2004 In Review: Part IV
Intro
Finally, the last installment of the YIR. It has been fun looking back to everything that happened, the good & the not so good. This Blogg will cover everything from the last few days of summer through the New Year & Chris’ B-Day, what a night.
August
We ended the summer with a huge party @ J’s house. It kind of was our summer embodied in one night. There was a lot of drinking, even more craziness & a ton of fun. I don’t remember much about how the evening started but I do remember a few things that occurred. My 1st memory is J doing a back flip into his pool with the cover on. I am sitting on the patio smoking a cigar & the next thing I hear is a splash. For a second about 5 of us thought he was going to drown in his own pool. This would have been tough to explain. Another highlight to the evening was our trek to The Pig to convince Cole to role out to the party. We were unsuccessful in convincing Cole but we successful in explaining why drinking at work isn’t allowed. Miah somehow climbed up on the soda machines, very funny. A few also scaled the brat shack, also very funny. My personal favorite was the collective unit watering the lot, very classy. What’s next is foggy to me. I can’t remember whether this happened this night or a couple weeks earlier, but it is disturbing none the less. Everyone decided to take a swim in the Boogaard pool at 2 in the morning. This is relatively funny for the fact that J’s neighbor is a member of the KPD. That isn’t that bad until the point where swimming suits starting coming off. Our little party became a sausage fest. I scrambled for the house. Guys, for reference, the gay jokes were just jokes, not interested.
Over the summer I went from looking like a skeleton to weighing more than I ever have. All summer I ran & lifted weights after work. Normally I think you are supposed to lose weight but for some reason I put it on. J once told me that lifting weights & working out is supposed to be good for your self confidence. I would recommend it. It isn’t all that hard & if you keep a log of what you are able to do, you notice the results pretty quickly.
September
During this time, 3 of my favorite country stars released albums within a one month period. Tim McGraw released Live Like You Were Dying 8/24, Keith Urban released Be Here 9/21, & Rascal Flatts released Feels Like Today on 9/28. I got to see all 3 perform this year & was pretty excited to hear their new albums. None disappointed. What I love about country is the ability to relate it to everyday life. Country tells you about everyday things & I love looking at the lyrics. If you want a burn, just ask.
I guess a couple days after that party school resumed. It would be extremely safe to say going back was on of the best decisions of my life. There was always the intention to go back but I was extremely scared to. The excitement before my 1st day of class almost killed me. When I was working fulltime I always had this really restless feeling, like I should being doing something. Learning was it. It sounds stupid but I absolutely love learning. I did go to the tech & gained some valuable education there, but sales is something I am just good at. There is a switch in my head that just needs to be flipped on & the game is on. At SNC I learn things that are completely foreign to me. After just one semester I have such a different understanding of our world & myself. I really can’t believe I was so scared to go back. The course work is frankly easy. My school is pretty intensive when it comes to writing papers but, as this little Blog shows, I love to write.
What I like the most about being back at a 4 year school is that I finally feel as though I am realizing my potential. When I was fulltime, I literally spent 10-12 hours a day sleeping. Now I sleep about 5-6 & have twice as much energy. Working with children & history & two things I genuinely enjoy & I get to do both at college. In addition to the course work, I got involved with Big Brothers, Big Sisters through school. My kid’s name is Jason. He looks like a mini-Jaren. As a punch line, he actually goes to
Well, I guess the next big change was my employment. With about a week left in L-Chute I still didn’t have a job for the next semester & didn’t really care. I was content to take a semester off of work & concentrate on school. By chance I was up at the service desk & Michael called. He mentioned that it would be awesome if I returned to Kaukauna. I wasn’t sure of I wanted to, but decided to take his offer up a few days later. I am happy with that decision. I had forgotten how much I liked working at that store & with the people. I love working retail, not enough to make a career of it though. Work isn’t so bad when you have 3 kick ass managers & your coworkers are some of your best friends. Although I have no idea how much longer I will work there, the opportunity that Michael gave me is something that I value greatly. I was surprised at how little effort is needed to succeed in college. I added more & more hours all semester just to fill my free time during the day. I don’t know how regular students stand it. Next semester I am going to add some extra curriculars on top of the few I am already in to keep my ass out of work.
