Christmas Special BONUS POST!!!

Right, so... when I looked to see about updating my blog I realized that I haven't blogged since Thanksgiving break! To make up for this appalling lack of random information about my life (reading about which I'm sure is one of the highlights of your day ;) ) I've decided to throw in extra length and fill you all in on everything that has happened up 'till now. (You see what I've done here? I've not committed myself to doing anything more than what anyone expected me to do with a blog which had fallen behind, but because I've told you it's a special post, your minds all suddenly think I'm such a wonderful, generous person. Telling you the reasoning behind it won't dispel it either, just watch.) To add to this formula for chaos, I'm forcing myself to finish the whole post before I go to sleep. Thus, as time goes on (depending on how loudly my muse talks) this whole thing might get quite amusing before it's done. Okay...without further ado: let the data dump begin!

Lets' see, after returning from Thanksgiving break, I returned to studying with the added pressure of finals approaching. However, for the first time in the semester I was without real serious work to do on a play, and thus had evenings available. On the other hand, I could no longer use "I have rehearsal" as the be-all end-all of all excuses, and therefore I had to develop a social life. I think I was more or less successful, because as the halls decorated for Christmas, I managed to discover the group decorating third lobby, and inserted myself, thereby becoming the only Brethrenite to make paper snowflakes. How shockingly masculine of me. In all seriousness it was great fun and third lobby looked very Christmassy.

I think I ended the last post by commenting on how clean our room was. Yeah.... after a week or so... well, Brandon's laundry exploded. Quite literally. The whole front entrance to the room was covered in laundry. Lyss Gorman gave the the fantastic idea to box it up and hide on as many halls as possible. Practically giddy with excitement at playing an actual prank (I don't get to do it very often, having been homeschooled with a sister who has a nasty habit of walking in on the "set up phase" of any prank I intend to pull) I did exactly that. However, my curse returned, and Brandon walked in right after I had finished putting his laundry in boxes.

Brandon: "Umm...why did ya'll put my laundry in these boxes?"

Me: "Umm...It's a secret"

Brandon: "What kind of secret?"

Me: "The kind that ends with your laundry on several different halls."

Brandon: "Oh. That would have been dissapointing."

He then proceeded to grab his coat and go to see Zombieland.

Well, the laundry WAS already boxed up, and Brandon wouldn't be expecting us to do it... so I looked at Isaiah, shrugged, and said "What the heck?" We then proceeded to hide them anyway. 1 went to Caledon, one to Jungle, one to the phone booth in Third Lobby, and one to Catacombs. It was quite amusing. As a testament to just how much laundry Brandon has... he didn't notice that he'd missed one of the boxes when he retreived them. A week later Catacombs forgot where they came from and started giving them away. Neil came in sporting a new striped shirt, and Brandon looking stunned, asked

"How did you get my shirt?"

Neil: "Yours? I got this from Catacombs."

Brandon: "FUDGE!!"

He then ran out of the room.

Laundry capers aside, the last few weeks of the semester were a lot of fun. We had the cast party for Man Born to be King, which Katie did attend, and we all saluted her and called her a good sport (which she was). Once most of the partygoers had to return for tests or study sessions, those of us left settled on watching a movie, suggested by Mitch. It was called "Time Bandits" and it was the sort of movie my sister would have really liked. Nonsensical, crazy, but somehow funny. The most basic plot summary I can give is that a British boy is kidnapped by a band of midgets who are planning to steal the wealth of all the world by the use of a map of time which they stole from God. Meanwhile Satan, from inside a castle builty of LEGO bricks, plots to escape and take over the world "with an understanding of digital watches." Unsurprisingly, it was written by Terry Gilliam.

We also had a party with Caledon and the Olivers down in the RD appartment, where we watched "Joyeux Noel". Unfortunately it conflicted with Movie Night at Professor Hallstrom's. I was sad to miss it, but I still had a blast with the gang down in the Oliver's apartment. Speaking of Brethren-Caledon events, Me, Mike Turner, Bowser, and Graham "Donut" Svenson (as Brandon Flynn calls him) joined basically all of Caledon in celebrating Michelle Vrogindewey's birthday by going to see the Christmas lights at Rock City. My camera was actually charged and ready to go (which in my case is rather odd) so I brought it along and put the pics on FB...including one of me pretending to kiss Audrey Brown under some mistletoe we didn't know was there until right before people started taking pictures. This unfortunate photo has been described as "me as the missing link","me after having been punched in the gut", and "proof I've never had a girlfriend." I regret posting it now, but oh well. Too late now.

Finals week arrived, and with it the knowledge that after finishing them, I could go home! I made it through Arabic on Monday, and had a great conversation with the fantastiv Prof. Haddad afterward. Tuesday Old Testament was far better than I expected, while Wednesday's PE essay was pretty straightforward. Thurday's accounting test went okay, but was the only one of my finals I didn't feel fantastic about when I left the room. All in all, not a bad finals week.

Friday saw me bound for the airport at 7:00 A.M. with Brandon Gross, Brandon Flynn, and Katherine Jarret. However, the sheer volume of luggage, while cleverly packed, meant that I spent most of the ride to the airport getting to know Brandon Flynn's guitar very well, and only saw the right most half of our trip, as the rest of my face was obscured by the aformentioned guitar. I was very glad to get a ride though, especially as finding the airport was a bit of an adventure. Eventually, we involved a gas station manager (whom I couldn't see) and pulled into the aiport.

