Alliance Plug

The Alliance is starting again! It's no longer just a theory, it's happening. We're gathering everyone's data right now, so we need you to head on over there and leave us a comment with your url and name so we can add you to the list of awesomeness. We want all of you to do it, even the obscure ones of you that don't go to Taylorsville. If you've got a webular site or a blog, we'd love to link off to you. Sophomores, Seniors, Juniors, Super Seniors, head on over and sign up. We'll send some traffic your way, it's going to be way awesome. I'm super excited, so go do it.

I do have quite a post stored up, another one of those idea exploration things. But alas, I think I'm going to save it for yet another day. Yeah, I know.

But you do get some prizes today. Something I rarely do. Pictures!

This is my pumpkin for this year. It turned out better than I expected. For the Ultimate-impaired, that's a player laying out for the disc. I dream of having the courage to do something like that. *dreamy sigh*



This is last years model of the pumpkin. I was growing weary of the whole pattern scene. Everybody has amazing pumpkins because everyone buys the pattern books. Last year, I held my head up high and fought back.



These next two are me on the back patio. Trying to look cool for a CC picture I needed to take. It's hard to time that wink right, I'm not going to lie.





That's me, telling you to go to the Alliance. Sign up, it's going to be fun!

(8) Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days... (8)

Hey friends. I encourage you to read Kyle and Nick's posts tonight. I'm confident that they have great things to say to you.

This is what I have to say to you. Me, myself. This is Christopher Thatcher. Here I stand.

Hey friends. There's something about this song that sends me into a totally different mood and mindset. No matter how things were a minute ago, this song turns on and I'm suddenly contemplative and open to everything.

This openness is rare. It only manifests itself when I'm listening to this song or up having a conversation with someone I feel really close to really late at night. Openness is good, the truth will set you free, right?

I know that, but it still doesn't stop me from being pretty closed with my emotions. It's rare that I'll tell girls how I actually feel about them. I can tell my close guy friends how I think of them, but it's hard to open up and express that to the ladies.

But, on the rare occasions that I do open up, interesting things happen.

Bah, can the eloquent language, it's too slow. That's the garbage can version of can anyways.

There's been more talk about girls than usual throughout the blogs. Me, Nick, Kyle, everybody. There are reasons for this, but they're not that secret. It's just been too long, that's all.

I'm really having a tough time saying this. But I think that it needs to be said. Here goes try number three, wish me luck.

If you girls honestly knew the way things really were, things'd be different.

I'm not saying I'm madly in love with anybody. I'm just saying that the truth is really good to you girls.

Because honestly, somewhere out there you've got someone who cares about you like you wouldn't believe. Someone who really hopes that you're doing alright, someone who wonders how your day has been. Someone who won't forget you, someone who wants to stand outside the front door of your life and fight all the bad things that want to get at you so you don't have to.

It is certain - beyond any doubt - that this someone loves you. Maybe they're in love with you, but chances are you're their precious little sister, or daughter, or maybe even mother.

The fine gentlemen of this world are crazy about you. You mean so much to them. They won't tell you this often. Maybe they'll never ever say it.

But they're out there, we're out there.

If you could really see the truth, things would be different.

I wonder if this made any sense. Here is my proclamation for the evening - 100% openness. If you feel like talking tonight, here I stand. Let's talk.

Good song.

Some things need doing. I'm going to do it. I said I would, and I'm going to. I won't let you down on this one. I gave my word, and I won't take it back.

Friends, thanks for coming here tonight. I don't know what this means to everybody, but I do appreciate it. I really do hope that you are all alright tonight. I hope that you're all happy, but I do not wish a fool's joy on you. I wish for you an abundance of reasons to be happy. I hope that you'll face challenges, but that you'll overcome with strength. I hope you'll still appreciate the beauty of God's earth, and the magnificence of your own self. I pray that things will work out for you, that you'll be able to follow your dreams.

The truth is very nice to you friends. Don't ever forget that, even if the truth is too special to share all that often.

Good luck everybody. You have unlimited potential and possibility in front of you, and an eternity of progression behind you. You are here now, facing the next step with courage. You have a noble and great purpose. Don't forget who you are, or where you came from.

We're all in this together. We're all going to make it through together. You're special.

You're amazing, and someone out there loves you. That's the truth.

Rock the Vote

This post is specifically for Molly's benefit. In it I offer political and personal advice. Take it or leave it, this is the news.

Even though this post is just for Molly, the rest of you can read along too. In fact, I'd encourage you to do so. Enjoy.

As you know, Molly recently began taking suggestions for her "Boy of the Week" program. While I myself do not have a Boy-of-the-week program, I can see it's merit. It's not my style, but that's alright.

I have a suggestion to make for your boy of the week program, and his name is Kyle.

There are many reasons that one should consider liking Kyle Klein for a week or more. Aside from his towering stature and his rugged good looks, Kyle has a plethora of ninja-skills to back up his impressive aura of good looks.

Skill #1: Ultimate

When Kyle "The DragonRift" Klein plays Ultimate, he wears orange shorts. This alone is enough to make him a stud in my book. When you consider his devotion to the fine arts as well, he becomes a sophisticated and refined Ultimate gentleman, a veritable swatting and catching machine. He can run, he can throw, he can lead that really cool spirit huddle thing. He's a valuable asset on any Ultimate team. He could be a valuable asset on your team too, give the man a chance.

Skill #2: Vocalization

When Kyle "I stole the Cheese" Klein gives an oral report about Colin Powell, the world pauses to listen.

When Kyle "The Titanium Turban" Klein begins to offer up the power of his soul in song, aliens explode because it's so good. With an astonishing range of a low low E to a squeaky high F#, the man you once knew transforms into an intergalactic predator at the blink of an eye. He is the swiss army knife of alien-combustion men. He once beat Chuck Norris in a round-house-kick-fight with nothing but a seagull and his falsetto voice, need I say more?

