i'm serious.

2004-02-08T15:25:00.000-06:00

Once again, I apologize for the lack of updates... it's been a hectic month. If I actually typed out everything that happened over the last month, it would be way too long, so I am going to do it quickly.

Undelcared rehearsed all month (and is still rehearsing) for our performance at ICCA on Valentine's Day. All of the guys stayed at my house last week and the next day we performed at area schools. Mui bueno. For my J-term class, my final project was creating a website for Undeclared, which is located at http://www.lcundeclared.tk. There are lots of new sound clips and pictures, and we now some t-shirts and sweatshirts and stuff available. Check it out.

During J-term break, I got a new cell phone. I got my old one in May of 2002, and I have been looking at new ones for a while. I ended up getting an LG VX6000 camera phone from US Cellular. I've been having lots of fun with it, and the pictures aren't that bad of quality. You can see a couple of pictures here and here.

In my free time (of which I apparently have way too much) I also made a website for Luther College's favorite band, Dr. Thunder & the Generic Sodas. The website is located at http://www.drthunderonline.tk. We recorded 4 new songs last night: "The Cheeze-It Song," "DTGS 4 America (Give Us the Country)," "Sara Lee (Don't Leave Me)," and "Backup Vocalists (This One's 4 U)." They are all available for download at the website.

In the past month I have written or helped to write a couple of songs. The first is called "Sleepsong." My good friend Brad White had some lyrics that he wanted to set to music, so I showed him a guitar part that he liked and the next thing you knew, we had a pretty good song. We recorded it on a really cheap microphone in my room, and you can listen to the mp3 of it here. I just finished writing another song this week, entitled "Bread of Life." I have felt lately that I have been sort of distant from God and it makes me feel horrible. This song is an attempt, I guess to express this feeling to God and to sort of reconcile with Him. The mp3 file is here, featuring Shawn Kennedy on backup vocals, and the lyrics are available here. Leave a comment and let me know what you think of them.

I have decided to change my AIM screenname from "buddhajake" (which I have had since 9th grade) to "JBouma11." Please add JBouma11 to your buddy list, because buddhajake will soon be performing a really good disappearing act.

That's it for now... more to come soon. I promise.

2004-01-10T22:34:00.000-06:00

Top movies of 2003

I figured that I would look back at 2003 by giving a breakdown of the best movies that the year produced (in my opinion). Without any further adieu...

#5 The Matrix: Reloaded: This was the first (and only, I think) movie which I reviewed in blog form immediately after seeing it. I gave it 4/5 stars at the time, and for good reason. I thought the movie totally lived up to the hype and that it delivered exactly what Matrix fans were hoping for. Even though Revolutions totally sucked, Reloaded was an excellent follow-up to the original Matrix.

#4 School of Rock: A hilarious movie in which Jack Black performed extremely well. It was a feel-good movie that made me laugh and also want to rock. In short, it was definately a face-melting movie (that joke only makes sense if you have seen the movie. If you have seen the movie, the joke probably still sucked anyway. I'm sorry).

#3 The Last Samurai: The best action movie since The Gladiator. Tom Cruise was awesome, and the movie inspired Shawn and I to immediately go to Wal-Mart and buy brooms so we could fight samurai style (we took the broom heads off of the brooms). The ending was a slightly lame, but the rest of the movie more than makes up for it.

#2 Finding Nemo: I have not met one person who did not love this movie. The characters are hilarious and well acted, the storyline is intriguing, and the animation is absolutely beautiful. I don't really need to say anything else, except that if you haven't seen it, you need to get on that. Like, now.

#1 Pirates of the Caribbean: The only movie on the list which I did not see in the theatre, Disney's swashbuckling adventure easily takes the cake as the best movie of 2003. It seamlessly combines comedy, action, horror (kind of), and adventure to deliver a near-perfect movie experience. Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, and Geoffry Rush all give wonderful performances. What a GREAT movie.

Honorable Mention: Elf, Seabiscuit, Bruce Almighty

I wish I would have seen: Open Range, Secondhand Lions

There you have it. The top movies of 2003. I am looking forward to what 2004 has to offer (The Butterfly Effect, Shrek 2, Harry Potter 3, Spiderman 2, King Arthur, Troy, The Polar Express, etc.).

2004-01-09T01:28:00.000-06:00

I am a reality show junkie.

I saw an advertisement this afternoon promoting the new episode of "Friends" tonight, followed by the season premier of "The Apprentice." I was busy from 7-9, so I had to tape Friends, and I figured I might as well also tape the Apprentice. Friends was really good, as always. I don't laugh out loud at very many tv shows, but Friends does it for me. Anyway, I thought I'd break down a list of some reality shows and my affiliation (or lack thereof) to each one. Beginning with, naturally...

The Apprentice: I loved it. Everyone from a copier salesman to Harvard business school graduates are vying for a job underneath Donald Trump which includes a "huge salary". The first episode pitted men against women with a competition to see who could be the most profitable selling lemonade in NY in one day. Now that's good television. I'm looking forward to next week.

