week one.

Thank God for the start of college football last night with South Carolina defeating NC State 34-0 in what was a downright ugly game. But, hey, college football is back, and tomorrow many teams open up their schedules. The wait for a shot at redemption is finally over for us fans in the Gator Nation, eager to see our team win in January in Miami. And the road to that redemption starts tomorrow in the heat of The Swamp at 12:30, when we face off against Hawaii. And on paper, this looks to be a blowout. The Gators come in with arguably the nation’s best offense with Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin, a much-improved defense that was the Achilles heel of last year’s team, and a goal of hoisting the trophy in January. On the flipside, Hawaii has lost its head coach, and its offensive leader in Colt Brennan, departed for the NFL. This is a completely new team that’s expected to make little noise this year, after last year’s shellacking by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. All in all, should be a game easily won by the Gators, and an offensive show.

A couple games to keep your eye on this week:

Utah vs. Michigan: A defining game for Michigan and Rich Rodriguez, and a chance for Utah to show what they have against a big team like Big Blue.

Alabama vs. Clemson: This is going to be a fun battle between two ranked teams in Atlanta. Winner gets an early jump in the polls.  

Fresno State vs. Rutgers: Can Fresno State start a magical run against a team that was 2006’s magical run?

Should be a fun weekend to be a college football fan. Enjoy the games.

–jl–

the best is yet to come.

Lots of things to update about and to come over the next week, on all fronts. There’s classes to talk about, races to run, football seasons to begin, pennant races to wrap up, music projects to take care of, friendships to mend, to grow, and one out of those to try and grow into something much bigger than nearly any human relationship I’ve experienced. All of this, developing very quickly, within the last 3 days.
There will be more, in-depth posts, on each of these topics, but here’s a Reader’s Digest version for you:

Classes have started off well. I really am enjoying my Russian class, and think that my two math and statistics courses will provide a challenge. I should be able to get through OK. What’s going to be hard is getting up wicked early (6am early) on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, especially when I have adjusted to being a night owl.

I’ve tenatively decided on a marathon: the Five Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville, FL, February 22, 2009. I have about 6 months to prepare. I’ll start running more to get in shape these next few weeks, then start on an 18-week intensive program to build me from a 5K runner to a 26.2-mile runner.

I can’t tell you how excited I am for college football season, the pennant races in baseball, the drama that unfolds in September and October. It is a great time to be a member of the Red Sox and Gator Nations. Every night is going to matter in September, between the Red Sox playoff hopes and UF’s chances at a championship.

The task of music coordinator that I have for Monday night meetings at church is going to be a much larger role than I originally thought it was going to be. In addition to Mondays, I’ll be involved in musical church activities on Tuesdays, Sundays, and perhaps another day during the week (Thursdays once a month?). This is getting to be like Melbourne, but I couldn’t be happier with my hobby. Not quite sure as to what to do on the barbershop table as of yet… I think that’s what Thursday’s Adoration and Benediction and the weekend retreat for Student Coalition Members will be for for me.

Another thing to take care of this weekend on this retreat is a couple of friendships– one in a bad way, one in a way that I can’t fully describe with words. There’s a couple of people with whom I need to mend things. It’s been way too long, and I need to try and reconnect them, or, at the very least, come to some sort of understanding. The sad thing is that I’m not entirely sure what I’ve done, but I know that it’s something on my end of the relationship, and that it’s my responsibility to work things out. On the other hand, there’s a few people, one in particular, with whom I think I’m really going to grow in friendship and love this year. And I can’t wait for whatever God has in store to happen. For now, I continue to pray for patience and a clarity in my direction with these issues.

Should be quite a fun semester. Can’t wait!

–jl–

rest in peace, leroi.

My favorite band, the first band that I bought a CD from, the first band that I saw live in concert, lost an original member on Tuesday night. Leroi Moore has died from complications from an ATV accident in June tonight in California. The Band plays on without him as I write this. Moore was the second member of what came to be the Dave Matthews Band. He recruited Carter Beauford into the band after hearing Dave’s tracks all the way back in 1991. Leroi played pennywhistle and other wind instruments, but is commonly known for being the saxophonist, often taking solos that would have normally gone to an electric guitar.

Leroi Moore, dead at 46.

 

 

 

 

 

 

God Bless you, and may you rest in peace.

–jl–

fay’s raining on my parade.

Oh, hurricane season… nothing like it when you live 10 minutes away from the beach in the state of Florida. We already have our first landfalling system of the tropical season (which, by the way, runs half the year) in Tropical Storm Fay. And people down here where I live, remembering 2004, with Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne all devastating this area, have gone a bit over-the-top with this storm. Granted, the forecast called for it to be of minimal hurricane strength when it made landfall this morning over Naples (which, by the way, it did not reach that threshhold) but here’s the track: 

Fay\’s Projected Path

You can see, barely a tropical storm by the time it reaches central Florida. Therefore, central Floridians, why have we decided to close down all of our schools? Why has work been cancelled for those at the Space Center? Why did UF suspend check-in from Tuesday night to Thursday morning? All it is is what we’re used to. Thunderstorms. Rain. Wind gusts. Sounds just like a typical Florida summer afternoon to me. People, worried that the storm’s going to be so much worse, have taken all of these precautions for a storm that, as of now, doesn’t look like anything.