Not like I was particularly in a rush though. I had eight hours to kill in the gate before my flight left. I read the entirety of Orson Scott Card's "Speaker for the Dead" (fantastic by the way) then was forced to listen to two hours of "Days of Our Lives", since the airport gate only had one channel showing on the tv's, and there was a tv wherever I went to try to escape. Eventually I simply decided to try to figure out how that show has lasted so long. I still don't see what all the fuss is about. It was obvious to me from the beginning that Stefano didn't kidnap the Brady baby and that forcing him to take truth serum would only prolong the time that Julia had to get away with the child. Meanwhile Terry's attempts to make up with her husband were an obvious attempt to spite Susan, whom she suspected of some vaguely unspecified marital infringement. Quite silly really. It finally ended, and I got a sandwich and hoped for better television. Deal or No Deal came on next and for a brief moment I thought this could be an interesting hour or so. Alas, this was a more recent episode, and the personality disorders among the contestants were so flagrant that it was embarassing to watch. Are there no people on that show that know when they're sharing too much information? After this, daytime TV disappointed me once again by subjecting me to the Dr. Oz show. I do NOT need to know that much about feminine baldness, UT infections, and how to avoid sun damage to my stomach region.

After my plane arrived, I got to spend an hour relaxing and enjoying the silence, which only 6 straight hours of actually paying attention to daytime television could make me do on a plane. On a lighter note, I got to point out interesting landmarks and things out the window for a woman who had never flown before, and was very excited to see the Washington monument from up high, and to be able to warn her family about traffic without having consulted the news first. My plane landed in D.C. three hours before the biggest snowstorm in 119 years (or more, that's just when we started counting things like that) struck. We had about 18 inches of snow, plus some icy accumulation. That might not seem like much (or it might sound like the end is nigh, depening on your position relative to the Mason-Dixon line) however, our county was not prepared to handle such snowfall, and the roads became rather impassable. Our dog, however, could have used his tail as a propeller he was so happy.

My sister took the opportunity of having me snowed in to introduce me to her new favorite show. It's a british car show called Top Gear. At first I was skeptical. Then I watched an episode where the three hosts: Richard, Jeremy, and James, are tasked with purchasing vehicles and driving from the south end of Vietnam to the north end in as little time as possible. Just to give you a taste of the utter hilarity that was this show, I present to you what you might hear if you tuned in half way through.

Jeremy: "In case you are just joining us, Richard and I have driven into this cave on a pair of boats which we build from the motocycles we've driven the length of Vietnam in. We're searching for a bar which is quite obviously not here, and we've just realized that we have no reverse gear." They also were forced to keep their original motorcycles running thoughout the whole trek, or face having to ride a motorcycle painted with the stars and stripes and blaring Bruce Springstein's "Born in the U.S.A." through Vietnam. The bikes miraculously stayed in near-perfect condition, give or take half the engine or so.

At my urging, my family went to see "The Screwtape Letters" in D.C., while I stayed home and watched the dog. Friends and deluded Bryan attendees Christina Morgan and Marianne Sterne were apparently also there, and somewhere along the line of conversation my sister mentioned Brethren's newest pastime: plunger catching. Isaiah got a brand-new plunger as a gift from his secret santa, and somewhere along the line we had the idea to stick it to the ceiling. We then started trying to time it so that we could catch it when it fell. Since it was anyone's guess as to when it would fall, we could be standing in the ready position for five seconds or five minutes, all the while staring at a plunger stuck to the ceiling. Apparenlty Christina said something to the effect of "Tell that idiot that the next time he's so bored he decides to stick a plunger to the ceiling that he should just call me!" I am thoroughly chastised.

Thus arrived the first white Christmas I can remember having. For another first, I actually sympathized with my parents about having to get up at 6:30 to appease my excited sister. After a few minutes I was alert enough to meander downstairs and open gifts with my family. My sister got me a "college survival kit" complete with gloves, a snickers bar, meds, cereal, and some popcorn. My parents gave both me and my sister several Wii games (including Mario Kart!) as well as the entire "Ender" series and the whole "Bean" series by Orson Scott Card. I am very happy. We spent most of the afternoon however, playing "Band Hero", which I got from my Grandmother and which is basically Rock Band with better quality instruments and less grunge. My sister made sure we played "Mr. Roboto", "Whip It", and a song by David Bowie. I, on the other hand, stuck with songs like "American Pie", "When I'm Gone", and "Pretty Woman".

I got to see a lot of old friends, including the Bernitts, with whom I spent a combined total of about five days I think, at either my house or thiers. Last night we had a game night for old NCFCA alumni, which was a blast. We played a game I learned at the Chalk Circle cast party (I think I've mentioned it here. It involved a lot of odd question-answer combinations). Highlights included:

Q: What would you do if your car started flying instead of driving?

A: I would have to adjust.

Q: What would you do if Sandra Bullock walked in the door and asked to talk to you?

A: I would turn to the dark side.

We then played Catch Phrase (at Christina's insistence :) ) and Apples to Apples. Overall, we had a great time, and I promised not to stick any more plungers to ceilings. I also got to give Marianne and Christina the presents I'd meant to give them a long time ago, when they first arrived at Bryan college. They were T-Shirts which bore the Bryan logo on both the front, and in a slightly larger version on the back. At first they were thrilled, until they realized that under the words "Bryan College" on the back, my mom had helped add "because not everyone can go to Covenant". ZING!!!

