To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true; so that he who says of anything that it is, or that it is not, will say either what is true or what is false..."
-Aristotle

i feel like im in 1st grade again. everything was so intriguing and so interesting back when i was only 7 years old. the world was my classroom, and boy, was class fun. i remember my 1st grade teacher, mrs. jackson, and her infamous talk with my mom. during this discussion concerning yours truly, mrs. jackson had remarked about my incredible "enthusiasm for learning." and from that point forward, my mom would repeat that to me every chance she got. i guess it has kinda doomed me for the past 11 years, especially since that knack for learning slowly, but gradually, floated away, but now i finally see signs of its return. sure, i've only been a college kid officially for 3 days, but so far, it's been awesome. i don't remember the last time i could honestly say that i actually enjoyed going to class, listening to lectures, taking notes, and not to mention reading. strange, is it not? iono, maybe it's something in the air here at UT, but im turning into a class A chump.

guru chumpdom is within reach. or is it chump nirvana? *shrug*

no one ever said surrendering was easy

ah, back to the whole surrender thing. man, it is SO difficult. so much easier said than done. peter put up a sticky note on a mirror in our dorm room that says in all caps: I SURRENDER ALL. i get up and it's the first thing i see every morning. just a reminder to really take up your cross daily for Jesus. i guess i've come to realize that surrendering everything really takes a lot of time; it's not just a one-time deal. and as much as i really want to do it, i guess sometimes emotions and other things tend to get in the way. of course, i could say it's just human nature, but things would be so much easier if i was just able to truly surrender my everything to the Big Guy.

as far as college is concerned, after going to my classes, i guess you could say that i was worrying about it a LOT more than was really necessary. college? no problem. seriously. other than the fact that one of my teachers totally resembles mr. somer, all my professors seem quite approachable, which is awesome. im really looking forward to this semester. i wanna see how things play out and how i'll be able to manage my time.

one of the best things about college life so far is just the amount of freedom to do stuff. the guys get together every night at 10 for a prayer meeting, which is just an amazing time of fellowship. annie comes down to me and peter's room ever so often just to hang out and talk about stuff, and it's been great getting to know so many new people, as well as grow closer to the people i already knew. college is so much better than i thought it'd be, so praise God for that =)

why leave for tomorrow what can be done today...

wow. i havent studied for so long that i think ive forgotten how to. but i guess its ok, cuz i dont ever remember reading so diligently before. if its possible, i think i am being an overachiever. yes, already. one of my assignments for today was to read 11 pages of my sociology textbook before friday. i've spent over an hour reading so far, and ive only read 9 pages, but ive taken 5 pages of notes. what the heck. whens the last time i even took notes?!? what surprised me even more is that i was actually kinda enjoying chumping. didnt ever think you would hear me say that, now did you?

littlecanoe4111 (3:52:15 PM): come hang out in timmy's room!
bam warrior (3:53:07 PM): maybe later
bam warrior (3:53:11 PM): gonna do some reading or something
littlecanoe4111 (3:53:35 PM): WHAT?!?!?!

ah, the opportunity cost (economics term! :-O ) of being a professional chump..

OpHeEeNieEe (4:09:58 PM): u havent reach guru chumpdum yet

and there folks, is my motivation. gonna go read some more :)

If every day was,
As good as today was,
Then I can't wait until tomorrow comes..

woke up at 8 AM today in an attempt to switch from philosophy to psychology class, but to no avail. fell asleep again until about 10, then went to go eat breakfast at jester city limits. then peter and i started walking towards our 1st class at 11. man, i must admit it felt pretty weird walking to class. the entire street was packed with students going in every direction, and to top things off, i wasn't really sure where my 1st class was. yep, i had the "1st day of school" jitters. kinda got lost finding the communications building for my sociology class, but i managed to sneak into class only a minute late. the professor seemed quite nice, and class ended in 15 minutes. 15 minutes! so i quickly escaped the building, only to realize that i had no idea what i would do in the next 45 minutes before my next class.

so i started to wander around searching for burdine hall, where my philosophy class was located. i ran into andy wong, and we talked for a bit. hehe i asked him what HE was still doing in college, and then after a lil bit of though, i asked him what I was doing in college. scowled at him a bit for missing camp challenge again, but its all good =P

my philosophy class is HUGE. filled up the entire auditorium. knew 3 people in there: alvin, simon, and alan. pretty tight. im not really sure what to think of the professor yet, though. he tries to be funny, or at least i think he is, but he's not that funny. oh well, 1st impressions aren't everything.

last class of the day was economics. the professor seemed really really nice, but the only problem is she has a pretty heavy chinese accent. i guess im better off than most of the other students in there, but you gotta really pay attention to know what's going on. so i guess thats somewhat of a good thing.

iono, every class just sorta breezed by today. ate lunch at bout 3:15, and then simon IM-ed me.

