BLESSED

Blessed is the word I have picked to describe my title for my last blog of the year! Man, I can remember being excited to figure out what I would write for my very first one. So here I am, a school year has passed, I'm about to graduate, go overseas, enjoy a little bit of the summer, and then start back with grad school.

As I look back on the year, there are so many different things that stood out to me. The new friendships I have made have been a complete blessing to me. Being an Resident Assistant has taught me a lot about being intentional with the guys that are around me, and I have definitely come away from the year with many new friends that have come from my living area. From "Taco Tuesday" nights, to "Jay's Jammin' Kitchen" and BBQ's, it's been fun having events to build up the community.

I was blessed with some pretty legit roommates this year. From late night food runs, to making songs, to random late night conversations on our bunk beds, it's been great. This year I got to go to my first TWIRP barn dance. That was definitely a fun night. I was able to be a host of University Place's first ever "The Price is Right" show. We were able to throw an epic broomball night filled with donuts and hot chocolate.

As second semester began to pick up, I realized I was even busier than I was before. I was now able to help lead a team through training that would be going to Southeast Asia to teach kids basketball and run clinics. I was so stoked because I had gone there this past year and would be able to go back and re-connect with all the people. As the month of love was approaching, I was preparing myself for Woo Week and Woo Fest. With a lot of hard work and dedication, I was able to see a vision come to life. Woo Week ended up being a great week as Woo Fest ended with nearly 700 plus people packing out the Van Dyne Gym. Such a great month!! Then moving onto the intramural basketball championship game scoring 25 points with seven 3-pointers made me feel like I was back playing ball again for CBU. Then winning Homecoming King! Wow, what a blessing, I didn't even see that one coming.

As we are here now at the end of the semester, I was given even more exciting news. I was hired on to continue my path with Residence Life in becoming a Graduate Assistant. This was probably the biggest news all year, because it is a job that I am so passionately ready for and prepared to do. After I heard the news, I found out on my grades that I would be getting all A's!! I mean what a great way to end my academic career, getting all A's - haha - something that hasn't happened my entire time at CBU like it did in high school. So I was definitely pretty stoked about that!

All in all, it has been a pleasure being able to blog for the school this year. I thank them for this opportunity and thank all those who have been reading our blogs and keeping up with us. I thank my parents for everything that they have done--I can definitely not thank them enough. And thanks to all my friends and connections that I have made here at CBU, y'all have definitely blessed me and made my CBU experience the best experience of my life.

Few pictures throughout the year:

Be blessed everyone,

Jay

Picture Perfect End of the Year

Classes have ended, finals are finished, the apartment has been scrubbed and detoxified and the key has been returned. Here's to the end of another great year at Cal-Baptist! It amazes me that by the end of every year I am so anxious to go home although I know I will be so ready for school once summer comes to a close. Already I'm excited for the next school year. I will be a junior, (Woop-woop for upperclassmen!) and I will be rooming with the wonderful Tifinnie Baumann yet again. :)

This past Friday Tifinnie and I had a roommate photo shoot out in the orange groves. My amazing sister-in-law, Laura, decided this would be a great way to repay us for all the babysitting we've done... I cannot agree more! We had a blast laughing and being stupid and goofy like we always do. Laura is a fantastic photographer and helped us have fun with the awkward poses and such. And I've decided that people are most beautiful when they're not trying and simply enjoying life. This was a great way to end the year and prepare for the up-and-coming one. Tifinnie and I now have material evidence of our stupid and ridiculous bond we call friendship AND decorations for our apartment next year! I love you Tifinnie, and I love you Laura... you are a freakishly talented photographer and a wonderful sister, thank you for doing this for us. :)

The End of an Amazing Year

Wow, I cannot believe that I am done for the year. I am just in a state of unbelief that time went by that quickly at CBU. It seems like it was just last week that I started this semester, and then one second later... BAM! I am here at the end. Doesn't it always seem to go that way though? When you are in the middle of something, you wonder when it is going to come to an end, but when you finally reach the light at the end of the tunnel, you wonder where the time went.

I can honestly say that I had an amazing first year here at CBU. From just sitting in the classroom and talking to random students at the start of the year, to hanging out with the boys at Mt. Rubidoux late at night answering random questions and talking about life; my entire year at CBU has been memorable. The reason why I think I had such an amazing year was because of the fact that God has caused me to have met so many new people and I've developed connections with them. But a few people in particular stand out clearly in my mind and I will not forget. Zac "Sloppy Joe" Compton, basically the older brother I never had and the guy that I look to to just randomly go out and do something crazy, or to chill out and watch a movie with. Marcos Baeza, the younger brother that I never had (I actually "adopted" him), a close friend who is always down for doing something crazy. Crystal Pasillas, someone I know I can always talk to, and trust with about pretty much anything, and is always down for going out to random places to hang out. Shane "Bozo" Hicks, Miles "Milo" Hansen, and Jimmy "Beardo" Belden, aka "the guys," a couple of close friends who I know that always have my back and are always looking for crazy things to do as long as we're all hanging out together. Last, but definitely not least, my two roommates: Santiago "Santi" Ibanez and Matt "Mr. Clean" Rindels. God knows that I love both of these guys, they definitely made my year very interesting. From Santi blasting his underground metal and watching Naruto, to Matt watching various TVshows on DVDs and making sure that our apartment was clean.

