news

My news, Spring and Summer 2004

(20 August 2004) I'm actually writing this after midnight, but I put the date as Friday so it wouldn't be more than a month with no updates. I've meant to put more updates up, honest, but I usually end up doing other stuff somehow. So...my room is somewhat sorted, though there's alot more to be done before my roomate comes in on Sunday. I finished the Inspiration Hills Staff memories video Thursday night. I got my digital camera back today from my dad's workbench in IL, and have already taken at least 64MB worth of pictures. I'm hoping to take some more pictures and maybe record some music in the next few weeks. I also downloaded Borland's C++Builder, but it still confused me, and I needed the space on my hard drive back, so any graphical programming is being put off a bit longer.
Here is an update I should have posted earlier: I've been moving in and sorting through stuff. I found out I had at least: 86 shirts, 20 pants, 41 pairs of socks, 11 handkerchiefs, seven guitars and five ties - none of which I know how to loop on. Weird Nathan fact - did you know that at one time he had over 35 pair of underwear? Another weird Nathan fact - no clothes for Christmas, please. I can provide a list of alternative suggestions upon request.

(20 July 2004) So...much travels since last update. Two weekends ago, I met my family and relatives in Lynden, Washington for my Uncle Tom's wedding. The wedding was great, the reception was fun. The next day, my dad's family (minus Tom and Karlene) went to San Juan Island to see the scenery and eat a flat of raspberries. On Sunday I went to church with this coming semester's roomate, and headed back to IH with a cooler of fruit.
My work at camp this year is starting to wind down. Last week was a really busy week. This week is a bit calmer. Next week is the last week, and only two of three usual camps will be going. After that, it's back to mowing at Dordt for a few weeks. Then...school for the fifteenth year of my life (ugh.)

(3 July 2004) I got to see my immediate family for a little Friday night, as well as Hannah and her family. The rest of this weekend is "Staff Development Weekend" at Inspiration Hills. This means that we are hanging out as a staff to get to know each other a bit. So this afternoon, we're scheduled for bowling, a demo derby, pizza, and maybe fireworks.

(26 June 2004) More or less a whole weekend free to sleep a bit more (maybe) and relax a lot more (hopefully). I got the video done by about 10:45, but I still didn't get to bed until midnight...habit I guess. And now it's half-past twelve. Maybe I *should* sleep in tomorrow.
Note: I'm boring _myself_ with this news. What news should I put here?

(24 June 2004) Each week is keeping me quite busy. Things are going well, but I go to bed quite tired every night. Tonight I'll be working on the third weekly camper video. I have been able to read a book or two a week since camp started, as I have time to read while I record the footage onto the computer. I finished C.S. Lewis's space trilogy last night.

(10 June 2004) The first week is winding down pretty well. I've got the video about half way done, and it's not even 10:30 yet! I bought another Axstar today on a trial basis. I figure I'll see how it plays, and if I don't want it, I'll resell it for a profit. You can call me...Nate the Shrewd. Now back to work.

(9 June 2004) Since the office is busy, I've got a bit of time to catch up on some news. The second week of staff training had bit more down time, but we still covered a lot. Now I am CPR and First Aid certified. If you get hurt, I know how to pick up the pieces and call 911. If you need anything else, I'll be around camp shooting footage, playing guitar, picking songs or editing video.
Camp has started now. There's not many kids this week since at least one local school was still in session. Currently I have director's block as far as making the weeks video, but I have tons of material to cut from. I've had a bit more time, and have used some of it as follows: sleeping, reading a little, watching a movie and a half, and making tissue paper airplanes with a homesick camper. Sounds heroic, eh? It didn't work for long.

(29 May 2004) The first week of camp training felt like three. I've learned a whole lot, met a bunch of really neat people and gotten a bit more acclimated to the camp. Tonight I'm back around Sioux Center to see Hannah, go to church and get some stuff from the apartment. My pastor at Immanuel CRC, Orange City will be leaving towards the end of the summer to go to 1st CRC in Pella, so I should get some sleep so I can wake up and hear him at least one more time.

