An Update From Colorado

Seven months have passed since we moved to this prison here in Colorado, or at least it feels like a prison. We got here and it snowed on us almost immediately. the weather here is so unpredictable. The mountains seem like an impenetrable wall that keeps me away from the place I love. Despite the feeling of being trapped, good things have also come out of this move. My brother and I joined a new Boy Scout troop. I have also gotten into welding. Had I stayed in California, I would have never gotten interested in welding. I attend a morning class at Warrentech for three hours in the morning. Hopefully, after two years of taking this course, I will be able to earn credits for college and I will be able to earn my A.S. degree in welding technologies. I have also made some changes in my life for the better. Although the move here was difficult, it did bring good things into my life. I thank God for all that I have and for having my family with me through these challenging times.

Depressing Times Like These.....

In the last few weeks i came to the self-realization that i constantly take the life I enjoy for granted. The reason for this sudden realization came in the form of shock. About a month and a half ago, after I had gotten home from school, my dad pulled my family together in a meeting. I knew something was wrong because tis rarely ever happens. He was hesitant in the explanation of the trouble, but managed to finally explain the situation. As most people who are afraid of explaining a troubling situation, he explained that we were going to move to Colorado. At first, Ithought he was joking, and then as reality settled into my heart, I started to believe him and suddenly felt the seriousness of the situation. He explained that the company he works for had called them into a meeting that day and made the announcement that they were closing down the office here in Southern California. They said that their managers would call them in individually in order to discuss their futures with the company. My dad said that he was one of the few people that was offered a position in the company's Denver office. That hit the family particularly hard. we came to the sudden realization that we were some of the luck few not hit as hard by this struggling economy. I thought to myself that our family could have been one of the many that was left without a permanent source of income. without this income, our family would not be able to make it in the world.

My whole world was about to change in a period of weeks, but I was soon to find out, these weeks would fly by and my world would be upside down. A few weeks ago, we started the process of getting our little house up for sale. That is when the depression started. It was coming true. Up to then i had been hoping there would be something that would happen to keep this whole thing from happening. When my parents signed the papers, I knew that this was really going to happen. There is now no turning back. These past few weekends have been spent painting the house an rearranging furniture.

I spend the nights that I cannot sleep pondering on the life i have lived and realize that everything I have come to love, I am going to have to leave behind. all the people I have gotten to know throughout the years are soon to no longer be apart of my life. I have lived in Southern California all my life and I know the world around me like the back of my hand. Over the years I have been what seems like one of the few people to stay in my ever changing neighborhood. I have seen good friends pass away, friends to move out and strangers to move into the vacant houses. The results of the "change" that Obama has promise are most evident in the abandoned houses on my street. They are the result of the economy trying to stimulate growth that was supposed to help raise the economy out of recession. As a result of many people buying their houses at zero money down, as their rates go up, they are no longer able to pay their loans. I order to get out of this financial predicament, these people abandon the homes in order to escape the responsibility of paying off their loans. These kinds of people are a prime example of the way society operates: "If I don't like it, i don't want to deal with it". This kind of thinking is slowly bringing an end to a seemingly stable society.

In these times people look to things to comfort them and to help get them out of their situations, but one of the things that is mostly ignored is God. Some people just don't want to face the fact that there is truly a divine being that decides the fate of the world, and even their individual lives, while others know this, but still refuse to devote themselves. In admittance, i have to say that through these times, my faith has been challenged greatly. I ask myself why God would do this to me and focus not on the fact that I am one of the lucky people that has been given a way out of this situation, but on the fact that my personal world is falling to pieces.

Through the spiritual guidance that my Mother provides for me, I have come to realize that I am blessed to have been given a chance to live a good life. Our family has been in the caring arms of our creator and we have been blessed to the fullest. All I have to say is that under all my sadness I am truly thankful for the fact that God's love is pouring out onto my family.

Well, its the 5th week of being at my new school and I'm already sick. I've come down with the swine flu, and it really sucks. For the past week i had a cold. Thursday I was feeling fine and then Friday i felt horrible. I know that when most people think of the swine flu, they think "death". the truth is, Swine Flu is not really that bad. Its just like having the regular everyday flu, just out of flu season. I felt nauseous but i never threw up. Thank God. I have one more day untill i have to go to school, so i have to make sure i get plenty of rest before i have to go back to school.

Summer is almost over

Weel, iI am nearing the end of summer and it kinda a drag. This week i have to go to orientation for my new High School. After that i have one more week and then school starts. i will have to get used to a whole new way of life since my last school was on a two day a week schedule. Now I will go to school 5 days a week and i will have homework after school. well, i guess im getting back into the swing of the public school system. I really do ot want summer to end but i have to realize that all things must come to an end, even the good things. I have had a great time all summer spending time with friends and family. i had a great time at summer camp which this year was held at camp Tahquitz near Big Bear. I Got three more merit badges and I got to take a C.O.P.E. class. In That , i got to go through challenging obstacle courses and got to ride on a zipline. My favorite merit badge that I took was Rifle Shooting. I got to shoot rifles all week and i learned how to care for a rifle, it kinda mademe want to get one. I also got to take part in a horse riding competition. I came in second, but the guys I was going against got extra points by riding bareback. I had a great Time, but i did want to go home to be with my Mom. What can i say, im a momma's boy :-)

Well thats it for me

Eric

My Cat Can Solve A Rubiks Cube!!!!!!!

Summer!

Well summer finaly fell upon me. I had been waiting for so long to get a nice long break from school. I am now about half way through my summer and i have had alot of fun for the past few weeks. At the beginning, i got to hang out with one of my good friends. We had a sleepover at his house and we did all kinds of cool stuff. This last weekend i went on a hike with my Boy Scout troop to mount Baden Powel. it was about 8 miles round trip, but it seemed like it was much longer because of the strenuous uphill trails, and the knee pounding downhill trails. It took all day because of the younger scouts who had alot more trouble getting to the top and down

wEll the school year is coming to a close and my mind is still at a continuous pace because of this, I get so bored, that i will do anything to keep myself occupied. Acouple of days ago, i pulled out my building system called knex and built the craziest thing ive ever built. It is a ball maze over three feet tall. pictured above. It is operated only by pressing a switch that sends the ball through the maze. its not perfect, but its mine and I love it :-)