DOOO that thing I like

After a great weekend at home and recently completing a Mesoscale test and Radar problem set, I've thought about some of the things I like:

Spending time with my family. They're the best one I have. I try and take advantage of every moment I have there, whether it's a weekend or a week or however long. My parents and my brother are the most important people in my life and I'd do anything for them. Anything. What a blessing from the Lord they are.

Being a Mavs fan. Up until a few years ago, I wasn't really into the NBA that much. Then, I discovered the Mavs somehow. I honestly don't remember how I became a Mavs fan. Regardless of how it happened, all that matters is that it has happened. It's been hard to watch them go into the postseason and even to the conference finals only to run out of steam. Is this year the year? I guess we'll see.

The commited TV shows. Commited TV shows? Shows that I keep up with. The Office, for instance. It's written incredibly well and each of the actors/actresses are unique in how they play their role and it just adds to the diversity and humor of the show. And lets face it, Steve Carell is downright hilarious. You can also add The Sopranos to that. I've already watched the first five seasons after being introduced to it back in October. I'm so hooked. March 12 marks the beginning of season 6 and I can't wait. Other shows? Around the Horn, Viva La Bam, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Mythbusters, to name a few...

Working out. I've done it on and off since my freshman year here at OU, but I've never really commited to a plan or disciplined myself to keep at it on a regular basis until this semester. With hours to fill this semester, Individual Fitness was something I knew I wanted to take. This class is keeping me in line and accountable to work out on a regular basis. 3 days a week I'm at the Huffman for usually around 2 hours doing all sorts of things and I definitely notice a difference. I'm more in shape, I'm trimming down a little bit, and I'm loving it!

Being a weather man. Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you? I suppose it's expected. It's fun now with OU Nightly, but I know I haven't seen anything yet. When I get the opportunity to be somewhere new and meet new people and design my own graphics and presentation, it's going to be a blast. Last summer when I interned with KXII in Sherman I had a fantastic time. I learned a ton, got lots of good practice, and even made a couple of tapes. It was that summer that I heard from God this is definitely what He wants me to do. I knew it before (ever since I was a wee lad, actually) but the internship helped to reinforce and clarify.

Music. Rock. Techno. Hip-hop. Classical. Alternative. I'm pretty much a fan of everything, sans Country. I can't stand it ... well, most of it. There's a couple of songs here and there I don't mind, but for the most part I stay away. I'm listening to Metallica right now. It's hard and I love it. It's band I adored way back in high school and I've just started listening to them again and realized that I really like their music. Linkin Park is another band that's been around awhile and I've just picked up on. For being a band that is most decidedly non-Christian, they don't swear at all in any of their songs. No cursing of any part that I've heard in the two albums I have. I really respect that. TobyMac and GRITS are other examples. They single-handedly convinced me that hip-hop is pretty slammin'. Beats that are too catchy to ignore and lyrics that are aggressive and present a message few hip-hop artists ever have. It's good stuff.

Spending time in the Word. I hate to say that I love to do this when I "get the chance," but that seems to be the way it's been lately and I hate that. Every time I spend solid time with God in the Word, I'm refreshed and encouraged and at times, overjoyed. Sometimes it's very convicting. Sometimes it's just what I need to hear. It's so rich and so deep, there's no limit to what you can find and to what God can show you through it. It's living and breathing, after all. Making it a habit without making it a chore is a balance I've had trouble finding this semester. Maybe it's the stress of knowing that school is almost over. I'm not quite sure, but I know that of any semester, this one is the one I need to be seeking God in His Word the most. After this semester, my entire life is ahead of me and I'm not sure what is there. Who better to entrust that to than to God? That's right ... no one.

Just a few things I'd thought I'd list. It's not all of them, but I could go on for a looooong time about each and every thing, but not at this point. Maybe some other time. :)

"Stay classy, San Diego."

Oklahoma Ice

It all started Thursday. The cold front that brought the madness. That morning, it felt like spring outside. 50 - 60 degrees upon waking up and heading to class and everyone was loving it. Then, about 4 - 5 hours prior to everyone's expectation, an arctic front that had been lingering in northwest Oklahoma pushed through the area. We saw about a 22-degree drop within 30 minutes. The wind shifted from out of the south to out of the north. When we got out of class, it was funny to see everyone who had walked to class in a t-shirt or a very light jacket holding themselves as they braved the newly-arrived north winds, myself included. Thankfully, I was on my bike and heading south with the wind at my back.

Thursday night was brutal. After Vespers, I hesitated going back out to my car because when I opened the door of the BSU to see how cold it was, it was like walking into a brick wall of cold air. I made it to my car, went and picked up dinner, got back to my apartment and checked the forecast. I found out that this cold air was going to stick around for the weekend. And stick around it did. Friday, highs didn't get out of the 30s and the wind was relentless. I rode my bike to the huff and worked out for a while and went to the BSU to meet Chris and then ran some errands around town. The word from the NWS said that the snow/sleet was expected to start that night with the heaviest precipitation occuring Saturday night into Sunday. As it turns out, it was the exact opposite.

