Onward!

Five and a half years ago I graduated from high school. Now I’ve finally graduated from college. Just this afternoon I was shelving some books from my college classes. It was a reminder of all that I’ve learned.

Was it worth it? Some parts more than others. The big question is what else would have happened during those five and a half years. Sarah would say that you can’t judge the value of an experience immediately after it concludes. Time will tell.

Time has shown Rosedale to be worth both the time and money. I don’t think there are many schools which provide the experience that Rosedale does: thought provoking academics and a student life that is real community (as opposed to other colleges who claim community).

So onward to a future that is undetermined.

Photo update

The Merchant of Venice was being put on . Everyone else in the house had a part and so I agreed to do the lighting. A lot of these pictures come from that, or other stuff I had to post.

The four of us just before we sang advent songs

I learned the board, setup, and show in about a week and a half. It was nothing like LMH, the equipment was poorly used, and about half of the lights needed replacement parts that noone ordered or knew how to install.

Notables and the court scene

Some action in the garden

She made soup in a pumpkin. I thought she was clever

The path home

Some people have creativity and time

a case of O.J.

Graduation is coming, or at least classes are ending. I'm wondering if I'll find a job. All of my life I was told by society that when you have a college degree you can get a better job. I was told by college admissions people not to worry about cost because you can pay your loans off with that better job.

So here I am, a month away and I’m not seeing that better job. Actually I’m not seeing any full time jobs, and certainly not the high paying ones in my field that the admissions people forecasted. Hmm, life isn’t always simple.

In other news, Steve and I went dumpster diving last night. With a little scouting we have developed a nice route for harvesting grocery store leftovers. Last night we netted a bag of dog food and $60 in food (including a case of OJ, 1.5 gal of juice, half a dozen cans of pizza sauce, dozens of cup cakes, and enough bread.) I think this is how we survive on our shoestring budget.

It's snowing outside

Nelke has been in need of a hair cut for a while. We waited until after our backpacking trip so t hat she could stay warm. Here she is before and after.


Cricket poses here as she tries to convey a laid back and thoughtfull personality-everything she is not.


A moment in the life of our fish tank
Sarah discovers she can see better without the candle.

This past weekend Sarah and I made a quick visit to her family of origin's home to attend a wedding. Nelke went along and was glad to see her old stomping (pawing?) grounds. Cricket, a new addition was of course glad to see us and celebrated as she always does by peeing in circles.

Now its back to the studies.

Side note: Ethan made some blazing hot good food tonight.

I made us a web page

I've been taking "Intro to Web Communication" and this site was a project. We welcome your comments:

7401: The Community

Pictures

So here are the long awaited pictures from our wedding, honeymoon, and life in the community of peace, love, and simplicity.






The Honeymoon

Click below to tour our honeymoon cabin with Sarah

Our new house with Ethan and Queena

Our living room/fireplace

I can make supper for our friends while at class
using technology know as "crock pot" and "bread maker"Canoeing-the dog in this picture thought it might be a
good idea to step out of the canoe and walk on the lily pads.She no longer howls, so she can stay. She is rather good at
chasing animals in the woods and looking sad when she wants to go for a walk

...the UPS man...

Life is moving forward and some of the details are being resolved. My wife doesn't leagally have my last name. But the car has gas in it, and I can cook with a crockpot.

The dog is adjusting, though it runs away to see the neighborhood. Last week the UPS man came, when I turned my back she made a break for the woods where Sarah had gone in route to class. Fifteen min. latter I find her running around main campus.

We don't have internet at our house, so posting pictures frequently has become very difficult. But they will come.

the boat is not going down, but water is splashing over the side....

It’s been a while, I know. The little voice keeps telling me it’s time to post. I have pictures, and soon wedding pictures of two weddings, a new house, dog, canoe and the adventures their combination creates. But Sarah, the dog, the new house, and school are higher on the list than this site.

Life doesn't stop...

So it is Friday, actually my last Friday as a single man. The preacher is going to marry me off to a beautiful bride on Sunday and then life as a husband shall begin. So to all my faithful, sporadic, and accidental readers; be advised, my posting may become more intermittent.

Part of growing up and being responsible means having a phone. Sarah and I are now sharing a cell phone. If you would like my number, email me and I can hook you up. But be advised, the phone serves us. Life doesn’t stop when it rings, so leave a message.

So long singleness, here comes the bride!

31 days

I'm back from my 31 day wilderness course. It was an amazing learning experience. Just to give a brief overview: 11 youth between 12-18 years of age are force to complete 31 days of community living in the wilderness. They sleep under tarps, cook for each other, do challenging wilderness things, and learn to share their feelings with the group (my favorite part) I was one of three instructors who facilitated their experience.

My biggest struggle was coming to grips with the effectiveness of my work. At times I felt like I wasn't making a difference and the kids were just going to go back to their lives that had gotten them in trouble. About half way through I watched the movie "Freedom Writers" on an evening off. Its a feel good movie where a school teacher gives it her all and a class of diverse gangster thugs became kind, caring, and respectful by the end of two school years. When I went back in the field the next morning I realized that real life is much different. I had given a lot to my students and attitudes were still centered on selfishness and disrespect. Even up until graduation I had kids tell me "f--- you", "you can't tell me what to do"

But those were the worst kids. Some students had a true desire to change. The recognized their bad attitudes and made significant steps toward curbing them. Those were the cases that gave me energy to get up each day.

