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Gainesville trip: Day 2

I was up until 4:30 last night; I haven’t been up that late since before I left here, I think. The CRU leadership meeting was good and it was great to see everyone. It was also really good to hear what all has been going on here during Spring semester and to hear what they have planned for the Fall. After that meeting, a few of us went back to a friend’s place and played Scene It!, which is basically a movie/pop-culture trivia game. It’s played with a gameboard and a DVD and the types of questions are pretty clever and we had all had a pretty good time.

Then, we played the Spades, another first since I left. That went on till around 4, but I honestly don’t remember when we quit or too much about how we played because we were all so tired and delirious. Everyone was making pretty bad plays by the time it was all over and I got the impression that we weren’t so interested in winning anymore as we were in messin’ with each other and crackin’ jokes.

Just as we finished playin’ cards, we got a little surprise: One of the guys who was planning on coming up this week–late tonight or early tomorrow afternoon–switched shifts at work so he could come up last night. We didn’t get to hang out with him too much ’cause we were all already so tired, but it’s cool that he’ll be here today so we can start the goofin’ off and arguing over moot points that we do so well.

Support

I’m about to go to my first ever support appointment with someone on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. It’s nice to finally be in a position where I can contribute something tangible to ministry and I can’t wait to get started. I also can’t wait to eat some freakin’ breakfast.

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Gainesville trip: Day 1

I’m including the little bit of time that I spent with my buddies last night in this day. Basically, we arrived in G-ville around midnight, went to a friend’s place and watched the end of the Rockets vs. Lakers playoff game, then I went home and went to sleep. For about 30 seconds, it was a little strange being in this house since I lived here for 2.5 years before I moved to Texas 3 months ago. But, from then on it was smooth sailin’. I can even still walk around in the dark without bumping into things. My poker table is gone (well, on loan really), so I’ll have to figure out how to get it back so we can play some poker here this week. I crashed in my roommate’s bed because he wasn’t around, but I’m afraid I won’t have the luxury all week… but I can hope, I guess.

Now, I’m off to church and then lunch. I think we’ll probably play basketball some time today and maybe go see a movie tonight. I think it’s going to be a great day.

Basketball

We played four games today and I didn’t get a single win. All our games were decided by two or less, but it seemed like all my teams just ran outta’ gas right at the end of the game. Regardless, it was fun and I felt really good in all my games. I’m sure we’ll play at least one more time this week, but between ultimate frisbee, frisbee golf, bowling and shootin’ pool, I’m afraid there may not be time for more than one more basketball outting.

Tonight, I’m going to the last CRU leadership meeting of the year (as an honorary leader and old guy). I think it’ll be good to see everyone and it’ll guarantee that I see almost all my friends (that’re still around) while I’m here. I’m looking forward to it.

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So far, so good

I spent most of my day with my family and I enjoyed every minute of it. I went out to lunch with my dad and had a great conversation, then hung out with my stepmother and two siblings and had a great time, then I went out for coffee with my sister and we had a great conversation, then I had dinner with my Mom, sister and grandparents and we had some great conversation. I also picked up a Bible at the Family Christian Bookstore; I’ve been needing a new Bible for about a year and a half now as my current Bible is no longer bound and tends to separate itself into books and chapters and then throw itself on the floor if I don’t carry it properly.

All in all, I’ve had a great day and I know the week will only get better. Off to Gainesville!

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All set

A 45-minute nap, 20 minutes of folding laundry, 45 minutes of packing and a few minutes to burn a CD and I’m ready to go. Off to Florida for a week. There’s no way I’ve overestimated the good time I’ll be having.

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Ready to go? Not even close.

Have I started packing? Of course not. Have I got all my ducks in a row? Not a chance. But, in 24 hours, I’ll be in Jacksonville, probably hanging at some friends’ house and beginning to enjoy my first vacation. Tonight, in lieu of packing, I spent most of my time making phone calls and watching TV (The Apprentice season finale was on tonight).

Tomorrow, I get off work about 1:30 and then I need to leave my apartment by 4:00 to leave myself enough time to definitely make my plane. Things are going to be hectic for the next week or so, but I’ll be updating my blog whenever I can. I’ll be taking lots of photos, too.

