I’ve meant to write something on here for at least the past week or so, but I just get occupied with so many other things that this lands itself on the bottom of my list of things to do. Anyway…

A few weeks ago my dad was working in a garage and asked the customer about a car sitting in his garage and found out that he was planning to get rid of it – donate it to the American Cancer Society or some organization like that. Knowing that I wanted a car, he asked about purchasing it and, to make a long story short, I got a car for $250. It’s a 1989 Honda Accord LX with a 2.0L 4-cylinder engine and a
5-speed manual transmission. I got it two weeks ago this Saturday, at the beginning of Spring Break.
Never having driven stick made for an interesting first few days of break. I started off real jerky and stalled the car a few times but eventually got the hang of it…I even got pretty good at hills.

Back a few months ago, Stan and I had thought about flying out to California just to do something different for Spring Break. Not wanting to spend a lot of money, we never really carried through with that plan, though. But, once I had my car all running and was used to driving stick, we decided to go for a road trip. We set out last Thursday morning at about
5am, not knowing quite where we were going, only that we were going to head East on 80. We ended up going to Cincinnati, where Stan‘s roomate lives.

Once we got to Cincinnati, though, it was dark, we noticed a few things. First, we thought it would be a very nice area in the day, with all the hills and trees and so forth. Second, the driving/roads in Cincinnati were crazy. Not only were there hills
everywhere (which tested my stick-shift abilities), but roads randomly turned or lost/gained a lane.

We found a hotel to stay in and walked up to our room, #219. Stan stuck his key in and opened up the door and we walked in. I first saw a couch and some chairs and thought to myself “Is this all we have to sleep on?” Then I looked to my right and saw the bedroom. I looked and saw a king sized bed. I thought we had told the lady at the desk we wanted two double beds, but figured she must have made a mistake. Anyway, it turned out to be a suite. Not having eaten for several hours, we were hungry and went out for some dinner at Steak n Shake. We returned to the hotel room and stuck the keys in the door and neither worked. I looked again at the room number and thought to myself “Weren’t we in 229?” I pulled out the card with the room number listed on it and I was right. Somehow, we had gotten in the suite and thought it was our room. How, I’m still not quite sure, but it definitely made for an interesting experience. We went down to the front desk and got things taken care of…I think the lady down there got a laugh out of it.

The next day we woke up to see the sun shining and walked out side to feel 70+ degree temperatures. After eating breakfast at Perkins, we explored the city and enjoyed the nice scenery on the outskirts of the town. We drove into Kentucky and then back to the hotel. Anyway…that’s about all that was interesting about the trip. We took a different way home through Indiana. The first part was nice,
through a hilly part of the state, but the majority of the drive was extremely flat and boring.

Monday began a new quarter for me – the last quarter of this year, which means only 11 weeks left until summer break. While it might be a break from school, I’m sure I’ll be working doing something or another, so we’ll have to wait and see how restful it’ll actually be.

This quarter I’ve got only four
classes, for a total of 14 credit hours. I’m taking Chemistry, Physics of Electricity and Magnetism, Speech, and Probability and Statistics. My teachers for the first three of those classes seem real good. While the material may get difficult in the science courses, I think the good teaching should help get me
through the classes. Probability and Statistics, though, looks to be a boring class, a repeat of my AP Stats class from last year. Too bad my school doesn’t take AP credit for Stats.

Here’s my schedule, if you’re interested in knowing where I’m at during the day (stalker).

CH 200 – Chemistry I : Solochek, Joyce M.
EN 241 – Speech : Howell, David
MA 262 – Probability and Statistics : O’Neill, Bruce
PH 230 – Physics of Electricity and Magnetism : Korn, Jeffrey B.

I’ve added a few new essays I’ve written thus far this year to the writings section of my web site.

If you get a chance, check them out…especially the one entitled Nature as Art.

In other news, I’ve got only three weeks (well now almost two and a half) left before finals week, which is immediately followed by spring break. It’s a real early spring break, but with as hard as I’ve been working, I’m ready for it even now. Stan and I are thinking about maybe flying out to California for a couple of days, just to do something different, but we haven’t made any decisions regarding that yet.

