Archive for October, 2004

Halloween Weekend

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on 10/31/2004, 11:11:06 am
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Saturday: A very easy and relaxing day, I was quite pleased. Kristen and I went and had lunch at Wendy’s, FINALLY, someone that likes going there just as much as I do. Later in the day there was the Lubbock game that I got a bunch of free to. A sizeable amount of the I handed out actually got used. Before we went to the hockey game we all chilled and watched go up 14-0 on Kansas State where they would stay and win the game handily. The hockey game was pretty uneventful, both teams are HORRIBLE, but I can’t complain, it’s the first hockey game of any kind that I have been to in over two years, dang Dallas and the NHL lockout. Afterwards we all went to One Guy’s and had cheese and pepperoni pizzas. Apparently that didn’t sit well with anyone afterward because I had rumblings in my tummy and so did Abby and Kristen.

Sunday: I called Kristen to wake her up to remind her to get some studying done before mass, but apparently she had already been up early horkin’ all over the place, apparently she got food poisoning or something from One Guy’s. She would be in and out of it all day. I went and played the role of the concerned guy for a little bit before to see how she was and she at least didn’t get sick while I was there. After Mass we had men’s softball playoffs and a regular season men’s game. We got trounced in the softball game something like 17-10, it was a slobber knocker. Then I was quite disappointed because we didn’t have enough people to play so we had to forfeit. It really gets to me when people say they are gonna show up for something and then don’t and also don’t even have the courtesy to call and say they won’t be there, just irks me like no other. I left early and went and checked in on Kristen to see if she was still under the weather, which she was. She has also now developed a low-grade fever, which isn’t good. We said a Rosary together again and I offered her up as my intention for the Rosary so that she would get better soon. Now it’s time to get some sleep for my first day at my new FULL TIME JOB! Good night and God Bless everyone!

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Back in the Fold

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on 10/30/2004, 3:13:06 am
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Sorry for the lack of updates this past week, have been kinda busy, or should I say distracted somewhat? I know all of you LOVE my extremely detailed play by play updates, but this will be a quick and dirty annotated version of this past weeks events:

Sunday: First RA #32 Leadership meeting. We had the best time, got the theme picked, staff’s picked, fundraising things, everything but made the necessary posters to reveal them, definitely a Christ-led meeting.Had a really awesome experience through prayer with my mom who is 5 hrs away and with Kristen in , it is amazing how God works through those around us. We had 3 intramural games, 2 softball and 1 . Both softball games were wins and the game was a loss.

Monday: Interview for a position at NTS went well, so that was good. Had Marcel’s evangelization forum at 7-9pm. That ran over a little bit and prevented me from attending my small faith group for the second week in a row. At 11pm we had a guy’s playoff flag football game which ended in a win. Then it was off to CTK for me and Kristen for our almost daily Rosary. After that we had an amazing few hours in the Adoration chapel with some praise and worship. Afterwards we had the most definitive DTR (Defining The Relationship) of just about anyone I know of recently *wink wink* So, yes, it is official, the lovely Kristen Raines and I are now dating/boyfriend-girlfriend/an item, all of that.

Tuesday: Much of Tuesday escapes me but I’m sure if it is important and someone reminds me, I’ll put some more here, oh, I found out that I didn’t get selected for the position at NTS which I had interviewed for on Monday.

Wednesday: Started the day off by taking Kristen to Daily Mass at CTK at 6:55am, I love goin’ when I’ve gotten enough sleep. Marcel’s Catholicism 101 class’s topic was communication and how vital it is to a healthy, Christ-centered relationship. I get so much from these classes, it was also the first one that Kristen had been to and she loved it, she plans to continue coming with me each week. After Marcel’s class was 4th Day numero dos! It had been a Staffer Sharing day in the past but was done a little differently since this retreat is about those retreating and not those staffing. We made it a “ reunion” night of ice cream and reminiscing. It was really cool. Afterwards I believe that Kristen and I went and said a Rosary at CTK if I’m not mistaken.

Thursday: Well, I took my girl out to lunch at BOTS (Buns Over Texas), apparently she has never been before, definitely something I had to remedy. We both got a hotdog, cuz their’s are sooo good! At 6pm we had guy’s flag football playoff game number 3. We played against a team that had Mr. Sean Gasser on it, lil’ bro of CSA Social co-chair Stacie Gasser. It was unfortunate for him that his team had to play ours, we handed them a decisive loss. I was lucky enough to snag two touchdown catches, two extra point catches, two interceptions, one of which was returned 80 yds for a two point conversion, so I was pretty tired afterwards. Then it was off to The Vatican, aka Pope’s, aka Sadie and Laura’s, to find inspiration for a costume to wear to The Rock and then the CSA Party. We came to a consensus that I should go as Garrett Higgins, this fine gentleman has a quite distinctive style of dress and from the reaction I received at The Rock and the party, I pulled it off quite well. The party was good times, afterward I brought Kristen home and we just chilled and hung out for a while. We also said a Rosary in her room and had one of her from down the hall join us, which I thought was really awesome!