Apprentice

I really enjoyed the season and I thought the show was done very well and was very clever. That being said, I think the ending was sort of a crock. Here’s what I mean: Kwame basically got gypped because of the team that he chose. I felt he performed better as a manager because he had to deal with a crummy team while fielding all kinds of bizarre issues. Bill, on the other hand, had a smooth-sailin’ time organizing a golf tournament with honest teammates and very few problems. My point is that I think Kwame would’ve been the hands-down favorite if he’d had a better team and if he’d known he had the power to do things like fire people who lied to him repeatedly. I’m happy for Bill and all, but I felt Kwame was the better man for the job. I hope the producers of the show find a way to make the final task a little more fair to both parties. I felt there were just too many variables that were out of the contestants hands that had a big part in helping “The Donald” make his final decision.

I need to get some sleep since I probably won’t be getting much for the next week or so.

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Not much to say

I have about 24 hours to pack for a week trip to Florida. That’s not too bad, but what makes it rough is that I generally avoid checking any luggage at all costs. Federal law says each person on the plane gets one carry-on item, plus one personal item–laptop, bowling ball, purse or whatever–so I might be stretching the “one personal item” into a duffle bag. And, of course, my carry-on item will also be a duffle bag. I’ll probably be bringing a pillow too, since I’ll be crashing on a couch all week and I know that if I don’t bring my own pillow, I’ll lay there all week thinking, “I wish I had my stupid pillow. This little throwpillow just ain’t cuttin’ it.” I don’t care how stupid that sounds because if I have a good pillow, I get good sleep and good sleep helps me ignore anyone who might think I’m stupid for wanting to bring my own pillow.

Anyway, I also have a lot of stuff to put in my bags since I anticipate a pretty action-packed week including basketball, frisbee golf, maybe some ultimate frisbee, a big picnic, CRU and just hangin’ out. Basketball and frisbee golf will dictate that I bring at least two extra pair of shoes (maybe three if I think we might be playing basketball outside) while CRU necessitates another pair of shoes and then I’ll need a pair of shoes for just cruisin’ around Gainesville. That’s like five pair of shoes, which will nearly fill a bag (because shoes can’t be folded).

Anyway, I’ve got a lot of planning to do. First, though, I need to get some sleep.

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So money

My second acting lesson went very well and we even got a scene (the one from Swingers) on tape. My instructor said I’m doing good work and that he expects I’ll keep improving for some time. I thought my performance was mediocre, but then, I doubt there are many people who jump in front of a camera for the first time, read their first scene and look spectacular. I’ll give it till next lesson to look spectacular.

That’s about all I have energy to write tonight. This business about driving 3 hours round-trip to a one-hour acting lesson is pretty tiring. Actually, I guess my lessons are closer to two hours, but I expect that’ll taper off as we progress. Anyway, I’m out.

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Lesson 2 tomorrow

Well, it’s been a week since my first lesson and, while I learned a lot during the first lesson, I’ve probably learned a lot more since that first lesson. I’m almost through Acting in Film and I’m surprised how varied and useful all of the book’s content seems to be. Cain covers everything from set etiquette to creating characters and he does it in an easy-to-read-and-understand-even-for-the-layman way. Of course, I have to assume this book is written for laymen because I am one and I’m reading it.

Anyway, I’ve learned my lines and done some reading and I’m excited to see what’s in store for me this week. This is a very exciting experience because I’m jumping head-long into something that is totally unknown to me. I have no choice but to learn and learn quickly. Just my kind of thing.

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Robin Williams on Inside the Actors Studio

I’ve always been fascinated by Robin if for no other reason than his brain seems to work at twice the speed of most humans’. All he needs is an inkling of an idea and he will go off on a twenty-minute rant about that and any other subject that happens along. He was no different on Inside the Actors Studio and I believe James Lipton when he said Robin’s interview was a five-hour event capped by a girl being sent to the hospital with a hernia due to “uncontrollable laughter.”

I’ve sometimes heard the term “force of nature” used to describe various actors and pop-culture personalities, but I’m not sure I’ve ever felt totally comfortable with that description for anyone until I saw this interview with Robin Williams. The man truly is a force of nature. Once he gets going, I’m not sure if anything can stop him.