Well, I guess this is it. It has been an amazing year guys, and it really was a blessing sharing my year with you guys and I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and for those of you who are coming back next year, support Lancer Diaries! Tell your friends! Haha. Just thought I would throw that in :). Have a great summer, everyone. God bless you in whatever you pursue.
Brent "Doc" Pino

Note: All credit for how neat my blogs have looked over the year go to Samantha Shaw, my editor, who is pretty amazing.

The End

Well, it’s officially here. School is over; people are packing up their belongings and moving on to their summer plans. Campus seems to be getting more and more empty by the day. Honestly, this school year has gone by so fast. It’s so weird. Through all the hard and frustrating times, it has been an awesome year! I owe all the amazingness to my friends and roommates who have really helped shape me this year.

Many of my close friends I met my first week at CBU during student orientation week. From there we bonded. Having meals together became tradition as we learned more and more about one another. I’ve learned their likes and dislikes, where they have come from, and what they are passionate about. The bonds I will walk away from this school year with are incredible, especially with one friend. As I’ve stated in an earlier post, our friendship is real and raw. I’m so thankful that our friendship can be as honest as it is. I know I can always count on her. And as we go our separate ways this summer, I know that we will still be close.

My roommates, I don’t even know where to begin. I wasn’t originally placed in the apartment that I am in now. When I ended up moving in with them, they welcomed me with open arms. I immediately became part of the little family that we are. Music videos, spontaneous laughter, and making up our own games is just some of the fun that happens in our little apartment. Home was not just a four letter word to us. It became a place I knew was okay to be myself: silliness, loudness, and all. It is a place where silliness is encouraged. I’ve learned so much about my roommates this school year and think that they have learned a lot about me too. My roommates have become three of my favorite people ever. They each bring something so different to my life and I know I can count on any one of them if I needed it. Saying goodbye to these lovely ladies--the ones who have seen me upset, laugh, and even in my morning mood, is going to be very hard. Girls, I love you and you’ve given me more than you’ll ever know this school year.

This is it. My last few days here, my last time with my friends, and my last Lancer Diaries post. I have loved doing these posts each week. It has given me a chance to take a little bit of time out of my busy schedule to slow down and look at what has gone on around me. So future students, alumni, students, parents, or just an onlooker, thank you for following the Lancer Diaries. I have loved telling you all about my life here at CBU. I hope everyone has a wonderful summer!

Kelli

(Pictures throughout the year)

Everything but FIRST!

This past week has been quite a rewarding week, if I say so myself. From Night of Nations, to the Film Festival, to the NBA playoffs starting, it's been good.

Night of Nations was a packed full night! Over a thousand people were in attendance as all of the ISP/SOS teams showed off their performances to the crowd. There were a lot of good performances and videos, some more funny and others more serious. When it came time for my team to go do our performance we all were pretty excited as we had been practicing super hard to get it down.

Lights dimmed, the video played and we were in position. As soon as the video stopped, the music came forth! It was an epic performance: from every bounce, to every step, and every bow, we were on pretty good point. Now we only had to wait for the judges to see how we did. As the time came for announcements, they said we had won 3rd place! That wasn't too bad, yet it was cool to hear how many people thought we should have gotten better. :) Overall, it was a great bonding experience for the team to win together.

Next prize came at the Film Festival. I, along with my friend Andrew Buchholz, entered our video called "Love at First Sight." Not only did he receive the best actor award, but I also received the best supporting actor award. It was great. My first ever film, and I was a movie star!!! Just joking, but it really was my first film. When it came time to announce the top two movies, I was kind of nervous because there were some other really good short films. We ended up getting 2nd place and $100! Another cool and fun victory that I was able to experience all within the matter of one week.

(Best Actors and some of the other cast)

Lastly, the NBA playoffs have arrived. I love this time of year, especially considering my favorite team is trying to repeat as champs! Yes, the Lakers!! They have started off the series up 2-0 to the Thunder and I look forward to seeing them with a possible repeat!! Woo-hoo!! lets go LA!

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great week... graduation is almost here!!!!

Jay

Night of Nations

The other week I talked about procrastination. While I still don't recommend it because of the unneeded stress that it brings, I am happy to share that I finished my two papers on time and felt strongly about them; I received an A on my quiz and gave my presentation quite swimmingly. I was able to go and fully enjoy "Night of Nations" where I rocked the house with my ISP team, representing South East Asia and bringing home third place with our dance routine. All of you who were not there to witness it should feel ashamed and completely left out because it was pretty epic.

