Halloween

Tonight I paid homage to my friend kate brown. She has fearlessly graced the cover of the tagalong box since 1998 (I think) and I had no choice but to use her as inspiration for halloween 2010. Thanks kate, you're the best!

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Wyld Life

So tonight (YES TONIGHT!)
Sorry, just got done with club and I'm still in that mood. We had an awesome halloween club where almost all the kids dressed up. I wasn't sure what to be but I have come to find that putting together a last minute costume is much easier with access to my parents closet. The clear choice was for me to be a nerd.
Everything was going fine then the old area director showed up unannounced. I didn't know what to do so I just played it cool and welcomed him and his family but on the inside I had the all too familiar sense of insecurity filling me. On some level I felt like I was being judged and was nervous that my additions to club would be seen as lame and unnecessary. I distinctly remember watching their reactions to things instead of enjoying club fully. I mean at one point during the game I found myself laughing because two boys fell over from spinning too much only to see looks of concern on their faces. Did I do something wrong? Was my game too aggressive? Am I even a good leader?
I had to talk myself down the rest of the evening and after club the old ad told me I did a good job. I think he was telling the truth and appreciated his affirmation. I'm not mad or bitter that he was there, in fact I understand his desire to see club.
There are still days that I miss shawnee mission and specifically the guys at northwest. Every now and then one of them will write on my facebook wall. It makes my day, ever time. If I were close by, dropping in on club would be a must.

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Poker

I was hanging out with my friend colin tonight and in the short amount of time we spent with each other, he brought in over $400 from playing online poker.
This inspired me to check out online poker more seriously because I could use some supplemental income. As much as I love my new job, I'm currently getting paid less than when I was on student staff. I had it all planed out; I was going to come home and sign up right away to start making money. Unfortunately, I only have like $ 20 in my bank account so I'm going to wait until next paycheck to start.
While I wait for my poker dreams to become a reality, I think I'm going to start selling my plasma again. Its basically free money and I'm in need of some green.

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I've Become A Bad Blogger

I want to start by apologizing for my recent bad blogging habits. I have no excuse other than a change in priorities. Fortunately or unfortunately I don't have as much free time as I once did and this whole real job thing had put me on a more regular sleep schedule (except for tonight, apparently) and have been trying to phase out tv and internet from my pre bed routine. I am now going to try and fit blogging into my normal day instead of leaving it until before bed.

In more exciting news I downloaded a new app for my phone that is a fish tank wallpaper complete with swimming fish that I can feed. So entertaining, seriously I sometimes just sit and feed my fish because I am nervous that they will die if I don't feed them enough. Basically it is all the fun of a real fish tank without real responsibility aka the same thing I had going on in college when my room mate ben had a sweet salt water tank. Totally worth the $2 I spent on it.

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Lifestyle Change

I'm putting my fat ass on a diet.

There are a few reasons for this but mainly: I've come to realize that my hairline is slowly but surely receding. For the last two months or so I have been living in denial but I can't lie to myself anymore. I thought I was going to be in the clear because my mom's brother still has all of his hair. Unfortunately, I am following in the footsteps of my oldest brother - thinning hair.

You might be wondering how my thinning hair is making me go on a diet, let me fill you in. I've always known that finding a wife was going to be mostly based on my personality but I'm pretty sure no personality can cover bald and overweight. Thus the diet.

I probs have a few years before the thinning hair becomes noticeable but there is no way I will find a wife by then (especially because no part of me even wants to date right now). I'm hoping that I will be balding and average which I think my personality can handle.

Also, sorry for the time between posts, I will try and be better.

My Parents

So if you couldn't tell, I didn't really come from a family that shows emotions or is in any way very affectionate. I know, surprise.

Suze has been out of town on business which has resulted in eating a lot of left overs and going out (no complaints here). Tonight I got to experience something quite endearing.

My parents share few interests but reality TV happens to be one of them; and on the top of that list: Dancing With The Stars. It was on tonight and my mom called to talk about the possible eliminations with my dad. I could only hear my dads end of the conversation but it was, dare I say, flirty? It was awkward but confirmed that their 31 years of marriage is not a hoax, they actually love each other.

Country Buffet

I love buffets!

Seriously, it should probs be a health concern. My motto is: "eat so much that the restaurant looses money on me." In college I had to limit myself to one buffet a week and it was always Asian buffet. If there is anything I love more than normal buffet, its Asian. Unfortunately, since moving to Aurora, I have not been to an Asian buffet (hopefully soon) or any buffet until tonight!

Tonight I went to the ever popular, Country Buffet. The food was pretty good (fried chicken better than advertised, shrimp way worse) but the best part was the icee machine!!! What?! An icee machine! I had 2.

Also funny to note that it was just me and my dad at dinner (Suze is out of town and Rob was working). He is a very stoic person in general but I think his talkativeness gets cut in half while eating. It will probably always be strange eating with just my dad when we aren't sitting in front of the TV.

Just One Of Those Days

My alarm went off at 6:50 this morning. I was planning on getting some work done before my coffee meeting with a leader in Highlands Ranch at 10. I rolled over decided being awake was so over rated, turned my alarm off, and fell back asleep. After a bit I did the "freak-out-I'm-pretty-sure-I-just-slept-through-something-important" wake up. Thankfully, it was only 9 and still had plenty of time to get ready before my meeting.

Th rest of the day went fine until around 5 when I was ready to leave for Wyld Life club. I remembered that I had to upload a few videos onto my computer to show to the club so in the 10 spare minutes I pulled out the flash drive containing them. I opened them up and for some reason they would not play. Awesome. I could not figure it out and had to give up around 5:30 to make sure I wasn't late to club. I was down the street already when I remembered my ipod was in m room. Can't have club without music so I turned around. I got to the same spot out of the neighborhood and remembered the banquet flyers were on my desk so I turned around. Now it is 5:45 and there is no time to get the supplies I needed for club so on the drive I started thinking of new games to play that didn't require anything.

I made it to the club house right at 6, perfectly on time and started to unload my car. When I got to the trunk, there was no sound system. Awesome. I forgot that I took it out of the car Tuesday because I had to make room for my mom's suitcase. Club started in less than an hour and it would take me at least 30 minutes round trip. I decided to risk the traffic and retrieve the stranded sound system.

I made it back just in time to finish setting everything up before the kids got there. Club was awesome and is just more evidence that I am the most easily entertained person ever. My current favorite club quote came during the raffle. The question I asked the winner was "what's your favorite mythical creature?" and a 7th grade boy from the crowd yelled as loud as he could "UNICORNS!!!" It was so funny that I buckled over laughing and it took me a few seconds to regain my composure.

Best Dressed

Today I was the best dressed at work. It was awesome because I was wearing an old KU shirt and sweat pants but it does become less impressive when you realize the other "people" in the office are dogs. Working at home has its drawbacks but today the perks made it quite enjoyable.

In other news I just downloaded a blogger app for my phone. No one really needs anything like this but it does make life a little more convenient. I do appologize for the brevity of this post and other smart phone posts to come.

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Crying

I think I cry a lot.

I'm not really sure when this started because most of my life I would have described myself as someone who doesn't really cry. Before a few years ago, the times I would cry were moments I remember, instances where I was overcome by emotion that I had no other response but one or two salty tears.

Some of the funnier times I've cried include: the "broken heart" YL skit when I was a sophomore in college, watching Juno for the first time, and while reading a book on a bus in Israel (sitting next to an armed soldier, of course).

It has taken me some time to truly figure this out but I know now that I have a heart that breaks for people. Tonight at Bible study, I cried. Twice. Me crying has almost become a weekly thing, almost, but I'm totally OK with it which is strange because vulnerable is not a state I like to be in.

I have a worldly definition of masculinity deeply roted in who I am that has taken years to crack. Only in the last maybe two years have I allowed my emotions to show more publicly, I have embraced the tender heart I have and am trying to figure out what it means/looks like to live in that and not hide it.

