Blogging Down

So something apparently went wrong with my Blackberry during my week long hiatus in Haiti and now I can't really access the network for anything internet based. Thus, my phone has been reduced to that of a brick phone. When the realization donned on my I had a little bit of a freak out. (though not as bad as this kid here. ) Considering though that I use my blackberry to compose around 80+% of my blogs, I haven't really been hashing out my blogs. Now I know that I said I would blog while in Haiti, and I did, sort of, but I haven't gotten around to posting any of it. Mostly because the blogging was really V-logging and I haven't had a chance to sit down and sift through 80GB of video to find my personal v-logs. When I do end up finding them though I will definitely edit them and get them up here ASAP, although I give forewarning that I wasn't exactly good about v-logging every night so there'll only be a couple. Also, concerning Haiti, I've set aside time this Saturday to sit down and put together a trailer for the movie I'm going to put together. Whether or not it'll be done by this Saturday is a different story, but I'll for sure post that here as well. And now I'm off to go and get materials for a new Stations of the Cross project. The point of this particular update is to note that I am probably not going to be posting daily until I get my blackberry up and running again, and what I've learned today is that I'm exceedingly dependent on technology. That's okay though. I can handle that. I can also make a fire in the wild if I need to... I think.

-Ken

Return of the Ken

I LIVE!!!!!!!

-Ken

Take-off

Here's the thing about the past couple days, they've been stressful. What with the e-mails, and the last minute homework assignments, and the planning for the Haiti trip and San Francisco trip, I've been a bit busy. Remember that buffer I mentioned earlier? About having a few posts kind of ready to go so I don't miss any deadlines? Yeah, I never wrote them, I didn't think I'd need them. I was so very wrong. Anyhoo, stressful is the name of the game, though I suppose that having an upbeat attitude and finding some sense of enjoyment in the constant calls and e-mails and texts streaming to and from my blackberry. I felt like one of those wall street guys that you see in the movies that are constantly just walking around and doing something on their phone. Wanna know a little secret? I always kind of wanted to be that guy.

*gasp*

I think I know what you're thinking. Why would you, The Un-friggin-believable Ken, want to be one of those guys that is portrayed as having everything but having nothing? The guy that's usually a dick to everyone and you're happy when a man in a panda suit falls on him after a sky diving accident?

Well the answer is rather simple really, it's not that I was fond of his personality type or his ignorant thoughts of "I'm the best thing to happen to this world" (Take note that I don't just think I am, I know I am. There's a difference.) It was the concept that he was important. People wanted to talk with him (perhaps needed would be more appropriate here.) That's the thing I found attractive about being that guy.

Being put in charge of the Spring Break Planning Committee was something that I didn't think would be too difficult, especially since from the sounds of things in the past trips were put together the week before hand. I was positive that the responsibility given to me, though important, would be small. Consequentially, I didn't push too hard to even really begin meetings until late december for when we got back. I figured we could easily do the work of a week over the course of a couple months. Now, mind you, if I were to do this again I'd definately have done things differently. I would've begun meetings ASAP and ideally semester 1 would be all the planning and semester 2 would be all of the fundraising so we can get as many people to go as possible. But that's not what I did. I procrastinated. So when we met in January for the 1st or 2nd time soon after Haiti was devastated by it's earthquake, we were very ready to begin plans for Haiti since planning had just barely begun to get off the ground the change wasn't that difficult. Thus began our planning.

At first we had very little information, and it was not until the first week of February that we learned more information. Thanks to Ryan and his connections to Missions Door, we were able to communicate with Missions Door to set-up the trip. However, it soon became apparent that we would have to pay much more than for just the ticket since a large number of volunteers were showing up and going, "Here I am to help! I didn't really think things through though and didn't pack any extra things. Oh, and what do you have to eat? I'm starved!" Well needless to say this type of volunteer became much more of a burden than a help. So the goal was to be completely self-sufficient once we got there and during our trip there including food, water, and lodging. This was going to cost significantly more than the cost of the ticket with was sitting at around $700. So, we set our initial estimate at $1000 and began fundraising.

