Jumps and Flats

Yo,

so a few days ago I was biking to church. It was a nice relaxing 30 minute ride. While on this ride I determined to learn how to do something: get over curbs by jumping up onto them with the front wheel. Now, this is actually pretty simple, you just pull up sharply when riding and the front wheel will jump off the ground a bit while you are still moving forward and fall down on top of the curb. But I had never realized this. Watching kids do this, it seems like a lot of work and pretty dangerous. But in actuality is so simple! So, I'm kinda obsessed with it now, and I feel so cool doing it! It's like having another childhood.

But really, I love biking. I can't talk highly about it enough. I highly recommend it. xP

However, I also highly recommend buying your own bike pump. I have had terrible luck with free pumps lately. When I got my new bike from BR when he left for Texas the front tire was flat, so I brought the pump MM had given me way back when (it was kinda rusty, admittedly) and it didn't pump up. Must be flat, I thought. So I took the inner tube out and found it wasn't punctured. So I needed to walk over to AS's and use her pump. The other day, I was at school and there's this bike fixing station by the Architecture building and there's a pump. So I went to top off my tires. #Fshooooooooooooooooooooo.........# > . <## It was now flat............... Tried for 15 minutes to get it to work...... Nope. Called up AS. haha... I swear I'll get a pump soon.

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Assorted Tales

Yo guys,

I've been really all over the place lately, both figuratively and literally. haha. To start, I've decided against getting a job for the summer. As such I will need to save as much money as possible before my grad school funding starts coming in in September.

One way I am intending to do that is by biking everywhere all summer. This started a week or so ago and the amount of biking has steadily increased from about 5 minute trips to 30 minute trips. I really like biking. Ever since my housemate back in 2nd year got me a bike and convinced me to bike to school. Then in Saskatoon I was also too cheap to buy a bus pass, so I got a kijiji bike and biked 15 minutes to work each day. It was so good. Just the freedom of being able to bike wherever, whenever, for free is so great. Especially with this perfect Ottawa summer weather.

To enjoy the weather further I've signed up for a membership with a local tennis club. It was $50 for the entire season! So cheap! And I convinced JF to join too. xP. So I'll be playing all the time. We joined the ladder too, so about 8 games per month at least. The practice game we played last week was good. After having been off for a while I can relearn how to serve well. I ended up getting a number of aces! =D But it was a typical match for me where I kind of trail just behind the guy I'm playing. The score ended up being 8-7 for JF where he was only ever ahead by 1 or 2 games, but we ended up usually being tied. (5 deuces in one game. haha) He said "You've got a talent, I'm not sure what it is, but you've got it." I always say it was my brother's doing (if I started winning he got angry).

Speaking of anger, knitting is very relaxing. haha. Unless you're knitting a blanket! This thing is 16 x 17 squares right now (each square a 18x10 garter stitch knit square, worsted weight, acrylic, size 9 needles) so roughly about 40 inches by 40 inches. Roughly. The intention is for a sitting blanket when you're cold on a couch. Nearly done! Not... Estimated to be another 27-60 hours of non-stop knitting. But I'm done with 1 of the 3 colours, but I might want to do a final border in the 1st colour. I really don't want to buy more yarn though. lol. Can't wait to start other projects! =D

Finally, a project I'd like to start up is relearning how to play trombone! Now that I'm free / I'll be a grad student in September, I'd like to join a band, whichever one NF was in (a Carleton band I think). So I need to learn trombone again and my mother can come listen. This is also partially caused by my current favourite anime: "Hibike! Euphonium". It's so good!!! Today's episode was about a concert band marching competition and they packed up all the instruments in a moving truck and went to the competition. "the male students are very useful in these situations" or something. Very true. They didn't need to move all the percussion though. haha.

I'll ttyl about more stuff.

D.Fa

I'm weak.

Yo, it's something that has really been on my mind for a while now. I am fed up with my pride and how I portray myself to others.

I put on this image of strength and confidence sometimes. I don't ask for help from others, I will struggle through it to the end, except sometimes I do ask for help from others, except it will often only be people that I think should know less than me, someone to just jump off of with my own thinking.

I don't like to admit it when I don't know something.

I don't like to be the one in the position of weakness.

I don't like to accept food when it is offered to me.

I don't like asking for things from others when I think that I can get it myself.

I wish that I were stronger, that everything that I do would be enough, that I was perfect, that I was great.

But the truth is I am weak. I am very weak.

Yesterday I was so tired that I fell asleep accidentally. I didn't time manage properly and didn't study enough on the weekend for my midterm yesterday morning, so instead of breakfast I crammed and biked to school. Instead of lunch, I crammed for my other midterm. I tried working hard on my biochem lab, but really I didn't want to and didn't end up doing much both because I was tired and hungry. I reluctantly accepted the meal that JXW's mother had made that she didn't want. Mmmmm goat/lamb. I didn't even thank her... I was thinking about how I could for so long that I guess I thought I did... Then I was at school just dead tired until like 8pm. I went home by bus since it was raining. Then I cooked dinner.

Before starting to work on my biochem lab I went downstairs to close my eyes for a minute. I woke up at 1:30... I went to the bathroom and I'm not entirely sure what happened, but the next minute I opened my eyes and I was in the bathtub... Assumably I fell over. I just don't remember anything between standing and the bathtub. My head didn't hit anything and my back doesn't really hurt and nothing moved that was in the bathtub or on the sides, so I don't know what happened... >.<

I went back to sleep and slept in...

So, today I ate breakfast and packed the leftovers from last night. I walked to school because I was late for something, but the other guy forgot too, so no problem...

