October 31, 1997

It's Friday and I am thankful for that because this week has been too long at school. It's also Halloween and I am staying the night at Allen's house tonight and we think we are going trick or treating. I didn't go last year but we think we have a pretty cool plan for it. I can't wait to go over there and I'd rather not go to school today.

Mom drops me off for tennis practice which is also first period. We practice, I try as usual not to sweat too much as I don't want to stink before class. After tennis I have reading and then history. Both classes seem to drag on forever. Biology is fun today as we do a Halloween experiment. Lunch is fair. It's very different in high school. We do not have to be in the cafeteria and can walk around the campus for the entire lunch period. Stephen and I grab a snack and do just that, walking around until fifth period. Algebra 2 might seem boring and I did not do well in Geometry last year but this year I have been doing very well and I plan on once again telling Allen that I am in Algebra 2 while he is still in Geometry. This is in spite of his exponentially higher GPA of course, details details. I finish the day with English and luckily today dad is picking me up so I don't have to take the bus home.

Once we are home I pack my bag immediately and watch some TV hoping for the time to go quickly. Allen calls and says he will be home about 5, so dad will take me over there then. Sometimes dad lets me drive even though I don't have my permit yet, but not today which is OK. I arrive at Allen's and we eat pizza and then talk about our costume plans. We are going as angry Dallas Cowboy fans. This consists of wearing Cowboys jerseys which I have to borrow one from Allen, and then wearing paper bags over our heads. This is to hide our shame since this is the first year in a while that the Cowboys are not stellar. We write the Cowboys record on the bags and catch phrases like "cruisin for a losin" or "Bummin in Big D." We set out around his neighborhood to collect our bounty of candy. Some people laugh at our costumes and one guy who was actually wearing a Cowboys jersey himself was kind of mad but still gave us candy.

After an hour or so we decide to walk to the Diamond Shamrock to get some drinks and then walk home. We still have paper bags on our head in the store and people are definitely staring at us. We go home and see how well we did with our candy. Not too bad considering we are not that young anymore. For the rest of the night we listen to the radio, KRAD is always our choice, and mess around on the computer. Allen always has cool stuff on his Acer computer. We call and request some songs and chat with the DJ's at KRAD. Maybe we are lame but we have fun and we are not doing anything wrong. We stay up to well after midnight and play a couple of games of Bill Walsh College Football on the Sega, and Allen gets the best of me tonight. Finally by 2:00am we decide we should try and go to sleep. He tells me a little about Flour Bluff and I comment on how I want to be out there and not at Carroll. Maybe next year, we will see if our house can sell.

December 31, 1998

New Years Eve. What am I doing today, absolutely nothing. I sleep as late as I can, and then when I wake up I just lay in bed and listen to some music; Less than Jake, Blink 182, and Lit. I think Cory slept in too, we really don't have much to do today and I think mom and dad want us to stay at home tonight.

Finally my door creeps open and Misty runs into my room and jumps on the bed trying to wake me up, I finally concede and get out of bed. I still don't have a TV in my room so I need to go downstairs to see what football games are on and to get something to eat. I look over at Cory's room at see that he is still in bed, lazy kid. I got up at 11:30 and now its after 12 and he still isn't up. I get a Diet Coke and make a pastrami sandwich and see what football games are on. The Liberty Bowl is on, not much of a game, most of the good games are on tomorrow and then the championship game between Tennessee and Florida St is on the 2nd, so I'll have to watch that. I mull through the sports section of the paper and see what else is on TV. Cory finally comes downstairs near 1:00 and eats a meager lunch too. We get Misty riled up and chase her around a little and work on her jumping skills. She can now jump on the couch almost every time.

The afternoon is boring. I talk to Allen on the phone and discuss our lack of New Year's plans. Last week we were driving around in the Volvo and chillin. It was a great start to Christmas Break, but now the break is nearing an end and I still can't really drive the Volvo just anywhere yet, still need permission. Allen and I talk football and school and more sports. I see what Scott and Justin are up to tonight, and apparently they are doing the same thing as Cory and I, sitting at home while our parents are at the Padre Isles Club party.