We set up a sign-up list to see who was interested and we brainstormed. Some ideas went through, some didn't. We needed to raise a lot of money in a very short amount of time. The three fundraisers that ended up going into action were: an Art Show, a Benefit Concert, and a Yard Sale.
The Art show was extraordinarily successful and managed to raise around $700. Ingrid was the person in charge here and with the help of many creative volunteers around the church the night was full of pieces to bid on. Kris, Tim, Rachael, and others spent a large amount of time in the wee hours before hand setting everything up. A major thanks to Expresso Art Cafe for being so awesome and letting us use their facilities for free AND doing a percentage night with us.
The Benefit Concert was also rather successful, and some talented artists and their fans had a chance to give their support to our cause. Colter was the person who concieved this and ultimately put it together along with all of the performers from each group. The final amount raised from the concert after venue fees was around $150. Thanks here to The Rock Cafe for hosting the event.

The Yard Sale was the last major form of fundraising and went off pretty well. People had a chance to do some early spring cleaning and donate to our cause. I believe the totals from the event was around $200. Ryan was the person in charge of putting this together and he did a great job. The actual event was run by Josh S, Renay, Jeremy, and a couple other people I believe. Thanks goes to Ryan and Liz for allowing us to use their carport as a marketing venue.

So there you go, those were most of the fundraisers. A couple weeks ago a table was set up on the mall that asked for donations, a huge thanks to those that assisted with that endeavor on such short notice. Even though not much was raised, every little bit counts and it was a great way to help boost morale and show dedication to the cause.

If you're good with math you'll notice that we didn't raise enough money to cover the expenses of everyone, thus people were responsible for their own fundraising. The primary method of fundraising in this respect was in the form of support letters. Letters that go to friends, family, acquiantances even. Simply posting an update on facebook asking if people wanted to get a letter was a huge boost for my wife and I. It was surprising to hear from people that we'd not spoken to in a very long time asking if they could get a letter. And here's the key to support letters. The goal isn't to get all of your money from 3-5 sources, the goal is to send out 100 letters and get like $20 from each person. It's not a huge amount, but it adds up fast. We had the money, now we needed a plan.

The thing about Haiti is that it was, and still is to a degree, chaos. There's very little infrastructure and what needed to be done wasn't exactly clear. So whereas at first we were told that we'd be in tents and probably be building latrines and that the cost was a $1000, I feel like it's understandable that within the last couple weeks the informations solidified into us staying in some sort of volunteers' facility with guards, rebuilding a secrity fence around a school and probably some of the school itself, and the costs jumping up to $1200. Now while understandable, it doesn't help those going as far as planning is concerned very much, especially when the price keeps jumping around between $1000 and $1500. It wasn't until a week ago that all of the information was truly solidified, and that's not because of anything else besides the fact that things over there are changing constantly and there is not exactly a huge gameplan where we fit into yet.

Now that pretty much brings me to where I am now. After shopping, packing, sending out countless e-mails, texts, and phone calls, and doing last minute assignments I'm 30,000 feet in the air on a rapid descent. It's sobering really that we've all made it this far and that we're all about to go on adventure.

Now, I'm supposed to be writing about something that I've learned today. Well instead, I'll note what I've learned from my experiences this far. Ultimately, I think I've accomplished my goals a little bit of being a good leader. At the same time I realized what the meaning of sacrifice is in terms of time a bit better, what it's like to be doing something for a good cause, the supreme amount of dedication that people can have when they put their hearts into it. I've made a number of mistakes putting this whole thing together, and to be perfectly honest I really feel like I did a bad job and didn't pull my weight. It's alright I suppose since everything worked out, however if things hadn't I don't know what I'd have done. I could have done a much better job of staying on top of communications than I did and for that I feel true regret. I'll be sure to do my very best in the future to stay on top of communications 100%. There were a couple other things I could've done better and I've taken note of them and am looking to change those things as best I can to become the best leader I can.

The thing is though, I really didn't make this happen. Sure, I hold the title of being in charge of the trip and all, but really it was those I worked with that made this whole trip happen. Thus I want to especially thank the following people:
-Ryan for being our contact person and doing a ton of research.
-Ingrid for the Art Show and her continued assistance on the planning committee.
-Colter for the Concert and his continued assistance on the planning committee.
-Camille for her assistance with the research and assistance on the planning committee.
-Kris for working herself too hard.
-David for playing and setting things up.
-Renay for helping to man and set things up.
-Josh M for helping to man and set things up.
-And countless others who've contributed, those are just the people that are off the top of my head.
These are the people that really deserve all of the credit for their hard work.

