Friends, sometimes a challenge is good.

Over the past few months I've been talking some with a semi new friend, we'll call her Hope, that I made through physics studying back home and our new church. She's been a great help in getting through some hard days, and I like to think that I've been a good help to her in some problems she's been dealing with, too.

About a week ago she, out of the blue, asked me if I thought that a certain girl, we'll call Jewel, still likes me. This girl, for the record, is the same one that I talked about earlier when I was saying that I discovered that the only girl I've every truly felt for doesn't actually like me. So, I told Hope that I thought my old crush doesn't like me anymore, although she may have before. Hope disagreed, saying that she thought I was wrong, and followed up by asking whether I like her still. I was amused by this for two reasons, I have never told Hope that I like Jewel, and of course, I still liked Jewel, but instead of answering the question I dodged it by asking how she knew I used to like Jewel. Hope was giving in, she asked me "Let me put it this way, if you knew she liked you, would you like her?" I decided to be honest, and replied, "Honestly? I'd be head over heels for her."

We talked a bit more, and the general conclusion from the conversation was that she might still like me, but she may not. In any event it was up to me to tell her my feelings and until I do I won't get either the relationship or the closure that will allow me to move on. The funny thing is, this was not news to me at all, in fact I most likely would have given the same counsel to any friend of mine, had they approached me with the same situation. So, next time I'm home I've decided I will make sure to have a talk with this girl, Jewel, and let her know where I stand. At this point, it is a win-win situation for me because if she has the same feelings for me then that is great, and if she doesn't, then at least I have closure and I can start trying to move on (painful as it may be).

There are three things that I've noticed about this whole experience that I wanted to share.
1) If you have feelings for a girl, be honest with her. It's not going to hurt you, she can't take anything away from you by rejection, and I think a lot of guys will find that most girls, even if they are not interested, aren't going to be super rude about it or anything like that. You are still who you are, and if you continue to trust God, He will show you the way.
2) Sometimes it might be helpful to completely remove yourself from the situation and try to give yourself advice as if you were not the person in question. I don't know how this works in relationships, because that means removing almost all emotion from the picture - which is hard. But heck, it's worth a try.
3) And for all other times when you can't seem to fix the issue yourself, often it takes a friend to help you out. But not just any kiss-up friend, sometimes you need a friend to challenge you. When I was talking with Hope, I started getting a little agitated a few times, but I didn't show that to her because I knew that she was right and I needed the challenging. On the flip side, perhaps you are that friend for someone. Don't be afraid to challenge your friends. Don't be rude, but remember that we all need a kick to get going from time to time, and maybe one of your friends needs that from you!

As for Jewel, when I go home next (spring break) I will talk with her. I'll keep you all updated, I'm sure!

Storm

MLK Weekend adventure

This past weekend was Martin Luther King weekend, and as such we, as cadets, all had a three day weekend with no training to make the most of. And that we did.

As I mentioned somewhere previously, I am from the desert. Now, I pride myself at being able to adapt rather well to new environments, in other words, put me just about anywhere and I'll do alright (it's nothing too special, anyone in shape and not lacking in common sense should be able to adapt well to just about any new situation). I may not have mentioned earlier, however, that I often volunteer to put myself in situations that make me appear rather awkward and out of place. Well, I do that also. I spent this past weekend in New Hampshire with some friends from the Academy.

I've been to his house before, it is set in the rural, mountainous land which gets snow almost every day. Last year I loved it, and this year I expected nothing less. After a 2 hour train ride, and another hour or so on a crowded bus (complete with unceasing baby yelling) we finally arrived in a town near his and were brought to his house by his father.

Saturday morning we woke up to the smell of chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes, prepared by his mother who, by the way, is an outstanding chef! We soon set out for Mt Major, an easy two hour hike to the top. This was a great climb, not necessarily difficult, at least it shouldn't have been, but I am completely new at climbing on ice. I've always climbed toes-in, because on a rocky hillside that is the best way to control your balance and grip. On Mt Major I did nothing but slip all over the place and nearly slid down a 50ft ice face. One of my friends told me I should start using the sides of my feet instead, and that made all the difference. Too bad he told me when we were nearly at the top.... From the top, a vast view of the famous lake, Lake Winnipesaukee, nearly took my breath away. It was amazingly beautiful, and well worth the hike. The return trip was nothing to write home about, just making our way down the side of the mounting, doing some controlled sliding here and there, and all around having a great time.

Our next stop was at the GunStock ski resort, and although we didn't ever strap on skis, we took full advantage of the snow by doing snow tubing. What a blast. I mean, tubing on water is a lot of fun, but this was crazy. Our group of four went all at the same time in one lane, each of us on our own tube, barreling down the side of the mountain! It was great. Cold, but great.

Sunday was a bit less eventful, but just as much fun. We started off the day with some shooting. I sighted in his scoped air rifle and we played around with that for a while. A little later he brought out his single shot 12 gauge and we blew stuff up with that as well. At one point we put a slug through a brass plate. Pretty incredible.

Later on Sunday afternoon we took their white German Shepherd for a walk in the woods. We crossed a newly-unfrozen creek, hoping from ice to rock, to pallet, to more ice. We chunked rocks at the ice trying to break it in the solid parts, but to no avail. We pressed on, deeper into the woods. Further on we came to a frozen swampland and investigated a wooden birdhouse located at the edge of the swamp. This is pretty much how the whole trip went, lots of investigating, exploring, and all around having a nice lazy walk.

Monday we didn't do a whole lot, we left for the Academy pretty early in the day because all of the roads had been covered in about 12 inches of snow the night before and we had no idea of gauging how long it would take to return. They turned out to be alright, we made it back with plenty of time to spare.

All in all, it was an outstanding weekend! Great food, great adventures, and plenty of time outside in the wild, fresh, crisp, snow-covered outdoors. My only regret: it was too short! Ah well, we have decided to make this trip again next year!

A new year, a new semester

This is the last weekend before school starts, and I plan on taking it completely easy. I'll celebrate my birthday tomorrow, maybe catch a movie, and just rest up as much as I can - basking in the life of no responsibility for the last weekend before march sometime!
Engineering students rarely have light loads, and sophomore engineering students are certainly no exception. This last semester I did the best I have since arriving at the Academy - my GPA was higher than all of my freshman year, which is surprising since the classes I was taking this past semester were considerably more challenging than the "basics" of freshman year.

Why am I telling you this? I actually have no reason. Just wanted to throw down an update because it has been a while...
I miss Texas, I miss the wide open plains, the adventurous homeland that some call "wild" but I call home. I miss the crack of my rifle, the embrace of close friends, and the steering wheel in my hand (we cannot drive at the Academy). However, God has been good to me here at the Academy, I have made many great, great friends and as a whole we are our own support group - taking care of each other all the time. Without the amazing people at this school I would have left many months ago.

I think Thomas Edison said it well: I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.

For those of you schooling this next semester, good luck; for those of you working, may you find joy in your work!