Thursday, August 21, 2008

1 or fewer? Am I not a complete person?

I saw this on Becky's site and had to do it on mine, especially with that number. This is how many people have the name Jordan Hochstrasser in the U.S.


HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere are
1
or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Monday, August 18, 2008

Les Misérables

Today I finished reading one of the greatest stories ever written. It took me over half a year to do (including 5 1/2 months during school when I didn't even pick it up). But when I picked it back up I could easily remember what I had already read.

Why was Les Miserables so great? The characters, especially that of Jean Valjean, are so intricate. He goes through an amazing transformation because of the charitable, hope-filled act of one kind soul. This changes his whole attitude and perspective on life. But he still has many choices to make, and things never come easy. There were times when I hoped, but didn't know what he would do. Then there is the determined Javert that seems the embodiment of the letter of the law.

If you have not read this book, read it! I did shed a few tears near the end. I'm not afraid to admit it. I don't know if I've ever had a book draw me in like this. I'll share two of my favorite lines from the last part:

"God knows better than we do what we need."

"It is nothing to die; it is frightful not to live."

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Zion Narrows


This weekend I went to St. George and Zion National Park with my roommates Bwood and Kevin, and Kevin's girlfriend Aubrey. It was pretty spontaneous as far as road trips go. Kevin and I had been talking about going to Southern Utah all summer, and we finally decided less than a week before that we should do it. The Narrows was pretty much amazing. For those who have never been, it's a hike pretty much through a shallow river in a canyon. There were gorgeous views all around us. We didn't get to go too far because of time constraints. Pretty much all it did was make me more excited to come back some other time. I want to go back and do the entire hike from top to bottom.

Bwood took most of the pictures, so be looking for those on Facebook sometime next week.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Tennis

My friend Lauren and I organized a mixed doubles tennis tournament for our apartment complex and any friends that would like to participate. It was a lot of fun! Here's some pictures from the championship game, including the best dressed preppy outfit contest. (Keep reading though, cause that's not the main point of this post.)


Anyway, that's all kind of old news. My main reason for writing this post is to say, I want to play tennis pretty much everyday now. I have time. I'm just working and not taking classes. My thirst for it seems unquenchable. I think about it all the time. Greg Skidmore wants to play a lot too, but he's coming up on finals, so it won't be possible. So if anyone has a desire to just go and play tennis, call me up and I will be there. Even with short notice.