In the middle of the teaching element, No Nick Name Fred asked Patch to jump up and relate to us some of his experiences. First off, I think it takes incredible courage to talk about sex to a large group of people.

But this isn't really about that... what struck me most is when Patch was talking about his girlfriend. What stood out most about his stint speaking was the following words:

"I am madly in love with this girl."

What an awesome statement. To spit it out... without hesitation... to an entire group of people (whom you may or may not know). It really inspired me.

I know I have talked about my girlfriend Erin a little bit before to some of you... but I think it bears repeating here and now.

I am deeply and madly in love with that girl. The best part is that I see her as "the one". With a capital T and a capital O. The days I'm without her are tough, and the days I'm with her are wonderful and amazing. For the people who have not found this yet (if they are searching)... it's wonderful. Don't give up. For the people who have found it...

...isn't it awesome?

LiveWire: Invaded

... the wee ones are taking over...

Today Dustin and I are sitting in LiveWire and enjoying a nice relaxing lunch. We noticed that it was a little bit busier than it normally is when we're there. We then continue with our normal conversation, until a few minutes later, the coffee house is stormed by what seemed like a million kids (in total it was about 50). Apparently some teachers at an elementary school in Richmond had the bright idea to bring all 50 of them to a small coffee shop that has seating for about half that number of people. The noise was overwhelming. Kids were everywhere. My main concern was for the employees... I hope the teachers had called way in advance to at least warn them that the classes were coming in. Needless to say, Dustin and I cut our lunch short... I hurried through my hot vanilla chai, and we scrammed. No quiet reading or working on homework at LiveWire for me today.

As we left, another thought crossed my mind... what do kids drink when they go to a coffee house? Please GOD don't give them coffee.

check it out

seriously... check it out

Since I've gotten literally 1's of 10's of requests to put Erin's blog on my favorites list... it's over there. I generally make sure people are cool with it before I put one in my side bar. Much like many of you others, though (I'm looking at you, Steph) she doesn't update really regularly. Check it out anyway.

How to be Lovely


Update:
... also... everybody go check out patrick's blog...

(you okay, buddy? wanna soda?)

the return of wee mee

you know you missed him

This little guy here (and in my sidebar) was created at wee world. When ever I update his look on weeworld.com, his appearance will automatically update on my blog. Here he is sporting a winter coat, hat, and scarf.

Two Oh Five

...i remember when...

I paid $2.05 for gas yesterday. When I left town on Thursday, it was $2.25. I should go to Tennessee more often.

how to: be awesome

that's how i roll...

These are graphics I made. I'm going to rework my design portfolio site... I liked it, it was awesome, but it wasn't quite me. I'll unveil my work once it's finished. But don't hold your breath.

Holiday Hooplah - part 2

.. he began to dance around...

The Family
I actually spent a good deal of time in Ohio this holiday season. First bit was quiet and visiting with my mom. Then the full season kicked in. On Christmas Eve, Mom and I exchanged gifts before heading over to my family get-together. There were probably over 30 people there. It was a lot of fun, except for the stress of the Bengals losing to the Broncos.

On Christmas Day, Erin came over for lunch and met a manageable portion of my family, a few uncles and an aunt. I gave Erin her gifts, and then we went to her house for dinner, and that's when she gave me her gifts. We played some cards (a really fun game called Shanghai) and then hit we all hit the sack.

The next day Erin, her family, and I went to her Grandma's house for her big family get together. She has a really fun family, reminds me of my own, actually.

New Year's Eve was fun with Erin's friend Alexis and her fiance' David. We played a couple games, burned some pieces of paper that had all the bad stuff from 2006, ate 12 grapes and sang Auld Lang Syne at midnight. This was the first time in a couple of years that I've gotten to see "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve", and I couldn't help but mourn a little bit. The end of an era is close at hand.

After Midnight we watched really bad horror movies... so bad you can't help but laugh at how bad they are. We watched until we fell asleep.

In between all these things was more games, food, laughter, and good times than you can shake a stick at... and believe me, I can shake a stick at a whole lot of fun.

Happy New Year! Have a wonderful and blessed 2007!

Holiday Hooplah - part 1

all the whos down in who-ville...

Recapping the holidays...

The Loot
- The first gift of the season was given by Stephanie and Chris (although it was WAY earlier than Christmas). They got me a nice watch from Fossil!

- Dustin & Katie got me the Friends Edition of Scene It (a very fun trivia game!)

- My mother got me more than I expected - Canon Digital Camera; Memory Card for Camera; a handmade Christmas Pillow; and Dark Hot Chocolate

- My wonderful girlfriend, Erin, got me some Superman PJs, a couple of really nice shirts, a book called For One More Day, and our first date movie on DVD (The Lake House)

- Erin's family got me "Pirates of the Caribbean Game of Life", an Ohio State hoodie, Harry Potter (Prisoner of Azkaban), Devil Duckies, Skip-Bo, A Fleece Blanket, Tuesday's with Morrie, and X-men 3.

Stay tuned for the real meaning of Christmas...

the return

home again

Well, I'm back home from the crazy holiday season. Updates will abound in the next couple of days to fill you in on all the exciting news...