But my questions got answered watching the news last night… take a look, and bear in mind that these pictures are a bit graphic.

So all of these precautions are not taken because we’re over-protective or worried about the storm being so bad, but because we’re worried that people will be overly stupid. Honestly, who goes kite-surfing on a stormy day?

So don’t do anything stupid today or tomorrow, Floridians. I’m not going to be on the news because I got caught trying to beat out the elements. I don’t know how an attitude like that will get me up to Gainesville, though.

–jl–

my new year’s resolutions.

Ok, so it’s August to August, but you could still call that a year– a school year. There is so much that I haven’t done yet that I want to get done. I just feel like this second year of college can be a huge year for me in my life, a very defining year, if I can go out and do so many of the things that I wish to do. So, nothing bare about this, here’s the list. I even sorted by month for convenience.

 

AUGUST 2008

Start training for that marathon (see January or February 2009).

Get into University Choir.

Get CSF worship booklets readied.

Figure out what to do with my barbershop career.

 

SEPTEMBER

Have productive quartet rehearsals.

Have CSF worship booklets printed and used.

Begin cantor duties at church.

 

OCTOBER

Don’t go ballistic over the Red Sox.

Bring home some sort of medal for Duane in Jacksonville (barbershop competition).

Meet more church people at Alpha and at other school’s retreats.

Have successful midterms.

Gator Gallop towards that marathon! 

 

NOVEMBER

Get the classes I need to pursue the double major and minor.

Tailgate at Florida-Georgia.

See Coldplay, and, quite possibly, an away football game.

Run a half-marathon.

Celebrate two decades on this earth with friends of all places.

 

DECEMBER

Come home with straight A’s.

Have someone waiting for me under the mistletoe.

 

JANUARY 2009

Go to a bowl game.

Take the Music Theory Placement Test

Run the Disney Marathon. Or the marathon in Clearwater Beach…

Play some music for people other than the ones up in Gainesville. (USF, perhaps?)

 

FEBRUARY

…or run the marathon in Gainesville.

Apply for scholarships.

Apply for internships.

Apply myself to midterms.

 

MARCH

Take a trip. Or two. (Prague, perhaps? Boston, perhaps?)

Decide how to play my cards until 2011 to get those three degrees.

Continue running. Find another marathon.

Make an impact on, and with, the music ministry.

 

APRIL

Be closer to qualifying for Anaheim with the new quartet.

Finish up the school year strong.

Decide my summer.

Re-up on a leadership position in the church.

 

MAY

Be out of Melbourne after coming back to Melbourne.

 

JUNE and JULY

Make sufficient money to build up the bank for grad school.

Get out to Anaheim to take part in the International Convention. (Roadtrip, perhaps?)

Look at grad schools. (Chapel Hill? Washington? UCLA? Berkeley? BU? Wisconsin? Oh, the possibilities…)

 

There you have it. I’m as excited as you are to see how this will all play out. There’s 39 little mini-goals up there, many of which repeat and overlap. All of them shape, all of them mold, all of them will help form me in the next 12 months. I couldn’t be more ready for Gainesville to begin. Again.

 

–jl–

how i love the olympiad.

I love every Olympics, but these ones in Beijing thus far have been phenomenal.

Friday’s Opening Ceremony was a piece of art that was unbelievable with its amount of performers, the amazing technical capabilities, the fireworks, the torch-lighting that was reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil, and the electricity in the air as the Olympics began. The drumming to count down the start of the Olympics were unbelievale and beautiful. The boxes with the Chinese characters, controlled by people, had my engineer brother thinking it just had to be a mechanical operation. The tai chi masters and lighted suits were visually striking. And then, to top it all off, the 9-year-old Chinese boy walking in with Yao Ming that saved his fellow classmates in the ravishing earthquake earlier this year because he was “the hall monitor, and that was my job.” In it’s entirety, an awesome Opening Ceremony.

Then, there’s the events. Absolutely amazing events going on so far, so much emotion, so much patriotism, so much athleticism. And we’re only 4 days in. The 4 x 100 freestyle relay on Monday morning in Beijing has been, easily, the highlight, with so many teams smashing world records, and the Americans coming back on the French within the last 50 meters. Phelps vs. Lochte was a good swim, and some of the women swimming, and breaking world records, have been astounding. It’s not just swimming though… the men’s gymnastics event, going on right now, has been just phenomenal. So many breathtaking moments in this one.

With another two weeks to go, this Olympiad is shaping up to be such an amazing set of events. And I can’t wait to continue watching with the world on Beijing.

–jl–

5 courses, 25 years.

