The Face that Launched a Thousand Insults

"Bri, You make the worst faces!" Thanks Noell
"Usually when they're a foot long, they're skinny!!!" -Jessi

This is what happens when one mixes memosas with waffles and silly girls and a Saturday afternoon. Yikes.

Tom's ER Card

My suitemate met a really cute Doctor in the ER when he was having severe bowl problems last week. Because we're all oh so sensative to his needs, we've had direah of the mind and constipation of the self-restraint. Here is the card he sent her this week...

(picture removed for content reasons and the sanity of fellow students, available upon request)

Boarding

So, while we didn't get 13 inches of snow like Colorado yesterday (thanks for calling Jen!!!!), i did buy a snowboard...er... sorta. i went school supply shopping with Noe Noe and got a whiteboard. Well, it's not white. In fact, it's red... and the shape of a snowboard... and... the size of a snowboard. Gnarly!!! Yeah, and it's magnetic too. i'm pretty much the envy of the whole dorm. i also took my first trip to Dot's tonight with Noell, Chuckie, and Melanie. Had an AMAZING burger. Will be the first of many trips. That's all... peace out.

Eddie Izzard would be proud

"No smoking in bars in California now. Yeah. Pretty soon no drinking and no talking!!! You'll be like 'Hey, me and some friends are goin to the library tonight, wanna hang?'" Yeah, so while Melanie headed for the library tonight, Lindsey dragged me off to Mack's, a bar in downtown Richmond. Happens to be a great place to study on dead nights like Mon-Wed. She knows the owner (Mack, of course) and all the barkeeps so she knows half the folks there on dead nights. Got a decent amount of reading done. Been since probably halloween since i last smelled reefer, so that was fun. Annnnnnyways. My sister called me again. Third time in a few days, totally makes my week. Had a great talk with Christina and Chuckie about feminism. Checked up on the cousins' collective blogs. Time for some shut eye. With no class till 1pm on Mon-Wed, i end up staying up late, as i always do anyways. i actually saw Noell off to work this morning at 4:45, and she sent me to bed. Weird. 2:30AM, guess i'll hit the rack...

Wallyworld Madness

So we all went out to dinner Tuesday night at B-Dub's and then to Wallyworld. We were there far too long. We were in search for Pirate costumes for tonight's party. Our search for shirts and belts took us all over the store. As a joke, i went over and tried on a brown corduroy jacket, something i would never wear and came back. However, they all raved over it and insisted i buy it, in addition to a Superman hat. It all goes with my khaki's and Vans. Apparently most of my clothing already and my best look is the "pot head" look. Oh well, i like all my pot head friends. However, this is solidifying the incident in Elwood Thomson's where the old guy assumed Noell and i were pot heads. YAY!!! i can die happy now.

This Blog: Rated "Arg" (for Pirate and Adult Advisory)

So the retreat this weekend was awesome. We had 20 or so high-enthusiasm, high-octane youth this weekend at what they call YoCo (Youth Council, instead of the PYC title found elsewheres). The youth were brilliant and hyper-creative, adrenaline pumping high school kids who took this weekend to bond and get to know eachother and us "adult" leaders while begining the brainstorming and planning of the retreats and rally day for this year. The theme was "Pirates of the Lake: Dead Man Risen" and included alot of Pirates of the Carribean (and Harry Potter) theme elements including a pirate sorting hat for assigning committees. The YoCo Coordinator is Adam, and he is a 4th yr in the dual degree MDiv/MACE program at Union; Liz was here for a yr before going to VCU as she is a dual degree MACE/M of Soc Work; and then there's Erin, Lindsey, Tiny, and myself also here at Union. So yes, Union is running the adult side of YoCo in the Presbytery of the James. The kids ran me ragged with treasure hunting, obstacle course stuff, swimming, running, dancing, music, skits, and the most hardcore game of Ultimate Frisbee i have ever been involved in (that's saying something). i'm excited about how this will go this year and for the kids. Please shoot them a prayer if you get the time. They're really good kids. They also knew Emily Riehl, so we got to have fun catching up on that.
Last night a bunch of us went to our burger joint we like before a worship service. While we were eating out on the patio area, this cute lil asian girl was whirling around dancing and i was watching her, until she fell and scraped her knee on the gravel. She seemed okay until i asked her if she was and she looked at her knee. In true little kid fashion, she then burst out into tears. She came over a few minutes later and looked at me and said "i have a boo boo on my knee." So i gave her a little sympathy and told her i saw her dancing. She pointed to her mother and her mother's friends ans said "i was giving them a movie (whatever that means)." i nodded and she said "i was showing my... i only have a mommy (smile)." We all tried to keep from giggling at how cute she was, and "mommy" came and got her as their group left: "haha, now that you know all that, you can enjoy your dinner," mommy said embarassingly. So we all waved out goodbyes. This made all of our womb's ache (not just Noell's).

