Just shaved my face.

So, to get you all caught up to speed.

Things have been emotionally better i would say.

I've been watching pastor's Revolution series online. He speaks about the concept of self-talk and core beliefs. I have finally come to a conspicuous realization that my self-talk has been misbehaving. I have done nothing to cure my small doubts and reoccurring frustrations as of late. Working at Dick's and Gap has given me very little confidence and thus provoked feelings of fear and inadequacy. My attention was averted from the blessings and Love of my God. I can honestly say that my thoughts were more linked to malignity and disdain than to that of love and compassion.

So, I've been spending more time focusing on the love that God has for me. Befitting that it is almost Easter to recognize this amazing love. Love from both a vile and, yet, beautiful cross.

for me.

For you too of course, but this is my blog ha.

Anyway, thinking of this has lifted my spirits and confidence. Trust. Faith. You name it.

Everything.

And, not just self-talking every-once-and-a-while. Doing so would merely be dilatory. But trying to this every hour of the day. Try it!
--------------------------------------------
The weather has been incredible lately...
Not everyday of course. but one can dream.

Averaging mid 60's. Today it is prolly mid 70's and sunny. Might go outside and lay out to work my tan. Not really.

We've won our first two men's league games. Really brings back memories. I really miss playing with the guys. Last wed night we had a game. We won 3-1. I hate giving up goals. But it just reminded me of my prime days when playing center back. Barking out orders. And them not always been accomplished ha. Tori and one of her friends came to watch. It was the first time that she had seen me play, which was pretty cool. Aftewards, four of us sweaty dudes gave tori a coercive group hug to which she accepted with much delight :). We're playing a 4-5-1 because we are all out of shape.

I'm still working on getting into grad school. But more like waiting. The committee meets on the 9th of April to decide who gets the graduate assistantship scholarship. I think I'm going to see if I can get involved with a Spanish church here to hopefully practice my speaking and maybe influence the committee in a positive way.

I just had my phone interview with Brewton-Parker College. It went well I think. I tried to establish a higher level of professionalism while maintaining an eloquent and down to earth personality. I just hope they don't think I'm too young and unprofessional. The more I think about it the more positive I feel about the position. I think I would actually like it and that I would thrive doing the related work. So, just be praying. They are making their final decision in 2-3 weeks. Hopefully I'll get asked for a visit in the future.

We had our second soccer game on Sunday. It was a pretty nice day. Church was good before hand. Tori and a couple of friends came to watch. We won 2-0. She got mugged again by sweaty teammates. Thinking about making it a tradition.

After the game I went to... well, it was essentially a concert. Toby Mac and Skillet. The "main attraction" was Will Graham. Which is Billy Graham's grandson. He was the headline speaker. He wasn't very good. Well, let's just say it wasn't what I expected. Then again my expectations have been known to misinterpreted. Any how, the sermon seemed dry. Not once did he mention grace, love, or Jesus Christ, but it was more of an outreach. And I've never seen Toby Mac in concert, but man do i miss DC Talk. Toby Mac was like a watered down version of the Black Eye Peas. Figures, that right when we were leaving they started playing Jesus Freak. Oh well, the whole thing was free and I was able to hang out with a bunch of friends. Good friends, free event, and Taco Bell afterward. It was brilliant.

I continue to wait on the Lord. I just want an opportunity.

In His Love,

Mocha

P.S. - The Cats gave it a good run. Much props. Wish they would've played better against Butler though. They weren't really impressive to be honest, Butler that is.

Without Further Ado

Here ya go.

All thanks to my man Corey W. for reminding me of my responsibilities!

And yes, there is a lil shout out to all you MNU soccer fans out there.

Vivan los Pioneers originales!






















Great... it looks like I need to go clean now...

Peace and Love,

Mochalicious

Spring break? nope.

This week has been ok. Actually, the beginning was pretty rockin'. By rockin' i mean that I didn't have to do anything and I had the opportunity to sleep in.

Sunday...

Watched tv with Jordan... a lot of soccer and march madness selection.

Then. played futsal on the tennis courts. Had 3 megs :)

Monday...

Slept til like 12. Then watched a ton of tv and read.

Then. went to work at dicks.

Shout out to Cam Cundiff: How did Chelsea do in the Champions League? That's right :)

I heart Barcelona and Lionel Messi.

Tuesday...

I was castigated by not having to work. What a punishment right?

Slept in and watched Goal 1 and 2 with Glen. Then watched a soccer game

Then we played soccer again at night.

We had great numbers. 7v7

Wednesday...

Worked at Gap in the morning. Then had to work at Dick's at night.

Not the best Spring break at this point. Let the turmoil begin.

Thursday...

Had to wake up at 5:15 and work until 10:30a.m. at Gap

Took a 2 hour nap. Then had to go work at Dick's for six hours

Friday...

