"Stand over here, walk over there."

Today I got my shot for Hepatitis A, and got my other arm pricked to test for Tuberculosis.

The shot arm is still really sore!

"We need to be in a ditch somewhere."

This is like my fourth(ish) consecutive post where I have written about graduation, but I guess that's what's on my brain these days.

The day after graduation, I decided to update the ol' Facebook profile.  I added the word "Alum" after Southen Nazarene University.  I changed my address.  I updated the work information.

AND I changed the "Activities."  You see, I always filled that field with my school activities: band, choir, tutoring, Mortar Board, and so on.  But as these things no longer filled my time, I found myself at a loss for activities to fill this space on my profile.

This may sound silly, but I think that we need "activities" in our lives.  It made me think: what are my passions?  How to I spend my time?  OR, how do I want to spend the time that is no longer taken up by those college activities?

Since moving back to Austin, I have begun taking part in youth group activities as a "sponsor."  It's basically an excuse to have fun with a cool group of teenagers, while taking part in what we like to call "ministry."  I also like to ride my bike occasionally, although the scenery in my small neighborhood tends to get a little old.  I like to hang out with the handful of friends who live in Austin, and just exploring Austin to find cool new (or old) places.

But I also thought of some activities that I would like to incorporate into my life:

• I would like to cook more.  I love cooking, and have done it a bit in the past, but I want to learn some new techniques and have some recipes to call my own.
• I want to start my mornings with some stretching and maybe a little mini-workout.
• I would like to start investing a little of my income.  Nothing major (stocks are a little too risky for me), but just a save a little.
• I want to blog more, about something interesting, rather than just whatever strikes my fancy once or twice a month.
• I want to volunteer.  Volunteer work is an awesome way to serve God, to serve the community, and to feel good about yourself.  And I don't do it enough.  Anyone want to join me in coming up with some good ways to serve?
  

"We could call it...Taverne and Shirley's."

It's that time of year, lots of graduations have just taken place, and lots of graduates are wondering what comes next.  We get lots of cards, speeches, and books with lofty advice about reaching for the stars and succeeding in all that we do, but those things are kind of hard to grasp.

In his typical, sarcastic and slightly snarky fashion, Statesman columnist John Kelso provides some insights of his own for this year's grads.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Beware of con artists. If a guy wearing a Super Fly hat who calls himself Diddley tells you he's the CEO of a major corporation, he's probably lying.
•  Remember that getting a tattoo is like a rattlesnake: it's a lot easier to get it on you than it is to get it off you. 
• Never stay at a motel that has a sign out front bragging about the air conditioning and free HBO.
  

"Oh yeah you're that college guy, my bad."

"Some of my friends are gothic."

Four years ago, I would not have thought that Oklahoma would feel like home.  Not in my wildest dreams.  I grew up in Austin.  In TEXAS.  (If you haven't caught on, that's the best place in the world.)

But of course, now that I have to leave OKC, I am realizing that it truly feels like home.

Do I love Austin?  Absolutely.  But did I cry for the first two hours of the six-and-a-half-hour drive yesterday?  Yup.  I already miss my friends and the college lifestyle.

So in case you have not heard, I graduated from college last Saturday.  B.S. in Music Business and Business Administration.  Pink tassel and all.  It was a blast.  After a whirlwind weekend of eating, being with family, packing, cleaning, moving, saying goodbyes, and driving, I am at my parents' house, wondering what is next.

Plans for summer: I am working at the MAC again, living with the 'rents so that I can try to save up money for...Africa!  I don't update this very often, so here's a summary:  Honduras internship plans fell through, but at the same time I learned of an opportunity for volunteer missions in Swaziland.  SO I am working on plans to spend August-October in Swaziland as part of Mission Corps and the BFC Swaziland Initiative.  Money and exact plans have not been finalized, so please keep those in your prayers.

"I was buttering crackers like nobody's business."

Danielle says I don't blog much anymore.  Which is true.

Yesterday I was reading some of my older blog posts, and realized that over the past couple of years, their quality has decreased.  I'm not sure if this means that my writing quality has gotten worse, or if I just have not had good stuff to write about.

Anyway, being in the nostalgic mood that I was, I came across this post from the end of freshman year.  In it, I wrote about some of the lessons that I had learned about myself, and also mentioned some of the things that I would miss about college.

And I learned quite a bit during that year.  So, needless to say, looking back at my entire four years of college, it only seems appropriate that I would have a similar, much longer list.

But I don't.

Does this mean that I have not learned anything important since freshman year?  Absolutely not.  But I think that the lessons are not quite as momentous or profound as those learned during that first year away from home.  They consist of more practical things such as how to budget, or how to cook good food for myself.

I guess that's part of "growing up."

"I sound like a man."

On Friday night I had the opportunity to hear the OKC Philharmonic perform "The Planets" by Gustav Holst, as well as Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3.  It was fantastic.

And for some reason, it took me back.  Back to some of my life's greatest musical experiences.

I remembered elementary school, when my class took a field trip to see the Austin Symphony for the first time in my life.  It was magical.  And the most incredible part (at least in my 7-year-old mind) was at the beginning, when the orchestra tuned.  Not exactly sure why, but an orchestra tuning up has always been one of my favorite sounds.

Friday night's performance also took me back to Music Memory.  If you don't know what that is, it's an Austin thing.  3rd-5th graders at Austin public schools learned about 10 classical works each year, and the students who scored highest on standardized tests participated on their school's team, competing against other elementary schools in a citywide contest.  I was on the Williams Elementary Music Memory Team for 2 years, and the contests at Bass Concert Hall changed my life, as a live orchestra played the music that we had spent an entire school year learning by heart.

I was reminded of Honor Band of America and Honor Orchestra of America, my junior and senior years of high school (respectively), when I had the opportunities to participate in incredible ensembles with some of the nation's most outstanding high school musicians.  Nothing will ever compare to our performance of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" in 2005.

The purpose of all this reminiscense?  Nothing, really.  But looking back, it is incredible to see how specific moments become milestones of your life.  I couldn't have known at those moments that these experiences would forever remain prominent in my memory.

Convicted

A recent column in Relevant Magazine reflected on some of the ways in which the information age has superficially bloated my generation's sense of self.  Our extreme connectedness--manifest in the form of cell phones, Facebook, Wi-Fi, blogs, Twitter, and iPhones--has created a culture of unprecidented self-obsession.  Brett McCracken writes:

The problem of self-entitlement (or pride, to be more direct) is a familiar one for the Church, and technology has only exacerbated it.  In times like these--when it's easier and more alluring than ever to be or feel important--Christians must remember that we're not called to be viral superstars, we're called to be living sacrifices.  We're not instructed to make ourselves look as good as possible in front of the largest audience we can; no, we are instructed to deny ourselves and humbly follow Christ.

Needless to say, I felt kind of convicted.  As part of Generation Y, I'm often compelled to create this virtual image of myself as I want to be perceived through networks such as Facebook and blogs.  Yet in an effort to "reach out" and "connect" with the rest of the world, I have found myself retreating into myself and my own sense of consumeristic entitlement.

So I have scaled back on the blogging, at least for now.

  

I encourage you to read the entire article, The Problem of Pride in the Age of Twitter.  It's short.