Friday: Was woken at 8:04am to my cell phone ringing, it was Renee Vargas, the HR contact I have at NTS informing me that the person that had been selected ahead of me for the job I interviewed on Monday had decided to not accept the job offer after all and I GOT THE JOB!!! Then in celebration I went back to sleep until Melissa wakes me up with a call at 11:00 something to inform me of plans for lunch at Double Dave’s at 1pm. So at 1 I went and had a good lunch with my buddies, Natashia, Melissa, Kathry, Marcos, Brian, and Theo. Then the next item on the agenda was Abby’s last game as a Texas Lady Raider player. Mike, Andy, Adam, and I had the brilliant idea of painting up for the game. We show up to the game with shirts on and Abby sees us and we wait until they come outta the locker room at half-time for the full reveal. She sees us all up at the top of the stands with the letters A-B-B-Y painted on our chests in support of our favorite Lady Raider. She unfortunately didn’t get to play, but we love her anyways. I went and picked up Kristen and we all headed to Rosa’s for dinner. After Rosa’s we came back to my place and watched Super Troopers, definitely good times had by all. Well, I guess that wasn’t as quick and dirty as I had originally planned, well there ya have it folks, you have now been updated on my entire week. Today when I was talking to my mom and letting her know I got a job, she was like, “DANG Jared, you have been blessed two-fold this week and two out of the three prayers I say for you every night have been answered. You’ve got yourself a lovely and beautiful girlfriend PLUS a full-time job starting next week!” And with that I pray that God may Bless You all and Keep You, goodnight.

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It’s Been A While…

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Jared
on 10/24/2004, 3:47:19 am
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Tuesday: I went to Daily Mass at CTK and then came back to sleep. I was later awoken by a call for an interview for a job on campus as a “computer operator” for the 12am-8am shift, so I respectfully declined. Not much else of note happened Tuesday, somewhat of a slow news day.

Wednesday: Finally worked out for the first time in nearly a month, have been really meaning to get back to that so that I can stay healthy and in shape, but haven’t had much time because of and so many dang intramural games. But now that I am “unemployed” I have a little more free time on my hands. I got a call from First Line Solutions, a company that sends computer ’s, like me, out on various jobs around the West Texas areas, not just Lubbock. I now have a job set up for Friday where I go to Grainger Parts, which is right next to Jo-Dee’s T’s & Caps where the intramural shirts were done, and tear down 12 old pc’s and set up 12 brand new ones, monitors, keyboards, printers, blah blah blah, the whole nine yards. Then it is off to the first 4th Day! Today was retreater sharing, it was really good to hear how some of the retreaters were affected by . Afterward there were some extra staffer t-shirts left over so I grabbed one in every color that was left, I love having shirts, can’t go wrong with them. After 4th Day we all ended up hanging out at Pope’s to watch Game 6 of the ALCS between the Yankees and the Red Sox, congrats Sox on win number 3 in a row. Then on the way back Kristen and I stopped by CTK and said a Rosary together, how awesome is that? I think it is the coolest thing in the world to be able to pray with your ;)

Thursday: Today was just as awesome. I got a call from Renee Vargas, HR head honcho at NTS, and said that there was another job opening that suited my skills a little better than the job I had previously interviewed for. She said that she knows I would be a really good employee and is just trying to find me a spot in the company so that I can my way up or into the IT department. How awesome is that? The lady is genuinely looking out for me because she knows of my current situation and really want to help! If only there were more people in the world like her, it would be a much better place. With it being Thursday and all of course there had to be The Rock! Marcel gave a really good talk about evangelizing and continuing to help grow the faith community of St. E’s. He is definitely a gifted man of God and can most certainly give good speeches/talks. Then at 10pm there was the CSA God Squad vs. CSA Apostles intramural flag football showdown. We (Apostles) got trounced by Phillip’s God Squad, it’s all good, because we are all brothers and sisters of the same organization, I just thought it was awesome that for sure one CSA team would make it to the next round. Immediately after that was the CSA Devil’s men’s game. It was a huge turnout for people to come watch, I was so pumped to see some of my RA kids come join in the fun spectating. I finished the game with two touchdowns, one reception, one rushing, and an interception. We ended up winning 29-0, so on to the next round for 2 out of 3 CSA flag football teams in one night, can’t ask for more than that. When the game was over Kristen needed some computer help so I obliged and helped her out some. She wasn’t kidding when she said she needed help, it was seriously JACKED! I didn’t leave ’til 4:15am and there was still to do.

