It's about time

No, this isn't a cheap shot about Dave and Tara finally getting married....but that was.

Rather, this afternoon I finished typing up the stuff I know (or should know) from Hartshorne and algebraic geometry. TeX uses a lot of \, $, and {}, so I've gotten really good at those symbols. Basically, I typed up any definitions, results, or problems (I think important) up through section 6 of chapter 2. It started as a fun little project to help me review the material before I really just try to memorize it, but it turned into a much bigger project than I had planned, really to the point where I question if it was really worth it or not. But, that being said, it's done at this point, so I printed up what I have done....all 15 pages of it. That's right, 15 pages of 10 point font of mathematics. That's a lot of writing, and it's a lot to have to know...plus, for kicks, it's only about half of what I need to know in the *major* area of my TIER III. Yeah for orals!

Stroking my ego

I had a wonderful weekend. Friday night there was Fountain Square, and pretty much everyone (who isn't in Florida) came, including Addy and a nice group from the Ferguson's home church. I mention the latter group because on Saturday, I was invited to join them at a wedding. I kind of think I was being used (for my dancing), but who am I to complain? When a bunch of g.i.r.l.s at FST start fighting over you, trying to claim some dance time with you at the wedding the next night, it's a nice feeling. Anyway, after the wedding, a big group of us crashed at a house in Indy, and being the only guy present, I got a whole bedroom to myself. :) On Sunday I went to the Ferguson's home church, since it's been a really long time. As it turns out, I was encouraged to stay for the youth group afterwards, and then Elyssa and Caity-B coerced (I didn't put up much of a fight) me to stay the night there, so we could do some more dancing in the barn. Again, I don't think it was my company they liked so much as being able to lindy-hop, but either way I had a great time. Plus, E learned how to tandem, and C-B learned how to do a lot more tandem. All in all, a productive night. :) Of course, now that I'm back home, I don't really want to do much math--surprise surprise.
More to the point, it's always a nice feeling to spend time with solid Christian friends again. Until I spend more "out of church" time with people from ECC, I'm not going to get a lot of Christian social contact. Being pampered at Taylor, I've grown to need that deep, real connection you get from Christian brothers and sisters, and you just don't get that from non-believers. They don't know that there's a deeper level that a friendship can reach, which is sad. Hopefully my non-believing friends will see some of that in me, and it will peak their interest. And hopefully I will begin to spend more time with my Christian friends in Bloomington, so that deeper connection can be developed between us.

Spiritual patience

Am I too emotional? I know some friends from Taylor would probably laugh out loud at that, but am I too emotional when it comes to my relationship with God? At Connexion tonight we talked about trust in God, or faith in God, or some other synonym that means almost the same thing (from the department of redundancy department) . About trusting God, and knowing He is there, even when your prayers aren't answered how you want them to be. I was reminded of the guy in the OT (David? Daniel? somebody whose name doesn't start with D?) who prayed for over a year for something before the angel (Michael?) was able to "get free" and respond/answer him. Would I do that? It seems all too often that if I don't seem to be hearing God on a certain day(s), or don't get the warm fuzzy "God likes me" feeling, or the "I'm so overwhelmed with His Spirit I can't stop shaking" feeling, that I start to wonder if I'm doing something wrong. Why isn't God spouting out essays to me every time we get together? I get frustrated with myself, and tend to pull away from Him. Do I have the patience to wait for His answer? Do I have the faith/trust/confidence to put all my eggs in His basket when I don't feel/see/hear Him directly? I've complained before about knowing in my head that God is with me, and that God is taking care of me, and that God is .... , but don't always "feel" it in my insides, in my inner depths. Maybe that's the wrong way to look at it, at times. Maybe knowing in my head is a sufficient starting point, so to speak, and I should go from there, trusting in that knowledge.
In church on Sunday, Bob talked about the church in Sardis (Rev. 3), and checking how you really are, and not how you appear. It's gone well with my TIER III's coming up. Oral exams are not something you can fake your way through. Even written exams, sometimes you can, since they can be somewaht anonymous and impersonal...but my orals, that for sure won't be the case. You're up there, by yourself, and either you know the information or you don't. In the same way, you can't fake your way through God. Sure, you might be able to fool some people. But if I ever want to find a wife, or when I finally meet my judgement, it's going to be raw, , exposed me. That will be who I am. So, as I'm assessing myself and finding out who I actually think I am, where do I factor in my thoughts and feelings?
When push comes to shove, I think a lot comes down to how I act. Even when I don't "feel" like it, do I still pray? When it "feels" like no one is with me, or talking back? I want to get to the point where I can't shut God up, but is part of that process just listening, and not always hearing? Obedience is the first step, even if your heart isn't always into it. I don't know...in the words of the bum, I'm...trailing...off...

