My friend Brain.

Well, after being discriminated against(or Virus and Spam Blocked) most likely an evil plot by the creators of this blog to keep me from infected others with nerdisms, I was invited to post. I figured I would start with a picture to describe my life in Florida.



As you can see the beach is being covered by more beautiful things, implying I do not see the beach often. Although we (incoming students at the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL)) did go to Cocoa beach the first weekend here. Life has taken a dramatic shift from that life to more one where we sit inside and play with calculators and write funny symbols on paper to describe the world around us.

Personally, I am really enjoying myself and things are working out really well. Classes are becoming more taxing, but interesting at the same time. The most important piece of news over the last few weeks is I am now in a research group and adviser, which I will be with over the course of my Ph.D. career. The group is, the Laser Plasma Group and I am looking specifically into research with Fiber Lasers. If you have questions you can ask me now, but I will probably answer you in a year when I have more knowledge and experience.

Other than those things there is a good group of students that I hang out with, about 50/50 domestic, international. International students are from Germany, Italy, Iran, China, South Korea, and India. We usually do one or two things a week (outside of classwork) so it is a completely different than the life at Samford where a person in a situation where there are multiple things to do.

In terms of Orlando, I have not ventured to tourist heaven or hell (whichever you prefer), but in about 10 minutes I will head closer than I have ever been because we are going across town to get Indian food. I pretty much stay between two places; my apartment and CREOL at UCF, occasionally I venture from that building to other parts of campus and remember I am still on a college campus (with 46,000 students). The city to me seems to have no culture. Actually I read a joke once,
Q. What's the difference between Orlando and Yogurt?
A. Yogurt has more active culture.


I'm sure there is more to tell, but I am leaving.

~Sims

my friend brian

so i feel i must share a recent skype adventure. i hardly use the thing, but tonight found a chat conversation from kris (which was decidedly one-sided...the girl can talk). as i was doing this, a little "hi" from brian pops up right underneath. so i am overcome with joy that my pseudo food twin has decided to talk to me. yes, brian sharon has actually initiated contact.

so i'm pretty enthusiastic in my responses, even though it's the standard small talk. i explain that i'm eating honey nut cheerios. he says cool, he likes those too. "really? weird! you mean we like the same foods??!" is my response. it seems, however, that the witty comment is lost on my friend brian who gives the standard internet chat laugh. 'man, studying has made brian a bit dull,' i think.

a lull in the conversation...
me: how is louisville?
him: wha?
me: you do live there now, right?
him: haha, what makes you think that?
[my brain]: uh oh...
him: hmm wrong person, right?

yes, that's right. i have now unwittingly joined the ranks of the lonely and the desperate--the internet daters.

we did end up having a lovely chat, though. i expect a proposal by a tuxedo-clad emoticon any day now.

Contacts List

Bored at work again. So I decided to put our contacts list on Google Docs. This means anyone with a Google account can update their contact info themselves.

If you don't have a Google account, you can still see the most current version at:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pORmrb7zuFz2brEK4jyXPcg

You can edit the spreadsheet at:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pORmrb7zuFz2brEK4jyXPcg&hl=en.

Google Docs is easy to use - it's pretty similar to Microsoft Office, except for the price. Anyway, using this, we can all update the sheet from anywhere in the world.

If you need to be included, just let me know in a comment.

Our friend Cheese...

So today Cheese and I had lunch. We talked about our friends and the incredible things they were doing and how they were going to change the world someday. We decided we're pretty proud of everyone.

After lunch Cheese takes me around and shows me the Bing, where he works, introduces me to fellow interns, etc. It was awesome. I had never really grasped what exactly Cheese was doing and how big a deal it was. I still didn't understand.

On our way back to his house (there was no poop in the tub), Cheese tells me that we're going to stop by and see Miss Kitty. You see, Miss Kitty usually sits out on her porch all day and waves at cars. Everyone knows Miss Kitty. But Cheese hadn't seen her out there in a few days and wanted to check on her.

Miss Kitty is awesome. She's 60 but could pass for 40. (Jen- she talks just like Kayla. Not even kidding.) Anyway, Miss Kitty loves Cheese. As in, there are pictures of him on her refrigerator. It's really cute. Miss Kitty took me around her house and showed me everything that Cheese had done, repeatedly calling him a real hard worker. She even pulled out a cooking pot and showed me where she used to have to place it everytime it rained before Cheese fixed her ceilings. Miss Kitty used to have a room that was so full of crap that no one had walked in it in 3 years. She explains that since Cheese helped her clean it out, she doesn't sit on her porch as much because her neighbors like being in her house. Also, she doesn't have to sleep on the couch anymore because the invasive crap is off her bed.

