Midterms

Wow. It's been a while since I wrote to you.

A lot has happened in a month. This school has offered me a lot of opportunity, and I'm still in the process of taking advantage. Two weeks into school I was offered a job at the Wellness Center, where I do social media and marketing things. Mostly I do design and research. Recently I found out about two school publications which I am going to do my best to be involved with, Calliope and the Pacifican.

I've also been given the chance to go to London during spring break; we would visit Oxford and Stonehenge and Bath and many other places. It all sounds very exciting. That, and studying abroad next year. I've wanted to leave the US for quite a few years now. Finally I will begin to have the chance. There are so many beautiful things in this world.

My professors here are wonderful and personable. They each have their own senses of humor, and plenty of wisdom to share. The relationship between students and teachers here is different than I have previously experienced. I'm quite enjoying it. Already I have the feeling that I will leave this place with good connections to my mentors, without having to labor for it.

I'm in a good place, learning good things. The good people are in progress. X) Ah.

I will try and write more often, because this is a little ridiculous.

"Στα βάθη του χειμώνα, ανακάλυψα μέσα μου ένα αήττητο καλοκαίρι." Continue reading →

Weekend in Portland

Some scenes from last weekend's trip through Oregon. We spent two days in the Portland area visiting Lan Su Gardens, Powell's Books, Voodoo Donuts, Multnomah Falls, and a few wonderful restaurants(I heartily recommend Santeria and Mama Mia's). Also while we were there, Josh proposed to Catie, who promptly said 'Yes'. :)  In Powell's I picked up a book of Wilfred Owen's poetry, "The Social Contract", a small collection of Oscar Wilde's poetry and Ursula LeGuin's "Four Ways to Forgiveness".

Sadly I don't have any video of our adventure on the dunes in Coo's Bay, dinner with Josh's grandma in Lakeside or our trip down the river and subsequent beach activities in Grant's Pass.

Coo's was interesting. It had been a damp day and the sand wasn't in the best condition for quads. We spent a lot of our time stuck on hillsides, but it was still a good experience. Directly after that we had dinner in a local pub with grandma, which was delicious.

On the last day we headed down the river on a 10 foot raft. I learned that I can spend a large amount of mostly-idle time with these three and still be at ease; something that does not come easily to me. On the beach we skipped rocks (or tried) and played with the creatures we found around the rocks. There may have also been some stick fighting involved, which is probably the thing I from which I most wish I had video.

We spent a good 24 hours in a small car, singing and laughing and sleeping and talking. Time well spent.

Thanks to Josh, Catie and Adam for being great friends, company and adventurers. Hopefully we will have many more trips in this vein. :D
Continue reading →

Half Dome Hike

Best friend Kaitlyn, brother-in-law Nathan and I headed to Yosemite National Park at 3 AM to hike 16.4+ miles to the top of Half Dome. As it was my first time, I figured I should make record of it. :) Definitely one for the bucket list.

We started out that morning on the Mist Trail, going past Vernal and Nevada falls. From there we went on the Half Dome trail through Little Yosemite Valley. Close to an hour was spent 8000+ feet up on the top of Half Dome. Really amazing. Originally we had planned to take the John Muir trail on the return hike. However, sore feet and urgency brought us to simply hurry back down the Mist Trail. Probably not the best choice, but it got us the short return trip we wanted. X) This is a very long, exhausting hike to accomplish in a single day--but well worth it!

The majority of this was filmed on my Nikon, with some shots from Nathan's camera.
Follow along on: http://twitter.com/Laurmott  Thanks for watching! Continue reading →

Use Skill: Choose University

It's official. I'm attending UoP in the fall! Very ecstatic about this. Subsequently after first visiting the campus, I aspired to get into this school. Nevertheless, financially it was impractical. God works miracles, though. Don't forget. Through avenues that I never expected, He made it possible. To be honest, it has been some time since I was aware of God coming through in a large way. The jokester--a day before the deadline it looked like a definite 'no', by which I was crushed (irrationally). The day of, however, it suddenly became very possible. Teach me to have a little more faith, why doesn't He.