Merry Christmas

... so bring us some figgy pudding...

MERRY CHRISTMAS
and
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season this year. May your days be blessed with abundant love, peace, and happiness.

... and in the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, every one."

weekend

the party edition

Thursday
The best girlfriend in the world came to visit me (no, not yours... mine). I took her out on an awesome date that night since our six month anniversary was on the 9th. We went to Johnny Carino's for dinner. It was yummy. We then went to see Happy Feet. It was REALLY good. Erin and I laughed so much it hurt. Not only was it a very sweet movie, and it had some political and environmental messages as well. After that we went to the Paddy Wagon for a couple of drinks before heading back to watch some Ghost Whisperer before bed.

Friday
Erin and I slept in, then went to LiveWire and met Dustin for lunch. I left Erin and Dustin to gab a bit since I had to go to my Web Publishing class for my final, which consisted of showing off our web pages and getting back various papers and our grade for the class (I got a 94... yeah, I'm awesome). For dinner, Erin and I ate at B.D.'s Mongolian Grill... AWESOME. I highly recommend it! After dinner we went to St. Awesome's Christmas Party. We sat at a table with a bunch of the guys I volunteer with and Erin and I danced to the music the 3 piece jazz combo was playing. After the party wound down, we headed home and watch MORE Ghost Whisperer.

Saturday
I made brunch for Erin, Dustin, and Katie. Probably the biggest meal I've ever attempted. I'm generally a one dish meal kind of guy... mostly because it's tough to make a full meal for just one person. We had scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, and biscuits. Erin helped me do some more Christmas shopping before the big party at Dustin and Katie's. We had a blast! We played a couple rousing games of Scene It and had a wine-gift exchange. We tried one wine, and it tasted like Dimetap cough syrup.

Sunday
Erin left. I was sad. I wrote out Christmas Cards and went to bed.

Monday
Finished up Christmas shopping! ... and six days before I needed to be! Now I'm watching the Cincinnati Bengals play the Indianapolis Colts. Major game.

exciting

like i have ants in my pants...

Erin comes in tomorrow!

YAY!

weekend

apparently that's the only time stuff happens to me...

Friday
I had a nice relaxing day. I woke up when my body decide it was time to get up. I cleaned up a little but in anticipation for Katie's family coming in for a visit for the weekend. That afternoon, I went to the mall, got a much needed haircut (as in a couple months, dirty-hippie-looking, needed). After that, I wandered around the mall and did some Christmas shopping. I decided to treat myself to a movie and went to see The Holiday with Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, and Jude Law. It was really good. Caught myself tearing up a little bit several times. Afterwards, I bought a few groceries in anticipation for Erin's visit this coming weekend and headed home.

Saturday
I slept in again, and then headed to St. Awesome's to volunteer as lighting director. The band and vocal team were doing some really cool versions of carols, and they seemed to be having some difficulty getting it all together. But as always, the finished product was amazing. Went home after church and crashed.

Sunday
As with most Sundays I volunteer, the morning came way too early. After church, I came home and watched the Bengals beat the Raiders. It was a really fun game to watch. :) That means the Bengals are still in the Playoff Race... they're seeded #5 right now (which means if the season ended last weekend, Cincy would be in the playoffs). Crashed hard again after the game. Woke up in time for Dustin to ask me how I like my steak cooked. Medium-well. I made some garlic cheese mashed potatoes and Dustin, Katie, and I had a nice dinner. After dinner, I exiled myself to my room to study for my finals on Monday. (which went very well! thanks for asking!)

redesign launch

new. simple.

Been working on this for a couple weeks. It was one of the projects i teased you about a while back... this is obviously the one I wasn't getting paid for. I'm still working out a couple of kinks, but so far I like it. Tell me what you think.

random

fun facts to get you through the day

- December 9th marks mine and Erin's 6 month anniversary. :)We're going to celebrate when she comes into town at the end of the week. :)

- Took my final final.

- Scored perfect on my lab notebook for Graphics Communications.

- I like blackberry cobbler from Aesop's in Buckhannon.

Christmas Wishes

Brought to you by my wonderful girlfriend.

STEP ONE
Make a post to your live journal or blog. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related to medium to really big. The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

If you wish for real life things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you. Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your live journal or blog.

STEP TWO
Surf around your friends journals and blogs to see who has posted their list. If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You don't have to spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just... wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

... in no particular order... except the first one...
1. A closer relationship with God.

2. To not be a burden on people, whether it be family, friends, or society.

3. A worry and stress-free holiday season. (for me, "holiday" means Christmas and New Year)

4. More time with my girlfriend.

5. For everyone I love to be in the same room at the same time.

6. To be able to give Erin the present she really wants for Christmas (and that I really want to give her).

7. To be with Stephanie and Chris. I miss them so much, and I'm not sure when I'll get to see them again.

8. Wisdom. For everyone. An end to ignorance. An end to warring nations.

9. For all of my loved ones to have a safe travels and happy holidays.

10. To know that my dad is proud of me.

Journey love

I have some of the coolest friends...

This is just a small example of why I have some of the best friends in the world.