its getting pretty late here, and im not in the mood to write a huge big thing about the game...suffice it to say, the 8-3 win was much needed!! trevor scored 4 goals, while alex contributed with 2. for the game i had one assist...lol...but it was quite possibly the most important assist ever...i mean come on! seriously though, it was aweosme to finally win! i think the whole team is ready for the next big matchup against bishop mcguiness this thursday...at bishop! thats about all for tonight, stay tuned tommorow for some new pics and such from the game, and some other random odds and ends! have a great night everybody, and thank goodness for North Stokes Soccer! (as a sidenote, we play north stokes for senior night on 10/20/05, so you better be there)!

It's that time of the year again, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and high school seniors are taking 4 hour tests in order to go to college! yep, i just completed the ACT test plus a 30 minute essay question. i went to sleep last night kinda late (somewhere past hour number 11) so i was fairly exhausted when i woke up bright and early at 7. AM that is. anyway, i got ready, the picture i posted below is AFTER the ACT...haha...not actually...but thats definitely how i felt! i made it to the school about 750. i checked in and seated myself in room 12. the test went fairly well, i felt confident about most of the answers, although i felt like i didnt quite have enough time to finish each section. on almost each section, i had to guess on the last 2-5 questions because i didnt have enough time to figure them out before time ran was up. anyway, there were some crazy grammar questions, and the science part was totally foreign to me, since im used to the old SAT way of doing things. finally i got to the essay part. the essay was on whether or not social skills should be taught in school. that essay was the one part that i think i really did well! mom and dad thought i took too serious of a standpoint on the issue, but i still think i did a good job. i made an intermediate score on the SAT essay, which i knew i did bad on, since i had a bad intro, a slight better body, and then i stopped in midsentence before i reached my conclusion! on this one, i only wrote about a page and a half, but i covered the point completely and finished with a really strong conclusion, which i think will give me some extra points, since a conclusion can make or break an essay. probably the funniest part of the essay section was in the instruction page. the intructions were "to write an essay in 30 minutes in English." WELL....duh! i mean come on...whoops...i almost wrote a spanish essay! whew, close call there! anyway, i think i did well, since my essay was legible and in the correct language! i should get several points just for doing that! to finish up, it wasnt as terrible as i made it out to be, although it is alot different from the SAT. the SAT requires a lot more logic and reasoning, whereas the ACT seems to be more a measure of what a person knows. personally, i think the SAT does a better job of measuring student performance, but im not complaining if i get a really high score on my ACT. plus, a high ACT score can even count toward giving someone credit in certain classes (mainly in utah though). overall it was an exciting morning, and im glad to be done with it! the only bad news, is that in two weeks, its back to the grind, with SAT number 2 on oct 8! so for all u standarized test takers out there...take it easy and make sure u always use a soft, lead number 2 pencil.

ACT Terror 

It's been quite awhile since my last post; i'm sure my public is clamoring for some new insight into the life and times of your truly...lol! im not one to keep the public waiting, so i will proceed with a quick update of whats been happening since last sunday. a major low point of the week was the scheduled tuesday game vs. south stokes. south stokes is around 30 minutes from MAHS and im not a big fan of the long drives on a bus to get to away games. anyway, the match was scheduled for 7, and we beagn warming up at 6. it was fine, except for a short, minor downpour halfway through our warm up. we stopped about 650 to give everyone time to put on their jerseys and finish final preperations for the game. the refs came on the field, saw a distant flash of lightning, then told everyone there would be at least a 30 min delay until the game started. it wasnt a big deal, the soccer team and i went into a nearby health classroom to wait for the storm to stop. the refs waited until 800 before (finally) calling the game. how frustrating?! i really didnt enjoy all the waiting just to be told that the game was going to be rescheduled! anyway, that means that next week i have 3 away games! we play south stokes monday, north stokes tuesday (this game should be a joke, last year we won 8-0), and then bishop mcguiness thursday! the bishop mcg. game is probably the biggest of the week, since last time we lost in OT to them 6-3. we also have a day of rest inbetween, which should be nice to give everyone a chance to recuperate. to finalize things up, the first 6 weeks ends this friday, and it will probably be one of the most crucial grading periods! but i will keep eveyrone updated on soccer, school, and any other important events that may come up! thats all for tonight folks!

