I Have Not Forgotten...

No no, I'm not dead. I am very much the opposite. Like I said, we just got our high-speed cable internet yesterday. True, I've technically "had" internet since I got here; we kind of stole some bandwidth from a guy somewhere near us that didn't properly secure his wireless network. That method wasn't very reliable, however. Now we have our own network set up, and yes, it is very much secure.

Wondering what's been going on with me? Here's a blow-by-blow of how the last week has gone:

Friday(august 19th): I made the long drive down here to Houston. It took 8 hours, but it honestly did not feel like it. Mal made me this mp3 cd, which made the trip seem more like 4 hours. I was moved in and settle that night. My room is much better than last spring; the sink is actually IN the room, I have a much larger closet, and my bathroom is connected INSIDE my room, so I don't have to walk out of my room to use the restroom...now THAT'S comfort, haha. The rest of the apartment looks exactly like our last, only it's flipped, haha. It took a little getting used to, but I think we're ok now. Here are some pics of my room...

My lovely room. Notice my baseball corner in the back; everything is ready to support my team at a moment's notice, haha.

The sink is IN my room. How COOL is that? The bathroom can be seen in the background.

Yes, she's down right now, but she will be up soon....very soon.

Saturday: I got a call from Walker, a new co-op here from Mississippi State. He invited me to an Astros game with him and his Dad; I readily accepted. It was 97 degrees outside that day, but Minute Maid Park has a retractable roof, making the gametime temp around 69 degrees. It was great...........
I noticed something while at that game. I am not a big Astros fan, let alone National League fan, but then it dawned on me: World Series......Astros vs Red Sox.....holy crap! I'm not saying we'll make it that far, or even get into the playoffs, but just think about it. The World Series HERE! If that scenario played out, I'd make sure I got 2 tickets, even if I had to pay an arm, leg, or soul to get them. The Astros still are not my team, but I am DEFINITELY rooting for them to get that Wild Card spot. GO 'STROS!

Sunday: I was a complete bum. I sat out by the pool, got a few rays, and rearranged things here and there in the apartment. I also had to iron clothes for work, and I attempted to get to bed at a decent hour( I wasn't very successful).

Monday: First day of work. I went to 600 Gemini to get badged, which was so much easier now that I am a returning co-op. It was great to see my old group: Eric, Colin, Al, Frank, Elizabeth, Pam, Macresia, and Jude. Sadly, this summer several of my mentors moved on to other things beside the civil space program. They are doing well from what I hear; I just wished I could have said goodbye....Then I met my new manager; of course, he wasn't really new to me, as he was the guy that interviewed me for this job. Best of all, Bryan(my new manager) is in the same room as Trey. Trey refused to look at me when I walked in, haha. He's upset I didn't come back to one of his groups. He wont even call me by name now; he just calls me "co-op", haha. Everyone in my new group is awesome. I will go into much detail about this new group in a later post, but just know that this is actually rocket science; what I am doing is exactly what you think of when you hear the word NASA, spaceflight, or rocket science. It's a blast(get it?). I'll talk more about all that later, though, so you have something to look forward to......

when I went to see my old group, I ran into Eric first. What did he say right as he saw me? I quote, "Hey Henry, what are you doing tonight? Nothing? Good. Poker night is back. My place at 8:00. I'll see you there."....and that was it. No "Hey man, how are ya?" or "how was your summer?" or "what's up? glad to see ya back?" It was funny. I think he knew I was coming.

So I went to play poker with the boys while we watched Monday Night Football, chowed down on pizza and snacks, and drank all kinds of beverages. I knew the basics of poker going into that game, but the guys really helped me get the hang of it. I am completely hooked now. Sure, I put in 10 bucks and left with $2.75, but I'll get better. We play every Monday night. I'll win the money back :)

Eric also told me about his Labor Day Bash next Saturday at his place. TONS of people are going to be there, and I am planning on joining them. It's gonna be awesome. The first full weekend of football + backyard grilling + a huge crowd = FUN for all. I can't wait!

Tuesday: Day two of work. Again, it was great fun. I ran into Eric again that morning. During poker the night before, I mentioned to him(knowing that he was from Dallas and a huge Cowboys/Stars/Rangers/Mavericks fan) that the Avalanche were coming into Dallas to play the Stars on October 8th. He seemed interested but didn't say anything at the time. This morning he said, "Why dont we plan on going to that Avs game in October?" So the wheels have been put into motion for my semi-annual trip to Dallas, haha. I am SO excited. My Avs will be back on the ice, and I'll get to see them near the beginning of the season.

Also, I'm going to see the Avs play in Nashville over Christmas break AND during the spring semester when we have a 3-day weekend in the spring. I'm also going to see Wayne Gretzky coach the Coyotes against Nasvhille in April. Can you tell I'm excited about hockey's return?

I told Colin(my fellow Sox fan in my old group) my idea for the playoffs in October. I suggested that all of us(Red Sox nation here in Houston) take turns hosting a Sox Party every game of the playoffs(in which the Sox play, of course). He loved the idea, so we're gonna try doing that come October. That should be fun.

Tuesday night, I went to the League City sportsplex(about 8 miles away) to watch the volleyball league play. This complex is NICE. There are 6 regulation beach courts, all with great sand, new nets, and plenty of lighting. I stayed for about 2 hours. It was unbelievable. I found the league's website, and I discovered that a new league starts late next week. I'm not sure how many spots are left open, but Jason and I are definitely interested. We're gonna practice some over the next few days, and if we think we can get some damage done on other teams, we'll sign up. It's $120 a team, so we're not gonna join unless we think we can play at a decent level.

Wednesday(today): The Yankees just allowed 9 runs in one inning, and the Sox are up 3-0; today is definitely a good one.

It's about time to put the clothes in the dryer, so I guess I'll stop here tonight.

Until next time,
-H

Houston Bound

Well folks, tomorrow morning I leave bright and early for Space City, USA(Houston, for the uninformed). I've been packing the last few days, and I will load everything into the jeep tonight, making my departure tomorrow more expeditious. The internet/cable guy can't come to our place until Tuesday, so I'll have to rough it over the weekend, haha. Scattered showers is the forecast, but there might be some sunshine here and there; I may try to head out to the pool. One thing I am definitely doing: going to the the League City Sportsplex to see where I sign up for the beach volleyball league :)

And with what, I am gone. Next time you hear from me, I'll be back on the job, ensuring that thing orbiting the earth stays that way.

-Henry

What the...

An ENORMOUS tent was erected today on the center grounds...really bizarre. I'll try to provide photographical reconnaissance tomorrow.

-The H

Oh Brother, Where Dart Thou?

It's only logical that, while I am home, I should practice my dart throwing. I have a feeling Richard and I will soon clash in an instant classic dart match for the ages(dont ask me how I "feel" it. It's like the force...you just know). With that said, I have thrown a bajillion darts since returning from Paris. Every night(that I am home) I throw for at least 2 hours while I stay up until it's early. I figured I should provide evidence of these occurrences...

Look at the focus...
Look at the form...
Look at how freakin close the dart is to the camera!

I am bringing my dart board to Houston again, but you can be rest assured that it WILL go up this time.

I noticed one of my trophies on my shelf today, one from days long gone. I looked at it, and I could not help but smile. Why? Take a look...

Okay, honestly. Does this really surprise anyone that I played for this team?

Speakin of the Sox, Schiller blew a two-run lead tonight in Comerica park in Detroit. The Yanks won as well, so they gained a game. Damnit.

-H

Ramblings...

So yeah, I've kind of procrastinated the past few days...

Unless you've been living under a really really large rock, you know that Discovery landed safely early this week. This was the most nervous moment for all involved with the shuttle program, but the it went off without a hitch. Hell, besides the shuttle being a falling brick when it enters the atmosphere, they landed it in the dark no less. Truly impressive. Hopefully it wont be too long before the shuttles are flying again. The foam problem is annoying, but I believe we will never truly be able to eliminate all foam loss. I think the focus should be on making sure that the foam doesn't hit the orbiter, not eliminating all foam loss....but that's just me.

Being able to hang out with Trevor this week has been fun. We've gone out and done something every night since Monday. Thursday was really fun; a TON of people were at Michelle's to hang out. There were more than 10 there, so I think that constitutes a "party." At this "party," I commandeered Kendall's straw hat that he wears ALL the time. I liked it so much, I wore it the rest of the night. Using my camera phone, Trevor got a pic of me with the hat on, so if I ever get another usb cable, I'll try to post the pic on here. Kendall says the hats can be purchased at Academy Sports; I may just have to pic one up before I leave next week.