Survivor: The king, in my heart, of reality shows. I didn't see season one, but I watched all of season two and three. Then I started losing count of the seasons. I missed a few, but I did watch the last season, Survivor: Pearl Islands. I love how they have to survive on a spoonful of rice per day for forty days and then they have a bow and arrow contest for 1/8 of a Snickers bar. Poor suckers. If I were 21, I would apply to be on the next season. The day is coming, my friends. The day is coming.

The Real World: Sucks (sorry Sam). I have never liked it, and I never will. I would get more satisfaction watching a webcam from my grandparent's living room than I do from this show. The closest I ever came to liking it was when I accidentally watched an okay episode of Road Rules once. Besides - it airs on MTV, music television. Good logic.

American Idol: My generation's "Star Search." Sure, they have tried to bring back Star Search, but only because of American Idol. The new Star Search sucks anyway... it doesn't deserve to be mentioned in my blog, but I couldn't help it. American Idol is awesome. We all know that Clay Aiken should have won season two. His album is better, and he has receieved loads more publicity than Rueben. Rueben's new song is called something to the effect of "I'm Sorry 2004." Does anything scream "I ran out of topics for songs" more than a song with the year in it? No offense to Prince or whatever his name or symbol is now. "1999" is still good, dude. Needless to say, I am looking forward to season three. It premiers in two weeks. As for Simon: yeah he's mean, but he's just saying what we are all thinking. These people probably need to hear it anyway.

The Bachelor/Bachelorette: I had not seen an episode of either show until the middle of the last "Bachelor." I try to resist the power of the reality show, but I am just too weak. I was mad that he didn't pick Kelly Jo, but what can I do about it? That's right! Watch The Bachelorette, which premiers January 14.

Average Joe: I started this one in the middle of last season, too. I was mad that after a few episodes they brought in some not-so-average Joe's, and that one of them eventually won, but it was still a good show. I missed the first episode of Average Joe: Hawaii, but the show and I have a date for next Monday at 9pm. Please don't interrupt us. Thanks.

Fear Factor: Does this count as a reality show? I don't know, but I do know that it is fun - in a really creepy way - to watch people eat pig penis and cow testicles. Don't deny it.

There have obviously been many more reality shows than I have listed, and there are sure to be many more. Lots of them suck (Temptation Island, Star Search, The Real World), but there are those few that don't suck. Maybe they all suck, and I am just a slave to the media.

Regardless, reality shows are undoubtedly the crowning achievement of humanity. I'm serious.

2004-01-07T00:21:00.000-06:00

What an absolutely crappy night.

Well, not the whole night. Just my conversation with Hannah. It sucked. The first thing that she asked me when I answered the phone was "Are you as happy as you used to be?" I guess her friends think that I don't like them as much as I used to and that they like Hannah's friend's boyfriend more than me for some reason. It would take forever to explain the whole thing, but needless to say it wasn't fun listening to her talk about it. Then later on in the conversation I mentioned an ad that I saw about how our kids will be working to make up for Bush's 1 trillion dollar deficit, and we got on to the topic of supporting the President and war and all this stuff. Somehow she got mad and stopped talking so we just hung up.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Really. Frustrating. I hate it when we get off of the phone mad.

**Update: I just called her again and everything is okay (for now).

My J-Term class is going pretty well. I actually like it alot. I've only had two classes, but I've learned quite a bit. In case you don't know, I am taking "Internet Technology and Web Design." We turn in our homework in the form of a webpage. You can see tomorrow's homework assignment here (if you're really curious). By the end of January we are supposed to have a complete website made, and for mine I plan on making one for Undeclared. I'll post the link as soon as I start it. Since this is the only class I have, from 10:30-12:20 M-F, I have afternoons off. I took a nap today and accidentally slept through dinner... I hate it when I do that. I think I am going to go into work tomorrow. I don't really have set times to work, and it's pretty easy stuff (I just sit at a computer the whole time) but a guy needs to make some money, eh?

The Bush ad(s) about which I was talking is located here.

2004-01-05T01:38:00.000-06:00

Why Must I...

I have lateley been having urges to write a song or two. Or five. I really have only ever written one song, entitled "Sleep Sweet (Hannah's Lullaby)". Let me get to the point. I was messing around on my guitar and I stumbled upon melody that I liked. I added some words and recorded what I had. I used my computer to record myself singing harmony above... myself. The short segment that I recorded would most likely be the chorus to a song but who knows.

The mp3 file can be downloaded here.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below (where it says "Comments (#)"). It you think it sucks, tell me. Seriously.

Oh yeah... here are the lyrics for anyone who cares:

why must i say goodbye
why do these hearts divide
i can't look back with these tear stained eyes
why must i...