Skill #3: A Healthy Respect for the Past

When Chris "I'm not as cool as Kyle" Thatcher asks Kyle "Thunderbolt" Klein if he remembers that one time we stayed up playing Tony Hawk with our new skater named Revolute Sk8, he says yes.

When Kyle "Prettier-Than-The-Moon" Klein feels like a good time, he watches Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. When Kyle feels like thwarting the bad guys, he uses two sai's like unto Raphael.

One time, when Kyle was surrounded by communists and about to be gunned down by an execution squad, he sang the entire pokemon theme song in japanese. The Communists were so impressed that they dropped their weapons and wept for joy. Kyle later grew wings and flew back to America.

Skill #4: Resistance Leader

When Kyle "I've got the Magic" Klein isn't satisfied with the current situation, he doesn't hesitate to organize an underground rebellion. He has oftentimes created networks of notepassers and neanderthals, all for the purpose of rescuing a friend.

Skill #5: Elusive Footsteps

One time, a great King decided to have a dance-off. People from far away lands traveled far to compete in the greatest tournament since the controversial world croquet championships of 1911. The King never revealed his motive for holding the dance off, he merely stated he wanted to see the best of the best.

After 21 days of grueling and foot-shredding dance, a champion was crowned. His name was Hernando.

The runner up?

Kyle "They bribed the judges again" Klein.

Ladies from all over the world, after being turned away from Hernando due to his alternative lifestyle, came flocking to our dancing hero. As they crowded around him, demanding "a piece of that mad dancing action" Kyle's voice bellowed out. "Not today ladies, I've got a date with my destiny! And after that, maybe one with Molly!"

It's a true story, I was there.

...

So was Ghandi.

Skill #6: Harrrrrrrrrrmonica

Very few pirates can say that they are olympic snowboarding champions. Neither can Kyle, but he can play a mean harmonica solo when called upon. He valiantly led a performing troupe of academics in a ferocious and brilliant rendition of "The Battle of Bunker Hill, as told by a troupe of pirates." He also has composition skills, Alto Saxaphone skills, and Baritone Saxaphone skills.

Once when he and Doc were out at a late night jamming session, doc said to Kyle: "Kyle, teach me how to be a brilliant musician." Kyle taught Doc how to be a brilliant musician in 1982.

You know who else was there? The teenage Paul McCartney, using a time machine. And you wondered why all the Beatles were brilliant musicians. I'll tell you why, his name is Kyle.

This list could go on and on, but it doesn't have to. The truth is, Kyle Klein is an outstanding citizen that deserves a chance at the Boy-of-the-week program. At the end of the week, if you're not entirely happy with your choice of Kyle Klein for boy-of-the-week, I offer you a complete refund.

Kyle Klein is the man for the job. His voice can't be beat, he swims like an angel with fins. Kyle Klein lives life on the happy center, none of this edge crap for him.

Vote Kyle Klein for Boy-of-the-week.

Find Me

I'd like to thank all the region dance girls for being modest and amazing and good. You make me want to be the best person I can be, because you're all just too good for anything less.

Yea verily, you guys are awesome. Thanks for making me smile and want to be better.

Ionic crisis

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Relax, things are alright. Smile. Welcome to my happy place.

I love ideas. I get so happy and excited when a new idea strikes me. I spend the next 30 minutes exploring it, thinking of all the possibilities and implications. Most often, these ideas strike me towards the latter end of the night. After the day is through, I've had alot to stimulate my neurons, to get the synapses firing. There's a ton of ideas flowing everywhere through my head throughout the day, but as the sun goes down and things relax, my brain starts to eliminate the excess noise in the background and focus on the important things. I'm often by myself during this slowing down period. Not that I'm excluded from the world or isolating, I'm just throwing down some homework or doing another task that doesn't put me in the presence of friends or family. Everything just adds up to create a perfect haven for new ideas to amble through me and my consciousness.

When you create a good day at school, a great workout at the gym, relaxing stretches at home, an hour long nap, a full stomach and a few projects on the back burner, you set the stage for progressive ideas.

That's what I love, thinking. There is always such beauty and grace surrounding a brilliant and original idea. I love to sit and appreciate the aura of a solution to a problem that is both creative and highly effective. It always feels like my brain has been hit with the fuzziest and warmest semi-truck in the world. It's a feeling of total and utter shock, but along with this shock comes an intellectual hug of sorts- like the best girl in the world just smiled at your brain.

Example: Amazon.com is creating a question and answer project. You go and ask a question, and then a real person answers it. It's the next step, the logical place for the internet to go. Google is also developing something similar to this. With Google's design, you pay a very small monetary sum to receive your answer from a real person. Amazon didn't like this concept, so they created a new way. You ask your question, and then that question is presented to others. If you answer someone else's question, you receive "quest tokens". They're an imaginary currency that Amazon is going to use in a department that they're also currently developing. From the sounds of things, it'll be a game of sorts, but knowing Amazon it will be pretty clever.

So, they've solved the problem of getting real humans to answer real questions by offering them an imaginary currency. This costs them nothing, but can potentially offer the real humans some benefit in the "quest-ville" deal, whatever it is.

To me, it's brilliant. Check out the rundown by a guy who actually knows what he's talking about, here.

So, a few ideas that I've had tonight. Stuff I've explored, stuff I've liked. Here I stand.

I believe I have found my quest, my mission, my duty for Junior year. I believe my great job this year is to build networks. Not in a computing sense, but in a social sense. I want to bring people together to accomplish goals. I have two main projects branching off of this realization, things that have been going on for a while now, but things that are about to get bigger.

