Why Hello There...

In case y'all have forgotten, my name is Rodmond...and I am the creator of this blog. I (sometimes) post...lol, I know what you're thinking...I'm the worst...and I'm really sorry. I have a midterm tomorrow worth 30% and I've been cramming like mad all week...and on top of that work...church stuff...meetings...chilling with friends...and basketball. Fell back in love with basketball as of late...went to the park one time to play and just kept going back ever since...hadn't gone there in quite some time. My church is gonna be joining a league called Chinese Christian Basketball Ministry, when the ball league AFC (Ambassadors for Christ) shut down cuz the chairman stepped down, apparently now he's running CCBM...which is cool. What else...chilled with some friends this week which was nice, went to dinner...talked and caught up on life. But mainly just studying this week...really gotta buckle down on school this year especially...since I wanna most likely apply for school which I gotta do soon, before December I believe...and of course apply and hopefully graduate this year. So it's a pretty big year for me...pray for me, gonna be stressful, fast and slow at the same time. NBA 2K15 coming out in like a week and a bit, but hesitant to get it cuz I know it'll distract me like crazy lol...but right now...aside from everything, I'm really excited for the basketball league...and just to play basketball in general. Sorry for the super loaftness...you can tell by the fact that September has only had 10...well not 11 posts. But I have MANY posts on my phone lined up, not to mention bringing back the guest posts...already have one lined up, which I just loafted on posting, sorry man lol...thank you everyone for bearing with me.

Lecrae - Good, Bad, Ugly

Most Competitive

Rewind back to grade 8 elementary school...near the end of the school year, we're planning for the yearbook.All the grade 8's will be getting their own separate yearbook from the entire school, so each student gets their own page to write whatever as well as a title "Most Athletic", etc. So we're in class one day, brainstorming titles for everyone...they come to me...no one really knows...these bunch of girls who I was pretty chill with go OHHHH Rodmond is Most Curious...cuz I would always ask them what's going on with their relationships or like the other girls and ish. One of my friends was like wtf....that's so stupid lol. I sat at the back, beside this new girl who came from like Jamaica, I sat beside her all year, so she def saw my behaviours and how I acted around my friends and the people that sat around me. Teacher's like anyone else have any suggestions...this random, quiet voice in the background goes..."Rodmond is most competitive"...everyone looks back at her...then looks at me...I was like hmm...LOOOL...cuz I remember playing cards a bunch of times during indoor recess and trust I was very competitive...connect 4, checkers...everything...so I guess she picked up on that...so the teacher was like ALRIGHT...Rodmond is most competitive...LOOOL...ever since then, I've def noticed my competitive tendencies much more...basketball, videogames...everything lol.

Prayer Journal: Day 16

It's been a while, but I've been thinking and praying for a lot of you...gonna try to do more of these hopefully. My friend and I had a convo about changing this blog a bit to make it more anonymous if you recall a couple posts ago...but I thought of this post in particular...my prayer journals...how people have personally approached me and thanked me or acknowledged that they saw that I was praying for them (cuz it's not that hard to guess). But that lifted my spirits...that I don't need to purposefully promote these posts and be like yo go read this I'm praying for you man. If they read it, so be it, if they don't that's okay as well, but anyways, here we go...

Etlu: All the best homie, I know God has a plan for you and will guide you accordingly. I pray you be safe, and I know we will meet again soon enough. Take care brother.

Shwu: You're one of those friends who I never really am able to keep continual conversations with lol. But when we do talk or chill, I always appreciate how talk to earth you and your advice are. I pray you remain strong, know you have family and friends back home who love and are always thinking and praying for you, so there's never a reason to feel lonely. I hope you're doing well, your presence is definitely missed lol, hope to see you soon.

Tycn: Couple months are gonna fly by I just know it, but from the sound of it you're adjusting pretty well. I pray that in this little bit of time alone and to yourself, that you will really reflect on your life and how God has been present or not present in it. That you will one day take that step and proclaim your faith to your friends and family. I've seen so much growth in you and I'm glad I've been able to grow with you as well. You really are a brother and a homie to me. See you soon brah.

Dlcw: The little brother I never had lol. Whenever I see you, it literally brightens my day cuz I see a young me...I see a kid who has a passion and a love for something the same way I did and still do. I'm glad you look up to and at me the way you do, but I'm even more glad of how you point an even bigger part of everything to God. All I know is I'll do my best to guide you as best that I can, but ultimately, I hope you cling to Him and continue to surround yourself who will help you do the same.

