You've Got a Friend in Me

For some reason, we checked out like 10 library books, but we leave town on Sunday. We're a little odd.

I'm ecstatic.

(I don't get ecstatic very often.)

You see, I've got a follow-up post for you today from yesterday's post (you should read if you haven't already). And it's much happier - I swear.

You see, I posted yesterday about discovering that a few people really don't give a rip about me. Today, though, I'm turning that 180 and posting about a couple of people that I really care about and that I'd wager have taken a liking to me as well.

Why is this necessary, you ask? Well, for starters, I like it when people like me, and I like to tell others about those people, because they're rockin' awesome. Mainly, though, it was a goal of mine this year (as part of my 111 in 2011) to make a new friend.

And you know what? I one-upped myself - I made two friends!

A Bittersweet Accomplishment

I'm sitting next to a piece of paper that simply says, "Don't placate me." I have no clue what my family was up to last night.

It's Monday, the beginning of a new work week, and...

I don't have to go to work!

It's a beautiful thing, really. But at the same time, it's very bittersweet. Allow me to enlighten you:

Another Day, Another Goal Achieved

I'm pretty sure someone ate the cord to my Zune. If you'd politely give that back, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Man, it's been awhile.  

I don't even remember the last time I posted about achieving a goal!

Luckily, the year is long and it gives me a long time to check everything off of my 111 for 2011. And this weekend, I was finally able to achieve a goal TWO goals!

How, you ask?

By seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 in IMAX!

Finally Hitting the Big 3-0

Not that I'm into being critical, but the song "7x70" is probably my least favorite song of the millennium.Or maybe of all time.

 Alright, ladies and gents. This post is mostly going to be lame in nature, and rather straight to the point.

If you came here looking to be entertained, please accept my apology on behalf of the gnomes that usually work here at Life Before the Bucket to entertain you. They're on vacation and aren't coming back 'til the fat lady sings. Whatever that means.

What I'm really saying is that this might be the lamest blog post ever written. Mostly because it's all about a number.

The big three-oh. Or is it three-o?

Either way, this is all I want to talk about today. Because today, this blog turns 30! Or at least it feels like it does. Or maybe it feels like I am...

A Simple Man's Breakfast

Sorry for the delay in posting. I actually had finals today, and I'm pretty sure I aced them. In other news, my "R" key isn't working very well, so typing up this post should be interesting...

This morning, as usual, I woke up absurdly early. 

3:50 AM early, to be exact.

Honestly, though, I don't mind waking up early, even if it's so early that Jesus is still asleep. It's peaceful and I get a little alone time to give me some energy before the day starts. Of course, by the time everyone else's day begins, I've run out of things to do, which isn't always a bad problem. This morning was no exception. 

After being up for 3.5 hours (making it around 7:30 AM - most of my friends still aren't up by this point), I was bored out of my mind and thought about taking a nap. Instead, I decided eating would definitely be wise, seeing as how I had been up since the buttcrack of the night. I proceeded to the kitchen, where I concocted one of my favorite breakfast meals: a sausage, egg, and cheese (sort of Mc)muffin.

The inspiration for this delectable cuisine.

No Goal Left Behind

I recently hit 50 posts here on Life Before the Bucket. Unfortunately, there wasn't a processional, or even close to as much of a ruse as the Royal Wedding or when that Osama guy was killed. Maybe at 100...?

Last night was an interesting night for me. First of all, it was probably the least productive night of my life. I finally had nothing to do. Unfortunately, either my friends weren't in the same boat or were doing something that involved the use of oxygen - not one of my specialties. Thankfully I'm married, which is supposed to be some sort of lifetime contract that obliges my wife to entertain me when no one else will.

Yes, that would've been an appropriate place for the sarcasm font. Can someone get on inventing that? I'll pay you (note the necessity for such a font here as well).

So while my wife was out, forsaking her marital entertainment duties, I was sitting at home, as sedentary as a pile of cow dung. However, this is part of the reason that I created a few goals for 2011 that involved exactly that - not being cow dung, mind you. Rather, I have a few goals that are purely for fun, entertainment, and nights when no one realizes that I'm cooped up in my overpriced apartment with nothing to do.

And you thought I was going to put a picture of cow dung on here...

MCC, DFE, and Other Mysterious Acronyms

I finished my last paper for the year. Now if only my final presentation would write itself...

 Today, I want to give you a little taste of the world I like to call MCC.

That stands for Manhattan Christian College, in case you were wondering. 

And no, not Manhattan as in Manhattan, New York. Manhattan as in Manhattan, Kansas. Ya know, the "Little Apple."

Oh, you've never heard of it? Don't worry, neither has most of America.

MCC is a funny place. I know that no matter what I write on here about it, I can't win, which is part of what makes it so funny.

