Fall has settled in

Lookout Mountain is an attractive place. We can agree on that. But it is an artistic masterpiece in November. I constantly find myself exclaiming about the beauty of the day and the richness of color where we live. It is amazing. I am vindicated because as many times as I whined about the nastiness of some late-summer days, I sing praises for these days. Praise God for the loveliness of his Creation. He made the earth good. It attests to his creative outpouring in matter. I have been waiting for the fall season, and this it. I can safely anticipate Thanksgiving, and have a slight thought about the advent season to follow.

(this pic does very little justice. all i got right now.)

Situational Poetry

Sometimes the best poems are squeezed from experience, a picture, something that describes a much larger element of human experience.

The situation: Sunday afternoon chess match
The players: Jonathan Cate and Myself
The story: game starts off slowly; game ends with JPerry winning by a wide margin - he kicked my butt.
The bottom-line: my Queen stepped in front of my King, even when the next move he would clearly be dead regardless.
I write poem:

Blood flows; Queen of the Agèd Land
Stopping herself that Blazing Arrow
Intended rightly for the Divine Hand
Which dealt justice, child and widow

Years and years, King of the Oppressèd
Now Queen fallen, sacrifice, Queen blessèd.

Meter: 8-9-10-8-9-10; not sure if that is legit, but I went with it, so for me it is appropriate.

[oh, and one more thing. Most importantly, if you have not seen it, you must --
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NqD171d0VBc ]

Old Dreams

Oh yes. Graffiti. And me. And New York City. Don't you always miss the places you have ever loved? I often miss the little scenes of places I frequented when younger but have not been in awhile. I miss the rooms of my elementary school, the pathways at the old baseball fields. Little League. I miss the places I would travel to, the cities I have walked and mountains I have hiked. Not that it gets me too far thinking about these places, but I do think they are worth remembering.
I like New York.

need to be random

i just messed around with photo-editing. here is the product: self-portrait.

thoughts of a long-lost writer

Thank God, I failed to reach the two-month mark of blog-silencia.

Furthermore, thank God for placing me at Covenant College. It is a blessing to me.


Thank God for the beauty of his Creation. And let us hope that Fall comes quickly. To me, Fall is the Climax. It is the point to which all natural things aspire. It is the epitome of God's beauty bestowed on the created order. It's imminence makes me restless.

around the town.. country

crazy cloud formations in oklahoma, a surprisingly green state for the most part.

the guys.

for the record, new mexico is beautiful.

this is our beach. seriously though. no one else at all.
and the biggest waves you have ever seen.
awesome stop.


tim and james taking the plunge. this is in yosemite park.

me and buddy timmy.

loose silt on the ocean floor...

... constantly upturned by a new presence or movement in the water. this has been my brain.

my thoughts are finally settling a little (i think). taking a road-trip has a distinct way of muddling every thought you attempt aside from the happenings of that very trip. i do not have many experiences with road-trips, but i did just return from one, so i feel qualified to generalize about such adventures. you are so caught up in what is happening, day after day cool experiences or beautiful scenery, that somehow you are not thinking as you normally do, but rather with a perspective custom-fit for this trip. changing locations every couple days or sometimes more frequently, it becomes so difficult to be realistic. so you resort to the wide-eyed, knowing that you are small in the scheme of such a huge landscape. this applies both to specific sights and also to a drive from coast to coast and the massive acreage in between, each inch possessing its own quality that separates it from the next.

furthermore, the trip was fun. i thought this one very often. one amazing thing after another, a blessing received from a host, an incredible sunset, a providential move of God.. day after day.

it is hard to be specific when it was 17 days of stuff. the sort of trip where the things that happened come out over time, but not told in succession. it is just too daunting a task. if i were to give that one thing that felt the best, the moment or series of moments equalling an experience... i have to say it was getting to surf 4th street beach in Del Mar (S.D.) at sunset one night. it was the kind of feeling you never plan to forget. you cannot. it is too brilliant. the red orb of the sun dropping off the face of the earth, working magic with the water stretching before you, after you have just come in from the best surf-session of your life, and it doesn't even matter that you are not good at surfing. it takes nothing from the feeling of standing there, shivering, but so warm despite it all. you never want it to end, but you know it will very soon, and you will be left to look back on the memory. but you are okay with that. I am okay with that, because it retains it vividness, as all special memories do.

i guess this is a taste of the journey, a journey with so many tastes that it is hard to avoid the conjoining of all of them together, where none of them retain their individual flavor. let's hope this is not imminent!