And the rains came down, and the internet came up

So it's been raining all day, good indoor snuggling weather we've all decided, but few of us here have snugglers or time to snuggle with all there is to do. On the up side, internet is finally back. i had no class today, so afte ri got reading done last night, i wasted tons of my time on making a belt and continuing the electrical projects necessary to build my halloween side arm... a light saber. (take a moment to laugh, giggle, roar, snicker, jeer, etc) i have also just been recruited to being an Adult leader for the PYC here in Richmond. i'm very excited. More to follow on that later.... Okay, so as i finished that sentence, the internet went back down. i cannot begin to tell you how lousy it's been since we got back. ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!!!

Patriotism

So i thought a convo i had with Noell deserved some thought. i'm a patriot. i'm really tired of Liberals and Conservatives telling me (or eachother) that they can't be one. This all springs from today's Chapel Service that i didn't attend because i knew it was going to be one of those flavors of anti-patriotism. It seems to most far left folks, you can't be a Patriot because it means you hate the rest of the world. Yes, i'm generalizing. Bite me. And then to most folks on the right, you can't be a Patriot unless you hate the rest of the world. AHHHHHNNNNN!!!! Wrong! You can be a Patriot without thinking the rest of the world is horrible or not worthy of God's attention. Being an ardent Texas Rangers fan may mean liking your team the most, but you have to have a base appreciation for baseball in general first, besides a respect for the skill of other players in the league to appreciate the skill of your own players. You don't have to hate every other country or system of government, or the people opressed by dictatorships just to love the United States and the freedoms it stands for. Likewise, you aren't disqualified from being called a Patriot simply because you think that communism is a nice theory if you recognize it doesn't work in real life, much less with a country this size. You are no more un-patriotic if you believe Christ calls us to live a higher standard of living than our laws or system of government dictate. Patriotism is defined by a deep love for a country that gives you freedoms to express these ideas and work hard, peacefully, to see them realized, and in appreciating the men and women who fight to protect that dream and to see it realized for God's children in other places who yearn for it. THAT is Patriotism, and that is what my relatives and friends have fought and bled for. They don't serve because they think our country is infalible, nor do they hold it against anyone for not taking up arms beside them. But i'll tell you what... i am a Patriot because i love this country and all it has the potential to do, the freedom to do, the choice to do. i refuse to let anyone tell me Patriotism means hating others, or not hating others means i can't claim the title of Patriot. i'm gonna march right down the center of that because i believe this country is scrwed up, but it's the best one there is, and i support anyone whose dream is to just plain do their best to fight for freedom and defend their neighbor's right to the same...

And on the eighth day, God created the World of Presbyterians because it was small and doable

Small world... i was up last night after watching Snatch with Jessi and Christina. We got discussing how Christina went to Davidson and just graduated. i thought immediately that she might know Page Mowery, but no (Still don't understand that). She did however know Elizabeth Ann, which was great. She didn't know she'd been writing for the paper all summer. Fun stuff. But then Jessi asked if Christina knew a Kristen Nickel, a girl Jessi was in Hungary with for YAV. She did. More importantly to this story, so did i. (i even still had her business card in my wallet from 4 years prior) How? My summer between high school and college, i was at Montreat with my church group and was hanging out with... Page Mowery. She introduces me to this girl her age at Davidson and we hung out for a few hours at the Huck eating ice cream (yes, that's how long it takes me to eat an ice cream cone). Well, she mentions that she's leaving for Budapest in a few days and was trying to figure out what to do with her car, etc and the troubles of getting to the airport, as she is orriginally from Michigan, with no family nearby, and it's summer. i offer to take her and a few days after we're back, i do. So i became the connection between Christina knowing her at Davidson and Jessi meeting her in Hungary, 4 years before the three of us all met. That is the small world of Presbyterians.

Also, 1st day of class was good. Gonna be reading alot and hands on work for Pastoral Care.
If you're reading this, take some time to remember where you were 5 years ago this time, and ask yourself what you've done to encourage peace in your corner of the world, or another, or what you can do, and remember why that's important.

