Justin Fletcher

Monday, October 03, 2005

Mayhem, Yes, Mayhem

I went home this weekend. The end of that story.  Not that I don’t enjoy being home, going to a new house, and all that stuff, I do.  Sunday night was quite possible the greatest night I’ve had since coming to school here.

We decided, after deciding there was just TOO much Comm II to study, that a Piggly Wiggly run was in order.  While there, we had an incredible idea.  This idea was to put a friend in the trunk, bind him with duct tape and then allow him to pop up at random intersections on campus and watch people’s reactions as my other four friends chased him down and threw him back in the trunk.  After we exhausted all the intersections, and tackled him, making him bleed, on the intramural field, we had to have a new plan.

That’s when we go to the library.  This was the best part of the evening, no I’m not telling the truth, but we shall carry on.  Daniel, the guy we’re chasing, gets a head start.  He takes off running through the first floor like someone is seriously chasing him.  We caught on rather quickly to the seriousness of the chase.  The five of us dart toward the door and ask which direction he went.  Flustered by the situation, she can only point toward the first floor.  This type of pursuit continues in random parts of the library for the next 30 minutes.  That’s when we all realize that none of us are in any kind of shape to be running up and down stairs, even if some of us were wielding plastic pirate swords. That’s enough of this for now, the next segment deserves its own entry. Until then friends…

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Countdown until we leave for New Orleans!

My New Family

I’ve been promising a pictuer of my new adopted family and finally…here they are!

Frank and Amanda Gant, with their two kids Preston and Layton! Whoohoo for them.

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

The Rest of the Story

Picking up where we left off…We decided that bombing random people with water balloons would be great fun.  Just to make sure people understood we weren’t kidding, we doused them with silly string.  You think people would catch on to what was happening, but not all college kids are geniuses.  We would call people and ask them to come outside and they would, only to learn what the rest of the people we called learned- it was a bad idea.  We had such a good time, the unanimous decision was to room together.

That’s right, I have two new roommates. Daniel Roberts and Alec Robison switched with Richard and Kevin, giving both sides what they want.  Richard and Kevin can go to bed in peace and I can stay up as late as I feel necessary and be in my room doing it.  Here’s a few pictures of the new room.

My buddy Alec

Daniel hooking up the surround sound

A few different views of our room

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Thursday, October 06, 2005

It Really IS Cold

Last night I went with Nicole Lair to IHOP to drink some coffee.  Well, I drank coffee, she had water.  She doesn’t need coffee for energy or excitement in her life.  I write this to you while I listen to OC radio.  The best music is on this station and I just discovered today.  I discovered other things recently that are somewhat hilarious. Is that possible? Who knows?

Anyway, I’ve found that in college, you both learn and lose common sense.  First and most importantly, as a freshman you don’t even consider the fact that your body needs rest.  It only makes sense that bodies need to be rested to function properly, but nonetheless, it doesn’t happen.  However, there is hope because we do figure some things out.  At home, when you shower, you just squirt however much shampoo in your hand and then wash.  If you have conditioner and liquid soap, its much of the same.  At college- not a chance! I now know precisely how much I need to get clean, smell “rain fresh,” and have petable hair.  When you have to pay for that stuff, you’re not near as generous with it, and the same goes with laundry detergent.  I thought I might be the only one, but when I asked my roommate he said “Why do you think I have short hair?”  I haven’t broke down to that point yet, but that is a completely different post.  JV basketball is calling my name, and it is cold outside.  Oklahoma…grrr!

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Good Times

I know, I’m terrible at this.  Anyway, this weekend was a good weekend.  First, we had open house on Friday night.  i went to Kris and Lindsay’s room and hung out there most of the time. Then, I remembered that I forgot my backpack in Jenna’s car, and so I had to get ahold of her to let her know I needed my backpack.  I left it in there because I saw her for the first time is almost two weeks, so I went with her to Wal-Mart, and I didn’t feel like being accused of stealing something.  She thought I left it in there on purpose, and I can’t lie, I wish I was that smart.  When she brought it to me, she asked me what I was doing and I told her nothing.  So we decided that something should be done.  After some discussion and a few back outs, we were headed to Denny’s.

It is always interesting to talk to people you don’t see everyday.  Tyler came too, and he’s cool.  He played JV basketball last year so we had a good time talking about the hilarity that is JV basketball.  Jenna is fun to talk to, except when I make her mad.  We have the problem of sarcasm.  Both of us are incredibly sarcastic, making it hard for both of us to decipher what’s serious and what’s not.  It makes for funny conversations, but sometimes feelings get hurt, and it’s Jenna and who would WANT to her feelings.  Well, Bible class is calling so I must be off.