I figure I'll jump on the end-of-the-year bandwagon and offer a thought or two about 2009. Since I spent a third of it in high school, a third unemployed, and a third a college, I figure I've had an experiencial year. I'm thankful to God for all of my new friends, and I'm glad he's allowed me to keep in touch with old friends. I'm hopeful for next year, and I look forward to the new things he's got in store for me. (whether or not that's wise, I'll find out in the coming year.)

I think that about brings us up to now, hopefully I've atoned for my neglect of this blog over the past month. I can finally go to bed! Good night all, and have a great new years.

International Coke and Going to Kroger to Count Men

Whew! I'm stuffed! Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, and flavors of soda previously unknown to man (some of them should still be unknown, I'm convinced) have me feeling a bit full, even now. For Thanksgiving I headed off to the Martins' house in Woodstock, GA. We had a great time playing Mario Party 2 on Wednesday and prepping food for the 19-person foodfest on Thursday. t I have to say that, although I will likely die within several days from all of the butter in them, Mrs. Martin's Heart-Attack Mashed Potatoes were amazing. Laura Martin commented that, due to the abnormal ratio of men-to-women in grocery stores on Thanksgiving thanks to the women all being in the kitchen, she wanted to "Go to Kroger and Count Men!" I meanwhile, trying to settle an argument about whether or not a neighbor had their Christmas decorations up, pointed out that the large fir in thier living room was not a Christmas tree but was in fact a Chaunaka Bush.

Friday we got to watch UP! on the new LCD TV which the Martin's braved Best Buy at Zero Dark Thirty to buy Thursday night. Very cool, and made even cooler by the fact that I they hadn't seen it before. Saturday we headed to Atlanta proper to do some touristy things. We took along their friend Mallory Smith, whom through a strange series of e-mails (made by mischievous Laura Martin) I was apparently engaged to before I even met. Marital arrangements aside, we had a great time exploring the CNN studio in Atlanta, where I learned that Anderson Cooper thinks he's an action hero, based on the number of pictures of him trying to look like a soldier or else making the "Terminator" face. Also, I think he owns the building, since every other picture in the building was of him. They even had his flak vest and helmet on display like some relic of Stonewall Jackson.

After Mr. Cooper's Amazing Building, we went to visit the World of Coke, a very crisp and refreshing (ha...ha...ha.. I'm hilarious tonight, right?) exhibit of the history and cultural impact of Coca-Cola. All and all, an awesome exhibit, where we saw some awesome historical pieces (like a vending machine from 60's Germany that proclaims "Trink Coke". Or a commemorative sign which read "Coca-Cola- Refreshing Pakistan for 50 years!") We saw one of those 4-D movies that spray you with water and poke you in the back whenever possible. While funny, I got the sense that their "Secret Formula" was made up by the same people who write corporate goals. You know the type, "This company aspires to be the leader in it's field through the use of SUPER" where SUPER is undoubtedly a dorky acronym that no one ever pays attention to. Anyway, the recipie to make Coca-Cola is apparently "Unchanging Deliciousness, Universal Availability, and U." I love the taste of Universal Availability! :)

After seeing the display proper, we stopped by the "Taste Station" where Coke products from all over the world were available to try. Among my favorites were the holiday themed "Gingerbread Coke", the Peruvian "Manzana LIFT!" and the Mozambiquian (I think that's how you spell it) Ginger Ale "KREST". I most definitely did not like the Paraguayan "Inca Kola" nor did I like the Italian "Beverley" soda. At the end of the tour, Coke was kind enough to give us our very own glass bottle of Coca-Cola. Very cool, though I just realized a few minutes ago that it isn't a twist-open bottle cap, and thus I can't get it open to drink it. >:( I also purchased a jacket, which I really like, that has a cool, artsy design on the front featuring some grey squiggles, an old soda fountain glass, and some text explaining something or other about soda glasses and Coke. The left arm features a tasteful, grey Coca-Cola logo, so that if some uninformed passerby should happen to inquire about my favorite bubbly liquid, I can casually flex my left bicep and display the Coca-Cola logo, thus saving words and looking "macho" at the same time. Yay Walking-Billboard Pickering!

Once returning to Campus, I returned to find my room in a state I have never before seen it in. It totally flabbergasted me how my room got into the state its' in. CLEAN!!!!!!! Shocking, I know. Apparently as I was leaving, Corporal came into our room and asked Neil to let him help us clean up the room. I am thrilled to say I can see the floor and for now, Brandon seems content not to put his things there and thus obstruct my goggling the carpet. We'll see how long this newfound cleanliness lasts...


With that, I'm out of stories to tell. Now it's time to relax, sleep, and look forward to crunch time coming up on finals. 0_0

Mazzel Tov!

The Chicken Heart that Ate Up New York

This past week has seen several major developments. One, Founders Skit Night was on Wednesday, at which Brethren took 2nd place! Woohoo! Man Born to be King closed, with great success, and cast lists were announced for Lucifer, the next play. I get to be a Loyalist Angel!

Skit night was pretty amazing, both because Caleb Howard was co-emceeing with Katie Klukow, but also because the skits were pretty dang hilarious. We did a "radio theater"-esque version of Bill Cosby's "Chicken Heart" sketch. There's a video here:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/video/video.php?v=207910870655&ref=nf

All the skits were awesome, but my favorites had to be Caledon's "Madame Toussauds", First Belz's skit (which I forgot the name of but it won) and Catacombs "The Tale of Catacombs-san", which was bizzare, written in Japanese, and featured a battle/dance party on stage at the end.