My Sox jersey came in yesterday! It's just like the jersey I received in the mail a few weeks ago, but that one was too large. I downsized to a medium, and it fits like a glove. For those of you who dont know, it's the alternate home jersey the Sox wear during home games on Sunday. It's red, which I think is pretty sharp. Now I can root my Sox on with style.

I have begun a huge musical downloading campaign. It's really weird, as I am not usually a big music guy. I don't know what it is, but I just started wanting all these artists and their cds. I have about 20 artists listed, and each one of them has at least 2 cds in their repertoire. This will take time...

There is another long term goal I have set today as well. I want to own EVERY dvd based off of a comic book movie ever made. I know, it seems impossible, but I think it can be done. Again, this is a long term goal, but hopefully it will be met before summer '06. I already have 33 movies listed :)

Heard some great news on the Family Vacation front today...next summer the family is going to relax in the Isle of Palms off the coast of South Carolina!! Helllllllll yeah! I'm pretty excited, but the only thing that I am cautiously pessimistic about is the fact that I will be working that summer in Houston. Off days will be hard to come by then, but mom says we're shooting for an August date, so everything may work out just perfectly.

well, i'm finished downloading, and the Sox just won. I swear, we are unbeatable at home this year. Five games in the AL east lead, 13 straight wins at Fenway, and we just clinched the season series against the team with the best record in the bigs. HOO-YAH!

-H

Ok, I promise...this is the last time

i think this is a record or something, as i have either come in late or stayed up with everyone at trevor's until very late for the past 5 straight days. When I say late, I am talking 5:00-sunrise. It's crazy. However, due to the crazy nature of it all, I am too tired to update fully tonight. I have nothing to do(seriously, NOTHING) tomorrow, so I should, by all logic, update completely then. I have tons of cd burning to do; I have created a list of 17 artists and/or cds to burn, so that will keep me busy for most of tomorrow, I'm sure. Good thing we have high-speed over at the center.

until tomorrow,

-H

Update time....later tonight

lots to talk about tonight....shuttles, work, pool parties, and video recording...

stay tuned later this evening!

I'm off to town,

-H

OK, let's try this one more time...

today was supposed to be action-filled, but not much of it came to fruition. Rain cancelled our volleyball match, so Trevor and I resorted to old-school gaming on my trusty Super Nintendo. We really will never see a better system than that one. If you don't agree with me, just shoot me an email or IM or something. I could go off on it on here, but I'd prefer to not to increase my geekdom on here any further...

First oppurtunity for Discovery to land tomorrow morning will be at 0407 hours. Another all-nighter? You bet...

Scroll down to see one of Richard's comments in a previous post. He has challenged me, albeit from Virginia, to up my game of darts....so that's what I plan on doing tonight: darts, darts, darts. Be prepared, Richard! I watched the World Series of Darts on the tele today, so I know what it takes, haha...

trevor had new speakers installed in his car today, so we got pa-lenty of time to browse Best Buy. Trevor and I are contemplating what equipment we will need for the apartment next spring :)

I go to take the jeep in for brake work tomorrow...yay.

well, Conan is on,

g'night!

-H

Waived Off

The landing has been pushed to Tuesday(0407 hours) due to low cloud cover that developed at KSC. Guess that means staying up all night again tonight...

-H

Waiting

well it's currently 01:37 hours, and I am not asleep. True, I am usually up at this hour anyways, but today is a little different. Space shuttle Discovery is set to begin reentry with a deorbit burn in about 1 hour's time. Mission Control Houston has given the "GO" to begin the reentry procedure, as all possible landing sites are showing favorable weather. I might be able to stay up until then, but if I cannot, I do have my alarms set. I think my dad and/or mom will be waking up as well. It's pretty cool that they are interested and support the things that I am involved in...

today was a fun day. I woke up and went to church with my rents...always a good thing. Then we ate lunch with James Proctor, an old friend from Grenada. Simply put, James is awesome. He and I have had so many misadventures, it's ridiculous. A short list of some of the things he and I created/experienced/thought of...

-the hit single, "Green CD Cases"
-the Fantasy Channel web site
-the Spice Preachers of the Episcopal Church
-the Trudy scale of accidents(ranging from 1.0 to 5.0)

These and other items came up in our conversations this afternoon; it was a good time...

Afterword, I went to James' studio, where his band was putting the finishing touches to the songs on their first album. No word yet on the album title, but the genre is heavy death metal...well there you go.

After the studio, I went to Trevor's. I stayed there until midnight. His mom cooked a roast beef meal followed by chocolate chip cookies; you just HAVE to love Mrs. Joyce. Trevor and I watched the dvd extras to Team America: World Police...HILARIOUS! We then watched the Summer of Seinfeld, as well as several episodes of Family Guy. Some of our friends came over after that; this group include Jordan, Michelle, and Kane. We sat in the living room, talking for about 2 hours. Afterwards, we proceeded to the same thing, but we did it outside in the driveway. Fun fun...

I did find out that Michelle(I technically JUST met her this evening) is from Fairfax. Small world, aint it?

My infectious attitude towards volleyball has caught on. We plan to play today at Liberty Park. I may just video tape the match, and I will take stills from it later. Interesting technique, so we'll see how that turns out.

well, I am going to throw some darts to pass the time until 3:40 am...

Hopefully I will be bringing you all good news about the landing later today...

-H

Wonka Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight

I went to see Charlie & the Chocolate Factory tonight with my parents. I really didn't have any expectations going into the movie, although I had seen the original before watching this remake. With that being said, I loved this movie. I am a long time fan of Tim Burton; Batman is what originally got me hooked. Then there was Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, and Big Fish, just to name a few. Chocolate Factory was a vintage Tim Burton movie: wacky characters, creative environments, demented humor, and of course, great music, which was done by Danny Elfman. I think whenever Tim Burton is involved with a movie, Danny should do the music. It's analagous to Spielberg and John Williams, for they ALWAYS work in tandem.

I saw some interesting things before the movie...

-a poster for X-Men 3, which gave a solid date for the relase: 5/26/06...SWEET!
-a poster for Saw II...should they really make a sequel to this?!? Not sure, but I loved the first, so chances are I'll see the second...
-a trailer for King Kong again...words cannot describe the breathtaking experience that movie is sure to provide

so yeh, I'm at The Center now...haha, that makes me sound like I'm in the local asylum. I don't have much planned for the next few weeks, other than doing more of what I did in Paris(which was very close to nothing, if you are just joining this blog). The dogs are great, the cat is braver, and the weather is still hot...ahh, good times.

I am not really looking forward to the long, winding drive to Houston on the 19th, but I do have something to look forward to in that trip. Before I left Paris, Mal made me a cd just for my Canton-to-Houston trip. It's an mp3 cd, so it has 3.2 gajillion songs on it. I promised I'd wait and hear the songs for the first time on that drive, so the trip will have an upside to it. The cd has what is quite possibly every genre of music on it...no, i haven't looked at the tracks; the titles of each folder are on the cd.

well, it's almost time for the late late edition of Baseball Tonight...not that I'm looking forward to watching how the Red Sox lost the game because of a throwing error...

g'night
-H

Gridiron Volleyball

As you probably know by now, volleyball has become my newest sports passion over the past 6 months. I am not quite sure what got me into it, but I'm glad I have. With that being said, Travis and I have tried to play volleyball at the Memorial Park swimming pool every day the past week. This isn't your grandfather's volleyball either; this is two on two to 21, best of 3 sets. It's fast, it's hard, and the sand does fly. We were able to document some of the more intense moments...

Travis watches as I perform a jump serve...that's right: JUMP serve.

Lee and I battle for a ball at the net...

Travis performing an incredible bump.

Mal also knew how to get some air...and spike the ball like a pro.

She even sacrificed her body to get to the ball.

Well, my stay in Paris has unfortunately come to an end. This past month has been an absolute blast, and it has definitely helped me in a big way. I have been able to relax everyday, not even think about work, and even get a decent tan started. The Stutzman's were EXTREMELY generous, letting me stay in there house and partake in some of their culinary products. They will see a surprise on their kitchen table tomorrow when the return from work :).

Travis is here...so I am gonna jet. Night.

-H

Pictures

Like I promised, I have posted the pictures from our Tampa trip in my Tampa Post. Check them out. I apologize for some of the pics, for I have not cropped some of them. Also, if you have a dial-up connection( mom and dad :) ), just give the page some time to load. There are quite a few pictures. Enjoy!