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Special Day

Recently, I was lucky enough to help out at Quail Springs church of Christ when they have t-ball for children with special needs.  It was a requirement for Freshman Seminar class, and of course I was a little apprehensive because I wasn’t sure what I was getting into.  Once we got there and were assigned a kid, it was beautiful.  It was an absolutely beautiful experience.  I was paired with a little girl who didn’t show up, and so I roamed about for a while.  Then I started throwing an extra ball to Brooks.  Now Brooks is my friend.  We had a great time for about thirty minutes throwing the ball back and forth, saying “okay” over and over, and most importantly, making him laugh.  It was such a good experience for me because at times we take life for granted, and allow ourselves to have bad days.  Those kids there were just happy to be there and to be playing.  They didn’t care about what the score was or how many times everyone got to bad, it was just for fun.  That’s what we did, was have fun.

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Pictures!

Tonight was OC Idol, and I’ve been chastised about pictures. I need pictures, more pictures.  I’m not going to mention any names for fear that my legions will dominate your life, but you know who you are.  OC Idol is the same as American Idol, but at OC obviously.  The prize is a spot in Spring Sing.  Tonight the winner was a FRESHMAN from Jones, OKLAHOMA…Mr. Caleb Foster is OC Idol 2005.  Here’s a picture of him and other people enjoying the evening.

Here he is!

Rachel Burgess and Chelsi LeCrone= Gorgeous girls!

Fellow blogger Luke being a wee bit shy.

Perspective and should be student Laura and GACE (Katy Watson)!

Mr. Vice President Matt Johns (clap, clap, clap).

Kyle Taylor’s had too much…ROOT beer to drink, he’s drunk off life.

Tiffany, Kerri, and Betsy- What a group of beauts.

And an action shot of the greatest dorm on campus (605 Reba Davisson).

Enough for now. Pictures from Houston coming…when I get back.

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Monday, October 24, 2005

Habits

I realize now more fully than ever before that humans are indeed creatures of habit.  I was in the habit of telling the rest of the world was was happening in my life for about 7 weeks.  Then I decided that going to Houston for Fall Break would be great fun, but it did not allow blogging time.  That is why I have been away for far too long. With that said, wipe away the tears, touch up the mascara, and put a smile on because I’m back. WITH PICTURES.

The trip to the Texas Gulf Coast was one that truly opened my eyes.  The trip was entirely free.  The Talon reported that over $25,000 was donated for our group.  That included travel to Houston and back, travel to Port Arthur and back to Houston daily, four days of meals, and a place to sleep.  All said, there were over 110 people who made the voyage to the coast.  The devastation was almost indescribable.  I can’t fully explain how much work needs to be done to restore any sense of a normal life in that region.  A month following the storm people were still with out electricy and other amenities we take completely for granted.

The people were the best part.  I met several people, and got to knew a few others quite well.  It was great to see how people who scarcely knew each other were more than willing to help someone pick up monstorous logs when measly twigs were waiting.  More impressive was how genuinely hospitable the people of that area were.  They offered people anything they had to make us more comfortable. In all, it was a terrific experience and I have a few pictures I’ll be posting over the next few days.

Courtney Jensen and Mr. Blogger himself

My buddy Josh Hall acting real grown up

Catching a nap with Reid Agan

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Domination

Today, the plan was to play our first JV game, and dominate the Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene.  My backup plan was to dominate the Geography test that I had at 9:30.  Are my priorities in the right place in that situation, well, maybe not, but that was the plan.  Somehow, my plans never go as expected.  I studied with Brian for an hour or so and then we had a long discussion about life.  Having friends to discuss life with is vastly underrated.

This discussion lasted for several house, which wasn’t conducive to dominating much of anything.  I did manage to wake up and was rewarded with a 96.  That makes my last four test scores 94, 91, 100, 96. I’m not one to pop the collar, but I thought my mommy should know.  Then I was off to Bethany for our basketball game. We drove to Bethany, sat in the parking lot for ten minutes, and drove back.  SNU forgot to acquire referees, somewhat critical aspects of a basketball game.  Now I have to practice at 6:30 tonight just when I thought I had a free night coming. So in the end, the aspect of life I wanted to dominate didn’t happen, but the more pertinent one in the grand scheme of things was fully dominated!  That’s life, and it is good because God loves me.  That’s a good thing to say, and so is “have pictures, will post.”  More Houston pictures-

Courtney, Mike, Beth and Kelsey doing a bunch of nothing.

Jordan and Josh acting cool, or something like that.

Justin shows Kerri how BEAUTIFUL Gulf Coast shells are.

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Homecoming

Next week is homecoming.  My first OC experience should be an interesting one that is abnormally busy.  A funny story presented itself last night.  I woke up after a small nap at about 11:45 and decided to check my email.  SGA had sent an e-mail about candidates, and I’m a finalist.  That was definitely news to me.  I didn’t even know I was running, but not only am I running, I’m in the finals.  So, thank you to whoever nominated me, and good luck to Reid.

