Quite a predicament

Ok, I've been told by more than one person that this blog has become a little lame lately. So, in an attempt to make things more interesting, I'm going to tell a tale of what is happening to a friend of mine.

Unlike someone else I know, I'm going to use real names in this story because it really adds to the hilarity of the situation.

Lets begin:
Steve finds out from Shannon that she has a crush on his roommate and friend, Andy. Steve tells Shannon that there is a possibility that something could develop between her and Andy.

Friday, April 22: Andy leaves Trinity bound for Calvin to see his x-girlfriend, Lyndi. Andy continues to "make out" with said x-girlfriend for 3 hours+ on Friday night.

Saturday, April 23: Andy takes Shannon to Trinity's "formal" that you may have heard about here. Unbeknownst to Andy, Shannon has developed a somewhat significant crush on Andy. Andy, however, has developed perhaps an unhealthy infatuation with Rachel, Shannon's best friend. I could stop right here and this story would be funny enough, but it goes on.

Lets recap, Steve knows that Shannon has a crush on Andy, Steve doesn't tell Andy because he wants things to play out because he knows it will be funny. Andy becomes enthralled with Rachel.

Moving on-Andy, in all his ingnorance, asks Shannon for Rachel's instnat messenger screenname. Shannon is starting to get the hint that she is out of Andy's picture and her best friend has taken over Andy's thoughts.

Meanwhile, Steve, Curt and Paul (all roommates of Andy) are all laughing hysterically, amused about Andy's current situation. When I called the Trinity dorm room on Monday night, Andy was not answering the telephone, fearful that it will be Shannon on the other end and he will have to talk to her and tell her what is going on.

What would you do? Keep in mind that there is an x-girlfriend (Lyndi), a girl with a crush on Andy (Shannon), and a girl that Andy has a crush on (Rachel). Feel free to offer any advice to Andy by leaving comments.

Its all about the fundamentals

Now that the semester is coming to an end, professors are requiring group presentations. This doesn't really bother me when I have to give one, but when I have to sit through them, this gets under my skin.

These presentations are given by sophomores, juniors and seniors in college. Apparently, somewhere along the line, they forgot what they learned in COMM 110: Fundamentals of speaking and listening. I'm putting emphasis on the speaking.

I think its time to learn to have good posture, to use hand gestures, not to look at the screen with their backs to the class, not to read off a script, not use poor grammar...and the list goes on.

Maybe it may have been my high school speech class that taught me all of these things so well, under the guidance of Arv Wierda (hands down the best speech teacher at Kalamazoo Christian High School, ever).

More tips:
-Ladies (do any ladies read this?)-wear your hair pulled back, nothing is more distracting than when you have to move brush your hair back with your hands.

-Guys (do any guys read this?)-stand on both feet-don't lean, wear nice clothes, don't use filler words (the most popular being "umm")

-Most of all, be confident, no one wants to listen to a shy person try and tell us something, command the attention of the class!!

Flying

On Friday I had the opportunity to do something very exciting. One of the business professors at Dordt owns his own airplane, and occasionally takes members of the Flight Club with him when he goes flying. I was fortunate enough to be one of those lucky students. We got to the airfield (a short paved runway with adjacent hangars) and started the usual pre-flight routine. When it was time to finally get going I was very excited.

Bernie (the professor) and TJ Lagastee (my brother's future brother-in-law) were in the front, and my roommate Brian and I were in the back of a small, 4-seater airplane. We took off, headed towards Sioux Center and flew mainly around the area for a while, then we headed back to the airfield. After we had landed, Bernie asked if I would like to come up front, and I knew I didn't want to pass this opportunity up. TJ and I switched seats and we took off again. As we leveled off and started cruising at 180mph, Bernie handed the controls over to me!!! It was indescribable how much fun I was having. I was actually flying an airplane, something I had never done before and it was awesome. I flew over Sioux Center, and then towards Orange City, and eventually back to the airfield. Even though it was only for a little while, it was still very thrilling and if given the opportunity, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Too busy to blog?

Yeah, that's right. I am (or was) too busy to blog yesterday on poetry day, although my "engi-nerd" roommates would disagree.

As for poetry day, I'm not so sure that I would have had anything to contribute that would top Eric's Soap Haiku and Aaron's You kiss me, You diss me. I'm not one to express my feelings in prose form.

"Well Jim, if you're too busy to blog, what have you been doing then?"

Good question.

I don't really know, the mixture of homework, studying for tests, group work, lifting weights (that's right), running, playing basketball, going on a date (yep-a date with a girl), and working has managed to consume most of my time.

"Gee, Jim, you should take some time to relax."

Yes, indeed I shall. I have plans to go golfing tomorrow afternoon. First time this spring, not using my own clubs--will make for an interesting outing. If I was only going up against the guys from Trinity I know I would win. However, I'm golfing with a member of Dordt's golf team, won't be as easy.

All in all, this should be a pleasant ending to the week after my two brutal tests today. But I felt better after I ran, so much so that I hopped in my car to see how long it was, nearly 3.8 miles, and I probably could have gone farther (or further?).

Well, I'm done boasting about personal accomplishments and am getting ready for a walk over to the All Seasons Center-Destination Fun!!! for a dip in the hot tub.