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of our volleyball escapades the past few days.

-Henry

It's true...I really do update

well i haven't updated in awhile, so I guess I should bring everyone up to speed...

okay, so last monday, we headed for Tampa. The plan was to meet Trevor and company, ride some coasters, and see a Red Sox game. We drove all day, ending up at Marcie's in Atlanta for the night.

Tuesday rolled around, and we were on the road up and early at 6am. Now Tuesday was a highly historical day, as the space shuttle returned to flight after more than 2.5 years. Mal was thoughtful enough to suggest stopping at a hotel down the road so we could watch it. She was even able to capture the tension of the moment with her camera...

We continued on after the launch, landing in Tampa around 2:30. The hotel room wasn't ready, so we all went out to eat. It was the first time Mal and Amber met, as well as the Acy parents meeting Mal. A good time was had by all.

After dinner, still no luck with the room. Mal and I decided to take things into our own hands, offering to go pick up the tickets to the game while everyone moved into the room when it was ready. If we had waited on the room before heading down to Tropicana Field, we may not have gotten good seats. Trevor and Amber tagged along, and despite some erratic driving on my part, we made it to Tropicana field in plenty of time to buy what I believe to be the best seats I have ever had at a baseball game(yes, better than the ones I have been to at Fenway). I'll let some of the pictures describe the eventful evening...

Trevor and I were stunned by a 30 ft. tall Manny Ramirez on the Jumbotron

The view of the action from our seats...

Matt Clement got hit hard with a line drive midway through the game. It was a very scary sight...
So scary I couldn't bear to watch.

But the game continued...Mal and I regained our composure and focus.

We were down a few runs in the latter innings, which meant only one thing: rally cap time.
Thanks to 9th and 10th inning heroics by Damon, the Sox gained the lead. Schiller came in to close it out.

After the game, we went back to the hotel, took a dip in the pool, and got some rest. A long day awaited us on Wednesday...

Busch Gardens. Home of 2 of the top 25 steel coasters in the world, according to coasterfanatics.com. Talk about exciting. We got to the park before it opened, getting a jump start on the rest of the crowd. The gates opened, and we headed to Sheikra, Busch Gardens' newest attraction. Head over to the roller coaster database to learn more about it. Not the tallest or fastest coaster I have ever ridden, but it was quite a thrill. Why? The 90 degree drop at the beginning is quite breathtaking. Needless to say, with the crowd being so small at the outset of the day, we rode Sheikra TWICE.

Trevor and I are amused by the clever park map.

Next came Montu, quite possibly the BEST inverted coaster I have ever experienced. Again, the rcdb has all the info about it. I mean, an upside-down cobra roll on an inverted coaster!?! Are you kidding me?! We rode the front, and I can understand why it is in the top 25.

We did find that Mal has Egyptian ancestry...

Then came Kumba. Excellent steel coaster. Read all about it here.

On to Gwazi we went. It was a "dueling" wooden coaster, but due to the lack of either a) mediocrity or b) stupidity in design, the dueling aspect was never fully realized. Still, an excellent wooden coaster it was.

Besides riding the coasters that day, we also ate, played some arcade games, and the usual batch of carnival-style games. I vowed that I'd win a prize for Mal, but I soon found out that was easier said than done. Here I attempted the dreaded ring-around-bottle throw.

Oh I got close.....VERY close to winning.

I even resorted to trying "The Claw" game. Same result: FAILURE.

Around 4, we left the park to clean up a bit and eat a sit-down dinner. The park is open until 10 during July, and during this time they lower the lights, turn up the ambiet noise, and have bands playing all around the park. We returned to ride Montu amidst twilight. It was breathtaking.

We rode another coaster, the Python, but due to it's kiddie-like design and short length, I'd prefer not to mention it any further, haha.

We returned to the hotel for the night.

Every roller coaster/theme park has a sister water park, and Busch Gardens was no different. The water park, Adventure Island, was included in our two-day passes. We went around 1pm to experience the water at the hottest part of the day. There were TONS of people there, which slowed the lines somewhat, but after a short thunderstorm, the crowd decreased by about half. We rode the slides, the raft slides, and other rides. Not a particular noteable water park, but fun nonetheless. We also made time for goofy pictures and action shots, but since we were using a disposable underwater camera, we're still waiting on them to develop.

Mal and I left early early Friday morning. We bid adieu to Trevor and Amber, and we were on our way. We got to Atlanta around 2:30, but since we were coming from the opposite direction and there was no exit for our turnoff from the South, we had to navigate the mean streets of Atlanta for a few hours. We got to Marcie's around 4:30, and we took a nap for an hour and a half. We went to pick up our tickets when we woke, the drove back to Marcie's. We changed into our ballgame attire, then walked to the game. We were less than 1.5 miles from Turner Field, so there was no need to drive.

The game was great. Mal got some awesome seats right in the middle of left field home run territory. We had a spectacular view of the game:

You wouldn't wanna make these two angry...

In an attempt to blend in, disappear, I joined the crowd with the Tomahawk chant.

Who knew Johnny Bravo was a Braves fan?

As you can tell, Mal and I completely hate each other's company.

We got to bed around midnight, only to wake up and leave by 5am. Mal had to be back in Paris for a wedding, so we made sure we had enough of a time cushion. Let me tell you, THAT was some tough driving. Never again do I want to get 5 hours sleep and drive....EVER. We returned to Paris in plenty of time for Mal to make the wedding.

All in all, the trip was great. Fast coasters, great weather, a Red Sox win...it just doesn't get much better than that.

Since we have returned, I have just been chillin, as you'd expect. Lately, however, Travis and I have been in the volleyball mood. We have gone up to the city pool to play the past few days. Our combined powers make for an unstoppable force. We only dropped 2 sets all day today. We got some great pics of all of us playing today, so I'll be sure to post them once I have them.

Until next time...

-H

Update

Update Tonight: No Holds Barred!

Tampa Tampa Tampa

Well folks, today Mal and I are leaving for Tampa, FL. Okay, we're stopping in Atlanta tonight to stay with her friend, BUT our final destination will be Tampa. Am I excited? Yup. Am I ready to ride some sick coasters? Yuh-huh. Am I ready to see V-Teck and my Sox woop up on some Devil Rays? Definitely.

I will try to update everyday we are there, as Mr. Jerry has hooked us up with some SWEET hotel rooms that have wi-fi access. Expect LOTS of pictures in the coming days :)

Who knows, I might be feeling crazy enough to do an audioblog on our trip....stay tuned!

-H

The Eagle Has Landed

well, i know i said "update" tonight, but I mean, what do I really have to update about? I sit around all day(not that I am complaining)...

Things have started to look up, weather-wise, here in lovely northwestern Tennessee. The past several days have brought plentiful amounts of sunshine; therefore, I have been out by the pool those days. Slowly but surely...I'm getting a tan. Okay, it isn't Mallory tan, but I'm darker than I was. My face is noticeably darker as well; that means I have two of the three traits when someone says, "tall, dark, and handsome." If I get the third one, I'll be good-to-go, haha...

Tampa plans are still a GO. Weather down there, according to the forecast right now, will be just perfect. Any showers will be far and few between, and the rest of the week will be beautiful.

NASA keeps getting more coincidental all the time. Today they announced the new launch date for Discovery...and what is today?? Why, it's the 36th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing. Gee, I wonder who proposed that idea, haha. So in honor of this, the greatest technological achievement of the past century(okay, okay. The atom splitting could be #1), here's an educational link:

ALL DISBELIEVERS CLICK HERE

And Google decided to join the celebration as well:

I also suggest going to the link in that picture above, Google Moon. It's pretty cool to look at. What is even cooler? Try zoomin in alllll the way.....

The launch date of July 26 does bum me out a little bit. We will be on the road at that time(the launch is late morning), on our way to Tampa. I guess we could "listen" to it on the radio, but what's the fun in that? There really is no way to make the launch in Titusville. We'd have to get up at or around 3:00 am, after a night of driving and getting to bed at 12:30 am. That aint happenin, haha. At least I'll get to see the replays, right?

My Red Sox jersey comes in tomorrow :D. Saying I am exited would be an understatement. I ordered one of the alternate home jerseys, the RED ones. They are freakin' sweet! Now I can really support my Sox! Dad even shipped me my old high school first baseman's mit, so I will be able to attempt catching a foul ball at the game in Tampa.

well that should bring everyone up to speed. Tomorrow will be another day of chillin' by the sun for me. Nick comes in this Friday, and we will have a do-over this Saturday, as the party last week was ruined due to the rain...