Fire

I got an email today from my YL region that Crooked Creek Ranch is in danger of a forest fire. The fire is about 300 acres and is less than a mile away from CCR; to make matters worse, it is 0% contained.

I was up there just a few weeks ago for Leadership Camp and there are so many dead trees in that area. I remember thinking that the forest department should try to start controlled burns before there is a huge fire that burns out of control throughout the mountains. That being said, I am by no means an expert on fires and I'm not even sure you can do controlled burns in the mountains. I have just felt like there was little being done to deal with all the dead trees.

I pray this fire doesn't grow larger than it is now and that everyone fighting it remains safe.

New Fame

My blog now has its own response blog:

responsetogreg.blogspot.com

These posts will be funny, entertaining, and most likely rude. The poster was not up for the challenge of replying to all previous posts but thinks he/she will have time to respond to all of them from here on out but I make no promises (commitment level? possibly low).

In other news, I have officially given up on KU's football season. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fair weather fan nor am I suddenly a Turner Gill hater. I simply have just come to the realization that we aren't good and this year we will be lucky to end with 2 more wins. Until today I was still trying to convince myself that we were OK; obviously not great but by no means terrible. Nope, we're terrible. At least there is only one month till KU basketball starts!

Uncle Peter

My uncle Peter is quite the character. He is my mom's brother (making him Jewish) and there really isn't a way to say it nicely, he is flat out obnoxious. For sure the crazy uncle that everyone loves. Anyway, he called my mom to tell her he was in town yesterday and we all met up for lunch. I was a little apprehensive because of my new job in a Christian ministry; how do I be bold in who I am and what I do without offending anyone? After some chit chat Peter told me that when he was in high school he was involved with Young Life. What?!?! My crazy Jewish uncle a part of YL at George Washington back in the 70's?!?! Seeing my confusion he went on to explain the extent of his involvement: he went to a YL hosted dating game night and was selected to be one of the three guys being asked questions. He ended up being picked and won the date. He also told me he attended club a few times. In his own words he said "I gave those guys hell. And not because I was Jewish; it was just my personality" Hilarious and probably so true.

I love that YL has been reaching out to kids for so long and that my family was impacted by it before my parents had even met. I know that my uncle is not a Christian but a YL memory has stuck with him for 40 years. That is awesome! I hope that in 40+ years someone will talk about a crazy game/event that they experienced at YL.

New Roof

My parents have decided to get a new roof on our house and they started working bright and early today.

Unfortunately, all I wanted this morning was to sleep in until around 9 but starting at 7 there were people making a ruckus right on top of my room. I managed to stay in bed until around 8 before I gave in and realized there was no hope for more sleep.

Throughout the day I was fearful that at any moment one of the large crashes was going to be someone falling off the the roof rather than normal roofing activities. My fears were heightened when I came back from dropping my brother off at work and there was an empty Tecate bottle sitting with the "lunch trash."

We survived day one without any accidents and I'm hopeful day two will be the same.

Second Dinner

Second Dinner is my favorite meal of the day.

In college I would go out and grab something deliciously unhealthy between the hours of 10pm and midnight about 3 + times each week. Moving home has slowed down how much I go out for second dinner but not how frequently I eat it. My mom is the best and always makes enough dinner to have left overs. This generally becomes my second dinner.

Tonight as I process my love for second dinner, the hunger inside of me is growing. I've outsourced this project to Robert. He is currently in the kitchen making something for me. Fingers crossed that its delicious.

Hospitals

I don't like hospitals.

Tonight after club a bunch of us went to the hospital because one of our kids was in the ER. They aren't sure what is wrong but he is in quite a bit of pain (they are thinking maybe appendix or kidney stones?). It was so cool to see high school kids rally around him, I was blessed to witness it. Although this was awesome to see , I don't like hospitals.

I feel strange going to hospitals when I'm not sick. Its like I'm rubbing it in to everyone else how healthy I am. This is probably a crazy mindset but I can't escape it. Not only that but my heart breaks for people who are sick and in pain. Tonight we were in the pediatric ward and there was a seizure announcement. My mind was flooded with images of a child scared and confused surrounded by concerned doctors and loving parents. I'm getting teary just thinking about it again. I couldn't do anything but pray for that child and his/her family.

Jesus, thanks for my health and my families health. You have blessed me in ways that I don't deserve. I give you Nick tonight, be with him and his family as he goes through this and give the doctors the knowledge to diagnose him quickly. I also pray for the child who had a seizure and his/her family. Father, be with all of them and heal them.

Kansas!

Sorry for the missed posts this weekend, I was in Kansas.

It was wonderful. I will recap it for you:

Derek, Ken and Tim got to my house around noonish Friday and we started the drive. 8 hours in a car goes by so much faster with good friends. After a little bit we decided the responsible thing to do would be to download a game on my new phone for all of us to take turns playing. We decided on kitten cannon (best 99 cents I've spent) and took turns playing. Once you got over 1,000 feet you had to pass it off. I will admit that I sucked at first because coordinating the timing while driving was quite difficult. We rolled up to Lawrence around 10 and went our separate ways. I ended up at the Jazz House to listen to a new band, Quiet Corral. That night I stayed at Evan's and made the mistake of sharing a bed with Mafro. He snores. A lot.

Saturday might have been my favorite day in a long time. Started with breakfast at Derek's parents house. Then we went to play ultimate frisbee (Old Dewds vs. Current) and lost. I blame it on our lack or organization when it came to subbing not the fact that on average we are more out of shape. A quick shower then it was off to Jefferson's for lunch before hitting up Anderson family tailgate. Watched a cold and victorious KU game unfortunately dressed for warmer weather. We ended the Old vs. Current Dewd challenge with kickball. This time we won. I played well: scored one of our two runs and sat down in the infield when we were on defense. We capped the night at the Red Lyon.

It was a short 4 hour night before I got up to meet Wendy and Dave for church. After church we went to a new place, Beer Kitchen. Three words: Bacon Bloody Mary. Delicious, I just wish it was garnished with more than one strip of bacon. One strip is NEVER enough. Quickly made my way back to Lawrence to pick everyone up before hitting the road again.

This weekend was perfect but as much fun as it was I know where I am in CO is the right place.

Techmology

The level of technology used by my new area for some reason reminds me of this. I ran my old club with an overhead. Powerpoint seemed like an outrageous luxury and now I'm using a program called MediaShout where I can put my transition music right into the program, its perfect. We also sing along to this program and not a guitar. I love it! All I have to do is download an already made youtube video of the song with lyrics and copy it into the program.

Tonight was boys vs. girls club for Wyld Life and "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" was on the list of songs to sing. My first thought was I love Cyndi but do middle school kids even know who she is? Then I found a Miley cover and it all came together.

Braces

For the last few days my jaw has been hurting. It kinda feels like I got punched in the side of the face and now my jaw doesn't close right.

Basically my front teeth are hitting each other before my molars. I don't know if my jaw is messed up or if my teeth are moving, possibly both.

Today a crippling fear came over me: what if I need braces again?

That would be the worst.

I can just imagine trying to convince people that I'm not in high school when I'm hanging out with the students and have freaking braces. I guess there would be an upside - picking out sweet combinations of the colored rubber bands.

Lets be honest, if this becomes a reality I will be spending the extra money on invisaligns.

YL Staff

I'm pretty sure that today was a glimpse into what full time staff especially being the only staff person in an area looks like. I got up early for a QT and some Starbs then was working by 8:30. I juggled setting up an "office," personal fundraising, planning club, helping leaders write talks, banquet, and Snow Camp. Then tonight we had YL club. Game night, duh. It was a lot of fun but lets just say there is room for improvement. I know I am a perfectionist when it comes to club but I always need to keep myself in check by answering 2 questions: Did kids have fun? & Was the Gospel evident? Tonight it was a yes in both categories so overall, it was a good club!