About an hour after I returned to my apartment Friday night, the sleet came. It came down a lot harder than I thought it would. After a couple of hours, I could see that layers of ice were beginning to stick to the sidewalk and to the cars so I went downstairs and brought my half-frozen bike upstairs into the apartment so it wouldn't be ruined. I'd talked to dad that night, and apparently the precip was restricted to north-central Oklahoma. Anywhere south of Ardmore wasn't seeing anything. As I went to bed Friday night, things were calming down, but the ice was here to stay. Saturday morning, I woke up to snow. The wind had since calmed down but temperatures weren't forecasted to reach above 21F. It snowed for the majority of the morning and afternoon before tapering off. I received an email that morning informing me that our Mesoscale review session and exam had both been postponed because of the nasty weather. The review session was pushed back from Saturday night to Monday night and the exam from Tuesday class time to Thursday class time. I didn't know how bad the roads were until I heard reports of I-35 from Norman to OKC being littered with accidents, ditched (as in, in the ditch) cars, and tow trucks. The average time to make a 15 - 20 minute drive now took around an hour and a half.

I went out to my car last night and warmed it up so I could clean it off just in case I did have to go somewhere. It took me roughly 30 minutes to do so. The ice was at least half an inch thick everywhere on the car. It took banging and scraping to get everything off. After the engine warmed up and the defrosters finally blew warm air, I was able to clean the ice off. When all was said and done, the only ice left was around the windshield wipers and on the passenger-side windows. Everything else was clean. I stayed in and enjoyed the newly-acquired Saturday night and watched some of the NBA All-Star weekend festivities (like Dirk winning the 3-point shootout) and then following up with some Doom. That movie was better the second time around.

I'd been seeing church closing scroll across several local news stations and was wondering if Trinity was going to have services in the morning. I decided to go straight to the source and check Trinity's website. They said that services were scheduled for the moment and a final decision would be made the next morning. I didn't know if I wanted to make the drive anyways, so I decided I'd probably not be going anyways.

Waking up at 9 this morning, I proceeded to get on the computer and check Trinity's website and sure enough, all services and activities for today had been cancelled. I went back and slept for a little while longer then awoke to spend about 45 minutes with God, something I'd been neglecting over the past couple of weeks. It was so nice to be able to do it uninterrupted. I'm hoping I become more consistent this week.

And thus recaps the last 72 hours of Oklahoma's ice storm. It's still cloudy, bitter cold, and ice covered outside with a little more rain expected. By late Monday on the ice will begin to melt and temperatures will slowly start to warm up again. I can sum it up best with a quote from my friend Amy Breeding's away message yesterday:

"God is packing our entire winter into one weekend."

Mind the Gap

This is the first busy week I've had in a while. This semester hasn't been too terribly stressful, so things have more or less been chugging along at a normal pace. But now, OU Nightly is up and running full steam, I have my first exam on Tuesday, and I'm on a consistent workout schedule that is starting to become habitual, which I love.

Now, this week is moving along much faster than expected. I've enjoyed the nice, spring-like weather we've been having over the past few days, but that's all coming to a screeching halt very soon. Our lows tonight are going to be fairly warm and our highs for Thursday will be quite warm. However, Thursday is going to seem like a collision of two seasons. We're expecting spring-like temperatures through most of the day before we get hit with a wall of cold air from up north that will shift and intensify our winds and drastically drop our temperatures. Heck, there's even a chance of winter precipitation Friday night through Sunday night before another gradual warm-up next week. Lots of people have been getting sick lately and I'm sure this drastic weather change won't help matters.

We have only one dance left to learn in ballroom dancing. How's that for a gear shift? We learned the beginning steps of the Waltz this past Monday, which leaves only the Foxtrot. Honestly, I don't know what it involves, if the moves are complicated or not, but I guess we'll find out on Monday.

I really think I'm starting to lose some weight and get into better shape because of my individual fitness class. I'm loving this class to death. It's keeping me accountable to workout and to keep it written down so I have something to stick to. I've actually got a routine going. Three days a week and I use a variety of cardio/weight training machines. I've also started to take up basketball again. I recently purchased a basketball at Wal-Mart and plan to take it with me every time I go. I started today and it's such a good workout to just shoot around for 30 minutes to an hour. I'm going to have to find some way to work out over spring break when I'm in New Mexico. I guess I'll figure something out.

I think in the next few weeks, I'm going to try and take advantage of some OU sporting events that students can attend for free with a valid ID. My bro and I are going to an OU hockey game next weekend. Baseball and Softball seasons have started up, and I live within spitting distance from both stadiums, so both of those would be easy to attend. And while I can't attend the OU women's basketball game this weekend, I might be able to attend the game on Feb. 26 against Nebraska. It's our last home game, which will be a nice way to finish off.