Dad was here

So, my dad was here (I hope that was already obvious) to cash in his birthday gift and get in some golf with me. It's always fun to play with my dad, especially when no one is in front of us on a course--we can just go. More to the point, it's fun when I shoot 76s on courses like the IU course. It's really really long, and I don't hit the ball that far. But, today I played a very smart, straight-forward game, and it really paid off. I drove the ball well (a must on a long course) and overcame some mediocre putting to finish with 7 bogeys and 2 birdies. The 2 birdies themselves are a pretty big accomplish. :)
The other highlight was that dad had talked to Matt Miller's parents about the reception in general, and Caitlin and my dance in particular. Apparently, by the end of the song, everyone in the place had stopped what they were doing and were watching us bust a move. They were impressed. :) So yeah, swing dancing is kewl. Not as kewl as spending time with my dad, but kewl nonetheless.

Teaching is cool

What is it about teaching someone that's such a high? I went to Lindy on the Canal last night in Indy, even though I was sick a couple nights ago and was feeling a little weak. For most of the night, I was feeling a little light-headed and tired. The dancing was alright, but I just really wasn't up to too much activity. Anyway, after about 9 p.m., Elyssa and crew show up, and she wants to learn to dance. She understands some of the basics, but didn't really know some of the finer technique type of stuff. Anyway, an hour later, I've been dancing for the past hour, and I'm feeling a lot better. Elyssa has improved immensely, and I've almost forgot that I'm supposed to be feeling less-than-perfect. I started out tentatively teaching some basic stuff, then started getting fired up about her leraning (and her desire to learn). Next thing you know, I'm going nuts. I guess it makes sense I was an education major--when someone actually wants to learn, I get stoked. :)

A few interesting stats

So, the Cubs starter tonight managed to throw 99 pitches. Not that spectacular. He threw more groundballs than the Cubs scored runs. Not that spectacular. Oh wait, the started pitched all 9 innings--99 pitches is really good. Oh wait, the Cubs scored 14 runs, so more groundballs than runs is really good. Oh yeah, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley, and he didn't allow a runner past second base all game. And, just for kicks, he went 2-4 with a run. This follows a 7-inning, 0-run outing at Wrigley with the wind blowing out last weekend in which he had the game-winning RBI.
So, Sergio Mitre has had a nice little run of outings. By the way, did I mention that he's the Cubs #7 starter? That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the Cubs started the season with 5 starters, moved one of them to closer and added a new starter to the rotation. Only after Wood got hurt later on did they call up Mitre. So, assuming Wood and Prior come back from the DL healthy soon, how can you send Mitre back to the minors?

Wedding fun

Got to spend the weekend in Alexandria/Muncie/Anderson for the wedding of Matt (neighbor from the lake) and Missy. It's kind of weird being a groomsman in a wedding with a guy you didn't go to high school or college with--you know none of the other groomsmen (my brother couldn't make it because Glenn made it to baseball semi-state....and then lost). Also, you know very few of the guests. The bridesmaid I walked down the aisle with was both cute and single, but since she spent most (translate: attached at the hip) of the time with another bridesmaid, and since it's completely against my personality, didn't chat a whole lot. The times we did talk were fun, though. :) I know, I'm pathetic...
The wedding was really nice, though, and the reception was pretty good, too. Why do receptions always play YMCA, Love Shack, and Play That Funky Music? At least they played a swing song or two...Caitlin and I got to show off a little bit. I must say, however, that dancing in dress shoes with actual soles and heels of more than an inch is not very easy, and your feet yell at you afterwards. It's really nice to be a part of a wedding though--to see a friend you care about take this huge step, and to actually get to be an active part of it. Especially when I'm older...it's almost as if one of my "kids" is stepping out of the nest. :)
The other positive aspect of weddings in Alexandria is that I got to spend a couple nights in Anderson with Dave (thanks for the couch, bum). I must say, I ted the 2-player, mini-Settlers of Catan game we invented, but then Dave taught me Cities and Knights, a new and much more complex variation on Settlers. Given a few games under my belt (for a better understanding of what cards are available, and general strategy ideas as well), I think it could be a really fun game--dare I say far superior to the original. We'll see--it was somewhat overwhelming, but due to some massive card drawing, I almost won--Dave got the perfect roll, saving his butt and winning the game one turn before I would have. *sigh*