Number one is the Alliance, of course. Bringing together all of the Taylorsville bloggers is going to make us exponentially stronger. Our new community will empower more and more people to share their ideas and feelings, to leave traces of humanity for the world to find.

Number two, something I need to jump start, is the Ultimate network. We're sort of set up here at Taylorsville, and now it's time to expand our horizons and contact other high schools We need to find out if they've got an official club, or just a bunch of people that play. We need to encourage them to elect a leader and to get just a tiny bit more serious. We need to alert them to our presence, and the presence of every other high school's Ultimate groups.

The end goal of this Ultimate network is to establish a large Ultimate community in the valley that will perpetuate itself. Every few years an Ultimate advocate will manifest his or herself at every high school. They will get others excited and involved in playing, and the sport will flourish. Many good times will be had, but that will be the end of it. The advocate will graduate and move on, and that high school's Ultimate scene will struggle for breath for a year before dying until a new advocate will rise. This scenario will replay itself indefinitely until something is done to stop it. Enter the network.

There must be an external force to keep Ultimate rolling at these schools. In biology, there's a term called biodiversity. It talks about the number and variety of organisms living in an environment. The principle is that the greater the biodiversity, the stronger the community will be, and the longer it will last. If there's a virus that destroys alligators, and the environment is comprised of nothing but alligators, your environment is destroyed. That's how it works with high school Ultimate. If the Ultimate scene is dominated by one kind of kid, by just one group, then it is vulnerable to decay after graduation. In this case, it is an isolated group of kids that makes things happen, but loses its power to do so once everyone moves away to college. With a network of high school Ultimate that we are beginning to build, decay will be nearly impossible. Biodiversity, or for lack of a better term "Ulti-diversity" is greatly expanded. As a result, the individual high school Ultimate scenes are no longer isolated, but brought together. Whenever two communities are brought together the exchange of genes creates a more diverse and therefore a more secure future for that environment. The seeds of Cottonwood Ultimate will be spread throughout the valley, stored within everyone else. If Cottonwood withers up and dies, the seeds can be replanted from Murray, or Kearns, or Riverton. I'm using a scientific concept to model high school Ultimate, but it works.

With both projects that I've mentioned I stand in a perfect place to launch. As a blogger, I've been actively writing since the latter part of Ninth grade. I have 152 posts under my belt on this blog alone, not counting my now-defunct philosoblog. I've proven that I'm not going anywhere. I've seen the rise and fall of friends' and associates' blogs. There is already a loose group of bloggers flying around, all we need to do is rope them all together. We've got the resources necessary, and we're fully equipped with the proper timing. Let's make this Alliance fly.

As for Ultimate, we recently started a team at Taylorsville. We're not too good to scare anyone out of playing us, but we're not crappy enough to leave other teams laughing. We've got likable kids with numerous skills outside of the Ultimate field, kids with contacts around the valley. There's been more and more effort of a few other high schools to spread Ultimate, and so we're going to team up with them to create a lasting union of high school Ultimate.

Now is the time to come together and be strong.

Looking around me, there is a serious shortage of quests. Thinking about it, in all my 16 years of life I've never encountered an epic journey, a herculean task, or even a boss fight. While the passive and romantically spoken-for may prefer this style of life, it presents a considerable problem for people like me. Individuals like me are born and raised with the idea that the only way to discover and woo your true love is to be stuck with them on a quest, to save their lives in said quest, and with their support overcome incalculable odds and defeat the bad guys.

Often times I consider this as I run. I have determined that there are a few girls in my field of vision that would be suitable to fill the role of damsel in distress throughout my quest. The particular name of the lady doesn't matter much to a hero during an epic battle, so they are always nameless and faceless, but one knows that if our hero could see their faces they'd be cute and modest.

As I pass the threshold between Near-Taylorsville and Outer-Taylorsville, I long for such a quest. I long to be like Shrek or Hercules or any other character ever. The universal truth is always repeated. The Hero gets thrown into a quest, and he meets a damsel in distress early on. They must travel together, and are hurled through numerous tricky situations. Ninjas must be defeated, pirates brutally beaten in gun battles. At one point they will both be suspended over an endless chasm of death and destruction. Their eyes will meet, music will play, and the camera will zoom in for a close-up. Their lips grow closer and closer together, the damsel's eyes close, and just at that moment of dire temptation and near-pathogen transmit, they are saved from a terrible death and a terrible choice. After all, gotta save that sorta stuff for later.

The quest continues, and eventually our two patriots are victorious. They return to life as normal, but never to part again. It's a happy story, one that everyone loves to hear. Unfortunately, it leaves me in a terrible predicament. Hollywood and Disney have left me with no concept, aside from quests, of how to meet and get to know girls. I've been convinced from an early age that the only possible path for me to take involves a broadsword and a magical red potion. Without these necessary ingredients I am doomed to forever play an extra in the cast. Just one more ninja to get knocked out, one more pirate to have his beard blown off.

Pirates and ninjas don't live happily ever after. I don't want to be one more extra in the credits, I want to be the hero. More importantly, I want someone to ride off into the sunset with. History has proven time and time again that the only reliable way to ensure these parameters requires an epic quest.

I will embark, I will bicker and argue with my damsel in distress and exchange cliche's like so much dollar-menu food. I will offend the mob boss, the pirate captain, the CEO of a corrupt and intergalactic mining operation. I'll crash my ship, my car, my space-shovel, and be forced to proceed through the backwoods. Eventually I will find myself at the bad guy headquarters, and probability will be on my side. With an elite team of cameramen and stunt-doubles, I shall dodge bullets, lasers and flaming sharks. My broadsword shall be a blur of steel and computer generated whooshing noises as I battle my way to the final showdown. As I rush into the throne room and shout my macho repartee to the turned back of my mortal enemy, my pumping background music will suddenly halt. The royal robe will rustle back to reveal my most trusted friend and ally as the real enemy. A cry of anguish, and the battle music begins. After a roll of the dice to determine that yes, he did in fact fail his armor save, I shall hold my steel to his throat, and mercifully spare his life, but only on condition that he become a parrot for the rest of his existence.