(22 May 2004) Friday was the last day of Dordt Grounds work for a while. After work, I caught up with Hannah at the library. We went to Orange City's Tulip Festival and watched The Counte of Monte Cristo with her family and some other friends. Today I got up and cleaned up a bit in the apartment kitchen and in my room. Then I worked on this website a while. This afternoon I need to do some sorting and packing before spending more time with Hannah tonight. Tomorrow afternoon I head up to Inspiration Hills to become their Videographer/Worship Coordinator until July 31.

(16 May 2004) Okay - here's the scoop on the last two weeks. May started out with finals week. I bombed a couple finals, but still passed my classes okay. Then came the exodus from my third floor Covenant Hall dorm room. My mom and sisters helped pack and haul thousands of boxes out to my truck - up the stairs to catch your breath, and down against gravity. I spent the early weekend at my Pella grandparent's house with my grandma's brothers and their families. Late weekend was spent around northwest Iowa. After mowing Monday afternoon, I hauled in metric tonnes of stuff into my apartment. Which brings us to last week, which was mowing, sorting through stuff, and chilling with apartment folks and local friends.

(15 May 2004) I have meant to update my news here on a number of occasions, but those occasions turned into memories, and the memories, to whiffs of scenery falling rapidly out of peripheral vision. Anon shall I recall the fortnight previous, with it's roamings and moorings. And mower-ings. And things suchlike, soforth, and cetera-ish.

(27 April 2004) Status report: daze lately have included practicing guitar, recording for a Music and Digital Technology project, thinking "I should start that Aesthetics paper", listening to music (Phil Keaggy and twothirtyeight in my room, and many music concerts w/Hannah), eating and cleaning my room. Sleep deprivation is at about 3/10 due to late nights and early mornings combined. Only 2 bigger assignments left, plus one extra credit paper. Then two finals, and one summer break.

(19 April 2004) How are *you*? What's new with *you*? Those are the kind of questions that don't really get answered here because I'm the one who updates this page. So I'll tell *you* that I'm doing okay, although I've got a lot on my mind between friends and school and summer and all. Last night I had fun with a bunch of friends at Hannah's house. We played games in lieu of a bonfire, since it was soggy after a thunderstorm. Today I got my laundry put away, finding much square footage of carpet just in time for the end of the school year in a week or two. In a somewhat related process, I found my Spanish Bible which was not lost, just hiding. This is getting trivial, so I'll stop.

(13 April 2004) Uh-oh. It's Tuesday the Thirteenth. Last weekend I met my family at my grandparent's house in Pella. It was a good time with family, although quite busy. I also saw some cousins, disc golfed a bit and went home with a new acoustic-electric guitar. I've been playing alot more guitar lately, anticipating playing at camp this summer. I might also drum at a block party this weekend. The next four or five days are starting to look busy, so I'd better go get ready or something.

(1 April 2004) As evidenced by increased activity on this website, lately I have not been spending much time holed up in the Campus Center reading. Homework has picked up a bit, as well as "extra-curricular" obligations like club meetings and summer job interviews. I've still had opportunity to do more relaxing things, like spending time with the best girlfriend I've ever had. The weather is so lovely, the sky is so blue, the grass is so green; and despite my clichéd description, spring is fresh as ever!

(25 March 2004) This spring semester is still not incredibly busy, although it's flying by. I dropped my Number Theory course, so although I still visit the class, I don't have to do the homework. My other four classes don't give me too much work. Since returning from break, I've spent my afternoons filling out paperwork, so that all the powers that be will allow me to make money and sleep indoors for another year or so.

(Spring Break) During my spring break I went "road-tripping" with some friends. We hung out around Clara City and Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and then headed to Neligh, Nebraska. Each day was loosely based upon a routine: wake up around noon, shower, eat lunch, read / play cards, eat supper, watch a movie, talk until one or two, then back to sleep. I finished about five books, including "The Count of Monte Cristo", which I had started towards the beginning of this semester. I had a lot of fun hanging out with friends. The weather was warm, and at times the scenery just begged to be photographed.

(20 February 2004) Today I had the privilege of helping out at a Michael Card concert. The crew and musicians were a joy to be around. I met my aunt and two cousins, too. And right now I'm listening to one of his CD's that I got. Now to bed.

(13 February 2004) Hey, hey,hey! I'm sort of still moving back in. Unpacking, cleaning, reading and hanging out with friends. Ripping my CD collection went really fast, compared to when I converted them to MP3's a few years ago. I have been in the campus center alot, sometimes reading on the new PPC. I've gotten a lot of hours in at work already this month. And that's the news from Dordt College, where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and the children are all above average.