Mom offers to make us dinner and we staunchly refuse. I think we just want to eat frozen pizzas and popcorn. Mom and Dad leave about 8:00 and our night begins. Well, we don't do much. We play some Super Nintendo, Mario Kart and Madden. We get bored with that and since nothing is really on TV, I listen to some more music. Right near midnight I have the MTV new year's show on with Carson Daly. It's kind of lame, but they have Green Day performing in a little so that is cool.........January 1, 1999......... At midnight, Cory and I decide to blast some music out on the patio. There is a party going on across the canal and we compete for who can have the loudest music. We turn up Metallica and then Smashing Pumpkins. This is literally the highlight of our night. It's pretty cool as all the 20 year olds across the canal cheer us on. We turn off the music and let Misty go to the bathroom and put her in her crate. Mom and Dad get home near 1:00am and go straight to bed. We wait until about 2:00 till turn in. It was fun but kind of uneventful. Maybe next year I will be able to go out and do something.

August 22, 2001

College is here. I've been up here at TCU for almost a week now with Frog Camp and moving in and Howdy Week and stuff, but today it really begins. I have three classes: Calculus, Freshman Comp, and Spanish 1. The first class is Calculus and it's at 9:00. I wake up about 8:00, very early considering the past three months I have probably only gotten up before 10:00 about five times. I let the music on my alarm keep playing since I still don't have a roommate. My roommate who was supposed to be from Columbia never showed up and I am supposed to get one soon, but still by myself which has been OK with me so far. So I am listening to music and checking email and hanging in my room for a while. At about 8:20 I walk down the hall to meet Jeff and his roommate Kyle to go to breakfast. We all have our first class at 9 and decide to eat breakfast together beforehand. We walk over to the main and I get eggs, bacon and hash browns, I wonder if I will eat like this everyday? We eat together, fairly quickly since we do not want to be late for our first class.

I head my own direction to Winton-Scott for Calculus. I sit towards the back of the room next to a girl who is fairly cute, and I think about striking up a conversation with her later. However, in the next two minutes some guy, who it turns out is her boyfriend walks in and sits in front of her, talks to her and holds her hand for a minute before class. So I decide this should not be my strategy for picking seats in class. Calc is boring for today, we go over the syllabus and he talks about the textbook and says to look over something because Friday we will work some problems. Towards the end of class my stomach starts hurting and I know I need to make it to the bathroom soon. Class gets out and I hurriedly start walking back towards Milton Daniel. I cannot make it so I get into the student center and head to the bathroom. Wow, first class, first day must have got my nerves upset.

I head back to the dorm and walk over to Jeff's room. He is watching The Price is Right so I sit in his much cleaner and organized dorm room and watch too. He says he and Kyle both had stomach problems and had to use the bathroom too. His next class is at 11 and mine is at 12. We almost finish Price is Right and he goes to class and I head to my room for a few minutes. Freshman comp is in the Bailey Building and class only lasts about 20 minutes as it seems the teacher wants to get out of class too. I ponder getting lunch but only have 25 or so minutes until I have to be in Reed for Spanish. Instead I get a Pepsi at Frog Bytes and walk around the student center for ten minutes. Spanish is interesting. The teacher is really funny and we start by going over the Spanish alphabet. Two other guys comment how "this is a college course" because it seems easier than my high school Spanish class. After Spanish I go over to the student center and walk over to the Baptist Student Ministries Office to visit with Tony. He is the BSM director and I met him at Frogpalooza and he told me to come by Wednesday to chat with him. We talk about church and BSM for a few minutes. He seems really cool and I look forward to going to there events and everything.

I head back to my room and take a much needed nap. After a couple of hours, Scott calls up and wants to play ping pong. We play in the Milton Daniel Lobby for about an hour. We then go to the Main for dinner. I never really had a lunch so I am kind of hungry, I don't want to use too much money on my card and not have any left over in December so I am cautious about what to eat. I get chicken, fries and a coke and it costs about $6.00, not too bad I guess. Scott goes back to Moncrief and I go to Milton. I watch TV in my room by myself and Jeff comes by for a few minutes and tells me all the people he keeps meeting and how he thinks he will join Pi Kapp fraternity. That's cool and I tell him a little about BSM. I debate doing some reading for English or looking over Spanish stuff but opt to get online and watch TV instead. About midnight I get to bed since tomorrow I have a class at 8:00am. First day was OK, it's not quite the same as high school but it's still fun. We will see how tomorrow goes.

