Independence Day

Well, it certainly has been awhile- my apologies for my extended absence. The last few months have been a real roller-coaster ride. Since my first voting poll, I have:

- Been the sound engineer for a musical

- Attended senior prom (without dancing)

- Embarked on a week-long trip with my graduating class

- Gone white-water rafting

- Graduated high school

- Survived a summer job with two happily sarcastic superiors

- Climbed onto the roof of an elementary school

- Taken up singing

- Fought a blog-hacker

- Received the worst sunburn of my life

- Hidden in a clump of bushes for 45 minutes

- Moved to college

Wow. It's pretty wild to see it all laid out like that. I have doubtlessly been very busy. Obviously, the point in that list you have all been waiting so patiently to hear about is the elev-... er, last one. Yes, I type this to you all from my dorm room at Indiana Wesleyan University. This is my fourth full day on campus, having moved in on Sunday. It was a sunny day...

         After attending the early service at church, we Hokes undertook the complex job of packing every item required to sustain human life in our Volvo. Many grimaces were sighted. The sheer amount of stuff was rather daunting, considering that if it had all been placed on the end of a teeter-totter, it would have lifted up Fat Albert on the other end. Fortunately, my mother used some foresight and borrowed a large tub to place on top of the car, providing more space. One sighted grimace came the first time I laid eyes on this tub. (I use the word "tub" because I don't know what in the world is more similar to it.) Don't get me wrong- it was definitely helpful, and otherwise, we probably wouldn't have fit everything in the car. However, it is also necessary to understand that our Volvo has aerodynamic properties equal to those of a brick. So, imagine trying to make this brick more aerodynamic by placing a large, oblong stone on top of the brick. Not helpful. But, in the end, the tub worked out. We even managed to fit everything I had hoped in/on the car, despite the helpful advice of our beloved neighbor. ("You know you're never gonna get all that to fit!") 

         Two and a half hours later, we arrived in Marion, IN. As I look around me, we did a pretty darn good job, and it went really well! I have school supplies, snacks, electronics, a four-man suite with only one sweet man (me), great surroundings, and the resources of an entire university at my disposal. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know that I'm liking what is happening. With a little luck and a lot of prayer, I'm hoping I'll survive some of the best experiences of my life here. Hopefully the family will also survive, despite my extended absence.

More details to follow...