Here's some songs...

To follow up my post on nostalgia...

Remember when you would get pulled out of school early by your parents to go somewhere awesome? That was the best!

I frequent the office to refill my Wild Wingers Kids Club water bottle with sparklets water, and today one of my favorite 2nd graders was sitting there. I knew it was her birthday, so I asked her how her birthday was going. She said it was going pretty good, and I then asked her if she was getting picked up early because she had her backpack with her. (usually kids are in the office if they are sick or have boo-boo's)

She said her dad was coming to pick her up to go to Disneyland! So I congratulated her and told her to have fun, and then she said, "I'll see you tomorrow, right?" (it warmed my heart)

But anyways, I remember the feeling of getting picked up early from school to go somewhere cool. Either my freshman or sophomore year, my parents picked up my brother and I early from good 'ol Pacific Christian High School, so that we could go to San Francisco for my cousin's wedding. I love how all your friends ask you, "where are you going? Why are you leaving school early?" And then you tell them, and envy ensues! Ha!




Then, when I walked back to my office, this is what I heard from the boy's bathroom, "Jacob, you need to put your pants back on so you can come back outside."

I remember when I used to be really into Nostalgia...

DISCLAIMER: This post is a thought I had today, and is not a Biblical Truth, nor do I think I'm super awesome for writing it. Read if you'd like, or skip below for summary.


Sometimes it's hard for me to throw away old clothes, because I have a specific memory about them. I left a pair of old Adidas Samba shoes in Brasil this past summer, but I could barely do it with all the memories I had attached to those two things of leather and rubber. I ran in them, went to Tanzania in them, taught my first year in them, etc....

Is it possible to have too much nostalgia? Can I dwell so much on the warm memories of the past that it interrupts the possible memories of today and tomorrow?

When I was in high school, I believed Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail to be at least one of the top 3 funniest movies of all time. Very quotable, and full of silly, silly scenes. However, I watched it a few months back, and found myself laughing at maybe 20% of the jokes I used to laugh at.

Maybe a year or so ago, I was hanging out with my friend Caleb (oh what a swell time it was). He and I have been friends for quite some time, at least since 5th grade. We were talking about some of the memories we had of me spending the night almost every weekend in jr. high, playing roller hockey in his street or Josh's street, and our ska band that never came into fruition, The Speedy Snails. But he brought up a good point when he said something along the lines of: "it's great to reminisce about the old good times, but I want to make new memories, too."

Brilliant. (This guy has a degree in Philosophy, you know)

Memories are amazing. I love remembering where I got a certain t-shirt, or when that special someone got her foot caught in the seat at the hockey game, or when my brother pushed me off the couch to give me my scar on my eyebrow.

(Here comes the big 'But') ...But, I hope my remembering doesn't interfere with learning. Yes, we learn from our mistakes. Our mistakes are memories. I know not to get shampoo in my eyes because of when I did it years ago.

I just also hope that I'm ready for those new mercies every morning. I don't want to blindly say, "God, why can't life be how it was when I was younger? With Saved by the Bell and NHL 95 for Super Nintendo?"

I want to be able to be taught, use discernment, and make new memories, too.



Summary: learn from mistakes, but don't let old memories get in the way of new memories. (While using discernment)

What if...

...I updated my blog?

...there was no hope? (there is, by the way)

...thrice was a ska band?

...you could teleport? (blogspot.com does not recognize the word 'teleport')

...people had reverse curfews? (i.e. "billy, you can't come home until 11:00 p.m.")

...our fingers were like those antennae on snails, so they would retract when you touched stuff?

...you could train a bird to play the trumpet? (would it be as cool as the fact that he could fly?)

...there were killer whales in Fantasmic! ?

...there was bologna cologne? (delicious)

...david beckham's jersey had a problem, and the "c" and the "k" fell off?

...our laps were somewhere else?

...artichokes were sneaky like spies?

...we really believed all the time that God loves us? (He does, and it should blow our minds!)

...mimes sang?

...we had volume knobs for all our friends?

...that Atlantis ride at Sea World made sense?

...The Master's College was in San Gabriel?

Washington, D.C.

I got the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. with the 8th Grade class of '09 from San Gabriel Christian School, and it was most awesome. I just put some photos on my facebook, and do not want to have to go through and put them here as well, so here is a link so you can see them, even if you don't have facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=94078&id=506560828&l=07018b702e

Favorite Song lately...

is "Hallelujah, We will sing." by Tommy Walker. You can listen to it on the left. It's the one incorrectly labeled, "Do it Lord."

This song is inspired by the text of Revelation 19, and depicts Christ in His triumphant return. What a day it will be....

Things I learned in the past few days...

-3rd Grade boys can eat foot-long sandwiches from Subway.
A few months ago, my work had this big auction/raffle/dessert night, and one of the raffles was, "Win a lunch with Coach Hoover and a friend." So, parents could put their tickets into the bag, so that their students could pick one friend, and I would treat them to lunch. The winner ended up being a third grader, and he picked his 5th grade cousin to come along. He decided he wanted Subway, so I bought them each a foot-long and chips (they didn't want soda, we all elected to get water). I was very impressed to see the third-grader finish his entire foot-long, as well as some flaming hot Cheetos. (note: the fifth grader did not finish his whole sandwich)

-We (including myself) as sports fans often get carried away.
My favorite hockey team recently advanced to the second-round of the playoffs, and I did some gloating over the internet phenomenon, Facebook. A friend of mine and I went back and forth a little bit (all in good nature, i think) over the topic, and it got me thinking. It is really funny how much pride I take in a sports team. About 90% of the players are different from the roster 6 years ago, and I don't know any of them personally. I didn't do anything at all to help their victory, but still I will gloat in their achievements. Of course, we all take pride in our sports teams, but it's just funny if you think about it. "Ohhhhh, this group of individuals that are near to me locationally hit the puck into the net of the group of individuals that are near you!" I didn't help them in any way, but I take pride in their accomplishments. Weird. Go Ducks.

-Roommate Disneyland Days are fun.

-Sometimes, school is sooooo long. (But it's good for you, I hear.)

-Cool weather and good music really help me when I run.

-The Documentary, The Lost Boys of Sudan is really good. Sudanese refugees come to America to get jobs and education, and they quickly try to adjust to the "hustle and bustle" lifestyle that is America.


-"Be still, Cody."

-Overtime is exhilarating.

-Exhilarating is kind of hard to spell.

-Mother's Day is coming up.



See ya.