It's definitely funny because there's no good pictures of the actual buildings - only this sign.

I could tell you about how it's the college of my dreams and how I never thought such a place of community could exist on a college campus. And that would be at least partially true. However, I'd be in trouble with Jesus because I'd have the whole half-truth thing going on - otherwise known as a lie. So I won't go there.

I could also tell you what it's really like at MCC, and about how imperfect the people are (because, well, they're people) and about the shortcomings of this place. However, I'd be in trouble with everyone but Jesus and my wife for doing this. And I value my life (and my degree), so I'm going to plead the 5th... for now, at least.

Instead, I'll just leave it at this: MCC is a funny place...

A Little Change Never Hurt Anyone

I hope, for my sanity, that I never get used to 4:30 AM.

Well, well, well... Something looks a little different, don't you think?

Can't quite put your finger on it?

Maybe it's just you.

Just kidding!

As you can see, things have changed a little here at Life Before the Bucket. There are a few reasons for the redesign (I love lists, if you haven't noticed):

First of all, I get bored easily. That's all there is to it.

Secondly, this blog made me do it. Yup. Held me at gunpoint and everything.

Thirdly (always an awkward word), I checked another goal off of my 111 for 2011.

Fourthly (I'm really starting to doubt the validity of my vocabulary here), things just needed to look a lot more fun around here.

Pretty good reasoning, eh?

But enough about the blog. I want to tell you about the goal I was able to check off of my 111 in 2011!

(This is where you click "Click HERE to Read More!" I know it doesn't look like a link, but you'll just have to trust me, people. Click it!)

A Blog About Blogs

It's my wonderful wife's birthday! Harass Tell her Happy Birthday if you know her! Love ya, babe!

On account of the fact that it's Saturday, and because my laptop battery is about to die, I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I really just wanted to let you know that I was able to check another goal off of my 111 in 2011: blog at least 25 times (Goal 13)! The 25th blog of the year came on Wednesday, and you can check it out here if you missed it!

My Second Draft

Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday...

Last night, something happened that I've been looking forward to for a long time: the NFL draft. Yeah, I'm one of those guys. I think this is the part where I should probably apologize, but I won't. I can't help but love football, and I have my dad to thank for that. 

Thus, I spent my evening being completely unproductive (when I could've been writing something much more entertaining for you on here), waiting for my favorite team, the Kansas City Chiefs, to make their pick. 

This, however, will not be a post about the NFL Draft, so breathe a sigh of relief. 

I know my wife is.

Instead, I wanted to post today about a different kind of draft. A second draft, in fact. Of what, though? What is there to redo in life (besides everything)? Personally, I believe a little revision every now and then does the heart good. Whether that's revising a paper for a class (which I used to be fanatical about) or revising what's for dinner, change isn't always a bad thing...

Bigger is Better, Especially if it's Free

The last few mornings, I've really enjoyed listening to the birds outside. Man, I'm getting old real fast.

Americans are funny people. I mean, not to say that people from other countries aren't funny - because they definitely are (and maybe I'll share some stories about this in the future) - but Americans are just especially peculiar. We like things the way they are, and if someone tries to fix things, change things, or even suggest that we might be wrong in the way we do something, we throw a fit, call a lawyer, or vote someone out of office. I happen to be one of those funny Americans...

Three Birds, One Stone

Disclaimer: I originally wrote this up on Easter, hence the Easter references. Enjoy!

Happy Easter! If ever there were a day to "start over" in life, it's today. After all, that Jesus guy up and walked his dead self out of his grave some 2000 years ago - a pretty big deal if you ask me. 

See that little quip up there? It's actually relevant today. Or it's supposed to be, anyway. We'll see if it is or not by the end of this post.

So today is Easter. I contemplated posting some tangential nonsense what Easter is actually about. However, I have a feeling that you'll be hearing plenty about that in the next 24 hours or so. Let me give you a little hint, though: it has nothing to do with those bright, colorful, delicious little chicks made out of sugar. You know what I'm talkin' about...

So instead of talking about the real meaning of Easter (Peeps, obviously), I'm going to talk about something mostly unrelated. I hope you'll forgive me. To make it up to you, I'd like to introduce you to something that I rather enjoy. This "something" is a list I've been (unofficially) keeping for about a year now. Let me just give you the list and see if you know what it's about...

A Week of Achievement

It's Easter weekend and we decided to protest traveling home, because we're college students and that's what we do when gas is almost $4. Turns out the family just came to us instead. Gotta love 'em!