I'll most like be unable to really blog while in Haiti, but I'll still write and just send it when I get back to the states. Stay tuned and send us your prayers.

-Ken

Clubs

Clubs may be a bit overrated, but I will admit that they've got some sick sound tech and a damn good PL. Cheers!

-Ken

So little Time

So here's the thing, I've actually picked up around 5 posts worth of ideas today alone, however I can't very well post everything as that would be ridiculous. However, what that does mean is that I can make a few drafts and sort of release them, that way if I forget one day or simply don't have time, or I've got writer's block then it's alright. A buffer, of sorts. Now the thing that I've chosen to write about today is pretty simple actually, and again it's more of a discovery than anything else. (Note my precise usage of the words learn and discover, it'll do you good in the future.) Now semantics aside, I'd like to point out that I've noted that I am rather fond of word play. By that I mean that I find an uncanny sense of joy in having a verbal sparing match against someone, particularly over some sort of chat medium such as facebook chat or text messaging. Why this is I'm not really sure, but boy do I miss it. Perhaps it's because I'm not part of the high school emo kid crowd or whatever social group is "hip" these days, but I feel like I simply don't get as much of it as I'd like. Or, perhaps it's that my mental capacity has increased over the years and what seemed to be a fascinating duel of the states of words has now become no more than a boring bout of rabble. Perhaps I've simply gone blind and the words I see before me now are not the words I saw some years ago. Whatever the case, I've discovered that I am rather bored and that whenever I do manage to get into any sort of verbal spat I drag it out as much as possible. To those that have suffered such a fate, well, I'm sorry if I dragged it out, but thank you very much for participating. In some cases you well may have made my day. But hey! what can I say? I was having fun in a way that I tend to be a bit deprived in. I suppose that'll be all for today, I need to go and study for an exam.

-Ken

Doesn't Count

I'm not really counting this one for my blog of the day, but do you see these two men? At first glance they are in a business meeting. In actuality they are playing Medal of Honor. I take heart in this site.

-Ken

H3

Dear World,

Today's lesson was very short. Today I learned that I am still very much a BAMF in HALO3. 13 assassinations in KotH? Yes, please. Huh... that phrase seems awfully familiar.... I'm out.

-Ken

Reminiscence

What have did I learn yesterday? Well, it's more a matter of discovery, which is synomynous with learning. Thus, rediscovery is essentially learning, I digress though, what did I learn? That inevitably, one's heart is bound to be broken. It's a by-product of setting up unrealistic expectations and then being subject to the reality of the impossible. However, to simply leave on a plane of realism does not allow for any sort of dreaming, and without dreams and hope, life would have little to give.

-Ken

Cold Feet

No, I'm serious. My feet are cold, enough so that I am contemplating going and putting on a new pair since I've already placed my old pair in my hamper. Decisions, decisions.... Blanket! Aha!

I digress.

Anyhow, today I'm going to keep it a bit short. So what's today's topic? Old friends. They're a great thing to have, they really are, because the thing is that no matter how much time has passed, you know that the friendship will remain in some way or another. That's honestly, the way we needs to be. Put your heart into your interactions with people and you'll implant your feelings into them rooted deep enough that should they ever forget the time you spent with them, when they are with you again they have that sense of knowing you because for a short time they got a feel for what your heart's like, and that is something that doesn't change.

-Ken

RL Skill-Up! Woot!

Ken has learned how to create a new item: Simple Electric Motor.
Engineering increased to 27.