-H

p.s. I have been charged with developing a "slip-n-slide" arrangement for Saturday's party. The slide will run into the pool. Com'on, you KNOW it sounds cool.

UPDATE

An update is guaranteed tonight...or your money back!!

Way Too Much Extra Time

I have been in a picture mood as of late(if you hadn't noticed), so I will continue the trend. This is another pic Mal took during one of the past 8 dreary days we've had here...

I am attempting to walk on water. Travis is doing his best Scott Stapp impression.

Envy, Part Deux

I knew my brother couldn't just see TWO superstars...he had to see THREE!

That would be badass goalkeeper Kasey Keller in the blue shirt. Andrea in the right foreground, stares in disbelief.

Envy

Okay, could I be ANY more envious of my brother Will?

Two reasons why I wish I were he:

ONE:

He and Andrea got Green Monster seats to last night's Sox/Yanks game...

TWO:

He and Andrea got to hang out with MLS superstars and U.S. World Cup Team members Josh Wolff(left) and Landon Donovan.

I'll run into someone famous some day...

The Good, the Bad, and the Funny

Maybe this fall wont be so boring after all...

GOOD:
After almost 302 days of lockout, the NHL owners and the Players' Associaton have finally decided on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement! Yes, this does mean that the 2005-06 season is a GO. Now, I do not necessarily agree with all the terms of the new deal, and I am sure most of the players don't either, but the Commish did warn them that any deal reached at this point would never be as good as the offer that was put on the table in February. Despite some of these aspects, I am THRILLED beyond comprehension that this great game is back on the ice. The Avalanche is in a pretty decent spot up to this point. They have some salary cap room to spare, so a trade and/or farm system callup might be in order. Peter Forsberg could still come back. Goaltender David Aebischer has had a year to perfect his already promising skills as the backstop. Blake and Tanguay are also two big guns that will be back(if they are re-signed to new deals, which most of the experts are saying they will). Then there is the Jedi, Joe Sakic. Could this be the guy I want to see play the most? Uhm, yeh. That's an easy one. Avs are poised to do it again, people.

There will also be some rule changes to make the game more exciting, such as more tie-breaking shoot-outs. Good idea? Hell yeh, it is. I've seen an AHL game with a shoot out. It's definitely more exciting than ending in a tie. There are other possible rule changes, but I'll talk about them later when they are finalized.

BAD:
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the shuttle launch today was scrubbed. There was a faulty low-level fuel sensor, and that's a definite must-have for a launch. I'm not really that upset though, as this is a testament to the diligent work that has been and will be done to Return to Flight. I'm glad someone finally said, "You know what, we can't really go without this. Let's hold off until we get it right," and someone listened to that person. There has definitely been a change of culture in the Administration, and that is a good thing.

The higher-ups say Discovery could launch by Monday. Hopefully they will get this baby off before the July window ends. If not, we'd have to wait until September(that, of course, might not be too bad, cuz I'd be at JSC during that time period).

Remnants of Dennis continue to provide plenty of clouds and rain around NW Tennessee. It sucks so much. I wanted sunshine and breezes, not overcast and precipitation! I mean, it's great to relax, but I wanted to be doing that OUTSIDE. Oh well. Despite the uncooperative weather, Mal, Travis, and I decided to get in the pool today. Yes, it was quite cold, but we were bored. Mal was able to capture some of the moments, though....

FUNNY:

I am displaying the Heisman pose while Travis attempts to tackle me....all in midair.

Second half of the baseball season starts tomorrow. Yankees @ Bo Sox, 7pm EDT. Watch it on ESPN. I know I will be.

Just some FYI, the game on Saturday is on FOX, and the sunday night game is also on ESPN/2.

-H

Dogs

Okay, I just wanted all of you to know how cute my dogs were. That's all.

Now THIS is the Life...

You never realize how much crap you've been doing until you aren't doing it anymore.

I just finished a spring semester of work in Houston, and right as that ended, I had to begin summer school. Of course, in between and after each one of those, I was driving and moving across vast distance of highways.

Now I am in Paris, TN, and things probably couldn't get any more relaxing. Let me illustrate this fact. Until today(when Dennis the Menace decided to pay the entire southeast a visit), here was our typical daily schedule:

11:30 am---Wake up
12:00 pm---Eat Lunch
12:15-5:00pm---Lay out by the pool, soak some sun, swim some, talk some, all the while consuming countless fruity frozen beverages
6:00pm---Dinner here or somehwere
6:45-8:00pm---Chill time
8:00-9:00pm---Workout/run
9:15pm---Shower
9:30pm - ???am --- Something exciting, usually a "Nicholas Stutzman Old-Fashioned" pool party, a movie, hanging out with the boyz, or something completely different(like tonight, The 2005 Home-Run Derby)
???am-11:30 --- Sleep
And the process repeats.

See? This is exactly what I needed, and it's only going to get better in the coming days, as everyone comes back into town. Nick is returning this coming weekend as well, so we're sure to have an "event" here at his place this weekend.

Yeh, as I said, Dennis has kind of killed the summer vibe, what with the constant rain and overcast skies since 6pm yesterday. Not a huge deal, though. I have just chilled at the house most of the day today. I have cleaned up a bit from this weekend's activities, fixed a few meals, and have even sat down to make time to write this post.

We are mere days from the Return to Flight launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and her crew. The launch is set for 3:51 EDT this wednesday. That is less than 48 hours away! The Stutzman's don't have NASA Tv, but I'm sure most, if not all, of the networks will be covering the launch, so I shouldn't have a problem watching it. There is a 30% chance of unfavorable conditions for launch on Wednesday, and the next two days will not be much better. Worst case scenario, Discovery will launch on Saturday afternoon. That would be another reason to have a party on Saturday, haha.

We ate at the Olive Pit, Paris' new Italian restaurant, last Friday. I would have to say that this is the best restaurant in Paris, hands-down. It is the FIRST place in Paris that serves grilled salmon, and being the salmon savant that I am, I was very excited and pleased with the results. I will definitely be visiting the Pit again before I am gone.

Josh, Nick, Travis, and I went to see Fantastic Four last night...boy was that a big disappointment. Okay, I understand that this IS based on a comic book, but there were WAY WAY WAY too many one-liners, and there was entirely too much campy dialogue. In addition, hardly any of the exciting scenes were new, because they showed them ALL in the trailers and previews. Other than that, though, the movie started off quickly, and Dr. Doom is by far the BEST villain in any of the comic book movies made so far. He was very well done. Too bad he didn't get to fight much; however, they have left it open for a sequel and/or trilogy with Dr. Doom returning. Hopefully, they will fix the problems in the next movie.

Speaking of trilogies, I think that all movies made from now on should be made into trilogies(except maybe comedies and documentaries). Seriously. Two hours is just not enough time to really flesh out the characters and provide a thorough look into these imaginary worlds. It just makes sense to me. Why not expand the story, while making more money as you do it?

This brings me to my rant of the day....eh hem...
Ladies and gentlemen at the theaters, JUST TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES IN THE THEATER. Thankfully, it's been awhile since someone has answered a call on their phone during a movie that I attended. What could be even more annoying is the people that open their phones, with those bright-as-hell back lights, and type a 2 paragraph long text message during the movie, not only once, but countless times after that! One, is that message REALLY that important? Two, are you so lame that you cannot leave your phone alone for two hours to enjoy a movie? Oh, and the people that look at their phones every 15 minutes to see what time it is, what the crap is your deal? If you are in a hurry to be somewhere, then don't come to the movie at all. Why not enjoy the movie, rather than seeing how close it is coming to ending?

Okay, I'm done. Let's recap quickly:

If you go to see a movie:
1) just turn your phone OFF. Not vibrate, not silent, but OFF. Just get away from your precious mobile mate for just a few hours, while enjoying a movie at the same time. Is it really that much to ask?
2)If you do happen to not follow #1, then don't text during the movie. I'm sure it is rather important that you answer "what r u 2 doing tonight?" AT THAT MOMENT, but just hold off until the end of the movie.
3)If you have somewhere to be or are not enjoying the movie, just leave. If you don't leave, then just quit sighing and constantly looking at your multi-colored clock display on your phone every quarter hour.

I figure it's been awhile since my last good rant, so I thought the timing was right.

