A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Thirty years ago today one of the most groundbreaking and innovative films in history hit theaters nationwide. It proceeded to troop across the U.S. by storm (sorry, I couldn't resist) and become a colossal money-maker. Star Wars. The original Star Wars. I wasn't actually born until the year Return of the Jedi came out, but all three of the movies made a permanent and lasting impression on my young mind. In honor of thirty years of Star Wars legacy, I decided to take some time to reflect on a few of the ways Star Wars has influenced my own life.

1. It opened my imagination to a whole new world of spaceships, lasers, fantastic planets, and of course Jedi. I distinctly remember countless afternoons after school running around with my sister and my best friend pretending that we had lightsabers and were trying to save the galaxy. Of course, I always played Luke Skywalker. When it came time to write stories in 6th grade, I wrote the first part of my own Star Wars trilogy with myself as the main character. I enjoyed it so much I went on to write the second two parts, and I still have them somewhere.

2. It strengthened the confidence of my inner geek by helping me realize that it could be pretty cool to like geeky kind of stuff. Sometimes...

3. It forged a special bond between me and my cousins which began with hand-me-down toys and continues through Star Wars video games. Over the years it has practically become a trait in the family genes to be a Star Wars lover.

4. It has occasionally helped me escape reality for a few brief moments. When I was caught up in the Star Wars universe, I could dream big and imagine beyond reality. I even was determined to build my own working speeder bike!

Thank you Star Wars for bringing magic into movies and helping kids and adults of all ages and backgrounds escape into a world of imagination and fun. Here's to thirty more years of your legacy.

The Pool is Open!

After the apartment complex we lived at in Naperville, I never expected to be so excited about that phrase. When Memorial Day came around and the pool opened, no one cared. The pool had no aesthetic appeal, no privacy, and no one interested in using it (probably because you can't even really use it until July!). However, when I saw the sign saying that the pool is open posted at our apartment in North Carolina, it was a day of rejoicing. In fact, the pool opening was an event a long time overdue considering that the weather has been pool-worthy for about the last month. In contrast to the pool in Naperville, the pool here is surrounded by nice tall trees, it looks pleasant to be in, and- surprise!- people actually use it. The only thing better than the pool opening will be the first trip to the beach, but for now I can catch my rays at our lovely complex pool. Actually, I think I'm going to head down there right now.......

This is their year....

Could it be a sign of the apocalypse? Perhaps. Could it be an early season fluke? Possibly. Could it be for real? Hopefully. The Milwaukee Brewers, for the first time since 1992, are playing good, solid baseball and are in first place. And, they're not just barely in first place, they have a respectable three game lead over the competition. The last time the Brewers had a decent season I was 9 years old and they were still an American League team. That said, I understand it's still early in the season, but there's something to be said for early momentum. I also recognize that the NL central is quite possibly the weakest division in baseball at this point, but it's still first place. I don't think first place has happened since they went to the World Series in 1982. And yes, I will be quite happy to rub it in the face of all my friends and family if the Brewers somehow happen to maintain first place, although I might go easy on the Cubs fans because they are generally worse off than I am (and I have strong familial connections to many of them). The current baseball season is already promising to be an exciting one, and by the all-star break I should have a fairly good idea of whether or not my Brew Crew will say farewell to the rest of the NL central and head straight for the playoffs. And to put the icing on the cake, the Yankees are cellar-dwellers. The baseball gods are smiling favorably on me this season.

By the way, I hope that I offended some of you with my derogatory comments regarding the state of the NL central, and I think you know which specific team(s) I was referring to. I still love you, but I'm sorry that you're all going to get burned this season.

A Campaign for More Exercise

The campaign headquarters for the John Edwards presidential campaign moved in across the street from the coffee shop where I work just a few months ago. On the whole, the members of the campaign seem to be recent political science/law grads who are passionate about John Edwards' platform and probably looking to get more into politics themselves. Many of them regularly come into the coffee shop (sometimes twice a day) to help get them through their 12 hour plus days at the office. Yesterday, a few of the guys invited me to go play football with them because I was getting off work at about the time they were going to play. I decided that, since Melissa had a haircut appointment, I met as well play football instead of sit around at home.