Saturday morning I woke up at the bright and early hour of 6 am, which seemed especially early considering I went to bed after 2 am. After getting all dressed up, I headed over to the high school from which I graduated to ride on a bus with a bunch of Future Business Leaders of America members so that I could judge at the Northern Area (IL) competition. The day turned out to be exciting. Although I was unable to judge the web sites like I had wanted to, I still got to take a look at them and discuss them briefly with Drew, the guy who judged the site I entered last year. Instead of judging web site, I worked with a guy named Sean, who teaches a Powerpoint class, to judge Powerpoint presentations for the Multimedia Presentation event. We spent lots of time on each one, providing as much feedback as possible in hopes of helping the teams to do as well as possible in future competitions.

Well I’m getting tired and I’ve got to shower and maybe do some reading yet before bed.

As you know either because you are friends with me, or because you read my last post, yesterday was my birthday. I’d like to quickly thank everyone who made it such a great day. It was one of my best birthdays ever, even though the whole turning 19 thing doesn’t mean much.

Thanks to…

Jesus – for giving me such wonderful family and friends and for giving me these 19 years of life I’ve been blessed with.
My family – for all the stuff you gave me, even if you had a hard time finding gifts and weren’t sure if I’d like them
Stan – for hanging out so much, for the milkshake at 2 am Dec 31, lunch, for the CD, and just for being my friend
Stan‘s family – for wishing me a happy birthday and feeding me! 🙂
Heather – for not getting too upset when I always hang with Stan
Sarah, Amber, Kimber, and Laura – for calling me up and singing Happy Birthday and being the goofy but fun people you are
Everyone at the Alpha/Omega – for letting me pulverize you with dodgeballs, for pounding me with them, for participating in a thought-provoking and eye-opening discussion at the Alpha/Omega thing, for being in love with Christ and giving me a good time remembering what it’s like to be surrounded by so many cool Christ-followers
Stephen Solon – for being the first one to call me this morning to wish me a happy birthday
Anyone else I forgot – for being my friend and wishing me a happy birthday

My birthday was truly awesome… thanks a ton … it means a lot to me, the guy who at one time hardly had any friends.

My birthday this year has helped me to realize how blessed and thankful I am for all God has given me, especially with regards to friends. I wanted to take the time to call out a few people who I feel especially blessed to call my friend.

Please note that this list does not include all my friends and influential people in my life. I have good things to say about a lot of other people, too, it’s just I only have so much time and patience with writing.

Jesus Christ – I know this seems kinda cliche to put you in here, like it’s just the right thing to do, but there are really so many more reasons to write about you in this humble little friends page. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for taking my sins upon yourself and dying for me….not only for me but for the whole world. For people that mock and scorn and spit upon you. That’s amazing beyond belief. I always say sure I’d die for my friends, and though I hope I would, I can’t say that I would with certainty. As one song says, “So I’ll let my words be few…Jesus I am so in love with you.”

Mom and Dad – I can’t really leave you off this list, as you’ve contributed so much to who I am. Not only am I forever gratfeul for being taught the Bible from an early age, but you’ve been there for me through everything and you love me despite my imperfections.

Jill and David -I know I fight with you guys a lot and get frustrated by your silly noises and instrument practice, but you’re both cool people and I look forward to always being your big brother.

Stan Lemon – My best friend. Back before you changed your profile page around and wrote new things about your friends, you wrote something about being a lonely guy who didn’t have anyone to talk theology with until I came along. I was pretty much in the same boat. Sure, I had friends – Mike Doll, CJ, Chris Jakubik among many others – but I didn’t have a best friend or any friends I hung out with outside of school until you came along. You’ve been a great friend over the past few years and I’m sure we’ll be great friends the rest of our lives.

Hans – Though I haven’t known you quite as long as some people on this page, I absolutely love hanging out with you. Whether it’s running, meeting girls after SEMP worship times, walking through the mall cracking jokes, or talking on the phone at 2 am, I love it. I wish I’d gotten to know you sooner. Oh – at the Rock (Luke’s youth group), they still think we’re brothers. Oh well…that’s cool – we get along well enough to be brothers.

Adam Larson – I’ve heard your testimony and all and I’ve see the changes you talk about in it. It’s awesome to see that … I don’t know that I’ve ever gotten a good opportunity to watch someone practically become a Christian and then go and learn stuff like crazy. I wish I had as much fervor for the Bible as you do. Keep learning, keep growing, and always ask Christ to lead you in the direction He wants you to go. Don’t conform yourself to the world, but be transformed by Christ and His Word (Romans 12:2).