Whew. That flurry of Spring Break posts has worn me out. Here's a quick recap, in case you missed one of the posts over the last month: 

• 11-of-111-goal: Goal 101
• A Much Belated Spring Break Post (And a Goal Accomplished!) 
• Nacrolepsy, Tetrazzini, and Farm and Fleet, Oh My! - Pt. 1 
•  Nacrolepsy, Tetrazzini, and Farm and Fleet, Oh My! - Pt. 2
•  Waka-What?
• Indiana: The home of invisible towns, Starbucks, and the Colts 
• A Little More Indiana(polis) 
• Question: What Time is it There? 
• Missouri Wasn't Misery 

A Much Belated Spring Break Post (And a Goal Accomplished!)

I have to apologize. 

Sincerely, honestly, and truly, I need to ask for your forgiveness.

I posted on here about our epic road trip over Spring Break a week ago with a really cool map that showed the ridiculous amount of driving we did, and then left you hanging.

I realize this tease may have burned a bridge between us.

Thankfully, I plan to own an airplane someday, so I'll just take you for a ride to make it up to you.

Deal? Deal.

 Now that we're past that, I really do want to tell you about our epic Spring Break (or at least our first stop)!

This Spring Break, Kalyn and Kelsey (who we went to Taiwan with this past summer and who is returning there this summer) decided that we should go on a road trip. Now, I love traveling as much as the next guy. However, the idea of traversing 2000 miles with minimal male contact scared me a little. I was assured, though, that I'd survive. And somehow, I did...

11 of 111: Goal 101

9 days, 1,900 miles, and over 24 hours worth of driving. 

Every mile was worth it.

There will be much more to come about this Spring Break adventure...
after I catch up on all of the homework I didn't do.

How was your Spring Break? Let me hear about it!

10 of 111: Goals 80 & 81

I have an announcement to make.

Frankly, it's important.

It may or may not be relevant to anything I've ever talked about on this blog.

I tried calling a press conference. Apparently, though, when you announce something on a website, there isn't a need for the press, since this whole "internet" thing exists.

My announcement is this:

After a month and a half, my mourning has ended. My tears have dried. I have stopped losing sleep (for the most part). 

I have stopped mourning the end of Monk.

Seriously.

My 111 in 2011: Falling Short

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you may have noticed a trend. I have this really bad habit of going on what I have officially deemed "blog spurts." And they're just what they sound like. I get in the mood to blog and come up with 70 ridiculous ideas in a row to blog about. And then... nothing.

So, for the last 9 days I've been wanting to blog, but my fingers haven't let me. I'm not really sure what that means, except that I haven't been motivated in the least bit to blog. I'm pretty sure I know why, though. I knew that this post I'm currently composing would have to come eventually. I've just been avoiding it at all costs.

I know I tend to be pretty light-hearted when I write here, and that's purposeful. I believe we take life entirely too seriously. However, there are definitely times in life where reflection is good. This is one of them. Sort of...

8 of 111: Goal 63

It's the first day of March! Finally! 

No more snow! 

No more snow! 

No more snow!

As you can see, I'm excited about the beginning of this new month and a bit optimistic. Probably a little too optimistic. Isn't it supposed to snow next week or something?

I'm so excited about March I want to blog! And en route to actually blogging about what I'm going to blog about, I want to play a little game. We'll call it "Word Association" (because that's what it is).

I say a word, and you say the first word that pops into your mind...

7 of 111: Goal 90

It's a beautiful Friday morning.

(The imperative word here is Friday, in case you missed it.)

Actually, I like most mornings. I'm not really sure that I'm a morning person, because my wife has an abnormal fear of waking me in the morning. But, regardless of her (most likely justified) paranoia, I enjoy my mornings.

Okay, I lied. Just a little.

When I say "I enjoy my mornings," what I'm really saying is double-speak. It's something more like...

"I enjoy a little time by myself, which only seems to happen early on in the day. And I REALLY like coffee and waking up is a great excuse to enjoy it."

Don't tell my mom, but when I was a kid, I hated coffee. Everything about it disgusted me. The smell, the look, the taste, the way it made your breath stank (and no, that's not a typo). It grossed me out, and I swore on some meaningless moniker that I would never drink coffee.

Boy, was I wrong. And my deepest apologies to whoever I swore on, as well. Hopefully they don't haunt me in my old age as I continue to enjoy my coffee, even when I can't remember my own name, let alone theirs.

I was so wrong, in fact, that I made it a goal this year to drink 5 cups of coffee in one day. Now, mind you, I know people who drink whole pots of coffee like their lives depend on it. I, however, cannot do that. My stomach does not expand to the size of a small cow on command, so I am content to have two cups of coffee every morning. 

Okay, maybe 3. 

Sometimes even 4. 

But 5? 

Nah. Don't even go there...

6 of 111: Goal 12

January 21st, 2011.

A monumental day in my life.

When I woke up that day, I had no clue how life-changing it would be.

I had no clue that I would accomplish one of my 111 in 2011.

And that it would forever alter the course of history...