bubba buffalo for president

my brothers are awesome. both of them. this story is about my baby brother pierce.

he's been campaigning to become the next student body president of hampden sydney college lately. he mentioned he might run when we were in argentina for new years, but he was slightly hesitant--knowing it would be a lot of work, because he'd be the type of president to actually DO something.

i suppose something needed to be done.

and pierce heard that call.

his posters said, "i'm pickin' up what you're puttin' down."

indeed!

pierce spoke with a lot of student groups on campus. maybe ALL of them. last week he spoke to the gay/straight alliance. they started their meeting by sharing their porn star names... which, as everyone knows, consists of a pet's name and your street name. who didn't have a porn star name in high school?

so what was pierce's?

bubba buffalo.

and as such, he's just been elected president. bubba would be proud, God rest his soul. congrats pierce! and congrats hampden sydney! you picked a good'n.

chicken dance and treadmills

last year i wrote about how surreal it was to listen to music from home against the backdrop of bustling benin, west africa.

now the opposite is true... when an african song starts playing on my shuffle as i fight with the treadmill (i can't wait for sunnier mornings and outside runs!)

it's happened before. i can't help but smile at the music, thinking of outdoor market scenes and sandy toes. but today it took everything in me not to jump off the treadmill and start gyrating... struttin' my african dance moves. oh, how the heads would turn! how can you NOT dance to that music?!

that settles it

in the past week, i have come to realize... i've settled. i've been here less than a year, but this is definitely my town, my house is definitely my home, and my friends are true friends... not just on loan.

i think hosting the 5th annual (1st one here) wine and cheese party last friday sealed the deal. i had to (finally) unpack the last few boxes that had been living in various corners for months. i (finally) took all the empty boxes lying around up to the attic. i finished hanging pictures, many from once familiar, now distant, sites in africa. i even hung up my "mali mud cloth" that i'd been waiting to collect from rhett in dc, but finally caved and asked him to send it to me. my house looks like a museum of artifacts from all over. add to that the very grown up grass rug, leather dining chairs and real (versus hand-me-down) sofa i just obtained (it's my new form of investments... buy furniture i'll keep forever while the stock market struggles). it's all very adult and not temporary and slightly contrary to my nature.

and it's becoming my town too. i know people everywhere... the movie theater, grocery store, waiters recognize me and say hello. it's a little different from knowing all the bouncers and bar tenders in baltimore. 30 people were crammed in my kitchen friday night (the living and dining rooms were much less popular), and 30 more couldn't make it (out of town for the long weekend). how did this happen? in 8 months? less than 4 seasons?

makes me look forward to what this next season, spring, will bring.

ridiculous

i have moved to a city that knows NOTHING about snow.

they are paralyzed by it.

they get all up in a tizzy just THINKING about it!

i woke up this morning... didn't even notice the snow outside my window. why? because there wasn't much! when i finally did notice a dusting on the ground, i walked out to turn on my car and let the little bit of snow on the windshield melt off while i changed into my gym clothes.

i didn't even have to get out the windshield scraper. i don't even know where my handy scraper is... because it's NOT NECESSARY here!

i drove to the gym, walked into spin class, and was immediately asked if i was teaching. apparently all instructors are told not to come in any day that the county schools close for snow. my face contorted in shock as i screamed, "they canceled school today?!?!?!" oh yes. they did.

so spin class was canceled.

lucky for me, i brought my trusty swimsuit along... so i hit the pool. 1000 yards into my swim, a life guard pelted me with a foam thingy in the head. "pool is closing. you have to leave." what? seems the next lifeguard on duty couldn't brave the 3 snowflakes in his driveway to come to work.

i went home. i fixed a protein shake. i got a call from my boss... the church had canceled all activities scheduled for wednesday, including youth group tonight. never mind that the sun is shining brightly, melting even imaginary snow away.

the up-side to all this is that i get a night off. i haven't had a free night in... 3 weeks? and though i'm dogsitting, and won't actually be staying in my home, i'm looking forward to a very chill night of addressing valentines, watching tv, and cuddling with spike and stella (the dogs).

prodding

i recently received two emails regarding the current dearth of blogging.

the first said, "things must be going well with the boy... no recent blogging. your fans miss you."

mmm... you could say that... but, fans?

the second said, "i’m just hoping everything is okay with you. you haven’t been blogging since you got back from your trip after christmas, and i just was 'motherly' worried."

no need to worry. all is well.

anyway, the truth is, i've been slow on the blog circuit for a while now... boy or no boy. but i'll see what i can muster up, given the encouraging nudges here and there.

so here's a little piece of news. i went skiing with 94 middle school kids and 11 other chaperons last weekend. it was amazing. well, not the skiing... the skiing was typical eastern slush... but the kids were amazing. not one got hurt. not even their feelings got hurt! 94 pubescent kids living in harmony. amazing. ok, one kid did break his arm. but he didn't find out till he returned, so i'm not sure that counts.

