Aside from the drama last week, it was a pretty awesome time getting back into the swing of things. I’ve mentioned to a few people how surreal it feels to be in the last semester of school EVER! There are no words to describe the overwhelming feeling of trying to cram everything into 3 months. I have to clep 2 classes, finish 5 other classes, and make the most of my time with my friends before everything changes… it’s bittersweet. Leaving and moving on is exciting and relieving. (God knows I couldn’t do one more semester of papers and studying.) But the sad part… and yes somewhat mushy… is that another chapter of my life is almost over. Things WILL change after this semester. There are some people I will never talk to again after graduation… not intentionally… just the fact of life.

So my struggle now is mourning my friendships before I’ve lost them. That tends to freak people out, because all of a sudden I’m now extrovert Aris who wants to spend all of my time with everyone. Truth is, I am that way usually… the sad part about the whole thing is that despite my best efforts, I have enveloped myself in my studies… and have withdrawn from my usual personality. A surprise for my friends, I suppose.

Anyway, I have just gotten back from my best weekend EVER. I left at 3:00 AM friday, to drive to CO Springs where I met up with my dad and we drove to Wolf Creek. ( Only the BEST place to ski in the WORLD I’m sure.) While everyone else has around 50 to 70 inches at base, Wolf Creek has 140 inches!!!!! I know, AMAZING. My dad and I had a great time, we did 40 runs in three days… and needless to say, I am SORE beyond all get out! But it was a great time. Really got some time to think about life and stuff whilst screaming down the mountain.

Today, I have a TON of stuff to do! I have to clean my room and go purchase RIDICULOUSLY priced books from the CCU book store. If you could only see my room, it looks as though a tornado hit it! four times.

So I may be back on here for an update…

I have really struggled to write this blog, since I have tried to find words to describe exactly how it feels to have your life shaken up, turned upside down, and then restored! It is AMAZING! God is SO GOOD, and if you don’t believe me… well, I just certainly hope it doesn’t take what happened to me for you to believe it.

Everything worked out with the professor. I don’t think I have ever been SO nervous about ANYTHING before. I mean, the very existence of my being, my character and my well.. you get the point, were challenged. I prayed SO HARD and literally fell on my face before God! But wow! What He showed me about myself during this time surprised even me. The situation was resolved ok, I will pass the class and receive the minimum C- in order to continue. I don’t think I’ve ever let out so much air in a sigh as I did when I found out the good news. Megan and I both much have inhaled the entire air contents of the room before we let it out again. God willing I will be able to clep my two classes still needed and I will walk on May 7th and declare myself a College Graduate. Then hopefully the whole thing in Japan works out.

But the biggest thing I learned through all of this, and I mean  REALLY learned, is that you really don’t own tomorrow. Life can change on you in an instant and you just better be ready. ESPECIALLY if you think you’ve got everything figured out. I could say all of that about myself! And even better, I was able to see how I react in this type of situation. Other than my parents, whom I called for immediate emotional support, the first person I turned to was God. (I wasn’t kidding about the flat on my face in front of Him part. I was literally nose to carpet…) Anyway, I’m sure that I will still be learning things  through what has happened. And I’m sure this won’t be the last time God will shake up my life. I only pray that next time it will not have anything to do with music theory.

Again, on to happier things….

I LOVE my classes this semester! Maybe with recent events, or maybe with this being my LAST semester EVER… but I’ve found a new passion to work hard and study and learn. Then again, I have GREAT classes. The only boring one will be Music History II, but even that is pretty cool, cause it’s my last real music class ever. ( I don’t count band or senior thesis, cause those are both fun and really productive.)

I have also recently discovered my love to paint and watch Napoleon Dynamite.( Not at the same time, although that could prove to be humorous!) I watched it this weekend like 7 times, it was GREAT! totally quotable movie! and speaking of this weekend…. WOW, I’ve got some crazy friends!!Awesome and extremely funny, but CRAZY.

Ok, I am going home now to clean my room. I am VERY tired and can not wait to go to bed tonight.

By the way, it snowed this morning! only about 4 inches, but it was enough to take a normal 10 minute commute to school and turn it into a 45 minute commute.

I’m looking forward to happier posts and more crazy things. Stay tuned…

There are only a few times in my life that I can remember getting news that made me feel like I was going to throw up, weep, and scream at the same time. Last night, I received an email from a professor saying that my final grade for a class I took last semester is in jeopardy. I don’t want to give specifics, because honestly… I’m tired of explaining and thinking about it. Bottom line is, I didn’t do what the prof said I did, and I have a meeting with him on Monday. Whether or not I get an F in the class for the semester and then if I do, whether or not I can take an independent study or if I have to take the class next fall… will ultimately decide what my plans for this summer, and then next fall, will be.

My seemingly organized life and planned out future.. at least for the next year has SERIOUSLY been shaken up. Trust me, when I got this news.. I cried. I don’t cry about much… but I cried about this.

