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.)