2004-01-02T22:11:00.000-06:00

Christmas is over. So is New Years. So - more or less - is my entire Christmas break. It's back to school in a little over a day, and unfortunately I've already said goodbye to Hannah because she is at a weekend conference.

Speaking of Hannah... On Friday, December 19, I gave her a diamond promise ring. I had her go on a scavenger hunt which included dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, the Drake Diner. Her final stop on the hunt was the treasure, a seven-diamond ring. I told her the two hearts on it (there are two hearts on it...) represent us and that I want them to stay together forever. She LOVED it. Are we engaged? No. Are we NOT engaged? Yes? Ha.

A few days ago my muffler fell off of my car. While I was driving it. In traffic. I'm not joking. Not to worry... mom came through in the clutch (as always) and payed for a new one. Thanks, mom.

If you haven't heard Dance Dance Revolution, then you need to. Why? Because that is precisely what it is - a revolution. The game is called DDRMax2 and instead of controllers for the PS2, you plug in two dance pads and dance to the steps the game gives you, all to a bunch of sweet techno songs. I am going to try to get some casual games and a tournament going in my dorm during January. More on this story as it unfolds.

Overall, I had a great break. I played a whole lot of video games, played some disc golf, watched movies (Dreamcatcher - Sucked... real bad; Paycheck - Great; Freaky Friday - Surprisingly not sucky; Pirates of the Caribbean - Amazing... loved it), ate lots of food, spent time with my family, broke my mom's antique window with a football, spent time with Hannah, bought some new jeans, broke open a friend's defunct PS2 and fixed it, and didn't think about school whatsoever. Now onto a relaxing yet hectic January.

Here we go...

2003-12-07T23:11:00.000-06:00

I recorded this vocal groove on Saturday night.

(If there is a 2-3 second silence shortly after the beginning, restart it and it will be fine.)

2003-12-07T19:32:00.000-06:00

I'm listening to: "Back to Nowhere" by Sue Generis

Dang.

It's been a few days since I updated, hasn't it? Twenty to be exact. I think... so maybe it's not exact.

Christmas at Luther is finally over. I always dislike the rehearsals just because they are so long and draining, but overall, it is worth it. These are the memories I will keep for a lifetime, and I'm not just typing that. In related news, I love Weston Noble.

My mom came up yesterday, and Hannah and her mom got here this morning. It was really nice to be able to spend the day with them all and to perform for them. They all really enjoyed it. It's always funny when Hannah comes up here that a bunch of random people who she obviously doesn't know come up to her and say, "Are you Hannah? I've heard so much about you!" Some of them even know about her finger surgery and ask how it went and such. I think she really likes it that everyone here knows her. I just hope people don't think I talk about her too much.

My computer is finally working again, which is part of the reason it's been a while since the last blog. One day my computer suddenly decided to restart... over and over again. I tried a bunch of things, had a couple of guys on my floor help me, and eventually I just backed up my important files, formatted the hard drive, and started from scratch. I'm glad that's over with.

11 days until Christmas break...

2003-11-17T15:33:00.000-06:00

For those who have not yet heard, Luther College's premier men's a cappella group - Undeclared - was recently chosen as a participant in the International Championships of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA). 18 groups from throughout the Midwest were chosen, and Undeclared hails from the smallest school of those chosen.

"Each year, our 25 competitions take place from the end of January to the end of March in six regions (New England/Central Canada, Northeast, MidAtlantic, South, Midwest and West). Each region holds three quarterfinals that showcase six groups. The top two groups from each quarterfinal advance to the semifinal in their region, and the top group at semifinals advances to finals - which have been held in the historic Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in New York City." - from the ICCA website.

The Midwest is the only region which does not have secured performance dates, but quarterfinals will be in early February at either the U. of Illinois or the U. of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Isn't that cool? At the competitions they give out several awards, one of which is a "Best Vocal Percussion" award... you know I want to win that. BAD.

I didn't get any homework done this weekend, which is unfotunate, but I did get lots done. I bought SSX 3, which is an awesome game, and I got a bunch of other stuff too. Basically I spent the entire afternoon Saturday hanging out with my mom - raking, shopping, etc. It was a good day. I ate dinner with Hannah and her friend Maggie and Maggie's boyfriend Brandon (who is in the Marines, and was one of the first inside Saddam's palaces earlier this year, I kid you not) at Cheddar's and later that night we rented and watched "Finding Nemo" even though we all saw it together this summer. It was just as good as the first time.

Now I am back at school. Jason Mraz performs here tonight, and the more I think about it, the less I want to be a part of the mob crowd that hangs out right in front of the stage and the more I want to hang out in the back and just enjoy the music and relax. I have been looking at his setlists from the past few weeks, and he has been performing "1,000 Things" at almost every one, so maybe he will tonight.

It's only one week until Thanksgiving break... only one more week that I have to focus on schoolwork. Hopefully SSX 3 will not be too much of a distraction.

2003-11-14T01:42:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I have actually posted a real post. Sorry 'bout that.