September 14, 1989

It's Cory's fifth birthday and we are going to Jungle Jim's for his birthday party. It's really exciting. I had mine their last year and it's super fun. They have a roller coaster inside and it goes backwards too! I'm looking forward to the pizza and video games there too.

It is kind of scary today. A hurricane hit the Texas coast and now mom and dad say there could be tornadoes here in San Antonio. Apparently one hit a few miles from us and took the roof of an HEB, and I'm a little scared because I have seen videos and pictures of tornadoes. There is also a lot of thunder and lightning in the area.

We head to Jungle Jim's, Cory has a lot of friends and two of my friends are coming too, well Jason and Mikey are both of our friends but they are my age. We get there and most of us head straight to the roller coaster first. It is really fun and then we go over the bumper cars. I ride them twice and then Mikey and I play some air hockey. He is one year older than me and bigger and i think I can beat him, but my attempts come up lame and I lose.

We all head to the tables and eat pizza and coke. Jason and I get this idea to put mustard on our pizza and it actually tastes good. A couple of others try it, but not everyone thinks it is a great idea. Cory gets some cool presents. A couple of Ninja Turtles figures including Shredder. We think that one is really cool and it will make for some fun playtime at home. We eat some chocolate cake and play some video games, which aren't dad's but its OK he says. We play some more games and finally have to go home. It is still raining but I don't think there will be any tornadoes. We go home and have to go to sleep, it was fun. I wonder where we should have our birthdays next year?

September 9, 2009 (9/9/09)

9-9-9. Is today supposed to be a special day? It is just a typical Wednesday to me and that means work. I get up early and start getting ready for work. Eat a simpleton Raisin Bran breakfast. Krista gets up, but then promptly goes right back to bed. She looks so peaceful sleeping in the morning, and it makes me quite jealous that I have to go work so much earlier than her.

I am the first one at the school again. I unlock, turn on the AC, put my hot pockets in the fridge and sit at the computer. Students trickle in, though not as many as in year's past as attendance is lower at West this year. Once Gayle and Sylvia get there we head to classes. I have my only break of the morning since I don't teach literature. Then we have math followed by Chemistry and grammar. Finally the morning closes off with an hour of World History. Finally it's lunch as my raisin bran has worn off. I heat up my hot pockets and get a Diet Coke with Lime and head to the conference room to eat lunch. I eat with Gayle and Sylvia and we talk about class, dogs, students and my apartment.

The afternoon is slow and I am glad when 3:00 rolls around. I head home and am quite tired. Krista is not home yet and I immediately crash on the couch. She wakes me up when she gets home and I head to go workout as she is leaving for a meeting at church. I do some bench press in the gym and talk with Ryan Kerr. I run home, shower and eat a not so exciting dinner composed of bratwurst, broccoli, soup and Iced Tea. I watch some tennis, the US Open and am upset when Melanie Oudin loses. I see a few advertisements for The Beatles Rock Band and am inspired. Not to buy the game but to listen to some Beatles which I do for about 30 minutes. Krista gets home and we watch the first episode of So you Think You can Dance (yes I am even watching it). We debate watching Top Chef but will wait until tomorrow since it's late. We are both quite tired and turn off the lights and head for bed about 11:00.

May 5, 2008

Cinco de Mayo that means party for my Spanish I class today and Presley's party at his house tonight. There is one big thing on my mind today and that is Krista. Josie told me last night that Krista does not have a debatable boyfriend anymore and that even though she is leaving in a week for New York that she is interested in getting to know me this week. Josie did not give me her phone number so I am debating how to contact her and when. Well, I am not going to do it this morning and it's Monday which means I have to open the school this morning so I better get going.

