Evan Agee: Live from Richmond Indiana

Kristen and I had another fun weekend this last week. Friday night we spent the evening at Kristen’s grandparent’s house putting their new computer together. They got a Dell and a 17" Flat Panel monitor. It is a very nice computer and should serve them very well.

Saturday was one of the best days that I’ve had in a long time. It started off with Kristen and I and a friend going out to lunch at Pizza King. After that we rounded up Jamie and we all headed to Liberty Indiana to Wally World. There we played games, went to the driving range and rode go-karts. My favorite part was the driving range. I’ve been getting more and more interested in learning how to golf over the last year or so. I found that I actually did pretty well considering that I’ve only played a total of around 18 holdes of golf in my entire life despite having worked at a gold course after high school.

Once we were finished there we decided to drive up to the Fairfield ramp on Brookville Lake. There we sat near the water and enjoyed the scenery. I wanted so badly to jump into the water as it was pretty hot outside, but I didn’t have anything to swim in and the water didn’t smell too good either. We left there and headed towards Richmond.

We had been planning all day to go see the new Star Wars movie, so we drove to the theater and got our tickets. We still had around 2 hours before the movie started and since we had a great parking spot right in front of the theater we decided to walk down the plaza and get something to eat at Applebee’s. Once we got there we found out that it was happy hour and one of the benefits of happy hour was half-priced appetizers. So, to save a few dollars on our bill we ordered appetizers as our meal. Jamie and I both got the nachos and they were huge.

Once we were finished eating we walked to another section of the plaza an looking around in a couple of stores. Kristen and Tara went into Trinity book store and Jamie and I went into Dunham’s Sports. There we browsed around at all of the various pieces of sporting equipment. I was particularly interested in what looked like a skateboard but had about 10 wheels in the front and back. I think it was supposed to be like a surf board for land. After that we browsed around the golf clubs and the weight lifting equipment. After that we were off to the movie.

I was very impressed by Star Wars Episode III. The movie tied up the story that has spanned six movies into a nice package that left me with more respect for the franchise overall. I wanted to go home and watch the other five so I could better appreciate the things I found out in Episode III.

Sunday another pretty fun day, after church we went to lunch at Mancino’s Pizza. Once we were finished with lunch I met Jamie at the gym were we lifted for an hour or so. I had some homework that was due on Monday so after lifting I went home and finished it up. Then, two hours later, I was free and went to a friends house to play the Tiger Woods golf game. We finished up another Sunday night hanging out with friends.

Once we got home and Kristen went to bed I spent a while watching a show on Food TV about barbecuing in the south and then watched another movie, Ladder 49. I liked Ladder 49, but it wasn’t a wonderful movie by any standard. What I did take away from it was a greater respect and admiration for firefighters, which I believe is what the filmmakers wanted me to gain from the movie.

Last night was the first meeting of the math class that I’m taking this semester. It was very surreal as I drove up through the long drive that leads to the building where my class was. I had driven up that road hundereds of times in the past, but this was the first time I had been on that road since I graduated in 2002. As I was walking from my car to the building I think I actually said outloud "this is weird". I wasn’t expecting to ever be back to this school again, let alone the same building most of my classes were in my last semester of college.

I made my way up the stairs inside of the building. The same stairs that I vividly remember going up the last time I went to my Physics class. I remember thinking to myself then that this would be the last time I would go up those stairs.

I found my room and I was there pretty early so I started looking through the book for the class. Most of the stuff in the book is things that I’ve never done before and I couldn’t help but be a little nervous thinking about when the time would come that I would have to learn these new things. Then everyone started arriving.

The class consists mostly of IU Bloomington students trying to get a class out of the way at an easier campus. I hate to tell them, but it’s probably going to be harder. Much harder. The instructor seems like a great guy and very knowledgable. I’m trying to soak up everything he says in hopes that I’ll truly understand the things we’re doing. In the past I’ve had the habit of learning enough in a math class to barely get by but not retaining much of anything. This time I’m going to be more conscious of trying to learn.