Currently working on a more permanent temporary office. A huge thanks to Suze for letting me set up shop in the middle of our living room. Pics to come.

Also, I now have a "signature" on my emails it even includes an office number (you know those magicjack commercials? Yep, thats our phone line. I thought those commercials were fake, I was wrong). Anyway an email signature may or may not be the official mark of becoming a real person.

Smart Phones and Church

I went to church today. Its been a while so I figured I should get myself out of bed and make an appearance. Considering I hadn't been in a while, it didn't surprise me that our pastor used smart phones for his analogy. He talked about things that consume our lives other than Jesus. Womp womp. The worst thing was that in the middle of his sermon I got a text message. I wasn't about to check it during the sermon (though most times I would) but even after the service was over I felt like checking this message would mean instant judgement from the 400 or so in attendance. I was not about to be guilt tripped into ignoring my phone after church so I proudly pulled out my phone to see my mom texted me something completely irrelevant.

Also, there is another awesome show about hunting. Swamp People.This has to be the most bad ass show ever. A bunch of hicks just boating around killing alligators. Straight bad ass.

3G, Football, and Swords

Sorry for being quite inconsistent in my posting. I will try and post more regularly and since I have a working laptop again, it should be easier.

I have now entered the world of 3G. I am the proud owner of the Droid X. It was on back order when I (aka Suze) purchased it on Tuesday and wasn't set to ship until the 22nd. But in a nice turn of events the doorbell rang Friday afternoon and it just happened to be the FedEx guy with my phone! I promptly went to the Verizon store to have them activate it and so I could purchase a case. Remember when cases for phones were super lame? I do and I had to differentiate a case for an old flip phone and one for a super fancy smart phone before I was comfortable paying money for it. While I was browsing the rows of special cases the salesman told me there was a deal that if you get 2 accessories, you get 20% off the total. I'm a sucker and walked away with a case which I wanted/needed and a car charger which is totally unnecessary. At least I got 20% off?

Today I sat around and watched football all day. It was perfect. And I even found a new show on discovery. One of the things I like most about watching football on TV is that you can pretty much watch an entire other show at the same time just by turning the channel between plays. Swords: Life on the Line is right up my alley. It profiles commercial sword fisherman just like deadliest catch but for sword fish not crabs. There is a little bit of drama but a whole lot of fish killing. Its funny to me that shows like Whale Wars and that other dolphin one can be on the same channel as this.

WYLD LIFE

Tonight was our first Wyld Life club. It was a bit rough around the edges but super fun! Aside from a week this summer it has been quite a few years since I've seen WL. They are SO TINY; totally forgot that most haven't even started puberty. I am so excited to just love on these kids and let them know that they are worth being loved and that God loves them more than any person ever could. I think my favorite part of tonight was seeing how easy it is to get them excited about anything. I have a great team that is going to change lives this year and really for their entire lives. They have hearts for Jesus, its so evident.

In other news, I forgot to tell you guys the slight awkwardness of my time on staff in CO: There were so many people who were at Castaway this summer who remembered me. The conversation always went like this -

"Hey, were you at Castaway this summer?"

Instantly awkward inside "Yeah!"

"Cool, I totally remember you standing on stage in the spotlight."

I don't think I will ever be totally comfortable with people knowing so much of my personal struggle, things that I don't even tell some of my good friends. Oh well, I guess that is a product of being in life signs.

I also am blogging from my new YL comp. I feel like this area is pretty obsessed with computers because this is the third one I have. One desktop, another laptop and the laptop I'm on. There are also a few more others floating around. Its funny to me.

Busy

So busy but so good.

I think I am currently still in the honeymoon phase with my new job. Everything is new and exciting, I love it.

Monday I had a lunch meeting with Church youth leaders and other ministry leaders in the Parker area. It is awesome that they have a monthly meeting where they work together and pray for the community. Inspiring, really. After the meeting I had time for a quick nap and some food before I was off to my first YL club! It was awesome! We had a pool party at some kid's house and just hung out. Everything just felt natural.

Today I had a "Train the Trainers" meeting which was run by Ray Ray and Ken Knipp. Two guys who are pretty big deals in their own right. Good thing they both like me. Then tonight was my first committee meeting. We had a few things to discuss but most importantly, we are trying to put together a banquet within the next 5 weeks. Crazy.

So, as you can see, I am quite busy but LOVING it.

Well, I Hit Something

The saying is "hit the ground running" and my response is that I hit something but I'm not quite sure I'm running yet.

This weekend was an amazing time of getting to know my leaders and getting inspired to run club well. It blows my mind that club starts TODAY. I don't know any kids and I barely know my leaders but I know and trust that the Lord has big things planned for me and I am waiting in anticipation to see His plan and His will come into fruition.

At this point I am hired but not getting paid because the region's rule is that I need 1/3 in bank 1/3 pledged and working on the last 1/3 of my personal support before they start handing out pay checks. AKA I will be putting the fun in fundraising for the next few months until I raise what needs to be raised.

Also, Leadership Camp gave me bed bugs bites.

Dear Crooked Creek,

Wash your blankets.

Love, Greg Brinck

Leadership Weekend

So I start my job today.

In a little more than an hour I will be in a car heading up to Crooked Creek with my new area! I am really excited but also nervous because I was just thrown into an area without really knowing much about the people there. Well, I guess it is more having extremely limited interactions with them. Now I am expected to be the Area Director, a position I thought was going to take years to get. I know I have the skills to thrive at this but there isn't any easing into it. I'm just in.

In my limited time (a day) of preparation I have come to the conclusion that this weekend will just be a great chance for us to get to know each other. And on the spiritual side, I'm gonna let the Holy Spirit take over and just wing it. I want the leaders to get to know my heart for kids and build trust that I can lead this area.

So, lets just say this weekend might be the very definition of "winging it"

JOB!!!!!

I have one!

Parker YL!!

More to come tomorrow morning. Too tired tonight.

Lunch Meetings

As an unemployed person, I have become a pro at the lunch meeting/hang out. It is the ideal time to see employed friends during the day. 1) They are most likely willing to take some extra time to hang out than a normal lunch and 2) sometimes after work people just want some alone time. To top it all off, I don't have a job or schedule in general so I am always free.

Today I had lunch with Sean. He is my old Young Life leader and friend. It has been so fun to move from being his YL kid to a friend and peer. The best part is that he has been so supportive of my journey towards staff (YL and him had a falling out when I was in college).

Tomorrow, I will be having lunch with the Committee Chair from Parker. He sounded very excited about having lunch and discussing the future. I don't want to get my hopes up but maybs tomorrow's post will be the excited ramblings of an employed person.

Larry Edward Brinck

Today is my dad's birthday. Unlike my mom, I don't have hilarious and embarrassing stories of his recent antics. But I will write what I know about him.

Growing up my dad and I had a very limited relationship (OK, we still do but we're working on it). He is a very strict person with a reserved love and an emotionless attitude. He set the tone for the depth of our conversations which still tend to be right under the surface. There were times when I resented him as a father because I wasn't sure if he really loved me or if I was a burden. Caring, inviting, loving, and sensitive are words I don't think I will ever use to describe him but I have come to know that he will always be a provider who deeply loves his family (even though you have to look really hard to see it) and will fight for them.

I will never forget graduating and hearing him tell me that he was proud of me (the only time I can remember). I am tearing up just thinking about it because my dad might not be tender and hasn't said it verbally but he loves me.

Larry Brinck is not be the perfect father but there are so many qualities in him that I want if I am ever to become a dad.

