we're all just a little bit crazy

this post will be dedicated to the little part of everyone that's just a little bit obsessive-compulsive. i'll list mine and you all can list yours (though there's no way yours are as weird as mine).

• small, shelled candy (m&m's, skittles, etc...): i have to have an even number in my mouth. i chew half with one side of my mouth and the other half with the other side. i try to do four every time, so when i do four, then i can't have two of the same color on the same side of my mouth. for example, if i pulled out two greens, a blue and a red, i could do green-blue and green-red but not green-green and blue-red. if i pull out three or four of the same color, i will drop them back in until i get an acceptable combination. if there are only three or five left, i will bite the odd one in half with my front teeth and half goes on each side. sometimes, i will just pour a bunch into my mouth. this is only acceptable if i split the volume between the sides of my mouth. the colors rule does not apply if there are only three or five left or if i'm eating them in the dark or if i eat a bunch.
• pretzel rods: i always bite with my molars and try to split the rod lengthwise.
• regular pretzels: they're shaped after monk boys praying. if you think of them this way then the boy's elbows go into my mouth first.
• stepping on cracks: i try to avoid stepping on cracks for ease of mind. if i do step on a crack with one foot, then i must step on another crack with the other foot in the (almost) exact part of the foot that first stepped on a crack. for example, if i step on a crack with the ball of my left foot, then i must step on a crack with the ball of my right foot to feel balanced. i cannot step on a crack with the heel of my right foot, unless i then counter it with a crack with the heel of my left foot and then a crack with the ball of my right foot. this phenomenon only happens when i walk by myself or if (while walking with others) i'm conscious of it.
• stairs: when going up or down stairs, i count the number of stairs. for stairs i use often, i know then exact number of stairs. the stairs on the north side of my building has 2, small landing, 21, 2nd floor, 9, small landing, 9, and third floor. the south side: 18, 2nd floor, 9, small landing, 9, and third floor. at work in the stairwell between the basement and 1st floor: 10, small landing (ground level), 9, and first floor. the back stairwell at work has 10. the front of the building has 6. i prefer an even number of stairs so i can take them two at a time and not worry about leftovers. for an odd-number of stairs, i will take the first step by itself and then the rest two at a time. same rule applies as with cracks while walking: only happens when alone or when i'm conscious of it. if i zone out during a conversation while walking over many cracks or while going up/down stairs, this is probably why.
• radio volume: this isn't so prominent anymore now that i have a different radio. i had a cd player in my truck that used numbers for volume. i had to leave the volume on a number ending in 0, 2, 5, or 7. nothing else felt right.

just typing these makes me realize how weird i can be. they're not too extreme so that if i don't flick a light switch on and off 27 times before i leave a room or else my family will die. that kind needs professional help. no, these are just little things that i just can't help doing. i can't imagine anyone else's being as weird as mine without seeking help, but i look forward to reading them!

p.s. if you don't understand any of these, ask me in person next time you see me. for the first three, i require that you supply the m&m's (plain) or pretzels.

pinchy

yeah, it was a fantastic weekend! friday started off with looking at houses to rent in bloomington-normal. they were pretty small, but one stood out from the rest. it was a brick 3-bedroom house in northwest normal. really close to the crossings, looks pretty nice. still waiting on word from my potential roomies...

later friday was a Bible study at natalie and wendy's given by byron stoller based mostly on philippians 4 and the topic of true rejoicing. no astonishingly new revelations, but it was a good reminder (matthew 21:17). afterwards, there was much chatting around the table until the wee hours. (i hope someone used and appreciated the ping-pong supplies.)

saturday marked the start of my family vacation weekend. we all met at matthiessen state park for hiking and a picnic. after lunch, the hiking turned a little more extreme for kyle and i as we crossed in uncharted territory across the stream. my most dangerous moment was holding on to an exposed tree root to travel across a rock face. i had a small shelf to put my feet on, but not big enough to travel without my hands holding on to something. i was about 15 feet above the water (2 feet deep) and i travelled horizontally about 12 feet. a few members of my family looked on.

later that evening, we dined at red lobster. since my parents footed the bill, neal and i split a lobster, crab legs, and some jumbo shrimp. both of us have had shrimp before, but the crab legs and lobster was new. it was fantastic, but i still think shrimp is a better seafood (according to my taste buds). the evening rounded out with chips, salsa, dark m&m's, cookies, etc...and less than quality sleep.

sunday church was spent in bradford where part of the wettstein family managed to fill an entire bench (as usual). after church, we went to les and barb fehr's and swam in their pool and talked about show chickens(?). supper was enjoyed by all at pizza hut italian bistro and then some tearful goodbye's as chad, janice and sons headed back up across the border.

the rest of the evening, i spent at natalie's with natalie, traci and neal playing true colors, which included a trip down memory lane. i finally made it back to my apartment around 1:30. i found a couple new vomit splotches on the pavement (courtesy of our under-neighbors and their guests) and this morning i discovered the back tire of my bike badly bent. investigations are ongoing and no suspects have been questioned yet.