I am the first one at the school as usual and most students don't roll in until around 8:30 except for Marcus and Colby. Before they get there I do one more facebook stalk of Krista's page and decide that I will write her later today, but I need to focus on work this morning. Spanish is 3rd period and I have brought some Mexican snacks and we will watch The Office with Spanish subtitles for our Cinco de Mayo Spanish I celebracion. Other morning classes are fine, no one was really paying attention much in Chemistry, but that's not unusual. No real Mexican food for lunch but I do have Mexican inspired hot pockets...Three Cheese and Chicken quesadilla, pretty good. Afternoon study hall seems to by slow and I keep thinking about what I will write to Krista and what I should say.

By three o'clock most everyone is gone, even Denise is leaving early from school today and she asks me to lock up the school. Before I go I am going to write Krista a facebook message. I think a while and then just let it flow. I tell her "heyy I enjoyed your show last week, I heard you're leaving town soon so if you want to get together sometime this week for coffee or something let me know. I know you could be busy with finals or something so if you have time let me know. I would have called you, but don't have your number so here goes: I lost my phone number can I have yours." I hope she appreciates the humor. The message is sent, I lock up the school and head home.

I hang out with Robert for a while watching TV and then decide to check my facebook just to see if she has written back. I am not expecting much since it's only been like an hour and a half, but to my astonishment she has written back and asked if we could get together tonight! And left her phone number! I guess my pick up line worked. So I get my phone out to call her and she answers. We chat and tell her I am going to a Cinco de Mayo party and invite her along and what do you know, she accepts. Sweet, except I have just booked seven people in my truck that only holds six. Rodney just told me a few minutes before I checked facebook that he was going so I call him and tell him sorry my car was full and I miscounted. I owe him for this one.

Scott and Josie get there, Josie is excited and Robert and Gomez have no idea what's going on, but we head to TCU to pick her up. We pick her up and for some reason Robert and Gomez are riding in the front seat with me so Krista has to sit in the back right, farthest away from me. Gomez is excited to see an old friend going with us and we have good conversations. We get to Presley's and introduce people and hang out. They have a new puppy in addition to their other two dogs, a rabbit, a turtle and a kid. I see Krista holding the new puppy and talking about how she loves small dogs, which is cool because I kind of do too. We finally get a little bit of time together and talk about our schedules for the rest of the week. She tells me she is busy tomorrow so I ask her out for a date or to get together on Wednesday and once again she accepts.

We had a good time and thank Presley for having us over and head home, same seats in the car again, grrr. I drop Krista off first, which I realize is stupid, but have already exited University. I should take everyone back to my place and then take her home last and give us time to talk, I guess that will have to wait until Wednesday. We drop Krista off and Gomez says lets talk about Krista, he still doesn't know about the situation, but he will soon. We head home and James, Scott and Josie head home and Robert and I hang out since Mike is out of town in Chicago. I think the night went well and am thinking how much time I can spend with her before she leaves, well if our date goes well. I am getting ready to go to bed and I get a text from Krista asking if I text much, well I do now. We text a few things and then I head to sleep, quite happy and excited to see where this goes.

November 22, 1990

Its Thanksgiving which means no school. I was kind of getting tired of it anyways and luckily dad took us out early yesterday, maybe one day we will get more than two days off for Thanksgiving. Sean and Justin came in last night. They are my cousins or second cousins I think is what mom said. Whatever its fun because Cory and I have some people to play with. We eat a small breakfast because our mom's told us not to fill up because we will eat a lot later which I remember is a big thing on Thanksgiving. The four of us go outside in the back yard and start playing in the fort. It's pretty cool and we play defend the fort. Sean and I are on a team and naturally we win since are both older.

Uncle Jerry, Uncle Larry, Aunt Jeanette and Lauren just arrived and we give hugs to them and Lauren joins our play time. We walk around the neighborhood a bit looking for friends or something to do and then we go back to the house. They say its time to eat and we all gather around the table, say prayers and dig in. I go for dark turkey, mashed potatoes and cranberries. Maybe its good but I avoid salad or green beans and whatever the other stuff we have. We eat and then our dads and uncles start taking naps but we go into me and Cory's room to play games. We start with candyland and move on to chutes and ladders and trouble.