With Man Born to Be King over, the next theater production is Lucifer, the tale of Satan's fall from heaven. I'm playing a member of the loyalist angels who try to convince the rebels not to rebel. Since Prof. Hallstrom wants to keep costuming options open, I'm not allowed to cut my hair until further notice or March roles around. This will be an interesting experiment, and it will drive my mother insane.

:)

Sunday afternoon I got to go see "The Screwtape Letters" performed by Max McClean and Karen Eleanor Wight. For a two-man show (only Screwtape had lines) it was amazing. The use of Toadpipe to help flesh out the letters senior demon Screwtape wrote to his nephew Wormwood was fantastic, and helped to had a great deal of comic relief. Toadpipe was 1/3 dog, 1/3 secretary, and 1/3 hellish demon beast. Odd combo, to say the least.

Thanksgiving's almost here, I leave tommorow for the Martin's (woo!). Just gotta get through 3 more classes and I'm done. When I get back, final's crunch awaits, but I'm not going to go into that right now. It'll ruin my mood. Oh, and I found my camera (which I never really lost, just haven't used.) So maybe I'll get some pictures in here soon so you all can see what my life looks like (in technicolor, if you're good.)

Your affectionate uncle,

Screwtape

My Heart is Dead...Oh, But it's Good to See You Eat!

Well, MBTBK has opened! After a strange and winding road, we're finally here. In the end we had 2 weeks to put together a play from start to finish with new scripts, new roles, and a pretty daunting task. Our director, Katie Jenkins, did a bang-up job whipping us into shape, though, and the result didn't seem half bad right before we opened. Then Prof. Hallstrom came an put the finishing touches on it, and now I for one and really pleased with it. It's dramatic, and tells the story of Jesus' death and ressurection in a way not usually seen in our almost Biblically-jaded culture.

What I mean by that is so often in this culture we're used to seeing an almost cliched version of the gospel story. Holy, white Jesus is born in a clean, Martha Stewart-decorated stable while well-groomed shepherds gaze on in awe. As Jesus grows up, he attracts a crowd of disciples, who are faithful, but rather stupid. Then there's Judas, the evil villain that everyone else must have been blind not to recognize as the scoundrel he was. After Judas springs his evil plot, no doubt giggling with vile glee and rubbing his hands together, Jesus goes to the cross, where he silently hangs, looking almost serene as he dies. Once he says "It is finished!" (sometimes nearly triumphant in his tone) he dies and is laid in the tomb. The disciples go back to thier daily lives, albiet more like sheep whose shepherd has left. Then Jesus rises from the dead and everybody is happy. Not the most accurate depiction, and certainly hard to stay interested in. Now, please don't think I'm saying the gospel story is boring. I don't! It's the greatest story ever told! But we don't tell it very well on the whole. It's sort of like watching Star Wars on a broken, 6 inch-television screen, in Japanese, and then expecting our friends to be impressed.

Dorothy Sayers, member of the Inklings club from whence authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien emerged, has written a masterful re-telling of the biblical account. While not perfect, Sayer's version humanizes all the characters. No longer is Judas the Snidley Whiplash so often portrated in today's christian media. Instead, he is an extremely intelligent man swayed by logic, and his own inability to fathom Christ's choice to take the way of suffering. It makes for a much more engaging tale while staying firmly withing the boundaries laid out in the Bible.

Anyway, last night's performance was small, since it was Thursday we didn't have a big crowd, but it went really well I think. Jacob Corbett's performance of Jesus on the cross is one of the most unsettling things to sit through, especially since I'm kneeling at his feet as he does it, so I'm right next to him.

Other than the play, things around here are starting to move towards the end of the semester. Classes are starting to focus on what we should know for the finals, projects are being returned, and plans are being made for next semester. Today my Accounting class was cut short by a fire alarm (false, by the way) so I'm offically in my weekend. We have another performance tonight, but other than that I can relax. Oh, and I have a bottom bunk now. Isaiah and I decided to switch bunks today, so I'm pretty happy right now.

I think I'm out of interesting stories to tell, and my fingers are starting to hurt, so until next time, Kwaheri!

Re-forging MBTBK while Life Marches Toward Anarchy

Okay, maybe "anarchy" is too liberal a use of hyperbole, yet life here is getting a bit more chaotic. The work load has increased a bit, but it's nowhere near "anarchy". More like "mild lawlessness." Think old serial bad guys (complete with goofy mustaches and mostly harmless evil plans) and you've about got it.

As far as Man Born to Be King goes, I'm both surprised and pleased and scared that the play did not get canceled. Due to scheduling conflicts with the musical *shakes fist*, we lost some of our best actors, including Jesus, and have been left with two weeks to put together the show from scratch. I'm told (and I believe) that this is the first time Covenant has ever had such trouble with a play. Instead of canceling the show, however, we've decided to change it entirely. Now we're doing the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, with Jacob Corbett taking over the role of Jesus, and myself changing from Herod and Judas to the apostle John (not a villain! yay!).

Thus we set out on an intrepid quest to do something even crazier (and yet somehow just as cool) than putting on Caucasian Chalk Circle with less than a month's preparation.

