And So We Close The Books

2014 is pretty much over.  In just 25 hours we'll be watching the ball drop or whatever the custom is where you live to ring in 2015.  A new year, with resolutions to boot that usually only end up lasting about a week or two.  I quit making them several years ago as they never seem to pan out compared to some of the other decisions I make when I need to make them.  

I was supposed to celebrate by seeing the annual New Year's Dinner Theater that the local acting company in Virginia puts on, but a case of mumps prevented that.  Let's just say hospitals are quite interesting in the wee hours of a Monday.  I should probably be glad that it wasn't something more serious like an infection that would need surgery.

Other than the recent fever/mumps episode I've had to close out the year, the year has been pretty spectacular.  These were my favorite things about the year 2014.

• Walmart: In August a new Walmart Supercenter opened up in Mountain Iron, and I got a job there as a cashier.  So far I can't really complain as I'm getting a lot of conversation experience, learning how to balance a cash drawer, and doing a lot of other interesting things all while learning from a lot of interesting people.  It's been a great five months.
• Becoming a Licensed Driver: Oh what a joy it is to not have to rely on your mother for rides everywhere you go.  Driving without my mother and sister in the vehicle on occasion now has given me time to think about things as I drive as well.  It's been great not being as restricted with where I can go because my mother is the only way to get to and from. 
• Volunteering: In April my foreign exchange brother Walid and I volunteered at the annual Empty Bowl event used to celebrate Passover in Duluth.  Although I was down in the trains area all day stocking bowls because the gloves wouldn't fit my hands I still enjoyed myself. Then in May we were joined by my sister Lydia as we volunteered at the Duluth Lions Pancake Feed, where I got a picture with the local news anchor Darren Danielson. There were several other small things throughout the year as well.  Oh how good it feels to give back to the community every once in a while.
• Playing Baseball: I tried something new this Spring and went out for the baseball team.  Of course my size and weight restricted me from doing a few of the activities or doing them at the constant rate here and there, but the coaching staff was very understanding.  It's too bad I have my late father's heart condition to worry about :(.  As of now the plan is to wait and see where Walmart takes me before I sign up this year. 
• Story Book Lodge: I had to give this it's own bullet point.  This camp continues to amaze me every single year in some way shape or form.  It's like every time I'm there I forget about my problems and whatever else might be going on in the world, and just live so peacefully and stress-free for a week or two.  The joy of deepening my spiritual knowledge and watching other kids come to know the Savior is happy-inducing as well.  It seems sometimes as if this camp works miracles. I also met a lot of awesome people there this year (Aaron Hockett, Lily Wanninger, Lee Juvland, Gus Schroder, Tim McNeal, Derek Aholt, the list goes on and on!). It's amazing how easy it is sometimes to keep in touch with these guys after a camp week.  A few of the families got Christmas cards as well, and some have sent their cards back to us.  As always, LORD willing I get to camp in 2015, it'll be an amazing time! 
• NED: Challenging is the best word to describe what my year with these guys has been like so far.  You sometimes really need to figure out how to grab the interest of the people in the division.  I am so blessed to have been elected to this position though, and I'm not even close to done with my plans yet.  There's still a few ships that need to sail before State in April! 
• Announcing: A lot has happened with my announcing over the year.  Back in January I picked up the girls basketball to go along with the boys.  Then this year I got the varsity football slot as the official replacement for Cherry's former announcer, and not a week later I snagged the volleyball slot.  I also read the Sports Report at Story Book one time, hosted the Bible Quizzing session at Story Book rotating with another counselor a week for two weeks, and that led to me ending the Jr. High Camp hosting Captain's Quiz Time, which was probably my 2nd favorite announcing thing this year, with the Alumni Flag Football Game being the best all year.  My voice might not be the best you've ever heard to be honest with you as I sometimes have trouble pronouncing words clearly, but it's still a blast to do it. Lastly, I've been on the intercom a small handful of times for stuff related to Student Council at Cherry, and I filled in on the Daily Announcements at Cherry for a week.  I should really be recording this stuff for those of you who live far away. 
• Road Trips: I took 5 road trips this year.  2 were Student Council, one to the Cities for the State Convention and the other to Alexandria for the annual President's Forum, and they were quite interesting.  I'll just say that some Student Council kids are very interesting, and leave it at that.  The other 3 road trips were to the Cities for the St. Paul Winter Carnival, which was very cool and very cold, Fargo to explore NDSU in mid-November, and Michigan for about a week at the start of the Summer.  During this trip I saw and drove over the Mackinac Bridge and drove pretty much all the way home, which was a very daunting task, but I made it through. 

I'd just like to thank everyone who I've met this year for being awesome people!  Without the people I've met and continue to talk to today, my life would be very boring.  It's you guys that make it so interesting.  Some of you I owe quite a bit too for helping me net things I once thought impossible. Don't worry I'll think of something soon.

2014 has been great, and 2015 could be even better.  But we'll see........

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!