What are you going to do with that?

Have you ever thought about how a seemingly everday, insignificant question can define your life's purpose? I was contemplating this today on the way back from getting my hair cut. For me, that question is "what are you going to do with that?" What does that have to do with anything, you may ask. Well, I can guarantee you that everytime I explain what I am studying in school, the immediate response is that question. I have become so accustomed to hearing that question, that I immediately respond with my stock response: "teach." Then usually some sort of joke involving "it's all Greek to me" will surface in the conversation. Am I the only one with a purpose defined by a simple question? It's funny how I can find so much purpose in what I enjoy studying, but most other people do not understand it. It's such a simple question that I often take for granted, yet it contains the key to my purpose in life. However, I know that I can't be the only one who has experienced this sort of repetitive question in their lives. So, what's your question?

Airports are a funny sort of place

Just yesterday Melissa and I returned from a successful scouting trip to the wonderful southern state of North Carolina, where we will be moving on July 1, just a few short months away. We found a place to live that is very convenient for my school and for Melissa's prospective new job. But that is neither here nor there. The most interesting part of the trip was the airport experience. For those of you who have flown several times before, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. We left North Carolina at a balmy 80 degrees, which meant that I was wearing shorts. I was aware that the temps in Chicago would be considerably less(like 45 degrees), but I just didn't feel like changing into pants at the airport. I figured I could brave the weather for the little amount of time I would be outside. My clothing decision lead me to a striking realization as we were sitting in Midway waiting for our ride home (that itself is a long story which I would love to divulge in more personal company, especially if that personal company involves friends of a certain Lucas Motley). My realization was that airports are the only places on the planet where you can see every season of clothing. I was obviously inappropriately dressed for the Chicago weather but very appropriately dressed for the North Carolina weather. Just across the baggage claim I could see people in heavier winter coats, obviously dressed for an even colder climate than Chicago. On the other hand, in warmer southern states the airports are filled with people dressed in their coats and long pants, which is completely unnecessary for the southern climate. In that moment, I gained a new appreciation for the uniqueness of an airport. Nowhere else can you see a person in shorts and a tank top standing next to someone with boots, a coat, and a stocking cap on. So when you stop to think about it, an airport really is a funny sort of place.

No more baby steps

Well, Melissa and I have come to an important juncture in our lives. We are taking a huge big-person step, and that step involves moving halfway across the country. In just a few short months we will be packing up our stuff here in good old Naperville and heading down south to unpack our stuff in the lovely state of North Carolina. You ask why? Well, I was accepted to the post-baccalaureate program in Classical Studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. All of those big words basically mean I will be spending a year reading and studying Greek and Latin so I can hone my skills in order to have the best possible chance of getting into the best possible grad schools in the country. As you can tell, this is a rather big life change for both of us since neither of us really have any close family or friends who live in the Chapel Hill area. The move of course brings mixed emotions. I am incredibly excited to finally take the next step towards doing what I have wanted and dreamed of for many years, and also to experience someplace new. At the same time I am a little scared, nervous, and sad to be leaving close friends and family and plopping ourselves down in a completely unfamiliar place. We'll be able to get a little taste of our new home at the end of this month because we are traveling down there to scope out apartments, jobs, etc. It really is quite an exciting time for us and despite the difficult emotions that come with such a change, I am sure we will come away from our time in the deep south with a new maturity. For now, we best be partying it up these last three months or so that we are around!

What's the big deal with iPod's anyway?

These days when you're walking down the street just about every person you see has some sort of iPod attached to themselves. Maybe it's a shuffle or a nano or the old school iPod or maybe they're watching some video on their video iPod. A lot of those people are probably even waiting for the brand new iPod coming out this year that is touch screen and can play widescreen movies in full 16:9 aspect ratio. No matter what kind of iPod everyone else has, the real issue here is that I don't have one. For quite a while I was perfectly ok with this prospect because I didn't really think I would use an iPod that much and, honestly, they're just too darn expensive for what they are. However, recently I am finding myself being drawn to that elusive iPod very much against my will. I keep finding myself thinking about what I would do with one if I had one and how it would be so nice to store all of my music. Then, after these dreamy thoughts I am quickly brought back to reality when I look at the exorbitant price tag and realize that I don't have the money to even buy half an iPod. This leads me to ponder exactly what really is the big deal about iPods. It's definitely not the price because not many people I know are all that excited about dropping 200-400 dollars in one shot. It's also not all the features (although there are many nice points about it) because you can get just about all those same features other ways (although probably without the same convenience as an iPod). Thus, I am left with only one real reason to buy an iPod and the reason that I want one now. It's a factor we are all well aware of I'm sure. The cool factor. People buy iPods because they are the cool thing to buy. If you're cool, you have an iPod. No amount of money can deter the cool factor, yet I must firmly resist because I really have more important things to be spending my money on. Namely, my graduate school education. Plus, since I've already decided that I'm really not that cool, it's perfectly ok to avoid the iPod craze. But, if anyone was gracious enough to buy me one after reading this post, I would surely not turn it down!

