Catching Up To Where We Are

I have not had extended internet access since Sunday, so I am going to catch the few people who read this blog up on what has happened this week.

MONDAY: NOVEMBER 26, 2007
Mondays at 5:30, we have Summit Games Practice. Some people decided to eat Tacos, literally, five minutes before we started running, so they spent half the night in the bathroom. The girls didn't practice a whole lot. Seeing as there were only five or six of them anyway and two of them spent half the night ready to throw up, they didn't get a whole lot done. Even if they had, I wouldn't be reporting it because I wasn't really watching what they were doing. I can, however, tell you how the guys did.
We started out with a game that improves agility, speed, and endurance. It would have gone well except for people started walking instead of running.
Then we started playing balloon relay. Brian (best friend for those who don't remember) and I were wondering who was faster at the beginning so we tested it. Brian had told me Shaney thought that he was much faster than me. We lined up on the line and Everett judged. He said that we were the same and that there was no difference. We had already determined that I am faster off the back line so I am going to end up being 1st in balloon relay and Brian is going to be 5th.
We moved on to basketball relay and I threw a lot of passes. I don't even remember what happened next (If anything.)
The night ended.

THURSDAY: NOVEMBER 29, 2007
I got there and there was barely anyone there. When people started showing up, we worked on handoffs. After that, we did warmups and stretches. We moved on to tug.
We did two on two on two and I got paired with a guy who had never tugged and frequently let go of the rope. So I was basically pulling by myself. I surprised myself and did really well. I came with in about three inches of getting my beanbag. When I reached back, we lost it and got pulled forward. I planted and we held for about 30 seconds until another team got it. Everyone was shocked because two of the people who are doing tug at Summit got beat by people who aren't going. I didn't believe it and I measured it. Sure enough. Their beanbag was two feet closer than ours. When tugging, the back person is usually right on the white circle line. From that spot, the bean bag is ten feet back. So ours being 10 feet and the other team being 8 feet is a BIG difference. There beanbag was only 4/5 of the way to where it was supposed to be. But no matter, I shocked myself when I found out I could be really good at tug when I wanted to be.
We played some basketball relay and my arms hurt really badly from tug so I was in center one round, the Brian, then we just kept passing it off and everyone took a turn or two in the center. We worked on this and my bounce passes weren't very good.
We played bean bag bonanza after this. I had a pretty good idea and it worked. It apparently looked pretty amazing. The second time I tried it, I tripped and it didn't work like it did the first time. But I'm going to keep practicing and work on it for locals and if it works well there, I am going to do it at Summit.
That is really all I have to report as far as practices.

My co-captain and I got in a fight about her being biased and how I apparently do everything Brian tells me to do. I don't do what Brian tells me to do but, because we are best friends, we almost always have the same ideas and opinions. That being said, I take into account what he thinks and he is usually happy with what I decide to do. So ya, Arielle (co-captain) and I aren't too happy with each other at this point.

National Fatness Day

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I have come to a harsh conclusion

I am not doing so hot as a leader. I realized that last night. I need to work on not letting my personal feelings influence the way I handle the responsibilities I have been given. I also want to work on not being a hypocrite like other people.

Matthew 7:2
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Last night, someone said something to me about how I was acting. I knew that what they were saying wasn't true, and then I started thinking about that person and how they were throwing rocks in a glass house. I ended up thinking "You're one to talk, look at what you have done thus far." This led me to remember this verse and it got me thinking. As a leader, part of my job is to tell people if they are not doing something correctly. According to this verse, the only time I should do this is after I am sure I am not doing the thing that I am telling someone else to fix. If I am doing what I tell someone else not to do, I am putting ammunition in the empty guns pointed at me.

That is my super serious thought for the day. On to happier news! Last night we had our first "Summit Conditioning" meeting. I had eaten an entire jalapeño pizza two hours before I went because I forgot that we were having it. Needless to say, I was dying on the sprints. I was completely fine with everything else though. The lunges hurt, but the running while pushing a car wasn't too bad. There is always room for improvement though. I watched people practice and thought about which events they would be best in.