Me and my damsel will ride off into the sunset, to live happily ever after until someone attempts to make a disappointing sequel that very few people will ever bother to investigate. After this minor annoyance my bride and I shall retire to the archives of wikipedia, where our tale shall be retold for generations to come.

Ladies and gentlemen, I need a quest.

Can't change your colors

I'm in a very odd mood tonight, but I've accomplished something very important that I've wanted to do for a really long time. I finally backed up all my blogs. I copy/pasted everything I've written, plus all the comments I've gotten up to the last post. 485 pages. 187297 words.

Granted, there's alot of words that are the date, the title, and the "anonymous said.... blah blah blah" but that's still a considerable number of words. This blog means so much to me, it's got so much of my being splattered all over it. I would be terribly terribly heartbroken if I lost it. Therefore, I'm taking steps to preserve it. Hooray.

I've got alot to talk about. I've even got another Life Theory I could bust out. Tonight is not the night for that. I wish that it was, but tonight is the night for something else.

You can't change your colors, my van taught me that today. You vacuum out the crap and put a pretty bow on it, and it still does unpredictable things when you push the pedal. I can paint it orange, but it's still my van, and it still squeals.

We're sorta like that. Sometimes we try to put a new coat on to be something that we're not.

All vieled ideas and concepts aside, this one goes out to Jaron.

I don't agree with your decision to stop posting deep thoughts. I think you ought to write. I don't know the reasons that you decided to quit writing the stuff that we all love to read, and the stuff that seems to be good for you to write. Whatever the causes, I think it deserves another look.

Because really, you're a great writer with alot of insight to offer me and the rest of the world. I want to be able to learn from what you write, and it's hard to learn from the casual daily news.

I think you ought to write. Fly free.

But you're the one in charge, so it's your call. Just know, I think you ought to write.

Really really weird mood tonight. Half mournful, half respectful. It's a mood where my eyebrows are lowered, but my imprint on the world is thoughtful. It's a mood where I miss a few forgotten friends. It's a mood where I miss lost opportunities, a dream where I cry out for the courage to say "Hey" to the people I really wanna say it to.

'Not talking about any girls that I have liked, or do like. Don't get me wrong here, this isn't an emo post. This is just me thinking things that should have been thought about ages ago. It's a safe bet that my bloodsugar is a billion. That's what happens, that's what insulin is for. Gotta fix it, be right back.

I wish it was raining right now. I love night rain. It's spectacular.

What do I want right now? Can I be totally honest?

Throw it out the window. I don't want romance right now. Glasses.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Glasses

Here's the trouble. Here we are, right now, and we can only think from where we are now. We can think back to the past, and forward to the future, but we can only think from here. We cant step back to 5 years ago and think forward to the future. Nope, we're stuck thinking from this frame of reference.

So, let's say that hypothetically I needed to make a choice about what to do next saturday. Here I am, tired, my feet hurt, and I don't want to go outside ever again. I know that tomorrow that'll change, but I can't think from tomorrow, I'm thinking from right now.

So I'm wearing today's glasses. Some days they're happy go lucky glasses, and other days they're not. That's trouble. Cause we make decisions that have an impact for a very long period of time based on how we feel today. Today's glasses could mess me up.

What do I want right now?

I want someone to help make their life better. I want to fill a gap in someone's life and help them out of a tough time. I want to give them a hug and tell them that everything's going to be alright. I want to beat up all the bad guys, and stand up for my little sister.

Like I said. Weird mood tonight.

But that doesn't change the fact that it's here, that it's real. So what if it's a whack night that only happens once a year? Tonight, this is how I feel. These are the glasses that I'm wearing, how do I look?

I guess it's time for me to retire for the evening. I wonder if this makes sense, but at the same time I know that it does. I don't want pity or 'hope you get feeling better' comments tonight. I want rain, and me and her.

Her isn't a particular person, no theories. It's not romantic, it's something entirely different. Maybe it's a symptom of a co-dependent nature, maybe it's a sign of things to come, a shadow of a lost opportunity. Maybe it's just one whack night out of 365.

One thing's for sure, I'm not going to feel like this in the morning. It's always gone in the morning, whatever it was. My excitement about a project, my loneliness and thoughtfulness and expressiveness. I wake up tomorrow morning equipped with everything I require to give that new opportunity a fair chance. I can't slight tomorrow with my emotions today.

To whoever needed that hug tonight, here's one from me. I don't know who you are or why you don't actually exist, but something tells me that there's someone out in the rain waiting for me. I'm sorry I missed you, I got a little wrapped up in my own thing. -hug-

I promise, I'm not crazy. Don't even. It speaks of a greater fear, the truth that I'm afraid to have kyle or jason read this.

But tonight, I don't care. Tomorrow morning I'm going to care.

But out of respect for tonight's Christopher Thatcher, this post will remain. A testament to tonight. A testament to the glasses of October 18th, 2006.

Here's to you, mystery blank. Things are going to be alright, I'm here. I'll get my umbrella...

Perpetuate the bounce

We're going to be redoing the Alliance soon. No big surprises there. No big dissappointments either, I'm happy to take a step back, wipe the slate clean, and try again. It's a learning process. Our first attempt didn't take off, and our second one ended up being too much work. Therefore, it's on to phase three!

I guess there's no reason to keep our plans a secret, so a little talk about what's going to be happening. This is what the Allies are planning. And when I say "The Allies" I mean me. But they agree, simply by the virtue they haven't disagreed with it yet.