Brandon Feil – I loved working on the IV web site back earlier this school year. I hope I can continue to get to know you through hanging out working on stuff like that, through our small group discussion deals, and through the various Bible studies we both attend. You’re a great guy and I hope we can work on more web projects now and then as our schedules allow.

Scott Vetter – Though you’re often very opinionated and frequently have a different opinion from me, I enjoy all the time we spend talking on our runs to fast food places. Thanks for driving me around like that. I’ll make it out to your place some day over the summer.

Eric Evenson – Your love for Christ really shines through not only in your actions, but especially in your writings. I still remember that one prayer about me that you wrote … I’m not sure exactly what it said – I could look at it again if I wanted – but that really touched me. Your concern for you fellow Christian students at school is amazing. Keep following God’s guidance in your decisions as to what to do with your MSOE education.

Dave Ibanez – Though you occassionally do strange things like wear shorts over your PJ pants and wear sandals with no socks in the winter, you’re a good guy. Your heart for the lost is amazing. You’re going to make a great workplace-evangelist.

Josh Carl – Even though I’m a freshman, you’ve kinda taken me under your wing in some respects and that’s awesome. Thanks for all you do with Intervarsity – organizing prayer, making decisions with the other leaders, etc. And thanks for running with me, too. I know I’m not as fast as you but it’s still cool that you let me run with you and get the exercise I need.

Gabe Gorsline – That’s awesome that you let me tag along when you do sound stuff. I enjoy helping out with that when I can. It’s awesome, like with Josh, that you put up with me even though you’re two years ahead of me. Keep up your great work with IV.

Stephen Solon – It’s always cool having someone who calls me up all the time to hang out even when I’m busy and all. We’ve had some nice bike rides, chats at McDonald’s, and just plain old good times hanging out. Keep calling me up when I’m home. I enjoy it. Your knowledge of the Bible is also awesome. Take full advantage of going to Wheaton Academy and learn as much as you can about the Bible. Unless you go to a Christian college, you won’t ever have another opportunity to be forced to take classes on the Bible.

Bill Gilbert – You have a passion for the Bible that not a lot of people in America have today. I don’t agree with you on nearly all the issues that exist, but as long as we both continue to look to God’s Word to teach us and listen to what IT says, we’ll be good. I appreciate your work with Omega and how you’ve blessed my life, always opening up your home.

Andrew Waggener – You’re one of the most amazing Christians I’ve met. I know you’re always hard on yourself, thinking that you’re not good enough. It’s awesome how when you pray, the first think you do is confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. More Christians need to do that more often – they focus so much on Christ’s love, they forget His justice. Continue to seek God’s will for your life and learn all you can at Oak Hills, or whatever the name of that place is. Always take advantage of living so near to Jim.

Well it’s that time of the year again. No, not the time where we make resolutions and move into the next year. Well, that’s true, BUT, there’s a whole lot more to this day that just being the last day of the year. It’s my birthday. I’ve survived another year of life here on this earth … that brings me to a grand total of 19. The funny this is that this day, at least this time, doesn’t mean a whole lot. Last year, when I turned 18 was a big deal – I’m now considered an adult by the government and stuff so I could open a checking account, sign everything for myself, and so forth. But, to get any more privileges, I’ve gotta turn 21, and that’s still two years away. The big privilege there is drinking and I’m not a big fan of alcohol, so that’s not even going to be a big deal. It just sounds all big and mighty because it’s 21.

Anyway…enough rambling about all that. Stan‘s gonna come by in a little while and we’re gonna head out to good ol Portillo’s and get some food.

So last night I hop out of the shower, go into my room and check my email and IM a person or two and then I hear a knock at my window. Stan and I had planned to hang out, but he fell asleep and I couldn’t get ahold of him. When he finally woke up at 1am, he came over to my place. We went out in search of some fast food, but Wendy’s was closed and the Taco Bell closed a few minutes early. Too bad for them – there were about 10 cars that wanted food from there but they lost business because they closed early. As we passed by the drive up window, Stan stuck his tongue out at the guy who was telling everyone they were closed, just like a little kid would do. It may not sound funny, but coming from Stan at 2 am, it was. Then, we hit up Steak n Shake, who ripped me off and didn’t put bacon on my burger, and then ate that at my house, after which we headed back out to cruise. We decided to go to Chicago, since I’ve never driven downtown before. So we went there, drove around for an hour or so and then came home about 6am. I slept until about 12 and then woke up.