From 2008-09 Winter

pictured are me, sloan, jane and liza... with our carolina blue bandannas and matching carolina blue eyes.

ringing in the new year

pierce, pablo, cou and i spent new year´s eve with cou´s family. well, first we went to pablo´s parents´ house, met his family, then went to his grandparents´ house, met more family, ate some sushi (pablo is japanese), and then made our way to ernesto and luisa´s (cou´s family) where we met up with aunts and cousins that i hadn´t seen in years. we enjoyed a delicious meal of maybe 5 different salads, canelones (the same meal luisa made for me my first night in argentina 11 years ago), and a platter full of sweets. as the clock struck 12, we each ate 12 white raisins while making 3 wishes, a tradition luisa´s family brought over from spain.
then the fire works started. explosions sounded from every direction, so we ran to the back yard to watch... and light a few of our own. i´m not talking little wussy roman candles or sparklers. i´m talking HUGE fireworks of green, purple, red and gold! i cackled like all get out, knowing i could never play with such explosives back home. so fun! globos also filled the sky... miniature hot air balloons like slow motion shooting stars. it was a beautiful night.
the next day we went back to cou´s parents´ place for an asado, which is like a cook out, but to the nth degree. chorizo (spicey sausage), ribs, steak, morcilla (blood sausage) and chicken. and that´s just what we ate on new year´s day! pierce and i have also sampled liver, kidney, tongue, brains, intestines. so much meat. so delicious. so fun.

i see dead people

yesterday cou and her cousin sylvina took pierce and me back to the capitol to see one of my favorite places... recoleta. the cemetary in recoleta is reason enough to visit, though cou hates being there and pablo was glad he missed it. i don´t think they like to be around dead people. but the cemetary is unlike anything we have back home! i was just as fascinated by it this time as i was at age 16. pierce also loved it. many famous people are burried in this cemetary, including eva peron (evita!!) and presidents and military leaders. often people are burried close to the very man that killed them! but the structures in the cemetary are what interest me most. like miniature chapels all over, some with stained glass, some with huge angels atop marble, some with little ventilation fans! it´s a maze of culture, and i love it.

after cruising the tombs, we stopped by the adjacent church and then visited various artists´ booths, buying a few souvinirs for ourselves and our friends. we stopped for an afternoon snack (as is customary), people watched, and talked about life. pierce and i are really enjoying this leisurely pace.

the good stuff

last night we ate pizza (my favorite international food), empanadas and dulce de leche ice cream. ahhhh, the good life.

pierce and i went shopping with cou and her cousins (who look the same as they did 11 years ago) yesterday. probably wasn´t pierce´s idea of the perfect day, had had to take a nap afterward, but it was a cultural experience nonetheless (where else can you smoke IN the mall) and he was a good sport. and every one of us bought something, so a successful day overall.

there´s a 3 hour difference between here and home, so pierce and i have taken to living as if we never left the states. we stay up till 2am (11pm back home) and sleep till 11am (8am back home). lovely.

and now it´s time for lunch!

don´t cry for me

argentina!!!!

the truth is... i´ve been away 11 years.

pierce (my not so little bro) and i are in argentina visiting the family i lived with 11 years ago, when i was a mere sophomore in high school. it´s been awesome. my family hasn´t changed a bit. corina (cou... the girl who nick named me lau) married pablo 2 months ago, so that´s different. it´s also the purpose of my trip. we made a pact waaay back to go to each others weddings. i´m just 2 months late. cou and pablo live in a darling house they just built, but they only have their bed and a table and chairs for furniture. pierce and i are sleeping on cots. it´s great.

luisa and ernesto (my argentine parents) live in the exact same house with the exact same furniture. it was crazy to walk into my old room yesterday! like i´ve only been gone 11 days. i love it. and luisa still coddles me as if i were her own baby. she also keeps encouraging me to eat... i´m pretty sure she´s responsible for the 30 lbs i gained when i lived here! that won´t happen again.