i took over 1000 pictures i think, so i will put some on the blog soon, and many many more on flickr. look for them.

and then there was the beach.

what better way is there to spend a weekend than to go to the beach? very few, friends. the fullest time spent, energy exerted, and sun rays soaked in. very cool. of course, it wears you out more than a weekend maybe should, but it sure is worth that sacrifice. the scenario for me was as follows: hang out with drew for an hour friday dinnertime. good way to start. then continue on to charleston that night and stay at KOA in a tent, accompanied by james and tim. get up at 8 and get to dunkin donuts before getting out for some morning surfing. once at the shore, it's on. surf, eat, play bocce, and maybe a little sunburn, but only a little.

we surfed sunday as well, and left the beach in the late afternoon. and it was a sweet trip, great to be with a couple guys, just able to have fun away from the hometown, you know? of course we were three of the four who will traverse the country en route to california next week, so that will be plenty of time for such fun and distance. that will get interesting, you can be sure.

until then, i am home working some more, just to get my fill before some big time off.

my sunday with a big red ball

sunday afternoon is the time. the time that passes slowly, allowing plans or no plans. that makes it a unique time, and i love it. for me, this sunday was freedom. get home from church, take a long nap, eat sunday dinner, take another nap (cant you tell saturday night was 4 hours of sleep?), and now be awake enough to live and breathe.



i decided to have a little photo shoot. by myself. this called for the timer on my camera, so that was just the thing i'd do. it was the big red ball shoot, and it was a smashing success. i guess you could say i am a bit of a dork for doing this, but i had fun with it nevertheless. you say whatever you'd like.
sunday is also a day that i have a chance to call people that i have not been able to at all during the week, so i got to do that as well. and run. i always do that, kind of because i have to, but it can feel good sometimes too. oh well, all of this was my sunday; it was a good sabbath, gracias a Dios.




















That's right: spread the love.. do it!

michael and me

michael kendall came to asheville this weekend, and he stayed with me. and it was good.

saturday, in the late afternoon, we made our way up to the blue ridge parkway, and 18 miles later we happened upon craggy gardens. no actually, we planned to end up there, no coincidence. when we arrived, we decided on finding somewhere off the beaten path if we could. the beaten path is never too cool if others are treading it all the while. so we set foot on rock and slope and such, searching for the winning spot, and constantly coming up short. nevertheless, we had the clock on our side, since the sun is out until 9pm or so these days, so we kept our heads about us and kept pushing onward. sure sounds epic, but it was not. it was just a relaxing day on the beautiful parkway.

we found it. our spot. and it is our spot. about 25 feet above the road, but only 15 feet off it. pretty close, but tucked beyond bushes and on a rock, it was a great find. this was our place to chill, and we chilled. yes. quality rommate time is never taken for granted. not by this guy!

if you'd care to see some some photos, more than what you see here, flickr is always the place to be! be there!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7432704@N02/

The Lake

This is the Lake Lure to which i referred. This last one looks kind of like "Survivor" or something.

the week-end off

i had the weekend off, meaning it was imperative that i go somewhere... no not really, but i wanted to do it. and i did it. i left for a couple days. first i went to graduation on friday night and it was over 2 hours long! do i need to say more? but i did see many peoples that i have not seen in quite awhile, and that was good i think.
anyway, me and about 15 guys went to lake lure, a lake an hour or more away. the purpose was for a bachelor's party for a friend of mine, and it was a really fun time of chilling on the dock and swimming and such. really peaceful and relaxing. and a good way to spend that week-end off :)

maybe the roommate will stay with me this weekend. if he knows what's good for him...

a bear and a bird of prey

so i worked each of the last two mornings, and each of these mornings i saw members of the animal kingdom that i am not used to seeing in the "wild." yesterday i was in a bunker, fixing a washout, and altogether engrossed in what i was doing. needless to say.