Here’s what Christmas is really about…

Luke 2:1-21 ESV
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Stan wrote a good short but indepth article on the meaning of Christmas … check it out!

Because of the unique spelling of my first name, ever since I showed up here at MSOE, my peers have called me e-Rich. If you can’t tell from how that’s typed out, the pronunciation is similar to that of e-Mail, e-Commerce, and so forth…e-Rich. With the exception of, I believe, one telemarketer (who pronounced my name “Ereesh” or something like that) everyone has always pronounced my name as it should be pronounced – just like you would pronounce Eric, Erik, or Erick. That is, until today. I walked into Technical Composition a few minutes before 4 this afternoon and my teacher called roll. When she got down to my name, she said with a bit of hesitancy in her voice, “e-Rich.” This really threw me off guard, as she not only was the first teacher, or person, for that matter, to seriously pronounce my name like that, but she also pronounced it correctly on Monday. I politely corrected her and noted that she could call me e-Rich if she wanted, because all my friends do.

Anyway…I thought that was pretty funny. I’m always bad at telling stories so it probably seems dumb to you. But that’s okay. Deal with it!

Upon arriving back at school after a relaxing and enjoyable 9 1/2-day long Thanksgiving break Sunday night, I received my grades for the first quarter. While I was pleased to find that I received an A in Microeconomics, the course about which I was concerned the most, I received an AB (Somewhere between 89% and 92%) in my Composition class. I found this a bit odd, seeing as my professor told me toward the end of the quarter that I was one of his best writers and he seemed to like the compositions I had written. Oh well…I won’t complain too much. If the only non-A I received was in Composition – a general education class – then I can’t be doing too poorly.

Monday, my new set of classes began. I had Differential Equations and Technical Composition. Despite the fact that everyone says Diff Eq. is quite difficult, I don’t think it will be extraordinarily challenging, as I’ve always excelled in Mathematics courses. I went to Technical Composition at 4pm on Monday and when I saw all that we’re going to do this quarter (actually, it’s more the types of things we have to do, as opposed to the quantity) and that gave me somewhat of a bad perspective on this entire quarter for school in general. I think if it weren’t for that class, my quarter would go fairly well. Not that I like my other classes a whole lot, but I think they’re going to be bearable. I have a new teacher for HU-100 (Contemporary Issues in the Humanities) and though this class sounds like it’ll be a lot like high school classes, I think I can get through it without too much difficulty. I went to the first lecture of my Physics of Mechanics course yesterday and it was extremely boring – I don’t think it’s a good thing to judge the entire quarter of a course based on the activities of the first day. We discussed SI units or something like that and how to convert between different measurements – all this basic stuff that has been covered in several courses of mine in the past. Since I already took Physics in high school, I think much of this course will be review, but will use Calculus, as opposed to the basic math we used in high school Physics. Lastly, I’ve got CS-285, Data Structures. Dr. Rothe seems to be a good professor – he already involved the class quite a bit in discussion yesterday. Also, the topics covered within this course don’t appear to be too difficult, so I should enjoy that class.

Some of you may have heard of my “cancerous” cell phone. Well, Monday I received a package with a replacement phone. I charged the phone, but when I hit the power button, it wouldn’t turn on. I finally got the phone to turn on using a different method, but have determined that the END/Power button is bad – I made a phone call but when I pushed END, nothing happened. That explains why I couldn’t turn it on either. Oh well, I’ll make a call to Sprint sometime and see what I need to do to get this issue resolved. Do you realize that that’s my third phone … all THREE have had problems. The first phone’s power jack for recharging broke after about a week, the second got the “BLOB,” and the third’s power button doesn’t work. Maybe my fourth phone will work properly.

Well I’ve got some stuff I should do this morning before my 12pm Physics Lab.

I love the way people spell things these days. What kind of bully doesn’t even know how to spell wuss? I guess that’s logical though – was there ever an intelligent bully? Anyway, this statement wasn’t made by a bully. Well mabye he bullies my brother, but that’s understandable. Most people “bully” their siblings or their friends siblings at least once in a while.

The silly part is that I’m making a big deal about this. Equally as bad, though, is the fact that my buddy, Stan, who called me a “woose,” is 18 years old and is so intelligent that he graduated from high school a year early.

When will this world learn how to spell? Or is that just not important if everyone’s opinion about right and wrong is just as valid as everyone else’s?