When I got down to the field I did some warm-up stretches because I knew I hadn't exercised those muscles in quite a while, but I had no idea how out of shape those muscles were. The game was great fun, and I even scored a touchdown, but not long after I got home I could already feel my muscles stiffening. Not a good sign. Of course, this morning it got even worse, and I had difficulty driving to and from church because I had a hard time lifting my leg to move it from the accelerator to the brake. Maybe the best way to show me how out of shape some of my muscles are was to pound them to the ground, because I'm really not that old yet. I don't know if the football experience will actually motivate me to exercise more, but the pain was definitely worth the gain (remember those "No Fear" t-shirts). I like to look at the experience as maybe I burned one of our future presidents for that touchdown, and when he or she is in office I can say, "I totally smoked that guy."

A Random Collection of Various Thoughts, Updates, and other Useless Information

-Thrift store shopping in the South took on a whole new meaning for me this weekend. Carrboro is home to one of the "best" thrift stores in the country or something like that, and it is run by the PTA so all the benefits go to the schools. I was definitely impressed by the selection and quality of merchandise in the shop(I purchased two books in pretty decent condition for $.50 each), but what made the trip interesting was the customers. First of all, we had to wait in line for about 15 minutes just to check out because of one lady who took that entire 15 minutes. When she first got to the register she loudly proclaimed to the clerk that the item was grossly mismarked, and that it was even too big for her even though it was marked really small. I think after her tirade everyone in the shop knew exactly what size she wore and what size she thought the skirt was supposed to be. Geez, lady, it's a thrift store, cut 'em some slack. To top the whole event off, the lady's husband had bought a printer or something in the basement and as she was finishing checking out, the husband yelled up the stars, "Carol, give 'er another dollar, I'm buyin' somethin' else." Once again, he might as well have spoken over the loudspeaker. Thank you, thrift store couple, for redefining southern hospitality as speaking so loudly in a public place that I might as well have been invited over for dinner and treated to y'alls life story.

-I have decided that y'all is by far the most efficient way to address more than one person. I suppose if I learn nothing else while living in North Carolina, I can take that little nugget with me. Sorry Chicagoans, "you guys" just doesn't cut it.

-Speaking of Chicago, I just watched the movie The Breakup, and it made me really miss living in the Chicagoland area. Chicago is just plain a great city and there's no getting around it.

-I also just viewed the new trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean 3, and I don't care what anyone said about the second movie, this one looks so awesome I almost wet my pants.

-In more serious news, I am basically at the end of the line for grad school applications. I have heard from everyone except North Carolina, and every one of them has been a polite, but resounding "no." I have come to a point through reflection, prayer, and depression not to pursue a PhD in Classical Studies. Instead, I will be reapplying to schools for fall of next year for the Masters Program with a teaching certification for high school Latin. However, this means that we will be staying in North Carolina for another year, and I will be taking a few more classes at UNC. The whole decision process has been very exhausting and frustrating, but I feel that I'm at an exciting new fork in the road. If anyone would like to know more about my thoughts and decisions that are either too boring or long for a brief blog post, give me a call or send me an email.

-By the way, UNC is going to win the NCAA basketball tournament.

It has only begun...

I will be the first to admit that I have suffered from a serious case of blog neglect. It seems like the first of February was only last week, and now it's already March! Working 25 hours a week and going to class twice a week just makes the days fly by. But enough of making excuses. For those of you who have been following my blog over the past few months, you will know that I recently finished applying to grad schools. Well, the first verdicts have come in and unfortunately they have not been positive. All the festivities kicked off with a generic rejection email from the University of Illinois. I did receive an official letter about a week later, but it was definitely not a positive way to kick off the season of school responses. Duke was the next in line to send me the holy heave, and fortunately, it has stopped there so far. Admittedly, it has already been an emotionally trying time for me, which has driven me to questioning not only my ability, but my motivation as well. However, I think I see God working in reforming my motivations toward a life that's more focused on impacting other people. I still have seven schools to hear from, so I suppose the odds are pretty good that I will be accepted at one.

Sorry for no witty or humorous post this time around, but I pretty much only have one thing on my mind, and when it's not thinking about this one thing, it's fried.

