yosemite

Since I really do not want to work on homework, I'll write about the trip to Yosemite. The drive was long, and we got to the campsites past midnight. We searched for about an hour and a half for a place to camp out. As there were no open ones, we had to make do with camping out by the side of the road in what seems now a miracle. 12 guys, 1 van, 1 truck, 1 big open "campsite" We set up tents and slept. My first time sleeping outside, in a sleeping bag, with nothing but tent fabric between me and countless mosquitoes.
Breakfast on Saturday was great, we made ramen and eggs and bacon. I got a small water burn, but the food was awesome. We packed up, and headed off to find a real campsite. I then realized that my glasses were still in the tent canvas somewhere. We found our new site right next to a river; it was pretty awesome.

Opening up the tents, my glasses were still intact and unbent. The tents had been folded and rolled up and squeezed tight to fit into their bags...it's a wonder the glasses were still in shape. Another awesome thing, the person next to our site gave us his spot for free. => One big campsite. We left our tents and finally headed for the trails at 10 ish.
Hiking from the Tioga Pass area, Porcupine Lake to North Dome took a long time, but we took several breaks. I didn't realize that hiking is so tiring. I took a ton of pictures. We blazed our own trail after we made the wrong turn and decided to go straight towards North Dome and over some mountains. Lots of more mountains. The view was really amazing once we got to the top of our hike. We could clearly see Half Dome. I lost my bracelet somewhere around there. Hike back was a lot faster. total of 5+ hours of hiking.
Dinner was great, salty but filling. We had a time for sharing, but I didn't know what to really say around the campfire, which I kept playing with. The night sky was amazing though. We even saw a shooting star. With glasses+contacts, I saw a ton of stars- even more than I've seen in Lancaster. I laid on the tarp soaking in the sky. twinkling stars...they actually fade in and out. Sleep was bumpy, but well deserved.
The next morning, as I washed up by the river, I got stung by a ton of mosquitoes :/ they burn right now. I somehow did not notice them until several hours later. I thought I did not get any. I now have more than ten... The hike up to Pothole Dome was so much easier. The view of the meadow below, with the surrounding mountainsides full of pine, took the last of my camera batteries.
This was just the beginning of the day. On the drive back, we saw how much land we drove by on the way up. We had lunch, washed up in Alameda and went directly to Sunday Worship Service after a car wash. So many new things this weekend. camping, hiking, hobo packs, watching Up... but dang, Pastor Ed's message was a really challenging one. And if I want to act upon it and respond to it...I know that while he was speaking, I was thinking about what I had talked to Matt and Jonathan this past week about my career and my major. ... I couldn't help but feel that the message was speaking to me about the direction of my life.







The day closed with dinner, provided by ATTR parents. What a weekend...

Today was the first day of work at the Chancellor's Office. Amir was really nice about answering my questions. I don't know if I will be here more than a semester, even less several years. ...It's a good job and I think I'll enjoy it, but it's a lot of time. I can't believe there are only three weeks of summer school left.

Interview

Last night I stayed up watching the Social Network. Strange guy. I like the court case plot... Now I know a little more about me facebook.

This past week, I've done two interviews, and was turned down for one other possible job even before I got to talk about it. school really does take a lot of time. I hope things work out okay. College of Chem Assistant II or Facilities Assistant in the Chancellor's office.

Friday

It was so interesting, I was recently talking to people about prayer, and then just yesterday, TFN was about prayer and about spiritual disciplines. Workshop lead did a thorough job of explaining things. After Sam's recent attempts to start a prayer Facebook group that didn't work, I've been thinking more about trying to get closer to peers and I think this new group sharing/prayer time should really help. One step in a good direction! ay, this is what we wanted when we decided to move here, yea?

Kids are really more than what I expected, but the training last week did get me a bit more ready. There's something about church kids that's really hard to describe. Sometimes rowdy, sometimes quiet, sometimes dishonest, and often difficult to handle, especially boys. It does take a lot of vigilance to make sure they are doing things as they are assigned, and to make sure they don't hurt themselves. A mixed bunch they are..

In Betwix

it's between session A and D right now and summer is more or less in full swing. Nothing much exciting has happened. I've spent a lot of time sitting around the juniors at BT, doing work or chatting. I've been going to physics and cs70 lectures, and those take up quite a bit of time. Asian American Studies starts next week and I know my schedule will be more packed because of it.

Last weekend...wow, another week has already gone by... was Apologetics Training Camp at Northloop. JP Moreland gave a string of lectures on building a case for Christianity through debunking naturalism and post-modernism through highly logical and philosophical arguments. We even had time to talk and drill each other about his chain of argument. It was quite an intense weekend. We also lots of great food, and some very interesting ice-breakers. 3 days of philosophy. Too much to handle for me. 

This week was also the first week of GTS, Systematic Theology. Pastor Ed gave an overview of ideas, but I need to go look at my notes again to see what he was trying to point out. :< There's even homework for this class. I should start putting more time on that soon.

In the next following weeks, I will be reading Satan and His Kingdom, and hopefully, a few other short stories and things. I also hope to get better at making home-cooked food because eating out gets bleh after a while.