I sat on Miss Kitty's couch as she showeed me her photo album. Cheese's face was on every page and every time she saw him she squealed with delight and said "Look at Andy! There he is! Working real hard!" I was starting to understand what Cheese does. He lives in the ghetto and serves people. He knows their needs and meets them. He gives people like Miss Kitty a safe haven on a street where people rob convenience stores and then stash their loot in her backyard (she's still real upset about that and thinks the thief should have gotten more time). He looks for opportunities for her great-nephew to serve with SOS and be discipled. Cheese actively loves people.

As I was driving home I was thinking that it's similar to what Matt does with his guys that he leads, what Wardo does with the freshmen he is investing in, what Pat does with Younglife, what Em does with her hospitality, what Eric and Emily are doing teaching, what John is doing in NI, Will in Maryland, Jen in DC, Candis every day of her life, etc, etc, etc...

What I'm saying is I'm proud of (and convicted by) you guys and the intentionality with which you live. It's incredible to see how the Gospel is being spread through you all serving others. Also, we should all understand what Cheese does because it's freakin' incredible. Also, I've been real emotional lately so if this is sappy... well, I'm not really sorry. At all.

Pat, I would say productivity is high.

My Productivity Is Low!

This post will be lame. If you're opposed to lame things, stop reading. And consider dropping my friendship altogether.

It's lame because it's about work. But maybe I'd like for you to understand this extremely mundane part of my life.

Here's the deal. I'm supposed to be 93% productive. This means 93% of my time should be on projects that make money. I can spend 7% on things like reading email, filing, and working on projects that don't make money.

This is fine, except that I have no responsibility, and no way of creating work for myself. I sit here until someone gives me something to do.

Right now, I am 54.7% productive. Awful. If this keeps up, I'm going to get fired, and it won't be my fault.

Also, someone stole my work computer this weekend. Which is funny, because our office has around 50 computers in it, but whoever broke in stole 2 computers and a postal scale. Moron.

So I'm bored. I have no work to do. My productivity is sinking below the 50% mark . And now, you, reader, must decide if you even want to continue a friendship with someone with a 50% productivity.

I know it's lame. But you'll have something like this too. Nurses have to keep people alive. Teachers have to produce good test scores. Sims has to discover cold fusion. Kristen has to become Lord of Catanthiopia. Candis has to convert Malaysia. Matt has to... umm... he has to... uhh.... Parks has to sell coffee. And Brian has to be a barrister at Starbucks.

Meanwhile, I'm bored, but I'm getting paid, and that's better than nothing. And, since everyone wonders what it is that I actually do, since we all know cartography has been defunct since Magellan met up with some hostile Filapinos, here's something I made. Ahem, helped make. My boss drew the lines, and I colored them.
Special prize for anyone who can guess what place this map is showing!!! Everyone has been here. Here's a hint: focaccia, flowers, and a 3 and 1/2 year Quest.

Come Pick Candis Up.

Time: 1:04 am
Location: Hoover
People: Candis, Jamie, and Kristen
Ugly babies: none
Books: Mountain Rain, Surrender or Starve, How Shall We Then Live, and Celebration of Discipline

YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE OUR EVENING... ! We left the guys house, one of us thinking to herself, "That was the last time I'll see any of them." Candis thinking, "Wow that was a lot of hair on the porch." And Jamie thinking, "I really would like a corndog right about now." So, all of these thoughts were of course kept inside as Candis got in Jamie's car and Kris with Sarah, all intending to reconvene at Emily's in a matter of minutes. I (Jamie) dropped Candis off at her car infront of O'Henry's and she asked me to follow her to the gas station to fill up before heading home. It being rather late and all, I agreed, and we drove to the BP on Columbiana. Kris, still an emotional wreck, couldn't see the road and decided to pull over when she spotted our vehicles in the near distance.

To be honest, I was real annoyed that Kris hadn't stopped her crying. Candis only made it worse when she started doing step sing moves from the '05 show (Rhythm of the Night) to cheer Kristen up. I excused myself and made some lame excuse about needing to buy a box of Little Debbie Zebra Cakes. I left Candis just as she was about to do the popcorn move, and right before Kris' mascara began streaking down her cheeks. As I was walking away a colossal black tour bus pulled into the station. Candis immediately stopped her performance...but Kris was still uncontrollable. I went in, purchased my Debbies, and strolled back across the lot to the puddles surrounding Kristen and now Candis. Just about that time, who should emerge from the colossal tour bus...none other than a dark haired, greasy, singer song writer wearing a nasty pit stained white t-shirt with jeans. To be frank, it was at that moment that I wished I could have performed my 5th hair cut of the evening. Anywho, it was nearly impossible to walk by Kristen without thinking she had broken her femur, thus greaseball stopped and asked, "Is there anything I can help with?" Candis responded by saying, "Well, actually she's moving to Ethiopia for 2 years and she just said goodbye to some of her really close friends...you know what that's like, saying goodbye to close friends and all, so it's hard...ya know?"

