Thursday, June 08, 2006  

Ack. I just don't feel like blogging much anymore so i probably won't. But here's what is big in my life lately:

* i've made peace w/ ink refill machine @ work and can do most cartridges in less than 10 min. Not too shabby. Our store continues to be one of the highest for sales in this area so i'm doing okay there.

* I'm summer schooling myself thru more greek in prep for Greek II in the fall. I've laid out a rigorous review schedule but i am loving every minute of it.

* Dodge Charger: The obsession grows. I test drove two different ones last friday and can think of very little else besides that car. I will probably be the owner of one in the next year. No other car will do. I'm shooting for the stone white one - SXT model (non-Hemi) V6. [If i don't drive a car with a V6 then i could never be able to say "Dang i should have had a V8!" and get a good laugh out of it.]

* Trying to get my financial house in order to begin seminary in the fall of '08. I am looking at Bethel Seminary - going thru their SemPM courses so i can continue working full time and have money to pay for a car & other toys that i don't need and will burn up in the eternal fire someday. The plan is to get my Greek down like it is second nature to me, since i am loving it and don't want to let it slip from memory. After year II i will feel like i'm ready to start taking systematic theology and hermeneudics courses - and won't have to try to cram Greek in like some people do and don't have time to really dig into it. The end goal right now would be to teach at an academy or who knows.

* Still going nuts with youth band for jr. high at church -- Having a blast. Hillsongs United (their youth band) has put out some really great rockin' praise cd's in the last few years so i am introducing a lot of that music. We have a few guys out to camp this summer so i have some rookies coming into jam with... but these kids are top notch and love Jesus a lot so it makes every moment with them super awesome.

A hot summer has begun. I shall survive. See the fam in a few days and who knows what's on the horizon. God bless if i never blog again, know it's been fun :)

KT

   [ posted  @ 3:56 PM | ]

Went to see DaVinci Code last night. Overall, i give it a C- .

I have not read the book (and after seeing the movie, probably will not zzzzzzzz) but with all the hype i had really expected it to be better, for a 2 1/2 hour movie. It wasn't the glaring inaccuracies about history that make me give it a bad grade. Those were things i was expecting and prepared for. And it wasn't the notions and lies and assertions about Christ's divinity either. I was not expecting it to get those things right.

But bad writing! Tom Hanks has seen better days (physically, and in parts he's acted). He makes a horrible history teacher. The script was so hollow. If that was the way the book was written, I don't see why it sold so much. It had some interesting direction and production aspects, but over all, this movie is NOT worth the hype it is getting. Ridiculous fiction being passed off as fact is one problem, but there's just no excuse for a Ron Howard film to be so empty in its dialogue.

I haven't read other reviews about the movie but i would be suprised if many people were not saying the same thing - that if they picked on Star Wars because of it's lame dialogue (which at least stayed true to the nature of the movies themselves), they better be ripping this one apart all over the place. It was too long; i found it boring; and i would recommend people to not see it for those two reasons alone. I was all prepared to be a fan of the movie but i just can't be - it was not good.

   [ posted  @ 6:54 AM | ]

Well, goodbye to Elliot....... It's okay. I'm actually going to root (route? roote?) for the Kelly Clarkson clone - Katherine. I can't believe how close the vote was. See what happens when you make me work Tuesday nights? I can't vote.

And,
It all comes down to this. After 9 months of pain and paradigms, here's who we have left to take the Greek Final tomorrow night.

Mr. Smartypants: Ended up being one of my favorite classmates. He admitted that everything was blending together and not much was making sense. Also provided a ton of comic relief the last few months... who knew he had it in him?

TheFratBoyWhoWantsToBeAMissionary: This is Mr. Smartypants side kick. These two turned out to be such a comedic pair - unlikely alliance but truly funny. Tho this is Frat's 2nd or 3rd time thru this course (what's with that?) he seems to really love his wife and his future in ministry... I think he's great.

The 14-Year-Old. Still can't figure this kid out. He's just plain great. Super geek to the max, and he loves to study theology; probably the hidden class star.

The Scientist: Whooooooo boy. Just can't figure him out. So quiet - rarely smiles. Has stayed consistent all year long as one who you just have no idea what he's thinking. When he does finally laugh he's got a nice smile. The whole year i just think he despises everyone and wonders why we can't get everything perfect like him. He never talks to anyone and leaves right after class (gee that's what i do, too.)

Grammar Teacher Number Two: (We lost teacher#1 in January.) Yes he's still ultra annoying and asks too many questions. But I had a great hallway talk with him one night and now really view him as a true brother. He's cool. I wouldn't want to hang out with him (or his wife or his twins or other kids) but at least there was one person in the class more clueless than i was.

TheGuyWhoDoesn'tComeToClassMuch: Most genuine guy. He ended up having good attendance and tho this is his 3rd time thru the course, i think he'll do well on the final. He's also taking Hebrew and other classes at Bethel so i don't know how he does it all with full time work and a family too.

Any of the rest of the people (Jello Nurse, The Blockhead, Miss Flirtybutt, etc) dropped out quite awhile ago. I have given up studying at this point -- I can't look at it anymore. I will be working in John and Mark this summer getting ready for year two. Whoo hoo.