Hiring Process

Today I met with the Regional Director for lunch. We went over the assessment I took earlier and discussed some of my traits that might not line up with the typical YL staff person. I loved that I was given a chance to discuss my strengths and weaknesses that the assessment showed (they were pretty dead on, fyi) instead of them being analyzed solely by the RD. During our time together I was told the region's uncertainty in placing me in Parker. They just aren't sure it is the perfect fit and it was stressed that I should be placed somewhere I would thrive and not somewhere that was just open. So, I guess its a little more of a waiting game to see if I am a good fit. I pray that the right person is placed in Parker and that the area would grow to be a healthy and financially stable community. If nothing else, it was great to feel cared for by a region during my interview process and to hear how loved I am by the people I chose to be references.

Football Season!!!!

ITS HERE!!!!!!

Tonight I went over to Derek's house and met up with Brian and Ken. We grilled out, drank beers, and watched football. None of us even really cared about the games on (4th preseason game for the Broncos is nothing to get excited about) but tonight was the start of real football season!!

Fall is my fav because it means cooler weather (awesome b/c I sweat A LOT), tailgating (aka grills and beer), and football (God's personal gift to sports).

Some of my favorite specific situations are as follows:

1. Publicly drinking before noon with EVERYONE.
2. Proudly rocking some KU blue every Saturday.
3. Attending Broncos games.
4. My dad and I having tons to talk about.
5. Tailgate food.
6. Anderson Family Tailgate (fingers crossed I make one this year).
7. Elevated amounts of "guy time"
8. Being called out for choosing Broncos over church.

There is literally nothing to hate about football season. Well, I guess its always a downer when your team sucks. Good thing I love the Broncos and Jayhawks! Oh, wait... This might be a long season but I'm ready for it!

Security Deposit

So I got my security deposit back in the mail today. Not exactly the amount I was hoping to see. Enclosed with the check was a list of the deductions they made. $79.35 for carpet cleaning and another $400 for cleaning. $400 FOR CLEANING?!?! We left that place spotless but our landlords apparently disagree. I emailed them today for an itemized list of all charges that totaled $400. I have a feeling they are trying to screw us. I will not stand for this. Oh, and if you think I am a little upset over this you should talk to Joey.

River To Well

For those of you who do not know, some of my friends are hosting their second annual photo competition, River To Well. All the money raised goes to building a well in a village in South Africa. Last year I entered and won an honorable mention! Who knew? It was just a random picture of a cathedral in France. So, this year I was for sure going to submit a few more pics. Maybe I had another hidden gem in the pictures I've taken. Unfortunately, I am a life long procrastinator and waited until today to think about it. (THE DEADLINE IS TOMORROW, FYI). In a tragic event this last weekend I discovered that my computer was no longer charging and died. All of my pictures were on that computer so I had no choice but to take pictures around my house. These are my submissions. I call the set "Larry's Garden" (Thanks for having a green thumb, dad! )

Larry's Garden: Newport Plum

Larry's Garden: Petunia

Larry's Garden: African Violet

Nothing

I've been sitting here trying to think of some clever/funny/honest/insightful blog post for over an hour but I have nothing.

So, thanks for reading anyway. In the past few weeks I have gotten some really positive feedback from my blog; makes me feel good to know that people 1) read my blog and 2) like it.

Hopefully, I will have more content soon. All I have now is nothing but time.

Random Thoughts

Missed a post last night. Went out in Denver and didn't get home till 3:15 and was too tired to do anything but sleep. A super fun night but I ran into some peeps from high school - my least favorite part of living back home.

Went to the Broncos game tonight with my dad (we won!). This might be my fav perk of moving home: getting to cash in on our season tickets

I found myself really missing friends from college today. Stalked them on fb then felt better about things.

I'm slowly but surely getting more and more anxious about the job possibility in Parker. I just want to know so I can get on with life. I'm bored of waiting.

I think my computer died today, it gave me a good 5+ years. I will be using my parents until I have money for a new one. That might take a while.

Today I can't stop thinking about what my life would be like if I were hired in Shawnee Mission. I don't hate anything about those thoughts except, of course, that they aren't reality.

I haven't been to a real church since I've been back. I don't like the church I went to in high school anymore and I'm pretty sure that I don't want to make a new community.

Hmm. I just read these straight through and realized that maybe I am not at peace with where I am as much as I thought I was. I don't know why. I do really like Aurora and the people around Denver that I hang out with. I guess I hate that I am still in an inbetween stage; I'm not in college, I'm not employed, I don't have a plan that I can control, I'm waiting and growing impatient.

You Might Think I'm Heartless

So in college, one of my room mates, Mafro, would always tell me that I was heartless because I am from Colorado. I don't remember why he came to that conclusion but my best guess is that I tend to laugh at people when they get hurt. I consider it a character flaw and have worked to correct it, unfortunately, all of my attempts have been unsuccessful.

In addition to that I think there might be another part of me that some would consider heartless. I really don't care about whales/dolphins/sharks/cows/chickens/fish/etc. Basically anything that has not been domesticated to be my pet cannot pull at my heart strings. Derek and I in college would watch Whale Wars together and just laugh because these people cared so much about the whales. Whales! Really, saving a few hundred whales is worth you risking your life? I don't even care if the Japanese are eating all of them, they hunt less than 1% of the projected population of the species. And now this is some sort of hot topic issue that the TV networks are cashing in on because they keep producing Whale Wars and have a new show Blood Dolphins.

Over hunting to the point of messing up the ecosystem has some negative consequences, so I can stand on that ground, but don't try and win me over with an emotional appeal to the animals feelings. I don't care. And when it comes to the huge industrial farms that raise cows/pigs/chickens, still don't really care. I watched Food Inc. and then went straight to Sonic. Again, stop trying to make me feel bad for the cow that cannot walk and is being forklifted to the slaughter house. Its going to a slaughter house where it will be killed, chopped up, processed, and delivered to one of the many fast food joints I love. Would a cow walking into the slaughter house make things better?

I think the reason I get a little heated about this issue is because it highlights people spending so much money trying to care for a whale or a cow while there are countless sick/homeless/needy/abandoned human beings all over the world whose lives would be changed if we fought for their rights and dignity rather than animal rights and dignity. I like how Food Inc addressed the rights of workers but it almost seemed to me like a secondary issue for them.

I think a world where the millions of dollars (or billions, too tired to find an exact number) wasn't donated to animal rights but was used to help the poor and needy would be a world I could be proud of.

Tired

Today I was still pretty sore from the hike but surprisingly not in as much pain as I was expecting. I was at the level of tiredness that I could just sit around without feeling unproductive. My first official "rest" day. I was going to strictly follow a routine of watching TV and napping but I remembered that I had told my Mom I would paint her office for her birthday. I tried to rationalize putting it off until tomorrow but decided I should just go for it. Unfortunately, she now has a mostly painted office that is unusable right now. I'll finish tomorrow morning and try to post pictures in my next post.

Hiking

A few weeks ago, I was asked by my friend, Derek, to go hike some 14ers with him and our friend, Ken. I instantly declined because I am what some people call an "indoor boy." After some convincing, I agreed to attend the mountain hiking. Derek convinced me with pictures of small children and people with disabilities at the summit.

This so called "easy" hike included not just one 14er but two. Grays and Torreys. My alarm went off at 5:35am and I was off to pick up Pat before heading to Derek's place by 6:15. Way too early! We arrived at the trail head around 7:45 and it took us right around 3 hours to reach the first summit. Proof:

I was feeling a little sore at this point and was considering not attempting to summit the next peak. My friends are great and they were like good leaders at one of the Colorado camps: gently encouraging me and not letting me say no. That and a little something most like to call the silver bullet were my motivation for the next summit:

When we made it back to Aurora, Pat and I ate some well earned Chipotle and went to the hot tub at his health club. I will sleep very well tonight.

Success

What would you say the opposite of success is?

I think everyone would say failure but tonight at Bible study one of my friends, Ally, disagreed with that. She had heard a pastor say that the opposite of success is not failure, rather its futility.

If you agree that futility is the opposite of success then you are saying success is being in a state of having purpose. Not having loads of money and all sorts of cool things to prove that, not having titles or the career you want but having purpose.