I am going to Cedar Falls tomorrow (Friday) night to see my high school football team play at the UNI-Dome in the playoffs. I'll meet Hannah there and then take her back to West Des Moines for the weekend. She has dance camp for show choir all day Saturday (8am - 10pm to be quite exact), so I have some rather large plans for myself. I am planning on buying SSX 3, a sweet snowboarding game and playing it for a good portion of the day. I also hope, however, to get write a paper or two and do some reading for school. I really want and need to get that stuff done, so if you see me or talk to me before this weekend, encourage me to not waste my life inside a meaningless video game. Thanks.

I'm really pumped for Thanksgiving break. Why? Because breaks are awesome, stupid. Why else? After Thanksgiving break, with the exception of finals week, it's all downhill... and before you know it, it's Christmas break. I am getting bored with school. Maybe it's just the daily routine. Whatever it is, I need a break. Or two.

After a huge month-long orderal, Hannah's finger has completely healed, and it looks and works perfectly.

Jason Mraz graces the campus of Luther on Monday. It brings me back memories of me and my buddy Shawn buying tickets to see Mraz in Madison last April, and then a ridiculously random blizzard blew across the upper midwest. One hour and about 20 miles into the trip, and after nearly dying more than a couple times, we decided we should turn around. %!^@*(!^!%!$ Seventeen bucks down the drain. This Monday will redeem our foiled journey. I am wondering what songs he will play... I really hope he plays the following: 1,000 Things, After an Afternoon, At Last ---> Sleep All Day, The Boy Is Gone, and pretty much anything else on "Waiting for My Rocket to Come." We shall see.

Shick® has debuted the Quattro... how long must we wait for Gillette to unveil its own four-bladed shaving machine? The question everyone is thinking, but few are asking...

I had an idea a while ago. A lofty idea. I was thinking about writing a set of songs - I don't know how many - set to the text of the Catholic mass (in Latin), and set to only guitar and voice. I haven't started, but I think it could be cool. I remember singing a Bach mass in high school... and I think many people are actually more familiar with the Latin than they think. Who knows, I might forget about it in a week. Or, I might release a CD in 8 years which goes double platinum and gets rave reviews in the contemporary Christian music world.

That's it for now. Download the song "Comin' Where I'm From" by Anthony Hamilton.

2003-11-12T12:01:00.000-06:00

After alot of blood, sweat, and tears, I have registered for my J-term and Spring semester classes. They are as follows:

For J-Term:

MIS-139-A Internet Tech Web Page Design
OLIN 213 LECT MTWRF 10:30AM 12:20PM
S. Runde (3)

...and for Spring semester...

REL-339-A Popular Film and Religion
MAIN 111 LECT TR 12:30PM 01:50PM
MAIN 111 LECT M 06:30PM 08:30PM
M. Johnson-DeBaufre (3)

CHEM-115-A The Chemical World
VALD 168 LECT TR 09:00AM 09:50AM
C. Mottley (3)

CHEM-115L-A02 The Chemical World Lab
VALD 260B LAB R 02:30PM 04:20PM
L. Jensen (0)

SOC-101-B Intro To Sociology
KORE 218 LECT MTRF 10:30AM 11:20AM
C. English (4)

CL-130-B Intro to Interpersonal Communication
MAIN 116B LECT MWF 12:30PM 01:20PM
S. Lee (3)

EDUC-220-B Educational Psychology
PREU 100 LECT MWF 02:30PM 03:20PM
J. Langholz (3)

There you have it. I am quite excited for the classes... it shold be an interesting semester. I am still on a "waiting list" for a class on Islam which would take the place of Intro to Comm, but we'll see about that.

2003-11-04T09:45:00.000-06:00

As I was falling asleep last night, I began to ponder a very important question. It is a question which I think few, if any, philosophers have taken the time to discuss.

Why is the blueberry the only berry with a name suitable to describe the actual berry? It is blue. It is also a berry.

What does a straw have to do with its respective berry?

What is a rasp?

My work is done here.

2003-10-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

Dashboard Confessional concert. St. Paul, Minnesota. October 7, 2003.

What a perfectly splendid evening. The only thing that could have been better is if Hannah would have been there. Anyway, myself, Brittany and Kristin left Luther around 2:45 headed for the Cities. When we got into St. Paul, we turned the wrong way on a street, thanks to mapquest.com. When we finally realized that a huge auditorium probably wouldn't be nestled nicely between two duplexes, we turn around and stopped at Burger King. It would have been a perfectly normal fast food outing had Brittany not pointed out a rolled-up ten dollar bill lying on the ground. Not only that, but she was nice enough to let me have it. So we ate dinner and then headed out to look for parking. There weren't any spots near the auditorium, and I didn't want to get lost so we sold our souls for a total of $10 so we could park in a parking garage. When we got in, we put our money together and each purchased lovely t-shirts, and then headed to our seats. The seats were actually pretty good. Roy Wilkins auditorium is not very big, and we were in the balcony, a safe distance from the high school sophomores on the floor who were crowd surfing, moshing, and being just plain ridiculous. The three of us agreed that we felt old.