Harry-mania

Here I am a good five years after the first Harry Potter phenomenon, and I am completely crazy about Harry Potter. I'm a little ashamed to tell people that I'm just now catching Harry-mania because it's one of those statements like "I just bought a cell phone." The usual response is "where have you been?" In addition to that I never would have expected to see myself reading the books even just a few months ago. I remember telling someone that I was never planning on reading them so he told me a big secret from the newest book. Now I'm kicking myself for saying that because it's not going to be the surprise it could have been. I am not the only one in my house who has caught the fever either. Melissa is reading the books as well. In fact, we both just finished the Goblet of Fire and went and saw the movie this weekend. We are both now caught up on the movies and have only two more books to go. She's started on the Order of the Phoenix while I am impatiently awaiting her to finish or get another copy from somewhere.

Before I had ever even considered reading any Harry Potter books, I had seen the first three movies because my parents had read the books. At the time, I was pretty satisfied with just watching the movies. However, reading/listening to the first four books over the last three months(I finished the fourth one in four days) has completely switched my mindset. After seeing the movie on Saturday, I felt so much better knowing all of the rest of the story that you don't get in the movies. So I've been bit by the Harry bug five years too late(better late than never, I say), but I don't plan on dressing up like Dumbledore for the next movie release. I didn't even do that for Lord of the Rings.

Rediscovering a Lost Art

Now that I am done with school and into the working world (sort of), I have rediscovered a pastime that was such a big part of my life before I went to college: pleasure reading. Since school finished a little over a month ago I've listened to a book on cd and read almost two books. I think that's more than I've read for fun since college started. I just can't seem to get enough of all the stories, facts, new vocabulary, and diverse characters that I missed for so long while I was in college.

Maybe college is just a trumped up way to weed out those who really enjoy reading and those who don't. If you can make it through the gauntlet of four years (or five if you go to Lincoln) and still have an appreciation for reading, then somehow you've passed the test. For those who don't pass the test, life is no different except all of their stories come from movies and tv shows. For those who do make it through the gauntlet, there is a life full of the sweet nectar and ambrosia of books. I think I've finally passed the gauntlet. Next time you see me look for the little blue ribbon on my lapel that says "I survived college and I still love to read."

A Pirate's Life for Me

For Christmas, Melissa bought me an xbox game that I had wanted for a while called "Sid Meier's Pirates." After less than a week, I have decided that I want to be a pirate. Not the kind with a pegleg and an eye patch, but the real suave kind who can plunder passing ships while wooing attractive governor's daughters at the same time. The game basically involves you being a pirate and sailing around the Caribbean in the 1660's and plundering passing ships, finding buried treasure and lost cities, dancing with and wooing governor's daughters, and searching for your lost family members who were captured when you were very young. Although there is nothing outstanding about any individual aspect of the game, the whole experience makes for a very addicting and all-around fun time. And, honestly, who's never wished they could be a pirate for just a little while?

This question then leads into an old college debate. Pirates or Ninjas? Most of you are probably familiar with this debate and probably have a definite stance on the issue. You can't be for both. It's kind of like the Cubs and Sox in Chicago. I'm sure you can already tell where I stand on this issue. The contents of this blog do not hide my allegiances in any way. However, the benefits of the pirates life are more than just the typical response of "booty." Who would want to be a ninja when a pirate can kick back on a ship in the Caribbean and enjoy the hot sun with a beautiful governor's daughter at his side? Plus, the treasure benefits far outweigh anything a ninja could get. I don't care how stealthy ninjas are or how tough their martial arts skill are, a trusty rapier on one side and a pistol on the other side are all a pirate needs to be the king of the Caribbean. And really, who wouldn't want to live in the Caribbean? So, in the words of good Captain Jack Sparrow, "Drink up me hearties yo-ho!"