I think I will take a shower and get cleaned up. I look like Tom Hanks on the set of Cast Away.

Everyone watch the Century 21 Home Run Derby on ESPN at 7pm CST tonight. LET'S GO DAVID ORTIZ!!

-The H

Who Knew...

Click the picture for a larger view.

A new post!?! Surely you jest!

I know, I know. Where the crap have I been?

Easy answer: home. I got here Friday afternoon, and it's been great. Amber had to stay Friday night(see my earlier post), and we all met up with Trevor's fam Saturday night to go see War of the Worlds. It was totally not what I was expecting(aside from the aliens attacking Earth part), but I enjoyed the movie nevertheless. I wonder if H.G. Well's original book is any good...

I am probably going to head up to Paris on Thursday. I'm hoping I can convince some of the guys to go to Nashville on Saturday; I'll suggest we see Fantastic Four and Dark Water that afternoon, then go play some crazy laser tag in downtown. Other than that, I have very simple plans while I am in Paris: play soccer, play Ultimate, and relax by the Stutzman's pool. I am not bringing any of my video games or my tv. I will only take my clothes, my cleats, my soccer ball, my volleyball, and my Ultimate disc. That's it. Very relaxing weeks are ahead for me...

I have to get the truck fixed tomorrow, as that is our vehicle for the Tampa trip. I'll head into town and get the muffler repaired. I also need to find one of those cd-to-tape mechanisms; the truck doesn't have a cd player :(.

Sox are still 2.5 games ahead of Baltimore. The Orioles lost earlier today, which opened the door for us to take a 3.5 game lead; however, the baseball gods had other plans. We were down early in the game against the Rangers, then Manny put us ahead by 2 with a monster of a homer(440 feet!) in the 8th inning. Then Foulke proceeded to throw it all away in the 9th, like he has done so many times this year. Unfortuntately, there will not be much in the form of great closers available come the trade deadline in a few weeks. We also need some speed on the bases, a la Dave Robert's style. Hopefully, Schiller will be back and ready to go in a week or so, as he completed his 2nd Pawtucket start today, striking out 8 and giving up 5 earned runs. That will greatly strengthen our starting rotation. Our hitting is great, so we need not fix what isn't broken. I do have a feeling that some of the Sox I have grown fond of will not be with the team much longer...

I got my hair cut Saturday. I opted to let my mom do it this time because I think paying $10 for someone to run a trimmer over my head is nonsense. Okay, she did cause me some slight pain, but it's all good now. I have my super extra short summer haircut, so I am happy.

It really is great to run and workout outside here at the Gray Center. Plenty of hills and pastures to provide scenery as I run.

well, i think that brings everything up to date. I guess I will go and attempt to advance further in the adventure that is otherwise known as Banjo-Tooie.

Adios.

"Nighthawks"

Yup, it's late. It's almost 2:30 am Thursday, June 30. I am still up, and I am not tired at all.

I think my body has started making the transition from "work/study" mode to "night owl" mode, which is how my body likes to operate during summer(when there are no classes) and during Christmas break. I've been ready to be in this mode for awhile. There is nothing quite like staying up until 2, 3, or even 4 in the morning(when some really good, old movies come on the tube), sleeping until noon, then going outside and enjoying the day at its best time. It's really great. Starting Friday, I plan on being in this mode until I start work in the fall(which I really don't even want to think about right now. It's summer time for Pete's sake!). Obviously, I'll have to adjust my schedule the next few days, as the final rounds of Wimbledon are in the morning; I will interrupt my mode agenda for those few days. Speaking of The Championships, my girl(Sharapova) is playing tomorrow morn around 9am CST. Definitely tune in; she's taking on Venus Williams, who as of late has a renewed sense of confidence. Sharapova defeated Venus's mammoth of a sister in last year's final, so maybe she's out for revenge, haha.

You're probably thinking, "But Henry, exams are tomorrow! You should be getting some sleep."....well, the first part of that is true; my one final exam is tomorrow. The test isn't until 1:00, and that's good for two reasons: sleep and Wimbledon(see above).

I also have to pack tomorrow :(. Everything I hauled up here for summer school must now go right back into my jeep. I will have some extra luggage/personell this time, though. Trevor has invited Amber to come spend the July 4th weekend with him; however, there is a catch. Trevor is at camp right now, and he will not be returning until Sunday. What on earth will he do!? Of course, he summons his best friend to the scene, and I am charged with the task. Miss Parrot will ride down with me Friday, and she'll stay at the Horne Ranch over night. Trevor will then pick her up on his way back from camp Saturday afternoon. I really don't think Amber is prepared for this; very few ever are or ever will be. The Horne experience is not something to be taken lightly, haha. I'm kidding of course. I think she'll have a good time. My parents met her at Gareth's wedding, so they already know something about her. I warned her, though. If the weather is shotty, chances are good that I will be sitting in my room playing the deluge of games that just arrived from my ebay orders. Hopefully the weather will be nice, and I'll have time for some disc golf.

I am seriously craving some of my mom's cooking. True, I have been sticking to certain foods for workout purposes, but as long as my meals are built around those foods, I am good to go. With that said, I am ready to eat!

This weekend is also going to be exciting for one very simple reason: War of the Worlds. I am seriouly pumped for this movie, and I have tried my hardest not to watch the tv spots or trailers that tend to show too much as the movie approaches(can you say Fantastic Four?). I eagerly await Saturday night...

And we all knew this time would come. Yes, it's true. I have begun to pre-shop for my next television purchase. No more cathod-ray tubes anymore. No sir'ee. We're talking flat panel, LCD, HD-ready, PIP, ultra high resolution televisions. I'm in the big leagues now, so I need a tv that is up to the challenge. I also am lookin for a new sound system. Obviously, both of these will cost some serious cash, and since I already have a perfectly fine television, I will concentrate on the sound system. I probably wont have a new tv until summer '06, but it's never to early to start looking :)

I guess I'll read a little bit before I hit the sack. I figure I can review some of the stuff I have forgotten since my last "real" college class.

-H

Like, It Was, Uhmm, You Know, One of Those Days

hmm...what to talk about...

Today was our final speech in my Public Speaking class; it was a "special occasion" type speech, which gave us tons of freedom in developing it. "Special Occasion" referred to speeches such as a wedding toast(done that), a graduation speech(check that too!), or an award presentation/acceptance speech. I considered my options, and since I had done both a graduation and wedding, an award acceptance speech presenations seemed to fit the bill. An award presentation would have been weird with just myself acting the parts of mc and acceptee; therefore, I enlisted the help of my good friend Zach(Jason's roomate last year) to help with the process. We brainstormed and came up with a rather humorous idea: an awards presentation for Zach's uncanny ability to break wooden boards with his bare feet/hands. We created the "2005 Nominees for Best Board-Breaking Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role." The whole speech went extremely well, I thought. I walked in the room to applause, quieted the crowd down, and began to talk about the award. Next I presented all the nominees(complete with hilarious pictures of our friends attempting to break boards) via powerpoint, and then I announced Zach(dressed in his karate uni) as the winner, handing him the Golden Board Award(we just spray painted one of his boards gold). As he walked up to accept the award, I used a flashlight to put the "spotlight" on him as he made his way to the podium. He then delivered a great acceptance speech...

After we were done, I thought I was going to have to give Stacey(our proff.) extra oxygen or something. She was balling her eyes out! That's when Zach and I realized that we had succeeded.

Well, ok. That wasn't our last speech. I lied. After everyone was done with the special occasion speeches, Stacey went around the room and placed a fortune cookie on each of our desks. She wrote on the board:

Uhm, Ahh, Like, You know, OK

...and as you probably guessed, we were about to play the " Uhm, Ahh, Like, You know, OK" game, where each of those words is a forbidden word. You mention one in your speech, and you are done. What speech, you ask? When each person was called up to speak, he/she had to stand up in front of the class, open the cookie RIGHT there, read the fortune, gather his/her thoughts for several seconds, then begin to impromptu speak about the fortune. The entire speech didn't have to be solely on what was on the paper, but it was to be a point of departure for the rest of the speech. It was hilarious to see people go up there, and end up talking about things that were in no way related to the fortune...