Last night was the historic event of...my first stake dance! actually thats not entirely true, its not my first stake dance, but it felt like it, sicne that was my first stake dance in over 2 years! it was pretty interesting, since my last memories of a dance were when i was 14 or maybe just turned 15. i remeber feeling soo young! oh man it was too crazy! now at this dance, i felt like one of the oldest ones there, ranking in at the big 1-7! anyway, shaylon wasnt there, and none of the dobson crowd showed up, so i mostly hung out with zack and the mt airy crowd. i also have to say that last night was probably the most fun ive ever had at a stake dance! i think thats mostly beacuse i used to be soo uptight about if girls liked me or not, u know, the usual stuff! this time i felt way more at ease, which made the dance 10 times better. so, on to the "juicy details" as kristen would say. i got to the stake center about 4pm to help decorate for the dance. some people began moving chairs and tables to clear the gym floor, while others hung up brooms to show off our "big sweep" dance theme. i left about 430 with sister gage to go help get refreshments for the dance. it was hilarious since we bought out sams club of all their freezy pops (we got 330 total). this mother and son were trying to pick out which kind of freeze pop to get, so me and sister gage go in a rake out a shelf full of them! then we picked up 2 boxes of the 24 packs of popcorn and finally three enormous bags of chex mix. we mad it back to the stake center and i helped unload all the refreshments and stuff. fastforward to the supper at 6. we ordered 80 papa johns pizzas, so there was PLENTY to go around. i only ate a couple of slices, but sister gage gave me a whole box to take home to help keep me awake (since ive got the longest drive). that was really nice of her, and it was cool being on the "inside" of the stake leadership circle...haha! finally, the dance started. i goofed off, just being my crazy self. there was some comedy, especially these two dances i had. i danced with this one girl who looked like she was 16...nope...14! just perfect!...wait...for ethan that is! (just kidding ethan...well partially :) she was nice, and it was still cool, just it felt funny to be sooo old! then another dance was with this one girl who it was her 2nd dance...ever! she was only 14! and she looked 14 too! i think she mustve been really nervous, because she was like afraid to look at me...idk...maybe im just that scary?! anyway, the only question she asked was my name! it was tough just trying to make conversation!

adam: so where are you from
girl: kernersville
adam: cool place, do u like it there?
girl: yes
adam: excellent, so have u lived there your whole life?
girl: yes
(awkward pause)
adam: are u a freshmen this year?
girl: yes
adam: do u enjoy it?
girl: yes
adam: do u like middle school or high school better?
girl: not sure
(awkward pause, song not even halfway over)

well...u get the idea! but it was...interesting! that was about my dance night! oh yeah, one other minor detail, was that after the dance and people were cleaning up and leaving, me, kelsey, daniel, david riska, and i think zack were standing around in the gym. if anyones seen the matrix, i always try to do the "run on walls" thing on the soft padded mats underneath the bball hoops at the stake center (and at dobson). anyway, daniel was bragging about how well he could do it, so i was just getting bored, so i decided to make a fool of myself and try it. however, the cool part was that i actually did it! i ran all the way up the wall and touched my should to the backboard! it was sweet! everybody was just like "woah...that was soo cool!" then daniel tried it and fell halfway though...lol...i felt bad for the kid, but it was still an aweosme feeling! now...if only i had a picture!

Thats right, last night was tuesday night soccer! Wow, that was quite possibly one of the most intense games i've played in my last two years with MA soccer! starting off, i really didnt know what to expect out of east wilkes. i didnt really remember playing them from the previous year, and no one had seen them play this year. this game started off like many others, a rush of nervousness, followed by the intensity soccer brings. we scored in the first 15 minutes off a nice assist from oswaldo and goal from michael. the details get kind of hazy from here, since i cant really remember the order of the rest of the goals. i think wilkes tied it 1-1 and we scored making it 2-1. i think they scored two more, making it 3-2, until we tied it up at 3-3. wilkes scored again making it 4-3 with about 15 minutes left in the second half. we scored for the final time, tying the game at 4-4. the second half is where we let the game get away from us, and we played one of the worst halves i can remember. however, even though it was a tie, it felt awesome to play that hard, and maintain an intensity ive never played at for that long before. overall, i think that was one of my personal best games ever. The REALLY big news is that i got my first ever yellowcard in a game! i couldnt believe it! there were about 4 minutes left in the last half of overtime, and i did a slide tackle on the captain of the other team. i touched the ball and turned it into a slow roller that we cleared. however, the ref. ran up and pulled out his yellowcard, not even talking to me! i couldnt believe it! he said i slid for the legs, but i knew the only way i could touch the ball was with a hard, fast tackle! oh well, thinking about it reminds me how much i dont like that ref! oh well, it was still a really fun game! i faked a few people out, which felt so aweseome, since its something i dont get a chance to do very often, and plus i think i impressed coach, which is always a bonus! one of my favorite moments was when i was dribbling up the field and one of the opposing players tried to slide tackle me. it was awesome because i was able to perfectly cut to my left around him! he was left on the ground and i was able to make a good pass upfield! it was just awesome to see him on the ground as i ran by, plus that look of "how did he get around me?" on his face was priceless! anyway, thats all for today guys, stay cool and remember, always play nice with the other kids at school! adieu!