A Slap in the Face

I recently saw a commercial that nearly brought me tears and roused my most deep-seated feelings of anger. And no, it was not the controversial Snickers commercial. It was a commercial for California dairy products. The tagline of the commercial went something like this: "Good cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from California." Those of you who are well aware of my dairyland roots will recognize the disrespect and downright disgrace of such an ad. Who do the Californians think they are, subtly saying that their cheese is the best in the country when Wisconsin has been producing the best cheese in the country since forever? If there was ever a time where I thought it appropriate for California to break off into the Pacific, now is the time. They must understand that you just don't mess with the cheeseheads. Forget about taking the Snickers commercial off the air, this commercial is much more disrespectful and worthy of censoring than any shot of two men accidentally kissing. California just gave Wisconsin one big slap in the face, and the cheeseheads I know will stand up to this disgrace and send all those rich hippies where they belong: a lonely island in the middle of the Pacific.

The Neverending Story

I love stories. I love to listen to them, read them, and even tell them. I like to tell stories with details that add a little flavor to the narrative and give listeners a little glimpse into the characters and the setting. I guess if you could compare my taste in storytelling to famous literary figures, I would probably be similar to a Tolkien, or my own professional research interest, Herodotus, the father of history. Both of those literary figures engage the audience with tangents that add depth and flavor to the story and provide a little mental rest from the driving narrative.

Recently, however, my own dear wife shattered my story-world. She told me that my stories are too long, and that they have too much detail, and that I needed to cut down on the number of details I included in my stories. Like a good husband, I took her advice to mind, but my heart broke. My world of story-telling will never be the same again now that I'm so self-conscious about how long my stories are. I deeply apologize to those who may have had to bear through one of my epic narrations. I promise to work on that fault and maybe attend rehab (but if I'm in rehab with the literary likes of Tolkien and Herodotus, it can't be that bad!)

The second half of this post may or may not be entirely serious, partially serious, or not at all serious (she did tell me my stories are too long, but I continue to lovingly disagree with her!)

The Art of Waiting

Most of us spend a significant portion of our lives waiting for something. We wait for the light to turn, our husband, wife, or kids to come home, or for someone to post another blog. Whatever way you look at it, we spend a lot of time waiting, and in fact we just finished a holiday season which relies strongly on waiting. I remember as a kid waiting impatiently to finally see what was in those presents under the tree. I waited for so long that I felt I couldn't wait any more without bursting. As I have matured, I have come to recognize that waiting is a skill that must be honed and practiced.

There are two prominent natures to the skill of waiting: anticipation and frustration. When we are young, we are overwhelmed by the extremes of both natures, so the idea of waiting for something is both desirable and undesirable at the same time. As we grow and mature, the dichotomy of waiting levels out because we understand it better. We have learned to anticipate but not over-anticipate, and we hopefully have learned to quell the frustration with a developed sense of patience.

All this nonsense to get to my main thought. I have been reconfronted with the dual nature of waiting as I wait for the decisions to start arriving from all of the schools where I applied. I am experiencing a great amount of anticipation because I am very excited about the next step in my life, but I am also incredibly frustrated because I have absolutely no control over what the schools decide. Everything that was in my power went out in the mail just a couple weeks ago. I'm having a hard time letting go and just waiting because I want to have some sort of hand in where I will go to school and live for the next five or six years. With this thought I realized that waiting is not only a test of my patience, it is also a spiritual discipline. Waiting, for me at least, requires trusting that God will illuminate the right path. With everything out of my control, all I can do is let go and let God work.

I am in the midst of an exciting and uncertain time right now, and it may be filled with much anticipation and frustration, but what better way to endure it than to sit back, treasure each day on its own, and enjoy the wait.

Tribute

DISCLAIMER: This blog may contain elements of potty humor.