At only 9:00 they say its time for bed and we protest of course because it's not a school night. It's cool though because Sean and Justin and me and Cory all sleep in sleeping bags on the floor making for a fun night. We try to get Lauren to sleep in there too but her parents say its too crowded. We talk, laugh and eventually fall asleep.

May 23, 1997

Thank gosh its the last day of middle school. I've been waiting over two years for this day and to get out of Grant. I still don't know where I'm going to high school next year. The house is for sale and hopefully we will move to the island and I can go to Flour Bluff, but if not I'll be Carroll I guess even though Daniel and Scott won't. Anyways I'm waiting downstairs with Cory and Daniel for the Baldrees to pick us up and take us to school. We ponder whether or not we should hide outside like we have been doing most of the semester and try and steal Scott or Justin's seat. We don't, instead we watch TV and wait. Daniel and I mention how this doesn't feel like the last day of school, seems like we still have weeks to go, but we don't of course thank God.

The Baldrees pick us up and Cory and I are stuffed into the back row seat and Daniel got one of the captains chairs and Scott is in the front seat. At school we hang outside until they let us and then head for class. I have Geometry first with Mr. Bradshaw. I kind of was mad earlier in the year at him because I wasn't making good grades but I've got it back up to a B and Mr. Bradshaw is one of the nicest guys and has said a lot of good things to me this year. Geometry is long, we don't have a test because Bradshaw said that was dumb on the last day so we mostly talk and hang out, Daniel is in my class as well as some other friends. Next is US history and we have a test that takes nearly the entire 75 minutes. Classes are a little shorter today since we have an hour early release. Lunch is after history and I buy my lunch like I have most of the year and sit with Scott, Daniel, Stephen, Justin, Jason, Ryan, Nabeel and a couple of other guys. Too bad all year we never had a girl sit at our lunch table, oh well its been mostly fun.

Last two classes are English which we do a short writing final and then my final middle school class is PE, thank gosh and I consider my day done. We don't have to dress out and coaches let us just play basketball in the gym which is good because it is hot outside. 3:00 comes around and we get out. I meet up with Scott, Daniel, Cory and Justin and we walk about five minutes away to our spot and wait for mom to pick us up. She rolls around a little later in the suburban and we head home.

The day is not over because oh yeah the 8th grade dance is tonight. This isn't any dance because its at Kings Crossing Country Club not the school cafeteria. No dates, well most people don't we just go as friends. We dress up quite a bit and Daniel is actually wearing a tie. Ms. Baldree takes the three of us and we talk about how we probably won't ever see most of these people again as Scott and Daniel are going to IWA and I might be moving to Flour Bluff next year so we say we will have a good time. The dance is really nice, we hang with Justin, Stephen, and Adam and talk to the "bartender" who is just serving cokes and tea. It's fun and people are dancing. Scott has already danced with a couple of girls and Justin and I embarrass him at one point. Justin and Stephen dance with girls and now Daniel and I are saying we need to get courage and get out there. Finally I walk over to Jacquie and ask her to dance and she says yes. My first dance at a school dance. We only dance for like 2 minutes as the song had already began. She thanks me and I head back to the guys. Somehow all of us managed to get a dance with a girl that night.

The dance was fun and we head home. Daniel actually spends the night and we make plans to go to the movies tomorrow to see The Lost World, can't wait for that! It was fun and despite our differences through middle school we talk into the night about girls and high school. It's been a long day, a good ending to a fair three years of middle school.

December 18, 1998

I can't believe they are letting me drive to school today. I was completely surprised last night when dad said I could not only drive the car to school for the first time, but also spend the night at Allen's house. I have had my license since August and we bought the car in September, but this is the first time I have been able to drive it to school. When I told Allen we were both stoked since we finally get to cruise around in a car instead of with our parents or walking.