enough about me. how was your weekend?

google

so i finally figured out how to get a google email address. and then i figured out you can personalize your google search page. i love it! i changed the google logo to something snowy and added quite a few add-ons like a binary clock and links to my favorite comic strips and a verse-of-the-day. it's pretty great and i'd recommend it to anyone.

at work this week, we finally got our modular furniture put in. our office looks so professional now. it's pretty amazing the steps that we've gone through in the past 12 months to turn this office around. and i have gotten to see most of it except maybe the finishing touches. that reminds me: my last day of work here is august 4th. and then i move on the 5th (not sure exactly where yet, but probably bloomington). and then i start work at masters bros as an electrician. i'll be starting at the bottom of the totem pole and working without air conditioning. later today i'm going to drive around bloomington, checking out some houses for rent. hopefully neal will be able to move in with me. anyone know any guy looking to move to bloomington in august and need a place to live? let me know.

last night was katrina's last night in chambana so sam and pam furrer had a brat cookout at his house. fantastic brats! and then we watched the last four minutes plus overtime of the illinois-arizona game for old times sake. sam and pam always invite the whole u of i yg out to watch the illinois basketball games at their house. good times, good times. anyhoo, i was riding my bike home from work yesterday and it really hit me: in two weeks, i'll be leaving u of i and urbana and champaign behind. it actually made me a little sad to think about because i've really come to love this place. i've been here long enough that i've seen people and places grow and i know what it was like before certain buildings were added or remodeled. i know this campus like the back of my hand. it's going to be sad to leave so i'll have to come down and visit often. [sigh] so many memories...

belated

ah, i like one-word titles. i can't begin to describe how much i like one-word titles. for starters...eh, never mind.

so i remembered starting this blog some time last summer but i wasn't sure of the exact date. i looked it up and yep...i missed it. it was july 9. so happy belated first birthday to my blog! i feel like i should celebrate with cake, but i guess i just had some on saturday (leftover from austin's birthday). i suppose i'll just celebrate with a jimmy john's sandwich. i'd love to share it with you all and so would my blog, but you don't live around me so it's just not feasible. i guess i'll just eat it all myself.

italia!

the mini world cup is over as well as the real world cup as well as zinedine zidane's career and respect.

the mini world cup was a blast! the netherlands played four games on saturday and made it to the semi-finals on sunday (due to a forfeit from england). the final game was between spain and angola (pronounced an-goooooooooooooooooal-a!) but we left as they were starting so i don't know who won. garrison didn't play on sunday so caleb filled in for him. overall, we played pretty well for none of us ever having played real games against decent soccer players. we weren't very good at passing or shooting, but somehow we managed to go 1-1-2 in group play and give angola a tough time (draw in group play and losing in the semi-finals). anyhoo, my leg muscles want to take a few personal days off, but i won't let them so they've reacted by only working at half capacity. and my new cleats tore up my toes a bit with blisters. i also got a nice grass burn on my left knee in the first game and then kept falling on it in later games. heh, i don't think i can do any physical activity without drawing blood. i won't let that stop me though. never!

the real world cup ended with an exciting penalty kick shoot-out between italy and france. people expected me to cheer for france because i can kind of speak french and i was there for four weeks in 2003, etc...but i know and like the italian team much better. i was a little nervous for the penalty kicks because italy doesn't have a good world cup record for penalty kicks (0-3 before sunday). a little controversy was the "foul" that led to zidane's penalty kick in the seventh minute. i don't think materazzi touched malouda. i think he just fell. the ref made up for it later though by letting a real foul inside the box go. and zidane! what an ugly display of poor sportmanship! so sad.

world cup

i have a confession to make: i love soccer. i've been watching the world cup pretty closely and i don't know of anyone (so far) that has been as into it as i have. i've talked to a few people that have watched a few games or rooted for a team for awhile, but nothing like me. my love for soccer almost makes me feel unpatriotic because people are usually disgusted and wonder why i don't watch american football or baseball, the real american sports. i think soccer has some of the best athletes in the world. other sports have a lot of stopping and standing around and "time-outs" where everyone can catch their breath. soccer does not. the action is non-stop and the only times the clock stops is at halftime and the end of the game. i don't understand how people can watch baseball and golf and then call soccer boring. maybe the lazy ones feel guilty for not exercising when they see how fit soccer players are.

anyhoo, enough ranting. the world cup this year has been fantastic to watch (despite the record number of yellow and red cards). i've enjoyed every minutes of it (except when usa lost). i've also decided to take part in a mini world cup hosted in wolcott, indiana by renae bahler's brother (whose name i do not know). the teams consist of three players each and each team will represent a country. my team signed up late so we ended up picking the netherlands as our country. i'm going to end up making a shirt that says "van nistelrooy" on the back and #9 on it. he plays for manchester united in club play and is the netherlands best striker. my other teammates are garrison gudeman and austin waibel. we're just doing this to have a good time. so if you're not doing anything this weekend, you can come out to wolcott and cheer us on!