Speaking of, we had both the cast party and the critique session this past week for CCC. Both went extraordinarily well. The cast party was probably the most fun I've had in a long time, and I laughed so hard my sides still hurt. The critique was also funny, for different reasons (Peter Slavovsky, Prof. Slav's 8-month old, kept "upstaging" Prof. Hallstrom, who was giving the critique. Made all the worse by the fact that Prof. Hallstrom's cries of "stop upstaging me Peter!" were all recorded by her tape machine.) Overall we got good comments, I have a few things to remember and work on (no, Mom, speed wasn't even mentioned. :) ) I also was paid one of the most meaningful compliments in my life when the notoriously hard-to-please Prof. Hallstrom told me that I was not allowed to graduate but would instead spend the rest of my life acting in her plays. A kind, if TOTALLY nicer response than I deserved. I know my acting skills, and they are not that good. If I get into Lucifer for next semester, I'm sure I'll get more of the flaying and constructive criticism I was expecting going into that critique.

Beyond that, life goes on. My room continues to be filthy, despite repeated attempts to get Brandon to clean up. In addition Brandon has now taken to sleeping through most of the day. Gotta' love him, but still, it's a little excessive. I got to Wal-Mart on sunday, where I purchased two boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats, despite the fact I have no milk. Still, I'm glad to be able to eat on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have 8 am classes. I can now use verbs in Arabic, so I can say things like "I live in America.", "I work in the United Nations" (actual vocab sentence), and "My mother is Palestinian." Apparently, though ,the Bahraini (I think that's how you spell it) work-study assistant is doubtful that the girl who talks to us on the DVD is actually Arab, because she looks too pretty. (his words, not mine.) :)

So that's it for this episode of my life. Tune in next time so the studio execs don't cancel it! Das Vedanya!

Family, Friends, and the Newsoleum

This past week was Fall Break here at Covenant, so I got to fly home for a few days. Friday afternoon I caught a flight to D.C., where Mom, Dad, Em, and my friends Josh and Adam Bernitt met me at the airport. It was really good to see everybody again, and catching up with everybody at Fuddruckers was awesome! Josh and Adam stayed over Friday night, and then we headed out to see Surrogates (and get me a much-needed haircut). Surrogates was a fairly decent movie starring Bruce Willis as an FBI agent in a future when no one leaves the comfort of their bedrooms. Instead, customizable robots known as "Surrogates", controlled from Matrix-like chairs, hit the streets for them. The Surrogates manufacturers advertise them as the ultimate way to live life to the fullest without fear (if a Surrogate is destroyed, the owner simply wakes up back in their home and buys a new one.)

Trouble starts when people start getting killed when their Surrogates die. Someone has invented a device that kills both the Surrogate and it's operator. Overall, I liked the movie, but didn't feel like it would change the world or anything. 3 1/2 stars, maybe 4 (out of 5). After that we went back to the Bernitts house for the night where we feasted on Mrs. Bernitts fantastic cooking and played Halo 3: ODST late into the night.

Sunday evening I went back home and got to catch up with the Joneses (missionaries to Quebec, Canada who happened to be in town at the same time I was.) Turns out Mr. Jones studied under both Dr. MacDougall (my brutal-grading OT prof.) and Dr. Davis, the head of philosophy here at Covenant. Hanging out with my sister after she got back from re-enacting was a lot of fun, and my dog decided that because I'd been gone so long I owed him about a hundred games of fetch.

Monday Dad and I headed out to the "Newseum" otherwise known as the museum of journalistic history. You may wonder why I call it the "Newsoleum" in the title, and it's not because the Newseum was no good. In fact, I thought it was really cool and very well done. No, I call it the Newsoleum because of a video in the Newseum of Stephen Colbert talking about the opening of the Newseum, wherin he names it the "Newsoleum" since only old and useless things end up in museums. Obviously then, we must be "over" the news, and no longer need it anymore.

Similar humorous tidbits hid amongs historical facts and profiles of famous journalists, things like a big picture of Bart Simpson writing "The First Amendment does not include burping" over and over again on a chalkboard in the exhibit about the First Amendment rights made me laugh. I also have to mention the video about the First Amendment, where the section on "Freedom of Religion" had MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" playing in the background. Classic.

Anyway, after the Newseum we headed home and relaxed, or at least I did. Emily teaches a cooking class on Monday nights, and tonight was Fried Chicken night. Last year I had to actually cook. This year, I just got to relax and kibbutz as the rest of the group fried up chicken, made biscuits, rice, and veggies. Delicious food, made all the sweeter by the fact that I hadn't been involved to mess it up.

Tuesday I mostly just relaxed at home, but Mom and I did make a truckload of cookies to take back to campus (by "we" I mean "she". I just put them into the oven.) At the end of the day we had somewhere between 6-10 dozen cookies (I think) boxed up and ready to go. I'm surprised I could bring clothes back.

Wednesday I had to head home. On the plus side I was protected once again by Providence from having to get a flu shot in Safeway. I don't object to the shot, it's no big deal, but the Safeway pharmacists around us don't inspire a great deal of confidnce.

I got back about 4:30 on Wednesday and found that I'd locked myself out of my room. Oops. Thankfully, my RA Will Young gave me a hand getting back inside. It's been an adjustment getting back into the swing of actually having to do things, but I'm managing.

Well, that's it for now. Until next time: Zai Jain! (It's Chinese, I ran out of ways to say goodbye in foriegn languages I knew.)