   [ posted  @ 9:15 PM | ]

So i've been doing not much else besides studying for the Final on Thursday... I won't be able to review as much as i would have liked... verbs lost me, and participles made it worse. After that it's all a blur, but as i've worked thru John 1 and Mark 1, i realized i can translate w/out looking much up at all, so something stuck.

Wow, so Idol was smokin' tonight... I don't miss Chris at all. We have a great top 3. I even liked Katherine almost better than Elliot --- and i agree w/ Simon, it's probably Elliot's turn next. Over the Rainbow was too awesome, and i liked Taylor too, on each of his songs. (You Are So Beautiful was okay but i didn't love it the most.) Chris's votes will probably go to Taylor, or they will be split Taylor/Elliot. That's my guess.

Now, go dance.

   [ posted  @ 9:54 PM | ]

Oh no! POOOOOOOOOR CHRIS! We can all be in mourning/wear black arm bands on Thursday. I was totally shocked in the biggest way... I really think he wanted this win more than any of the others. I do think he'll still get a record deal.

Do you see why i say the Bad Day song is so inappropriate? It's not a bad day... it's a horrible season of your whole life, all your dreams ripped from you. The song is so demeaning to someone who has worked so hard... i don't know why i despise them playing that song like that, but tonight it just seemed so mean. Chris didn't have a bad day. Last night was 2 of his best performances. A bad day means you got a D on a test. Or you had spinach in your teeth. Anyways, it's going to be Taylor then to win, but i still really hope Elliot might do it. You never know.

   [ posted  @ 8:59 PM | ]

Elvis Idol Night Thoughts.

first, bc of the Gilmore Girls season finale, and AI being on at the same time, both VCR's were going, and i could not tape the BIRD FLU movie which i did want to see!!! hahahaha! Darn. Does anyone else have it on tape? Probably not.

Taylor: I agreed w/ Simon... the dancing around etc. was silly but he redeemed himself with ghetto song (tho i hate that song.) It's not his week to go.

Chris: Both songs were great-- tho i liked the first one better -- perfect song for his voice (Suspicious Minds). It made me realize he's going to win the contest completely.

Ellioooooooooot: He makes that "O" shape w/ his mouth on ending notes. Not sure about that shape. We should change that. He was amazing - i just don't think enough people are also going to agree.

Katherine: Totally agree w/ Simon. First song was "manic"- great way to describe it. She could sing it just fine but the thrashing around was a bit over the top. Also, the band was WAAAAY too overpowering in her second love ballad. Who ever was working on arrangements this week must have been wayyyyy to hyped up. I felt like Ryan put a little wrench in it for her when he said something like "tough week" or something when she was done w/ song 2.

So, my prediction is it will be Katherine to go, or possibly Elliot. I give it 72% chance it's Katherine and 28% chance it's elliot.

Saw Mission Impossible III with some friends last weekend - it was really good but i never saw the other two. I could follow the story line just fine. I recommend it!

   [ posted  @ 6:41 AM | ]

This week's Idol:

First, i just want to say that i am so glad no one picked the current hit song to sing as the "Bad Day" song. What a relief. I can't stand that song. It is so over-played. The thing i dread most about Wednesdays is having to listen to that song at some point in the night. haha. At least for Kellie they did an acoustic version last week (and by the way did you notice Simon gave her a standing-O when she left? That never happens.)

Elliot Song 1: Broadway-- never did like this song. Found his rendition boring.
Song 2: OH NO!!! HE PICKED A GOODBYE SONG! Elliot aren't you reading my blog??? Why the heck would he pick a song that says "I want to go home?" Bad sign #2 was when he runs off before judges can critique him. Poor guy! Please don't go home yet!

Paris Song 1: Prince. Yup she's right. Prince is worshipped in MN. I happen to work in the city where his studios were, and where he was from. One of the first things i learned after moving here was this is Prince's stomping grounds. Ugg. She did nice on this song, but i was cringing w/ her in those heels. As a person who's never worn heels, i just don't get running around in them.
Song 2: Tho i think it's her week to go, she did a great job on this song. Kind of in answer to my question of what kind of an album would she make.

Chris: Hmmm. Both songs were the same, screamers. I was thinking of Mom the whole time... that she would not like the screaming. He did a great job. I'm just honestly sort of sick of the screeching.

Katherine: Song 1: This one was all over the place. Tons of wrong notes. Can the judges not hear?? It was painful for me. The other problem is, Scott Savol from last season released this song (Take a Look @ Me Now) as a single and did an awesome job of it. Hers sucked.
Song 2: Gotta love the KT Tunstall -- she did awesome w/ this, tho it was a little too fast. Her kneeling the whole time was a little weird, but even that can be overlooked bc she really made up for a horrible first song. Mom, i'm hoping you'll go buy the cd - it's very good.

Taylor: WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO CUT HIS HAIR??? Ugg.
Song 1: Funky Music. Too fun. He knows how to pick great songs and can really entertain. Simon doesn't seem to really get him. Song 2: Beatles - just a great song and he did awesome with it.

I have a very hard time with the top 4 after Paris leaves. They are all equal in my mind. I want Elliot to win, but i don't think he will. Katherine doesn't have the charisma to be a hit star. Taylor would appeal to mass audiences. Chris is a niche market. hmmm. What say you?

   [ posted  @ 9:25 PM | ]

Have i ever told you that i hate cats? Just found this picture... Reminded me why.

   [ posted  @ 2:47 PM | ]

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