Alright, time to update again. I set the tempo a little high on the blog-rate I think. Its been harder to find time and computers (and energy) to sit down, but I’ll try to do it every 2 or 3 days still. Also, for those of you who haven’t looked yet, I add new photos from here at school usually at least once a week.

so this past Monday was kind of an off day, and we went and played a huge game of ultimate Frisbee. I’m not that big on ultimate Frisbee but boy do I like to yell, so that’s basically what I contributed to my team. I also pulled like both my leg muscles so I could hardly run. During the course of the game I got shouldered in the mouth, and then elbowed again in the throat. It was terrible. In fact It was hard to swallow for the rest of the day. That’s just the way things roll around here. If things are normal, you’re hurting and you don’t get time to recover.

Tuesday I was a lumberjack all afternoon. It was pretty sweet wielding a chainsaw and lifting 300 lb logs. Manliest of man duties I reckon. We had classes all this week by a guest speaker on the book of John. I can’t stand class.

we went long boarding again on a crazy hill this week and got clocked at 37 mph. two guys spilled and got wrecked up. Soo much road rash. Probably 40% of our male population is notably maimed from crashes. Yesterday I was at the skatepark and bruised my wrist, and mildly hyper-extended my right knee. I must have just really stretched some stuff in there or something cause I can’t straighten it. So that sucks.

today we went climbing at some cliffs, I’ll post some pics. It was hard with my body so beat up but it was fun.

remember me complaining about not having headphones? Well I got some. They are called “Skull Candy” and retail at 85$, but I got em for 35$ brand new after shipping. I can’t speak highly enough about these headphones. They are just earbuds (which I normally don’t support) but they puuummmpp. It feels like there is a system in your ears, and it isn’t ridiculous like bass for the sake of bass, it’s an ideal mix. So good. And I found my headlamp that was missing.

the workout thing isn’t going so well. We do climbing and then abs pretty often, a few of us, but I can’t run because of my bum knee. And I was eating soooo much so now I’m starting to slow down. I’m so sick of a mediocre and slightly overweight body type. I hate not knowing if I’m making progress (without a scale), but it sure doesn’t feel like it.

oh, I’m also gunna post some pics of the fox. He ate out of our hand this week. we were feeding him honeycomb.

I’m going to Denver tomorrow to hang out with some ravencrest people (that is the other torchbearer bible college in Colorado). Then at night we’re doing sumo wrestling back at the lodge. I guess they are renting those suites. Sunday is another event thingy in Denver. Too lazy to describe it. Maybe I’ll update about it if its exciting.

I went out for coffee with my principle the other day for almost 3 hours. I was completely honest with him about my thoughts and the way I feel. I can’t believe how he treated it. As well as he could of for sure. He was so supportive and even though he was concerned he wasn’t at all worried or controlling about it. That was just incredible. But since then I still waiver even a couple times a day about how I feel toward my spiritual future. I’m still virtually flat-lined, but there has been at least trace amounts of progress. I find its still for the wrong reasons. I don’t want it for me, but I consider having it for others. Only time will tell.

catch up soon again my friends.

jimmy.

yesterday i did another load of laundry. wierd huh? i also went and purchased my boarding pass for the year. it was 400$ and i have access to three different mountains. it jumps to over a thousand after thanksgiving or something.

so after we got back from town doing that there was a buzz back at school about going to a colorado rockies game (baseball). i reluctantly decided it was a good idea. so we drive to denver, buy 10$ tickets and get it done. someone gave me an 18$ wheelchair space ticket for free outside i tried to scalp...no dice.
the game was pretty good but i mean, i didn't know a single player. a couple of other interesting things happened though. one of the guys with us from school has a girlfriend who goes to ravencrest (which is the other torchbearer school in colorado about an hour away), and said that there was a big group of them here at the game. so we go over and meet them, then ended up hangin out there all game. the seats were better and the people were cool. it started raining at one point for about an inning but then finally let up. it was a close game until arizona hit a two run homer in the 8th. again, i didn't care so much for the game as i did the experience. i'll post some pictures soon.