I eat a light breakfast and then Cory and I get ready to go. Part of the deal is I have to drop Cory off at the Junior High, which is fine I don't mind doing that at all. We cruise over the causeway and down Waldron Rd and I drop him off and head over to the high school. I'm not sure which lot to park in, and I don't actually have a parking sticker yet so I park by the gym next to two other cars that don't have parking stickers. It's the last day before Christmas break and we only have two classes today, both of which have finals. I find Allen and tell him I have the car and where I'm parked and all. The bell rings and we head to class.

First class is Pre-cal honors, which this is my last day in honors with Mr. Rubac, I'm switching to regular Pre-cal next semester, I hope its easier. The test sucks, but thankfully English is next. Allen, Charlie, and a bunch of other people are in the class too. We take a test on Jane Eyre and then have about an hour left of free time before school it out. The bell rings and we are out of there. Allen and I head to the Volvo. Traffic isn't bad at all and we head into town. We decide to eat at the McDonalds off SPID and Staples. We dine there and talk about what car he will get this next summer when he finally turns 16. After that we head to his house and play some Bill Walsh College Football. His mom orders pizza for us later and makes cookies too. She asks about our driving experience and I tell her no problems and I ensure her that Allen will be just as good of driver come August. Despite having the car, we actually don't' go anywhere that night but just chill at his house. Knowing that I have the car there and that mom or dad doesn't have to pick me up tomorrow makes things that much better.

August 28, 2002

It is my third day of classes at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, however it is only the first day of classes for TCU and I am kind of jealous that they had an extra two days of summer. I only have two classes today and the first one is at 11:00. I don't like commuting to school, I know I kind of did it in high school but it was different, nonetheless I have to leave my parent's house about 10:15 so I can get there on time. I never know what traffic will be like especially with the construction on the causeway. Today it is not too bad even though they have traffic down to one lane.

I park fairly close to the building I have both of my classes in and I buy a diet Pepsi before class to keep me awake. I did not get off of work until about 10:30 last night at the Pizzeria and read afterwards so I'm still tired today. I've been drinking more diet drinks recently and find that less sugar helps keep me more hydrated and alert. I walk into US History and sit next to Matt Humpal, one of my friends from high school. I see a lot of kids from high school up here, but it's way different. We are talking about reconstruction in history and the professor seems to have quite a liberal bias on things and Matt gets mad a few times throughout class. He has told me he is very conservative and doesn't like how the professor keeps bashing conservative ideas. After that class is over I walk all of forty yards to Texas History. This is a smaller classroom because it is an upper level class and rather than 100 students like US History, we only have about 30. So far the class is ok, but we have to take a lot of notes, even on the first day of class we did and today is no different. I sit by myself, takes notes and when class is over I begin to contemplate. This isn't the same as TCU. I don't live on campus, I don't know about any things going on, I don't have friends hanging around on campus. So I just head home not knowing what to do next.

I eat a quick lunch and watch some sportscenter. No one is home and Cory won't be home until about 4 and mom and dad until after 5. I get online and go to the TCU website. I seriously think I made a huge mistake in transferring. I mean money was an issue and I thought I would have a better time here, but what was I thinking? I go to admissions and find that there is a counselor at TCU that deals specifically with former TCU students re-enrolling. I think this is perfect so I send her an email and explain my situation. Just thinking about going back to TCU next semester gets me excited. What doesn't get me excited is telling mom and dad that after less than a week here I'm ready to go back to TCU. Oh well, I will think of a way, and besides nothing is official yet. All I have done is sent an email to an admissions counselor.

I take a quick nap before getting changed and going to work. I am delivering tonight and it's Wednesday so it will probably be slow. It turns out it is slow and I only make $24 in tips before cashing out, washing dishes and heading home. I look over some accounting homework before class tomorrow and then head to sleep, thinking how if I was at TCU I might be hanging in the dorms with people and not going to sleep in the room above my parents.

June 14, 2008

It's Saturday and despite sleeping until about 11:30 I am still tired. It was probably because I was talking on the phone late to Krista and then watching TV and hanging out in the living room with Mike and Ryan. Other than that though seriously summer school hours are easy, I haven't started packing to move yet and I've been slacking on working out, so really I shouldn't be too tired. Hopefully a little lunch will cheer me up.

