Onward and (hopefully) Upward

Andy and I had a grand time last night. My parents are having their stairs redone, so we decided to facilitate the construction crew by putting in a little destruction. We removed the drywall which was encasing the stair case. It was a good time.

I have a sort of interview today with a group in Muskegon. The job is listed as an "IT Systems Administrator" and it seems pretty decent. We'll see how it goes. I've come to realize that this blog, whether or not anyone reads it, is basically my journal of major and (more frequently) minor events.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. A good time to relax, and hang out with one of my good friends from the Rostock Mission Trip, Jamie. Other than that, no big plans. Till next time!

Coke and Mentos... yeah, we played with it.

My friends Jason and Amy were up from Texas this week. They're missionaries with Casas por Cristo, building houses for the homeless. Every year we go down and build with them; it's always a great experience. So when Jason and Amy came up to Big Rapids, I naturally drove from Grand Haven to visit. A bunch of the His House crew all grilled out, and Jason even demonstrated his Sand Storm equipment (lightsaber not included). After dinner we got around to playing with Mentos and Coke. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just drop four Mentos into a 2 liter of Diet Coke, all at once. It's a good time. Then Luke, in classic Luke fashion, went bigger and better. Kids: don't play with dry ice in enclosed containers. College students and above: play with dry ice in enclosed containers. Basically, just adding water creates pressure inside the 2 liter until it explodes, sounding much like a shotgun. And a shrapnal bomb. So stand back (more back than I think...). Oh yeah, in other news, I've been working for Grand Haven Area Public Schools again, in the Tech Department. It's part time, 7am-noon, which gives me the afternoon to hunt for jobs. It's a great gig, and we'll see what happens with that :) I've applied just about everywhere on the planet which is even remotely cool. Now it's time to start looking for the realistic job ;)

White and Yellow Water

This past weekend was pretty incredible. Some of the friends from His House up at Ferris invited me to go white what rafting in West Virginia on the New River. So we all drove down on Friday, camped at Songer and rode on Saturday. It was pretty intense. Our guide, Doug, was awesome and knew all the local lore. Pretty intense of 3s, 4s, and 5s. And we're pumped to ride the Gaully in the fall. After our float trip, we hiked up a trail in the canyon and found some sweet cliff faces overlooking the river. Three nameless people decided it was an appropriate time to water the local flora, and did so. Back at camp, we crashed after unsuccesfully trying to start a fire with wet wood. This morning, we got up, packed, and hit the road. With a short stop at Cabella's, we finished our 10 hour trip in Big Rapids. Kevin and I rode it out to Muskegon, then I finished it to Grand Haven, where I am now. After a shower tonight, I'll sleep, then get up in the morning and hammer out the details of a part time job with my boss. More on that later...

To settle the record...

During my travels, I got into a debate with a few other travelers. This is not meant to boast... yet. I spent time on beaches in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Greece. Here comes the boasting part. No beach I've been to even compares to the beach at Grand Haven, Michigan. Not just because it is my hometown, but for many reasons. Freshwater, endless sandy beaches, low crowds (mostly), and water as far as you can see. True, the downside is that it IS seasonal, and the waves frequently leave something to be desired. However, this week, I have been boogie boarding in 80 degree water, swimming with friends and family until the sun has set, and laid out on sandy shores gathering as many sun rays as possible. I didn't have to worry about cutting myself on the reef, jellyfish stings, or other predators. All in all, I have yet to find a beach that I enjoy as much as Grand Haven in the summer. I just wanted to set the record straight.

So the family reunion is wrapping up, and tonight I'm heading to Big Rapids, meeting some friends, and traveling to West Virginia to go white water rafting for the weekend. It will be a good time, with good friends, and good camping.

On a technical side, I'm thinking about disabling anonymous posting on here, since I've been getting two or three spam postings each day. So if you want to post, you may have to create a free account. It's a small hassle, but it will save on random people posting spam links on the comments.

It's like traveling, but without the moving around part.

Crazy! I had planned on taking a week to relax, but it has flown by! Here's the rundown. I got back on Sunday night of last week. My wonderful mother picked me up at the airport and took me home, and we had a wonderful round of story swapping. Monday saw a nice day of relaxing (I think that's when Dave, Andy, Mark and I went golfing. Hole 18 is pictured above). Tuesday I drove up to TC to see Annie. We spent the afternoon together and it was nice :) On Wednesday, I drove down to Big Rapids to hang out with the old crew. Good times were had by all, especially in the pool! Late that night I drove home. Thursday Annie came and visited, and the Coast Guard Festival was underway. On Friday, we went to the beach and did a little (very little) kiteboarding and windsurfing. Saturday saw the the Coast Guard Festival Parade, family and friends reunion beach afternoon, and fireworks at night, followed by a great show put on by Soul'd Out. Sunday was church, then spending time with my aunt, uncle, cousins, mom, and Annie. Annie just left this morning at about 6am to make it back to work on time :) I got lunch with Matt, Eric, and Daryl (forming the Fantastic Four). I just got back from that, and have officially started the job hunt! So if anyone out there knows of any computer networking jobs in the Grand Rapids area, drop me a line! I'll keep updating this blog semi-occasionally, as stuff happens. If my life slows down, so will the blog. We'll see what happens :)

Coming soon to a blog near you...

I'm not dead. I made it home safely. However, catching up with family and friends, Coast Guard Festival, and a family reunion have more or less consumed all of my time. As such, I've allowed posting to this blog to fall by the wayside. The next few days should be more productive on the blogspot.