This blog is a tribute to the greatest, most under-appreciated piece of hardware in your household: the toilet lever. Day in and day out it dutifully bends to the will of your fingers, making your flushing experience the most pleasant it can be. As one small piece of metal molded in a basic shape (although maybe yours is shaped like a dolphin or a golf club) it holds so much power. Power enough to suck 1.6 liters of water through a small hole in a very rapid swirling motion. Yet you, most dutiful toilet lever, in your final days were detaching from your post and sticking. Truly it was a sign of old age. And today of all days, oh toilet lever, you met your fate. Who could have known that right after the toilet was flushed you would slip out of your owner's hands as he was attempting to keep you on your post. And who could have known that in the ensuing tumble you would bounce right into the swirling toilet bowl. And, oh, who could have known that you would be sucked right down the hole along with everything else. But you fell honorably and you didn't even clog up the toilet; you just swirled right on down. In the blink of an eye you were no more. But, just as a fish who has seen its final day, you met your fate with honor and dignity, and you engraved in your owner's mind how important you really are. Moreover will I sing of your wondrous and mighty flushing power for generations to come.

Surprise!

I've decided recently that attempting some sort of surprise for my wife only ends up in her learning about it before it's supposed to happen. Right before Thanksgiving I had made reservations at a small bed and breakfast in the area for a suprise night out. The place called my cell to confirm, but I was in class so I called them back when I got home. Unfortunately, I had to leave a message then and told them to call back. They didn't call back of course until the next morning at 8 AM when I was still in bed and Melissa was getting ready for work. So, there went surprise number one (and it was so good!) Then, for Christmas this year we decided that we were only going to get one gift for each other, which, if you've ever done that, puts extra pressure on for finding that perfect gift. Well, I found my perfect gift and wrapped it up and threw the box for it in my trunk because the box would have given away what sort of thing the gift was. However, I quickly forgot that the box resided in my trunk, and on this past Sunday we were loading Christmas cookies to take to our small group, when I opened the trunk and beheld the loathsome box sitting right in plain view. It took me a few seconds to remember what the box was for, but soon I had that gut-wrenching feeling in my stomach and that utterly defeated look on my face. Melissa looked at the box, then at me, and then bust up laughing as I slammed the trunk shut. It wasn't too hard for her to miss the larger-than-life letters spelling out Zappos.com.

In other news, this past week started finals along with summoning the due date of several of my grad school applications. Needless to say, it has been stressful, but more tedious to fill out all of the applications (probably because I'm applying to nine schools!). My goal is to be done with all of them by Dec. 22 when we head up north to the frozen tundra for some holiday cheer with family for a week or so. I only actually have four left to do and endless amounts of freetime now that school's done so I'm not expecting any problems. It will be a great burden off of my shoulders once they are done.

Hunting

Last Thursday I shot a deer...........with a camera. Unfortunately, if you were hoping for interesting, compelling stories from my hunting excursion on Thanksgiving you will probably be disappointed. It turns out that I actually didn't get to shoot anything. We were mistakenly led to believe that I didn't need a hunter's safety course to get a hunting license so I wasn't legally allowed to do any hunting. However, I did get to put on all the gear and sit in the tree stand with a camera for a couple hours. It was incredibly peaceful and quiet, and on the whole, a very relaxing experience. I saw one young buck with short antlers not too far from the tree stand eating the corn strategically laid on the forest ground. When he left he joined a group of about four other deer in the distance that I wasn't able to get a real good look at because they were too far away. Unfortunately for my companion at another tree stand, he didn't see any deer at all. Overall, it was a great experience that I would definitely like to try again for real. Even though I didn't actually get to shoot at anything, I enjoyed the experience of interacting with nature and just being outside.

True Manhood

One could possible say that I am making my first step into true manhood on Thursday. For the first time ever, I will be braving the elements and attempting to shoot live animals. That's right, this city kid is going hunting. My small group leader at church has a huge amount of land that he is going to take me hunting on. This will be the first time I've fired a real gun, and I'm pretty excited. Hunting is something I've always been casually interested in but never seriously considered as something I would ever have the chance to do. Several members of my family hunt or have hunted in the past so it's always been something I've been familiar with, but now it's my turn to be a man. I highly doubt that I will actually kill any deer, but at least it will be a fun experience. I will be sure to update afterwards with stories.