-Ken

Technicalities

So... Technically it's one in the morning, however I'm going go ahead and state that I simply said that I'd blog once a day, and currently I am the gamer's timeclock. Meaning? Meaning that the day ends when I go to sleep and starts when I wake up regardless of the world's lighting conditions. Concerning what happens when I pull an all-nighter, the answer is simple, the day simply becomes a combination of the two days in the 6 hours between the two days starting at some point of reference. For example, if I stay up all night tonight, then from like 9:00 (when my first class is) till around 15:00 is considered to be Thur'Friday. The pronounciation of such contracts is not the topic of this post. Speaking of which, the thing I wanted to point out today is that I am truly thankful that I am capable of seeing in color. I was walking to class today, listening to some music, and the song All Around Me (Acoustic version) by Flyleaf came on as I walked through the rows of trees by Maricopa. Needless to say, it was a pretty awesome moment in time. Anyways, that's it, I'm tired, it's been a good day, make sure you stay away from psychos with fresh fruit.

-Ken

Send

[EDIT: So... Apparently, when I'm rather tired my cognitive functions drop slightly as I thought that typing send would send my post. For those of you who are technically challenged, this means that my post did not, in fact, get sent. So here ya go, I'm keeping the send in there for reference.]

Cuss the Cussing Cussers

Something that I've noticed over the past couple days is that the rate at which I swear has jumped up at an alarming rate. Now why this is, I'm not quite sure, however when I pointed it out Josh said that it might be because I am not playing WoW anymore. Now let me explain that remark by stating that although WoW is a fun game, it is also a very social game and thus my interactions with other random people is a bit more frequent. Said people aren't necessarily the brightest, and by not the brightest I mean in the sense of everybody thinks that they are the shit and that they could never be wrong and anything that goes wrong could never be their fault. These types of people, just as in real life, irritate me to an extreme. And when I say to an extreme I mean that I have scrub moments of reaching through my computer and punching them in the face. As a consequence, as an outlet for my anger, I tend to cuss. A lot. Thus the statement about me not playing WoW. Now obviously there's an flaw within my logic in that since I no longer play WoW I don't have to deal with those frustrations anymore. I say to you nay. That is not the case, in fact it is quite the opposite. You see, not spending my free time in WoW's virtual playground means that I have to deal real people who are irritating. However, unlike before there is currently no where for me to vent my nerdrage and thus I find the logic of my not playing WoW being related to my increase in casual cussing to be sound and valid. Now then, obviously this is not a good thing as swearing is offense (especially in the presence of a Lady) and does nothing as far as giving my intellect any sort of real boost. Thus I've decided that I would like to decrease the amount of cussing that I tend to do to a more reasonable level, namely to where it was before in the very least if not better. Now this is where you, my wonderful readers, come in. I would like to request that those of you who are readers, should your memory permit, to assist me in getting over this bad little habit of mine henceforth. Now if you are female, feel free to slap me if you so desire (gently please) and if you are a guy a punch to the arm will do (again, gently), however the most preferential method would be a simple reminder, but whatever floats your boat. I do appreciate the help everyone! (This is actually a pretty effective method, I tried it in high school when my swearing got out of hand and got over it in a week. Although, I did have one girl that would actually smack me when I did swear around her, I'd say that accelerated the process a bit.)

-Ken

What the Fishing?

So... in retrospect.... looking at my last post.... I was very tired. VERY tired.... So I'm not really sure what I have to say to that... Moving on... Today I was watching an anime and realize something, for some reason I have some sort of self identification with the character depicted within this next picture that's named Happy.

Why do I have some sort of self identification with this character?

1. This character is ridiculous, and so am I (in a I am un-friggin-believably past koolness sort of way.)

2. The cat is fishing. I like fishing.

3. The cat looks kind of angry, but determined. A sort of self-righteousness that is so full of passion it deserves its own sort category of awesomeness. I am all three of these things.

4. His dialog indicates that he is very intense and focused on his true goal in life, the fulfillment of hunger. I too crave this fulfillment from time to time.

5. I am not a cat. This doesn't actually contribute to the whole self-identification thing, I just sort of added it in here because even though I think it's obvious, undoubtedly I'd get complaints about not being cat-like.

And... I think that's it, short, sweet and to the point. I'll take it on the rocks with a shot of gin, thank you Jeeves.

-Ken

Sleep Deprivation

I'm not as young as I used to be. Lack of sleep takes a greater toll. Pepperjack grilled cheese is delicious. I still miss WoW. And I'm twitching. Good night. Sir. Madam. Cheerios. Potato? But only if the lobster punts the book with all of its carrot and lands a good snuggle-snappy.