Full Circle

Chalk Circle has officially closed. We had an amazing last weekend, with both shows going very well and lots of people attending on Saturday. I'm both glad that we're done, and sad that there will be no more rehearsals or performances with the group from Chalk Circle. On a side note, as soon as production photos were over, Mitch shaved off his beard. I still have problems recognizing him from a distance. Never have I ever seen such a marked contrast in appearance between a guy simply because of facial hair.

Though Chalk Circle is over, my thirst for thespianism has not abated. Tonight we have the first read-through for The Man Born to be King a play about the birth, baptism, and last supper of Jesus Christ. Peter Upton, a fellow Brethrenite, is playing Jesus, while I adopt the roles of Herod and Judas Iscariot (I think I'm getting typecast). All kidding aside, I'm extremely grateful to be allowed another opportunity to participate in theater, and another excuse to hang out with the drama crowd. (we had a two-hour lunch Sunday afternoon which played host to one of the most amusing conversations I have ever been a part of.)

Fall Break is fast approaching, which means that classes are either ramping up or calming down around campus. Everyone's rushing about due to midterms, which I have none of. This affords me the opportunity of standing back and watch everyone else run around like chickens recently parted with their cabezas while I observe the mayhem. My flight arrives in D.C. somewhere about dinnertime, so I'm looking forward to seeing everybody back home.

On another note: Brethren is dying. This week we've had three people sent to quarantine, and I have a feeling more will go. Part of it may be the nurses paranoia, but nonetheless I'm glad Fall Break gives us an excuse to evacuate until the germs die.

Yesterday Mike, Jesse, and I headed into Chattanooga to study off campus. We went to Rembrandt's, a little coffee shop in the arts district which has awesome biscotti and turtle mochas. After a couple hours studying Old Testament history, we headed off to Mellow Mushroom for pizza. All and all, quite an evening. We also learned yesterday that the solution to the messy counter space area (those people who cook or drink tea often leave dishes in our sink, we are male after all) is simply to wait until Caledon's sink malfunctions (or "malfunction" it ourselves) thus prompting those girls who like/have to wash dishes to come wash them in our sink. Inevitably, the female instinct to clean will take over, and our dishes will get washed. (Thank you, Caroline). Anyway, I don't own a cup, so it's really only an issue for me because the sink smells.

Class was canceled this morning because my professor is ill. I feel both happy and guilty because I am happy. On the one hand, I get to eat breakfast today. On the other, I get to eat breakfast because someone is too ill to come up the mountain. Oh well. In any case I got to eat breakfast this morning.

That's all for now, adios!

28 Weeks Later... Sort of...

Well, this week's the week to get sick, I guess. I caught a cold (though I'm mostly over it) half of the cast of Chalk Circle had to miss rehearsal due to illness, and my roommate was quarantined for a day, due to intense anger, hair loss, foaming at the mouth, pupils dilating, iris's turning red, and suddenly developing an intense hunger for the flesh and brains of his roommates. Not really, he just had a cold and they were afraid it was the flu. But still, little overreaction there.

Classes are starting to get a little tougher as tests and such begin. For the most part things are fine. I like my accounting class, but Old Testament is proving really killer. It will require a new level of thoroughness which no one who knows me would ever believe me capable of. They say college stretches you. I hope I have flexible brain cells.

In a better note: Chalk Circle opened last Thursday! We had an awesome three shows, and we have two more this weekend. I was really pleased with how well everyone performed, and I was surprised that nothing major went wrong at all. I liked being in Chalk Circle so much that I auditioned for the next play The Man Born to Be King, which is a radio drama about Jesus which we are doing in a set that looks like a radio station. I get to be King Herod! I guess villains are just my thing. I exude infamy. Anyway, I'm really grateful to the director for letting me do this one, and I'm really glad for another excuse to hang out with the theater gang. Over fall break I'm totally going to put the King Herod song from our Child of the Promise soundtrack on my iPod. Psych-up for a psycho, anyone?

I'm finding it very hard to get off of the mountain to get a haircut, so I just decided to wait till fall break. "Mountain Man" chic is apparently cool here, so I get the plus points of appearing like I have some idea of what my hair looks like. (or not) It's not too long, I'm discovering that once it hits a certain point, my hair kind of stops growing. It's trained too well. I'm hoping to teach it to roll over and play dead before Christmas.

I'm discovering that Third Lobby, the main lobby of Founders Hall, is an awesome place to study if you are bored. I say this because usually rather than getting any studying done, you'll get involved in a conversation with someone. The books just make it so that you don't have to awkwardly explain why you're sitting in the lobby by yourself. If I really want to study, the library's a great choice, but nothing beats my room. I'm the only one ever there during the day, or if my roommates are there they're usually pretty quiet. We can hear the freshman girls upstairs sometimes though, when they're having one of those loud giggle-fests girls sometimes have. Either that or they're arguing. I can never tell the difference between mirth, fake anger, real anger, and fake mirth when it comes to girls.

Anyway, I'm out of stories and updates, (I never really seem to have any world-shattering news, do I? By the way I'm having a tattoo of a walrus emblazoned on my thigh.) So I'll talk to you all later, either in person on campus or back home over fall break. Saiyonara!