It's less than a week until I get to see Krista in Colorado. I'm glad that Mike and Steve have decided to come along and hang out in Colorado Springs while I'm in Denver. So Krista and I have now been dating for a over a month and haven't seen each other in a month, but that will change next week when I am in Denver with her at Julia's wedding. It should be fun, since the last ten weddings I have been at I have gone stag, and yes there were some good times, but it should be quite fun to accompany Krista.

The afternoon was boring until Mike and I went to the gym and did a light workout, we will save the heavy workout for Monday. That got me a little more energy and I had a two minute conversation with Krista as she was walking to the Subway, she likes to do that and I enjoy any conversation with her at this point. We are finally able to talk later on, I go into my room to talk to her and we talk how things are and how much we cannot wait to see each other in like 5 days. We are talking about what we will do when we get to see each other and the arrangements for the weekend. Krista seems pretty tired on the phone, she has been walking around New York all day and she is an hour ahead of me. I tell her goodbye and how I miss her and she tells me the same thing and that she is sorry she is so tired and can't talk longer. After I get off, I chill in the living room and watch some TV with Mike and Ryan again.

December 25, 1992

It's Christmas! Cory and I are so excited, well every Christmas is exciting. We spent the night in the same room last night and I set an alarm (yes a 10 year old boy that I am set an alarm) to wake up at 5:30am. I don't know if I have ever gotten up that early but we did. So the alarm goes off and we immediately wake up(we probably only got a few hours of sleep). We creep down the hall and look over the stairs to see if there is anything that Santa brought us and sure enough there it is. A pool table. We cannot believe it, this is probably the best gift Santa has ever brought. It is a 6 foot pool table with the set of balls, chalk and two pool sticks. As if we were a couple of pool sharks, Cory and I rack up the balls and begin a game of eight ball. Normally we try and keep the noise down on Christmas morning but not today this is too cool. Cory breaks and the game is under way, its almost 6:00 am. We get going as we are both making some shots and then mom comes in. I'm thinking she is going to be excited too to see what Santa brought us, but instead she comes out furiously and does a whisper yell. She tells us that Grandma is still sleeping and we should be quiet. We ask and plead if we can finish the first game on the pool table but she says no. It is too much noise and it's too early. She literally escorts us back into the room and tells us to go back to sleep for a while.

So we are back in my room talking about how we will finish the game later, and oh yeah open other presents we got from mom, dad, Grandma and whoever else, but we are really just wanting to play some more pool. Somehow we manage to fall asleep and before I know it, it's almost 9:00am. What!? By this time I thought Cory and I would be pros and know new types of games. We go back downstairs and mom and dad are just now getting up and making coffee. Grandma comes in and admires the pool table that Santa brought. We eat a light breakfast and then ask if we can finish the game before we open presents. We do and Cory somehow beats me as I knock the 8 ball in before all my stripes were in. Next we go to the presents, normally we are excited for this too, but not as much this year. I get a Dallas Cowboys winter jacket, some jeans, shoes, a Christmas ornament and some random hot wheels cars too which aren't bad but come on there is a pool table a few feet away. After presents and thank yous we get dad to teach us a few tricks, the best way to hold the pool stick, the real rules of 8 ball and 9 ball (a new game for us).

By late afternoon I can smell the Turkey cooking and Uncle Jerry has arrived for Christmas dinner to join us and make it more exciting. Jerry is always so much fun to be around and we hurry over to him and show him the pool table and he says we must have been good for Santa to bring a pool table all the way from the North Pole. We remark that we are and then quickly show him how good are pool skills are. Later on we eat Turkey and mashed potatoes and have some pumpkin pie with mom, dad, Uncle Jerry, and Grandma. We all watch Christmas Vacation after that. A really funny movie which I think we watched last year too. After the movie Cory and I are supposed to go brush our teeth and get ready for bed, but we have to get in one last game of pool. We cannot wait to have friends over and show them the pool table, and promptly beat them because we are awesome. I take this game from him because he scratches on the eight ball. Eventually we will get better. We go back to my room and keep talking pool with the lights out until we both doze off.