So I am sitting there, watching these people speak. I tried to gather a game plan as to how I would attack this speech. When I was finally called, I thought, "Ok, I got this. The longest time so far has been 2.5 minutes. I can SO beat that." I open my cookie, and there I see some proverb about "a good friend is a friend who blah blah blah" or something like that. I quickly think, and I begin to talk. I started by mentioning the importance of friends and what my friends are like. I then jump to how some of my friends enjoy(not like!) watching the show Friends...and then I went dead, haha. Right after that, I blurted the imbecilic "Uhmm...", and BOOM, my time was up. How far did I get? TWENTY EIGHT SECONDS. Hahaha, I was kinda upset I didn't go longer, but we all got a good laugh with that game. I now realize that there are some things I need to remove from my speaking habits, such as "Uhm", "Ahh," and "Like." I plan on refining my speaking abilities(as they relate to these words) before I head back to the big N.

So I was about to whisk my eggs for my daily egg sandwhich today, when all of a sudden, disaster struck: a piece of egg shell fell into my bowl as the last egg was added. I have been doing this since I got to Starkville this summer, and this was the FIRST time this had happen. Let me tell you something, getting a small piece of egg shell out of a bowl of 4 eggs is NO easy task. After much cursing and many different utensils utilized, the egg shell was FINALLY removed. The battles I fight each day.....

On a completely random note, I have begun a new musical group infatuation. I have been downloading every U2 song I can find. I freakin' love these guys. I should have listened to you all along, Zach!!! Better still, they are coming to Dallas in October; I hear their shows are amazing, so I may try to go to that with Colin, as he is a huge U2 fan. I have amassed songs from Boy and October, and I am working on War, The Unforgettable Fire, and Joshua Tree as we speak. The cds just keep on coming...

The art test today was a breeze. I'm gonna miss ole' Bill Andrews. I can say with almost 100% certainty that I will not have a more fun teacher the rest of my tenure at Mississippi State. I seriously might have to take Art History or something in the spring, so I can have him again. I'm going to bring my von Braun card to him before I leave to go home; I am hoping he can give me a ballpark date as to the time period of the drawing on the card.

Sports Note: Roddick and Sharapova in to the second week of Wimbledon, with no signs of slowing down. My picks are still lookin good :)

well, I didn't get much sleep last night, so I should be getting to that right now. Night!

-Henry

2.5

It's a great number. Why? I'll provide a clue:

CLUE

Just thought I'd point that out to everyone. Good times, indeed!

I'll do a "real" post later tonight. Right now, I'm gonna sleep; I have yet ANOTHER art test tomorrow to think about. Instead of counting sheep, I'm sure I'll be enumerating all the works of Monet, Renoir, and Degas....those crazy Impressionists...

Night!(or is it morning now?)

Good Movie

Okay, I just finished watching Serendipity, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Normally, I tend to stray away from movies such as this(read: chick flicks); however, tonight was an unusual circumstance. With nothing on television except reruns, and my adamant decision NOT to watch hours of regurgitated coverage of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, this movie was all that was left. It was SO good. I really really enjoyed it.

Oh well. Just thought I'd mention it. If you've never seen it, I recommend it. Then again, what do I know about movies?

Night!

Hail Britannia!

There are several things I think of when the first days of summer roll around: the upcoming MLB All-Star Game(with 3 BoSox starting :) ), doing some kind of outdoor activity, no school(on normal occasions), and of course, Wimbledon: The Championships, probably my favorite tennis event of them all. Why do I like it so much? I wish I knew the answer. I think it may be because it has that kind of grandeur about it being in England. Didn't they invent tennis over there? Also, it's the only Grand Slam with the name "Championship" in the official title, so that's definitely a reason it should be revered. I've always enjoyed the grass courts too; they're very quiet, yet the ball travels at high speeds on the surface. I'm not a fan of clay, and hard courts are alright, except the ever-present squeaking of the shoes as they slide across it.

On the women's side, I pick Maria Sharapova to win her 2nd Wimbledon title in a row. Besides being beautiful, she has improved her game immensely since last year's tournament, when she was already pretty good. She's fast on the grass, and she has begun to play at the net more, resulting in her opponent's trying to play over her or trying to blast one by her. That works to her advantage, 1) because she's tall, and 2) as I said before, she's ultra-light on her feet when playing on the grass.

With the men, I wanted to pick Raphael Nadal before today, until he was ousted by Gilles Muller(who?!). So I guess I'll stick with my boy, A-Rod(the good A-Rod. The one that doesn't slap baseballs out of the hands of a pitcher in order to reach base safely. The tennis A-Rod: Andy Roddick). You really cannot emphasize this guy's serve enough; especially on grass or hard courts, his first serve is usually around the 125 range. It even gets higher as the match progresses. Roddick has never won a Wimbledon title, and I do believe he will have one before his career is over. He could still meet Federer in the final, which would be fantastic; however, Federer has had Roddick's number the last few meetings.

Well, the boys are back in town tomorrow...Dan and Adam are coming in from Huntsville. Adam Brown is coming up from Madison. Trevor has copped out of coming; for what reason, I'm sure we'll never know. Reggie "says" he has a never-ending supply of homework, yet he only has one real class; the other two are online. Nevertheless, the crew and I will have a blast this weekend; I think the agenda so far is soccer, Sox game on Saturday, Land of the Dead at some point, and definitely some gaming time.

"We named the dog Indiana..."

FANTASTIC NEWS ahead....

Ok, so the AFI was honoring George Lucas last night at a banquet in L.A. He was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. I know, that's not exciting, but read on...

So of course, they show featurettes on each of his films, and eventually they got to the Indiana Jones trilogy. Harrison Ford is there at the banquet, and he comes to the podium to talk about the movies and kinda roast George a little bit. Then, at the very end of his talk......

"[talking to George Lucas and Steven Speilberg, producer and director, respectively, of the Indiana Jones Trilogy] George, Steven. If you guys can dream it, then I'm more than ready to do an Indiana Jones 4."[cut to George and Steven, smiling ear to ear. THEY KNOW something!]

So there it is!!! Indiana Jones, ladies and gentlemen, is ON HIS WAY BACK! Now I know you might think this guy is old(and he kinda is), but at this banquet he looked rather young. He looked pretty much like he did in The Last Crusade, except with gray hair(but that can be fixed!).

Just thought I'd let everyone know this great news...later.

How Things Have Changed

Well, as stated earlier, I decided to do a retrospective on the past few years of my life, but with a twist. I wanted to compare how things would have been different had I remained in Grenada during high school. This list took me longer than would be expected, mainly from the insane amounts of hysterical laughing that occured while typing alot of it. Enjoy!

Sports

Grenada: I played both soccer and baseball, although I wasn’t exceptional at either

Paris: Due to the weird nature of how TN schedules its high school athletics, I had to make a choice as to which sport to play. I chose soccer. I’m rather certain I became better than I would have been had I stayed in Grenada, especially my senior year. Coach Belong got me in the best shape of my life at that point. I was also closer to my soccer teammates here; they were a much more lively bunch. The TN teams were also far superior to even the best teams I played against in MS.

Athleticism

Grenada: Ok, I’ll be the first to admit it. I did just enough to get by in the sports. I mean, com’on, you could easily tell by looking at me. I was never inspired or pushed to do more.

Paris: Two words: the Loop. My first day of soccer conditioning… HOLY SHIT! Now I know that thing is only 1.5 miles long, but whoah. First off, I’m not the best endurance runner. Secondly, I had not seen it before, so it felt like it went on for ages! I knew right then that I’d have to keep in shape to keep up with the rest of the guys and earn my spot on the starting lineup. And I guess that attitude just stuck with me. Now I can smoke the loop, and I can run farther than I used to; however, I'm still the slowest out of my soccer friends when it comes to long distances.

Band

Grenada: Band was IT. Ultra competitive envorionment. I was prolly on my way to some sort of leadership role there. I would have been able to travel all over the country had I stayed. I also would have been on national tv during Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 2002.

Paris: Band? Ehh…not so much. Quit playing trombone and didn’t join the HCHS band; going from 325 members to less than 60 isn’t that inspiring. They were decent, don’t get me wrong; I just was used to a higher level.

Social Skills

Grenada: I had so many good friends, but I probably wasn’t as outgoing as I should have been. I was still shy to an extent, especially when it came to authoritative figures.

Paris: I guess being in a new town and being the new kid prompted me to meet new people. I tried to be more social and outgoing. I made tons of new friends here, and I became more comfortable talking and shooting up conversations with adults, teachers, etc.

Work

Grenada: Good god, who knows. I’m guessing I would have ended up at Video Shop or Video Store.