Houston, We Have a Production

Since Caucasian Chalk Circle has pretty much become my life this past week, I'm dedicating another post to it. This time though, I'll let you all know a bit more about how things work backstage (since it was new to me and might be cool to you). Anyway, the show opens this Thursday, so we've been racing through dress rehearsals and trying to get everything put together in time. Tech Week (or as some cast members affectionately call it "hell week") is both very stressful and very exciting.

First off, Chalk Circle, is a very obviously theatrical play, that is to say, we don't care if the audience know it's a play. It was written so that audiences would engage with the ideas behind the play instead of solely identifying with characters (or so says the director's notes in the program). Basically this means that each cast member plays several different characters, with the exception of Autumn Brown (who plays the main protagonist, Grusha Vashnadze) and Laura Childers (the narrator, who never gets to leave the stage). For example, I'm playing Prince Arsen Kazbeki (a villainous noble), Lavrenti Vashnadze, (Grusha's henpecked brother), a soldier (for two lines), and an angry farmer.

In addition to multiple roles, the theatricality of the play means that our set consists of three flats (which as I type are being beutifully painted by the tireless painting team, of whom I'm ashamed to say the only one I know is Angela Beall and a man known only as "Tim".) These flats are moved about and tipped over and angled to make the different locations our play takes place in. In addition we have a truckload of props (including some furniture, like tables and benches) which reside backstage and which touching when not necessary for your character will result in either a reprimand from a fellow actor or a decapitation by Liz Simpson. :)

Costumes in Chalk Circle have been both a challenge and an amazing mood-setter. I call them a challenge because since we're all playing multiple characters (and did I mention that the cast is also the crew as far as scene changes go?) we have to change costumes VERY fast. Fortunately, most costumes consist of nothing more than a vest or a robe. However, several costumes are more complex, including hats, sashes, packs, chainmail coifs, and in one case an extra-padded fake butt.

Since I forgot entirely to mention the music in the last post, I feel obligated to offer a Plus-Sized plug in this entry. (Sorry Justin!) How I managed to forget the music in this play is beyond me, especially such it forms such a massive part of the play itself. In case you didn't read the comment I made to attempt to amend the last post, all of the music in Chalk Circle has been originally composed and directed by Justin Johns, our resident Jim Carrey look-alike (or so he's been told). I'm not musically literate enough to relate for you the name for the style of music he's written, but whatever it is it sounds REALLY good. Half of the time I have to stay backstage when certain songs play or else I'll have the tune from it running through my head instead of my lines. As for the scope of it, we have a piano, a violin, a flute, an oboe, a cello, a bongo, a tambourine, and a xylophone. It's really quite spectatcular, especially when synced with the lights and singing by actors. (not me, we don't want to kill the audience)..

Generally during a rehearsal we'll take some time getting ready (which includes makeup, an entirely new experience for me.). We'll pray and then start running through the from scene one. While actors on stage perform their lines and entertain the imaginary audience, backstage one can always find actors waiting to help with the next scene change, checking charts to make sure they are not in said scene change, gathering props, reviewing scripts, testing the poofyness of Mitchell's chair, or throwing costume pieces willy-nilly (much to Winter's chagrin) as they attempt to get dressed for their scene. It can be chaotic at times, but it's a silent chaos due to the vigilance of the stage managers. Fortunately there seems to be a method to the madness, as tonight everyone got on stage at the right time (except once, but we covered it well) and in the right costume (which sometimes changed as hats and such were added mid-rehearsal).

On stage it's another world entirely. Stage fright won't be an issue, I think, since the lights pretty much prevent us from seeing the audience. Running the lights is Kat Lindsey, who since the project started has managed to juggle being a stage director, tracking missed or goofed lines, and since the original lighting director fell ill, manning the booth all at the same time (I salute you). While on stage, it's easy to get sucked into the story, and really just get lost in the acting. Depsite my use of cliches to describe it, I really enjoy working on stage with my fellow actors (most of whom are much better and I hope to learn a lot from them). I have also discovered that I have an amusing, yet bad habit of upstaging myself behind anyone and everyone I can. Whether I'm hiding behind Cornelius or walking in the only spot on the stage there's no lighting at all, I can pull it off. However, I think my last refuge has been scrapped, so I'll have no choice but to actually appear on stage. :)

Well, we only get one more rehearsal tommorow before this whole thing starts up Thursday night. Wish us luck, don't mention Macbeth, and injure as many lower appendages as possible (as long as they don't belong to us). 'Till next time, see you later!

Stolen Babies and Drunken Solomans

In my last post I mentioned that I had been lucky enough to land a part in Covenant College's production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertol Brect. Since most of my evening and some of my afternoons are now spent rehearsing, it's become a pretty big part of life here at Covenant for me. Thus, I now dedicate an entire blog post to it.

Our production of Chalk Circle is being directed by Theater Professor Claire Slavovsky, (or as we all call her "Prof. Slav") She's an excellent director and has managed to get the play running (more or less) smoothly a week before we open (even though we only had a month to get from start to finish in the first place).

While the plot of Chalk Circle is far too confusing to relate without actually seeing the play, I'll give a basic synopsis. Chalk Circle is a parody of goverment, war, and justice in general. The plot revolves around two main characters, Grusha and Azdak. Grusha, a peasant girl, is forced to take the child of the Governor of a city in Georgia (the country not the state) after a Prince (me!) stages a coup and has the governor's head chopped off. While protecting the baby, she eventually adopts it as her own. Meanwhile, Azdak, a villiage scriviner, becomes the judge of the general area and begins a chaotic reign of "justice" that favors the poor. (He is sort of an analog for Soloman, but that doesn't really come in until the end).

