"If you ain't got no money, take your BROKE ass home..."

I broke my nose today, and it hurts pretty bad. My eyes are beginning to swell up and I can't breath that well. I got hit in the head with an elbow while trying to win a header. During my time laying on the bed putting ice on my face I have thought about a couple of things:

1) It is pretty impressive that I haven't actually broken my nose until now. Think about how many times in soccer you jump as high as you can and try to literally slam your head into the ball, right next to multiple other people, with elbows, and fists trying to do the very same thing.

2) After I broke it I went in to see the doctor in the training room and he actually put a pencil in my mouth, told me to take a breath, and proceeded to pop it back into place as best as he could...twice.

3) I had never ever had a bloody nose until today, no joke. Take that Collin.

4) I wonder how many X-rays a person has to get without that funny lead bib that they always give you before you actually get testicular cancer.

5) Hopefully I will be able to breath better through my nose, after it heals of course. I have always been a mouth breather, maybe this will change things, oh I can only hope.

6) Part of me hopes I get addicted to wearing the nose guard, that way I can have a trade mark...just like Richard Hamilton.

Welp, that's all I got for right now. I will probably post some pictures of my face once all the blood pools in my eye sockets, and it looks as grotesque and possible. I love you all. Keep it real.

Moral Sentiments...

I have been reading a lot of Adam Smith lately. Some, if not most probably don't know who he is, so I will tell you. Adam Smith is regarded as the grandfather of modern economics. He published two main works; the first titled The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which discusses the moral forces that restrain selfishness and bind people together in a workable society. The second, is titled Wealth of Nations, which assumed the existence of a just society and showed how the individual is guided by economic forces. I didn't think I would get much out of a classical economist's writing, but good ol' Adam Smith has proved me wrong. I may post a couple of random quotes from Adam Smith from time to time, and I just wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page. So here you go:

"The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect, persons of poor and mean condition, though necessary both to establish and to maintain distinction of ranks and the order of society, is, at the same time, the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments..."

~ Adam Smith
Theory of Moral Sentiments

Confidence. Trust. Community.

I told all of my fellow defenders that I loved them and that I wouldn't want to play defense alongside anybody else. The way the opposing forwards responded was hilarious. First, because they probably thought we were joking around, but continued to make fun of us by calling us gay. Second, because they realized that what we had just told one another was for the most part true. And that seriously decreased their chances for having any chance to score a goal.

Initially we didn't play very well today, I think it was because none of us were very confident. After half time we had our bonding moment on the field, that I mentioned above, and we began to play with a lot more confidence. It is amazing to see how your own level of play is changed when you know that there are ten other guys on the field who have got your back. About twenty minutes into the second half "Little Guy, Travis Isaacs" scored a great goal, and that was it. To the spectators the game probably wasn't that great, but for the four dumb defenders in the back (including myself in that statement) it was a very valuable learning experience. It has been a great season so far, and we are only three games into it. I am excited to see how we perform, but even more excited to see what comes of this year relationally...because so far it has been very rewarding.

As of right now we are 3-0. We just beat the Pomona-Pitzer Gamehens, which I think is one of the worst (but impressively) original mascots I have ever heard of, just behind the UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs of course. Aaron, you are one of the most insightful people I have ever met, but I have to say that the majority of the guys on the Pomona team did a very poor job at displaying the intelligence that most have paid a lot of money to acquire. We play again on Sunday, until then we are going to spend a lot of time in our hotel in Tacoma.

I suppose the lesson of the day is that confidence, trust, and community is a pretty powerful combination. With that said, I love you guys, and I got your back.

Flip Flop...

Soccer practice in fifty-four minutes.

We had an amazing weekend on the pitch. We beat a top ten ranked team at home under the lights Friday night. I had never played soccer in front of that many people before, some said that there was over five hundred Linfield fans there. All I know is that my throat went hoarse trying to yell over the awesome chants, and heckling fans.

Time management has become necessary again, for the first time in nearly ten months.

My classes are crazy this semester. I am taking two senior seminar classes, one mathematics based Economics class, and Drugs and Behavior, which is a pharmacology class involving rats...mine happens to be names Archimedes.

I want to keep blogging a priority, but it will be difficult.

I miss a lot of people, and look forward to sporadic conversations over the phone. It will be exciting to see the ways that all of us respond to graduating, moving away from home, marriage, new jobs, etc. We will always be experiencing change in our lives, but it seems like the next twelve months may yield the highest levels of combined change yet.

I have loved spending time in fellowship with the guys from my team, they are all awesome.

I have been reflecting on the summer a lot lately and it scares me to think that it may have been the last "Colorado Summer." I don't know if I will be here in Oregon after I graduate, but I know that I won't be living in my house, with my parents, in Longmont, during the the summer ever again.

Soccer practice in thirty-two minutes, I have to go.