I am no stranger to having my life take on a path other than what I had planned. I was reminded very quickly about a conversation I had not 3 days ago. In that conversation, I talked with this amazing guy till 3:30 AM New Year’s morning about the fact that we don’t know what could change in the next minute, and that no matter what… even if things don’t make sense, that there is a reason that everything happens. I’m trying to remember this. In the midst of tough issues, it’s hard to see perspective sometimes. Thank GOD I have my faith in Him.

So pray for me. This next week will be hard… but good! Praise God we can find joy in something that seems so awful. In my weakness I am made strong through Christ.

On to happier subjects!!

My break was AWESOME! As I said before, I went skiing with the fam at Wolf Creek…which ROCKED my FACE OFF. Then I drove to Texas with my sis and went to a reunion at the camp I worked at this summer. Oh WOW it was incredible!! Getting to see old familiar faces was amazing! I got to go sailing with one of my guy friends and then did a lot of dancing (SQUARE dancing!) And as I mentioned before, I had an AMAZING conversation with a guy I just met this year. He worked at the sports camp, so I never talked with him before… but we talked about all kinds of deep philosophical God stuff for 2 hours! We closed up cause we were the last two people out. WOW! Anyway, it was good to talk to him, and I hope he’ll keep in touch. God has great timing…. it was good to have that conversation when I did. I’ll keep you posted about that.

Well, I’m pretty exhausted. Needless to say, I didn’t get a great night sleep last night, and I have to go get ready for praise team practice.

I have three hours until I must, once again, make the 1000 mile journey to the HUGE state of Texas. My going there is twofold, one to drop my sister off at school whilst taking all of her belongings that she accumulated over Christmas packed in my tiny little car. BLAH. It will be a good time to spend with her, since she comes home MAYBE twice a year. The second reason I am heading down there is to participate in a reunion for the camp I worked at the past two summers. It’s usually a goodtime, but happens very quickly!

I am very excited about this trip, but not excited about how early I am up this morning. In about 5 minutes I will begin my usual morning routine, mixed with packing and sorting (most of which was done last night.) Then I will go with Rana to get her new military I.D., (For those of you I haven’t told, my dad pinned on Lt. Colonel this month!!!! So we had to get new I.D.’s that have the new rank.) THEN I have to go pick up my car from the STUPID car place. ( It’s a huge long story and involves the first time I have been openly angry with ANYONE at a business… details to follow.) Long story short, my car was SUPPOSED to be ready yesterday, and we were supposed to leave at 4:30 this morning, BUT I get to pick it up at 8:30 this morning instead. If you understood the long drive… you’d know why this four hour difference is a major bummer.

Anyway, I want to wish everyone a VERY happy New Year. Make lots of resolutions… I’m going to be doing my best to do that too!

Texas or BUST!

Wow, it is Christmas DAY! what a blessing to be home!

After two days of GLORIOUS skiing (21 runs in two days!) and able to stand today proud as ever that I, Aris Haines, successfully made it down 4, YES FOUR, black runs!!!!!!! There were some really challenging blues and dash blues and maybe one or 5 greens in there too…. but I managed BLACK! Granted 3 of them were by accident and were maneuvered VERY slooooowly.

But I am home now, and fully appreciate the skiing sport and am not as sore as I could have been, excuse me SHOULD have been after some of the landings I made! ( I actually took two jumps pretty fast and totally ate them both… HARD.

Christmas was GOOD this year. I mean it is normally GOOD, but this year it was GOOOOD. I love giving things…. that has always been the same since I was little. In my family we write little clues on the gifts before you open them… (my idea when I was 8, and it stuck!) they can be rhyming poems or just clues…. either way they make it fun. We laughed SO hard this morning at some of the clues… it was great! I got a lot of decorative stuff for my bedroom that looks very Japanese. I totally love it! I can’t wait until I can make my whole room look like that. My mom found an artificial Bonsai tree and bamboo cane plant at Ross, I swear that store has EVERYTHING. and I got a video camera! something I’ve wanted FOREVER. So now I can make a record of my senior year! YAY! And it’ll be so freakishly awesome!

Well, with that said, I’m about to get really mushy gushy. Prepare yourself. I love this time of year… and I am happy and sad all at the same time.

Another year has come and gone. ONE more year has passed. It is a time to reflect about what I’ve done, who I’ve become, and who I still want to be. (A lot of people feel that same way.. ie: new year’s resolutions.) The hard part is realizing there is still so much more I have to do! So much I want to do! Life is an adventure, and if you give God long enough He’ll amaze you with the perfect details. Sometimes the hard part is waiting…. even worse, KNOWING that you’re waiting for something. Anyway, I will make my resolutions when the time comes. For now, I am signing off a very satisfied individual who is VERY sleepy.

I wish everyone the merriest Christmas and Happy New Year’s!