As Candis chatted with the friendly dirty man, I pulled my tear streaked friend to the side. I told her to collect herself and to seriously consider whether or not dirtball may be THE Ryan Adams. Our suspicions (?) were confirmed when a band member (?) yelled across the parking lot, "Hey Ryan, you want anything?" Candis, totally oblivious, was now consoling Ryan about the difficulties of life on the road and how hard it was always saying goobye to his mom. Candis had also managed to learn that Ryan was in a band heading to Chicago, and that he wasn't looking forward to the 15 hour drive ahead of them. Candis called us over to meet her new friend. My knees a little weak at this point, Kristen nudges me over to the now famous greaseball. Losing all control, I blurted out, "You're Ryan Adams...I'm your biggest fan!" He politely smiled, thought about dodging the question, and finally confessed. Kris, always thinking of others, asked Ryan to autograph her snot soaked tissue for our friend Will who, "can play your music sober!" Candis, finally aware of the magnitude of the situation we have so providentially stumbled upon, blurts out, "Congratulations on being sober! How long's it been now? 6 months? That's great! What an achievement!" This clearly made our new friend uncomfortable, but Candis' bubbly personality proved irresistable that night. See ya Nate, hello Ryan! The band loaded up, Ryan headed back to the bus (Candis' number in hand), promising to call the next time he was in town for a show.

Candis is now reconsidering going overseas, I am now the one in tears, and Kristen is still thinking, "That was the last time I'll see any of them."

Too Candid?

Hey People-

Sooo, I just got back from a meeting with the missionaries I went to India with the past 2 summers. They wanted to chit chat about how I felt about this past summer and my leadership experience and talk about the future of our relationship. What this DTR conisisted of was them asking me if I would lead another trip this summer. Uhm, not to mention they need a decision in 2 weeks. So, if you're out of the loop, this past summer was incredibly hard and I still can't translate it into words. The leadership aspect was the most mentally challenging/ exhausting expereince of my short 22 years upon earth. So, for them to ask if I would think about returning to something hard and exhausting would be to go against every single desire that I have at the moment.
However...there is still this pull I have that makes 12% of me open to the idea of returning. Towards India, towards the 10/40 window, towards being a part of showing the Church in America what goes on beyond the Church in America, towards things totally outside of my comfort zone. I know that God can multiply that 12% and that makes me worried. I would greatly appreciate your prayers over the next 2 weeks...because if I were to be honest, my confession would be that I have really come to enjoy my comfort. If I were to identify the root of it all, I would have to confess that I am terrified to be used by a God that is so big...because although He's good, after this summer, I'm not so sure what that means. Thanks for your prayers.

body massage machine.... go!

In the spirit of stylistic conformity (and because I love Will Weir, esp. when he drives a total of nearly four hours to see me for five):

-Tuesday, 5:08 Pm
-The House of Y (as in our glorious chromosome) with Keith
-Books: Just finished- The Mark of a Christian by Francis Schaeffer, Looking forward to beginning- Oh the Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey
-Songs I Can't Get Out of my head: "Put a Penny in the Slot" Fionn Regan; "Marry Me" St. Vincent; "Issues" Flight of the Conchords; "The Temptation of Adam" Josh Ritter
Thing I must get out the way and go ahead and say: I got to hang out with Will & Jen this weekend and you didn't. Nahna nahna poo poo.
-Babies? Waylan Slabach had this great story one time of trying to go buy some pot, driving with the dealer to his "spot," and entering a crackhouse with dozens of babies in it- in drawers, on dressers, on countertops... (for more Waylan news, please refer to Hamilton or Cheese)

Besides realizing this weekend how much of an arrogant, judgmental a-hole I can be- particularly with churches that seem to have plenty of LaHaye, Dobson, Falwell, and Warren books lying around, understanding how God has really called us to love the ENTIRITY of His body as our brothers and sisters in merciful love, and, by God's grace, being allowed to fellowship with one of the most loving, "family" churches I have ever had the privilege of visiting (check out South Run Baptist in Springfield, VA if you're ever up that way- you'll feel like your visiting relatives), I again saw how cool God is and how perfect His plans are...

