espn sportsnation poll: kstate/ku.

kansas poll: 30% ku, 70% kstate in 1000+ votes

my prediction: kstate 91, ku 84

watch for us on espn. we'll be among the record college gameday crowd.
bring on the cats.

-ap.

things i'll miss.

i graduate in a week. my room is packed and all that's left is my bed, tv, fridge, dvd player and nintendo. everything else is packed in a corner in boxes and bags.

i assumed that i would get to this point and i'd be sad to leave. i thought seeing my shell of a room would get me all choked up and wishing i could hang around for a while longer. turns out, this isn't the case at all. probably because i've never allowed myself to become attached to my house. i've always been apathetic about fixing it up or decorating it - it's alway's been a temporary living arrangement - as has life in college in general.

there are a few things i will miss, however. they are as follows:

- things are cheaper in manhattan. whether it's getting a q-card deal at taco bell (2 burritos, 2 tacos for $1.99), or if it's $2 drinks at o'malleys/porters/salty rim. i will miss the fact that there are countless coupons and deals catered directly to college students with no money. granted i won't be one of those anymore, but i'd still like to benefit from the deals.

- i'll miss a couple friends. most of my best friends from college are already gone or are going to be leaving at the same time as i am. but there are a handful of individuals that i will certainly miss getting to see on a somewhat regular basis. i would list them here, but i don't want to play favorites, so...you know who you are.

- i'll miss riding my bike and walking through campus. there's something magical about the old buildings and all the limestone on kstate's campus, and it'll be a bummer to not get to surround myself with that scenery anymore. however, if i remember all the memories that came while inside those buildings, it shouldn't be hard to not miss them as much.

- i won't miss kstate football*, but i will miss kstate basketball. cartier martin, billy walker, david hoskins, luis colon, jason bennett, freddie "instant offense" brown, dk...also beasley i guess. there was always something about the basketball season that was so much more thrilling than the football season. even if our team wasn't the greatest, there was always someone simply wonderful to cheer for (read: luis colon) or someone to make fun of relentlessly (read: jason bennett).

* - even when we were good my freshman year, there was always this weird vibe that came with kstate football games that i didn't like. it was probably the fact that everyone blared country music at the tailgates and came into the game sloshed out of their mind. though i'll always remember rushing the field after dominating texas.

- and finally, i'm going to miss living with chris.

i think that pretty much covers it. so long, manhattan. sleep well without me.

-ap.

countdown to may 16.

24 days. 4 exams, 3 quizzes, 2 papers, 1 research proposal...

...and 1 extremely checked out student.

life is waiting for me in kansas city. it's like christmas is right around the corner - on may 16th i get to unwrap a whole new phase of my life - only in order to make it to christmas i have to first accomplish a bunch of tasks in order to make it home...actually that sounds more like the Wizard of Oz. only instead of bringing back the broom of the wicked witch of the west, this metaphorical Dorothy has been forced to complete a handful of assignments that, while not life-threatening, are equally as obnoxious as that stupid witch's cackle.

when i have the "what i'm doing after college" conversation with people i typically tell them all about how thrilled i am to work at hillcrest, move into an apartment in kc, live in the same city as my girlfriend, etc, but eventually they get to the "is it going to be sad leaving manhattan" question. i usually answer by telling them the following...

every remotely nice day there are two major events occurring on my street in manhattan. first, the house across the street from mine hosts an event in their front lawn that i like to call "let's drink natural light and blare this year's country stampede artists on our truck stereos". second, our neighbors to the west don their cowboy hats and boots and roll out a shopping cart with horns on it. they then spend the next two hours lassoing that shopping cart in their driveway.

i can't get to kansas city fast enough.

-ap.

creeeeaapy crawlers.

i'm not sure if everyone is aware of this, but manhattan was repeatedly shunted with outrageous weather this summer: tornadoes, multiple accounts of hail, and boatload* of rain. this has created somewhat of a new biosphere of which i was previously unfamiliar. it sits somewhere between the prairies and the rainforest now. we've acquired the lush vegetation of the rainforests, and it is a rather beautiful sight driving into one of the greenest areas i've experienced recently.

the crappy thing about this abundantly fresh vegetation is how it comes complete with INSECTS GALORE. they're everywhere. i mean everywhere. walking campus at night is a lizard's paradise with all the crickets; you can't even walk the paths without accidentally smashing a couple every few steps. beetles the size of Sacagawea dollars have turned up a handful of times - on sand volleyball courts, under couches, in my shoe once.

but the worst worst worst part: freaking mosquitoes. oh my goodness they're everywhere. i swear i sweat sugar, cause they will not leave me alone. i'm not going to count** the number of bites i've got, but i'm going to be one scarred individual when its all said and done. i'm not someone to show patience with itches on my body. i'm a scratcher. i'm also a toosie roll pop biter and a coca cola classic chugger.

"i don't scratch my head unless it itches, i don't dance unless i hear some music. i will not be intimidated. thats just the way it is."

coincidentally, the greatest mosquito army i've had to battle thus far was at a wedding i attended yesterday evening. it was outdoors and really really great - but there were so many blood sucking creatures. oy vey, it was awful. my friends bari and rotem actually ditched the wedding early cause they couldn't handle the brutality of the insects. at least everything was green so the wedding at least looked gorgeous.

anyway. other than the insects - i'm rather happy to be back here. except that some mornings i get calls from a multitude of hillcrest middle schoolers telling me to come back for church. happens on sundays sometimes...so far we're 1/1.

-ap.