August 8, 2000

It is my 18th birthday AND the first day of my senior year of high school. Are you kidding me my birthday is a school day this has never happened, I have always had a summer birthday. I seriously can't believe it, and despite all of my pressuring my parents, they are still making me go to school which if I haven't already mentioned I have never done on my birthday. Why did Flour Bluff ISD decide to start back over a week earlier than last year?

Anyways so its Tuesday morning and I am getting ready for school. I get up at about 6:45 or so. I don't shower in the morning because I am an evening shower person. I decide to wear a yellow Tommy Hilfiger shirt (which was Jeff Richter's shirt but we traded this past summer) and khaki cargo shorts and some New Balance shoes. My hair is still blond from when I bleached it in June, well Jeff bleached it and I bleached his but he dyed his back. But the blond looks better and I am fairly tan from practicing tennis this summer so it all works out. I eat a quick breakfast and then Cory and I head to school. He is starting 10th grade and I'm a senior of course and we cruise our 15 minute drive to school in the Volvo. We park and go our separate ways. I find Jeff and Chris before school to hang out before heading to Government which Jeff is in my class of course. A few people like Allen and couple of girls do wish me a happy birthday and I keep remarking that it would be happier if I wasn't in school. My schedule for the day is 1. Government 2. AP Biology 3. English IV 4. Spanish III 5. BCIS 6. Tennis. Tough schedule for a senior....not. The only class I think will be hard is AP Bio, luckily Jeff, Chris and Joel are in there so I'm sure we won't get into too much trouble.

I have first lunch and I sat with Chris, Allen, Angie, Autumn, Lisa, Jessica, and some other people. After tennis we have a brief team meeting, no practice on the first day of school and we talk about how we are dedicated this year to winning and working hard even though we lost two Varsity players- Jason and Travis Gould, which ultimately helped me get on Varsity since they left. After tennis meeting is over I meet Cory in the parking lot and head home. The day was pretty good. I think this year will go well, I have lots of friends in my classes. I seem to have a good rapport with the girls at school and my schedule isn't too hard. I mean I'm 18 and I'm in senior so good things have to happen this year right?

Later at night we go out to eat to Marcel's, a German restaurant in Port Aransas and I have a New York Strip, it was pretty good. My parents ask Cory and I if school will be good this year and we both say "yeah I guess" They ask what college I am interested in (for like the thousandth time since summer) and I tell them the same answer; either TCU or Texas A&M. I'll see when we visit them and where my friends are going. I go home and eventually head to bed about 11:00, no homework since it was the first day. I have to get pumped for the rest of my senior year.

Introduction

The idea of a blog has arisen from a variety of reasons. I have a wonderful wife who likes to blog and follow other bloggers which as I have read from time to time is quite interesting. I also have a couple of friends who over the past few years I have read several of their blog entries, Sheri Pape and Ryan Eloe. Now I didn't really think I had much to blog about and quite frankly wasn't sure anyone really cared. As I start this blog I realize people still may not care, but I will try and write anyways.

This brings me to the idea for my blog. If you have read the title of it then you might guess whats its about. I cannot time travel, however if the opportunity ever arose I'm sure I would be one of the first who would volunteer. I have always been interested in time travel starting with watching Back to the Future when I was like four years old and all of the sequels in the years that followed. Other movies and books have also inspired me, but the latest book The Time Traveler's Wife gave me the idea about blogging. In the book, Henry the main character time travels to dates in his life sometimes in the future but mostly in the past and there are entries narrating his travels. Now my travels will all be in the past unless this time traveling does work out and I can blog about the future, which I'm betting won't happen anytime soon. Anyways I will try and narrate historic and red letter events in my life. I have a pretty good memory. I must note that Krista might think my memory isn't perfect because I cant always remember what she wore last week or a certain conversation we had, but my long term memory is stellar and I will do my best to recall events to the best detail.

I hope you will enjoy reading and if time goes on you might find yourselves in these blogs as I will try and involve the blog around friends, family and other people who have influenced me. Enjoy the writing of my time travels.