I'm busy and have this fear of being overwhelmingly so, getting burned out, and losing effectiveness, but thus far God has been quite gracious. I still meet with 11th graders on Monday mornings, have been leading worship on Monday nights at Campus Outreach, meeting with two college juniors Tuesday nights, meeting with two 11th graders Wednesday nights, started leading Thursday night worship (for a month) at Mountaintop Community, meet Friday mornings with 9th graders, meet Sunday afternoons for a youth praise band, and lead Sunday nights at Canterbury UMC (this section was for my roommates who always know I am somewhere, but never know where....), but it has been SO good. One eleventh grader, Alex, that I've known for three years finally became a Christian last weekend, and I wept when I prayed with him... I don't know if there is a more beautiful sight or more encouraging experience in the world than that.

Congrats Brian and much love e'rbody. i'll try and be less serious next time....
oh, and erin's really flippin' cool. just in case you didn't already know. i mean, dang cool. that's all...

woot for prayers

there have been requests for a report about how the DAT went on saturday.

i really felt like i bombed it. it seemed a lot more difficult than the practice test i took, and i had to guess a LOT. plus... there were two sections i didn't even have time to finish, so i just randomly clicked the last 10 or so answer really fast.

anyhow... your prayers not only worked, but God definitely went above and beyond merely answering the request for a 19. I got my score back-- a 22. I'm super excited about that, and so is Dr. MacDougall (the UAB dual-program lady). That puts me in the top 5% of people who've taken the DAT, so even if UAB doesn't work out (by the way-- it's looking more and more likely that it will work out... they want me to come down sometime in the next month or so to do interviews, meet-and-greets, go to dinner w/ faculty/students, etc.).. but yeah, even if it doesn't work out, that DAT score is high enough that i will eventually get in somewhere. but i'm hoping for UAB.

thanks a ton for your prayers, yall.

wow

i just finished my 8th hour of studying for the DAT today. my note-taking hand is cramped, and i'm feeling pretty wiped out and a lot less confident than i was hoping to feel at this point. i'm taking it saturday at 1:00pm EST, and yall's prayers would mean a lot to me. thanks everyone.

-brian

So there is no longer Poop in my Tub

At my desk in the SOS office
1253 PM
Tired
Saw an ugly baby saturday at the Frayser Helath clinic
About to begin Terrify No More by Gary Haughen

So ya, the whole poop in the tub thing actually got resolved the day after i posted about it. And my parents decided that since i was now 23 and had no cable thAT A RESPONSIBLE BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR ME WAS A wII. sORRY ABOUT THE CAPS LOCK. I cannot type well. So anyways my life is going well and I still love mt\y job.
On a serious note, I went to a free-healthcare clinic in Frayser on Monday in order to participate in a "secret patient" program that my friend set up. Its kinda like secret shoppers but different. Anyways I made up some reason for being there and sat in the waiting room for over 3 hours even though I had an appointment. Also, almost every person that was in there was a young, pregnant woman, or had a young child. The reason that these clinics take so long is that they are sorely understaffed. As i selfishly thought about them wasting my time, I was struck by how ungrateful I was that I can afford insurance and good healthcare. And saddened b y the plight of these people whohave to suffer through this when they do actually need the help. Just whats on mym mind I miss and love all of ya'll.

guess who called me tonight

-the fellows house

-9:27 EST

-normal over all (yet slightly unsure of something particular)

-13 other people

-no babies

-lots of books

ok, so i was coming back into the house after a long, intense conversation with one of my friends here when my phone rang. and who the heck should it be but freakin Deb the Welder! (for those of you who don't know, Deb was the lady who fixed our axle at midnight on the way to key west. for free.) yea, so deb calls just to say hi. she said that she was hanging up that big group picture of all of us on her and Gina's wall and thought of us all. at dinner tonight she told her kids the story of that night and how we stopped back by dothan to see them, and how we talked about Jesus with her. 

one thing she remembered particularly was Justin Warden (i'm pretty sure) walking around her shop just saying 'praise the Lord! praise the Lord!' to everything she said and how everything worked out. i think if i had been in there with him, i would have sighed, 'oh justin...' but to hear deb tell it, he was like some sort of old saint, a good kind of zealot.

thank you for florida.

Im going suicide ZETA

-Bham at Ems
- 1:30 PM
- "what ev"
-no one around
-cant recall an ugly baby
-The Golden Compass (movie coming out soon!), and Harry Potter Book 7

kara here in her 5th year at Samford. not really knowing too many people at school these days. going through rush today though. i hope to be the 1st 5th year ever to get a pledge. well, not just me, but jamie too. jamie is going chi-o again hoping no one will remember her dropping out the first time.

things are good. the best news this week was that ryan and i got marriage apartments for December! the poop side of things is that i gotta move out of em's now, and live in the apartment to reserve it.

still lifeguarding at campus rec. this is my 3rd year working and by now i know how to beat the system. ive been monitoring the pool lately by sitting out in the hallway... this way it is cooler and i can concentrate on my homework more. also, with 20 minutes left of my shift, i go to the locker room and shower. sweet deal because i get paid doing one of those everyday must do things, plus I save Em on water. this month I have only used Em's shower once...my biggest accomplishment so far this semester... almost as big as Jen having her own cubicle and Andy having poop in his tub.

love hearing from you guys.