* - a slight unit variation from a "buttload." a boatload is slightly larger (i base this on the fact that boats, on average, are larger than butts); however, culturally America has the lowest boatload to buttload ratio in the world (that's a clever way of saying we're fat).
** - i just made a typo on this word and caught it when i proofread. yikes. phew.

moving slow.

its funny how quickly the human body and mind can adjust to surroundings.

after a couple rather hectic weeks at hillcrest, i decided to escape to the slower paced life in manhattan to unwind and relax for a couple days. it's nice, but i can't help but feel slightly irresponsible just intentionally doing nothing. well, i suppose reading and blogging and drinking iced tea at 40% off isn't necessarily nothing, but it is a severe decrease in speed and a great increase in time.

when i first moved back to kansas city this summer i was surprisingly uncomfortable there. i had become used to the slow meandering life of manhattan, and the speed of kc caught me off guard. it's been a month now. i've plunged myself in my job and life (same thing) in kc, so now that i'm back in manhattan i'm surprisingly uncomfortable here.

i'm not sure whether of not i prefer either. on one hand it's nice to have extra time to spare - time to write a 3-paragraphs-and-counting blog - but at the same time my heart wants to be moving. when i have an hour or so of unscheduled time during the hours of 9-4 in kc i feel like i'm not being productive, but an hour of free time in manhattan is the most common thing ever. i think the reason i'm writing this, however, is that i feel like i've finally re-discovered the balance of these two feelings.

in ministry (specifically youth in this case) it's important to have a moment of contact with every kid at an event - high five evangelism* if you will - but it's also important to walk slow enough that you don't miss someone in need of some encouragement or advice. i think this is the mindset i had when i was in high school and freshman and sophomore year here at k-state, but somewhere in the 21 months away from kansas city (and youth ministry) my thoughts turned inward and i'd lost my passion for social contact and, consequently, my passion for evangelism.

i want to impact lives other than my own. call me out if i'm moving too slow or if i'm not moving slow enough. it's the life i want to live and i'm excited that i feel reconnected with that mentality.

-ap.**

* - in 2008 i've found that "pound-it evangelism" is more relevant.
** - i really wanted to insert a line regarding kanye west's accidental wisdom in the song "drive slow" somewhere in this post but it just wasn't fitting. you need to pump your breaks and drive slow homie. granted, the motivation to drive slow is slightly different in the song than in this blog. but i can twist his text out of context if i feel like it. and i feel like it. so there you have it.

8/8 > 8/10 (?)

another day, another semester.

i've completed my eighth of ten semesters at kstate. part of me wishes the final i just conquered brought semester eight of eight to a close, but i've come to terms with another year of school and i'm excited to see what manhattan has in store in the fall and next spring (won't be athletics, i can assure you that.)

i'm heading back to kc on saturday after the class of 08 graduation and beginning my 3 month tenure as a hillcrest summer youth intern extraordinaire early sunday morning. what a fierce way to kick off the summer. i say bring it on.

-ap.

arrrrgghhh.

top 5 things that make me want to get out of manhattan, kansas.

5. radina's customers.
4. trucks and belt buckles.
3. i'm only involved in one middle schooler's life.
2. the local music scene.
1. wind.

there are more. but those are just the top five.
i'm ready to move on in life. things are stale.
but this is funny:


-ap.

whats so lobby about hobby?

i've decided i need a hobby.

karlie has suggested that we paint/draw together - she paints and then i sketch detail over the top of it. it sounds pretty fun, and maybe we'll try it sometime. who knows, maybe we'll end up with our artwork as the art o' the month at radina's. serious success to be had there. shoot for the moon.

another possibility is piano. i played piano for about 9 years of my life and never learned how to read music - i fooled my teacher into believing i could read, but, in fact, i was just listening closely and playing by ear. however, this has taught me to know all the chords under the sun. and i'm in Introduction to Music and i feel like pursuing an instrument may increase my grade in that class (thats a joke, and the class is too). but i love it and i feel like i could have a lot of fun with it.

spring time is coming - which means disc golf is making a comeback probably. so thats nice. i've gone once in about 6 months.

if you have any other ideas let me know. but i dont expect much of a response. no one reads this mug anyway.

post #159.

its really strange that i've kept up this blogging thing for over a year now.
and it's even stranger that i think i've LOST frequenters since i started. ha.
oh well. it's more for my own personal enjoyment. you guys just get the sloppy seconds.

so i was thinking about my job a little bit today. i make over-priced coffee for manhattan all-stars. we have a rather solid fan base. if zero of the "regulars" came in during a day i think we'd lose about 75% of our total revenue. i guess some people are okay with it. i'm a regular too. however, i'm not a manhattan all-star so i feel justified in dogging a bit.

its kind of fun i guess, the "regs" come in and get their "usual", and i'm familiar with most of them. they all call them different things and if you can remember their flashy name for it then the possibility of getting a phat tip sky rockets. it slowly becomes more and more fun as you become more and more familiar with the patrons of the establishment.

the thing i dont understand (well, one thing) is how people can go to the same coffee shop every morning and get the same exact beverage(s) for years and not get bored with it. i guess its probably kinda fun for a while, but at some point i start to feel sorry for them. they live in manhattan (and they LIKE it*) and they've gotten into a serious rut, but they don't really seem to be aspiring to anything else. and that somewhat worries me. they don't even change their drinks. maybe i'm just ansy to move on in life, but to me - thats weird.

it helps that most of them come across not-so-normal to begin with.
i hope none of them read my blog too. if so, my frequenters will decrease even more.
maybe i should stop doggin on people and start building others up. that would probably solidify more readers. my negative attitude is a likely turn off.

-ap.

* - Sandlot ref.