I wish I was in shape

So, in case you can't read my title, I wish I was in shape. It's frustrating for me--who considers himself an athlete--to not be able to go 110% at all times when playing a game because I can't physically handle that. I'm used to going all out for the five minutes I play in basketball, then getting subbed for and resting a little, and then after halftime playing another five minutes or so. Playing 20 minutes straight, a 2 minute half, and then another 20 minutes is going to be tough regardless, but doing that when you are completely out of shape is pretty rough. I miss being able to run for a mile before I even broke a sweat, and not really starting to feel tired until I've started mile 5. I may never reach that point again, but it would be nice to be in better shape. One of the ways I've been trying to gain weight (moderately succesful, actually--I'm up to about 141) is by reducing the number of calories I burn. But, I'm getting fed up with that option. So, the new, tentative plan will involve lifting a lot more, doing some (but maybe not a lot) of cardiovascular type of stuff, and trying to increase my food intake even more. Why do getting in shape and gaining weight work against each other? Maybe I should ask, why am I so backwards? :)
On a positive note, our basketball team only lost by 15 tonight (roughly 67-52), which is a moral victory, in some sense. Plus, I scored probably close to 25 points, so that was nice to have that big a role. My defense suffered a little, and I made some questionable decisions at times, but some was just because I was tired, and when I'm tired, I try to take shortcuts. Unfortunately, some of those come on defense, especially when I'm needed to score a lot of points. I hate not going all out on defense, actually--I've always enjoyed playing good defense, whether in basketball, ultimate, or cross country. Ok, maybe not CC, but you get the idea. There's something....elegant...about being a blue-collar kind of athlete, doing the dirty work, shutting down an opponent, that I really like. Almost self-sacrificial. The way sports are meant to be played...

Farmer Ted returns

http://www.maa.org/pubs/mathmag.html

June 2005

I'm getting famous...ish.

Track and baseball

Spent Friday and Saturday night on my feet, and they didn't like it. Plus, I was the center of controversy on Friday night, as there was a big collision (runners falling, jumping over other runners, etc.) right in front of me. Luckily, some other umpires saw the incident--there were a lot of teams involved, and it was tough to remember everyone. Friday's meet in general was a mess, but the meet my dad was referee for (by process of elimination--Saturday) was as uneventful as realistically possible, whcih is nice. Plus, it's always good to see my parents. Today, I played some basketball and will do some swing dancing, so I may have to work on getting a backrub tonight--there's a in swing club who's willing to give me them. That's definitely something I'm going to have to work to not take advantage of...

At the risk of completely jinxing everything--how 'bout them Cubbies?!?! Hottest team in baseball--take 6 of 7 against two of the best teams in the West. Of course, we now play 3 games against the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, and the White Sox over the next two weeks. Let's here it for unbalanced schedules...

Connexion and basketball

Had our second game of intramural basketball this past Wednesday, and two things appear to be constant. First, Shawn shoots the ball really well from behind the arc. Second, we lose to the mercy rule. I really enjoy shooting the ball well, because it hasn't always happened, but it's demoralizing when you lose by so much.

Anyway, Connexion was interesting last night. In our group, we had a discussion about fruits, as in Galations 5 type of stuff. The interesting thing was how a member of our group debated our interpretation of John 15:5 on the basis that ungodly people have "fruits" like money and position. I tried to counter with something to the effect of "money is meaningless" (not the exact words, but that was the general idea). Unfortunately, the idea I was going for completely eluded him, as his response was something to the effect of "but you can't do things like go to movies without it." It'll be an interesting summer, I think, debating/conversing with someone with such completely different views on spiritual things...

This weekend will be full of the IHSAA State track meet help here in Bloomington, which means very little math will get done. :( I still have a few hours left today...