Our problem with the first two iterations was the fact that it wasn't necessary. It wasn't filling a gap. You can't fix a hole that isn't there. Therefore, we're aiming to find a hole and fix a hole, here we go.

There's been a huge influx of T-ville bloggers recently. Tons of em, they're coming out of the woodwork. With the Alliance this time around, we're going to get the entire directory functional. We'll have everybody, the juniors, seniors, sophomores. We might even branch out into the graduated folks and the freshmen folks. We're going to be the place to come to find anybody. We're going to actively track these people down and convince them to join our Alliance.

Secondly, we're going to publish a daily roundup with links to all of the posts. Everybody's posts. They'll be sorted by grade I'm thinking, for easy reference. Gone will be the days of using your rss feedreader or google reader to figure out if there's a new post. This'll just be up there, effective.

Thirdly, we shall create fun stuff to get the community thinking. I've always had a thing for community wide competitions. In the past we pulled off a killer MS Paint tournament. While no one officially won, it was still a huge success. There's going to be more of that, but just a little bit different. It's going to be very easy for everybody to hop right in. It's not a big time investment, the competitions will be easy, but there'll be room to excell. There's going to be more information on the competition side of things once we get it a little better panned out.

So basically, we're simplifying, and reanalyzing our goals. Sometimes you've gotta do that, and I'm down with it.

Of course, this is just the basics of the Alliance, this is just the new fresh start. We plan on this being the stuff that is always there, and we plan to expand upon it as time goes on and as the need arises. I still dream of a place where we can consolidate all of our doodles we draw in school, all of the art we make and the stories we write and all that other good stuff. We still want to do that, but we understand now that we're going to have to create a community first in order to pull it off.

So that's the task of the new Alliance, to create a community. Get everybody unified. We are trying to make this whole deal work better. As people join the Alliance, they're gonna get more traffic. In turn, they're going to send the Alliance more traffic back. That extra traffic is going to give everybody else's blog greater traffic as well. This means that everybody's work is going to be seen by a wider audience, and I think everybody wants that. It's a bigger and stronger exchange of ideas. If history class has taught us anything, the exchange of ideas always brings progress. Progress is what the Alliance is all about.

That's the plan, we're gonna roll out the new deal in the realistic and near future. We're focusing on uniting the current long-time bloggers, supporting the fledgling bloggers, and encouraging everybody else to seriously consider starting a blog. Over time we're going to develop resources to help people write more and push the limits of this whole blogging adventure. I can see a community developing here, a community doing good things.

Ok, for reals this time. Alliance Phase Three is on the way, gonna be primo.

Charmander

Oh man, breaking the cycle. It's 9:53, and I'm nearly ready to turn the computer off.

I just wanted everybody to know that I did it. I made it through the day without a nap. I've finished studying my history, and that means that all my homework is done. Tomorrow is going to be a pretty dandy day methinks.

Dear dear dear, it's bed time. So, what's the point in this post? To show that I'm going to bed. Yeehaw.

The Results

I think it's high time that I start producing more results.

See, running around in circles is great, but by tomorrow it's all gone. Nothing remains of me having run around in circles, excepting that I'm in better shape.

However, if I run 8 miles, and tag my name under an overpass, well then, that's leaving something for tomorrow.

Nah, I'm not going to be a gangster, but I do want to start producing more results. Not necessarily in the running category, but in the hanging out category. When me and my boys hang out, I want to make something, or document something, leave something for the generations to come. Hopefully you'll see what I mean in the near future.

In other news, I'm going to pull a kyle and post my English paper up. This might not be the best idea ever, but considering that it's due tomorrow, there's little chance that someone's gonna hork my paper. And, well, the paper is nothing more than a glorified blog post, so here we go.

Mutant Races

I'll just come out and say it- I rarely win. As a proud member of the Taylorsville High School Cross Country Team, I train every day to become a stellar athlete. I run until my everything hurts. The pain I feel transcends the general “Oww, my feet hurt” statements. Even the respectable “my thighs feel like they're being attacked by an alligator wielding a machine gun” statements don't accurately portray my feelings. As I run, my mental faculties rapidly diminish, and the chemical processes that fuel my muscles go union and strike for better wages. It comes to a point where the only words that I can intelligibly utter are “Oww, my everything hurts.”

But, despite the pain and frequent wishes for a mild ankle-injury that would put me on the bench for the rest of the season, I truly do love Cross Country. I am enamored with the sport because it makes me feel like a champion. Even when I lose big time, I can go home at night and be content with the results of the day. My team and I have done a fair amount of losing this year. This is not because we're fat or slow, it is simply because we are in a region with notable mutant schools like Jordan and Alta. Through the use of numerous magical potions and the assistance of an elite team of ninjas, they run crazy fast. It's not even funny. When we go to meets against them we already know the outcome. We know that we are strong, we know that we have worked out like mad for the past 4 months, but in the end we know that their mutant powers are going to outrun us. As such, we know that winning is nearly impossible. At this point, their teams are simply faster than us, and at least for this season, they are going to beat us, every time.

All pessimistic predictions and results aside, Taylorsville Cross Country has had a remarkably successful season. We showed up with a decidedly young team; with only four seniors returning to run for us, we had to rely heavily on our juniors and sophomores. Last season our former coach left us to pursue a head coaching position at Timpanogos, giving Alan Hansen an opportunity to be a brand new Cross Country coach. These circumstances were enough to cause the rest of the world to write Taylorsville Cross Country off for the season. Everyone assumed that we'd submit and go quietly into the night. We blatantly refused, and came forth with both personal and team-wide victories throughout the season. Even though our mutant-friends from other high schools still run faster than us, and even though we finished fifth in the region, we view this season as a smashing success. We overcame the expectations that were forced upon us and surprised the public. We grew stronger physically and mentally, and we met the goals we set for ourselves. Above all, we grew together as a team and proved that we are and will be contenders in our mutant-filled region.