I read Isaiah once in BP... and this post is almost as long.

First things first-- this blog is long as crap, so if you are in a hurry or just don't have the fortitude to make it through, feel free to skip to the 2-sentence "SUMMARY" section located conveniently at the end of the post.

i forget what questions i'm supposed to answer here. something about the time-- it's 11:25 eastern... 10:25 back where a lot of you are... and 4:25pm where john is. and then something about who's within a stone's throw of me... which is nobody. that's kindof par for the course during the day while david's at school and i sit around the apartment studying, napping, reading, boredoming. But hopefully that'll change soon... i start working at starbucks next week as a barista (i checked, and unfortunately "barista" is both the feminine and masculine form of the word... how lame is that?). as for the ugly baby-- i stick by the "baby ruths look kindof like poop" thing. no one will ever convince me otherwise. and let's all admit it-- poop is ugly.

that's all of the suggested questions i can remember off the top of my head... hope everyone is cool w/ me slacking on the rest.

alright... for those of you who haven't had the luxury of keeping up w/ my ridiculous game of changing plans... a quick review:

i'm living in louisville w/ david, which is cool. and nice since i literally haven't made any other friends here yet. i'm considering using the PA system at the grocery store next time i go to announce my availability as a new friend. anyways-- i moved up here to do a master's in physiology as a precursor to med or dental school... but got shafted once i got here. long story, and i'll spare the details. now i'm taking biochemistry at a local college (it's catholic- weeeiiirrrd) to strengthen my dental and/or med school application, and distance-learning 2 courses through LSU, which qualifies me for my dad's health insurance... sweet. But teaching myself Calculus III and Differential Equations might be a little rough; it awaits to be seen.

now... here's the newest news:

there's a chance i'll be starting a DMD/PhD dual-degree program at none other than (prepare to roll your eyes at the irony) UAB. they've been talking to me about it, and the PhD would likely be in biomedical engineering, with cool oral/maxillofacial surgery-related research. it's been about a week since i've heard from them, but i just got an email from the director saying that they like my test scores and grades, and that since i'm distance-learning those 2 math courses, i'll only be 1 pre-requisite short of their normal students, which is no big deal. They're not sure yet whether they'd want me to start in the spring or the fall... for david's sake, fall would be better. but i'm not really in a position to make demands, so we'll just have to see what they say. oh-- and it would make dental school free, and set me up well for a surgery residency afterwards.

so that's the gist of it. and if yall could be praying about it for me, that'd be really great. i'm pretty worried about getting my hopes up because the master's program falling through here was such a kick in the face... but it seems like the program chair is pretty interested, so who knows. i'd love for it to work out, but i'm trying not to count on it. but yeah, your prayers would be awesome.

Here's the short version for those who took my advice and skipped to the end-

SUMMARY:
There's a chance I might get admitted to a freakin' awesome DMD/PhD program at UAB that would make dental school free and position me well for an oral/maxillofacial surgery residency afterwards. It's pretty much the ideal situation, and I'd love it if yall could be praying about that for me.

later duuudes.
-brian

I like soccer.

So this year the nursing school started a flag football team. Since I know very few of the girls that I'm in class with on a daily basis I thought it would be a good idea to join with them in some extra-curricular fun. Can I just please share with you how this experience has been thus far?? Maybe you'll laugh, cry, wet your pants...mosty just hurt with me?
So we had practice about a week ago, and I thought I did pretty good, I made some good runs and caught the ball a whole lot more than I expected to. Trust me, I wasn't getting a big head or anything, because my skill out there definately won't ever allow it, but I felt ok about actually being on the team, like I had something to offer should someone die and need a replacement.
So the next time we met was an hour before our first game to review some of our "secret plays." They are indeed secret because we have come up with really cool code names like "incision right" or "Hail Ida"...RIP Ida V. Anyhow, I was a lineman and then we had our QB and I guess the other people were runningbacks...not real sure. So it dawned on me that I should probably pay attention to the plays just incase they put me in as a runningback/reciever person. Just as it dawned on me...they switched me out. So my first play is where the girl on my right runs behind the QB and fakes like she's recieving the ball and then I cross behind her and get the ball and make a run. Here's how it actually went. Girl on right starts running. She does her fake, and I'm just kind of in a daze. Then my legs start moving, perhaps a little to fast, and I run into her...she may have fallen over can't remember because it was all so overwhelming. Now, keep in mind I just met these people. So, rather than laugh about it and shake it off, she looks at me with a face of sheer disgust. The rest of our team is turned around staring in silence and our coach is in shock that what just happened actually happened. I wimpered a pitiful appology and got back in position. Luckily the other team never showed so we won our first game and I didn't have to maim anyone else on my team when it came to matter.
Last night was our first real game. Everything was going smoothly, I was alright at blocking and on offense I did everything I could to get around the 7 foot blonde brick wall infront of me. I even caught a pass and got open for a whole lot more but forgot to yell for the ball. So all was good until I maybe took out our best player? I pray that I will never have to know if it was me or the other team. Anyhow, this is all slightly exaggerated, but it really is kinda tough making new friends, especially out there on the turf. I miss you all and am so so grateful for your friendship. Will you come home and play football with me?