some things have changed, though. it´s not quite as safe, mostly because people are less sure of their circumstances, i suppose. i used to be able to walk on my own... now cou get´s nervous at the thought of me running with pierce, though i keep telling her i´ve done much worse.

today we went to the capitol city, buenos aires (cou lives in a suburb about 45 minutes north). we visited la boca (the brightly painted italian slums where the tango orignated) where we people watched for hours as we waited for our lunch to arrive. pierce was excited to split a parilla (meat plate) with pablo. he´s pretty pumped about 10 days of the best red meat in the world. we also went to the plaza de mayo, where we walked the plaza, visited the buenos aires cathedral and the casa rosada (that would be the pink house, like our white house, where evita sang her lovely songs off the balcony in movie life). while at the casa rosada, i conned pierce into taking a picture with me and one of the guards... who, by the way, is smiling because his hand is on my butt. very friendly! then we went to the puerto madero, the old part of town, where we boarded a boat and watched a catholic mass (on the boat) and walked all over. it was a full day.

pablo is a great addition. pierce and i like him a lot. he and cou dated for 8 years before marrying in october, so they´re like best friends. pablo can COOK! he stuffs more food down my throat than luisa. he´s got a great sense of humor, and the 4 of us travel well together.

anyway, the argentine adventures begin!

facebook official

one of the perks of being a youth minister is talking about sex.

and i talk about sex a lot... like... every month at least. it's very important!

in a recent conversation with some very savvy 10th grade girls, i posed the question: what defines a "couple?"

a few answers percolated to the surface... including, "if it's on facebook, it's official."

and there you have it.

"couples" according to a 16 year old.

out with a bang

i know this will come as a disappointment to many a reader, but i have suspended my eharmony subscription. it's just not how i roll. here's one last nugget of gold from the countless hopeless matches i received (not that they are hopeless... but the match most certainly is). typos in quotations are authentic.

meet filipe.

filipe is a truck driver.

filipe's passion: "relaxing in my front lawn by my flag pole" and looking at ants.

one thing filipe wishes more people would notice about him: "i am really cool. just wait until i rig an october corn maze in the garden for our children IF an eharmony lady says 'yes' before my viagra days arrive."

one thing that only felipe's best friends know is: "many ladies here at eharmony want to know what i'd like my spouse & companion to enjoy doing with me? cooking together and i do mean cooking in ever since of the word... i just bought an american made, cast iron, dutch oven."

some additional information filipe wanted you to know: "i want you to be a 'career woman' if you choose to be, BUT if you live your life by living on credit (i'm strong-willed about it) then i'm not your man. i'm not a penny pincher. i roll the pennies."

told you. golden. farewell eharmony. it's been... err... real... somethin'.

why not to blog

i haven't so much been delinquent on blogging the past 2 weeks, as i've been sick and busy. but i did accomplish a thing or two... took my final exam (think i did okay), made a gazillion cookies with girlfriends one night, decorated the christmas tree, made a ginger bread house (though it's actually 3 baltimore row houses because you know how i <3 b'more), iced a gazillion cookies on my own, watched a few movies, hosted a small dinner gathering, all while fighting back strep with lots of vitamins, tea, and homeopathic remedies. i've got an acupuncture appointment friday. then i should be on the up and up.

study in contrasts

i was driving up to virginia earlier this week (where i am now, visiting family) and i couldn't help but contemplate the differences in this thanksgiving and the last. for one, my whole family (including both divorced parents) came together for the first holiday in almost 3 years. that was definitely cool. and easy. and natural, even?

but really, what got me thinking, was listening to african music while driving a car (something i didn't have last year) by myself (versus a jam packed bush taxi) on very smooth paved roads (no pot holes) through the mountains (not the beach) on a cool fall day (no 60% humidity here)!!

the music took me back to a very different place and time. the always present feeling of sand between your toes. the never very cold beer. the lost sense of time. but what was it that made it feel so very different? not these details... something less tangible.

finally it occurred to me. i think it was this feeling of being in a forgotten land. kinda feeling like you don't matter. not in a bad way. just in a all-that-matters-is-this-moment-and-how-i-live-it kind of way. here, it's always what's leading to the next thing. there, the next thing won't come along till you're finished with what you're doing now. it's very very different. and so distant. like you're not just in a different geographic location, but a different time altogether.

sometimes i really miss it.

