∞

I've decided rapid changes in humidity are the cause of my stuffedness. It dropped down to about 30% humidity the day before i got sickish, then i got better, and it just went back 80ish and now i'm stuffed up again. Luckily, in 3 days i'm going somewhere with no humidity, so i can expect my sinuses to defenestrate themselves.

So, other than being sick (again), life moves on. I went bowling yesterday, so now my hand is all sore from how i spin it, i imagine with poor form. I went to Baton Rouge with my dad today and helped clean out some people's yard. It wasn't as rewarding as the katrina removal, because it didn't seem to need it nearly as much, but it was still nice.

I'm going to kill this blog on monday, or at least close it, cus i don't want portuguese people who i'm trying to teach the gospel read about how i hate catholics. I really don't hate catholics at all, but i'm sure somewhere in my blog there's something that someone would take offense to. Plus, it has nice symbolism of me putting my life on hold and stepping back from my normal stuff.

So, i figure now's as good a time as any to point out my other blog. Just stick 'elderammon' where 'ammonsblog' usually goes, and you'll be there in no time. It's your one stop source for mission updates. I don't really know what it'll be like, but i'm sure it will be interesting.

Well, i guess that's about all. The air conditioner is dead so it's absurdly hot and humid in our house. I'm looking forward to utah, where it is never absurdly hot, or humid. This might be the last post on this blog for two years. So soak it all in.

blech

I feel like crap. I hate being sick, and i'm not even really that sick, but i still hate it. I don't quite have my dad's ability to suck it up and not talk about it (obviously). I can mostly suck it up, but talking about it is the best part. It feels like the front half of my face is going to pop any second. It really came out of nowhere, i was fine all day tuesday, and then before soccer i started feeling a bit nauseous, and then after i got back i started feeling dead and went to sleep and woke up with a sore throat. Hopefully i'm getting all the sick out of the way in the next few days so that i'll be healthy all throughout the Mission.

I got to play soccer yesterday in my spiffy new indoor soccer shoes. They're nice, but i still played really poorly. I'm going to blame it on being sick, i was just kinda off. Plus, now i have a gnarly blister where my foot would usually have a nice callous but for the fact that i've only played soccer a few times over the past year.

Other news: Crime and punishment has gotten a lot better over the past few hundred pages. Now i'm blazing through it. I also have a bunch of other books to read before i go, i'm definitely not going to be able to finish them all, but that's ok.

Well, that's about all. I think i actually might go to sleep before 11, having already slept 7 hours and then had a 3 hours nap (or however long it took for my cell phone to charge). If i go to sleep at 11, I'll officially be going to sleep earlier than i will have to at the MTC (if you count the time change) so if i manage to wake up at 7:30 (hah) i'll be all set. So that's about all that's happening here. One week from now I'll be getting ready for my first night in the MTC. How trippy is that?

Oh p.s. - the reality of the fact that i'm about to leave is starting to sink in. On monday we talked about how i'm going to keep in touch, and it was the first time i really grasped that i'm only going to talk to my family four times in the next two years. (We get two phone calls, on Christmas and Mother's day, otherwise it's letters). I'm also realizing that i really don't know what the logistics will be for keeping my blog going, so i'm glad i've sub-contracted by sister and that she's up to the task. It might be a lot easier for her to just transcribe some of my letters.

boa noite

Already i'm so lonesome i can die...

Well, school is almost done. Tomorrow i have to do a project, and then i'm more or less done. Typical of my life, the days before i leave are the best of my stay here. Everything i have wanted this year has come about very recently. I have great friends, i have enough money, i can walk again, it's warm and happy, i even have a relationship of sorts (btw, i'm not sure whether or not it's worth dating in the weeks before you leave somewhere for 2 years. It does make that last little bit a lot of fun, but it makes leaving so very hard.) But i guess that's why it's called a sacrifice, and i'm sure when i come back, everything will still be here, though perhaps not through the same people. My friend offered to chip for a bus ticket, and it was really very tempting. But tuesday remains my departure. That john denver song is great, but it takes on so much more meaning when you're leaving someplace. Actually lots of songs do. We sang Improve Each Shining Moment and God Be With You Till We Meet Again in church today, which was nice, since this is the last sunday for a large portion of the ward.

I actually have lost my voice almost entirely over the past couple of days and have a pretty gnarly cough, but other than that, this last weekend has been awesome. Friday i had a linear algebra and a physics final, with a physical in between. The physics final didn't go great but it's awesome to be done. And in talking to other people i get the feeling that it didn't go great for too many people, so hooray for curves. Other than that friday was pretty chill, i watched doctor who, did something productive i think, and went to sleep.

Saturday was amazing. I don't think a day could be very much better than saturday was, except if you threw in like a temple trip in the morning, but otherwise it was a very complete day. We went to play baseball at the place where the sandlot was filmed, and also saw vincent's drug store (which looks exactly the same) and tore the skin off a baseball, and i bought glass bottles of pop and rootbeer, so all in all it was a very sandlotish day. After that i went to a modern dance performance, which was cool, if a little abstract. Then we hung out for a while, got hot chocolate, and watched august rush, which is a really sweet movie, and has a very cool soundtrack. That little kid is such a great actor. Also saturday night i submitted my misson papers, so that's almost done with

Today was nice too, i got to church on time so i got to play piano one last time. Sunday school was good, we did Q&A with return missionaries on stuff. And then the bishopric spoke and said farewell and that sort of thing. After church i got an interview with the bishop so now all that stands between me and my call is setting up an interview with the stake president. This actually may turn out to be difficult, but i'm sure everything will work out. After church i ate and took a nap and then went to dinner, ward prayer, and then we watched a couple movies to round the night up very late. Now i'm tired, and i have to get up tomorrow to do that project and hopefully have a bit of time for fun, so it's time for bed. The next one of these will most likely be from mississippi, so, until then, fare well.

~Roger the Shrubber

Oh, by the way, we can now rest easy knowing that i don't have Tuburculosis, or as some have loved to call it, "The Consumption!!" So yeah, physicals, while always extremely awkward, and great when they basically tell you that you are entirely healthy. Fun times.

sick

man, time flies when you sleep all day long for a solid week. I can't believe spring break is next week. Camping is going to be killa-fun. I have a ton of work to do this week though, hopefully i'll finish all that.

Friday and saturday were academic decathlon, which was ok. i felt like tons of crap, so that wasn't very enjoyable, but i got two shiny medals and a $500 scholarship, which is good, i can buy books or food or something. We got second after Madison, which is unfortunate, but not unexpected, since we really never studied like we should have. Such is life. I feel like i should have a lot to say, but i haven't really done anything in the past week.

I hardly ever get sick, and i gotta say, not fun at all. I'll make another one of these next time something worth talking about happens.