I felt really bad about how I've been mistreating my body. Not eating, not sleeping, not even doing work efficiently... I can't keep this pace up on my own. Only three weeks left. I need to do my best and at the same time find a balance in life. Not just doing school work. Not just doing C4C things. Not just wasting time. I need to rely and trust in His plans and live up to them.

Gah. His love for us is so amazing and his strength is so great. I don't want to pretend to be someone else, but live in the reality of the matter. In my weakness God's greatness is made complete. He is the one who gives us strength and power to do more than we can imagine or comprehend. Living in this present-tense perspective is also not a good idea. He gives us the eternal life and ability to know him.

I want to be strong, but I don't want to pretend any longer that I'm not weak.

Ya.

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Surprise!

Yesterday's plans were pretty relaxed.

Driving. Homework. Dinner at my parent's. Praise team practice. Textbook reading.

I got to ride my bike a lot. The weather was so nice. It was basically a dream come true. Well, I was watching some butterflies when I got the call. My day was completely changed. I had work from 2-10, except it was 3 when I got this call. I had to switch worship practice, I had to miss my family dinner, I had to go to work.

This was largely my fault for assuming things and not checking my schedule until 10am on Saturday, but there was no problem. My boss doesn't really care if I'm late as long as everything gets done. I'm gonna be late today too actually because of thanksgiving lunch.

Anyways, I'll talk to you later.

D.Fa

Before BIOL

Hey.

So, I felt like biking to school today. So I did. It took longer than last time, but I didn't go the same way. I went along Viewmount until Fisher instead of just going on Meadowlands. I saw Mr. RT biking to school...... xP.......

Right by Bethel an older lady waiting at the bus stop asked me if I had the time. She had apparently forgotten her watch at home. It was 7:33. I thought that I would be at school very close to that time.

My legs hurt. xP

I've also finished blog stalking JB and now I have nothing to do in my free time...

I should get going soon...

So, yesterday I had school until 1 and 4-11 I had work, but yesterday was also the day of the Mayoral elections, so I had to vote at some point. I went on the way home. It was my first time actually voting. "You know how a Scantron works?" So, I have voted, but I have not driven. Should that not be how it works..?

So, ya. My DG (Discipleship Group) was last night 6:30-8 or something. I couldn't go... >.> At like 5 or so I heard "Dylan to the Bakery. Dylan to the Bakery". RM (my DG leader) had come to say hi and breifly talk about what was going to happen in DG and stuff. That is pretty cool I think. (He does live just across the street from work, but whatever. xP)

Ttyl.

D.Fa

Of Bikes and Midterms.

So,

These last couple days have been up and down. Up and down mount Tiverton to be exact. It seems that my posting has been procrastinated by a series of more pressing matters / unfourtunate circumstances. I either have tried to start blogging and my laptop kinda restarted or I really had to study for my CHEM midterm... but in my free time while I should be studying Friday I biked to school after bussing home for lunch.

So, ya.

Yesterday was the first time I'd biked anywhere in like 7 years or something.

1. It is true, you never forget how to ride a bike.
2. You don't get any better at riding a bike by not riding one for 7 years.
3. Your legs really hurt after riding a bike to school after not biking for 7 years.
4. I'm still not good at going up hills on a bike.
5. Riding a bike on the roads is soooo scary.
6. It's kinda cold. My head and hands were kinda cold after biking.
7. I still am really scared of taking my hands off the handles.
8. My parents didn't like the fact that I had biked without a helmet.
9. My mom bought me a helmet.
10. I have a bike lock so that I don't have my bike stolen again.
11. It's like being able to 'drive' a two-wheeled car without a license.

I actually just went to buy milk. With my bike it takes like a couple minutes. xP

So, ya. Friday I had CHEM at 8:30-9:30, PHYS 10:30-11:30, a CHEM tutorial 11:30-12:30 and a CHEM midterm 6:30-8:00. Some people studied in every spare moment they had. I just cannot study on the day of tests/exams. I just can't. So, I went home at like 2 so I could eat something before the midterm. I decided to bike back. I actually had the chain get off the gears like a block from my house... xP After that everything was cool... except the hill and the fast cars flying by me.... xP

Anyways, the midterm was okay. Short answers had a lot of random stuff because our prof is really into atmospheric chemistry, but other than that everything was okay. Just before we started the proctor was like "If any of you has a cell phone on your person, you are currently in violation of the standards for exam writing. If this is the case, please stand up, walk to the back of the room and put them in your bags quietly." Half the room stood up.

After the midterm I went to CW's and we hung out. We had pasta, played Forza (I completely failed at it...... I could not go like 20 seconds without crashing and I was always spinning..... xP...) and just talked with JS and DK. They talk about really weird things.... xP

I biked home and got home at like 12. I did not go home the same way I went to school though. I went around by Viewmount on the way back. xP Much flatter.

This morning I woke up at like 11, read a book for a bit, finished rewatching 'Amelie' and then I went to my parents' for lunch (and other reasons like getting the rake for tommorow and getting new glasses, but a large reason was the free food. xP)

I probably have stuff to do, but just chilling once in a while is okay, right?

Did I mention the 'worship potluck' on Thursday for YA..? Again I failed at bringing anything, but some of the other stuff they shared was really cool and I helped sing the songs CW was playing on guitar although everyone was kinda.... >.>

JS was saying how he feels that we are his brothers / sisters. Like really I think of RL as a little brother and CW as a big brother. I havn't really been missing my parents or brother too much... I know that sounds bad, but I guess it might be because a) I do see them every once in a while and b) I have another family, the church. It really should be all one family... >.>

Anyways, this is my new favourite song at the moment. I enjoy whistling to it in a really high pitch. xP

You & I by Park Bom from 2NE1.



Ttyl.

D.Fa

PS. I did well on my BIOL midterm.

PPS. United Arab Emirates are Cool too!