For those who don't know what Night of Nations is, it is a fundraiser night for ISP (International Service Projects) but it's also a chance for the various ISP teams to introduce themselves through skit, song, dance, or whatever they want, and present what they will be doing overseas. This was my first time going to Night of Nations, let alone participating in it, and I had so much fun. I enjoyed seeing all the teams and the performances they put together, and I loved having that bonding time with my own team. I kind of felt like a kid in a talent show, I was so giddy about it. I am not a dancer by any means, and dancing is not something that comes comfortably to me (in public anyway), so it was surprisingly refreshing and invigorating for me to let that guard down. Life in general is so much more enjoyable when you're not afraid or self-conscious, and that's something I'm hoping will stick with me especially when I'm overseas so that I may let God use me more freely. No inhibitions to get in His way.

A short break.... or is it?

After going through my first-time finals, New Testament Survey and Microbiology, it is amazing to me that I actually have been given a brief reprieve from studying and can actually have a little bit of time to take it easy for a couple of days. Now, when I found out that I was going to have this break, I immediately started thinking of the best ways for me to spend my time during the break. Would I spend it going back home for a couple of days, or hanging out with friends, or doing something random and crazy? Well, I decided to do the best thing possible and combine all three into one, plus everything else I have to do this coming weekend. Here is the plan (and yes, it is a lot of stuff): I decided to come home for a night and spend some time with the family, since I haven't seen them in about a week. I'm heading back tomorrow to study for the day and hang out with the guys (Zac, Shane, Miles, Jimmy and Matt) Friday night and all the way into the early hours of Saturday morning, and try to get some sleep before I have to wake up at 6 a.m. for CPR training. After CPR training, I'll go back to school and study for the rest of the day pretty much, and try to get a solid 6 hours of sleep. On Sunday morning, I'll wake up early and head to training at a hospital I am interning at for about 12 hours, which includes taking a test for it, and then I'll go back to school, eat dinner, and then study more before bed. Wow... after reading that, my plans for the weekend seem to be extremely crazy. Well, nothing I can do about it now! On that note, remember to keep studying, everyone. We're almost there, don't give up now!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Once again campus is full of people power-walking across campus to get the next thing checked off their "to do" list. The library is full, and Wanda's is super busy. This means only one thing: the end is near. That's right, classes are ending, and finals start this week. I don't know about everyone else, but my schedule is CRAZY! I have had no time to do anything extra--only homework, projects, and studying for the crazy amount of tests I've had. Keep in mind, this is all before finals even start. I've been more overwhelmed with finishing the last days of classes than with finals. Honestly, I'm just trying to keep my head above water at this point. Life is always so crazy and hectic at the end of a semester. I always seem to forget how insane things really were until they are, once again, so incredibly insane. Right now, I am living one day at a time. I feel like that's the only thing I really can do.

As the semester ends, I want to end strong. I want my hard work from the whole semester to really pay off after these hard finals. I also want to spend some good, quality time with my roommies and friends, as well as ending this blog off strong. After all, next week it my last post. Summer is fun but it is going to be hard being away from some of my favorite people. I'm so ready for the semester to be over and for summer vacation. We're almost there! The end of the tunnel is SO close!

Can I just have my diploma please?

Well, who would have thought that it was such a process just to graduate. At first I figured, "Well I took all the classes I needed to take, paid for my graduation application, I should be good right?" Welllll... No! Ha ha. Apparently there is a whole exit process that you need to do before you graduate that I basically had no clue of originally. I'm definitely at the point where it hasn't hit me yet, but I'd rather just get my diploma and do all that, then have to go through this whole exit process, but that's just me. :)

Anyways, on a much more lighter note, I was able to be an actor in my first ever short film with my friend Andrew. It is pretty much one of the funniest things you may be able to see this year. I will definitely try to find a way to post it for next week's blog, but it's basically about a guy that meets a girl at CBU who is practically perfect. It is pretty much love at first sight! He wants me to then help him get a date with her and I in turn teach him about having the 5 f's : fresh, funny, faith, fitness, and being freakin' good looking. It has quite the twist at the end of the video, so be on the look out for that!

Night of Nations is coming up, and that is a time where all the ISP teams get together to perform skits or routines to show off their skills or what they will be doing when they go on their service project. It will be a huge night as far as raising money goes. My team put together a video along with a dance routine that definitely excites me to perform. I'm really looking forward to it and hopefully we all can be on point with our moves. Ha!

Well, I guess I'm off to finish all of my exit graduation mumbo-jumbo! Take it easy, and be blessed... (and check out my podcasting classes' latest podcast below)

Jay

The Homestretch!

It's the homestretch, ladies and gentlemen. This is the last full week of classes before finals begin and then we are home free. This is the week typically bogged down with projects and papers. I traditionally acquire a nervous twitch around this time of the semester, but so far it has yet to appear. I have two papers, a quiz, and a presentation to do this week, but I am surprisingly at ease about it all. I should probably be a bit more on edge considering I have not started the two papers, nor have I begun on my presentation or studied for my quiz.

Procrastination is a killer, and I do not recommend it to anyone. However, I will plow through the ugliness and keep my eyes focused on the good to come. Three days until Night of Nations, 14 days until school is OVER, 18 days until choir tour, and 49 days until my team and I leave for South East Asia. I can dwell on the work to be done and wish I hadn't procrastinated so much, but in the end what is done is done. So instead, I shall look forward to all the excitement and keep it positive!