The homecoming committee has done a terrific job of providing events every night of the week leading up to the big game on Saturday.  The unfortunate things is I have four games next week, which means I won’t be able to participate in many of them.  One thing I surely will take part in is the Halloween party.  The Freshmen SGA officers are putting it on and that’s me so I will be there.  Good times will be had by all!  Thursday night we are in charge of keeping watch of the bon fire to make sure it doesn’t catch fire in the night.  If anyone wants to join, you are more than welcome.  Tonight is Wednesday and that means Bible Class with the new Campus minister, Jeff McMillon at Memorial Road.  If you’ve never heard Jeff speak, come tonight, and I’ll save you a seat.  Here are a few more Houston pictures.

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Thursday, October 27, 2005

__________ (Insert Title Here)

I don’t really have a title for the entry, have some fun with it and maybe leave me a comment on what it should be.  That could be a new game to play. I leave the title blank and people leave me COMMENTS to tell me what it should be.  Then we’ll have a winner everyday and will have their name posted. I’ll do anything for comments.  Last night, I went to the Olive Garden for the first time since I’ve been here. Good food.  I know that’s not a complete sentence, but that is all that needs to be said.  The Rectors were very, very kind in buying Brian’s and my dinner.  After that we were off to study Africa.  I can tell you every country and capital in Africa for today.  That may change after this week, so if you want to know- LEAVE A COMMENT! 

Homecoming, I am the Freshmen Representative.  I’m super proud to represent our class during Homecoming, and I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me.  I won’t lie though, I have a mixed bag of feelings.  On one hand, I’m glad that people voted for me and made me feel loved.  On the other,  I was planning on being Super Fan at the first game, but Danna deserves me to look as nice as possible, so I won’t be able to paint my face or body.  Oh well, they have about 20 more home games that I can go bananas at.  If you didn’t know, the men’s and women’s team are both picked to win the Sooner Athletic Conference in basketball this year.  Hopefully, I can contribute to rocking the new-look Nest.  The gym has a new logo on the west wall, as well as two “Eagle Vision” screens.  Needless to say, I’m pumped.  Prospective students, come check out OC on a game night, you won’t regret it.  Fine Arts is calling, so I must be off.  Do take care.

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Friday, October 28, 2005

In Due Time

I know, I know, what happened to the title game that had become wildly popular overnight?  It will return, but some people don’t catch hints so they must be warned.  There were a few people who deceived me tonight and, for the their deception, justice must be served.  You see, I had just finished worshipping God at Refuge, and was very gullible, but armed with dorm room necessities.

A certain blogger who will remain nameless and his/her friend caught my attention and noticed my right hand full of cookies and left full of Capri Sun left over from Refuge.  I tried evade the two heathens, alas, it was not meant to be.  First, the two acted as if they were going to play friendly, visualize land pirates.  They were dressed for running in Antarctica, and pretended to be on my side.  I dropped my goods to give these Johnny Deppish monsters a hug, and at that exact moment, they grabbed the Capri Sun.  I had ten of these healthy liquid delights.  I NEEDED them.  It wasn’t something I took just for fun, we are out of pop in 605, and that’s a bad, bad sign.  The two awful beasts took all ten, and in the process commandeered my cookies without my knowledge.  As I was leaving, I realized this fact, and demanded them back.  I recovered four pumpkin shaped sugar cookies, but none of which had stems! 

In summary, I chased the evil pirates all over campus, only to retrieve four measly cookies, and revenge will be exacted.  This post is dedicated to you, because you life will never be the same again since you decided to entangle yourself in a situation you cannot win.  By the way, 33 of 33 on the Africa Map Test.  Please, please, hold the applause.  The weekend is almost here.  More on that later, and perspective students, COME VISIT! Just beware of my wrath, grrr!

Don’t forget to smile or pray

Monday, October 31, 2005

Good Weekend

You know it is a good weekend when there isn’t time to write about until Monday.  Friday, while others were watching the free Horror movie between Warlick and Fails Halls, I was in Shawnee playing our first JV basketball game.  We won by a single point when the referee deemed OBU’s last second shot that went in wasn’t shot in time.  It was a terrific game with us coming from behind and scoring almost 50 points in the second half.  It’s always fun to beat a rival, and OBU is our big, big rival.  By the time I returned home it was Saturday.

I stayed the night at Brian’s apartment, and we acted real mature by playing Playstation until 4:30.  Needless to say, I was a bit fatigued which caused me to sleep until 4 Saturday afternoon.  Don’t be deceived, I woke up to watch some of the OU game, but when they had the game in hand, I had nothing to cheer for, so I went back to sleep.  After I woke up, I had to get ready for the Lambda hayride.  Lambda is a social service club for girls on campus, and they have a hayride every year.  Pretty girls, smores, and the woods are pretty hard to beat, especially if you are dressed as a cowboy/girl.  I went with Karis Hawley, she’s going to be famous one of these days because she’s an incredible painter.  I have a few pictures to share-

Me and my soon to be famous date

Me and my good friend Anna

Don’t forget to smile or pray