The weather was gorgeous!!! 70+ degrees. Not too shabby.

Worked at Gap from 9-3. Then chilled outside and read.

**** Right now I'm reading The Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning. Mainly because I feel ill-equipped when it comes to trusting in the Lord. In the chapter I'm reading right now the author says that the first sign of trust is gratitude. This convicted me because I can honestly say that I don't wake up every morning with my first thought being thankful. It's more like augmented sullen thoughts and feelings. Soooo... if I am talking with any of you peeps on the phone or texting... don't hesitate to ask me if I have been thankful k? :)

After reading I played this fantastic Star Wars video game on PS3. (no comment)

I'm hooked.

Then Jordan and I attempted to play soccer with a bunch of foreign dudes.

Worthless. Barely broke a sweat.

Took showers. Then went to a buddy's place for some BBQ and March Madness.

Presently, I am sitting on the couch pleasantly observing flamboyant dudes playing rock band. Only one way to play.

1. Lights off

2. Shirts off

3. Sanity released

Supposedly have a possible interview for the admissions counselor job at Brewton-Parker College coming up. Mike Dye being my source. So we'll see.

To be honest. I really want to stay here, but when it come to finances, I would be obviously pick the admissions counselor job.

So, it's in the Lord's hands. Everything depends on Him.

I have to work from 4-8:30 at Gap tomorrow. yay! that means...

I get to sleep in.

Plus, Tori will be returning from here Spring Break getaway! Can't wait to see her and that breathtaking pulchritude!

Anyway... I don't really know who all reads this... but I would really love to hear from you all via text or email. Whatevs.

I've been getting a smidgen of the Kansas sickness. Hope you all are doing well. My love goes out to you. Know that Lord is always in control. If that is consoling at all. Be filled with peace and sanguinity.

In the zealous love of Jesus,

Blessings,

Mocha

P.S. - Sorry I haven't posted pictures of my place yet... I promise I'll do it shortly. bye's. :)

Blah...

Hey all!

This week has been ok. Just been working and hanging out. I'm still trying my hardest to get into Grad school. I met with the Spanish Grad School Director on Friday to express my desire to get in. I told her how hard I would work. She said that she likes me and wants to give me the chance, but it just depends on what the committee thinks.

I called the financial aid office to see how much one 3 credit hour graduate level course would be for out of state and it was ....

$4,200

Wow... really?

I could go to Mexico this summer for 5 weeks and take 2 courses for less than that!!

The director realized that too and thought it ridiculous for me to pay that amount when I would learn more in Mexico.
So... she is gonna see what she can do by talking to them.

praying.
I also told her that I would be polishing my spanish by working on my grammar and literature reading.

Ordered some more books that she recommended.

Supposedly there are some people that teach English to hispanics at some church here. Gonna try to get involved in that. Figure the more i get involved in, the better my chances.

I don't know guys. I feel at peace with this. I had a good feeling. It wasn't a good feeling based on the hope that God will get me into grad school, but it was based on the fact that my God will bless me in some way. I'm learning how to not be afraid, but to put my hope and trust in God.

Focusing on the cross.

Also, I'm trying to focus on righteousness. I suck at it. Read in psalm 85 that righteousness and peace are in relationship with each other.

----------------
Last night I arrived at home just in time to find my roommates and friends jamming to Rock Band. I've never played it before. I guess Glen and Jordan got the urge or something and decided to go out and buy it haha. Nothin' more funny than experiencing Jordan sing "Don't stop believing" by Journey.

H i l a r i o u s.

Dude, the drums are hard.

I applied for the admissions counselor job at Brewton-Parker College in Georgia. Might be able to coach with Mike Dye.

By the way, it's been raining a ton here. Turns out that i have a leak in my car. Makes my car smell like mildew.
I made burgers for Tori and I one night. And it was the bomb.com

That's for you Dougy-D

I felt so manly. Tori said that it was the best burger that she'd had in a long time :D.

It's been raining so much that our first men's league soccer game got canceled on Wed. night :(. It's alright. Now i get more time to get in shape, which consists of me watching Fox Soccer Channel.

Thought this video was interesting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhX7m3rF20c

New favorite song! - Jesus Culture: "Your Love Never Fails"

Well, off to bed.

Much love.

In His Unfailing and Powerful Love,

Mocha

Weekend of firsts

This weekend was fun.

NEW ORLEANS WOO!

Friday morning Tori's family and I departed from Auburn and began our 5 hour long
drive to New Orleans.

I drove the first half of the journey. We got to our hotel in downtown New Or. in the early afternoon.

First I met more of Tori's extended family. Cousins, aunts, uncles.

Hotel was fancy. Pretty nice. The hot water in the shower was a lil askew... but no biggie. Only took one shower during the weekend anyway.

Had my first bowl of gumbo soup...

Wasn't my fave.

Turns out there was a surprise in it.

