drummers begin to drum

i don't really have much to say today, other than a few recent events. this older guy from church, we'll call him Mr. M, invited me to help him in the food pantry at our church today. so i said sure, why not. the church gets shipments from Second Harvest Food Banks and other places so we can stock our shelves. Today, we had a shipment from Red Lobster, giving us food that they didn't sell or was left over or whatever. I mean like, crab legs, scallops, a million potatoes... so we took all that and put it in the freezer. people started coming in at 9:30 to get food. depending on the number of people in their household, they can get so much food. i learned how to take people into the pantry and which shelves to take from. i also broke down cardboard boxes for a while, got grocery bags ready so people could use them to fill, and filed paperwork, because everyone who comes through has to have a form. i was really surprised how fulfilling it was. everyone who came for food was grateful, polite, and appreciative. one guy even said to me, "i really like coming here because everyone is so nice. the other churchs snip at me." and that means a lot to me. i'm still trying to figure out my faith things, but to be able to have a community of people who care about me and who truly want me around is a great feeling. everyone in the food pantry that was helping were so nice to show me the ropes and help me get comfortable with things. it made me feel like i was really doing something, not just sitting at home on my butt reading or something.

after we got done with the food pantry, Mr. M and I went to Oberlin because he just got two new kittens and went to bring them home today. they are soooooo adorable ---



that's heather and horatio. they're only about 8 weeks old i think, and their little mewling on the ride home just about melted me. i got to hold them on my lap in the carrying case to make sure they didn't jump out, but could still look around. we also went to lunch at this little deli in Oberlin called The Feve. i had a really great jerk chicken sandwich wrapped in a pita. it was really spicy but very very tasty. i'm going to have to go back to oberlin sometime. it's been a while since i've been there, and they've got a lot of new shops and things to do downtown. i absolutely love that town.

so anyway, here i am. i'm waiting for jessica to go home and shower and then ---- we're going to the Dave Matthews Band concert at Blossom tonight!!!!! I'm so excited!! hopefully it won't be too muddy, because it's rained a little bit today, but ahhhhhh it's gonna be great. ghiosahtewklavbalrlae;gfdslagfkbareawgfoafdklfjal hooya!!!!!

okay. that's all i have.
adios, muchachos.

don't forget to keep moving forward.

keep moving forward

so i realize i just suck at blogging. the past few weeks have been absolutely inSANE, and it's just now that i'm getting back to normal.
firstly, and most important - my brother FINALLY got married!!



it was suuuuuch an awesome day. we started out at becca's parents house, to get our stuff together and ride over in the limo together to the church. once we got to the church, everyone was flitting around making sure the last minute details were set, and before i knew it we were lining up to process into the church. i didn't trip, i made becca's dress appropriately frou-froued (that was my job) and everything went off without a hitch. matt and becca went out the old stone steps of our church, which was way cool. instead of rice or bubbles, we lit sparklers for them to go through to the limo. we went back inside the church to take pictures...



we also went over to the square to get professional pictures. we still had a bunch of time to kill before going to the reception, so we actually went to the bar because one of the groomsmen is a barman and they got a discount on all the alcohol. so we hung out there for a while.



finally, we got to the reception where lots of dancing



and frivolities



and fireworks to be had.






a week after the wedding, my family and i headed up north to canada, where we spent two weeks on a gorgeous lake.



most of the time was spent reading books and listening to music, taking naps and cooking. it was really great to spend a lot of time with my cousin, because ever since i went away to college i hadn't seen much of her besides holidays. we giggled a lot and made friendship bracelets the whole time.



the last day i got sick, some kind of stomach flu from my cousin, and i threw up three times in the cabin. it was not fun at all. hence, the car ride was hell because i couldn't put anything in my stomach. the adults got pizza for dinner that night at the motel, and i seriously had to leave the room because it smelled so good but i couldn't eat it. finally, the next morning i tried chicken nuggets because i was feeling better. they were the best chicken nuggets i have ever had in my entire life.





after we got home from canada, i just kind of layed around until yesterday. the EMC went to put-in-bay to spend the day together. i had such a fun time. we walked a hell of a lot, laughed, took lots of crazy pictures, and just basically enjoyed each other's company in the sunshine. we went to perry's monument, perry's cave, and the beach, not to mention in a lot of the stores.



after we got home, i spent the night at stephanie's house. Dawson stopped by and we watched Meet The Robinsons, which i had never seen before. and holy crap, i LOVE it. it was so funny and random and just up my alley. we finally fell asleep around 3am.

i'm going to really miss everybody when i go back to school.

today i got my trumpet back from being serviced, which is great because i haven't played in almost three weeks because of canada. i really need to get back into it, because knowing my teacher he'll be all nazi-ish the very first week.

tomorrow i'm going to help at my church's food pantry in the morning and then going to see Dave Matthews Band perform at Blossom!!! AHHHH!! i'm so excited!!

and then --- jessica called me today, and her parents have an extra ticket for the indians game on friday. get this - CLUB seats. super close to the field, and everything is included, the only thing that you have to buy is alcohol. ohmygosh i am SO pumped. if i'm not mistaken, it will also be Tom Hamilto appreciation day, which is uber awesome because he's my favorite announcer.

this summer has been one of the most fantastic times of my life. so many things to do, so many things to remember and appreciate and love.

and school is less than three weeks away! i bought a lot of my books today - $160 altogether except for my essential elements books. i think i made out pretty well. and hopefully i'm not going to have to make up any tuition this year - with my renewable scholarships, i might just about break even. maybe have to pay a couple hundred bucks. but when it's overall $43000, i'd say i'm doing pretty good.

well, i must wrap this up. my dad is hovering and it's kinda awkward.