Pre School Weekend

A few weeks ago, a friend from Goodyear invited me to go tubing with him down the Salt River. I guess there was some kind of a party going on that weekend. It was the weekend right before school, so I decided to enlist the help of the ASU facebook application. I sent out a whole lot of messages to my future classmates inviting them to join us on the river. By that week, there were 16 people from Tempe planning on going down the river. I had 3 cars coming down to help get everyone up there since most were freshmen like myself, but didn’t have vehicles. That Friday, there was a pretty big storm, and the weather was forecasted to be poor Saturday as well. People started bailing. Saturday morning came and was beautiful all day! I decided to listen to some music and walk around campus for a while. Around lunchtime, my friend Dayton called. Dayton is for sure the first friend I met in Tempe. Super cool dude, and if you ever meet him, consider yourselves lucky. We got some stuff squared away at MCC and then ate at Ted’s Hot Dogs. AMAZING! I don’t even like hot dogs, but I like those. We were considering going to see Inglorious Basterds, but he told me his roomie was going cliff jumping and invited me to go. I ran home (by ran I mean drove quickly) and grabbed some shorts. On the way there, we were rockin out to some Rage Against the Machine with the windows down. We could see the purple clouds and flashes of light right where we were heading. Everyone on that road was trying to get out of there while we were driving to it. After parking, we had a small hike into the cliff and met another group there. Their dog, and the dog with us didn’t get along so well, so they decided to move down to a different swimming hole. I think we were there for half an hour or an hour and then the rain started coming down. While I was on the cliff, wet, with the wind blowing, I was freezing, but when I jumped down into the water, it was amazingly warm. On a side note, a while ago, I bought a “waterproof” video camera. It actually worked. I really was expecting it to leak in and get destroyed, so it was wonderful that we could get some footage of the jumps. Even got some shots of jumps into the water. The drive back home was pouring. Not even ten minutes after we started driving, it was bright and sunny again. I’m glad we got to go jumping or I would have been upset that we didn’t go tubing on such a beautiful day. That Sunday, I went to go visit my Mom and little brother on the other side of town. I brought the video camera and Brock with me. Matthew, the brother, took the camera right away and started playing around with it. Brock chases people in the water, so when you go under, he’ll just circle you. Matthew had too much fun filming it. Later that day, I played fetch with him. Him being Brock, not Matthew, though I’m sure I could get Matthew to play fetch as well. I love that dog so much. He’s my baby. Only 5 months old, so he’s kicking my butt right now. So, anyway, about the video, I threw some of the clips from the weekend with some music and that’s what you get, the drive, cliff jumping, and Brock swimming and playing fetch, all with the waterproof camera.

Time Capsule Essays

Please list the clubs and organizations you've belonged to in the past 12 months.

For more than half of the last 12 months, I was stationed in Kuwait with an army general support aviation battalion as a Blackhawk mechanic. Although the army isn’t a club, it is an organization that I was happy to be a part of. Since getting back, my life has revolved around buying my house, finding a good job, gearing up for school, and general re-entry into the US.


If you were a piece of technology, what would you be and why? (100 words or less)

Of the numerous pieces of technology we have, I would have to be a handheld GPS. Not one of the ones that go into your car to get you places, but one of the ones you can take out into the mountains or woods and really get lost. Think of all the places a well-loved GPS goes. I would much rather go to the cave that isn’t on a trail as opposed to the 4 star hotel. The life of a GPS would never be dull.

What makes you a unique individual?
As a camp counselor after high school, I was given the nickname MacGyver from my fellow counselors. I was the only one that had lived on a tropical island, gone to school in Mexico, driven an 18-wheeler, jumped from an airplane, worked as a nanny, and thrown a hand grenade. I think it’s the last one that got them. I truly appreciate people who walk to the beat of a different drummer. I have a poster in my room that reads “Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn’t hear the music.

What extracurricular activities or hobbies have you participated in, and what did you like most about each?

My senior year in high school I picked up the string bass. Often, the bluegrass band we made would go out to a community center where there was some bluegrass jamming going on. The best part of that was the family feel of going there, having dinner, and then playing music with your friends. Another passion of mine is Ultimate Frisbee. The best thing about that sport is the spirit of the game. My first game in a league, the guy I was defending explained that I was defending him wrong and then showed me how.

What's the most exciting thing you've ever done, and why was it so great?
When I was 12, my dad got the idea to go on a bike trip. There was a trail from Western NC to the coast that we decided to ride. We didn’t do the entirety of it, and we didn’t stay on it the whole time, but it became one of the strongest memories I have. Carrying our small amount of gear with us, outrunning storms, and racing to catch the ferry are just a few of the things that make this a memory that still makes me smile.

Describe your life up to the present.

I was born over 24 years ago in Wisconsin. A little after that, we moved to North Carolina, where I lived for the majority of my childhood. My parents’ love of traveling brought me to a 36 square mile island in the Pacific for two years as well as the opportunity to live and study Spanish in Mexico while I was in middle school. I joined the Army Reserves at 17, later switching to the National Guard. I’ve tried to go to college in the past. I’ve even been registered and attending. Unfortunately, the Army has the power to pull me out when they deem necessary. My parents and siblings moved to Arizona in 2005. I transferred to a unit in Phoenix shortly after they moved. Since high school, I have lived in 6 different states and 2 countries. I am now ready to have some stability and go to school for a good stretch of time.

I would say a core part of my personality is my interest in other people. I like to treat others with dignity, whether I am serving them as a waiter picking them up on the side of the road while they are hitchhiking. Everyone has a story and something to share. I do my best to make other people happy. I think it’s just as important to hold the door for someone, as it is do well in class, or make a large income. The places, and people I have grown up around have given me a very unique set of ideas and an interesting outlook on life. I’m just happy about it.

First day...

I am sitting in front of the MU right now listening to All You Need Is Love by the Beatles. I know I’ve heard this song plenty times before, but I am catching new notes and musical phrases that I’ve never heard before. It’s the second day of classes and life is good.

I realized that I’ll need to really keep up with what I write. Whether or not its read, I have a decent amount that I want to talk about. Yesterday, during my first day of classes, I took no notes pertaining to the class. Not that I really needed to. Through most of the classes, we went over attendance and what was expected of us. The notes I did take were of what I wanted to write about.

In the future, I’m sure I will be going off on odd tangents and rants. Sometimes they will be just obscure thoughts or reflections on what people said throughout the day. Other times, it will be a simple today in the life. Feedback is welcome, as it will help give direction to what to write about. Otherwise I will be overwhelmed with the thoughts that I want to share. I figure, if you are coming to this site, reading my posts, you are either super bored, or actually care bout my thoughts. My guess is most will be coming from the first option. Only time will tell.