The hard thing with this realization for most people is that they find their purpose in pursuing status but are never truly satisfied with what they achieve. Max Weber studied this in his work "The Spirit of Capitalism." How does one change their outlook on the world from one we are socialized into? That all rests in the transformation of one's mind that Paul (most likely, maybe not) talks about in Romans 12.

I have found my purpose to be loving God and loving others as He loves them and I feel good about it.

Brewery Tours

Today I went to the Coors Brewery with two friends, Sami and Laurel. This just happened to be Sami's first brewery tour so she was over excited. I think her expectations were something like this:

You walk in and are greeted by John, a person at the peak of male attractiveness, who will be your personal guide. John then gets his assistant, Mike (equally as attractive), to take your picture in front of the big Coors sign while John pours you a nice cold pint. On the tour you are actually involved in the process of making beer. John laughs at all of your jokes and trusts you enough to add the hops to the brewing kettle. The tour finishes in a swanky lounge where you can drink all the delicious Coors beer you want.

In all actuality you were on a tour with a ton of other people listening to little "cell phones" on lanyards for all the facts. After a few rooms Sami and Laurel decided to ditch the listening devices and were on the hunt for the beer lounge. I followed giving them little nuggets of information that the walkie talkie was giving me. The end of the tour was a large bar area where you could get 3 free samples. And it was pretty warm the entire time, I was basically pitting out in all pictures. Whoops.

So brewery tours are not the most fun but there is free beer and if you add good company then its all I need. So thank you Sami and Laurel for a very fun afternoon.

New Candidate Assessment

This weekend I received an email from the YL region I am applying to, in it was a link to an assessment the region requires all potential staff to complete. In my conversation with Steve, the committee Chair, this assessment was described as a personality test. Steve, unfortunately, was only half right.

The assessment (test might be a better word) had 7 parts. The first was to be expected: each question was one statement and you had to answer yes if the statement was true about yourself or no if it wasn't. The next section was also predictable: two scenarios were given and on a scale you had to show which scenario you would rather do. Easy. Then I started to feel like I was taking the GRE all over again. Section 3 was a vocabulary test: one word and you had to choose its synonym. It moved on to patterns. It gave 4 or so numbers and you had to choose the next number in the sequence. 5 was back to vocabulary and English with analogies; I freaking hate analogies. Section 6 was math problems and it finished with another scenario section but this one was quite different, it was clearly ministry related where the first section was more general.

I was on the honor system to not look up words or use a calculator but I really, really wanted to. Honestly, at this point I am afraid that if I don't perform well on this "assessment" then I won't get hired. I mean, it took me 2 full days to "find" time in my schedule to sit down and take it not because I didn't have time (trust me, I did - lots of it) but because I was afraid of failing. A very real fear of mine that has taken some time off in my life (college) but is again rearing its ugly head. I just have to remind myself that my identity is found in who Jesus sees me to be. Also, that these people think I can handle the job, the assessment should only prove that.

Going To The Movies!

I remember vividly my Friday and Saturday nights going to the Mann Chinese Movie Theater in Middle School. These memories came flooding back tonight when I went to see The Other Guys (I really liked it, fyi). As I left the movie, there was a hoard of Middle School kids just hanging out; those were the days! At least in my experience going to the movies rarely included actually watching a movie. We would run around, maybe go get McDonald's or Village Inn, try to sneak into the movies (always unsuccessful). You know, we just generally acted like we were the coolest people to walk the Earth. The theater at Southland's that we went to was quite a bit classier than my old stomping ground but there was one glaring difference, which just happened to be my favorite part. The security, aka the rent a cop who was watching this cluster of hormones as if it were destined to break out into a riot at any second.

Happy Hour

Tonight I got invited to happy hour by one of my best friends, Derek. Apparently, they have a little happy hour crew that hits up places all over Denver on Thursday evenings. I hope I become a regular because these people are a lot of fun.

Touch Down in London

So a few days ago I got an email from my bank telling me about a new promotional contest that they are having this month. Every purchase made with my Broncos Visa Debit card gives me two entries into the drawing for a vacation to London to watch the Broncos play the 49ers at Wembley. This would be like a dream vacation; it includes airfare for two, a 4 night stay in a fancy hotel, tickets to the game, and two invites to a Bronco party.

I have been using this card for EVERYTHING. I try to use it at least 2 times a day and every time I use it I convince myself of how its going to pay off when I get a super bad ass vacation for FREE!! "I mean, not that many people bank with USBank and of those people there can't be a ton who love the Broncos enough to have their debit card be blue and orange with a giant Broncos logo, right? I'm totally going to win this thing!!" Seriously, I'm putting most of my eggs in this basket.

No Socks

Apparently when I go to an interview, I don't like to wear socks. In March, I interviewed for a Young Life Staff position in Kansas. As I was getting ready to leave for the interview I realized that my only pair of dress socks had been ruined in a not so sober walk home from a wedding. Freaking out I opted to not wear socks. Unfortunately, my interview was at someone's home and most people took off their shoes before entering the house. I was already nervous about this interview but I couldn't go in bare foot. I broke the mold and kept my shoes on only to be called out by my Area Director, Wendy, during my interview with her. I pretended like I just couldn't find them; confessing to my poor decisions surrounding the last time I wore those socks was out of the question. Needless to say, I was not hired and I've been getting crap for this since then.

Fast forward to today.

I had a follow up interview with Parker/Franktown Young Life. It was a little short notice but I was told that I would be interviewed by some of the committee and some leaders. I was ready for it but in my honesty, I emailed the person who contacted me and said "I also have an irrational fear of being over/under dressed so I am awkwardly going to ask how formal this interview is ." She emailed back and told me it was pretty casual and I should be comfortable in pretty much anything. I went with jeans, a button up, and flip-flops. I know, I know, I didn't wear socks again. The last thing my mom told me before I left was "I would wear shoes." Not wishing me good luck or reassuring my talents but critiquing my wardrobe.

As I drove to the interview I became overwhelmed with emotion. For the first time I felt truly independent from the relationships I have formed through YL. Wendy wasn't going to hold my hand through this interview and no one knew me so there wasn't anyone to fall back onto if I didn't present myself clear enough. It was just me in a room full of committee and leaders ready to see if I had what it takes to be their Area Director. The interview flowed from an overview of the area to me sharing who I am and where I came from then finished with an hour or so of questions. I walked away from the interview feeling really good about it. Just truly at peace with what had just happened. I will continue to pray that the area makes a decision that will be best for them and if thats me, great, if not, I'm OK with it (jokingly I will blame it on my lack of socks).

For the last few months of my life, I have been learning how to trust that the Lord has a perfect will for me. Trying to live in trust has not been easy, sometimes I just want clarity. I want to know what is next for me I want my life mapped out in front of me so I don't have to worry about making the right or wrong decision.

Tonight at Bible study we ended our time sharing one word that describes our soul. When it came around to my turn, I smiled and just said "trusting."

Monday

Most people don't like Mondays because it means the start of a new work week. I think I would be in the same boat if I were employed but not having a job has allowed me to forget what day it is. The only thing close to a routine in my life is the more or less strict schedule of TV I watch starting at 5pm every day. Starting my weekday evenings with a double dose of Seinfeld I then move on to watch Jeopardy with my parents while we eat dinner (6pm every night). My dad always tries to watch Entertainment Tonight (apparently I get my trashy TV desires from him) after but I make him keep it on Wheel of Fortune. Then depending on the day I will watch more TV with my parents in the Family room or move the party downstairs to watch something else. Tonight is Bachelor Pad (judge me, please). I'm addicted and I blame it on Kate and Hattie for inviting me to watch a few episodes of the Bachelorette; I realized that they weren't so bad so I gave this new show a try. Now I can't stop. This is also my second post that has made its way back to TV. Ugh, such is my life.