Paris: CornAustin is probably one of the best things to ever happen to me. I became good friends with Nick, Lauren, and the Wilsons. Bill Wilson is definitely a good person to know. This is when I actually began to care about how I looked.

Style

Grenada: Wow. Let’s just burn all the pics of me in 9^th grade. Style and good-looking appearances were not my friends.

Paris: Thank God for Cornaustin. Ok, I’m no Richard Sewell when it comes to style, but I’m sooooo much better off than I was in the pre-Cornaustin years.

Haircut

Grenada: I’d have the same dorky bowl cut Jim Carrey style(from Dumb and Dumber).

Paris: Thankfully, Katy Scammerhorn told me one day that I should try a different approach with my hair. Thank you Katy! Now I pretty much keep it short short.

Schooling

Grenada: Okay, I basically had one awesome teacher at GHS: Mrs. Rena Dantone. Damn, that woman was awesome. She taught Carolyn and John throughout high school, so that was a shame I didn’t receive the same. Other than that, however, GHS was rather sub par.

Paris: In contrast, HCHS had a deluge of great teachers (at least I thougth they were great). Rushing, Wade, Brashear, Bucy, Neese, Geller, Shankle. I was thankful to have teachers that really pushed me to think. All of them had one thing in common: they made the class fun. Much of my success so far in college is due to them, mainly Brashear, Bucy, and Geller. Damn. I shiver to think what I would have missed had I stayed at GHS.

Girl

Grenada: Haley Moore.

Paris: Mallory Hacker. Oh com’on! Can you blame me? She baked me cookies the first time I met her! No one else has ever baked me cookies, haha.

Posse

Grenada: Ahh, the historical triumvirate: Reggie, Trevor, and Henry. Unfortunately, just like the triforce, we were split after June 1, 2000. Trevor went south, I ventured north, and reggie stayed right there.

Paris: I don’t think a powerful trio such as that existed here, but I did make some very solid friends. Friends that could easily join me to form a force: Josh Collums, Joh-Michael, Matt Lewis, Travis Jones, Jacob Crouch.

Humility/Ego Check

Grenada: I somehow had the idea I was the shit in Grenada. I thought I was the cream of the crop when it came to academics. I guess I began to take it for granted…

Paris: Then I moved here…and quickly realized I wasn’t squat. Who was? Pretty much every one of my now-friends. SUPER SMART. And at the top? Miss Hacker. Humility is a great thing.

Football Pride

Grenada: born and raised Alabama fan. Everyone knew it. The Hornes were crimson.

Paris: sucks living in a town pretty much painted in Orange. When word got out that I was a Bama fan, I had to defend the Tide with vigor. It was much easier after Bama waxed TN in 2002.

Hockey?!

Grenada: Honestly, I had not one lick of interest in hockey. I hated it with a passion. Soccer, baseball, football, and in that order. Hockey was a last resort if I had to watch something on tv.

Paris: Enter Matt Lewis: “Hey henry, wanna come over and watch the Avalanche play the Red Wings?” The who?!?! So began my never-ending tutelage under Matt. I became completely enamored with hockey. It was fast. It was precise. It was graceful. It was the same mindset as soccer. Most importantly, the goalie position looked like the most fun thing to do in the entire world. From there, and after meeting Richard, I began playing in college and regularly keeping up with the NHL. To this day, I still learn stuff about hockey from Matt and Richard

Short and Sweet

I went to the Redbirds game tonight in Memphis with Mal and her dad. What a COOL stadium! It was really great to just watch baseball while hanging out and getting to know Mr. Hacker(or Tim). Great weather too. That side of Memphis aint' that bad.

Well I had a great idea on the drive home. I'm gonna do a post where I'll differentiate several aspects of my life and how they were affected by my home location during high school. In simple terms, how my life would have been different had I stayed in Grenada in high school and compare that to how my life was in Paris during high school. When I really thought about it, I definitely would not be the person I am right now had I stayed in Grenada. Thankfully, most of these differences were for the good...I'll explain next post!

Kudos to Bill

ok, Bill Andrews has shot up the cool list all of a sudden. I just finished a test of his, and this was a sample question:

Harold Edgerton invented the : (a) strobe light (b) linear perspective (c) mobile sculpture or (d) flux capacitor.

HAHA. Any professor that puts the "flux capacitor" as an answer choice in a college exam is awesome. And if you don't know what the "flux capacitor" is or what movie it is from, you should be shot, slapped, punched, and forced to watch ESPN's coverage of the U.S. Open of golf for 4 straight days.

That's all for now. Thank God it's the weekend.

Dare I Say...En Fuego

well this boring week of school didn't turn out as bad as I originally thought. Trevor drove up Wednesday afternoon to surprise Amber(I know, awwwwww), so we've been able to hang out extensively. Trevor's trip up here was fortuitous, as he was able to swing by my house and pick some items that had been shipped to me. Several of the items were games I had ordered off ebay; we've been tackling those the past few days. It reminds me of the good ole' days when Trevor and I would go over to each other's house EVERY weekend JUST to work on beating a certain level or getting a certain special item. Those days were the greatest...

Trevor also came up because one of our favorite bands, U.S., was planned to play at Rick's tonight. I was rather excited, even though I hate Rick's with a passion; nothing but guys that can't dress, girls that are beyond stupid, and air that is waaay past the saturation point with cigarette smoke. I usually make an attempt to look beyond these shortcomings when U.S. comes to town; I DO play hockey with their drummer, so I'm even kinda obliged to go to the concerts....so we had that planned. Until this morning threw a wrench in the whole deal. BOTH of my professors scheduled tests TOMORROW. Yeh, I know. What the crap. It's summer school, so i guess they can do that stuff, but it still sucks. As you can probably guess, I had to forego the concert and pursue studies of the visual elements of art and speech making. *sigh*. Oh well...that's life.

We saw Batman Begins last night. FINALLY, they based it off the DC Comics and not a director's "vision." This movie rivals the first Batman in almost every respect. Great villains, deep characters, great fights, and an overall dark atmosphere. This is what the dark knight should have been like from day one. From what I gather on the IMDB message boards, the sequel is already in the works, and if you watch this movie, you will already know who the villain is :). Christian Bale is a fantastic cast as Bruce Wayne. His has the perfect "bat-chin." Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Katie Holmes, and Michael Cane turn in great performances that really round out the already superb cast. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequels...

Watson and I are going to test out the newly opened Mississippi State Disc Golf Course tomorrow afternoon. I'm almost afraid to see how bad it is, haha.

Trevor, Amber, and I went out to the soccer fields today and kicked the ball around and threw the frisbee. I can already tell that I'm getting darker, slowly but surely. Maybe this summer will be the year!

well, trevor just called. We're about to hit up the Waffle House.

Peace!

p.s. Here's a pic of my Art Professor. They caught him in the "act" yesterday.

Ahh, Bill Andrews. He's making some work of art that is made from or inspired by coathangers. Those dang visionary art professors....

UPDATE!

Update Tonight...sorry for the long hiatus.

20

Ahh yes. We all knew this day would eventually get here.

I have finally left the friendly confines of my teenage years, and I have welcomed with open arms the beginning of the roaring twenties.

But two decades?! Are you kidding me? Jeez...Back in the Medieval ages I'd be pratically an old wiseman. Now, today, I'm considered to be just hitting my prime. According to research and well-known facts, the next 10 years of my life will be the apex of my all-around well being. I'll be the smartest of my lifetime. I'll be the strongest of my lifetime. I'll be the fastest of my lifetime. I'll be the best looking of my lifetime(I'm in no way saying I'm attractive or lauding my appearance. I'm simply stating what is already known: that you are the most attractive during your twenties)....so on and so forth.

Twenty?!?! Jeez...

All that information is hard to belive, but it's true. After my twenties, it's all downhill(not like I'd be almost dead, but in reference to the previous paragraph, I'll be no where near those levels after I turn 30).

So the way I see it, I should do everything I possibly can in the next decade. (Again, I'm not saying I'll be completely immobile and helpless after 30, but I just want to do stuff while I'm in the best condition to do so). When I have the oppurtunity to do something, I'm gonna do it. There's no real point in saying NO to something when I know deep down that I might not ever have a chance to do it again. So if you thought I was active and did all kinds of things in my teenage years....oh boy, you ain't seen nothing yet.

So that brings us back to right now, my birthday. Actually it's around 1:00 am on Sunday, so my birthday is over. However, it has been one of the best already. Read my previous post about the gift mom and dad got me...it's un-freakin-believable. I LOVE IT.