The campus aesthetically blends with who I am. I have loved just walking around the times I've visited, not to mention joy of the library. The students are so kind and full of leadership (rub off on me, please), and wonderfully nerdy. Yes, there is a Harry Potter club. Yes, they do play Quidditch on the lawn. From what I've read, class sizes are relatively small. Hopefully this will grow my confidence when it comes to class discussions. That has always been a problem for me. The professors in the English department have written me personally, and seem incredibly helpful and caring. Inconceivable, how blessed this makes me feel.

Excitement. So. That is what I wanted to tell you about. Starting August I will be describing episodes from this place more frequently, for sure. I'm taking things as they come, and enjoying every minute. This year has truly been great thus far.

Summer Plans

• Get another/better job
• Return to Youtube. >_>
• Take more pictures, see more friends
• Write a children's story
• ...

Any suggestions? Continue reading →

FINISHED.

Early Morning Thumbs Up!

...For now. This Friday I finished my last semester at my community college with a 3.95 GPA and two years on the Dean's List. Although it is boastful, it is likely the accomplishment I feel most proud of so far. It feels great to write down. I met so many awesome professors and friends during my time here. Somewhere along the way, I moved out of child mode and started to become who I am as an adult. MJC will always be a significant place in my memory. Community college allowed me to do a lot more than I would have been capable of otherwise. Moving on is exciting, still.

In the fall, I will be transferring to a four-year university as a Junior. (!) I've been accepted to a few schools so far, and I'm fairly sure I know which one I will be attending. More about that later though.

Congratulations to my graduating/transferring classmates at JC. We're advancing to awesomeness. :D Continue reading →

humans

This semester is truly wonderful. Although I've run into a handful of irksome individuals, the majority of the people I've met and worked with are intellectual, interesting characters. Basically, I'm very glad to welcome them into my little story. Let's get a little personal. I kicked off this year feeling lonely and friendless--not that I didn't have any friends, but they had all moved away. Unfortunately, being a very internal person it is difficult reaching out to others or venting. I lacked belonging.

The good part: almost every class for which I registered introduced me to some awesome people. :D To all of you who are now friends, thank you for being amazing and encouraging and intellectually stimulating. Hah! You are all so kind and funny. Rarely have I felt so in tune with a group. I hope we can go on to create some great things.

And of course, to the friends that have stuck by me all these years: thank you. You bring me a lot of joy, and no matter the distance or time between us, you will always be very near my heart and thoughts. :)

Anyway, this is a weird little note/blog. I got home tonight from a new job and was feeling especially blessed. 

Goodnight world. Continue reading →

Amazing

Something--or rather someone--really cool happened this morning! A best friend of mine had her first baby! His name is Steven, and he was born 21 in long and weighing 8.1 lbs. Look at his cute little cheeks. :D Congratulations to his parents! You two are going to be so good for this little guy.

When I woke up this morning for school I got the news. The baby idea had been a bit abstract before today. But now that he's actually here, the thought that a new life just started... Life is brilliant. I can't even begin to comprehend the miracle that is a new soul in the world. God made something pretty amazing. 

We're all moving into a new stage of life, gradually, one at a time. My mind is truly blown. The future. Wow. 

Well, that's all I had to say today. I can't wait to meet this little guy. :D Except I'm not so good with babies. Oops.

Continue reading →

translation?

It is interesting to look back at old posts and videos and see myself in the past. I wonder how I was that young, or so changeable. Is this an oscillation that I go through or am I really growing? I won't be able to tell at this point for another year or so, and what happens then?

Some day I'm going to sit down with a psychologist. There are so many things about myself that I don't understand the reasons for. I want to ask someone who knows what qualities are usual and which ones are not. I've always suspected..