Tyli: Crazy that I've seen you grow from this punk little kid to this mysterious young man. Lol I say mysterious because I feel like you still put walls up towards everyone. I do appreciate the few times we've been able to have deeper conversations, I hope we have more of those. But if you've seen The Blind Side...you're like an onion I guess and I gotta peel you baxk one later at a time. I pray you don't get too stressed this year, take a chill pill kill bill. You're like that brother who's a few years younger that gets on my nerves here and there, but I still like to have you around lol. I hope and pray you keep an open mind about church, about God and about your faith. There's so much more than meets the eye with you, and I feel like I'm still just starting to get to know you lol. I hope one day you'll have a desire or at least a curiously to know God and have a relationship with him.

Args: Not a day goes by I don't think about you and how close we were. That I'll always consider you my brother, my homie, my fam. And as far as we grow apart, we've been through too much and I'll always be ride or die for you. I'm glad you've straightened up a bit, I hope we can sit down sometime and catch up, it's been a long time...too long.

Crsm: My brother...Shaq and Kobe...Westside till we die. I remember it all...from bingo...to you teaching me how to slow dance LOOOOL. I pray that whatever you're going through, you know God is with you, that He is your source of strength. I pray for your health and that you're alright. You, your brothers and your fam are always in my thoughts, I hope you're taking care of yourself brother.

Been A Minute. Back Up In It

A lot of people as of late have been like yo Rodmond...where you been at...you been slacking on the posts lol. My bad, sorry, sincerest apologies...sometimes life moves real fast and I get caught up with a lot of things...other times I forget...and other other times, I just got nothing to talk about lol. Majority of the time, I just forget and lose track of time...couple days with no posts turn into a week just like that lol. What happens is that I'll get ideas for posts spontaneously...in the shower, on the bus, driving, chilling with friends...and I'll put it in my notes on my phone...I'll write the title and maybe a couple sentences to remind myself what I wanted to talk about...and I'll leave it there for the longest time cuz I'm so lazy lol. So on my notes I have a bunch of posts lined up...but I don't wanna post them all at once and give you guys like 10 posts cuz then they'll all get lost and jumbled...and also, I get lasy lol...I leave them for too long and begin to forget the details of what I wanted to talk about lol. But don't worry...I'm still here, I always have been...I always tell people if you really want consistent updates on my life...twitter's the place to go lol...the blog is a place for me to share with y'all what I can't fit into my tweets lol...that and what I feel is more appropriate for here, cuz like I've always told you guys...subconsciously...when I post...I still feel like I'm just talking to myself, writing in a diary..because I can't see you guys, part of me sometimes forgets to acknowledge that there are people out there who read my blog, who read my posts...who come tot his blog even though I didn't post the link on my facebook or twitter that day...lol. So I really am sorry for the lack of posts...I'm gonna try to get better...but school's looking like it's gonna be pretty busy...will be working, planning for church and studying/doing readings hopefully during the time I'm not at school. Then of course there's trying to have a life, chill with friends and whatever other extracurricular activities I decide to do...but school is definitely my main priority this year...gotta step up, but hopefully the blog won't suffer...hopefully I can still take y'all on and share this journey of mine with you guys....thank you for all the support, thank you for continuing to be here...even when I'm not lol...till next time...peace!

Good Kid Gone Bad...

So today at church I had a very awkward encounter/conversation lol. I came out of the washroom and the children's pastor saw me and she's usually very chill and stuff. We started talking and she's like hey I saw on facebook (which she doesn't even have, but that's another story lol) that you have a tattoo. I was like yeah lol I got it a while back. She's like is it good or bad? I'm like what do you mean? She's like is it good or bad? I'm like good? She's like really? I was like yeah it's of a bible verse and stuff. She's like well I guess people have diff opinions but did you know the bible is actually against tattoos? I'm like what do you mean...though I already knew in my head which verse she'd probably pull out. She's like yeah I think somewhere in Leviticus it says not to get tattoos and that they're sinful and stuff. I was like oh yeahh, well if you read the whole passage you'll see that it's talking about the olden times, and how back then people would mark their bodies with tattoos to worship the dead. Whereas now and today, tattoos have many different meanings and representations. I told her how I thought about it a lot, took that verse into consideration and even got advice from my previous pastor, who told me she knew a lot of people who had tattoos but were still devoted christians. She gave me a weird look as if she wasn't convinced lol...she kept repeating...oh I guess people have different opinions, but I think the bible is against tattoos...I'm like uh okay, but I'm pretty positive it isn't lol, I'm still the same person, nothing else about me has changed, there the convo pretty much ended and we parted ways lol. It just got me thinking how a lot of people in church may think that way and see me in that light...and as much as you say oh don't worry about what people think and stuff who cares, you kinda have to worry a bit...but I think it's moreso not letting it affect you you know. Like I'm sure many people in church will see me with a tattoo and be like oh wow, he  must be a bad kid, but others may actually be interested and take the time to ask me about it. Like this lady I met at the basketball tournement at my church, she played in it and she saw my tattoo and was like yeah I've seen you around church, so what does it say, why did you get it and stuff and she was like yeah that's pretty cool. So ultimately, I guess you can't control how everyone sees you, regardless of what people think of or about you, I think it's moreso just not letting it affect you you know...especially regarding my tattoo...it's something for myself...a reminder for myself...not for others...so yeah that can have their opinion, that's perfectly fine, but it isn't gonna change how I act or how I feel about my beliefs lol.