Originally, Mal was going to take me to the Memphis Zoo today for my birthday. However, hurricane Arlene(or whatever her name is) decided she wanted to crash the midsouth this weekend. Needles to say, we ditched that idea. So I was kinda bummed about that...until she mentioned that she had two days off this weekend and suggested I come to Paris instead. BRILLIANT! I quickly packed my bags and on Friday, right after class, I drove up here as fast as I could. Friday night, Mal treated me to dinner and a movie(Mr. and Mrs. Smith) for my bday. No surprise here, but we had a good time...I mean, we hadn't seen each other for about 2 months; how could we NOT have a good time? In addition to food and flick, Mal got me this AWESOME picture by Norman Rockwell. It's a great drawing, showing three different scenes from baseball. The first scene, on the left, is the locker room of the BOSTON RED SOX as they are preparing for the game. The right scene is the dugout of the CHICAGO CUBS as they prepare for the game. The central pic is of the umpires, looking into the sky to determine if the weather is good enough to play. (I included parts of the drawing below as pictures). The illustrations are great, and I cannot wait to frame this bad boy right above my bed. Oh yeh, and another thing. Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. The last time those two teams played each other? The 1918 World Series. The winner of the Series? Boston Red Sox. They had not met in 87 years until THIS WEEKEND. That's right. The two teams are playing a 3 game set in Chicago THE WEEKEND OF my 20th birthday, and THE WEEKEND I got a drawing that displays both teams getting ready to play. How (sorry for my language) FUCKIN' cool is that?!? So that's a neat little story to tell when people ask about my picture as they enter my room :)

"Root, root, root for the Cuuuu-bies"

"Let's go Reee-d Sox, Let's go! *Clap* *Clap*"

Mal also got me some schnazzily decorated cd's, as well as an Eyore glass for drinking. Why Eyore? Just ask me someday...it's a long story. Let's just say this increases my Eyore collection of items.

So Satruday rolled around, and of course, I was excited. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to receive any phone calls from my parents and siblings. Why? Because Cingular doesn't cover Henry County........yet. Next week they plan to have the towers up and running, and that means this summer I'll be able to use my phone here in Paris!....anyway, I couldn't get calls from my family, but I did get a notice on my phone that I have 3 voicemails waiting on me. That brought a smile to my face. They couldn't get in touch, but they left a message anyway :) So I am very much looking forward to listening to those voicemails.

Tomorrow, Mal is being a gem once again(see a pattern here?). She is going to watch Star Wars Episode I, Episode II, AND Episode III with me. We'll start the first two around noon. Then we'll get some grub, and we'll head over to the theater to see Episode III. I mean, com'on. How (again, sorry) FUCKING cool is that?!

Then, Monday morning, I'll leave around 5:30 to head back to Starkville, JUST in time for Art Appreciation. WHEW! Wild weekend, eh?

Well I am tired, and I know YOU are from reading this post. I need my rest before tomorrow's Starwarsathon.

May the force be with you,
Henry of Twenty

Trava-sham-ockery

son of a bitch.

a just typed a long post and my window closed all of a sudden.

here's an abbreviated form of what i had just typed...

The whole Horne clan(minus me) will be in D.C. the next two weeks.

Mallory is taking me to the Memphis Zoo this Sunday for my birthday :) (they have pandas!)

Mallory, her Dad, and I are going to see a Memphis Redbirds game on the 18th in conjunction with an ALS benefit parade and picnic.

I might be returning to D.C. this summer. Mal is taking her family, and she has invited me to go along as well. Details in future posts!

Mom and Dad gave me an awesome birthday present...quite possbily the most unique gift ever. What is it? A Christmas card sent to my mom's family in the 60's. No big deal, huh? This card was sent from Wernher and Maria von Braun. My mom lived right down the street from the man! Don't know who he is? Go HERE. Uhm, yeh, this guy basically was THE REASON we were able to get to the moon(yes, we landed on the moon. We didn't fake it.) He designed the massive moon rocket, the Saturn V boosters....the card isn't even the end of it. It has been put in a beautiful wooden frame with a nice, dark finish. The glass that holds the card is the same glass used to preserve historical documents and the like; it doesn't let UV rays in, it keeps dust out, etc. This frame was specially made to be viewed from both sides, as to allow the viewer to see BOTH sides of the card. BRILLIANT! I've included pics...

The front of the card. Is that not beautiful or what? It's an illustration of the earth, moon, and sun, and the cycles of each.


Here's the back...


A closer look at the back...

I've finally gotten a new cell phone *Joy to the World is played*. It doesn't cut out any more! Woo hoo! Pics below...

My new, schnazzy phone. I don't need a camera in my phone, but you can't buy a flip phone without one these days.


The phone...opened.

well there you have it people, in abbreviated form. I hate blogger sometimes...

G'night...
-The H

Big Update...

coming tonight...lot's of COOL stuff to talk about. Heck, I'll even THROW in some pictures! Stay tuned...

Welcome Back to Academia

WHEW! First week of school is gone, and I am exhausted...

I'm kidding, of course. This week of school flew by. I'm taking Art Appreciation and Public Speaking, trying to fulfill some of my electives while also taking a class I have to eventually take. Art App. is actually quite interesting. My teacher is a hoot; he looks like a cross between Peter from Office Space and a younger, skinnier Oliver Platt. Anyway, he's just cool as hell. He knows his shit, and he's funny to boot. I alreayd know this class will be a piece of cake. Public speaking is already fun. I have no problem whatsoever getting up in front of people and talking( I was a paid magician during middle and junior high, after all), so this is just a class I can use to talk about things I enjoy. For example, my teacher said she had a student do a speech before on how the U.S. faked the moon landing. She said he(the student) did a really good job, and that means that she prolly believes him. Obviously, this got me riled up, so I decided that later on in this class I'll do a speech that debunks the conspiracies and proves that we DID land on the moon. I swear, some people are so so so STUPID. You throw any one of those theories at me, and I can disprove it in a heartbeat. All it takes is a little common sense. I think that all those who don't believe we landed on the moon should be deported.....or shot or something, I dunno.

Sorry, I got into a rant.

My first speech was an "icebreaker" speech, where I brought an item and described how it related to me. I brought my newly acquired Ultimate disc, and I used that as my vehicle for describing how my life pretty much revolves around sports, baseball and hockey in particular. I knocked them dead, although that really wasn't too hard. Some people, though, WHOAH. They really do suck at public speaking. No one has any animation or boom to their voices. I kinda cringe whenever I have to endure some of the really bad speeches...

well I sincerely believe that my cellphone is the root of all my phone problems. Amber and Bell both have Cingular, and their phones work fine. My phone, even though it has full bars of service, cuts out all the time. I rarely have a full conversation on the phone because of this problem. I can't even recieve calls in my room or the apartment!!! So, I'm gonna try to go to the Cingular place here sometime soon and maybe get a new phone. I firmly believe that will solve my problems. I mean, this thing has been happening for almost 1.5 years...time for it to go away.

I think our summer trip has been decided. We nixed the Busch Gardens Williamsburg idea......kinda. I suggested Busch Gardens Tampa, instead. Why? Well, several reasons:

• Tampa is about a 250 mile shorter drive(that's cutting off 3 hours of driving!).
• The Tampa nightlife is probably much more exciting thatn Williamsburg's.
• Busch Gardens Tampa has SIX thrill rides, as apposed to TWO at Wburg.
• Finally(and probably most importantly), the Red Sox are coming to Tampa in July.

So it's really a no-brainer after all that. The Sox will be in town the 25-27th of July, so that is our target date. We're workin on the details. For some reason, I have a feeling that one of those days will be the date Discovery launches from Cape Canaveral....but that's just me.

Today was the first sunny day since I've been in Starkville, so after Public Speaking I threw on my soccer shorts and went out to the fields to kick the ball around and work on my touch for a few hours. That was actually kinda nice. No one is here to begin with, and Bell left for the weekend to go home; that leaves very few people to hang out with. It was good to just go by myself to the fields, kick the ball around, get some sun, and just relax by myself...very soothing, if you ask me.

Sox are starting to play in championship form again. We got a nice streak going, with a walkoff homer last night and a strong win tonight agains the Angels. Orioles lost today too, so now we're only 2 games behind them. GO SOX.

well it's late. I'm not tired, but it's late. Maybe I'll read some new recipes in my smoothie book.

everyone have a good weekend. (Sox are on FOX television tomorrow at 1:15 Easter. Tune in!!)

-The H