(17 January 2004) Hey, hey, hey! I've been busy moving back in. Unpacking, reading and hanging out with friends. Today I started converting my entire CD collection to Ogg Vorbis in anticipation of a new Pocket PC that can play that format. I was also going to jam with a friend, but the only available drumset was not fit to be played. Tonight, iceskating is planned. The extended forecast is unavailable at this time.

(3 January 2004) Imagine this: you are on an island filled with savage birds, weird fish. There are preternatural objects suspended in the sky. All you have is a limited supply of helium balloons. Could you survive? I could. "Balloon Fight" blows every other Nintendo game out of the water. Probably even "Duck Hunt!" That's saying alot.
But since this is the news section, I will refrain from further review of out-of-print game cartridges. Yesterday I went to two Guitar Centers with three friends. I didn't buy anything. Except a zesty Asian Almond Chicken wrap at Schlotzky's Deli. After I got back, I got back to reading "Crime and Punisment". About three hours after midnight, I despaired that the book would ever end, read a bit about Noah and went to bed. Then today I read a bit more, fell again into despair and headed to Rockford to play Atari and Nintendo with an old friend. Obviously, old is a relative term, considering that we weren't born when some of those games were made, and that I've only known him for like four and a half years. Now it's just after nine, and I can bring hope to the world: Crime and Punishment is only six parts long, plus a happy epilogue.

(1 January 2004) Our family brought a radio-controlled clock into the kitchen so we could greet the New Year at the proper time. I bet some of you were up to two or three minutes off! We toasted each other's punch mix, had some Hershey's chocolates, and then I dispersed.

(once upon a time) I had a wonderful first semester at college in 2003. Even in disappointments on various fronts, I learned much more about trust and hope in God. Overall, I had so many good surprises that I can hardly wait for next semester. I'm signed up for five new classes right now: Music and Digital Technology, Aesthetics, Number Theory, Multivariable Calculus and Communications 110. I am very eager to get back to Dordt to see friends again and to see what those classes might be like. In the meantime, I want to look up a bunch of old friends around NW Illinois. And find a place in this house where I can read without getting attacked by Asian Beetles.

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Site news, Spring and Summer 2004

(20 July 2004) Little tiny updates. And a whole lotta new pictures in many collections. So...check 'em out!

(3 July 2004) Pictures, pictures, pictures. Added several more pictures, including starting a "new" collection. (which is actually just an extension of Family and Friends. It's called...."More Family and Friends.")

(26 June 2004) Actually posting more Axstar stuff, including pictures.

(21 June 2004) The Axstar models/serial numbers page is done enough to be put up.

(12 June 2004) Made Axstar links page, worked on improved Axstar models/serial numbers table. Added another IH picture.

(10 June 2004) Put up a collection of Inspiration Hills pictures. Background Axstar work, added two serial numbers.

(22 May 2004) Added two more songs. Added a ton to the Axstar guitar side of this site. I'm wondering if I could find some more pictures to put up someday.

(15 May 2004) Added a bit of Axstar project information, did some background work on that project. Late tonight, I updated the music page and added one of the songs I wrote for a class this semester.

(13 April 2004) Added a picture or two to every collection after some getaways and travels. Improved the picture page layout again.

(1 April 2004) Added "Along the Way" collection to picture section, and added a few pictures to other collections.

(25 March 2004) Added a now-small photo collection, More of the Midwest. Another collection currently under consideration. Some more music might be posted eventually, too.

(1 January 2004) Moved the older, histrionic news to an archive page. You no longer have to download so many euphuistic entries just to see my latest uses of thesaurus.com.

(31 December 2003) Improved a couple of site images. Removed banner from each picture's page for nicer presentation.

(29 December 2003) Work applied to the music section. I found a mostly finished song from last May and added it to the online collection. Having thoughts about posting 'some thoughts'.

(24 December 2003) Added just a few more pictures.

(22 December 2003) The behind-the-scenes workings of this site have come along quite nicely. Now that I've got the software and structure nearly nailed down, I'd like to fine tune the look-and-feel and put up a few more features.

(view old news)