back turned, rake in hand, horns honking, people shouting... as i said, a man thouroughly focused. it turns out, i at least had someone beside me, and his back was not turned. he happened to mention, "holy ****, there is a car behind us."
"i beg your pardon."
"there's a bear behind us!"
"oh," says i. "a bear." i guess that makes a little more sense, huh? so that's what all those horns were about. i didn't quite realize that at the time, but i remember now. i think it meant, "there's a massive mammal at your back and you may want to get up to your cart instead of standing where you are currently standing, since the bear is about twice your size." that's how i interpret it.
if i had my camera, there would be some photos on this post, and i could have had it, but i did not. it was a really big bear. btw. :) and the story stops there. he did not attack me, and i don't have torn flesh riddling my body, after a narrow escape from the predator's clutches. nothing so heroic, disappointingly.
well, i brought the camera this morning, just in case. the bear, however, was a no-show. of course, i wouldn't have been so lucky. but after work, i was standing outside the shop, soaking in a few morning sun rays, soon to depart for home to get ready for church. i saw a bird i am not so used to seeing, perched on a half-tree, one of those dead, leafless poles. it was about thirty feet away, and i stood watching it for at least five minutes. at this point, i thought to myself: "maybe i should get my camera, since that bird seems ready to stay where he is all morning." i wish i could say what bird it was, because is was a beautiful one. gold, black, brown, and altogether regal. hawk? that is my guess, but perhaps even eagle. i am no aviary specialist. i just don't know.
so i follow through with my idea, and i go grab my camera from the car, only to return to... what else? an empty tree.
it could not have happened any other way, that is just the story of my life. i was shut down, out-thunk by a bird! but so it is. at least i saw it, but now consecutive days of failed sharing. words only. no pictures.
stay posted, because i am going to catch some SWEET shots of the dragon on the 6th green tomorrow morning!!

work. tennis. stuff.

so the days go by, one after another, gradually filling up the month of may, until it can hold no more days. then we are tossed into the month of june, but we don't have any say in the matter, do we?
no, it's okay. i am not really feeling as depressed as that sounds, or even at all really. i am just fine, thank you. i worked my 8th straight day today, so that is a little tiresome, but you do what you gotta do i guess.
my freetime has actually been spent in large part on the tennis court. up until yesterday, i had played five days out of six, and monday's play lasted 3 hours in the 8o-something sun. it's really fun though, so i am glad to have something to commit to in a way. that is healthy for me. and speaking of commitment - or i guess we should call it non-commitment - i have yet to run since i have been on summer break. and i am supposed to be a college athlete. so much for that one. better get on that.

2nd Week

this post is sentiments from last night when i wrote some. i do not have internet at home:

i wonder -- and not without disgust -- how can i be upset or frustrated with my job being a drag, when many (most) of the guys that i work with are in need of the salvation of Jesus Christ? here i am, no doubt tired and worn out, but i cannot help but think it is wrong of me to dwell on this, even for a minute. this is part of sharing in the cross of Christ, having a burden for the lost. God give me the strength for this burden.

this was following a bad day at the office, and i was bothered by it the rest of the day, especially since i am always annoyed when tired. maybe i just want to feel good and cruise through everything. hmmm. something tells me i have a pretty bad attitude. i am constantly checking myself and realizing this is the case. time to do something about it.

today in 16th bunker i decided i must be dedicated to the Word of God. pray this will be a reality.

Yeah, so here is my big bro who graduated. (and that's myself on the left)... at his house in Raleigh, NC

Okay, this is it. I hope everyone is content, because I think I got the whole house in the picture. Too bad I am tiny!

To Raleigh, to the Outer Banks, back to Raleigh, and back to Asheville

Adventures to the east began Saturday morning, when I got up 2 hours later than usual, but still found a way to only get 5 hrs. of sleep. :( Really good way to set up for another sleepy few days. Oh my. And let me tell you about my danged eyes... No I'm not really gonna tell you, except that if you ever want a good piece of allergies, a) move to Asheville. b) work at the golf course. Guaranteed to work.
But who really cares about my allergies?
So we went to Raleigh on Saturday, my mom and Josh and Caleb. We went to my brother Ben's house and moved on to the J.C. Raulston Arboretum for Ben's graduation from the Landscape Architecture or Horticulture (or something) Department of NC State. 30 students, and the ceremonies kept going and going. It was fine though. We were inside, and it was fine.
Sunday after church, mom, Ben, Caleb, myself... left for OBX. (one must be cool to use that abbreviation). We went to the Elizabethan Gardens at the Lost Colony, and that was just beautiful.
[Here is the point where I should be inserting photos, but I don't have the CD with me. Sorry. They will come. Soon.]
We ate good places, saw cool lighthouses, were cold at the beach, drove a lot, had fun, chilled, and lots of other things.
If you have never been to the Outer Banks, you should go. That is the moral of this story.

I have been reading Sophie's World this weekend, too, just like my friend Sienna. I hope she doesn't mind me quoting the book like she has done...