Unfortunately for the Taylorsville trophy-case, these victories aren't recorded on the season score card. Rather, they are significant only to our team, significant to the individuals who won them. Skyline doesn't care that I got a personal record at the region meet. I, on the other hand, feel great joy and satisfaction in winning that intimate victory over my previous time for that course. From this, one can conclude that victories are personal phenomena, and are not necessarily relative to the performances of others.

Victory comes when we meet the goals that we set for ourselves. In our fourth meet of the season, I was passed in the most obscene manner by a short Jordan kid halfway through the race. It was evident that he had increased his speed from his usual pace for a brief moment for the explicit purpose of passing me. As he shot ahead of me, I thought to myself, “Oh snap, he just broke all the rules. He just committed the cardinal sin of running. He's running with an extremely variable pace, and everything I've ever learned tells me that he should therefore lose. The very laws of the universe require that he who runs smarter runs faster. He's running stupid, it is my duty to defeat him!” In reality, my oxygen-deprived brain produced a much less elegant version of the soliloquy, one involving numerous references to “quit now you fool!”. The point however, was the same; this Jordan fellow needed to be defeated. I set the goal then and there that I would cross the finish line before he did, and that even if it killed me I would kick his butt.

What followed was an epic battle, a lactic-acid factory of sweat and power. Every time I would get close to re-passing him, he'd sprint ahead a few meters and settle back into his normal pace. I'd approach again, and he'd leap-frog once more. This was the second major violation of runner's etiquette that he had made, and it only strengthened my resolve to conquer him. We pushed each other all the way up to the finish line, dueling until our lungs could duel no more. With only 60 meters to go, I finally managed to pull ahead of my sworn enemy and hurl myself past the finish line for the victory. I had passed him, and I had accomplished my goal. Once my brain was again capable of higher reasoning, I felt pretty pleased with myself. I had slain the dragon, I had conquered the foe. In my mind I was draped with the American flag as I boarded the bus back to Taylorsville. No Jordan short kid is going to beat me today, oh no. I was the champion, the biggest baddest kid on the block. Victory was indeed mine.

But, taking a step back, I wasn't even close to getting a win according to the score book. I had taken 10^th place. That means that nine other gentlemen ran considerably faster than me. As a team, Taylorsville took third out of three. We didn't win, we had indeed lost. I didn't win, but I was still victorious. Because I met the goals that I set for myself I claimed a personal victory. It is easy to discern and see that getting a victory is not synonymous with getting a 'win' on the scorecard. Instead, getting a victory is simply overcoming the challenges and accomplishing the goals that we set for ourselves.

As humans, whenever we set out on an endeavor, we desire to fulfill the task set before us. Whether it be successfully brushing our teeth, or getting the paper projectile to land in the garbage can, we desire success. When we set a goal and fulfill said goal, we achieve victory. While there are many forms of victory, the concepts remain the same. Whether it be victory over self, victory over others, or victory over cheese, we must follow the same formula to attain victory. If we set a goal to run faster than we did yesterday, or to run faster than a short Jordan kid, or to slice the perfect piece of cheese and we accomplish this goal, we are victorious. It matters not what the season scorecard says, and it matters not if you smell like a terribly sweaty rhinoceros for your efforts afterwards, the fact remains: you are victorious. Victory is found in the annals of our personal goals and personal performances, not in the illuminated bulbs of the all powerful scoreboard.

Shabam, that's all for tonight folks. Good things are on the way.

Life Theory Part II: Desire

It all starts with desire.

An individual that I cannot remember once taught me alot about this. I don't recall the words that he spoke, but the lesson that was imparted has stayed with me, and has become a large part of my life philosophy. It has been very useful to me, and now I relate it to you. Take it as it is.

Before we can accomplish anything, we must first desire to accomplish it. I don't believe that we can make ourselves into better people until we have the desire and want to become better. Once we can achieve and find that basic impetus, the doors are opened and we can move on to greater and higher opportunities.

When the desire to progress is not present, our forward locomotion is dramatically reduced. I believe that some progression will come simply by our efforts to continually expand our lungs despite the crushing forces of the atmosphere pushing on us. However, this progression is nearly negligible, and is not the life-altering ascension we seek for.

As we gain a desire to become better, we will become great. Work must be done, hardships endured- for nothing comes without its price. Simply desiring is not enough to acchieve greatness, but it is the first step. Gain a desire to become better, and through time, it will surely come to pass.

Beautiful Tonight

There are certain things in this world that have an incalculable and undefinable beauty about them. Certain modest girls have this beauty. Physics and chemistry have this allure to them as well. Tonight has been full of wonderful knowledge, it's been awesome to run around thinking about things and learning about things. I love Wikipedia.

It all started from a comment made on another blog, one that claimed that Niels Bohr was a little misguided. From there I decided to go wiki Niels Bohr, to learn a little more about the guy. I already knew a little, but I wanted to know some more. Ends up the man played a little bit of professional soccer. His brother was alot better than him, but c'mon now, when a world-famous physicist moonlights as a soccer player, we know that science is cool.

From there we jumped off and started learning about Anti-matter. That led to other things, which led to annihilation. Which led to more adventures.

In short, I love learning. There's nothing better than finding something and getting into it, learning it. It's one thing that really drives me.

Now, you can ignore the previous part of this post, it wasn't written all that well. But it speaks a valid point: Knowledge is everything to me. I love it.

But this next part is important. You know what, It's going to be a seperate post. Behold! Life Theory!