Friday: Another sweet day, I made a good chunk of change with this First Line Solutions job I picked up, can’t argue with $20/hr can ya? I sure didn’t. The was actually fulfilling because I was actually getting things accomplished, something I hadn’t done in a long time at my previous few jobs, including at . We were originally scheduled for 10 hrs or so, but got in done in 5 because it was me and a fellow co-worker from when I still used to there, so we got the job done lickity split. After I got off Mark came to pick me up to go celebrate his friend Jeff’s 21st . On the way to dinner we stopped by Kristen’s place and picked her up as well. Laura met us at Texas Roadhouse and we all had a good dinner with bits of conversation interspersed between gnashing of teeth, haha. After that Mark, Laura, Kristen, and I ended up at Pope’s to watch Enemy of the State, I believe we all nodded off at one time or another during the movie because we started it so late, it ended just before 2am. After that was over I took Kristen home and called it a night.

Saturday: Well, I was planning on getting in some good sleep but Philly-boy calls me at 11am telling me of a large bbq at his place, free of charge or need to bring anything, that I was completely unaware of. So I take my sweet time getting ready because I am really drained and decide I need a haircut before I head over to Phillip’s for some pre-game grub. I show up to the joint and it is hoppin’, plenty of people had been there for a while already since he called me at 11am and it was nearly 1pm by the time I arrived, it was all good though. I have my fill of food and drink before the game, play daddy and keep an eye on some people, and then head back to my place to get ready for the /UT game. I meet up with Laura and Mike at the Student Center and head on up to the game. When we get in and down to our seats we see that Kristen and her and had staked out a spot right next to our section, coincidence, hmmm, I think not, haha. As I’m sure all of you know the game was quite disappointing for fans, but alas it is not the end of the world and life will go on. After the game me, Mike, and Laura hit up Sonic cuz we are all seriously starving and then head to Pope’s to hang out with some of Laura’s relatives who were in town for the game as well. Off to my place then Mike take’s me and Laura headed up to Adoration. Kristen gives me a ring and I go pick her up to go say a rosary with me at CTK and we see a ton of fellow CSA’ers up there doing praise and worship in the Adoration chapel which is awesome. Did I mention how cool it is praying with my ? Oh yeah, I did, but whatever. Kristen and I went and said our Rosary in front of the tabernacle, which was way cool. After we were done we chatted with the Behnkster for a little bit and then headed back to Kristen’s. There was still some laptop maintenance that needed to be finished so I did and it took ‘til nearly 3:30am, whoa! And as soon as I start, which was around 1am or so, she crashes out AGAIN! Apparently I am so interesting that I put girls to sleep now without even having to say a word, my super powers of boredom are increasing, hazahh!! And here I am at nearly 5am getting you guys all caught up on my week, so I will now bid you all a good night and may God Bless You and Keep You.

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Touched By An Angel

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Jared
on 10/19/2004, 1:33:49 am
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What an amazing weekend! I can’t begin to describe it’s awesomeness for obvious reasons, but trust me when I say this, I am continuously blown away by God’s beautiful presence in my life. Here is my story for today: Well, I am hanging at Pope’s before Me, Sadie, Laura and Mark go see the Friday Night Lights, and Me and Mark are trying to hurry the girls along so we start heading outside and once we get out the door Pope comes up to us and gives us both two “Novena to St. Joseph” booklets. He says he just got them in the mail and felt compelled to give each of us two and give the extra to someone else who might need one. So I was like, NO WAY! because on Saturday night at RA while making preparations for Sunday Me and Crystal were talking about stuff and she was seeing what was going on with and I said nothing this week because my job was over on Thursday and she suggested I start a novena to St. Joseph because she did that and before it was over or on the last day she got a new job that paid more, was less hours, and she enjoyed the people much more. So then I write “NOVENA, ST. JOSEPH” on the top of my left hand. It was still there when Pope gave Me and Mark those St. Joseph novena booklets, and he said that he didnt even see that on my hand prior to giving them to me. THEN, here’s the kicker… on the way home from hanging out with Laura and Sadie after the movie I stopped by CTK to start my novena, as I was about to head over to that spot in the middle of all the candle’s to say the rosary and the accompanying daily prayers I saw a lady already there and Bobby Hinajosa standing by the center of the room by the chairs, so I sat down and waited for the lady to finish. When she gets up Bobby goes and talks to her and I kneel down and say my rosary and prayers, when I get up to leave Bobby stops me to talk for a second. He tells me that prior to my arriving he was in adoration and got a strong feeling that the lady straight across from him was in need of some extra prayer and that she was there for a specific reason and had a large intention as the reason she was there. Then he tells me he asked in prayer that if he was supposed to talk to her that she would get up, go light a candle, and kneel down and begin a rosary in the spot she was before I got there, she did that, and Bobby went out and waited for her to finish and then approached her and told her that he had gotten in prayer that he needed to pray for her for a very specific intention that was close to her heart. Well, it turns out that is exactly why the lady was there, her son is an alcoholic and she was there praying for that specific reason, and then I told him why I was there and he said that yeah, he didn’t have a job either and had been beginning to pray about it as well, and then I told him my story from the day and was like, well I guess I’ve found my person I need to give my extra novena booklet to and took him out to my truck and gave it to him right away. How amazing is that? Just goes to show you that God works in beautiful ways! My God Bless You ALL and Keep you, especially those excessively tired from RA this weekend needing extra sleep for difficult schoolwork.