so...the game itself was fun but not overly eventful. one very strange thing happened though that I'm gunna tell you about now. me, randall, and two girls from ravencrest went to go find dip n dots but on the way back to our seats i pulled ahead of them cause i was weaving in and out of the crowds or whatever. so I'm about to get on the stairs back to our section and i hear randall yelling "jimmy!" behind me, and i hear running. so i stop and this girl grabs my shoulder - sort of winded, probably from running in heels - and the first thing she says to me is "how tall are you?"..."6'1""..."how old are you"..."21"...so i mean at this point I'm obviously confused and somewhat humoured, i thought maybe she was about to ask me out or something. i should stop and say that this girl resembled a barbie for lack of better description; very model-esque and fashionable. she can tell i'm confused so she starts to describe to me and my friends that she is a talent scout for a model agency. i laugh and look at randall and literally say, "you gotta be kidding. am i supposed to take this seriously?" it was such a wierd moment. then she describes more and more what she does and who they are. then she asks if she can give me a business card and he contact info and if she can have mine. my friends pressured me into it, so i go over to her seat (which is in a crazy box-seat) and she pulls out this big bag - not a purse, filled with books and binders and paper and that type of thing. it was pretty legit. if you wanna check it out the site is www.accessworldtalent.com. anyways, just thought i'd tell you...sort of funny.

we road in the back of a truck from denver back to fraser (hour and a half) cuddled up and sleeping.

this morning i did worship at a local baptist church. again, i have nothing to say over this public blog. if you wanna ask me about it i'll be honest. had taco bell after for breakfast. this afternoon i get to watch the Lions game at my principles house which is faaannntaastic. then i may watch green bay and hope they lose to dallas.

oh, and an update on that guy who got injured? it turned out to be the most severe concussion you can get, but that is actually good news. he's back at school and in good shape. we had to wake him up every 4 hours for two nights but he's gunna be fine.

i have so much reading to do for school, its nuts.

jimmy.

today started rather normally.  didn't shower, ate breakfast, had two classes, etc.  then something abnormal happened.  we had a couple hour stretch that happens once a week called "men's group" or men's class.  the girls have a separate one too.  we went to the local rec facility with soccer and baseball fields and such - very nice and well kept and big.  so we do a couple group activities that of course are packed with parables and lessons...everything was goin swell and enjoyably.  

then after that we had about an hour to play football on one of these big fields.  this is where it gets interesting.  there was 20 of 22 guys who wanted to play and voted that we play tackle football.  there were some restrictions like no cut blocking, or full on shoulder down spear tackles but it was legit, trust me.  so 10 dudes per side, my team is skins.  i need you to imagine the intensity of 20 dudes filled with adrenaline about to get on the most masculine of deeds.  

i was playing on the line for defense, and then i was a tight end for offense.  so one play while on offense i broke loose on a pass route and caught a deflected pass to me.  i turn upfield and got tackled shortly after by two guys - one on each side.  i was sort of running through the tackles but then one guy got down right in the middle and caught my legs and took me down.  so the dude that took me down low is pretty short but he's like a pitbull.  he wrestled for many years, broke his back about 4 times (and has tons of plates and stuff in it), has had 8 concussions, and is an all-round maniac.  pays no attention to pain or risk at all.  just one of those guys.

as he was taking me down, i ran through the hit initially and plowed my knee through the side of his face/head...like REAL hard.  i immediately ran back after the play to him to check on him even though he bounced right up to his feet.  he looked and sounded slightly shaken but was acting fine.  i must have asked him 3 times during the game.  he didn't even slow down, he ran hard, broke tackles, blocked back-field, you name it.  on a side note, some dude got elbowed in the face too, which led to much blood.

so football ends, and we head back for lunch.  as we're waiting i notice this guy (Jamie Simpson is his name, believe it or not) standing over on his own, kind of spaced out leaning on a chair.  i go over and ask him again, like "dude you straight?  does it feel like you got punched super hard with a stiff jaw and stuff?  cause you look real spaced out".  he looks at me and says no dude i got it on lock.  so i'm like, aight and i turn (still standing beside him).  10 seconds later he collapses into me...blacks out.  even though i was surprised cause i wasn't facing him, i was able to hold him up and lift him to a couch.  long story short i missed lunch cause i was sitting with him and some leaders for about an hour while an ambulance came and worked on em.  he's now gone to denver to get a cat scan.  those of you who can spare a minute, he needs prayer.  its likely a concussion, but given the symptoms they are taking every precaution.  

its only 3 o clock right now.  who knows what else might happen today.  for now i'm goin to play disc golf and then maybe climb.  tonite we have our first worship practice.  i dunno, we'll see how that goes.  

jimmy

i am updating an awful lot, but there is so much going on that its only appropriate.

this morning i woke slowly to someone yelling "get up! everyone pack up your hike gear we're leaving in 15 minutes!". that was at 2:45am. at first i was running off adrenaline, so i felt pretty good but then during the one hour drive to the mountain i started feeling so sick and exhausted. so we start climbing this mountain. it was called mount Ida, it took us about 5 hours, and the summit had an altitude of 12,800 ft which is more than 2 miles above sea level. it was difficult to breath well, and the hike was honestly one of the most intense things i've ever had to do in my life. extremely challenging. we had lunch at the summit and hung out. like me and another guy built a rock fort for instance. among other awesome things. 3 quarters of the hike was above treeline. so basically, trees can't survive at that altitude and there was quite a bit of snow. it was 4.5 miles up the mountain and 4.5 back. we climbed about 3,000 ft. (from 9,000 to almost 13,000).

