Go farther!

Go Farther is the slogan of the Students Run Philly Style program. At today 7:30AM practice, I ran farther than I have before: 5 miles. One of my 8th graders, Jaron, did 5 too. He and I ran together during the last lap, and it was cool how we both were able to push each other. When I jogged up to him, he said that he needed me for motivation to get the last one in. Well, we did! There's something so special about connecting with students outside of the classroom that goes beyond academics and makes the relationship personal.

Last night Seth, John Neely, Nate, Kamil, a guy named Al B, and I went to the movie 300. I gave it 3.5 stars out of 5. As far as war movies go, it was beautifully rendered. The computer graphics were smooth and allowed an artistic element to display a world that seemed like a mix between Lord of the Rings, Braveheart, and Gladiator. Personally, I'd prefer the real world scenic effects of Braveheart or LOTR. The story of the battle is incredible, and it makes me hold my view of Michigan State Spartan fans just a little higher. It's a good movie to watch with guys, which is exactly what we did!

Yesterday Seth, Nate, and I went to the dog park in Northern Liberties. What great fun for dogs! There were about 15-20 of them running around without leashes in a large, contained environment. You could see the dog social life playing itself out with greeting each other, chasing balls, and, of course, the endless sniffing. Murphy was really calm as usual, and he made me feel important by visiting me from time to time to wag his tail and acknowledge my presence! Even when there were cool dogs, he took the time to notice me. =)


Thursday was Will's birthday (big Cubs fan friend from Jefferson). We celebrated by going to Dave and Busters, which I can best describe as Chuckie E. Cheese for adults. Delicious food, interactive games, and fun company. I'd like to go back sometime; you get tickets for every game you play--including trivia, DDR, basketball, racing, skeeball, and others. Sarah and I combined our winning tickets at the end and bought a travel coffee mug and a deck of cards. Sarah bought me the biggest gumball I've ever chewed. (pictures yet to come)

I drove Sarah to the airport early Friday morning. She made a stop in Pittsburgh to enjoy a day with her mom, then drove her sister's car to Michigan for a weekend date with Lydia. Lydia and Walter just snagged an apartment in Washington DC, and they're exactly two weeks away from their wedding! Sarah was looking forward to one last fling with Lydia and helping her get ready for the big day. Unfortunately, talking with her on the phone has reminded me too much of our communication last year. Dating tip: relationships are way better in person! Still, I think the distance can be very beneficial and help the relationship to grow in ways it couldn't if the couple lived in the same town. I know God used it to bless us...but do we need to be reminded what it was like again? grrr...

In the meantime, I have a few days before I fly out to West Palm Beach to meet up with my family. I'm teaching children's church tomorrow, and I need to get organized around here. Productivity, here I come!