"You can't experience being alive without realizing that you have to die... But it's just as impossible to realize you have to die without thinking how incredibly amazing it is to be alive. Sophie remembered Granny saying something like that the day the doctor told her she was ill. 'I never realized how rich life was until now,' she said. How tragic that most people had to get ill before they understood what a gift it was to be alive."

Actually this is rather like the idea that Sienna wrote about, how important it is to never lose that faculty of wonder. It is part of who we are as God's people, to see his handiwork and to marvel, seeing everything as through the eyes of a child, who has not yet become bored with his surroundings. Never see things as normal, because they are not. Ever. Everything was designed by our Creator, and we should see the world with a mix of wonder, fright, and joy.

sunshiningdownonme

sunshiningdownonme
Originally uploaded by dpick22.

(I guess this is a picture of me in front of my house)

Back in the World I Know

I really am beginning to get back into this life of mine. I don't feel so strange being here, and I am enjoying it a little. That's sort of a relief from my cynical tendencies. It was like I wanted to leave as soon as I got here because I didn't really know what to do. But now I guess I feel busy and geared for action, so of course I am okay with that. I am at my finest when I have no time to think. ???
I think I want to think.
This is going a weird direction, so I will slow down a little. First of all, let me say that work is shaping up a bit. I am recognizing the value of being there and interacting with the same people day after day after day. Maybe it was somewhat of a shock to come spend all day with these guys that are about the opposite of my good friends. Or maybe they are just real-life versions of my friends unleashed. That may be the more likely of the two. Ironically. I think that is why I am coming around with them, just realizing the fact that there are some things I cannot get with them about, but that there are also things that we can talk about, and be able to get to a point of actually knowing them. It can be fun.
I go to bed at 10.
I need to go to bed at 9.
I want to go to bed at 12.
My life in Asheville. A good one. Really.
I also like Philadelphia.
That is where I will be in August.

first day at the office...

oh boy, i'm back at the country club. and i only had to go till noon today. you don't hear "this guy" complaining. no.

it is such a difficult transition to come back into this one of my worlds - first of all, back home. but even more so, this work. it is just such a challenge to be around all the people that i am with each day. it's funny, i think if i were doing this job with many of my good friends, even with one, i would have fun with it. but that is just far from the case. i feel so detached when i am there, and i really do not want to be, but it is hard to connect with people. i am not going to hold up signs on my blog like sienna did, but i need prayer too, that God will give me the strength to be able to talk seriously with the guys. i want nothing more than to positively influence some of them. that would be awesome.

hmm, i think i should start to sleep a lot too, because i am not close to caught up. this is how i am supposed to feel when it is 90 deg. and i have worked 10 days in a row, not 1 day that was 60-something. this morning it was like high-30s and my hands were about numb.
throw some cross-country training in there, and i'll be dropping like a fly. let's hope not.

well, it is time for me to get my new license since i am driving on an expired one! peace out.

12:43 a.m.

I know I am 45 minutes late, but I turned 20 at that time, and let me tell you: it feels pretty damn good. Michael and I just having some quality roommate time, nothing better. Best of all, we've been putting our heads together, and we decide that he is coming to Philadelphia this August. That is just the way it has to be, and it is too late to decide otherwise. Great ideas just flow when it's your B-Day.

My my my.

(Oh, and it's about time I started to pack to get on the train outta here. It's pulling into the station.)

Year End: Spring 2007

Freshman year is done. Hmmm.. It is so hard to imagine the stages of the year passing, one by one. I guess in some ways it is just like my whole young life: each year that passes has more and more stages. As a Kindergarten student, it was what it was, and I sure didn't think about starting here and ending there. What a strange phenomenon. I am not the same as I was when I arrived. I am not the same as when the semester began. I am not the same as the week before last. Maybe my friends have something to do with that. My crew (if it is legit to call them that) is a fun group to spend time with, and we have been steadily leaving each other the last couple days. Sad huh? It is. Oh well, I think everyone is excited about summer anyway, so it's okay. Summer. I just need to get away from Covenant before it is summer break! Someone carry me away...

(I need an upload cable before I can put any pics on here)

I am really into this blogging idea. First of all, many of my friends have got it, I think it is a cool thing, so I want to do it. Second, I don't like Facebook at all really, and this will give me a really good excuse to quit that pretty soon. Sound good?

Now is the time for me to say, "Hello world."

The blogging world will never be the same.