I am home. Again, to re emphasize how much my mom rocks my face off… she got up on our roof BY HERSELF to put lights on the house, and had the whole Christmas tree all decorated and EVERYTHING. She even had hot cocoa and popcorn for us when we walked in the door! Wow. It was like those Walgreen commercials that talk about ‘a place called perfect, but unfortunately we don’t live in a place called perfect and that’s why there’s Walgreens’…. except tonight, I lived in a place called perfect! For about 20 minutes. And then I got tired. The kind of tired you only get after packing and stressing out for a week, and then driving two hours home. the REALLY TIRED kind of tired.

So I am going to bed. I will have more to talk about tomorrow night.

Sweet dreams…. and think about all that is good.

Ok, so the CCU Christmas Celebration Extravaganza is finally OVER, and do you know what I realized during the last 10 minutes of the last performance? How sad it was that this was my last CCU Christmas concert EVER. After 4 years things like this really get to you. You are so used to being in the music arena that you are, that you can’t see exactly how it’s going to be when you get out of school.

Fortunately, I CAN see it and it’s sad. The opportunity to play in an ensemble like I play in now, is very rare once you get out of school. Even if you can get into an orchestra or symphonic group, the relationships aren’t the same. You come , you play, and you leave. It’s all very sad.

But enough sad stuff!!! It DOES feel good to be done with my last major performance of the year. The stress of school work will be enough for the rest of the year.

I slept 11 hours last night… it felt good. I have a lot to do today. I’d better get working.

I might write more later tonight… if you’re lucky. 🙂

I know it’s been a while since I last wrote… BUT I do have a good excuse. Well, not good… but you’ll understand the necessity. It was school…. yes, it is that time of year. The teachers load on the projects and papers the week before the hardest exams EVER! And if you thought that was hard, Christmas is the hardest time of year for musicians. It’s Christmas concert after Christmas concert!!!! I have 3, (yes THREE) this weekend. one last night and two today.(sigh) Life could be worse. And really, it is only getting better. Because as I am working through the stress of these last two weeks, time is still passing. Soon enough this semester will be over!!! And I will no longer be forced to submit to those classes involving music theory, sight singing and ear training, and musical perspectives. Christmas vacation looks sweeter and sweeter every day!

Anyway, I will do my best to continue to let you know the interesting parts that unveil themselves in these next two weeks.

Stay tuned… heightened emotional events anticipated.

Going to watch Home Alone before it’s time to get ready for concerts… to help bring the Christmas mood alive.

Here I am on the eve of the day where dieters rebel, eat as much as they want and then feel guilty until Christmas. But it’s so much more than a day to eat tons of food… it is a day to be thankful of all the blessings we are given… big and small. I intend to do my part by acknowledging those things for which I am thankful…

I, Aris Haines, am officially thankful for the following as of 5:31 pm ( mountain time) on this Eve of Thanksgiving, November 24, 2004:

My cat, Precious… who stuck with me through thick and thicker, when I disowned her for a stupid guy, and who loves me in spite of the fact that she’s seen me at my worst.

Tweezers, for without which I would have an unsightly unibrow, and true- a lot less pain and agony in my life. But who wants a unibrow?

My roommate, Megan… who laughs at me. Well, with me too… but mostly just at me. And who is there when I need a shoulder to cry on, or chocolate to help me eat my sorrow away. She has been there to help me through more times than I can count, and I don’t know what i would do without her.

My family. Cause they just ROCK MY FACE OFF!

Comic Strips ( see yesterday’s blog), because they provide a ray of sunshine in a sometimes very bleak world.

The fact that i’m done with my JET program application!!!!! ( this is the application I have filled out so that I can go to Japan for a year and teach English to japanese kids, while living in Japan…. awesome huh?)

And lastly, but not least… I am EVER SO GREATEFUL that I am graduating May 7, 2005 from college, and I will never again have any papers or exams EVER EVER EVER again!!!!!! Well, at least while I’m in my right sound mind.

ok, that is all. I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving! Try not to miss me, I’m leaving for 3 days to go skiing tomorrow. I’ll be back Saturday night….

Cleaning Log: Star Date 00595-874-2

I’m still watching the Santa Clause. SUCH a GREAT movie.
I’ve only made a dent in the large pile of mess that is my room.

Decided about 30 minutes into the movie and cleaning, that my eyebrows required MAJOR trimming adjustments. (When did it become socially acceptable to rip small pieces of hair from one’s body? WHO decided this was OK?! It HURTS!)

Eyebrows successfully mowed… moved back to cleaning.
Put first load of laundry into washer.

Made a glass of Nesquick chocolate milk to help ease the pain of throbbing eyebrows.

Decided that there are little men hiding under my bed who keep adding clothing and mess to my room whenever I leave. Only explanation possible for why this is taking so long.

Must…. finish…..soon. My very sanity depends on this!