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Preparation and Anticipation

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Jared
on 10/14/2004, 1:23:35 am
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I was at the Student Center from 3pm to 12am last night pretty much non-stop, there was a break for both Daily Mass and dinner at Rudy’s, but other than those breaks I was either doing my own preparation for tomorrow or helping others with their preparations. I am so pumped about this weekend, it is going to be awesome, without a doubt! I finished the box for my table, quite possibly the coolest looking one out of everyone’s, haha, right! Marcel’s talk over Temptation was a good one, he gave the same talk this summer during “The Pebble” but he had some new points added to it for those of us that were here over the summer. It was a normal break from the Theology of the Body talks because it was a small crowd due to RA preparations by other staffers, I just happened to have some free time for it. After Marcel’s talk and after dinner I helped Sadie, Angela, and Ashley with some “office” so things would go quicker and the stress level would be alleviated a bit. I woke up this morning and went to Daily Mass at CTK because Mark said that we should do that and then get a little something for a little someone for a little special occassion, but the boy forgot to wake up, so I went all by myself to Mass, it’s cool though. Then 8:30am rolls around and I have an interview with a Store Manager for one of the Walgreen’s drug stores in Lubbock. It went quite well also, I was applying for a Retail Management Trainee position. He said I had several things going in my favor, a few being my excellent interviewing skills and the fact that I have already graduated and completely free to start a new job immediately after RA seeing as how my job at the BA just ended today. When the interview was done I went back to the office and I got a little going away treat, a really good chocolate cake with nuts on top and Pepsi, all at 9:30am, which totally rocks! So I gave Maria, my supervisor, my beloved office and elevator keys and said good-bye to the place of that I had been at the longest, just over a year and a month. They told me I was welcome to come back anytime, so thats cool. Me and Annie just got back from doing some RA shopping and it’s going to be awesome when our kids arrive, I can’t wait, Annie got herself a girls cow costume at Wal-Mart and I’m gonna be a cowboy, super sweetness will be had. So the things left for today are the Table Staff skit practice and going out to the retreat site to help set up for the arrival of all the retreaters yesterday. God Bless You All and please keep RA #31 in your prayers as I won’t be back on this ’til at least Monday. Don’t forget the season finale for the CSA Devils men’s flag football game tonight at 11pm!

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The Big 2-?

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Jared
on 10/13/2004, 9:25:10 am
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After yesterday I came back to the pad for a little bit and ended up visiting some of my old co-workers in the College Park University Trails leasing office. They all love me there, apparently the new computer is an ass, even moreso than I was and they wish I was still working there, oh well. They made me some super huge cookie, it was awesome. I then headed down to the Super K-Mart on University because Beth and Jordan bought a futon that was too big for Yoda (Beth’s Toyota Camry). So I had to throw it in the back of my truck and take it to her apartment and assemble it for her. By the time we are finished Brian has shown up and we then load Beth’s old couch, that the futon is replacing, into the back of my truck to be lugged off and then we all head to Quizno’s on 4th. The plan is to keep the couch in the back of my truck until it either gets stolen or we find someone that wants it, yes, I know, we are terrible. After dinner I went home and got ready for our football game and headed out to the Rec Fields for the final regular season game for the CSA Apostles. It was a hard fought game with our team actually jumping out in front to start it off, but unfortunately we lost 13-16 with time expiring. It was still a good game, we got the other team to have a prayer with us afterwards and we got our first team picture with all our new duds on, that was cool as well. Then I ended up at the Student Center and began on our box for RA. It is definitely coming out pretty well and I started to paint it and finally went home around 2am. Somehow I was able to wake up this morning at 8am for . On today’s agenda: , RA stuff, Daily Mass, more RA stuff ’til I fall asleep. Everyone have an awesome day, God Bless! P.S. HAPPY SADIE!!!

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