nothing of consequence

- My House
- 12:21 on Tuesday morning
- tired, and ready for bed, but feeling I should give a try at this blogging tosh
- my parents are in their room, that's kinda close
- I hadn't seen any ugly babies recently so I looked up pictures of an "ugly baby competition" that they have each month
- Mere Christianity by CS Lewis

Well to those of you who have actually been in contact with me over the last week or so, nothing has really changed so, you can skip reading this post... but to all you others, there will be a quiz so pay close attention.
I am currently involved in the infuriating prospect of looking for a job, in a limited job field with little experience... this does not make for happy times. I was informed on the first day of my job search that the average job search takes 3-6 months, before a candidate finds a position, so I'm very early into this, and already I'm getting tired of looking.
I've applied at FOX 6, and tomorrow I'm going to apply at ABC 33/40. I am hoping to stay in Birmingham after my parents leave, but until then, God has provided me with a nice little safety net, with free food and no rent, so it's been quite nice, other than the mindnumbing boredom.
I have applied at Joe Muggs again, so that I have some cash flow, so that should start soon, and that;s about it. I hope all of you are doing well and I really enjoy reading about each of your adventures. It give me the chance to sit back and say... "oh. that's what you do with your life." :)

One Moment in Time

my apartment. kind of late, considering my new schedule as a working girl. pretty content. currently reading God's Politics, sort of, and looking forward to enjoying Gilead soon (thanks will!). my roommate, allyson. and come on guys, like i've ever seen an ugly baby? impossible.

so i've now been here in our nation's capital for just over a week and have four whole days of work under my belt at Bread for the World. the first day was kind of rough - or really just kind of dull and i was a bit concerned, but the rest of my time has been awesome! i'm getting to work on this conference in October that is bringing together influential Christian leaders and international experts on issues related to the Millennium Development Goals...ok, i don't want to bore with details, but i'm really enjoying it. and i have a radically new appreciation for The Office now. seriously, i ate a frozen dinner for lunch last week in the office break room with fellow co-workers, discussing election politics. we're having a staff bowling adventure this week, and i kind of went crazy decorating my cubicle, in which you all keep me company through our happy family picture.

in other news, i heard former civil rights movement activist william fauntroy speak in front of the Gandhi memorial yesterday. it was an inspiring speech which he concluded with an impassioned karaoke-type rendition of whitney houston's inspirational ballad "One Moment in Time." haaahhaaahaa, it was so humorous to me. no accompaniment, in front of Gandhi! everyone else was following every word, mouthing them with him. note to self: if ever struggling through a public speaking engagement, mariah or celine will do the trick.

Black Monday

- My apartment - Louisville, KY
- about 6:45 pm
- attempting to recover my sanity
- Brian Sharon who is diligently studying for the DAT
- I'm not sure about the baby...but I did see 50 fairly ugly dead people today in anatomy lab
- I'm trying to balance by time between Netter's Anatomy Atlas and my Histology book

So the reason for the name of this post is that I had my first real med school exams today...all day...and for a few years now the med students have affectionately refered to this monday as black monday. Fortunately, I can report that I survived (barely) and hopefully they're going to let me keep coming to class instead of failing me. I guess I'll have to wait and see about that though.

In other news, I'm really excited about this blog too. It's great to hear what's going on with all of your lives. As for me, I'm finally getting settled into Louisville and beginning to accept the fact that my life is going to consist of going to school, coming home and eating, and then studying for the rest of the night for the next couple years or so. It's ok though, it really isn't that bad. I'm still looking around for a church and I'm hoping I'll be able to find one soon. I'm definitely in need of some good Christian friends to spend some time with...I'm sure it will shock all of you to hear that people at U of L are somewhat different than those of you reading this blog...at least it gives me a pretty good mission field since I'm going to be spending a lot of time with them over the next 2 years.