So Wednesday night was my parent’s 25th wedding anniversary. They just returned from Roma Tuesday night, and, this coupled along with my brother’s return from Jamaica, I wanted to make a large dinner to celebrate both occasions. I looked up some things last night, and, in a little over 2 hours, prepared a full 5-course meal. It seemed to be well-received by all, and I know that there were things I could have done better, but I felt that this was a good step for me into my realm of cooking.

So, here was the menu for Wednesday evening… there was an Italian theme to it all.

Bruschetta with Cuban bread

Linguine with a Vegetable Medley

Cabernet-Marinated Sirloin Steak

Duchess potato mounds

Tiramisu

 

The bruschetta wasn’t too hard to prepare… all it really involved was putting in the right amount of basil and oregano to match the tomatoes and onions. No cheese in this dish (or, for that matter, any dish, as one of the five eating was lactose-intolerant) but some Parmesan could be added for a little extra taste.

The linguine was a homemade dish for me… the website for which I found a 3-course steak dinner called for just baby carrots, but I felt that the evening needed some pasta. I originally thought of having 6 courses, with the pasta being separate, but I decided to conjoin the linguine (again, very easy to prepare) and the vegetables. I threw together some spinach, mushrooms, baby carrots, onion, and garlic into a bowl, and mixed that with some lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Once that was well-mixed, I put that into a pan on medium heat with some olive oil and butter, and cooked it for about 5 minutes, until the liquid began to boil. Serve that directly on top of the hot pasta. It almost functioned like a linguine with clam sauce, except I didn’t have any clams. And I was rather pleased with this dish… it came out well, and was well-received by everyone.

The steak was marinated in a cabernet wine, with some garlic salt, pepper, and water. That sat for about an hour before putting on the grill. Quite a simple dish, as long as you know how to prepare steak.

The Duchess potatoes were the dish that caused me the most grief. I made the critical mistake of underestimating the time on potatoes. Cooking 5 medium-sized potatoes gave me plenty of mounds for 5 people. Once cooking these, combine with a butter, cream, and egg yolk mixture, along with salt and pepper. In another bowl, combine a whole egg with a tablespoon of water; baste this on to your mounds after they take shape. Then, it’s in the oven for 10 minutes. This dish came out extremely bland… I should have added some parsley, garlic salt, anything to make the potatoes not as bland. That’s what happens when you pick an English recipe…

The tiramisu proved to be most challenging out of all 5 dishes. It required things that the grocery store didn’t have (Mascarpone cheese? Someone please tell me where to find it…) and also took the most time to form. When making tiramisu, make sure that one uses espresso coffee, rather than espresso granules. The tiramisu came out slightly dry, and also slighly sour due to the fact that cream cheese was used instead of mascarpone, a creamier (and sweeter) cheese. Still, all was well, Jen did a nice job, and the dish was loved by my parents.

So, there you have it. It took me 2 hours, with some mistakes, and I cook fairly slowly. Those last 20 minutes can be very hectic… steak on the grill, pasta and vegetables cooking, potatoes in the oven… but most of the things in this 5-course dinner can be prepared ahead of time, and put out when ready to use them.

Enjoy!

–jl–

what a week, what a week to come.

In everything in my life, this past week has been choc full of things happening. A little drama at the beginning of the week got me a bit pent up during the week. The new meeting format for the barbershop chorus seemed to go over well. My first section of work this week was completed, earning me $81 for pointing and clicking for about 9 hours. Trips to Orlando and St. Augustine were relaxing and fun, as I was able to see and catch up with friends who I hadn’t seen in a while. And drive, drive, drive. Manny was traded to the Dodgers for Jason Bay during the week in a big, three-team blockbuster deal that also sent Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh. Oh, and, last but not least, I got to spend all day Sunday with three friends, preparing food for the homeless, and making one’s life out of those three a little brighter.

This past week left me exhausted: I only got about 5 hours of sleep per night, and I was running around quite a bit. But, when I look at the week ahead, I know it’s only going to get worse. Or better, depending on how you’re looking at things.

Tomorrow, my parents return from Rome. I get to pick them up at the airport, then run over to a rehearsal that I’m running.

Wednesday, my brother returns from Jamaica. I get to cook dinner, seeing as it’s my parents’ anniversary.

Thursday, I might be heading to Sebastian for a doctor’s appointment with Grandma. It’s either that or work.

Friday, I have a doctor appointment. A couple of friends leave for college this day, so I’ll be saying good-bye to them. The Olympics begin this day. I could be having dinner at some family friend’s house.

Sunday, my family heads to Orlando for brunch for Grandma’s birthday, followed by a good-bye party for the director of the chorus I’m in, at which I will most likely sing with the quartet, followed by church that evening, for which I will most likely cantor.

UF in two to three weeks; the dog days of baseball season upon us; college football at the end of the month.

Now’s about the time to just keep on keeping on, if you’re a guy like me who doesn’t stop, even during the dog days of summer.