I'm still learning myself. I don't think I'll ever be done.

Posts like this crop up when I've spent weekends sick. Never mind me. Continue reading →

Whats in my bag - Nerd Version

See more on my YouTube channel. :) Continue reading →

Christmas, etc.

My goodness it’s been a long time since I visited.

I’ve done a few things in my absence. I started up a youtube channel: DermottLMc , which I have been using to make vlogs and stuff of that nature. Stuff is such an inane word. 

Had a great Christmas with various branches of my family. We stayed at Grammy and Grampy’s for the actual holiday. Time has no meaning at their house. I’m not sure what it is. I keep a fairly ‘normal’ schedule, but the first night there I was up till two and slept till almost eleven. Some people out there may think that is great, but it’s very unusual for me. I’m a morning person. It just sort of happened like that, the whole time. I don’t know. Also made a fantastic sleeping cave out of a table, pillows and blankets. Yay.

After the 25th we all headed to Reno to visit Dad’s parents. It was alright. I always get a bit of altitude sickness there. By the second morning I was just feeling nauseous and tired.

Now I am home and awaiting the new year with interest. I’m still not sure who all I’m going to spend midnight with, but I know they will be the right people whoever.

My cat likes salad. He wasn’t feeling good, so I gave him some lettuce (I knew previously that he liked it). Then he followed me all over the house meowing until I got him more. He ate quite a bit of it. Today he wanted more. It doesn’t make him sick or anything. (As opposed to meat, which does.) My little furble.

These things never have a point. I’m just bleeding out my thoughts. I’ll never be internet famous.
Anyway, good afternoon. Continue reading →

Hello Youtube

See more on my YouTube channel. :)

Continue reading →

Hello World. :)

Just a quick update before class. :) Continue reading →

november

I haven’t written anything most of this month. I’ve been feeling really stretched by end-of-the-semester projects and work and everything. A lot did happen though.

• Turned 20
• Went to Six Flags
• Saw Breaking Dawn at midnight despite my total lack of interest
• Kaitlyn came back for Thanksgiving
• Joined the Astronomy club unofficially, because apparently they like me and want me to come on trips with them
• Unmentionable things that are blowing my mind
• Bought two dresses in a month, which beats my lifetime record. I think that’s more than I usually buy in five years.

Anyway, I could keep listing ridiculous things. But yeah. I’m ready for the end of December to come and the restoration of peace to begin. I don’t know how this year is going to end. It’s only November 26th and I’m already looking for it.

Come on, live in the moment self. Stop it. Guh. Continue reading →

Yes Peter, sometimes I feel that way too.

Continue reading →

A few interesting things

Apparently my cousins on a whole think I’m hot. I think this is really funny. I don’t really know most of them, but their Dads have been reporting back that they have interesting things to say about my pictures. X) Life is strange and comical. Luckily I don’t live in Alabama.

Second, I live near a livestock and agriculture center. What this means is that at certain times of the year, the population of files swells ridiculously. This huge fly has been bouncing around knocking into my windows and mirrors for like two days now. My cats just sit there uselessly and watch it. >< I need a fly vaporizer.

Anyway, those are my comments for today. Continue reading →

dreams

…Had some weird dreams last night. I went to bed feeling pretty good, and somehow my brain translated that into:

• Deep-scuba and running out of air.
• Becoming a teen mom (Read: Horror.)
• Getting kicked out of the house.

These were all separate dreams. I don’t know what to do with them. Needless to say I feel a little crappy this morning. Continue reading →

first week

was busy. Running around, finding classes, getting the feel for new professors. They’re all a little weird. Right now I call them: The General, John Locke, Dane Cook, and Grandpa Hippie.

Went kayaking on the ocean for the first time over the weekend. It’s not so fun. The rolling of the oceans is definitely more noticeable in smaller boats. Miserable.

Now I’m sitting and watching Star Wars II. For this reason alone:

Continue reading →