Anyway, it's great to hear from everyone that's posted and I hope all is well with your lives!

4West-Children's Hospital
A glorious morning
I love babies. Therefore they are all beautiful to me. Sorry:)
The last book I read was the Five People You Meet in Heaven. It was the last book on my shelf that I had to read. I need to buy some new books.
I see all of the people I work with right now. It is a busy Saturday.

Anyway... I have finally started my last semester of school! It is exciting but extremely busy. Between numerous clinical hours and a full workload I hope to see some of you at some point before we graduate (for those of us still here). Sadly I don't have much time to write since I should be working (which is overrated by the way). I just wanted to add my two sense to this amazing thing. I love seeing how all of you are doing. Thanks so much Kristen for setting this up. You guys are the best! Love you all.

Can I please tell you about my family?

Conversation from appoximately seven minutes ago:

Mom: Hey Kary- does that Trevor boy have a girlfriend?
Kary: yes.
Mom: who?
Kary: me.
[awkward silence]
Mom: what? when did this happen? did you sit beside him on the bus tonight?
Dad: have we done a full background check? Where does his mom go to church? dad?
Mom: isn't his brother some sort of math genius? i think i talked to his mom once...?
Dad: so we still have some work to do on that background check?
Kary (while skillfully avoiding all questions): i'm really glad you asked that mom. i was wondering how to bring it up. good night!
(Kary exits kitchen)
Dad: we'll talk more tomorrow!
(Kary runs upstairs)
Dad: don't let him kiss you!!!
Kary: oh my gosh!
Dad (directed at me): you knew about this, didn't you?

the end.

while home is mildly entertaining (see above), i am going crazy and need out. i need an occupation. in other news- i'm coming back to birmingham! more details to follow...

miss you guys!

So there is poop in my tub earlier.

-My Friend candace's house, in the Bing.
-9:50 PM
-Trying not to freak out, and doing a poor job.
- Clifton, Jimmy,Candace, Liska, and Doug (My other interns)
- Saturday at the redbird's (Memphis' AAA Baseball Team's) Game
- Return Flight by Robert Lupton

So I am loving my life, I love my house with the exception of the problem mentioned in the title. Turns out that my septic tank is backing up, but I will fix that soon enough. I never thought that I would be at home in a community like Binghamton. I have had some chances to meet my neighbors whihc has been interesting to say the least. I have been poured into by some of the greatest men I have ever met. I have been able to learn alot, because the three guys whop work above me have shown me alot, and really trusted me to work on my own. I honestly love my life right now. But I have some prayer requests for ya'll.

1. We have fall servant weekends are beginning this weekend, and I'm sorta freakin out because Its my first time to really be in a position of authority.

2. Pray for my ability to truly be a neighbor to those living around me.

3. I have the chance to begin mentoring a kid name lil june, please pray that God will show me what to do in this situation.

4. O, and that the poop/tub problem gets remedied.

-My office, at Jenkins Peer Architects
-8:31 a.m
-Tired. And a little homesick...
-Jason. I work with him.
-Last time I saw an ugly baby? You guys would ask this question. I actually did see an ugly baby yesterday, but it was on a T.V. commercial. But I don't remember which one. Does that count?
-Don't Waste Your Life, by John Piper

Well now that that is out of the way, hello everybody. I had received an email from Kristen about this blog, but had ignored it (on accident) . Thankfully she set me straight, and I can now participate in this wonderful thing. It is so good to read about how everyone is doing. I miss you all a lot, and often find myself thinking it would be nice to be back in Birmingham for a little while longer.
But, I now live quite a different life. Most of you know this, but I moved to Charlotte about 6 weeks ago to start my new job. I really like it, but it's been an adjustment moving to a city not knowing anyone. God is good, though, and things are working out. I am trusting that friends will come in time. I am so thankful that I got to see a lot of you this past Saturday- it was much needed!
I guess that's all- I don't think I'm all that good at blogging...
Oh, and Jamie, my brother likes a girl too! Weird, isn't it?

Me too, I guess

• The sunny room in Wardo's house.


• 10:43 PM


• Calm, like the weather.


• Ryan Warden is sitting on the couch playing Damien Rice. There are probably others within 20 yards if we include the third dimension.


• This guy at work had a baby last week and I saw pictures today. All newborns are ugly.


• Book I'm enjoying: Lord of the Rings


• Book I'm falling asleep every few pages to: Walking with the Poor

Last night I fell asleep thinking about politics. Kristen had better watch out.

Words of Encouragement... hopefully....

