Bekah's Giveaway

Alright, here's my answers for the Upon My Return Blog Parade questions:

1. If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would you say:

Jocular? :D

2. If you could go anywhere in the world with anyone you wanted to, where would you go and who with?

Indisputably to Hilton Head, a beautiful island connected to South Carolina by bridge. There you'll find the shimmering blue Atlantic, crystal beaches, and a variety of resplendent restaurants and other places for entertainment *gazes longingly out the window*. Who would I take? My friends Hunter, Caleb, Ryan, Josh, Zach, Seth, and Noah. :D

3. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

If I could have one superpower it'd be the power to pretty much makes books come... alive, I guess. Sort of like in Inkheart. Like I could just will them into being so instantly I could make Narnia real, Alagaesia real, the Underland real, The Realm real and with all their characters too. Wouldn't that be awesome?!

4. What is one habit that you get teased about a lot?

I laugh WAY too much. I know it's good for your health but the way I sometimes do? I'm going to suffocate myself someday. For instance, last night at a sleepover with my friend Hunter I got into one of my hysterical moods and nearly choked from laughter. It's kind of scary- jk, but yeah, my friends are always using it against me and making me laugh at the most crucial moments. *laughs*

5. What is your food obsession?

Anything CHINESE!!! *thinks wistfully of Spicy Chang's Chicken, Mongolian Beef, and the Great Wall of Chocolate cake at P. F. Changs*

6. What is the best April Fools prank you pulled on someone or that someone pulled on you?

Okay, let me make this declaration: I could NEVER pull off an April Fools prank without laughing and giving it all away. I just can't keep a straight face in those situations.
Someone pull a prank on me?! *scoffs scornfully* Why, I'm far too intelligent and cunning to be deceived by an April Fools pra- here's another habit: I'm way too gullible. You could tell me I'm related to Thomas Jefferson, and I'd believe you, so it's easy to pull a prank on me. But right now, I just can't recall one... I must have fallen for pranks so many times they're all just vague cycles of me being humiliated by impassive, heartless people. *sniffles* jk lol

7. If you were an inanimate object, what would you be?

Umm... a tennis ball?

8. Let's say you could change the world in one way. How would you change it?

I'd either evangelize through writing or music and touch peoples lives, and hopefully then the people would pass on the passion to others.

9. You have a million dollars. How do you spend it?

$1,000,000!!! Wow... Well, first, I'd put away about $200,000 of it in a bank for use the of my five brothers and I for college and cars (I know- I'm a saveaholic). *grins* But you never know. In a couple of years, America's recession could intensify and money would be really scarce. Secondly, I would donate about $300,000 to my church to pay for a building of our own cause currently we meet in a middle school. Thirdly, with 499,950, I would give money to various Christian organizations which can put it to good use. And with the last $50? *grins* Barnes & Noble here I come. :D

10. What is the one thing that always takes your breath away?

The first thing that comes to mind is the ocean. Whenever I go to Hilton Head, SC for vacation, I'm left breathless when I walk out on the beach and behold the undulating expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, glistening under the sun. It's a magnificent testament to God's power and majesty.

11. You are granted three wishes. What do you wish for?

First wish: Okay, this is going to sound really... I don't know, puerile? But I'd wish to be "warped" into the Middle Ages where swordplay and chivalry flourished and become a knight. *grins*

Second wish: I would wish (it's actually more like a prayer) that I would become bolder and more courageous for God and not shy away from his will, whatever it might be.

Third wish (the grand finale): I'd wish for 1,000,000,000,000 more wishes. :D

12. You can spend the day with one character from a book or series you've read. Who is that character?

*gasps* Only ONE!? Oh my word... Well, since I just finished the books and still remember everything about him and how awesome he is, I'd pick Gregor the Overlander from the Underland Chronicles.

13. What is something odd or interesting about you that is not commonly known?

I lived in Saudi Arabia (more specifically in the United Arab Emirates) for the first four years of my life.

14. What is one thing that you can absolutely positively not stand?

Tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, any kind of tomatoes- I despise them! I take like five minutes each time I put sauce on my spaghetti, trying only to get on the noodles only hamburger and sauce and not the repugnant red fruit. *grimaces*

15. Say you committed a crime. The judge gives you a choice between sentences: twenty years of complete solitude in the mountains or never having another moment alone for the rest of your life. Your choice?

Undoubtedly twenty years of solitude. I would go crazy if I was never alone for the rest of my life, but I think I could survive being alone that long. Anyways, I'm always wanting peace and quiet whenever I read, which doesn't happen much in a house of five boys, so it might be the perfect time. :D

16. What is one benefit that blogging has given you?

The awesome ability to share my experiences, passions, and life whenever I desire. Whenever there's something bubbling inside of me, pleading to get out, I just post it. With blogger, I can post about anything that's on my mind and get my thoughts out. I know, it's an obvious answer, but it's the truth.