That's all for now folks. It'll probably be pretty cold next time we talk. He gone!

Commence Primary Ignition

I took a few more steps today, some very important ones, that really reinforced the fact that graduation is just a few short months away. What did I do?

-Graduation Check: Filling out a short form with basic information (name, address, etc.) so they know where to send commencment/convocation information and your diploma. And so they have a record that you signed your name telling them you want to graduate.

-Minor Declaration: I knew I was online for a math minor, but it had yet to be officially declared. It was as easy as going to the front desk of the Department of Arts & Sciences and asking them for a declaration form. I filled it out with the necessary information and Bada Bing! (I had to put that in there).

-GPA increase: Whoa. What you say? Well, for those who don't know, this is my fifth (and final) year at OU. Originally, I was on track to graduate a year ago. However, due to a difficult Differential Equations class, I was not able to follow that plan. All prerequisite classes require a C or better in order to receive credit. I obtained a D during round 1 and had to tack on an extra year. I don't regret it one bit. Well, I do because I should have applied myself more. But in my defense, that was probably the most load-heavy semester I experienced. I had the opportunity to take it the next semester and ended up with a B. All of that to refer back to the GPA increase. She gave me a form to take to the office of admissions and records so they would remove the D and ensure the B was the grade recorded for that class. My GPA went from a 3.06 to a 3.11. An increase of .05. I can live with that. 5 years in meteorology? Done. Deal.

The only thing left (which isn't as pressing) is to fill out an alumni card to be ensured I'll be on record with the university as being an alumni and so they can ask me for money and inform me of future alumni events. I'll get around to it but like I said, it's not incredibly pressing.

Everything is now in motion ... all leading towards that fateful day in May...

it makes you wonder

Have I mentioned that March 12 is an exciting day? I just watched the new Sopranos Season 6 trailer and I got goosebumps. It's going to be the best season ever. Ever. And since I don't receive HBO in my apartment, Mr. Chris Dalton has agreed to let me come over on Sunday nights and watch the new episodes at his apartment. I'm in, Chris. Just in case you were wondering.

To completely shift gears, we learned a little more in our ballroom dancing class tonight. We added some steps to what we've learned for the Tango whilest revisiting our Swing steps. We also added in the Cha-Cha and the Rumba. Surprisingly, I remembered a lot more than I thought I would. Our class was cancelled last week so this was our first meeting in two weeks. I'm discovering rhythm I hadn't known about before and it's kinda cool. By the end of the semester, I'll be a dancing master. Well, something like that. We still have the Waltz and Foxtrot to learn. I think I know a little bit of the Waltz but I don't believe I'm familiar with the Foxtrot. But with a name like that it has to be cool.

I'm really enjoying Individual Fitness. Today, 2 of my classmates and myself got some tips from our instructor on some exercises we can do on our own that work our upper and lower abs and our obliques. Two areas that I am putting a lot of focus on this semester. I'm really striving to develop habits and routines that I will carry with me after my tenure at OU is complete.

Speaking of my OU tenure, I made an appointment to get a graduation check on Wednesday. Honestly, I'm not quite sure what it will consist of. All I know is that you are required to get one before you graduate. And apparently, you have to fill out some sort of application in order to graduate. I know there's some sort of irony in there somewhere.

Our men's fellowship this past weekend out at the retreat center was just what I needed. We talked about things I'd heard before, but in a way that presented it in a completely new light. A light that really motivated me to change some things. Our speaker was off the hook (if I may use that term) and brought the fire with no reserve. I wish more people would do that. Tell it like it is and don't hold anything back. Rock the boat a little. I also had the opportunity to play in our Halo 2 extravaganza. 4 X-Boxes, 16 controllers, pure mayhem. We had a bunch of guys participate and I wished we could have gone all night. I would have been up for it. I know now why I don't have an X-Box: I wouldn't ever do anything else but play Halo. Maybe not every waking moment of the day but certainly for a lot of it. It was definitely a guys' weekend and it was awesome.

Classes are picking up a bit. I know, it does feel a little weird. Mainly because it's just one class. Hard to believe, huh? Well, Mesoscale is just that. I believe everyone has subtitled it "Dynamics IV." It sure does feel like it. This one class is what's picking up. Radar isn't too bad right now because we're still going over basics. I don't think Individual Fitness and Ballroom Dancing are allowed to be hard. But what pass/fail class is?

I start OU Nightly tomorrow. My first appearance on the air in 2006. It will also be my only appearance this week. We're starting slow, as per usual, and it'll only be a 5-minute broadcast, which means I'll see about 45 seconds to 1 minute of air time. As such, my facial hair is gone. It made me sad. I was beginning to enjoy my beard and I was receiving lots of complements. But now, it's all gone. My face is all smooth and nice-looking for my on-air debut this semester. Everyone understands. After all, have you ever seen a weatherman with facial hair? Why is that?

Kinda makes you wonder...