Well, I don't have much to report as far as what I'm doing day-to-day since I don't start substituting until next week, but... well, reading over these posts made me want to write something as a confession of my undying love for each of you and my earnest desire to constantly remember you all in my prayers, so here.... I was at Joe Mugg's this morning working on my Bible study plan for this group of 11th Grade guys (who, believe you me, are going to get a severe ass-kicking via 1 John and the marks of a Christian... I mean, at least, hopefully they get as much of one as I've gotten in working on it...), and this was my journal entry from this morning. I've been amazed how much has simply carried me back to the gospel these past few months.... So I apologize for the length (and no, I won't do this often) and if I come across like I'm trying to be super-spiritual or something (I am more than aware of how much of a horrific sinner I am), I just hoped that the Lord could use what He reminded me to be used for your encouragement, so here it goes:

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon" -Isaiah 55:6-7

"If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me" -Jeremiah 15:19

God, I repent of thinking that I know anything at all. Jesus, maybe now more than ever I understand that I have nothing to offer apart from you. My knowledge of you and of your ways is so base that I am like unto Nicodemus, not understanding that the ways of the Kingdom of heaven are not like the ways of man, that nothing is impossible for God. Lord, your ways are higher than my ways, and Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I repent of wanting to know so little about You.... how brief is my time in the Word and in prayer and how shallow is the time spent there! How infrequently I share this faith I claim to hold so dear... Help me lead men towards your kingdom, the only place where they can be satisfied. May men seek you while you may be found. May I, Lord; may I. Soften my heart that it may be filled with the greatness of Your love.

Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness instead of the light because their deeds were evil. Light exposes the deeds of night and shows us for who we are, so men of darkness hide.... for fear that their flaws may be exposed, that they may be judged as they truly are, but whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. Let us then not live in fear! Instead, let us rejoice that there is a God who knows and understands us better than we understand ourselves and says to us in our depravity, "Your sins have been forgotten. They are as east from west. You have been made clean; now go and leave your life of sin!" What blessed joy is this! There is none greater! We are wretched, but the Judge has named us righteous, has called us his children- making us co-heirs with Christ, not because of who we are or for our potential, for what could perfection have to gain from imperfection, but that the eternal, good, and gracious King has CHOSEN to show his mercy when mercy was most unthinkable... for who is like our God? To what image can I compare him? Wholly unworthy are we, but glory, alleluia we sing to our Father in heaven, who alone is worthy.

He must become greater; I must become less.

God bless you all.

Here goes nothing...

Well, seeing as how I've spent the summer stalking Jen, Melissa Richie, the UCF Interns in Ballymena, and Robbie & Jeremiah via their blogs, I figure it's time I contribute to this new found fascination...

Location: Samford Hall, room 309- my home away from home
Time of day: 11:39am CST
State of mind: optimistic
People within 20 yards: Stan Davis, Major Gifts Officer
Last time you saw an ugly baby: I went home this weekend and was hoping to catch a glimpse of this kid Meri Claire who is the ugliest baby ever... no such luck
Book that you're currently reading and enjoying: Kara gave me a really cool book that I'm excited about reading, but haven't really started yet... and I can't remember what it's called. So, I fail this question.

Ok, now that I've gotten all the minutia out of the way... Like I said, I went home this past weekend for the annual Altrusa Labor Day book sale. It really is a weekend I look forward to every year. Altrusa is a national service organization that focuses on literacy. Their annual fundraiser is a massive book sale, and my dad is a member (and avid book reader slash collector) so I go home to help out. Now, you may be thinking... "used book sale, no biggie". Well, my dad guesstimated on Friday that we had about 120,000 books! It is a ridiculously huge endeavor. It's so much fun! It's all these old ladies from the library and my dad basically, so it's hysterical... the drama that undoubtedly ensues is usually because someone found a whole box of hardback fictions in the biographies, or that one volunteer decided to organize the romance novels by author and another person didn't think that was a good idea. So... that was my weekend. Good news: we raised $21,350 to give to the Ronald McDonald House, student scholarships, and local schools!

Ok, here are some pictures.

1. Before the people came in... one angle of 120,000 books in boxes.

2. The ridiculous line before we opened the doors. Oh, and it was raining.

3. Tons of people shopping for cheap books! What joy!

east coast

the windrush house, osprey point, royal oak, maryland.

optimistic and nostalgic.

some of the other fellows.

not reading.

i'm not really sure what else is allowed on here.

butt my rear is sore from my wicked bike ride, first time in a while.

seriously the blurry restrictions of this blog make me feel very self-conscious; i'm starting my own (but really cause my mom wants me to):

willweir.blogspot.com

man i love you guys, and can't wait for beautiful reunion.