"And I come back to you now..."

There have been some drastic changes in my life since October 2006. Because of these changes, I have a little more time (and much more motivation) to start up this blog again. I'm sure most of you who read my blog regularly have given up hope for my daily journaling, but at least I haven't given up hope, yeah? Yeah...

Graduation!

That's right, folks! I finally graduated from college, and I can now tell people that I am a "professional photographer." At least, in the journalistic sense. Now clients will take me more seriously and my freelancing price rates will rise! Oh, yes...I will be filthy rich by Spring.

Anyway, I graduated on December 22, which is pretty much the worst day to set a commencement ceremony. But friends and family were able to attend the event, and I really appreciate all those who were there (and those who very much wished they could be there).

So long, my Ventura friend!

After graduation, I moved out of my studio-like room at the Bozarths in Ventura and into Kuya and Chesney's office room in Scotts Valley. They have been much more than generous to let me stay at their place while I try to find my own place and make enough money to actually rent that place out. :) If you're ever up in Nor Cal, look me up.

Leaving Ventura was no tear-jerker by any means. I do miss the friends I've made both at school and church very much. Being involved with a church community was refreshing, and I hope that I can find one up here that I can be equally involved (if not more). There isn't any other family I would have rather stayed with than the Bozarths as I went through my time at Brooks. They welcomed me with open arms, and I felt right at home with them; so I miss them dearly.

I think the saddest thing is when I had to give my key back to Jane, and I had to start knocking at the front door just to get in. That was just too weird.

Working man

I was incredibly fortunate to land a job straight out of college. CityTeam Ministries was so wow-ed by my internship that they wanted me on their staff full-time. I took the offer with almost no hesitation. I really enjoyed the job, the people are more than great, and the cause behind CityTeam is an God-honoring effort that I've always wanted to use my skills to support. God has truly blessed me with such an opportunity.

My position title is Multi-Media Specialist. Cool, huh? It probably sounds cooler than it actually is. I do the photography and video production for the organization, documenting events and covering stories within CityTeam. Putting together videos, slideshows, podcasts (maybe), and other media-related things to show to donors and contributors are also things that I do.

Of course, something so easy as getting "officially" hired so I can actually start working for CityTeam took about a month to actually happen. So what did I do in the mean time?

Oh, puck!

I joined the in-line hockey league in Scotts Valley, and that's been a lot of fun. I signed up for the D-league (the lowest league out of four) because I feel I need a lot more practice before getting into the C-league, which is where Kuya and Andrew play. Our team is pretty good, and I'm really enjoying the game and all it's insides and outs. I definitely need more practice, though, if I want to join Kuya and Andrew's team next season. :) At least I can keep up with most D-league players. We've play three games so far, and I've been averaging one goal and one assist every game, so that's cool.

I also try to play with the cousins up in Vallejo every (dry) Saturday. There I play goalie (I play mostly forward on the league team), which is always an interesting experience. I guess I should try playing other positions to practice skating and puck handling, but no one ever wants to play goalie. Since I don't mind it at all, I just step up to play the position.

It's too bad that there isn't a good consistent league up where the cousins live. They are definitely C-league material, and it'd be really fun to see them form a team and compete.

This land is Outland.

As much as I tried to deny this fact, it's true: World of Warcraft has taken over my life. Ha! Okay, so it's not THAT extreme. It's not like I quit my job, shunned all my friends, deprived myself of sleep, and barely ate just to be the best in the game. Someone did that, by the way, and everyone ridiculed of the player. Total loser.

But Warcraft has become a huge gaming hobby of mine. So if you ever jump on the Warcraft band wagon (along with the eight million other players), look me up. You can go to my Warcraft Social Network profile - the myspace of Warcraft players. Haha! I'm such a dweeb.


This is the update thus far...other than having a great Christmas celebration, a crazy New Year blast off, and a sloppy yet entertaining Super Bowl. I've also cleaned up the blog a little bit by deleting old, unvisited links. If your link got deleted or was never added to the list and you feel it should be there, let me know.

Other than that...

ROCK ON!!!