Can't a guy catch a break?

I am writing this post pretty angry. I will post a picture explaining why.I was leaving the parking garage at IPFW (University) today when I noticed a Campus Cop sitting near. Now the IPFW PD, apparently have the same kind of power that a normal cop does. This didn't even enter my train of thought when I saw the IPFW PD. I was hanging out with my friend Derek on campus, and he dropped me off at my car in the parking garage and I was waiting for him to exit so I could follow him to his house. Well, apparently I did not come to a complete stop. SO, the cop put his lights on right away and pulled me over. :-O I was so angry, because I know darn good and well that he was abusing his position. There were no other cars at that friggin 3-way stop and that is just horrible. To sit there and wait for someone to slip up just the tiniest bit is just flat out wrong. Also, before I gave him my thoughts on the whole situation, he informed me that points were indeed going to be added to my already flawed license. What in the heck reason would he have to inform me of this!?!?!?!? He even asked me why I had 12 points on my license. He was extremely unprofessional, and just a jerk. I could have kept my mouth shut, and not said a thing, but as soon as I heard him tell me that he was just trying to protect the lives of other drivers, I LOST IT! I told him as nicely as I could that I believed he was abusing his power, and that the right thing to do in a situation where he knew I wasn't causing any harm, was to give me a written warning. I told him that he was not trying to help anyone, but instead he was only causing more problems for me and our tax payers. Now, I have to go to court and it is going to raise my car insurance. All because I came to a "rolling stop." The ticket will cost some where in the vicinity of $50-100, again money that is going to be hard for me to spend.

Was I "TECHNICALLY" in the wrong for not coming to a complete stop? Yes, I was. BUT, that really does not stop the fact that this guy pushed it to the limit. He really was on a power trip, and that is wrong, plain and simple.

I am just glad I didn't take it too far, and so happy that I stayed some what respectful. I almost said something to the effect of, "why don't you try to protect our campus from having another homicide instead of writing joke traffic tickets." I am really glad I kept that one inside....After I got the ticket, I went ahead over to my friends house. I had some dinner, and some time to chat with my friend "shoobs" who is currently on a 2 week leave from the air force. He is currently stationed in Texas. Shoobs, is the guy in the back with the hat on. After dinner was over I did the dishes for my buddies. There was a lot of dishes, but I knew none of them wanted to do them so I did. It gave me time to think and play in water!!! :-)

After I got some time to spend with Marty who showed me a bunch of really sweeet internet sites that I never knew about. I got to send my "future" self an E-Mail. So, in April of 2011, I will get an E-Mail of myself with some solid advice and information. That will be a pretty cool experience.

THEN, at the way end of the night, I took my friends to the bar. Now, they invited me to come, and I could have totally reasoned it because Shoobs is back in town. BUT, that would have been wrong, and totally bad for me. I said no thanks, after much careful consideration. It would have been so easy for me to say yes and go ahead and not even feel totally bad, but I did the right thing because that is the right thing to do. NOW ONLY IF I WOULD HAVE COME TO A COMPLETE FRIGGIN STOP!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

a day in the life of Mikey

Today was good, I slept in today. Yesterday, I worked out hardcore. I mean I really got in a good and intense work out. My body was tired from all angles, and when I went to sleep, at 8:45P.M., I did not wake up this morning until 8:00A.M. Almost 12 hours of sleep did me good. When I finally got around, I went to work.Yep, at the YMCA spring break camp, there are kids brought in from all different sites all around the city. It is cool because there is intense diversity, and you get to see all sorts of kids. I love it, especially when I get to play with them during free time outside on the play ground, or during a rousing game of Kick Ball. I fit right in with 5-13 year old kids. When I am out there, it is always, "Mr. Mikey, look at what I can do," or, "Mr. Mikey, will you help me up on this pole, or that bar." It is great, so many cute children.