so that was today. very very interesting. i guess I'm glad we did it but i wouldn't want to do it again. the view was astounding. i'll get pictures up someday.

i've seen about 6 foxes. we keep conjuring a way to catch one. apperently some of the leaders have pet them and played fetch before. and two of the students saw a very very large black bear yesterday.

night.

jimmy.

so i did the bike jump today into the pond. the other day i just watched and said maybe i would, but then the sun went down and i ducked out. so anyway, today i did it and i meeaaaannn...it was a lot of fun, but the water is about 54 degrees. to the point that you can't even yell when you hit the water because of the shock and perhaps compression of your lungs. good experience.

i told you we were going biking yesterday. it was definitely an experience. first of all the air is a LOT thinner at 9000 ft. which doesn't help at all when you're basically biking up a mountain. there was some major body burnage goin on but all in all it was a still a good experience.

today we started classes. its gunna be interesting. i'm sincerely excited about furthering knowledge on this stuff - not for the reasons you might think, but the point is i'm ready and willing to soak it up.

i actually did laundry today. strange huh? not even a week in and i did a load. i also skated for about an hour at the skatepark while the stuff dried. speaking of skating, i have 4 or 5 notable scabs on my body as well as several bruises already and i love it. its just liberating to know i'm being active and doing things where i commonly get maimed.

Sometimes this community feels a lot like highschool. just socially. the way people interact is interesting to watch and less interesting to engage. i like the one on one thing, or if someone approaches me i'm glad to talk or be at least somewhat outgoing, but there is already more than enough drama. I think it inclines me to withdraw that much more.

there aren't enough guitars here. i wish so bad that i had my own. some people have heard me playing though and i guess i'm quite the buzz around here. oh, and my brand new headphones that pump bass just stopped working. so those are toast, and my standard ipod headphones have been blown for months. its terrible.

i don't take seeing mountains everyday for granted yet at all. i think i even give the spotless and untouched skies due credit too.

jim.

things are starting to settle down around here. its been a bit less than a week, so everyone is very very comfortable around one another already.

we went to church this morning. i don't have many positive things to note about it. everyone is actually out playing ultimate frisbee right now, but i'm catchin up on a few other things around here. I'm leading worship tomorrow in our family group. basically we split into designated groups of about 8-10 students, we go over to a teachers house, have breakfast, do a little worship, and then talk n stuff...nothing heavy. but i'm regretting now saying that i would do worship. to early. among other things. then later tomorrow we're going to the YMCA bike trails or something? i'm not a biker, i dunno...hope its sweet. we had a volleyball tournament yesterday too, not sure if i mentioned that.

its amazing. this early and i already see the old (maybe true me) resurfacing. rather than flock to my community and some of the more socially attractive people, i revert elsewhere on my own. i guess its withdrawing and i'm not sure why. it may just be in my nature, it may be a number of other things. i wish i weren't that way though. i'm still avoiding my thoughts and i'm still rather cold in general. i can put on a good front if and when i want to be fun and stupid and such with people, but my most natural tendancy at least right now isn't terribly social. and i'm a pansy. i keep wimpin out of activities. and i'm whiner - something i'm aware of and want to get control of this year. and i know its only been a week but i haven't gone running or done one push up or anything...and i talked a big game about gettin in shape. i'll keep you posted.

some dude right in front of me is trying to stretch his ears, so he's whining quite a bit. i'm gunna try to find a ride to safeway to grab some munchies.

be easy.

Jimmy.

Welcome

this is where I'm going to relay my thoughts from now on. if you intend or would like to respond, you can do so to my email.

i'm here as some of you have already heard, and everything is fantastic. We've done stupid proportions of longboarding already. Also, today we jumped a bike into a pond off a large ramp. it was neat. the food is incredible. we play quite a bit of ping pong, and i also went to a skatepark in town today. some of you may be excited to know that there is a taco bell 5 minutes from the school. someone is bringing me back a gordita combo right now. I'm eating twice the portions and far more gourmet foods then at home (no diss to mom or dad...i ate simple at home by choice.) the students are great for the most part. I'm excited about the community. a few people are going to prove to be very very trying, but thats a given. work duty kind of worries me too. might get pretty intense. but all in all I'm excited.

There are tons of laptops with wireless internet but I'm not sure how often I'm gunna be able to update, and i can't promise it to be thorough. I'm guessing every few days i might pop on, and i'm sure the detail will depend on the day and the mood.

k i'm out. catch up later.