And now the music. Three bands played before Dashboard. They were (in order), Piebald (I don't know what it means either), Brand New, and MXPX. Brand New was my favorite of the three, and they performed a Dahboard cover which was kind of neat. My only complaint about these bands is that they played for a little over two hours. The concert started at 6:30, and MXPX finished their set at 8:36pm. However, as I would soon find out, Dashboard was well worth the wait.

I was extremely restless between 8:36pm and 9:02pm, when the house lights finally dimmed and the band walked on stage to a drum beat and a screaming crowd. The drum beat was the beginning of "For You To Notice". The entire setlist was as follows:

For You To Notice
The Sharp Hint of New Tears
The Brilliant Dance
Hey Girl
The Good Fight
I Am Missing
Carry This Picture
As Lovers Go
Jam Session #1
So Impossible
Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus cover)
Bend and Not Break
Screaming Infidelities
Again I Go Unnoticed
So Beautiful
Rapid Hope Loss

------
Jam Session #2
Hands Down

Overall, I was incredibly pleased with the setlist. I wasn't really a big fan of the new cd, but when I heard alot of the songs performed live, my mind was changed. I was thrown off by "Teenage Dirtbag," but pleased nonetheless. It was just a wonderful mix of old and new. My favorites were "Sharp Hint of New Tears" and "Hands Down." I could go on for a while about the actual performance, but I will refrain.

The next hour and a half are a bur of excitement, tired legs, anxiousness, and joy. After the show, we were determined to meet Chris (the lead singer), so we walked around the building until we ran into a security guard who reluctantly told us to go to 5th Avenue, where the tour bus was. We went. We waited. We waited some more. Then we did it. We met Chris. We took pictures. We had our tickets autographed. We left. We peed. Because of excitement, not because of bladder control problems.

As I said before, the only thing that would have made it the perfect night would be if Hannah had been there. I never knew how beautiful downtown St. Paul is, and I wish I could have expienced that, as well as the concert, with her. I guess we'll just have to road trip sometime. My thanks are extended to Brittany Borstad and Kristin Dorr for being my moral and monetary support, and Kristin Dorr for freaking out and laughing for ten minutes straight on the way home.

(Lights down on stage.)
(End scene.)

2003-09-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

I left Luther at 6:45 on Friday morning to be with Hannah before, during and after her finger surgery. We (myself, Hannah, and her mom) got to the hospital at about 11:45am and did all of the paperwork and waiting until she finally got into the operating room at like 2:00. It was only an hour until we got to go back to Hannah's, and everything went smoothly. The doctor put two pins in her left ring finger (which actually stick out of it) and then wrapped the finger in a huge bandage. The first time that we saw her after the surgery she was sitting in a recliner with the nurse next to her and she said, "Can I get some more of that medicine, please?" What a nutball. So we spent the rest of the afternoon resting at her house and later that night pretty much all of her friends stopped by at the same time to see how she was doing and it was really cool. I wish I could be with her to take care of her... I really didn't want to come back on Saturday. Anyway, she is doing fine for now, and I think she has to have the pins in for three weeks or so.

2003-09-26T02:15:00.000-05:00

As I write this, it is only four and a half hours until I leave for home to be with Hannah. She broke her finger really badly on Wednesday in P.E., and the doctor told her today (Thursday) that she needs to undergo surgery for it. Apparently she needs to have pins put into her finger and then she has to wear a huge and annoying cast. So I am skipping classes tomorrow to be with her for that. My thanks to all who signed the "Get Well" card for her. I'll be back Saturday around lunch time for the Wartburg game. I am going to be so tired tomorrow. Awesome.

The good news, you ask? I ordered my guitar on Wednesday, and UPS says it will be here on Tuesday the 30th. For those who really care, you can track "New Blue's" journey across the land here. Thanks again to everyone who donated money to the fund. I can't even believe that it all happened so fast. To those who laughed at me, I laugh in your general direction. This just goes to show how far you can go with only a dream in your heart and an envelope for money.

Meanwhile, please pray for Hannah's speedy recovery and for New Blue's speedy delivery. Thanks.

2003-09-20T15:14:00.000-05:00

The Best of Weekends

First of all, I haven't been back in West Des Moines for a solid month, and it is so wonderful to be home. I absolutely love it. I don't think I really realized how much I missed Hannah until I saw her at the football game. It is so nice to be with her and spend time with her!

My mom was in a pretty serious car accident last week, in which the airbag probably saved her life, and today is the first time I have seen her since. She is doing wonderfully and I love her to death. Right now she is outside working on her garden. Ah, the sweet feeling of familiarity.