October
On
Chris & I ended the month of October with a bang going to Mad-town for the weekend. Chris came up with the freshest costume in a while with him playing Wayne & me playing Garth. It was a hell of a good night. We were straight up celebrities for a night as we posed for so many pics & got just as many hugs. To be honest, I thought the costumes were just an excuse for the ladies to touch us. J
November
I was excited to see Rascal Flatts on November 11 at
Thanksgiving came & it was the 1st in a while I didn’t have another family’s celebration to be at. I decided I would find a get together to crash. Chris & I decided upon Jaren hunting party. That was a good ass time. We went up Thursday through Sunday &, as usual, we had a great time at his cabin. I remember those days as one & we just tore it up with his uncles. 2 kids were up there & J & Chris decided to educate them in being men. Chris taught them the 3 rules of Fight Club. (1.) Don’t talk about fight Club. 2.) Dido 3.) Don’t trust girls.) Jaren taught them German military etiquette. They kids even played circle of death with us. (We changed the name to circle of life.) Don’t think we are all evil, we changed the rules to incorporate them into the game & they drank OJ. At the bars I sucked it up at pool but ripped Chris in a riveting game 5 of checkers. The highlight of the weekend had to be getting to shoot J’s bad ass gun. I even cranked the target on 2/3 shots & I don’t play those kind of video games.
December
Finals came for school & I whipped their ass pretty good. I aced 4 out of 4 finals & easily beat my GPA goal. I think next semester if I put in that same effort all semester I will pull a 4.0. School isn’t always about who is the smartest, it is about figuring pout the system (i.e. How questions are asked & what one’s will be asked.) & adjusting to it. School, for the most part, is telling your professors what they want to hear. That’s the best advice I could give anyone to excelling. I would also strongly advise building relationships with your professors. I made they point to introduce myself & keep communication with them throughout the semester. It paid off.
Christmas snuck up really quick. I t was here before I knew it. I got to roll over to the Boogaard family get together on Christmas night & I will reiterate the fact that they know how to party. They introduced me to the Blatz bottle scene & we just rolled it all night. When I 1st walked into the door, we ran into the kids that we partied with Thanksgiving weekend. They ask to play Circle of Death, oops. If you didn’t know, J has maybe the hottest cousins I have ever seen so that is just another added bonus. I was named an official Schwoobooghaard this night, an honor I will always treasure. You would think this would be the one night I wouldn’t try cleaning shit up drunk. Wrong, when we got back to J’s, I did the dishes. What is up with that?
We partied New Years but things really cranked up January 1st for Chris’ B-day. His parents rolled out the red carpet & got a party bus to roll around GB. We had just had a solid ice storm so we didn’t exactly have ideal conditions to be walking around. After a few bars, we made our way back to the Valley & made one last stop where we ran into EJ. That was tight until they decided to offer dollar shots of Yager. Mike had $20 worth lined along the bar & I had way too many considering I was loaded rolling into the place. After a few more beyond Michael’s, I don’t really remember much. I know I fell on the ice leaving, I had the bruise to prove it. I know I threw up on Chris’ front step, Cole assured me that I used his shows to do it. I also know I hit on Chris’ mom, it was sarcastic but I think Chris thought I could really close it. J What a way to start the New Year.
Closing
This was one of those years that helps define who you are as a person. I went from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs & learned too many lessons to list. This year will definitely not define me but so many experiences will guide me in the future. God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes he sends you out on path a path to unknown lands & sometimes he sends you right back to where you started. Wherever this year ends up guiding me to, it was one hell of a ride. Garth Brooks summed it up best with “& now I'm glad I didn't know/ The way it all would end the way it all would go/ Our lives are better left to chance/ I could have missed the pain/ But I'd of had to miss the dance.