During my training I shadowed a course for five days. They just happened to be the group that was being filmed by a Japanese film crew. You can read more at the links below:
indianagazette.com
Diakon

Putting meat on the table

Words on a page (punctuation optional)

I am typing what comes to my mind in chronological order: Sarah, the socket that previously had my lower right wisdom tooth hurts, time for another sip of coffee, I’m tired, mom is grumpy, starting work at 6am is nice but I’m tired, I need to go dumpster diving again, I miss it. I miss Sarah. Crocs are better that Chacos. I should get the lumber out of my car and do some building. Is my camera dead or just the batteries? Does anyone read this? Tomorrow is my last day of landscaping, then I go to Diakon. What will that be like? I hope I’m in the field a lot and don’t have days off. Sarah says Carlisle is good town to hang out in. I need to order new hiking boots, I bet I’ll get them at the end of my trip. I’m hungry.

...dealing with troubled youth in the woods

This past week was a contrast between the joys of beach going with Sarah and the struggles of dealing with troubled youth in the woods.

Last weekend Sarah and I were in Del. on our way to a MD wedding. So far it has been the highlight of my summer. She is so much fun. We went for a long walk on the beach before it got busy and then built a little sand castle. The wedding reception was a ritzy event at an upper class country club. Sarah has never looked so beautiful.

Most of my week was spent observing/assisting with 11 kids as they dealt with the realities of days 1-4 of a 31 day wilderness experience. Some came in shackles, a few came from residential placement, and one came from a detention center where he hadn’t seen daylight in 20+ days. I learned as much about their world (and language) as they did about mine. I’ll try to take my camera the next time I’m out.

Anyone know what is going on in this description: “My dawgs were postin up by the crib with blunts and 40s when my P.O. rolled by. I wanted to pop the cracker in the cabbage.”

Post your guesses.

...we saw the light.

Caving was awsome! I had never been before. When we reached the farthest corner of the cave our instructor made us turn out our lights. Darkness was defined. Then he told us that we could find our way out without lights. After an hour of crawling through holes and wading through mud and water we saw the light.

...folks who have a thing for Bob Marley

Sorry, no pictures this time. If I can get my camera out here I could post some spectacular shots.

I’ve begun my internship at the wilderness center. After a few weeks I’ll be a wilderness instructor and take kids into the woods for 31 days. A job like this attracts a certain crowd: outdoorsy, tough, independent folks who have a thing for Bob Marley, a good time, and a carefree lifestyle. The girl who will be the lead instructor on my course has done almost 9 months straight in the field. The group isn’t your normal church camp folks, but their experience makes church camp look like preschool.

Yesterday we all got trained on some new epinephrine procedures. The auto injector pens are out and we now use syringes and vials. Apparently it was less expensive and wasn’t as prone to temperature extremes. Today we discussed low ropes and did a very brief walk through of the elements. Tomorrow will be spent in a mucky 52 degree cave (exploring its therapeutic possibilities).

73 days until our wedding.

...and a blinking light

Four miles from school is Filmore NY. It has a dollar store, a bar, a Jubilee foods, and a blinking light. It’s a slow town. The wide streets have small clusters of old houses that have their clapboard siding brightly painted. It is the archetypal small town.

Something unusual showed up in the Jube this week: a 16 lb strip steak. I’ve been eyeing it for the last few days. $52 of bloody goodness. And so it sat there, until Gabe came by and took it home. This evening it turned into one and a half inch thick slabs of supper. And so we feasted.

Follow the directions...

So here it is. I’m finally done with the mixer. It looks really nice from a distance, but if you look closely it has some flaws. I guess if there is ever a next time I’ll do things differently-like follow the directions on the back of the spray paint, or find a dust free room instead of the college lawn. I guess I’ll live and learn. I really need to learn to do lettering better.

School is out, but I am not. I am spending this week closing the dorm. Then this weekend my family is going to the Good’s cabin with Sarah’s family. It should be fun.

I am just a head bobbing through white caps

The mixer pictures have been long overdue. I wanted to have a finished shot, but it is taking a bit longer to finish. I'll put up a before and after shot when it's done.

Mixer story: Sarah's parents had an old mixer that broke. They got a new one. Eventually the old one was fixed by Sarah's Grandpa who fixes everything. Unfortunately the mixer was dropped coming back from Grandpa's shop. Fortunately I was able to JB weld a marble in place of the broken lever/knob. Now the mixer works fine. But who wants a cream/almond mixer? Not Sarah, she wants a brightly colored one with "Sarah's mixer" on the side. And so I have become the "mixer fixer" (and painter).

This is the original plus the JB welded marble as a replacement lever

Here it is with a coat of primer

White water kayaking comes with the warmer weather. I hadn’t been in a year. The last time I went I was scared most of the time. I was rigid and stiff, avoiding the big waves. But after a year of pool practicing I thought this trip would be different.

The first few waves were ok. Then my boat sliced through one and I could feel the cold water wash over my spray skirt. Wow! It was an amazing feeling. My mouth was still open when the next wave filled it.

There is something absolutely terrifying and yet fulfilling about being hidden in the trough of the rapids. From the shore I am just a head bobbing through white caps, but inside that bobbing head is the biggest rush I’ve ever known. By becoming part of the river I feel its power. The river’s power is something that really can’t be seen or explained or understood from the river bank. There is a beauty that is hidden in the waves, it can only be experienced.