Susan Joan (Dach) Brinck

My mom is the best (This statement might be a little biased but I don't care).

Today she turned 58 and I couldn't feel more blessed to have the 5 foot Jewish woman in my life.

My favorite thing about her is that she finds herself in hilarious situations and I get to tell all of my friends about them, so here you go.

One time she got arrested, like handcuffed, mugshots (which I am still looking for), fingerprints, and spent a few hours locked up. I learned this gem of a story when I called to thank her for something she had sent me in the mail. When she answered the phone I knew something was off. I figured she had just been taking a nap and I had woken her. She shot that idea down with a response of "I've been crying all day." Immediately I went into inquisitive support mode asking her what was wrong. I was legit concerned for her and the possibility that the news could also be devastating to me. I quickly learned just how wrong I was. She told me that she had just spent the whole day locked up in jail. I tried so hard not to laugh but that is one of the hardest things for me to do. All of this drama was for a parking ticket that my brother got on her car which went unpaid and ultimately led to a missed court date. The best part is that the only reason she was arrested was because she was picking up my brother (yes, the one who got the original ticket) from jail. Weekly, I picture her balling her eyes out behind bars and it makes me chuckle every time (no need for any commentary on if this makes me a bad son).

Another time I got a text from my brother that said "mom shit herself lol." I was in a quiet coffee shop and legit fell out of my chair laughing just trying not to pee myself. I called to inquire further about this predicament. Robert filled me in and said my mom called him and in a straining panic said "open the garage door, open the door to the house, and open the bathroom door. I don't feel good and I'm on my way home." He described her movement from the car to the bathroom as the fastest he had seen her do anything. A little while later he heard her calling him from the bathroom saying "Rob, go get me my robe, I need to take a shower."

Another time she thought it was appropriate to tell me about a stripper that she had got for one of the ladies who worked in her old salon. His name was Tod the Bod. I started screaming in the car for her to stop but she thought it was funny to see me squirm in awkward tension that was filling the car. She went on to tell me "Greg, you should have seen his thighs." Sweet innocent Suze was no more.

My mom is a hardened criminal who sometimes shits herself all while apparently loving man thighs. What more could a son ask for?

Work Crew

Typically, it is my experience that work crew kids and work crew bosses don't keep in touch. I fully understand why this plays out but at some level I am sad that this is such a reality. This summer I decided that I wanted to break the mold. There are 4 terrific boys who I had the opportunity to live with and serve alongside for an entire month and they all just happen to live in CO. My vision was a once monthly hang out/bible study. Today was our first day.

I told three of them to meet at my house, around noon, before I drove us all to Boulder to meet at the last guy's house. The first guy, Luke, showed up promptly at 5 after 12. At this point I remembered that high schoolers are usually late and aren't the best at communicating their tardiness. Joel was next to show up at 12:25 leaving Will as the most late. Once 12:30 rolled around and after a few unanswered phone calls I assumed Will was not going to be joining us. I got conformation from Tyler when he called to get a status update from our end. I told him we were just waiting on Will and asked if he had talked to him. His response was "Yeah, he is on a college visit. He texted me last night, I thought you knew." Funny.

The afternoon could not have gone any better! After an hour or so of swapping stories of life post Castaway we settled in to our discussion of James. An honest and inspiring conversation about how James fits into our lives lasted the next 2 hours. I was taken aback at how the Lord has used these 3 boys and I am waiting in anticipation to see what He has in store for them this year!

We finished our time together with a trip to Chipotle (obvi) and some shenanigans. I have not laughed this hard in a long time. This was mostly due to Luke's failed attempt at a back flip on the tramp, Joel's epic falls off the slack line, and Tyler's drooling laughter from his wired shut mouth.

Perfect.

I Found A New Hobby!!

Its true, I have a new hobby but it makes me feel like an old woman.

Canning. I loved all sorts of jams and preserves and various sorts of pickled veggies so it checks out.

Today, I made my first batch of the strawberry jam my grandma makes. I took a picture or two but the camera is downstairs and I am far too lazy to go get it now. The jam has to take some more time to set but should be ready to enjoy tomorrow evening! This is more or less the test run of my abilities. If it turns out well, I will keep pursuing; if not, I will have convinced my parents to waste $15 on the canning supplies. (That might be my favorite thing about this new little hobby, Suze loves it and pays for it!)

I have already been searching for other recipes. Next on the list is a peach mustard compote and possibly some pickled asparagus.

I'm A Sucker

This is just a general fact of my life.

Tonight it expressed itself in how much I love reality TV. Basically, during my younger years I would say "the trashier, the better." I like to think I have become more mature and will try my best to limit my trashy reality TV watching.

The trash in my life currently runs new episodes on Thursday evenings. If you haven't guessed yet, its Jersey Shore. I know, I know, its terrible.

But terrible in the most amazing way possible. I can't help but be sucked into the drama these people live in. MTV knows how to put together a reality show that is just as addicting as crack. This and I am just generally a sucker.

So, bring on the insults all you want and judge me for indulging but keep in mind that I have at least classed it up a little bit from the likes of "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila" or "Flavor of Love" or "Tool Academy."

High School Reunion of Sorts

So I went out for a friends birthday. She wanted to go to this place called the Stampede.

I have literally heard nothing but bad things about it but I put my reservations aside and went out. I don't think I can accurately describe this bar. It is suppose to be a country bar but I immediately knew I was in for something more than that when I got there because, not to be racist, but there were a lot of ethnicities other than white. (Come on, how often have you seen a black guy rock out to Toby Keith? Or a Latina killing it on the dance floor to the Zac Brown Band). This was the most eclectic group of people I have ever seen at one bar at one time. People ranged from straight up cowboys, to thugs, to frat boys sporting ed hardy, to women with outfits so slutty I thought it was Halloween. Aside from all the diversity, there also seemed to be a large concentration of women who were taller than 6'. Crazy. So many tall women.

As the night went on I kept running into more and more people from high school; some I talked to but I had the awkward we-know-each-other-but-are-choosing-to-act-like-we-don't glances with most.

To top off the evening some black girl touched my butt and the club played Black Eyed Peas "My Humps."

Dear Ladies Night at The Stampede,

Never again.

Love, Greg

The Colony

This is the coolest show ever!!!

I watched the first season and was instantly hooked. This season is proving to be even better. If you have some extra hours on your hands I would highly recommend you fill them with catching up on this season.

On a side note, if I ever go to grad school for sociology I want to study how people act after the break down of civil society. Thank you professor Andac for making me like political sociology.

PUPPIES!!!

I want one so bad. I literally check this at least every Friday to see if there are any cute puppies to adopt.

For the entire week leading up to my birthday I started dropping subtle hints to my parents that all I wanted was a puppy. OK, they weren't subtle at all; I just flat out asked them at least once a day for a puppy. I knew in my head that it wouldn't work out but my heart wanted it so bad (kinda the same way I feel about Tebow coming to the Broncos).

My birthday rolled around and I legit looked through the house to see if my parents had stealthily hidden a little bundle of joy in some strange corner of the house. They did not.

My desire for a puppy is not anything new. I have always loved animals and wanted a dog in college but knew that there was no way I could afford it. During the last few years I have started to think about what I am going to name my first dog and I think I've finally figured it out.

Before the big reveal, I am going to provide a bit of background. A friend of mine has a cat, her name is Jessica. I think this is hilarious. People names for animals. Literally, perfect. But I wouldn't want a super current name, maybs something a little more old school.

To tie it all together, I thought of incorporating friends names. Not as an insult but as an ode to my appreciation of them in my life.

OK, the moment you have all been waiting for: Roberta and I would call her Bonnie. Bonnie Butters Brinck. I already cleared this with Natalie and she is on board. Bonnie is on my list of top mom's that I love who are not my own. (This is probs only funny to about 2 people who read this but I figured it was worth sharing with the other 3 of you).