What’s amazing to me is that he’s also capable of an Oscar winning performance in a dramatic role (with, of course, a little comedy sprinkled in) in Good Will Hunting and that he can play such convincingly disturbed and introverted characters as he did in One Hour Photo. This was definitely one of the most entertaining interviews I’ve seen to date on the Actors Studio.

Easter with friends

Friday, I wrote about eating dinner with some friends here in Dallas. Today, I went with them to their church and was invited to an Easter lunch afterward. I had a great time just talking with them and enjoying some company for a change. I have enjoyed living alone, but I also enjoy spending time with friends and engaging in meaningful conversation from time to time. I’m glad they invited me to spend Easter with them and I think it made my day much better than it would have been.

Back to the grind with lots to look forward to

Well, of course tomorrow’s Monday and that means I have to go to work, but this week is packed full of stuff that I anxiously anticipating. Tomorrow, I begin the fifth week of my new workout routine and it’ll be the last week before I’m off in Florida next week. Tuesday, I have my second acting lesson. And Friday, I leave for my vacation out east. The rest of the time, I’ve got several books to read, including The Last Battle–the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia series–and a few other books I’ve been working through. All in all, I think it’ll be a good week.

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Hoops went well

I think I played 5 games today. My first two were definitely my best and then I tapered way off for the last few. But, my first two were spectacular games. We play to 12, straight-up, by ones and twos. First game, I think I had 4 or 5 points and 3 or 4 assists (along with a few rebounds and a steal or two); second game, I had 5 or 6 points and at least 4 or 5 assists (along with a few rebounds and a block on a 2-pointer). Basically, my team ran through me and I got at least one touch per offensive possession for both games. In fact, we were mostly running a fastbreaking offense that rarely had to setup in the half-court.

Then, it started going downhill. I wouldn’t say I played poorly the last few games, but I just wasn’t playing super well on my teams. The last 3 games were all teams that intentionally slowed the ball down into a half-court offense and I rarely got any touches. I was “0-fer” from the 3-point line today and that was pretty discouraging. I didn’t take too many 3’s (maybe 6 or 7 over 5 games), but it would’ve been nice to hit at least one.

So anyway, I played really well for the first couple games and I’m seeing serious improvement from week to week. I’m realizing that I can’t allow myself to be a purely perimeter offensive player because my strength is in driving and scoring or dishing. I’m also remembering how to reward my teammates for running the floor on a fastbreak. It’s sometimes difficult to convince guys that if they run–even trailing–the length of the floor on every offensive possession, they’ll get buckets on put-backs and assists.

Strange rules

A couple summers ago, I wrote about the strange mid-west rules for “Twenty-One” or, as they call it here, “Twenty-Five”. Today, I ran into a strange rule in full-court basketball: If there’s a controversial call, instead of obeying the (invisible) possession arrow, someone shoots a 3-pointer (“do or die”) to see who gets possession. That sounds good and everything, but I’ve always played with the invisible possession arrow: whoever had last possession (either at the beginning of the game or on a jump-ball or a controversial call) gives the ball up on the next such possession. I tried to explain this to the guys, but they didn’t wanna’ hear it. Here’s their logic:

The team that has the ball first has it because they won*. So, because they “earned” first possession (along with their choice of end of the floor and the “right” to keep their status as either “shirts” or “skins”) they feel the possession arrow doesn’t point the other way. So, if there’s a controversial call where the possession arrow would come into play, they simply shoot for it. I guess that’s all good and well, but there’re reasons the possession arrow was invented to begin with. Also, claiming that they shouldn’t lose the possession arrow because they “earned” first possession is really a moot point. I mean, in a game with a tip-off, the first team with the ball “earned” the possession by winning the tip, but the possession arrow is still pointing to the other team. The “reward” for winning the previous game or for winning the tip is that they get first opportunity to score (and, in the unlikely event that a game came down to a shootout where each team hit a shot every trip down the floor, they’d win), not that they get a free possession and immunity from the possession arrow for the rest of the game.

I guess it just doesn’t make sense to me why they’d ignore a pretty fundamental part of the game. In reality, this rule didn’t hurt our team as we ended up with the ball anyway (more because of the controversy than the rules), but I could see where it might have a big effect on a game. Maybe I just need to lighten up.

*Their logic begs the question: What do you do the first game when there was no previous winner? Is the possession arrow in effect then? If not, why not?