Simy85: i just saw tj ford
bam warrior: really??
bam warrior: haha tight
Simy85: yeah
Simy85: dude
Simy85: i was pretty sure it was him
Simy85: cuz he didnt have an ID
Simy85: he asked me to swipe him in
bam warrior: ooh man
bam warrior: haha
Simy85: yeah
Simy85: shoot
bam warrior: did you touch him?
Simy85: i shoulda asked for his autograph
bam warrior: hehe
Simy85: i was in the elevator wth him
Simy85: for
Simy85: THREE whole floors!
bam warrior: lol
Simy85: and i got to swipe him IN
Simy85: man
Simy85: i needa go find him
Simy85: and get his autograph
Simy85: i thikn he went to 4th floor
Simy85: im gonna go look

so simon goes "tj-hunting" and calls me about 5 minutes later telling me he found him! so i grab my UT wristband (thanks jeremy =P ) and go simon-hunting. i finally spot him just standing in the hallway, and he points to a room. being the pansies that we are, we just hang around in the hall, hoping that he'll just walk out of the room to sign autographs for us. about 20 minutes later, i finally muster up the guts to knock on the door, and then i let simon do all the talking. a voice from inside yelled "come on in," so simon and i stuck our heads in the door and asked, "is TJ in here? we just want a couple of autographs."

so after all is said and done, simon and i are running down the hall, jumping and skipping around like little schoolgirls. ah, what an awesome first day of school :)

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
- Acts 1:10

im a person who likes to just lie down and think about stuff. a lot. and after reading this verse in my QT a couple of nights ago, it's been on my mind quite a bit. can you even imagine what things will be like when Jesus returns? how AWESOME will that be?! i mean, what should we expect? what will he look like? so many questions sparked my curiosity, but, the way i used to see it, more important than any other question, "WHEN will He come back?" i used to think about whether or not Jesus would come back to earth tomorrow or in 1000 years. mind-boggling, isn't it? but i finally realized that hey, it really doesnt matter when the exact date is. that should be the least of my concerns. God's timing is perfect, so while im still here, i guess i should make the most of my time. live life to its fullest, and grasp every opportunity to reach out to other people with the Good News of JC.

so, until that date, i can only imagine...

im a big kid now..

so im waiting for school to start. the BIG school. "die hok" in canton. im sure this 1st semester is gonna be full of challenges. just feels so weird right now, but then again, ive only been here for 2 days. so far, the biggest challenge has been patience. first thing is the long long lines at every single meal. jester city limits is the only place open right now, so people just pour in. and then the university co-op place, where you get textbooks and stuff, is super super stuffed. ah, the joys of attending the most populated college in the nation.

but wow, time sure has a way of flying by here. i woke up at 10:30, and after eating brunch and getting textbooks, i looked at the clock again and it was 5:30. pooh, so much bumming around. i really can't wait until school starts. then maybe i'll actually have something to do with my time.

well, right now i don't have internet in my room. for some reason, i got disconnected today even though i paid for it and everything already. posting this from simon's room.

hasn't been the best of days, but it's all good. im sure better days are on the way...

With Me
- Ginny Owens


Life is a strange thing.
Sometimes it's thrilling
And sometimes it gets me down.
Some days my world seems
So all consuming
I'm afraid I'm gonna drown.
But there's one thing I know for sure

The good days come
The dark days call
But every day You're with me, with me through it all.
And I will embrace what every moment brings
'cause You are with me.

I cannot measure
The pain and pleasure
Life has up its sleeve
My joys and sorrows
Todays and tomorrows
Are for me no guarantees.
But there's one thing I know for sure

And when life isn't fair
I can still smile
Even in my despair
You're there all the way.

finally found the name of the song!!

He's there all the way =)

bam warrior: you at wheaton now, right?
twiloite: yep
bam warrior: how is it?
twiloite: hmm pretty nice
bam warrior: thats cool
bam warrior: meet your roommate?
twiloite: yep
twiloite: he's nice
bam warrior: hehe
bam warrior: cool
twiloite: how's your roommate?
bam warrior: haha
bam warrior: hes gay
bam warrior: :-P
twiloite: oh really
twiloite: well that's no good........
bam warrior: hehe
twiloite: what's his name?
bam warrior: peter wang
twiloite: oh yeah!
twiloite: that's right
twiloite: lol

hehe im j/k...
good thing peter doesn't have a computer to use for a week, so he can't see this =P

new pics are up! using ofoto now. unlimited pictures for a year, starting TODAY!

hehe the link's on your left side, labeled "my newest pix"

oh, and peter's finally here, so im gonna go burn the stuffed panda he brought here.

DarkJediPete: oh i'm getting some lava lamps :-)
bam warrior: ....
bam warrior: man
bam warrior: "some"?
bam warrior: one is already tacky enough
DarkJediPete: a lamp and a cd holder
DarkJediPete: how do you spell terra in terra panda
bam warrior: ?
bam warrior: iono what youre talking about
DarkJediPete: lol dangit
DarkJediPete: n/m
DarkJediPete: what should we get to decorate the room?
DarkJediPete: i'm getting some stuffed pandas ^_^
bam warrior: ...
bam warrior: don't turn flaming on me
DarkJediPete: but i like pandas....
bam warrior: i like you being straight
DarkJediPete: ok fine
DarkJediPete: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3238193331&category=13669
DarkJediPete: this flaming a bit?
bam warrior: ...
bam warrior: im praying for you
DarkJediPete: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2748712358&category=33964
DarkJediPete: oh snap!

what did i do to deserve this?!