November Madness

Well, my friends, it's here. That's right. Basketball season is underway in the state of North Carolina. Neither Duke nor Carolina has played a game yet, but they might as well have already won the championship with the way people get excited around here. Football season isn't even close to being done, but that doesn't matter. Part of the problem, if you know anything about college football, is that neither Duke nor Carolina puts together a football team resembling any sort of cohesive team unit. Between the two teams there may be a combined total of 2 wins. Thus, any excuse to ignore the football team and look ahead to glorious basketball season is warmly welcomed. I have never been much of a follower of college basketball before, but there is something about the atmosphere here that just requires you to be interested. Although I will probably never be able to go to a game, it still is exciting to be on the verge of a season that looks so promising for the Carolina team. So I guess this is the year that I give basketball a chance. I guess there's really no better state in the union to undertake such an endeavor. Bring on the hoops!

There's No Place Like Home

Well, I've already missed posting once every week, but I will excuse myself because it was a pretty busy week. Last Wednesday, I got to go back home to Wisconsin for the first time since about April of this year. Needless to say, it was a long time since I had been home. It was great to see family and friends and spend some time away from school and all the stuff going on here. I was privileged to be a part of my friend Pete's wedding over the weekend, which was the main reason I traveled back. Although I didn't know most of the people in the wedding, everyone was very friendly and enjoyable to be around, which made it a very enjoyable experience. I also got to see some friends and family in the Chicago area for a brief lunch. It was not much time, but enough to get a little caught up and just to enjoy seeing them all again. I was disturbed, however, to see how much has been built in the quickly-expanding western suburbs of Chicago just since I moved in June. A Kohl's, Meijer, and Lowe's, in addition to other strip mall type stores were nearly completed in Oswego that had scarcely been started when I moved. It made me a little sad because I have become accustomed to the abundant foliage in North Carolina, which is nowhere in sight throughout the western suburbs. I also realized how much I didn't miss driving in Chicago traffic.

The trip on the whole was incredibly busy, especially with preparing for the wedding and trying to see everyone I wanted to see in such a short time. Unfortunately, I think I probably ended up spending less time with everyone than I would have liked. I guess that's what happens when you have only limited time and unlimited things to do and see. Despite greatly enjoying the time I spent at home this past weekend, it was also nice to come back to my new home. There's something about the normal routine and the comfort it provides that always feels welcome. I love and miss everyone back in the midwest, and for those of you I saw this weekend, I appreciate the time we spent together, even if it was short.

I have to admit it was pretty nice coming back here and getting up the next day to 70 degrees. It's also pretty fun to rub that in to y'all up in the north!

A search for a constant

I have decided that my blog needs, and possibly deserves, some sort of purpose. I have been blogging aimlessly and sporadically for the last year and a half, but I felt that now was an appropriate time to give my blog a makeover. I realized how much my life is full of changes, daily changes sometimes. Especially as I pursue my education, I have no idea where I will end up in a year, let alone five years. I also realized as I was writing my personal statement for my grad school applications how much I love to write. Over the years I have grown more and more fond of writing, and I often feel like I can express myself better through the art of writing. So, I figured the only natural conclusion was to take this blogging thing a little more serious and make it my constant. Let me explain what I mean about making blogging my constant. Most likely you will still read some completely random posts, but the focus of the constant is not to provide a set theme or purpose for the blog, the focus is to provide one thing in my life that I can go to every week and just write whatever. Often I feel overwhelmed by the massive life changes that I am currently experiencing, and this blog is one way I can still feel connected to my family and friends in addition to staying grounded myself. So, if you don't see a post from me at least once a week, leave angry comments. I won't get offended, just inspired. So there you have it--a new blog with a new purpose (and a cool new title!)

The Yankees yanked everyone's chain again.

That's right...for the who knows how many times since 2000, the Yankees have swaggered big stuff all season only to be eliminated before even reaching the World Series. I have to admit Georgey and his multi-million dollar company have once again made my fall baseball viewing that much more pleasurable. If the Yankees didn't make it to the playoffs every year only to be eliminated, I would have no one to root so passionately against. So, I guess for that a thanks is in order for the steamrollers of baseball (and by that I mean they steamroll every other team with their enormous payroll truck). So I hope the Yankees continue to make the playoffs because it makes for a very exciting postseason when 200 million dollars worth of players lose to a small-market team in the first round. That's really all I have to say about that...I have a feeling I'm probably preaching to the choir anyway, and I haven't blogged in a while as well.