For the Fame of His Name

The Goings On of the Above Date

For the last three days, I have had a sore throat, multiple headaches, and a cough as a result of the sore throat. I wasn't planning on going to Games Practice tonight, but my mother came home and got me at 5 so I ended up going. On the way there, I was completely sick. The smell of my sister's barbecue sauce for her Wendy's french fries made me want to hurl. The pain reliever hadn't kicked in yet, so I my head was pounding. I had green tea for my throat, but it was hot so I couldn't drink it. By the time I got to AWANA, the pain reliever was working, my green tea was cooled down a little so I was perfectly fine 5 minutes after I arrived at Grace Covenant (amazing as it is).

All we worked on was basketball relay, which was sorely needed. I'm games captain so I pick who does what event. Somehow, I ended up in the middle for basketball relay? Not one time did I say that I was going to be in the center. I'm not sure how I ended up there, but apparently it was understood. Is it because people think I am that good at basketball relay, or because people think I am unfair, arrogant, and want to do everything myself? I don't know, nor do I care. Doesn't matter in this story. What matters is the fact that I threw over 200 passes in an hour, and that I am getting better.

We had a summit meeting tonight at Joe's Crab Shack (nay!) It was sort of a waste because we didn't do anything. But, apparently, I am supposed to be making summit games shirts. "uuummmmmmmm.... okay?"

Also, I was completely caught off guard tonight. I said something about someone breaking the rules during games and the person came over and SLAPPED me across the face! I got up and rushed said person, but I backed off. I am still livid, but I am sure that it will wear off. I am going to let God deal with it. And when he does, I am going to laugh my butt off twice over.

Games Practice 4

Today, we didn't practice any AWANA games during practice. Instead, Everett Timmons ran us through every exercise of which he thought. Lunges, shuffles, crunches, push ups, and everything else under the sun. This happened 4 1/2 hours ago and I am still sore. I took account of those who were not there without a reason. (For the record, if anyone was there who was wondering why Shaney, Arielle, and Brian weren't there: Shaney was flying to a funeral in California, Arielle had soccer practice and then drove all the way from San Marcos, and Brian was at a debate meeting which he was obligated to go to because he missed the last two meetings due to coming to AWANA.) If anyone else had a good reason NOT to be there, I suggest you tell me because it might end up costing you.

It was good though. I saw a lot of people just get up and quit. I was also very impressed with one girl (unfortunately, I don't know her name to give her full credit). She put a lot of effort into everything and she isn't even going to Summit. Too bad.

This was a much needed reality check for everyone, including myself. We have a long way to go before we are getting anywhere at Summit.

I am still upset with the hand that I have been dealt for the third straight year, but I am coming to grips with the fact that this is what I have and I need to make the best of it. I am also upset that I have to rework the entire strategy in the matter of a few weeks. I had worked on the old one for months.

And now I am upset with several leaders and their judgments of what I have to say (see below post), but they are entitled to their opinions.

That's all I have to say for for now.

Hopes Through a Paper Shredder

My mind is troubled and I don't even know where to begin.
I had high hopes for this year. I thought that we might actually have a chance to win the whole thing in games. All of this has changed since the knowledge that five people who I had been planning on for my "good" games team came to my attention. Not to mention that unless a miracle happens, I am not going to be picking anything more than who runs what events. At the beginning of the year, Brian and I had been trying to decided between the best of the best for out good games team. Now, we don't even get to pick the best of the worst. I am going to be stuck with the people I was not even going to consider putting on the games team.

I have been completely blown over two years in a row. First, we had enough people for two games team but they split up the talent and neither team got past the second round (not to mention, the other team was carried by two people and people who did not deserve to win ended up getting first place in locals.) Second year, we didn't have enough people for two teams and because it was based on seniority, my best friend didn't get to go, despite the fact that he was probably the fourth best athlete on the team. I am not at all fired up about being screwed all over again.

I am making some completely radical decisions at the moment (I don't mean radical in the sense that they are amazing, I mean to say that they are aggressive.) Quite frankly, I hate to go through with some of them, but at this point, it is nothing but eliminating the worst possible outcome and taking the one that is merely bad.

God, you never seem to listen to a word I have to say. Maybe it is because I have no faith, but put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel about asking the supreme ruler of the universe to orchestrate events so that you can have what you have wanted for the last three years? Wouldn't you feel small, not to mention arrogant, prideful, and selfish?

NOTE: I know that I am extremely frank in this post. I know that some people, if they read this, will get offended, but I think that everyone should know exactly where I stand and why I am where I am. If you are offended, you can quit reading.