Overall I’m going to try and be a great student this time around. I’m not in school again to try and find a different job or change careers like I was before. I’ve already got a great job, and I can’t imagine finding anything that I would like better. I’m in this for me. Period.

We’ve been doing very well in the weekend fun department for the last month or so. Last weekend I wrote about my mushroom hunting adventures and the tick infestation. This weekend was also fun and even better than last weekend in that we didn’t have any ticks crawling on us.

Friday night was pretty out of the ordinary, we went to Jamie’s graduation ceremony for the IU East/Purdue class of 2005. He was the class representative so he got to sit in the front with all of the many representatives from IU and Purdue. That event lasted no less than 2 hours and by the time it was over, at 8:00 we were all very hungry so we went to Golden Corral. We had a great time talking and visiting with Kristen’s grandparents and parents. Once that was over we went home and Kristen went to bed. I stayed up and watched I, Robot and played pool on the computer until around 3:00am. I don’t get to stay up late very often, so I took advantage of the opportunity.

The next day we went over to Kristen’s grandparents to help them buy a new computer online. We were over there most of the afternoon on Dell.com trying to find a computer that would meet their needs while also improving their computer experience overall. Once that was over we went with a friend to the movies to see National Treasure, which is a movie that Kristen thought that I would like. She was right, it had a good mix of interesting history and the Ocean’s 11 style of "smart" robbery. It was pretty unique overall and very entertaining. Once that was over it was time to go home and go to bed.

Sunday was pretty uneventful. I spent most of the day at a friend’s house playing golf on the XBox and Kristen spent most of the day at the house waiting for a phone call that never came. That evening we hung out with some friends from church and had a great time before coming home and going to bed.

Things are getting ready to change for the summer. After three years out of college I’m back in, and some of my other activities are going to have to be put on hold in order to make time for classes and homework. One of the most notable things that I’m going to have to do without for at least next semester is Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), which is by far the great opportunity cost of this round of schooling. That program has been the source of my spiritual growth over the last 3 years and I’ve grown to appreciate it a great deal.

Tonight is my first night of summer classes and I have to say that I’m excited. The class I’m taking is M118, which is a Finite Mathematics class. Kristen assures me that it will be difficult and that I’ll need to learn to give up some of my free time in order to get my homework finished. If there’s one thing that I grip tightly it’s my free time. However, I understand every investment requires a sacrifice.

One other change that the summer has brought about is a gym membership. After being without a membership for the last year I’m finally able to get one again and this time through the gym that I prefer. I’m really looking forward to getting rid of some weight again and doing some strength training. Hopefully I’ll be able to go in today to get the membership and then Jamie and I can start lifting Monday through Friday. I can’t wait!

Yesterday turned out to be a great day. When I got home from work I decided to mow the grass since it was getting a little long. It was nice to be outside with the soft breeze and the smell of fresh cut grass. I actually enjoyed it. There’s something about getting outside and doing work that really makes a person feel like they’re getting something accomplished. I must have been in the mood to work because I did the dishes and gathered up the recycling once I was finished with the grass.

Being in the mood to work outside I decided to play my John Deer American Farmer game on the computer for most of the night. It’s a very good game and I’m really impressed with the level of detail. Not only can you do the obvious things like plant crops and keep farm animals, but you can also track the market for various types of crops allowing you to sell the grain in your bins at just the right moment. The game actually gives you the feeling that you’ve been out in the fields working.

This morning Kristen told me that she was going to take my car to work. Her car has been having some trouble and since the part hasn’t arrived yet so it can be fixed she wasn’t comfortable driving it all of the way to Connersville. I drove her 2004 Honda Civic to work this morning and I was barely able to get into the door. It felt much like a clown car, though I’ve never experienced a real clown car first hand.