The Chronicles and Over-critical Christians

It's been a while since I've last posted, but the stresses of the end of the semester have been in full force. I just recently finished a 10-page exegetical paper on James 5:1-6 along with a 30 minute presentation on it. Now, all I have left in my undergraduate college career are three finals, which really are no big deal after finishing my exegesis project on James. To celebrate my last college class and no homework, Melissa and I went to see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe last night. I thought the film was very well-done and quite accurate to the classic book by C.S. Lewis. I really enjoyed the film overall and would definitely recommend it to anyone. Unfortunately, earlier in the day I read a review of the movie in the Wheaton College newspaper that bothered me. The reviewer gave the movie an overall good rating except when he reviewed the movie "theologically." The reviewer said the movie didn't quite live up to its theological potential because it didn't emphasize heavily enough some of the "symbolism" in the story, especially the symbolism of turkish delight and sin. I almost gagged when I read this. I understand that there is subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) symbolism and metaphor throughout all of the Chronicles of Narnia, but why do some Christians feel like this is an automatic ticket to criticize a non-theological work theologically? Why can't we just enjoy and ponder Lewis' magical world apart from how it stands up theologically? I love the Chronicles of Narnia, and I appreciate its value as fantasy literature written by a Christian man who didn't separate his worldview from his work. I also loved the movie because it portrayed well the important themes from the book. I just don't understand why some Christians, especially many of the students at Wheaton College, have to theologically criticize a magical work of art that needs no "theological" framework to have merit in itself. Anyways, that's enough of my soap box. Go out and see the movie everyone, it is really good.

Shoes

I love shoes. Call me a girl if you want, but there's just something about getting new shoes. I got a new pair of shoes in the mail today and the best part about it was that they were free. Free shoes are by far one of the best benefits to working in a shoe store, along with the hefty discount. Unfortunately, that hefty discount sometimes is the bane of my existence because it tempts me into buying another pair of shoes that I do not need whatsoever. I don't know what it is that draws me to a finely crafted pair of shoes, I just seem to have been born with a natural attraction to putting lots of different colored leathers on my feet. They just look so good (if you get the right ones of course; talk to me if you need any shoe buying advice). I have shoes in my side of the closet plus in a shoe organizer in a different closet which I think adds up to a significantly larger amount of shoes than my wife. This, of course, is quite the fuel for teasing as you can probably guess. In addition to loving shoes for myself, I love to look at other people's feet and see what they are wearing when we are out in public. Usually, especially if we are downtown Chicago, I see at least one pair of shoes that I would like to have. It really is a good thing I have a wife who is practical enough to keep me in line. Otherwise, I think I would have enough shoes to wear something different every day.

Pompeii

We recently went to the Field Museum downtown Chicago to check out the new special exhibit called "Pompeii: Secrets from an Eruption." The exhibit was interesting and informative but rather small. Some of the highlights included a digital re-creation of some of the villas in Pompeii and Herculaneum (a nearby city), and several plaster and resin casts of people who had been buried under the surges from Mt. Vesuvius. The bodies were positioned exactly how they were when the surge came down from the mountain in AD 79. It really was quite fascinating. A major emphasis of the exhibit, however, focused on the wealth of Pompeii as evidenced by the possessions found on or near the dead bodies. Elaborate necklaces, earrings, and bracelets were found along with ornate rings and statuettes of gods or goddesses. These valuables and trinkets did not just happen to be on the people when they died. After the initial rain of ash, the Pompeiians had gone back to their homes to retrieve all of their "valuables" and then they were caught unawares by the sudden deadly surges of gas and ash. Basically, their insatiable greed caused their demise. It's interesting what you can learn about a culture when an entire city is destroyed in less than a day. All of this talk about personal valuables and impending disaster led me to think about what our culture would go back for if we were on the brink of destruction. It's that age-old question of what you would take if your house was on fire. Maybe it's our iPods or our video games or some other "valuable" trinket. How many of us would go back to try to help as many people as possible? I can't help but see so many parallels between our culture today and the culture of the "heathen" Pompeiians who worshiped their money, their gold, and their sexual eroticism. Sometimes I fear for this country and what people will say about us in thousands of years. Will we be another Pompeii, buried with our most precious possessions that take us nowhere?