The Truth: October 12th, 2006

One thing's for sure: I love my cross country hoodie.

The rest of my life is wide open. I'm not exactly sure about it, but I'm happy with stuff.

I decided that I was finally going to decide my fate over this UEA weekend. I decided I was going to sit down and figure out if I was going to run indoor and outdoor track this year, or if I was going to take it off and try something else with my life. I didn't think about it as much as I'd have liked to today, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that this is one of those decisions that isn't good or bad.

I mean, with most decisions, you've got the right answer, and the wrong answer. Go to college, or apply at McDonalds. Obviously you wanna go to college. That'll be better for you. Keep running, or puruse other interests? I feel like neither one of these choices is obviously better than the other right now. This is both reassuring and terrifying at the same time. It's reassuring because I know that either one I pick will work out alright, that no matter what I do I'm not gonna get a car dropped on me. It's terrifying simply because the choice is now up to me, not up to common sense. This means that I have a choice to make. A choice that will have a HUGE effect on the next two years of my life. This is epic. I don't know what to do, but I've got to find out. That's my quest, to find the answer. Even if both are good, I've got to find the one that's going to be the best.

I love running, and I know that if I really busted it during indoor and outdoor track, I could do well with CC next year. I sorta plateued during this CC season, but if I could get back into the groove I had during the summer where I was improving a ton, things could end up amazing. I love being in this good of shape. It's something I've worked for, and I'm proud of to be able to run up and down the ultimate field without getting winded. Running makes you feel happier, running makes you stronger.

I love the whole running bit because it brings balance to my life. I often think that everything in my life has come too easy. I was born to fill in bubble sheets. I like tests, I really do. School is a pushover for me, I was born nerd and I'll die nerd. It's easy for me to excell there. Since school has been such a huge part of all of our lives up to this point, it seems that everything important in my life has been easy. That's why running is so important to me, because nobody handed it to me. I was not born raging athlete, I was born nerd. I love running because it's something that wasn't handed to me, but something that had to be earned. I'm not saying that I'm raging athlete now, or that I've worked super hard to become the ultimate runner. Nah, I'm not even good, but I'm doing alright, and it's not 100% genetics this time. There is more value to something that you've had to work hard for, we all know that. Running is something I've had to work for, so it's precious to me.

Running brings balance, it makes me rounded. There is also a great community spirit with the team, it's so amazing. I love our team so much, they're golden. You can't find a better team anywhere in the school, guaranteed. The comradery and support is something that is hard to find anywhere, let alone in high school. Even if you run terribly slow, they'll be with you all the way, telling you you're alright, helping you get back up. There's so much love in the team this year, it's just a good feeling to sit around and hang out with them.

The only reason that I would want to retire from this running business lies solely with the people around me. I believe that we're all in this mess we call life together. It's a team effort here. I think that we are given talents and abilities so that we can all help each other. We don't all need to be able to make shoes, only the one guy does. As long as he's willing to help us out, our feet are going to be alright. While greg can't start a fire, no one can beat his medical care. It's specialization. Systems are always more efficient when their units are specialized. In an assembly line, one man puts the head on the doll, and the next guy throws the legs on. You don't have 12 guys making 12 seperate dolls, you have 12 individuals making one doll 12 times as fast. That's the concept I've got of life.

I believe that we're all given gifts and abilities. I believe that they should be used to help each other. I've been given alot of gifts, and I want to start helping other people out. I get math, I get chemistry, I get physics. There is a multitude of people around us that could benefit from me teaching them physics. I loved English last year, parly because I got to spend the last 10 minutes of class every few days helping people with physics. I went up to the whiteboard and with arms waving and marker flying I explained concepts. By the end of our adventures, these people got it, and did well on the tests. I love that, I really really love teaching.

Now I'm not saying I'm a genius here, or that I can teach anyone anything. But I've had some success in the past, and I think I could do it again. My dream is to get myself a classroom I can use after schools, maybe Farr's room. Every day after school, have anyone come in that wants help with anything, and we can talk about it. It'd be a place for kids too smart for Tap, but who want to understand stuff a little better. I'd bust out the whiteboard skills, and I'd have other kids come in who could help out. We'd create a network of go-to guys, and after a while the thing will run itself.

I want kids to get algebra. That's the important one right there. I have a deep love for algebra. It's so brilliant. If kids don't get algebra, it's so hard to get the rest of life. I want to fix that. I want to raise the number of kids that pass the AP tests. I don't see any reason why my whole chemistry class shouldn't pass the AP test. I don't see why our Physics class shouldn't.

I want to use my gifts to help other people, I want to make a difference. I'm not going to make a difference with running, that's the truth. I'm going to improve myself, and cheer my team mates up. I'm going to run crazy fast, I'm gonna make coach proud of me. In the end, Taylorsville High school will be the exact same as it was before I came. No extra trophies, kids won't be any smarter. With running, I can't make the world a better place.

That's the only reason I want to pursue anything else. Maybe the tutoring thing is getting ahead of myself, maybe I should just troll around all the tap days and help kids there. Maybe I should devote more time to Ultimate. Maybe I don't know what I really want, maybe I just have a big crush on whiteboards.

The truth is, I want to make the world a better place, and I believe that I have the capacity to do it. Cross Country and Track are amazing, but they take up so much time. I know that I'm not the best at managing time, but I wish I could be free right afterschool to do stuff. I'm always running, or cleaning up, or helping coach with something. It's cool and all, it just doesn't get me or anyone else anywhere.

So that's the question. What I do, I don't know. I know I could do great things if I dropped running. The trouble is, I don't know that I would. The capacity is there, but would I really pull it off? I'd be kicking coach in the jimmies if I left, I'd have to make it worth it.