Just thought I'd share this with you guys:

First Week of Class

First week back...and man it was tiring...this year's definitely gonna feel really long, but I know it's gonna fly by.3 classes...all 3 hours...one online class...which will definitely take me a lot of will power. Tuesday's are pretty chill cuz it's just one 3 hour class...after which I'll probably start working out at school or something. Thursday's are and probably will be the most brutal. Two 3 hour classes straight...11:30-5:30...so no time to get lunch so I'll probs have to start bringing food or snacks. I'm also in the same room too...and there's no outlet...so my laptop will have to last me 6 hours straight...but my 2nd class is Stats and I probs won't really need my laptop thankfully. This first Thursday wasn't too bad...my first class ended with like an hour to spare...got some food, went to the library and charged my laptop before going to my last class...all I know is that Thursdays are gonna be some loooooong days lol. Mondays and Wednesdays I'll probs be working in between. Gotta find time to do readings and study for all my quizzes and tests which I know will come up sooner than later...man...wish my luck, pray for me...gotta work hard this year, apply for graduation and perhaps more school too...

Lecrae - All I Need Is You

Throwback Thursday

Motivated and inspired...

Till Next Summer...

As I start school tomorrow, I reminisce about this summer...this summer has been amazing...long, short, sufficient, but also not enough all at the same time haha/..I started a note on my phone like a few weeks ago just summing up everything that I did this summer, in no particular order, toast to a crazy memorable summer...

- summer school = only lasted a month and it was online, but it was def a good chunk of my summer
- got my G license = yeeeeah buddy,all those driving classes finally paying off, nailed it one try finally after failing my G2 twice
- New York trip = first ever road trip with the homies...maybe the highlight of summer..Yankee game, Times Square, Statue of Liberty...good company, good surroundings, good times
- church retreat = always something I look forward to in the summer...late nights and early mornings, board games with the homies
- OVO concert = literally become a tradition...since last year lol...my second time with the homies, wasn't as epic as last year but it was still really fun
- softball = again something I always look forward to during the summer as well...second year coaching...def a good learning experience
- ultimate frisbee = played in an ultimate frisbee league as well this summer with a couple of friends and friends of friends, definitely a sport I do love playing
- dodgeball = played in a dodgeball league that lasted like 2 months, suuuuper fun...never knew dodgeball could be that competitive, but definitely loved it...may join again cuz it was that fun
- first job = got my first serious job in May...still going at it...fixing watched at Sears
- tattoo = got it around mid August...something I contemplated all summer and even before then...finally came to fruition
- 200,000 hits!!! The blog hit 200,000...dang brah brahs...
- flat tire and a dead battery...got a dead battery and was stranded after work one night...like less than a week later got a flat tire after hitting a curb lol...
- birthday with my friends...what started as a depressing day ended up being a great night when my friend called me out to chill and get drinks, then she drove me to meet up with a few other friends for desserts...

Oh man...this summer has been a long...eventful...fun...stressful...hectic...but amazing one, till next summer!

Little Bro To The Rescue

As always right...damn...my brother has been talking about and hyping about this wedding he's going to this whole summer. It's tomorrow and he literally has nothing ready...no suit, no shirt, no pants...all he has are socks and the tie they're providing. What annoys me is he's had SO MUCH time to think about this. These past 2 weeks I kept reminding him every single day yo...the wedding is coming up, did you get your stuff yet...this guy's had enough time to go to the mall by himself and pick something out, but he's been going out late with some stupid girl even when he has work early the next day. What's worst is he's supposedly one of the groomsmen and has to go early to take pictures...and he's giving a speech. This dude freaking looked so depressed I asked him what's up and he's like I just might not go...call and say fam emergency or something...like dude,so I got pissed and was like DAMN....fine, I'll go to the mall with you tom and we'll pick out something. Laziness will be my brother's downfall I tell you. So he has to be there at 10:30 tomorrow...mall opens at 9:30///we got about 30 minutes to get him a suit, pants and shirt and then go home so he can change and do whatever...man...like that;s some next level lazy dude.