17. A perfect day in your eyes would be?

7:30-wake up, brush my teeth, shower, dress, and go downstairs to find a voluminous meal of cinnamon rolls, strawberries, and salted and peppered fried eggs awaiting me

8:00- leave the house and go on a 20 minute drive to Roselawn Stables, the place where I take horse riding lessons, and hang out and ride with my favorite horse Champ for three hours

11:00- return home and have a bunch of friends over to play an intense game of basketball for two hours

1:00- get takeout for lunch from China Dragon and purchase some blackberry Izzes (these incredible sparkling juice drinks)

2:00- play my guitar for 30 minutes

2:30- pop in some earphones and listen to my brother's iPod Nano while I jog to the nearest Caribou Coffee to meet with six of my favorite authors-Suzanne Collins, Christopher Paolini, Rick Riordan, John Flanagan, Wayne Thomas Batson, and J. K. Rowling, and to get a strawberry smoothie and a hot, chocolate mocha

4:00- jog back home and read for two hours :D

6:00- devour a supper of crescents, my mom's white bean soup (SO good), and afterwards have a desert of two ice cream sandwiches

7:00- settle down on the couch and watch American Idol with my family

8:00- then watch an episode of Little House on the Praire (I'm addicted to them) *grins*

8:45- head over to my friend Hunter's house where all my other friends are gathered for a sleepover

9:00- play a game of Settlers of Catan while drinking Butterfinger and Peanut Butter M&Ms shakes

10:00- go and watch the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy

4:30 (a.m.)- read for another hour while the rest of my friends slumber

5:30 a.m.- ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Jake

Winnie, The Bell, and the Underland Chronicles

That's the name of the dog we're "dogsitting" this week, and for the last two days, I've been assigned to watch, play, and feed her... and she's a LOT of work! But the really aggravating thing is... the bell. Winnie's owners have trained her to report if she has to go to the bathroom by taping a bell to their front door and instructing her to ring it when she needs to go. Frankly, she doesn't use it for its intended purpose. Because it turns out it's her way of dragging me outside to run around and play with her. Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's fun. But listen: yesterday, I took her on THREE jogs around our neighborhoods block and played and ran around with her in my backyard for two hours. And guess what? Every time when we got back inside, she went and insistently rang the bell again and again until I responded and went back outside. I despise the bell. I can hear it right now as she rings it with that wicked grin on her face. jk But seriously, can't people come up with other ways to teach dogs to get attention? Why not the simple "innocent puppy-eyes" routine or something? Anything but the bell! Oh well, at least I'm getting paid. $-) But, to be honest, Winnie isn't a bad dog at all. She's actually AWESOME. She's surprisingly obedient for her age and really fun to be with. It's just... *glances darkly at his front door* the bell...
Anyways, I'm on spring break so NO school tomorrow! :D My three youngest brothers are gone at my grandparents house up in northern Minnesota for the week so my parents, brother Alex, and I pretty much have the place to ourselves, making it REALLY quiet around here. Perfect for reading. So... I stayed up till midnight last night and finished the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. They were incredible and COMPLETELY original. There wasn't ANYTHING in the series that's common or regular like elves and dragons or any "over-used" and redundant plots. It's totally fresh and fabricated by Collins, who's an excellent author. I don't really know where to rank her though. Sometimes, it gets to the point where you've read so many phenomenal books, you just can't tell which are the best. Their all so spectacular in their own way. To be blunt, I never thought I'd read the Gregor the Overlander series. I mean seriously- it's about colossal cockroaches, ruthless rats, behemoth bats, scheming spiders, and complaining, insatiable fireflies for pity's sake! But I learned something important after reading them: you can't judge a book by it's characters (even if their cockroaches), cause it turns out, I wouldn't of liked the series half as much as I do if they, or the bats, or rats, or even fireflies hadn't been in them! It's crazy but Suzanne Collins can make you like ANYONE in a novel, no matter what or who it is.
Well, I have 180 youth group in a few minutes so I should probably get ready.
Later,

Jake

Band

Okay, so I know my bro Alex has been posting all about it, but this is my first entry I've ever written about the band I'm in. We're not exactly a band cause we only have about four songs finished, but we're working on more and it's a lot of fun. We recorded on the of the songs, "When You Turned Away", last, last Thursday, and we're about to have another recording session this Thursday, but back to the point- Hunter (pretty much the band's leader) called Alex and me today, saying that the worship director for a nearby city had listened to their songs and liked it. Therefore, he invited us to perform in the city's park for this Music in the Park event thing in July. Although you might think I'm ecstatic, I am actually freaked out- cause in the song, I was the vocalist and would have to sing at the event. I mean, it's different playing guitar, piano, or a different instrument, but singing? *shudders* I don't know. It's out of my comfort zone, that's for sure. But lately, I've been reading Do Hard Things with my dad and brother, and it goes and challenges teens to do stuff hard and out-of-your-comfort-zone. So... I'm pretty torn. I know fear can't rule people's lives. How are we supposed to live the life God wants us to if we're constantly impeded and hindered by fear? I'm just going to have to pray about it... and practice. Maybe at this next recording session I can sing like crazy in front of everyone in the house to practice so I'll be prepared for the park- although that would probably be pretty annoying... So yeah, there's my predicament. Thought I'd just make a quick post about it cause I know lately I've been TOTALLY unfaithful in my blogging and commenting.
Now, to go and read The Code of Claw, the concluding book in the Underlander Chronicles by Suzanne Collins...

Jake

Dull

Sorry for such a long break from blogger. Life's just been... unbloggable, I guess. Nothing of significant interest, unless you enjoy hearing about suffering from two permanent teeth being removed at the dentist and lamentations about school. There's been ONE thing though, that sparked my interest today: Timed essays. Today in the writing class I take, we did them. The essay topic was something like: Does Cooperation or Competition Produce More Success? I was practically twitching with excitement when I heard we we're doing them today. I think I did okay. Being rated on the standard timed essay scoring system: 6 being the best, 1 being the worst, I'm predicting I either got a 3 or possibly a 4. Well... That's pretty much it. All I have to post... *laughs at his pathetic-ness* Now back to the Underlander Chronicles...

Jake