And now for the best part of the weekend thus far (besides seeing my family and my girlfriend). As many of you know, I began a donation fundraising campaign to buy a new guitar. As of Thursday night, I had raised approximately $155, which means that I only needed to raise about $85 more dollars until I reached the $240 goal (I found someone to buy my current guitar for $200 - one Anna Bergdall). Last night at the Valley-Dowling football game (Valley - 42, Dowling - 14), Hannah handed me a check for $50 and says "This is from me and the A Cappella choir." Apparently she stood up in front of choir and asked for donations from me, and gave me some money herself! I tell you what, she is one amazing woman. 85 - 50 = $35. Ten minutes later a good friend of mine, Alyssa Ericson, says "Hey Jake, I have $30 for your guitar.." WHAT!? I sort of started the whole thing out not expecting it to work at all, and now I was only $5 away from my goal. Pure ridiculosity. Yes. RIDICULOSITY. So the rest of the night flies by, and I eventually make it home at about 2:00am. Naturally, there is a pile of mail for me sitting on the dining room table... most of which is junk mail. Except for one peculiar looking parcel. I wan't able to discern who it was from by looking at the return address, but it looked it was a check because it had the perforated edges, etc., so I opened it, not knowing what the heck it was. What did it say, you ask?

Pay to the order of: Jacob Bouma $156.00

I was just as amazed as you are. I got a refund frmo US Cellular from my deposit on my cell phone which I made a year and a half ago. I couldn't believe it, and I didn't want to get screwed over, so I called the helpful 1-800 number on a bill stub, and the lady on the other end politely told me that I was in fact not getting screwed over!

So what does this mean? It means a new guitar. It means Jake can go to Wal-Mart and get the essentials. It means Jake can go to the Jason Mraz concert in Cedar Rapids. It means alot of things folks. When people tell you that things will work out, they mean it. God is good.

I expect that things will only get better until I have to go back to Luther tomorrow. The Homecoming dance is tonight, and it's going to be a blast. Thank you to all who donated to the guitar fund, and look for more information soon about the tentatively-titled "Jake Bouma New Guitar Concert."

2003-09-03T00:41:00.000-05:00

The Music Ministry/New Guitar Fund

Alright, here's the deal. I have officially started a donation fund which will provide the money for me to buy a new and much better guitar than the one I currently own. Am I crazy? Maybe. But maybe I am not. The following are valid reasons for starting such a donation fund:

1) The new guitar would serve myself and my playing needs in the campus Christian worship band FOCUS much better. Also, because the guitar is a higher quality instrument, it would last longer and serve my future in youth and music ministry. I am currently a Religion major with a minor in Music at Luther College, and intend to dedicate my life to both youth and music ministry. Music - more specifically, "guitar-based" worship - has impacted my life profoundly, and this guitar would be a wonderful instrument in spreading the Word.
2) I bought the guitar I currently own without a pickup installed (a pickup is the device that lets you plug into an amp). Since it did not have one, I had one installed, and the one I had installed broke. It cannot be fixed (I took it in multiple times) and must be replaced with a new one.
3) The new guitar is an "acoustic-electric," which means that it comes installed with a very good pickup in it.

I mentioned above that the guitar which I am raising money for is higher quality. These are the specific qualities:

- The guitar I own is made out of spruce and mahogany, while the new guitar is made completely of beautiful and better sounding maple wood.
- As I mentioned, the new guitar has a pickup in it, and an equalizer on the guitar itself, for ease of sound management.
- The new guitar is blue, just like the one I have now.
- The old guitar has chrome tuning pegs, while the new guitar has gold tuning pegs and hardware.
- The new guitar has a recessed body for ease of playing, while the old guitar has a full body.
- The new guitar has pearl abalone inlays in the neck and a more ornate head which make the guitar prettier.

The "new" guitar can be purchased for as low as $439.95, and I may be able to sell my current guitar for $150-175. This means that I need to raise $265-290. I began today and raised $15 cash and $1 online through PayPal. I ask anyone reading this to consider donating after taking into account what I have said. I will accept cash, check and money orders, as well as donations (including credit card donations) through PayPal. If you wish to donate through PayPal, click the "donate" button on the left-hand side of the page. Please send cash, checks (made payable to Jake Bouma), and money orders to:

Jake Bouma
700 College Drive
SPO 363
Decorah, IA 52101

Thank you very much... and if you are interested in seeing the guitar of which I am speaking, you can view a picture of it here.

UPDATE 9/3: Total money raised to date - $27.50

2003-09-01T00:39:00.000-05:00

Apparently, it's not TV that causes violence, it's movies. Jewish leaders said yesterday a major film distributor has decided not to release Mel Gibson's The Passion and urged others to follow suit, saying its theme that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus could trigger anti-Semitic crimes. "This is how it began in Germany," one person said. Give me a break, people. The film is about the last 12 hours of Jesus' life... why does everything has to be seen as some form of hate towards any given orginization or group? Anyway, you can read the whole article here.