It's quite funny, and my synopsis doesn't do it justice. Anyway, the other actors are really great. I was even "adopted" by Senior Alysha McCullough. Basically it just means that we get into poke fights backstage. :) Other cast members include "Mitchell" Mitchell (who refuses to go by his first name because he shares it with a certain college which we are rivals with), Janel Corbett, Jacob Corbett, Adrianne Belz, Katie Jenkins, Johnathan Davis, Kevin Hartzell, Liz Simpson, Cornelius Hegeman, Autumn Brown, Wes Simmonds, Ben Burge, Krista Burnett, and Kate Serafolean (I really hope I spelled that right).

We open next Thursday (Oct. 1) and so far things are running well. We have great costumes thanks to Winter Cawley (an exact clone of Megan Ring, for those of you who know Megan). Hopefully things go well. I'm really enjoying doing Chalk Circle, and I'm looking forward to our rehearsal in half an hour. Anyway, until next time. M'aa Salaama (Arabic for "Peace be with you" or "See Ya!")

First ON AIR message.

Greetings! Since this is my first post, and most of you are probably hearing from me for the first time in a while (I apologize, I've had a busy schedule these past few weeks), I figure I'll try and catch you up on everything that's happened since I arrived at Covenant.

I arrived in late August for Orientation Week with my family and moved into my dorm. I'm living on Brethren Hall this year (which by the way is awesome). At Covenant, "Hall Community" is a big deal. Each hall is kind of a mini family, led by the RA. Each hall has events, meetings, discipleship, and wacky traditions. For example, Brethren goes to Chapel during Convocation and Preview Weekends in Monk Robes (preview weekends being those weeks that prospective students are invited to experience Covenant).

After moving in I met me "O-Team", basically a group of other Freshman (almost all in the Business program as well) led by two Sophomores. My team's leaders were Brett Borland, a guy on my hall, and Anne McNutt, one of the most energetic and enthusiastic people I have ever known. The team got to know each other pretty well during the week as we played games, attended orientation meetings, and went to downtown Chattanooga to check out the town (It's AWESOME!).

Classes started a week after I moved in. Now that I was "orientated" I was supposed to have some idea of what I was doing. For the most part I did, and what I didn't know I picked up fast. One thing I learned was that, while I may have been able to get up at 6:30 AM every morning at home, doing that here would kill me. It's physically impossible to sleep before 11:30, just due to the level of homework and ambient noise around the hall. Another thing I learned was that just because a class has no homework, doesn't mean you don't have work to do once class ends (don't worry, no bad grades, just a realization :) ).

We've had a couple of major social events so far, including Swingfest and Kilter. Swingfest isn't actually a Covenant event. The city of Chattanooga puts on a festival for swing dancing/awkwardly standing around watching other people swing dance. (there was free popcorn!) In an awesome twist of fate, I bumped into Rebecca Lee from CFC and Christina Morgan/Marianne Stern, my misled friends who attend Bryan.

Kilter, on the other hand is a Covenant Event. It's essentially a costume party (but we got to have it inside the Tennessee Aquarium. Woot!) This year's theme was Kastaways (yes they had that whole aliteration thing going.) I went as a pirate, and had a great time with some guys from my hall (Michael Bowser, whom we all call Bowser, and Will Young, my RA) as well as some girls from Jungle (another hall) who invited us to come. (Yes, you have to be invited by girls to go to this thing. No snide comments allowed. I have deletion power.)

Aside from those major events we've had some Hall dinners and we're getting ready for Around Founders, in which we decorate the hall according to a theme (this year we have Sam I Am, by the Hon. Doc. Seuss.) I can't say what we're doing till a later date, but suffice to say it'll be awesome, and I'll miss it entirely. I have rehearsal that night.

In one of the most awesome twists of fate that has happened since I arrived here, I tried out for "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" by Bertol Brecht to kill a Friday evening and actually got a part. (Several actually, we have a small cast). This has been one of the coolest events I've had the pleasure to be involved in. The plot is way to hard to explain, but its basically a satire of govenment and justice in general (very funny). It was also written in German, which led to a funny line which probably would not have been as funny in German. "The town is rioting! We'll all be slaughtered like chickens as always." As in multiple times? It's become something of an in-joke with the theater crowd.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention my class schedule. This year I'm taking English Comp (taught by a man I heard aptly described as the "coolest grumpy old man ever"), Christian Mind (the basic "here's what being a reformed college means" class), Old Testament Introduction (very interesting class, but way too early in the morning.) Concepts in Physical Education (taught by the most eccentric person I've ever encountered. He made one of this PE course's goals "to instruct the student in the proper navigation and usage of the internet" ???????) Modern Standard Arabic 101 (AWESOME!! And taught by a Prof. who's actually from Jordan.) and lastly Principles of Accounting (which is cool both because it's my only actual business related class this semester and because I took it in high school meaning that a) I already know most of it, and b) I am very popular.)

Hopefully I can keep up this blog in order to keep up with everybody back home. My schedule can be erratic and I am horrible at remembering to call people. Oh, and about the title of this blog: it's a lame attempt to sound like a radio station. I just figured I should have a theme for this thing. "83091" is my birth month (August) followed by day (31) and year (91). Anyway, until next time this is DJ P signing off. (Look! Another lame radio reference!)