Luke reports that as Jesus approached Jerusalem he wept over the city, saying "if you only recognized on this day the things that make for peace" (Lk: 19:42).-Doug Baker (Site Co-ordinator for YAV- N. Ireland)
http://www.unc.edu/~daoust/9-11%20Cartoon%20Tribute.htm

Typing on stereotypes tonight

So i realized that while i may not fit into any categories of typical "male" or typical "geek" or "slacker" or "prep" or "youth minister" or "presbyterian" or any number of things, i managed to be a typical "guy" in one arena... FOOD. Not just in eating or in not gaining weight no matter how often or how much i eat at my age, but in food purchasing. Last night... me and tom and noell and chuck go to Ukrops because noell wants to grab items for making something and i need some items for the cookout. We get to the checkout and noell is getting like 500 kinds of veggies and roots and seeds and sprouts and greenhouse odds and ends. What do i have? Ritz ranch chips, Habanero Doritos, Double-stuffed Oreos, and 2 six packs of glass bottled Coke. Then today, noell and i scope out the new grocery market after she teaches me to drive stick. She buys safron and kala-lillies. i had peanut butter and a gallon of milk. Even the check out girl commented on it. On the upside, a lil girl in Ukrops made my week. She was spinning in circles and we she stopped she looked up at me in my Hawiian shirt and went "woooooooah." Tom and noell never let up about it. PS: saw Cars at the Byrd... AWESEOME!!!

It's really been too late for a long time...

Today was fun. i slept in and got up way late. We had lunch for the first time in the dining hall. It was okay, but nothing to write home about. Not like Lenoir or anything. Spent the afternoon playing Ping Pong with Erin and watching Star Wars with folks. Someone's way cute kid was showing off on the piano for me. He liked having an enthusiastic one person audience. i miss watching cute kids and thinking really hopeful future thoughts. Maybe some day. i did dinner by myself and it was great. Spent the evening with some new folks watching the Devil's Own. Then i found Noell, Tom, Chuckie, and Jess hold up in Tom's room with lots of refreshments and loud music and joined in on a very college dorm room party thing for a few hours. It had to move to my room when his neighbor complained about the noise. i'm now drifting off into dreams and memories with Ben fold's... "It's too late..."

Inundated with Incredible Interlopers

Alot of new folks here now. We got a few from Texas and a couple from NC and other places. All wonderful people and our dorm is now about twice as full, making the kitchen and meal times that much more interesting. We all crowded in tonight and Noell made Potato soup and we all watched Take the Lead. i was the only one who had seen it. i think we're all going for Tango lessons tomorrow night, which will be fun.

Brian, the Superglue Emergency Contact

i made it up to Chapel Hill and got to spend Saturday at the football game seeing tons of PCMers and whatnot. Terrible game. Our defense sucks and the officiating was terrible. Was great to see people. Our typical Carolina fans streamed out of the stadium when the fat lady sang. We have a group of "hardcore fans" known as "Fever" and they were all lined up way before the game was over to sign the attendence sheet as they were leaving. Wow. i'm always majorly disappointed when i see students of UNC, who i know have a wardrobe half in Carolina Blue and come to the game in a gray tee. White, is in fact, one of our school colors, and semi-acceptable if you manage to scrounge up a hat or some face paint or pom pom. Grey... no, not actually one of our school colors. Wow. Well, Kelley and i hung out with Andrew Otey for the night, got pizza, and discussed everything from numbers being imaginary and the universe being infinite to mating practices of slugs and such. We went to church at UPC on Sunday and then hit up Rams Head for lunch. We picked up Brice at State and headed for Richmond. We got Brice over to his sister's and Kelley and i watched Chichago with some of the gang. Brice stayed at his sister's. We picked him up and had lunch there and i did some grocery shopping. Poor Noell called me today with a superglue emergency. She needed some for her shattered frames for her glasses. i now have some on my finger tips and i can't feel them as i type. Such is life.

Strolling down the sidewalk on Memory Lane

So last night and tonight, i spent some time strolling down that ill-lit street. i feel like my memory lane wanders through the countryside, only to occasionally dart down dark alleys. i was searching for things to take from my parents house up to Richmond and came across a few treasures. i first found an AP lab manual i borrowed from Brian Pridgen 5 years ago and could not find to return, a source of pretend feuding between my family and that of my sister's bf. i also found a picture from 9th grade church basketball days. Back when i was taller than matt brown and eric templeton, or almost; back before steven johnson had a kid; back before mr johnson got parkinsons; before erik blackwelder was engaged; back when elliot was still with us. i also found my overstuffed PYC notebook from highschool days. It was crammed with retreat info, notes on meetings, old lists of my Rules of Life, and dozens of handwritten and typed phone lists from youth group, PYC, and triennium. People's names were circled and starred. Many of those people are in other jobs, off to college, or getting married and having kids. Each name and list and goofy doodle or sign or nametag had some weird inside joke attached. Missing alot of folks just now. But mostly, i just wanna get back to Richmond. i am really excited about prolly seeing UNC football tomorrow, but home feels mostly like Richmond for now. It's definitely where i'm most welcome and at home and feeling fulfilled right now. That's a good feeling. i have alot more organizing and packing left before i can sleep. More on adventures in Richmond soon.