When I got out of work @ 5P.M., I went directly to school. I had to write a 2-3 page paper over an article I had not yet found. So, I found an article and wrote the paper.This is a picture of me in a cozy little corner of a computer lab that is found in the basement of one of the buildings on campus.
When I was leaving campus, I saw that there was a cop sitting and watching an area where I was pulled over and given a ticket for not coming to a complete stop. ~CLICK HERE~ to see the BLOG POST that talks about that day, almost a year ago. And check out what happened today. . . So I was being super careful, I saw that there was a cop sitting in the same exact spot he (NOT the same officer) was sitting at last year when I got cited. So, I pulled out of the parking garage to the first stop sign, and came to a super complete stop; I had to have been stopped for at least 3 seconds, then took a left, and did the same at the next stop sign. I was getting ready to take a left, and when I was about half way through the intersection, I SLAMMED on my breaks, and came to a screeching halt because there was a black Mercedes Benz that did not stop what-so-ever. There was a girl driving and talking on her cell phone. If I would not have come to a screeching halt, she would have broad sided me. I was so stunned, I just pulled in front of the copper, and rolled down my window. I said to him, "are you going to do something?" And he then pulled out, turned around, passed me (because I had pulled over so he would not be behind me), and went after this girl who had pulled off into an auxiliary parking area, possibly so as not to be seen. Well, he saw her and him and his assistant officer got out of their car and hopefully gave her a stern talking to. It was messed up. LOL, kind of ironic though. :o) I am sure glad I was paying attention, or else I would have gotten SMASHED into.

Then I went home and read my BSF notes, and did my Bible study. I really liked it, and took this from it. In studying Numbers 20 & 21 I see and learn that The places of my former defeat can become places of great victory. In my weakness, God is made strong. It is so true, and I am so thankful to be loved by an all consuming God. So eternally thankful.

P.S. It takes 30-45 minutes to post an average BLOG post. You take that amount of time, multiplied by the amount of BLOG posts I have (820), well you get a lot of time spent on making a BLOG. Truly, it is nice to take a slight break from. I do love this BLOG though.

B-Day PARTY & more

I woke up early today, got myself around and had to head downtown for this YMCA training. It is so I am prepared for this new position that will start on Monday. Well, I got out of the house just a little bit too late, and felt like I needed to make up for some lost time by speeding.....This is never a good idea. But, some people like to learn the hard way. Now, I don't know why my brain would tell me it is a better idea to speed than it is to just be a few minutes late....but it did, and so I did. What happened???? Take a look below.Wow, this picture sure does look familiar. If you take a look at ~THIS LINK~ you will see that on April 29th, I got a ticket at my local university for not coming to a complete stop at a stop light on campus. Well, it cost me $242.oo to get on what is called the infraction deferred program, which means if I can go a year with out having another ticket, the citation gets wiped off my record. If I do get another ticket within a year in Allen County (my county) then I pay double the fine and get all the points taken off my license. SO, the decision to speed this morning was incredibly stupid to say the least. This is what happens.

I was going 62 in a 45....yea, I know. And as soon as I pulled over, I started praying. I nervously got out my license and registration, I was so nervous because I knew what was going to be on the line. In all seriousness, my license could be suspended for a while if I got this ticket. So I prayed, I honestly said, "God, I messed up. If I get this ticket, please give me the patience and understanding to take it well, and not to get super upset." When the cop came up to my window, I was honest with him, had my keys sitting on the dash, and was as polite as possible. He retired to his vehicle for only a few minutes, and came back to me. He handed me my license and registration back, and told me he was giving me a verbal warning. My jaw almost hit the ground, and I thanked God. I did however, ask him why he decided to give me a verbal warning. He told me it was because I was honest and didn't feed him a line of B/S..... GRACE is unmerited or deserved favor & love. GRACE is a pretty cool concept.So, I got to the building and went up to the 5th floor where the training was. I was there from 8:00AM to 3:30PM. The room was packed before lunch, but after it slimmed way down because only the new people had to go through the training.

When the training was over, I went home and helped set up for the BIG PARTY. Check out these pictures, from the extremely successful party for my awesome pop's. Who, by the way had a wonderful evening. :-)The beautiful woman to the right is my mother. She was the brains of the whole event. She has awesome taste, and is by far the best cook I know.It was so well done, I kept thinking all through the night, MAN THIS IS SOO NICE!!

I was sitting next to my dad by the fire pit listening to him tell stories and just make small talk with his friends when I got a phone call. It was my friend Matt, and he was really struggling. I mean he was really really struggling. I went inside the house and prayed for him. But he was still extremely upset. I asked him where he was, and he said he was at park in town out in the parking lot. I told him I would be there in 15-20 min. I left the party rather quickly with my Bible and journal in hand. I went directly to Matt, and we talked it out, ohh for probably 2-2 1/2 hours. I let him get as much off his chest as he could, and comforted him all the while. That is what a brother in Christ does, I could tell he was relieved, or at least in a much better place than when I first got there. It was a good thing, for both him and myself. GRACE came up again, and man is it good stuff.

LONG TIME NO POST!!

