Hallelujah!

Well, I enjoyed another weekend home in Morton. This time I was home to play the viola in my church's production of Handel's Messiah. It is perhaps the greatest masterpiece of our time, and that includes inventions, books, LEGO sculptures, and athletic feats!! What a better idea than to put God's divine plan laid out in the Bible to music (rhetorical question)? And not just any music, but some of the greatest, most majestic, awe-inspiring music that has ever been written! While playing certain songs, my body simply felt euphoric. The last seconds of the work included a resounding crescendo as the choir sang "Amen!" to a resounding finish. It was one of those moments where you wish time could freeze and you could just hear that last note ring forever. If you have never heard this musical oratorio (as it's technically called), I strongly suggest you do so.

After the Messiah, I came back to Wesleyan for the final cross country hurrah of the season: the Awards Banquet! Actually, it wasn't exactly a banquet. It was just a nice time to gather as a team, eat some pasta, reminisce about the season, say farewell to the Seniors, and watch a slide show of the year. Coach Huffaker did a great job of organzing the evening, and he made it as honoring, emotional, and as motivational as I think possible. Someobdy once said (I think) that the team is only as good as the coach. If that saying is true, which I believe it is, then we have the opportunity of being a very good team in the future.

After commending all of us on our success over the course of the season, Coach handed out individual awards. TJ Luby, a freshman with a wit nearly as quick as his 5K P.R., won both MVP and Top Newcomer for the guys' team. Joe Campbell (sophomore) and Adam Chambers (juniors) tied for the Hardest Worker Award. These guys are tremendous competitors and are always willing to go that extra mile ( although that phrase seems kind of silly when describing cross country runers).

Personally, I wish our whole team could have won an award for being the Funnest Team This Side Of The Mississippi! We have great chemistry, and the plethura of differnt personalities that we have on the team never makes for a dull moment. I wish I could go through and tell you how each person contributes positively to the team atmosphere, but that would take a long time, and I'm tired and I want to go to bed. Maybe that will be a post for another day.

Tomorrow starts Finals Week here at IWU. Tomorrow is Reading Day which is supposed to be dedicated solely to studying. However, I have my piano jury tomorrow morning so I need to get some sleep. I hope everyone had a safe weekend and that you're in the Christmas spirit. You must be the Grinch if you're not excited for Christmas by now!