In other news, Earth looks prettier and prettier every day. Maybe it's the change of seasons, maybe there's something in the water. But wow, it's gorgeous.

I wonder what I'll be when I grow up. The field is pretty open right now. I want to do something I love, and I want to make the world a better place. Lucky for me, I love to make the world a better place, so they go hand in hand.

I'm all about excellence. I'm at the stage in my life that I want to be excellent in everything that I do. More often than not, I fall short of my hyperbolistic goals. Despite my frequent failures I remain optimistic and continue to pursue this path of excellence. No matter what I'm up against, I feel the need to be the best, the greatest. To pave a new and better path, to push the envelope that much farther.

The fire in my chest that pushes me on is getting bigger all the time. I know that I've always had this desire, but it's getting ferocious now. Tomorrow's a new day, a never-before seen opportunity to show the world something they've never seen before.

I think these flames are the cause of my recent explosion of projects. The Alliance, Taylorsville Ultimate, and other such business. I'm trying to raise the bar for myself and for others. I'm trying to deliver the best I possibly can.

I'm sitting here, beyond the window. I remember years ago, sitting and pondering in this very chair as I gazed out the window. The cold smell of a fresh new spring was calling me out. It flooded my nostrils, and pounded through my veins like a warcry. I was sitting at the threshhold of my adolescence. Life was about to change, and the direction that I took was entirely up to me. I sat there, preparing myself to face the life that awaited me through the dusty screen. I was about to be hurtled through the window- infinite possibility was waiting for me.

And now here I sit, beyond the window. It's been two years since I sat at the window, gazing and wondering about the future. There have been more cold and wet springs, more opportunities to pause and wonder. As I recall the feelings and thoughts of a previous coherence, I wonder if this is what I saw coming. Is that what I planned? Is this the great future that was waiting for me?

I have made it what it is. Because of the choices and paths I have taken, I stand here today, as I am. I have faced troubles, glories, and disappointments. My body has been pushed to the limits, my intellect examined and tried. I have wandered and traversed the paths of my life, and arrived at this point today. I am who I am. I have never been here before, and though I may try for eternity, I shall never return. I am unique, I am special. The world has never seen anything like me.

Here I stand, beyond the window. I have been dealt my cards, I have played on courageously.

Life is ours to make. The lines have been drawn, the forces begin to tug. Will you ascend and be excellent? Will you reach for the heavens and guide the way? We cannot allow mediocrity to become our norm. Shoot for the stars - Even if we miss we shall land in the trees above.

Come with me, together we'll be excellent. Come with me to the stars, to the trees.

At least we'll be safe from bears.

Cowbell

More Ultimate. That's what I need.

And so that's what I'm going to pursue.

On the 28th, I'm gonna go play in a halloween hat tournament. You show up, they put your name in a hat, and then they make teams as they draw them out. It's a tournament. I'm excited, I'm going to do well. We're all gonna be in costume. It'll be sweet. If you wanna come along, let me know, cost is 5 dollars.

Next year, I think we ought to play in the high school league that the county runs. I'm not sure how big it is, but we could have some fun in it. Let's do it next year, it starts around september. It'll be like junior jazz all over again, except this time I'll be happy to have kyle on my team.

Rahaha, just kidding, you're a stud kyle. And you're good at Ultimate.

I'm so excited about this UEA weekend. It's going to be amazing. I'm going to write a good post tomorrow. A really good one. It'll be something that hasn't been seen for quite some time.

It's back to basics folks. If it's not broken, don't fix it. I fear that I've been trying to fix that which is not broken. You can't fill a gap that isn't there. So, the new plan involves me finding an actual gap, and then filling it. Not filling in the solid wall.

More cowbell. Except this time we need more Ultimate. Rally around the disc, let's go go go.

The Murray showdown is being rescheduled. But we're playing at their park anyways, with a few of their guys. It's just not a showdown, it's more friendly. Gonna be fun.

What's a midgee?

More Ultimate.

1-2-3- Bultimate!

Stealing October

In the future, ATWC is going to release a new album titled "Atwattack" and the hit single is going to be stealing october. Score it.

Man, projectamundo. I get the feeling that something's got to give. I don't want to accept that fact, so I don't think I'm going to. I'm just gonna have to get better at budgeting time. This means I'll always have to be multi-tasking. Hahah, I'm going to drive myself crazy for the sake of the Alliance and Ultimate.

You know, I want to be the valedictorian. I know that's mostly a corrupt goal and all that, but I'd like to do it. So, that's the goal. If I fail that's ok, but I'm going to try. I might as well be Asian.

It's been quite some time since the last post. I gotta start posting more regularly.

So, I had an idea. Another one of those ideas. Gonna throw it here.

Why is it so hard to make the metric system catch on? Well, for one thing, all of our road signs are in English system. The great barrier standing in the way of changing them is cost. It costs alot to remake all the signs and install all the new signs and all that sort of business. Nobody wants to pay more taxes, so what can you do?

You commercialize the road sign department.

You've got your classic "60 kph" sign, but right underneath that sign you've got a second sign, an advertisement for Carls Junior. The fact is, Carlos Pequeños payed some decent money to have that advertisement there. They helped fund the road sign, and they got advertisement. You didn't have to pay as much, plus you got a free burger for the trouble. Life is good as the traffic man.

But really, I think there are more and more departments that used to be entirely government controlled going commercial. Space is no longer something only reachable by governments, private folks are getting there all the time. Burt Rutan and his SpaceShipOne got there back in the day, and now they're about to go with SpaceShipTwo.

We know we can't hand over the road sign business entirely to the private industries, but we can help fund it with advertisements. It'd be just like the internet. How does everyone make money? Advertisements. How does TV and radio remain free? Advertisements. How do we free ourselves of the English system and go Metric? Advertisements.

Amen brotha, amen.