Life has been uber busy, what with end of the semester and trying to get Young Life kids set up for camp. Speaking of getting Young Life kids to camp; last weekend we did this really great fundraiser, we mulched a committee members house. Dang we got super dirty.

And I have been so busy too. Dang, it seems like I am so jammed packed, I sometimes don't have time to think. Bible study, Young Life, school, finding a new church, trying to do right. Dang, life has been really real and in my face. My parents are still struggling finicially because of me, and that sucks. I am trusting in God, and I know it is going to be what he needs it to be. But, ya know, that's there.

I am loving my Lord though. I never get too busy for that. My time with God becomes more and more sincere each time I really get into it. I have been trying to really concentrate on me and God. It gets so hard sometimes though. I wanna just focus on Him and no one else. It can sometimes get really difficult though when there are sooo many distractions though. Not that any of the distractions are getting in the way of God, BUT, they can sometimes consume my 'me' time. I am pumped though. God's grace never ceases to amaze me. I take my last final on the 6th, I will be able to keep up on this here BLOG. It was nice though, to take a little break. I missed it though.

Sometimes growing means failing and starting from the basics. I can get so full of myself, that it causes me to lose focus on Abba. I hate losing focus on Abba. But, grace, GRACE is a beautiful thing. Something that all Christians need to at least try to keep in the forefront of their minds. It brings a smile to my soul. It brings peace to a heart that feels as if it sometimes is not enough. Grace is good. God is Grace.

This is me right now. I am hairy and messy lookin, well cuz i'm broke. (big sigh) I got another ticket, on campus, for not coming to a complete stop. It was real difficult for me. It is going to mess a bunch of stuff up (car insurance, ma$$ive fines, and other stuff), but that is the way it happened. I am just trying to still trust God in it all. It is what it is though. JUST STOP AT THE STOP SIGNS MIKEY!!!! lol, some people gotta learn the hard way. And, well, some people have to just keep movin on, even when life isn't fair. I am staying strong though, God is keeping me strong. God = LOVE!

study, exam, bar, ticket

Today was like this > > > > > Study, study, study, study, study. Then some studying, and some time of study, study, study, study, study. Once I had been studying for a while, I decided to take a little break and then back to studying. It just never ends. Tuesdays are killer for me.

6:00PM eventually came around though and I took my first COM 300 exam. It was an hour and forty-five minutes of essay writing. Choose 6 out of 7 essays. When it got over, well I was exhausted and feeling a little yucky. I started to feel come cold sores come on. And truth be told, I hate cold sores more than anything else in my body. Well, except for M/S. So, I guess it would be safe to say I hate cold sores second only to multiple sclerosis.

But, no rest for the weary, because at 9:00PM I promised my bro's that I would meet downtown at JK O'Donnels (Irish pub). I promised to meet there for Ryan's 21st B-Day!! Horray!! If you look back on my 21st B-Day you would see that is where I went too.

Sorry the picture is so dark, but there was not much light in that place. It was a really good time. Had a couple of beers with close friends, and enjoyed celebrating Ryan's B-Day. Really, and Ryan had a super good time too. Sitting next to Ryan is Sam. Sam is a great guy. He is a fellow Young Life leader and friend. When I look up to the married Young Life leaders I really look up to them. They have such great relationships with their wives and I really look up to them. Anyways, that was sort of a tangent.

I love these friends because they love the Lord, and it shows by how we love each other. When I left the pub I just randomly wondered, "hummm I wonder what my B.A.C. (Blood Alcohol Content) is?" Little did I know I would shortly be finding out. I dropped off Zach, Ben, and Ryan then I headed home. I went down a road I seem to go down several times every day. I was driving down St. Joe when I came up to the 3-way stop. It was probably about 12:15AM. I was driving and just wanted to get home and go to bed, to try to stop the infestation of cold sores on my upper lip, nose, and tongue. AHHHHHH!!!! What did I do? Well, I blew through a stop sign. There were no cars coming towards me, only a vehicle maybe 3/4 to a mile behind me (which I thought was a mini-van). It was not a mini-van, it was a squad car. She pulled me over, and wrote me a $215.00 ticket. I completely deserved it, and she was actually very nice about it. I knew what I did, and she knew what I did. She even made several good points. I'm an idiot. Seriously, the last time I got a ticket was for the same thing. Except it was on campus, and I just didn't come to a "complete stop." This time I didn't even attempt to. :-/ In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, DO'OH!!! Oh, and in case you are wondering what I blew after drinking 2 beers, well my B.A.C. was at a 0.017