A Wicked curse

This weekend Melissa and I went to see the Broadway musical "Wicked" downtown Chicago. The show was incredible and probably one of the best musicals I have ever seen. The music was fantastic, as was the story and the acting. Ana Gasteyer of SNL fame played the Wicked Witch of the West, but the rest of the cast was relatively unknown. While we were glorying in the post-show exuberance, we were reminded of a nasty curse that has plagued us since freshman year of college. Those who have been to LCC know exactly what I'm talking about when I say that the IDS 101 curse hit us like a wave. For those of you who never attended LCC, the IDS 101 curse basically consists of the worldview analysis of all popular culture mainly manifested in books, movies, plays, etc. Despite my negative portrayal of this curse, I do feel there are times when it becomes very helpful. For example, "Wicked" was a purely postmodern play in that it devoted an entire song to moral relativity in addition to the plot being an instance of moral relativity in itself. I appreciate my "worldview eyes" when it comes to discerning how to accept and process the material presented. Before I go much further however, I want to clarify that I don't use my "worldview eyes" to condemn a piece of art that might portray something contrary to what I believe. I still enjoy many films, plays, etc. despite not agreeing with everything said or displayed. That said, I still was able to enjoy "Wicked" for its artistic value and its incredibly unique and entertaining storyline, and then constructively evaluate it without ruining the entire musical. (caution: spoilers ahead)So really, the "wicked" curse of IDS 101 isn't so wicked at all....hmmm, that sounds just a little bit familiar to the Wicked Witch of the West. Maybe it is all relative....

The table tennis scene

I recently started my last quarter of classes at Wheaton College, and I have a new class although you probably couldn't really even call it a "class." This class is table tennis (not ping pong because there are copyright issues with that name apparently). It's my last class of the day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so it makes for a nice relaxing end to a day of real classes. What really makes the class interesting, however, is the teacher. Let me give you a brief background. You know that person who always thinks they're own jokes are hilarious and then stares everyone down expecting them all to laugh as well. That's my teacher in a nutshell. The first day of class was the most awkward experience ever because she would just start laughing at something completely random and then just take a trip around the class with her eyes, picking out certain people to stare at longer and all the while still laughing. Crazy. In addition to this, she is the most intense athlete I think I have ever met. She hates to lose and often likes to pick out the athletic boys in the crowd and make fools of them in public. Oh, and did I mention she dressed up as a uterus for halloween one year because she loves anatomy! Anyway, as you can probably tell, it's going to be an interesting quarter of table tennis playing, and who knows, maybe I'll actually learn something. At least I don't have to write any papers, and I get to listen to good (according to the teacher) table tennis music which consists of rap and dance techno. Who knew?

Baseball fever in Chicago

The playoffs have come to Chicago, and it is quite exciting. The White Sox handily beat the Bosox in three no-competition games and prepare to meet the Angels (hopefully). Unfortunately, the success of the White Sox has caused a dilemma in my fan allegiances. Both sides of my family, my side and Melissa's side, have unbreakable bonds to the Cubs. I, on the other hand, have no such debilitating strong ties. Thus, with the White Sox playing well in the playoffs, I find it a pleasure and a duty to root for them based on the fact that I live in the Chicago area. However, I know that as soon as I make even an indication of my team choices to a family member, namely my in-laws, I will probably be roasted and eaten for dinner. This whole issue poses a serious question in my mind. Why is it that Chicago Cub fans can be so completely devoted to one team and loathe another team if both teams are from the same city? If the Cubs and the Sox were both in the same league, I could understand the animosity, but they're not! They are in completely different leagues. I am completely baffled by this question because I feel that as a baseball fan in general I can root for both the Cubs and the Sox and feel good about myself. I do know, however, that if I said this in any sports bar in the city of Chicago, I would also get roasted and eaten alive. So here I am in a ridiculous conundrum, trying to give credit to whom credit is due (namely, the Sox) and ending up on somebody's plate no matter what I say. Oh, the politics of Chicago (and the rest of Illinois really) baseball fans.

Lost

Melissa and I have recently started renting and watching the show Lost in preparation for the start of the new season on Sept. 21st. The show, so far, is excellent, and I would recommend it to anyone. I really enjoy some of the themes that have come up in the show so far, such as fear, destiny, fate, and friendship. A recent development in the show has led me to a curious question. A scouting party has just found a source of fresh water in the jungle far away from the beach where their plane crashed on the unknown island. The survivors are forced into the decision of going to try and live in the cave at the water source or staying on the beach where there is a better chance for someone to see and rescue them. At this point, they have been on the island for over a week without any sign of rescue. At the end of the show, the group splits in two with some staying on the beach and others going into the jungle and the water supply. So, my question is which place would you go? I think I would go into the jungle because it would be easier to set up a camp there and work from that. Do you hold on to a frail hope or do you take advantage of what you have and see what you can do from there?