A whole crab.?

Tori and her mom also chose to get gumbo soup, but how come they didn't have a secret crab in theirs? Just got lucky i guess. I accidentally chewed on some of the crab's legs.

Not delectable.

After that meal, Tori's brother Merrick and I walked through Bourbon Street and the rest of the downtown area of New Orleans, including the much more appealing French Quarter.

Bourbon Street was nothing more than a scum bucket that's only purpose is to feed the appetite of a corrupt and tainted society that has regrettably liberated itself from anything remotely close to decency.

It made me sick.

Even more so, it made me sad. When I was talking to Tor about the things I saw on Bourbon Street I began to get tears in my eyes. I was wondering, what does God think when He sees His beloveds like this?

Let's move to something more sanguine shall we?

Here are some pics of the more historic and beautiful sites-----------

A certain cathedral that I forgot the name of, Joan of Arc, and Jackson Square.

The wedding rehearsal was fun I suppose. I didn't really know anyone except for Tori and her brothers. So, I became the antisocial Seth and just hung out with them exclusively.

The food was good. Fancy. 6 pieces of silverware.

Is that really necessary?

Whatever, I felt cool.

Reminds me of that episode of Spongebob Squarepants when Patrick tells Spongebob that it's fancy to drink with your pinky up. (Random)

Anyway, the rehearsal dinner was on top of a nice restaurant in the French Quarter, right next to the cathedral. There was a lot of drinking, laughing, and fellowship. Wasn't too bad. Had a good time hanging out with Tori of course. In conclusion, beautiful girl + tasty food = good night.

In the middle of the night I was awakened to the sound of a yelling drunk man who was locked out of his hotel room.

In the morning a bunch of Tori's family and I went to get some brunch. Fortunately the Argentina and Germany replay was on. Glad Germany lost.

It was a beautiful day. Tori and I were to meet up with our buddy Cory Williams who is going to Seminary in New Orleans. Cory and I met at Kanakuk this past summer and have remained great friends throughout this year. He's stellar.

To kill time, Tori and I walked around for a little bit. Went to Urban Outfitters and watched random street acts. It wasn't the easiest thing - meeting up with Cory- but eventually we were able to hop into his car as he stopped in the middle of the busy street.

He took us to a couple of sweet spots.

Camp du Monde was superb.

Although, I did think they would offer more than just simply coffee and binet... oh well they were delicious.

The setting of the wedding ceremony. The tree was majestically massive.

At a fork in the road...

This past week has been pretty rough.

What is going on!?

As I said in my last post, I took the GRE.

bombed it.

It's been a long time since I've been so disappointed in myself, distraught, and frustrated. I've never been good at tests like this though. I didn't do very well on the ACT either... but as proved in college and high school, I am able to retain an above average gpa. So, some of you are probably inquisitive, wondering what my score was. I'll just say it was nowhere close to where I needed it to be.

The Spanish department director said that the GRE really isn't that big of a deal. They look more at my previous Spanish work. She said that the committee felt that i wasn't advanced enough to qualify for the graduate assistantship. They didn't want to take the risk in paying for all of my graduate studies and paying me on top of that and then I just fail out.

That would not happen.

I know that once I get into something, I never fail.

So, the only other option that they left me was to take a class during minimester this summer, for 4 weeks. If I get a good grade in the class... they will consider me. Overall, they don't think I'll be able to handle it.

How would they know!?

I would never be able to improve with Spanish unless I'm challenged. I don't know if I should take this class.
It'll cost me.

I'm thinkin' at least $1,500. Is it worth it?

I'm thinkin' yes... Until another option randomly appeared just recently.

For those of you who don't know me at all, I love soccer.
Not as much as I love my girlfriend... but it's up there ha.

Mike Dye, an old college teammate of mine, offered me a job coaching jv at a small NAIA school in Mount Vernon Georgia. He said that I could possibly get an admissions counselor job too.

AH! That'd be awesome.... buuutttt it's missing two things.

Tori. Friends.

I've met a lot of cool guys here and I have thoroughly enjoyed being with my beautiful girl.
God has blessed me in so many ways. So many things have fallen into place to get down here, it's confusing to think that I would leave here already after being around for a little over two months. Nonetheless, it's an option. And for once I would enjoy the work.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention... it's a lil over 4 hours from here. Long distance... no bueno.

If anyone has any insight or ideas... don't hesitate to give me a shout. Oooor just a simple prayer would be sublime.

The Gap I work at downtown.

Hung out with some friends and ate some amazing home-cooked food :). Blake is above. Roommate Glenn and buddy Mark on the right.

P.S. I apologize to all of you friends out there. I have been horrible with keeping in touch with you. Know that I love you and miss you all. I hope you can understand that this past week has been a roller coaster ride. I hope to do better this week. You all are special to me.

Blessings,

Mocha