which isn't to say i don't appreciate the paved roads and time spent alone thinking in the car, fully equipped with a seatbelt.

just different.

f-f-f-frigid

last night 23 high school kids made shelters from cardboard boxes on the front lawn of our church. our first official lock OUT. the idea was to sleep outside in boxes in an effort to bring attention to homelessness in our community the night before the annual homeless awareness walk. the idea came about last spring or summer, though, in much warmer weather.

i don't think anyone expected the 16 degree chill.

parents called the church saying their child couldn't come (that's fine). our numbers dropped a little.

but 23 brave souls still showed up.

and so did 4 news trucks.

awareness accomplished.

a few events in the evening that helped drive the point home:

1. mark, a homeless neighbor, came to the church to share his story and answer the kids questions. he gave us pointers on how to set up our boxes. he told us the key is to keep your hands, feet and head warm. he said he had no idea we were actually going to sleep outside ALL night, and he was so touched by what we were doing. gayle, a homeless lady i ran into at the coffee shop said the same thing, as did the mother of a homeless family sleeping IN our church last night. their appreciation made it a little easier to bare the cold with my kids.

2. one of our youth has been interviewing homeless people for two years, working on her gold award project for girl scouts. we watched a documentary she had put together. it was cool for the kids to hear from one of their peers how they can make a difference.

when all was said and done, 1 kid went home early, 13 kids went into the sanctuary (all curled up around the altar... pretty cute), and 9 kids braved the cold all night... along with 3 adults.

and then we walked 5k.

and then i went to class, fell asleep during the lecture, and got sent home :)

you are my sunshine

i'm at caribou right now... working on my LAST theology paper (for this term anyway) and procrastinating (obviously) as i wait for one of my 10th grade kids to meet me for coffee (to discuss a recent break-up). good times.

and i've been working on my paper the better part of today, as i will be doing tomorrow, because the material is so dense that i can hardly make hide nor hair of it, despite my love for karl barth.

anyway. whenever i'm feeling down... like i'm failing as a writer... i look at this:and all my sorrows and self-doubt melt away. keegan has that effect on me. the little boy i call my nephew, who (whom?) i love to no end.

thanks keegster.

who needs sleep?

well you're never gonna get it.
who needs sleep?
tell me, what's that for...
(lyrics from a bare naked ladies song... where in the world did that band get their name anyway?)

friday night was our middle school lock-in. we had 84 kids. sometimes i forget the magnitude of our youth program, but it's hard to ignore when you have to rent TWO charter buses just to get to the mini-theme-park at the mall (after it closes) so the kids have their run of the laser-tag, go carts, games and climbing wall. oh, sure, we did the more traditional lock-in stuff too... like playing sardines... nothing like hide-and-seek in a big dark church!

ah, memories.

what i had forgotten, though, is how COOL it is to stay up at that age! one kid came up to me toward the end of the movie we watched (cheaper by the dozen) to ask what time it was. i looked at my watch and said, "almost 3am..." her face lit up in wonderment, "wow... coooooool."

the following day i watched a kid tell his mom, "we had church at 1 in the morning!!!"

awesome.

needless to say, none of us were very rested for the service projects we participated in the following morning. hundreds of church peeps did work all over the city. pretty cool.

and this weekend will be our lock-OUT, when the high schoolers sleep outside in boxes. me too. good times to come.

not the juan for me

deep down inside, i know i probably shouldn't write this post... that it will bite me in the butt someday. but i'm going to anyway because i think it's a good story. my fear is that it'll come across as if i'm making fun of someone... of juan... but this is really a story of how i am a complete idiot.

see, i have this kinda outgoing personality. and sometimes that can be misconstrued as being flirtatious when i meet men. i suppose that was the case with juan, because he started calling me last week (after getting my number from a friend), making good conversation, and eventually asking when we could hang out.

now he never actually asked me on a date.

so i wasn't sure about his intentions.

hence my entirely ridiculous response.

juan: you got plans thursday?
me: yep. going to a benefit.
juan: drinks afterward?
me: nope, may be out late.
juan: how about this weekend?
me: i've got a lock-in with my kids... really busy.
juan: sometime else?
me: i'm pretty much booked till mid-december.
juan: how about mornings?
me: mornings work. i can do that.

**awkward pause while i'm figuring out how to dodge a bullet i'm not sure exists**

me: um, juan, i gotta tell you... i don't want to sound presumptuous, but i just have to let you know i'm not interested in dating you right now.