Fledgling Mechanic, Part 2

Wow, it really has been a long time since I've last posted. The college life will do that I guess. If you all remember, I made a previous post about trying to fix Melissa's car and the absolute hilarity that ensued. Well, last week I went to get my oil changed and discovered that my brakes were worn down thin, and I was in critical need of new ones on all four wheels. Much to my chagrin, this was going to cost approximately 400 dollars (400 dollars we don't have, of course). Well, in my indignation, I said "it can't be that hard and I've got some friends who have done it before." So I called up Lucas to see what he was doing on Labor Day and we decided to get together to fix the brakes along with Luke's dad. The front brakes were no problem. We were done in less than 10 minutes per wheel. The rear brakes, however, were a different story. The rear brakes are shoe brakes and Luke's dad had never done shoe brakes before so we were on our own. We had to go borrow parts from another church member and even with those parts, it still took forever. The most interesting part about it was watching Lucas and his dad get frustrated with each other. We got them fixed, and they are working so far which is great because it saved us 300 bucks.

After this event, I was contemplating my recent surge of mechanical activity and realized that a person can really do anything when hard-pressed, especially if you know the right people. If I had had the money, I would have payed the mechanic no problem. But, desperation is a powerful force. It has worked twice for me now, at least with cars.

New Hamsters and Massholes

Melissa and I just returned from our week long trip out to New Hampshire for Jeff's wedding. We had a great time seeing friends and some of the sites in Boston and the Manchester area. While we were out there visiting we picked up a new term. Masshole. This term is used by many of the local residents of New Hampshire to refer to residents of Massachussetts. We also heard the entire state of Massachussetts referred to as Massholia. Now, we have nothing against residents of Massachussetts, but we found this term quite funny and used it jokingly on our drive home across the entire state. However, we were thinking that it wasn't fair that New Hampshire didn't have a fun nickname so we started calling it New Hamster. Then, part way through our trek across Massholia, I randomly said "we are surrounded by Massholes and New Hamsters." As soon as I said it, I had an Adam Hughes epiphany and said "that would be great for a blog title." So here I am really just filling space in a blog so I could use the title "New Hamsters and Massholes." But, I have to admit it is a darn good title, and I bet it would even be a really good title for a collection of short stories based on experiences in New Hampshire and Massachussetts. Maybe I should write that. I bet I could gather some short stories from other various friends who have had some random crazy experience in one of those states. Ah, the creative sparks of a bored Midwesterner. This one was for you all you Massholes and New Hamsters.

Fledgling Mechanic

Tuesday was the day from hell around the Tiearney household. Monday, the day before, Melissa's car overheated on the way home from work and fortunately she was able to make it home just in time. We thought we had gotten the water pump/coolant, etc. issue taken care of over the weekend when Melissa's home pastor spent some time putting in a new water pump. So much to our chagrin, here we were with an undrivable car and not much time to fix it. We called Melissa's pastor and he gave us some instructions. We had to get a part from the Chevy dealer and then bleed some air from someplace. I picked Melissa up from work and we went to the Chevy dealer but they didn't have the part we needed, which was just a small little freeze plug that went over a hole on the engine (apparently the other one got a hole and popped off). Then that Chevy dealer directed us to another Chevy dealer two towns over. Fortunately they had the part, so we bought two just in case we messed one up and because it was only 3 dollars total. Well, we did end up messing one up when we started trying to put it in. This led to a downward spiral of frustration and not knowing what to do, which culminated in another call to the pastor and a detailed walk-through of what we should do. At this point, it was already well past 9:00 PM and quite dark out. We finally got the plug in and then started opening this little vent to bleed out the air that built up in the tube connecting the coolant tank with the engine. Apparently this feature is an extreme rarity on cars, and it was something no one had ever heard of or seen before. We carefully opened the vent while talking to the pastor on the phone, but unfortunately it came open too far and went shooting straight up as a stream of hot coolant shot straight out of the hole. This left us in the worst predicament yet because without that cap, the car could in no way be driven. So we spent the next hour combing the parking lot around the car and the grass in front of the car with no luck. Extremely frustrated, I plopped down on the sidewalk with my head in my hands and just said a prayer that we could find this tiny little cap. After that, I got up once more to make another round with the flashlight and amazingly there it was laying on the pavement. I let out a little scream of ecstasy and put it back in its place. With that small cap back on, we were able to run the car a couple times in order to bleed out all the trapped air. Now it's running pretty well again with no problems yet. I never thought I would ever even attempt to do my own car work, and after doing it I don't think I want to do too much more. I do, however, have a much greater respect for mechanics. I don't have enough patience to deal with stupid car problems.