Hopefully in the next 6 months I will be posting pictures of little Bonnie (Roberta) Butters Brinck

Today Felt Like High School

*Sorry for missing a post last night although I'm not convinced anymore is actually reading this blog that regularly. Regardless, no excuses, I should have posted.*

So I pretty much just bummed around today not doing much of anything. The only real responsibility I had was to mow a person's lawn, who lives just down the street. Loading the mower into our truck and driving a block and a half away took me back to the summer before my junior year of high school. I ran my own lawn care service and would frequently drive the same rout I took today. As I drove home I passed some neighborhood friends and some parents, waving as I drove.

To top it all off my friends Mickey and Ally were having a post marriage wedding party thing. It turned out to be a bit of a neighborhood get together + some relatives. For some reason I decided to walk down there instead of taking a car (I had not done this since middle school; it was nice). A lot of good friends and more than a few jokes on my poor decisions at the aforementioned wedding.

All of that aside, I feel like moving home has made me feel like I'm back in high school again. Almost as if I have lost my sense of independence from my family that I was so prideful about during college. Maybe its just because I am unemployed but I believe that I'd be in the same place even if I had a job.

Just some thoughts. No real conclusions.

Fantasy Football

We had our draft tonight. I'm not normally much of a fantasy player but I was asked to take over for a team whose owner didn't want to play anymore. I think the draft went well and lets be honest, I have nothing but time to research, analyze and make changes to my team.

Fantasy is fun but thats not whats making tonight awesome. I get to spend it with two of my best friends, Colin and Mickey. Everything just feels right: we are currently sitting playing MLB10 The Show (home run derby, of course), drinking some beers, and eating left over cold pizza. There is no doubt in my mind that the better part of the evening will be spent having pillow talk and just sharing our lives.

I just really love my friends.

**A big shout out to my friend and Mickey's new wife, Ally, for having a girls night allowing us to have a spedsie in their new apartment.

Showering

This post might be TMI if you didn't know me well my freshaman year of college. If your name happens to be Lisa, Natalie, or Alex you know all too well that I was not the most frequent showerer. Needless to say, showering was not on my list of priorities. It wasn't as bad as some of you might be thinking but I would generally only shower every other day, tops. I look back on that first semester and wonder how I even made the 4 friends I made.

That New Year's my resolution was a simple one, shower every day. This revolutionized my world. OK, not really. But at least I was clean for a little bit each day.

I have found myself falling back into poor showering habits since I moved back in with my parents. Its because I don't do something every day. I mean, I only left the house once today and that was to drop my brother off somewhere.

Conclusion: my showering frequency is directly related to how lively my social life is. Maybe if I shower more I will magically have more things to do. Or at the very least it would inspire me to seek out a reason to leave the house.

I Miss Asian Buffet

Seriously.

In Lawrence, I would find myself consuming vast amounts of MSG laced food surrounded by friends about once a week. Its probably better for my body that I don't have multiple buffets at my disposal(this makes me think Lawrence is on oddity. What other small town has at least 4 Asian Buffets?).

Anyway, I miss it. A lot. But I guess that I have a Panda Express only a few blocks away and they are open until 10 on weekdays and 11 on weekends. I will use this as my substitute for Asian buffet and Tryyaki, the most delicious late night drive-through Chinese place in the Midwest.

So thanks, Panda Express, for helping ween me off of my Asian buffet addiction.

Birthdays

Honestly, I think they are overrated.

Don't get me wrong, I love presents and loved ones telling me happy birthday and letting me know they appreciate who I am but I think it stops there.

I could do without presents and ideally we would live in a world where people openly tell each other that they are great and that they are appreciated for who they are and not what they've done. A birthday, in a lot of ways, is treated like some sort of accomplishment that needs to be rewarded and the next day emotions are swept back under the rug to be pulled out at the next holiday. I am by no means an openly sentimental person and I see it as a character flaw. How can I try to be so loving but forget to express that through words? (Putting it on my list of things to work on).

My perfect birthday would be all my friends hanging out, drinking some beers, laughing, and having amazing conversation. Maybe I will plan this for next year...

This year wasn't bad at all. Went to breakfast with my mom, hung out with Colin and Quinn then went to the Rockies game with Lisa, her boyf, her parents, and Pat. I touched a foul ball but it hit one finger and bounced away from me. Just a really good time.

The other strange thing about birthdays is that you have a free ticket to eat as much as you damn well please. All I did today was go out for food and drink beer. This is not too out of the norm for me personally but I have witnessed unusual eating patterns from people celebrating their birthday.

**After reading this through (sorry for the stream of consciousness), I want to make it clear that this is not some sort of depressed passive ploy to try and manipulate people into telling me that I am great. I feel incredibly loved by the people I choose to surround(metaphor) myself with and could not ask for better friends. I'm simply commenting on how our culture treats birthdays.

Tried Something New

Tonight I was really bored. I know when I'm really bored because I start thinking of crazy things to do just to entertain myself. Normal boredom leaves me with some sort of snack sitting in front of the TV trying to find visual stimulation (like right now: I have popped a bag of kettle corn and I'm watching Snatch). I noticed that my dog, Buddy, was getting a bit shaggy and in need of grooming; this looked like a job for me. I couldn't find any hair clippers so I used the next best thing: a beard trimmer.

I brought Buddy upstairs and gave him a bath. Now came the difficult part. I already knew he hated the hair dryer so I thought using it until he was pissed and then switching to the clippers and using them until he was pissed was a good cyclical game plan. When I was just finishing up his back I realized that I was going to have to shave his "swimsuit area" and became instantly uncomfortable. For some reason I felt like I was about to violate my dog, touching him in "sensitive" places he did not want to be touched was just unsettling. Shortly after these thoughts Buddy was getting restless and increasingly agitated about this little project of mine. We came to a breaking point when he started biting the clippers.

I decided to let him free. He sprinted around the house showing off his fresh new look: A shaved back and hind quarters with shaggy, unkempt legs, belly, and face. Its like a dog mullet, business on top party everywhere else.

If I had a working camera I would show you my work of art.

I will try and finish tomorrow but I might need to work on improving my friendship with Buddy for longer than a day before I use those clippers within 20 feet of him.

Freaking Suze

She took the cake for conversation of the day:

"This is such a good movie" -S

"What?" - Me

"Step Up!"

"Hahahaha, really?"

"Yeah, I love this movie!"

So funny. I've always known she loves dancing (may or may not be some of my inspiration for the "mom dance") but moving home has shown me just how much she loves dancing. On Wednesday and Thursday nights we watch SYTYCD together and in those two hours of entertainment she all of the sudden becomes a dance expert. Freaking Suze, how could you not lover her?

In other news I found these moving pads that just slide on the carpet so I've been using them to get around the upstairs of my house.

Being With Good Friends

It is one of my favorite things!

Tonight I went over to a house that my friend, Sarah, was watching. Sarah and her boyfriend, Colin, made dinner for our recently married friends, Mickey and Ally, and myself. We enjoyed a delicious meal and our conversation was fluidly moving between spiritual and mundane. It didn't matter that all of us are at different life stages. We're friends. Just a real picture of breaking bread together (We didn't have bread, I'm using this purely as an expression).

This is the kind of hanging out that I have come to love. A time when friends are honest with one another. Sure, we joke and laugh. That is who we are but you can't be around these people without hearing them speak about what pulls at their hearts.

I am blessed to know so many good friends that I can have these kinds of nights with.

Cooking

I really do like to cook but I hate spending money on food. Living at home has been perfect because I go shopping with my mom on the weekends and pick up food that I want but don't have to buy.

I realize what a blessing my parents are to me. I mean, they are letting me stay here for free! I try my best to serve them by keeping my stuff picked up, cleaning the house, and cooking dinner or at least helping every night.