By the way, for the two people who actually might read my blog occasionally, Melissa and I found an awesome church in Durham that we go to, and we've just started getting involved in a young married couples small group. It's a bit of a drive, but it was a sacrifice we were willing to make.

Church Hunting

In the course of the last few weeks, I have discovered that the process of finding a church is much more difficult than I ever expected. Melissa and I originally got involved at CCC in an unusual way because we just started going there without really checking out any other churches. We already knew people from school who had made CCC their home so we started going because we knew people there. We quickly grew to love the church.

However, when we just recently moved to North Carolina, we encountered a situation completely unlike any previous situation we had encountered. We had no connections and we knew no one who had gone before us. Thus, we started "pounding the pavement" as they say. We were soon confronted with the prospect of few to no churches from the background that we grew up in because this area is predominantly Baptist. This fact didn't seem too daunting originally because we knew we could probably find a good non-denominational church. After a couple weeks of searching, however, we started noticing that the church culture here is entirely different from the church culture in the Midwest. Elements of church that we are used to, such as communion, are viewed in very different ways here.

Needless to say, the church hunt has become somewhat frustrating and difficult. We know that we can't be too picky, but at the same time we don't want to compromise doctrines that we feel are crucial. If we have learned or gained anything in this process, it seems to be a more concrete and practical idea of what we feel like the church should be. We have had to ask some important questions such as: How important is it that we attend a Restoration church? How important is it that we celebrate the Lord's Supper every week? In asking these questions, we have defined some core values that we will not back down on in finding a church, and I know that God will bless that and provide us with a growing, relevant community of believers who strive to live like Jesus. If only it wasn't such a frustrating process...

New Hat, New Home

Back in March when Melissa and I came to visit North Carolina to scout out jobs and apartments, I decided to buy a new hat with the logo of my soon-to-be school (that would be UNC, not Duke). Many of you know that when you buy a new hat, it takes a little while to break in completely. The bill has to be curved just right, the fabric has to be just soft enough but not too soft, and it has to fit comfortably on your head without being too tight or too loose. To my surprise, my new Tar Heels hat fit perfectly right away. It was the perfect combination of bill curve, fabric softness, and comfort on my rather large head (I won't say what size I had to buy).

Just today, the concept of new hats inspired some thoughts about new homes. Usually, when you move to a new place, it takes a little while to settle in. You have to find your niche in the new culture and community. As I was thinking about our new home here in North Carolina, I couldn't help but compare it to my dear old Tar Heels cap, and to my surprise, I found many parallels. Moving to North Carolina was a completely new step for both me and Melissa. All of our previous moves typically involved being relatively close to family or moving to someplace where we already knew some people, as was the case in Naperville. Just like my brand new cap, North Carolina was completely new and unknown to us. Then, I took the parallel another step further when I realized how I felt an immediate sense of comfort about being here even though it was completely unknown. Despite some boxes still left to unpack and a job still left to find (for me), I have an overwhelming sense that right now this is where we are supposed to be. It's hard to say about five years down the road or even next year, but right now the hat and the home fit perfectly. My head feels like it's supposed to fit in that hat, and my life feels like it fits perfectly in North Carolina.

Moving and Me

I have discovered over the past few weeks that I don't really get along with the whole moving process. For those of you who know me well, you know how much of a clean freak I am (probably too much sometimes). Combine that with a small living space, lots of boxes, and junk everywhere, and then connect the dots. The end result is a picture of me with my hands over my face and frazzled fro-ish hair. If only life were like living at the Burrow with the Weasleys and Mrs. Weasley was around to just flick her wand and put everything into its place (sorry, I couldn't resist the Harry Potter reference). Unfortunately, it's not like that, and I am stuck coming home every night to more boxes and more junk that needs a box. I have always been the exact opposite of a pack rat, and now is definitely the time for my true colors to shine. If there's no use for it, it goes in the garbage or the Goodwill garbage bag. I think I am actually influencing Melissa a little bit because she was throwing stuff away the other night, and she is definitely a pack rat.

To help me through this trying time, I just remind myself that it will all be over in a month, and then I remember that we may be doing it all over again next summer. And with that, I dive into depression once again with visions of boxes dancing in my head.