2003-08-31T20:43:00.000-05:00

Although I have been at school for more than a week now, this is my first official post from campus. It's been a pretty hectic time. The whole week consisted of lots of RA training and endless meetings about stuff that we has already read in other meetings. It's worth it though. I really enjoy being an RA so far. I like all of the residents on my floor, and I think it will be a really fun year.

My room is awesome. I have wall-to-wall carpet that is a really dark navy blue (it almost looks black), and a futon underneath my bunk bed. I am planning on getting a nice TV soon, too. It's also nice not to have a roommate. So yeah, I am having an awesome year, and my classes will kick butt.

The thing that sucks about being at school the most is being away from Hannah. I don't get to see her until September 20, which will end up being a month total without seeing her. Hopefully I can go home more often after the beginning of the year. She is a section leader in show choir, and she just got a new car. I am really excited for her and the amazing year she is going to have. Oh yeah, she is going on a cruise in March. She rules. One might think that I would feel weird being "that guy who comes back to the high school dances," but I really have a good time going with her to them.

I am playing in FOCUS tonight. For the whole thing. For the first time. I never got to play the whole time last year, but I should be doing it every Sunday from now on. I have also become much better at the guitar since last year, so I feel more comfortable playing.

I know I wanted to say more, but I can't remember it all, so keep checking back, and feel free to leave a comment below.

2003-08-24T01:54:00.000-05:00

I am back at school. More updates soon.

2003-07-15T20:36:00.000-05:00

Hey folks. Sorry for the extreme lack of posts during the summer. It's been a deadly conbination of business and laziness. For these reasons, I will give a quick update of of my life.

1. I will be attending Luther College for the 2003-2004 school year.
2. I have been working my butt off at both of my jobs, Burger King and Aeropostale, and will work the Iowa State Fair in August.
3. I got a mini fridge for my dorm room. Wahoo.
4. Hannah and I celebrated our one year anniversary on July 11. I regret to inform you that she kicked the snot out of me in miniature golf. Seven strokes. Seriously.
5. My bathroom is complete, and it looks great.
6. I am have been thinking about doing a bible study in the fall, perhaps on the book Wild at Heart by John Eldridge. To the guys who read this (Shawn, Peter, Jeff, etc.) I think this would be a wonderful thing for us all to do.
7. I am having a mammoth-sized mole removed next Monday morning. 5:1 odds say that I faint and make an idiot of myself.
8. I won a free month membership at Aspen health club, and have been once. I intend to go more before my month is up. I hope to be in good shape for the beginning of the school year... for ultimate frisbee in particular. Oh yeah, I also bought some cleats. Remember when I kicked butt at ultimate when I didn't own cleats? Yeah. Now I do. So watch out.

That's it for now. Who knows when I will update again.

2003-06-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

What I am listening to: Grandma's Hands by Take 6

I just added the option of commenting to each and every post. So if you feel so inclined to say something about the post, all you need to do is just click the link below the post that says "Comment" and fill out your name and comment, and I will be able to read it. It sounds nerdy, but I am really quite excited about this new addition. Also, I added a new section on the left side of the blog with a list of what books I am reading. The book titles link to their respective descrption pages on Amazon.com. Neat, huh?

I finished my bathroom today. I touched up some places with paint, put the cabinet doors back on, cleaned the sink, toilet and floor again, and then put the rugs that I recently bought down. It looks really good, and what is even more exciting is that this afterrnoon I was able to take a shower in it! Up until this point I would have to go to the second floor and come back down... usually forgetting something during my trip, such as my glasses. Now I can just stay in the basement and take care of all of my showering needs. If I had a digital camera I would take a picture of it and upload it for all to see, but I don't have a digital camera... maybe I will take a real photo and scan it in a few weeks.

I am not excited about going to work tomorrow. I work from 8-5, and most, if not all of the time will be spent unloading boxes from a truck, unpacking the clothes from within the boxes and refolding the clothes or hanging them on hangers. I am making money... I am making money... I am making money...

"We are God's workers, working together." 1 Corinthians 3:9

2003-06-06T21:11:00.000-05:00

What I am listening to: Freeze by Pay the Girl

Okay, so I got the job at Aéropostale (That's Aero-poh-stall for those who don't know. I didn't even know until the manager looked at me funny when I said the name wrong. Don't feel bad). The new store opens up in Valley West Mall on Thursday the 12th, so on Wednesday and Thursday I trained at the Merle Hay store. Today I worked at Valley West, unpacking boxes and putting together displays all day. From 8am until 5pm. I do the same thing next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday which is awesome because I am finally making some money. We get clothes in on Monday, yipee! I am pumped because I get a sweet discount on clothes, and they are clothes I would definately wear. The only downside is that I will be tempted to spend a lot of money there. Oh well.

I played my first games in the Des Moines Ultimate League on Wednesday night. I don't know a single person on my team, but we are awesome. We are now 3-0 (I missed last week) and we seem to really click as a team. Needless to say, I had great fun, except that somehow I managed to pull a vital muscle in my neck which until this point I was completely unaware existed. No worries. I am looking forward to playing next week and the rest of the summer.