D@*n Yankees!

Baseball season is now in full swing and the divisions are shaping up in a way that they will probably remain the rest of the season barring any miraculous winning or losing streaks. At the beginning of the season I was quite pleased with the way the New York Yankees were playing (or not playing). They were sitting nicely in 4th place with a losing record and I could not have been happier. For some reason, I have an ingrown hatred of the New York Yankees that I think came with me from the date of my birth. I was feeling pretty good about the Yankees so-called predicament until just recently when they somehow climbed into 2nd place in the American League East. Much to my chagrin, the imbeciles known as the New York Yankees were back in the playoff hunt. Just recently however, I was reflecting on this situation and realizing that I enjoy seeing the Yankees make it to the playoffs especially in recent years because I enjoy watching the torture on their faces as they choke yet again in the playoffs. It gives me great joy to watch them think they're going to win it all and then lose horribly as was the case last year. There's something about that situation that just gets my baseball blood flowing. I have nothing personal against the players themselves except that they chose to play for the New York Yankees and should therefore suffer the consequences. By choosing to play for the devil they put themselves beyond any reach of my respect. I often wished I could be a high-priced baseball player purely so I could be offered a contract from George (Satan) Steinbrenner and shove it back in his face and tell him to eat it. Unfortunately, that will never happen so I just end up venting my frustrations to my wife, who could care less unless it involved the Cubs, and on this blog. And now that I've finished writing this, I think I need counseling.

Long time, no blog everyone. It's been almost a month since I have last graced the forum known as the blogging community, and I honestly haven't even had much time to even think about missing it. The life of a shoe salesman is hardly the most illustrious life, especially when you are working three or four nights a week and weekends. But, at least they pay me decently. We still have yet to get internet at our apartment, mainly because we're entirely sure who we would go with and whether we can afford it or not. This leaves me at the mercy of the occasional trip to Panera. And I don't want to make that a too common habit because the little expenses of bagels and drinks eventually add up when you go there multiple times a week. For now, I think it's down to about one trip to Panera a week max. I just don't have the time to be sitting in Panera for hours on end surfing the internet. It seems life is constantly busy with no letting up. Every weekend in July except for the first one has a wedding of either a close friend or family for me or Melissa. That makes it hard to relax on the weekends or anytime for that matter. I honestly am looking forward to the start of school again because it will mean a normal schedule and a little bit of predictability (something I lack in my work schedule). Plus, I'm just a geek and I like to learn. Who wouldn't be excited about reading Homer in the original Greek?! It really is amazing how much the internet kind of fades out of your life if you don't have immediate access to it. For a while, I thought the world was going to end because I couldn't check my email every day, but I soon figured out that life is more than sitting at a computer for hours in a day (unless your job requires it, of course). Life is going well otherwise. Melissa and I are doing great and loving married life as well as living in the Chicago area. There's just so much to do and not enough time to do it! So, for all of you frequent bloggers there's a little update on my life in case you were wondering if I completely disappeared into the oblivion known as obscurity. Hopefully, this can become a weekly deal. But who knows, you never who's going to up and decided to get married with two weeks notice! And with that, I sign off.

Friends aren't friends forever

This past saturday my wife and I (I could say Melissa, but I still like the idea of saying "wife") went to my parents house in Wisconsin so we could go to an ice cream reception at my old church for all the people who weren't able to make it down to the wedding or for whoever wanted to come. We were hoping to get a few more gifts and we did, which was nice. A few of some of my closer friends from high school came, and it was really good to see them, but as soon as I started talking to them there was just no more connection. I found myself reverting to those lame questions about school and if they graduated this year. In those conversations I realized just how easy it is to completely lose contact with people who you really spent a lot of time with. There's no way I could really spend an extended amount of time with those guys anymore without it turning completely awkward. On the other hand, there are two guys I went to high school with and several friends from LCC who I can not talk to for a long time and then get back together and it's like no time has been lost. I know that there is a closeness in these relationships that cannot rival some of my high school relationships. However, I know that even those friendships, if not properly curated, can dwindle over time. Now that I am married it's time to find a balance between my wife and those friends who I don't want to lose contact with. Of course, my wife is my first priority, but I know I will still look forward to the occasional guys night (smash bros, nick and luke). And by the way, today is officially one month after our wedding, and I could not be happier.