One Painful Header 

Soccer Cap-I-tan 

Last night was the night of the first annual branch talent show! and what an exciting event it was. it was a smaller production than some talent shows ive seen, since around 10-15 people performed. the branch pres. started the program with a poetic recitation (or however you spell it). there were of course the traditional piano pieces as well as a trumpet piece by taylor. a few people told funny stories or showed off clothe making abilities. logan and i went on stage probably about half way through the show. we started off with a bang by doing a combat roll onto the stage. we did a skit (which happens to be from a monty python skit) called "The Argument." if you want to read the text for it, it can be found here. overall the talent show was a pretty big success i think, eventhough it wasnt largely attended. but to wrap up, ill put some pictures on below, as well as a perhaps a video later if i can figure out how to post it...so no promises! but anyway, enjoy everyone, and have a great sunday!

"The Argument" 

Well it's been an exciting week. thankfully a short week, with labor day on monday. anyway, classes are going well, although AP cal is pretty crazy! derivatives are...well....lets just put it this way...calculus isnt math...its an entirely different language! we got progress reports, and i scraped by is ap cal and english, but tv production and drafting are looking very good! but finally, to the game last night. east surry is a team that beat us 2-1 on their senior night last year. they take their soccer VERY seriously! they almost fill the stands! which is pretty rare for most teams around here. the game started off, and we wanted to win. i moved back to left fullback, since our left fullback had moved to goalie. it was a really good game, as we jumped off to a 1-0 lead. mostly i cleared the ball and kept the offense from getting a good shot. most of the time, the stopper or sweeper would force his player to dribble a little too far out, and id just run up and nail the ball. one time, i was running up, and the opposing teams captain was sprinting like crazy toward the ball! i pulled it high right over his head and into the feet of our midfield! the look of surpirse on his face like "oh, i didnt think that number 7 kid was going to beat me to it, much less kick it over me!" oh that was the highlight of my game! anyway, we scored two more in the second half and finished out to a solid win! now our record is 3-2 overall with a 1-1 conference record! finally, our next game is this tuesday vs. west wilkes! it should be a good game! well, im out for tonight, everyone have a great night and a wonderful friday tommorow! see ya!

Well, labor day weekend has come and gone! i wont go into too much detail...nevermind, i will...lol! labor day weekend may not have been the best weekend of my life...but it was close! it was finally the end of my two month grounding from the fateful beach trip. ill give a quick run down of how everything went down! my weekend started with lots of cleaning up around the house (kristen would be proud!) and then a late night when i finally got in the bed around 1. the next morning i met kim in danville and let her follow me to martinsville where we dropped her car off. after getting lost about 3 times...haha...we finally made in and out of the city! man it was sooo great to get to see kim! i dont think i really realized how much i missed her...until now! but anyway, we hung out for the morning, doing some bow and arrow shooting as well as some other random activites, basically just relaxing around the house. that night we went out to chile verde which was really good. kim got cheese enchiladas, while i stuck with the classic steak fajita! after we left there, we went to the drive in movie theatre and watched transporter 2, and oh man...it was sooo good! i highly recommend that movie to anyone who likes action movies, or even anyone who just likes suspense...it was really good! plus some crazy fight scenes! there was a transporter 1, but it wasnt as good...theres no real important plot carryovers, mainly just a sidesotry type thing. next day was church and i gave a lesson in priesthood about temple endowments! whew! it was tough, but i felt really good about it! we had sunday lunch and then goofed off for the rest of the day. kim beat me twice at racing, however i def. beat her when it counted! haha...but its all good, i dont mind loosing to kim...since it happens so rarely! (just kidding with ya kim!) anyway, that night i (with the help of my parents..lol) made a surprise dinner for kim on the deck in candlelight! it was really sweet...at least i enjoyed it! lastly, we went to bed and then woke up this morning for a quick pancake breakfast and then off we went to martinsville to pick up kims car! and kim...im really sorry about the whole directions thing! but anyway, we got lost a few more times, but managed to weave our way out of martinsville! just retelling the story is so sad...corny that it may be...i just plain miss u kim! we said our goodbyes and that brings me to the present...the only thing i can really say about the weekend is that it was too short! thats my weekend! i just wish every weekedn could be that good! i wouldnt even mind going to school....well...maybe just a litte :). p.s. ive posted most of the pictures from my labor day weekend below...so enjoy!

Looking goo-ood! 

Sad goodbyes 

Lovin' Labor day 

Beeauutfiul! 

Night out 

Craziness