My bathroom is almost complete! I have finished painting the walls and the trim, and all that is left is to touch up some small spots and clean the floors again. It looks really good, and alot better than it did when I came home from the summer.

I am about 85% sure that I will be attending Luther College next year. I need to call and tell them that I need more money, but my mom told me when I was little that if I smile and ask politely then I can get almost anything I want. Don't fail me now, Mom.

"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

2003-06-01T17:53:00.000-05:00

I sat down with my mom today to figure out financial mumbo jumbo regarding UNI and Luther. It turns out that I would be borrowing the same amount from both schools. In other words, it costs me the exact same thing (there is only a $200 difference) to attend both schools. Then my mom suggested something new, and I don't know how I feel about it. She suggested that I could take a year off from school and work. The world would be so much nicer if everything were free, wouldn't it? It would sure make things alot easier for me. I will have to sit down and talk to Hannah about it and to think alot about it myself. I have been praying my butt off about this particular issue, and any prayers from anyone else are more than welcome. I don't know for sure when I will make a decision.

I am half way through Enter The Matrix, and I bought NBA Street Volume 2. I am extremely excited to waste my life away playing these video games.

Last Thursday I picked Hannah up from school and suprised her with a picnic. I took her to Walnut Woods state park and grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. It was a really beautiful day, and we had lots of fun. I took my guitar, and after we ate lunch I sang her to sleep. We decided we should go picnickng more often. I must say that I am truly blessed to be with such a wonderful person as Hannah.

A while back, I was thinking about changing my screen name from "buddhajake" to something new and more exciting. Needless to say, I am not a Buddhist, and I never was. The name originated from a stupid joke in ninth grade World Cultures class. Anyway, I was reading a book the other night, and I was struck by this particular section: "'Yeshua' is the Hebrew name by which Jesus was known in the first century. The commonly used name 'Jesus' is the Latinized rendering of his name in the Greek New Testament, which was 'Ieosus.' The meaning of his name is 'the LORD is salvation' (cf. Matt. 1:21, Luke 1:31, 2:11)." Yeshua. It is what Jesus would have been called back in the day. I figured it would make a cool screen name, but apparently some scholar of Christology already took the stupid name. Then I was struck with another brilliant idea. How about YeshuaX, for 'Jesus Christ'? Some would say this is stooping to the level of Christina Aguilera in her holiday album titled "Xtina's X-mas," but I beg to differ. Sadly, someone out there is already the owner of the screen name YeshuaX. So now I have been trying to think of a screen name which used the word Yeshua in it, but without being to stupid or weird. I don't want something like "Yeshua4Me" or "iluvyeshua." The only semi-cool one I could come up with was "LordYeshua" whuch obviously means Lord Jesus, but I don't know. Any suggestions are welcome. My email address is buddhajake@hotmail.com, and my screen name is buddhajake. But you already knew that.

I have no job yet. I applied at Aéropostale, which is a clothing store somewhere inbetween Old Navy and American Eagle in quality and price, which opens at Valley West Mall on June 13. Until then (and I don't even know if I will get the job), I will probably work at Burger King. Woo hoo.

2003-05-22T13:48:00.000-05:00

After a few days of downtime, I make my first summer post. I am still in a bit of shock about the fact that I have already finished my first year of college. Time really does fly. All in all, I had a pretty good year. I played some great frisbee, sung in an awesome a cappella group, made some amazing friends, and formed a band that I can call my very own. There has been nothing in the mail from UNI about financial aid since I have returned home. My mom said it should be here sometime late this week or early next week. Both Hannah and her mom have commented that they think I want to return to Luther because of some offhand comments that I have made, but I really honestly don't know.

Anyway, I have spent the past three days organizing and cleaning my basement, and it is nowhere near being complete. I have to clean my shower and the rest of my bathroom. There is mold growing on the wall. Doesn't that sound fun? After the bathroom is clean, I am going to paint the walls. Blue, I think. My only problem with cleaning the basement is that I have no motivation. It will come to me in time, oh yes. It will come.

I applied for a job at Earl May nursery & garden center on Tuesday, and I called twice yesterday. The lady who answered the phone even said "I'll hive him [the manager] the message that you called." They haven't called back. Jerks. I will call later.

Clay Aiken should have won American Idol. You suck, Reuben.

Some good news! Hannah's brother bought the game Enter the Matrix and is in the process of playing/beating it. I am encouraging him to beat it as fast as possible so I can borrow it when he is done. I only watched him play for a couple of minutes, but what I saw was beautiful. The graphics perfectly imitate the unreal physics of the Matrix, and the bullet-time looks fantastic. I hope to get my hands on the game soon. I left my PS2 power cord in my dorm room when I moved out, so my roommate is mailing it to me. Maybe when I get it I will just rent the game until Hannah's brother is done. I can't contain myself.