**shoot!! right now?? that doesn't sound right?!?!**

me: errrr... or... ever.

**ahhh! what am i doing?!? or ever?!? how mean is that?!?!**

me: i mean, i know i sometimes send mixed messages unintentionally, so if that's the message i've been sending, i just want to correct it.
juan: ok. are you seeing someone?
me: no.

**i'm the worst person ever!**

juan: ok. so you want to grab coffee friday?
me: sure!

**how can he be nice when i'm so mean?!?! why wasn't i born knowing how to do this??**

and then we had a lovely coffee this morning. no real surprise there. he's a great guy. smart, funny, conversational, nice, handsome. i'd set him up with one of my friends in a heartbeat. hey, there's an idea...

religulous

i went to see religulous last night with a group of friends from various faith backgrounds. it was about what i expected from bill maher. some parts were hilarious (everyone had to put up with my snorting), some parts were offensive, and some (especially the ending) were extremely depressing. i definitely wouldn't tout it as a documentary. the cuts and editing were way too much in favor of bill and his agenda.

and what is bill's agenda? to put an end to religion before it puts an end to the world. to take up the banner of doubt. this assumes two things: 1) faith and doubt don't mix, and 2) doubt would end all conflict.

i think it's sad that bill is under the impression that faith leaves no room for doubt. that faith and certainty are synonymous. isn't it the opposite? is it not certainty that leaves no room for faith? yes, hebrews 11 says, "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see," but this is HOPE we're certain of. faith is the beginning of knowledge, not the the end of it. st. augustine says "i believe that i might understand." the theologian paul tillich says, "doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith." the scientist dr. francis collins says, "doubt is an unavoidable part of belief." speaking from personal experience, the two go hand in hand... creating this back and forth conversation with God that grows me as a person every day.

and how would pure doubt end all conflict? is it not doubt that sends our economy spiraling downward? doubt that causes paranoia? faith in nothing? hope in nothing?

overall, i wouldn't suggest watching religulous to learn anything. but it does spark some great conversation. so if you do go, make sure you follow up with beer and pizza.

my butt hurts

i went to my first spin class today.

i may have mentioned that i've fallen into a very athletic group of friends... mostly triathletes... lots of them "ironmen." it's just the thing to do here. and after months of saying i wouldn't get sucked in, i'm now saying i'll start training, and maybe one day do a little baby triathlon. i bought a new pair of running shoes that i actually do enjoy running in (amazing the difference a good set of shoes will make!) i have plans to buy a roadbike later this winter... maybe february? but in the mean time, it's spin class for me. so i went with my girlfriend julie this morning, and it was... boring. other than the fact that i got to talk to julie here and there. that IS why i'm falling for all this nonsense--the social aspect of it. i think i'll maybe warm up to spin class eventually. in the mean time, i can at least enjoy the fact that i think it's building up the muscles around my knee, which will really help me run.

now i just have to buy a swim suit.

useless blither

stealing that one from furst.

i feel like i should post something today since it is election day and voting is important (get out the vote!)

i did vote, and my ballot would confuse just about anyone.

so rather than confuse you all as well, i'll tell you about how much i like to go to the park.

i was dogsitting this past weekend. ollie is the best dog. i should take a picture next time i stay with him. for one, ollie is a great cuddler. he keeps my feet warm, but doesn't get in my way... perfect. secondly, ollie sits and contemplates important things while i'm reading. he can be so stoic. he's also my muse. he sat on my feet while i typed a paper sunday, and i'm convinced that's why i finished the whole thing in one sitting.

ollie is also a smart ass. at one point, as i stretched out on the couch reading homework on a friday night, loving my class and the reading, but lamenting how it encroaches on my social life... i turned to ollie and said, "you know, even if i were to really like a guy... i don't have time for a boyfriend." ollie, in his infinite wisdom, rolled his eyes at me.

but this is supposed to be about parks, not dogs. ollie lives 2 doors down from one of the entrances to a great park. it is so much fun to walk there, and ollie is the perfect excuse. the breadth and depth of humanity you encounter at the park is amazing! all different people, all different shapes and sizes and colors. and dogs. everyone is so different, and yet they all come to the same spot. a spark of commonality between us all. and this weekend, with the especially lovely fall weather, i couldn't help but be awed by the beauty of all God's creation... the people, colors, smells, animals, sounds, feels... like it was one great big church.

and now i've said something about parks.