I know my parents have seen a huge change in me from my high school self to the person I am today. I want so desperately for them to realize that the change is not merely from "growing up." It is a choice that I have made to try to live my life as Jesus lived His. And I know I don't do that well all the time or even most of the time but I chose it because when the day is done, Jesus' love for me is enough. I wish my family could experience peace as I have known it. A peace which transcends all understanding.

I am hopeful that my time at home is not just a stepping stone in my life; that this year+ would be a significant time for me to share my faith with my family.

Distracted.

I had Bible study tonight and was trying to condense the 2 hour conversation into a nice blog post but...

My dog, Aspen, just got put on new medication.

This change is giving him the worst dog farts ever. I'm pretty sure gas is just freely flowing from his butt.

The smell is distracting me from any sort of intellectual thought.

Goodnight.

Opulence, I Has It.

When the guy kisses the mini giraffe, I laugh every time.

If you were to have a mini animal, what would it be?

One of my favorite animals is the walrus and I think a mini one would be super bad ass. The only draw back would be that it needs to be around water all the time, or at least that would make it most happy and I don't want the burden of providing this little guy water wherever we go.

So my final choice is a mini polar bear. Loves to swim but isn't totally dependent on water for its happiness. I would also name him Walter. Sounds fitting.

Feel free to share what mini animal you would want to have.

A Change of Pace

For the last few months I have been willing myself to be OK with the reality that I was not going on Young Life staff this fall. I wrote a few days ago about the progression of emotions ending with happy. I am finally happy where I am. And then this morning I get a phone call from a number I didn't recognize and since it was before noon, I was still sleeping. I silenced the phone call figuring that if it was important enough the caller would leave a message.

Sure enough, when I woke up, there was a voice mail waiting for me. The voice was that of Vicki. I have not met this woman but I knew she had to be great just by how loving and graceful her voice was. With that voice she told me that she was on committee with Parker YL and that they were interested in interviewing me for the Area Director position.

I didn't know how to react. Like I said, I had been forcing myself to be content with where I am and then this sweet woman dropped this huge ass bomb on me.

I called her back and set up a phone interview for later that evening, 6:30 to be exact. I called a few close friends and told them the news. I was starting to get excited.

The interview went how I expected it to go. Vicki asked me about myself, why I thought I was called for YL staff, and other self examining questions. When her questions ended mine began. Thanks to the help of Wendy, I had 2 pages of questions about the area, committee, finances, and other miscellaneous stuff. She had the answers to most of them and a few might have caught her off guard but she answered openly and honestly.

From the conversation it sounded like they are currently interviewing 4 or 5 people half were like me. Young and more of a staff associate. The others were older and would fit more of the Area Director role. They plan to make a decision on Thursday narrowing the field down to 2 for in person interviews.

Let the praying begin.

Just Another Day

So, my day started as par the usual in the burbs. Suze knocked on my door and told me that noon was a good time for me to start getting up. I grudgingly agreed mostly due to being quite hungry. Stumbling out of bed I brushed my teeth and was on the prowl for lunch. After consuming a delicious turkey sandwich I proceeded to watch some TV. 3:45 rolled around and it was time to take my older brother to work. Sat around for a bit longer then helped out my mom with dinner. A few chicken breasts and a mound of grilled veggies later I found myself just sitting around some more. I got so bored of just sitting that I went to the basement and looked through our OnDemand menu where I find some yoga instructions. Feeling a little more daring I opted for a Jillian Michaels 30min work out. I'm still tired. Luckily, my good friend Lisa was up for grabbing a beer and I spent the rest of the evening with her laughing about life in the burbs (not the blog, although she did mention that her mom read a post and laughed). I will close this day by laying in bed watching old episodes of Always Sunny in Philadelphia until I fall asleep. Not a bad day.

Marathon

Now, before you freak out, I am not going to try and run a marathon. That ship has already sailed.

I am referring to TV shows that come on in marathon form. It usually happens sometime in the week preceding the shows season opener so you can either catch up on the last season or be newly introduced to the show. If I'm being honest, I have spent days of my life lounging around watching the trashiest of TV shows in marathon form. Shows I don't even like will suck me in and convince me that there is nothing better to do than sit on the couch taking in the sights and sounds of terrible reality TV.

Today was slightly different because the marathon was of Bio's show I Survived.... I had never seen it before but tonight was the premier of its 5th season so the day was full of old episodes. It profiles anywhere between 2 and 4 people's encounters with near death experiences each episode. Some are complete accidents (car crash, stranded hiker, etc.) but most are people surviving attempted murder.

I usually don't go for shows like this. They make me a little paranoid (the fact that 2 of the stories happened in Aurora didn't help this) and I am fully aware of the Sin in the world and don't need or want to be reminded of it. It makes me physically ache just hearing about the pain and hurt in people's lives but for some reason I could not turn it off. I still don't know why but I do know that I have a new show that I will be watching every week. I will let you know if I figure out why this show is so appealing.

My New Jam

http://www.drydockbrewing.com/

I love beer and they brew it well!

Hobbies

I am in desperate need of some hobbies.

I knew that the burbs were going to be a lot more boring than a college town but I'm not quite sure I was ready for this level of mundane.

I have already started doing yoga in the mornings. Well, today was my first day and i like the stretching but could do without the awkward semi spiritual talk. I'm going to mute it and listen to something else.

I also bought my first house plant. We could argue about whether this is a hobby or not but I'm counting it.

So, I've got two things that take up about an hour of time (max) each day. Which leaves me with about 12-16 hours to fill.

Suggestions are welcome.

I guess I could start more actively job searching but that is for another post.

It's Official

I am moved into my parents house. All of my boxes are unpacked and my clothes are out of the laundry baskets and into drawers. The reality that this will be my room for the next year or so is starting to set in. Before now it was just like any other long weekend at my parents house: excited about my days in Aurora but ready to make my way back down I70 to Lawrence, the place I have loved to call my home. Sadly, Lawrence is not my home anymore. It is now just a place that I loved, a place where I grew into the person I am today and the place where I met so many life long friends. A very significant place.

Aurora will not be Lawrence, nor could it ever try but I am happy.

This is the first time I have been happy about where I am. My emotions in the last 5 or so months have gone a little something like this:

excited

anxious

confused

angry

sad

angry

indifferent

angry

accepting

happy

I am ready for what God has in store for me in Aurora and I am honestly happy that I am here.

Sweatin to the Oldies

If you don't know me well, I'm sure that my blog will show ou just how much of a Mamma's boy I am and how hilarious I think my mom is.

That being said, she is on this health kick. A new diet and a new determination to exercise.

Today she comes downstairs for lunch and tells me that after lunch she is planning on doing a Sweatin to the Oldies tape. Yes, that is a Richard Simmons original and yes, Suze asked me to join her. But she had to do it upstairs because its a VHS and the only VCR in our home resides in my parents bedroom.

I'm still unsure why I turned down this offer. It would have been half an hour full of pure entertainment. Maybe one of these days I will accompany her in a coreographed dance to oldies music lead by Richard Simmons but for now I'm gonna let her do her own thing.

Just Be A Dumb Sheep

Warning: I am in a Bible study on Tuesdays so Tuesday posts might be deeper than my average post.

I love this Bible study and its only the second week I've been there. It feels like high school in all the best ways but is so drastically different in even better ways. My YL leader, Sean, leads it and it is a group mostly comprised of friends from high school, instant community! The high school parallels stop there. For the most part all of us went to different colleges and have been apart for the last 5 or so years. In this time we have sought to follow Christ independently from one another and have developed a comfort in our faith that allows us to be truly open, vulnerable and honest. This is a level of friendship that few of us had in high school. It. Is. Awesome.

Tonight we talked about being a dumb sheep. Say it out loud, it sounds like I am telling you to be a dumb shit which was obviously the joke of the evening. Sean talked about how we have complicated Christianity with formulas (what kind of Church you go to, how you pray, how you worship, what Authors you're reading, etc.) and have lost sight of how beautifully simple it is to follow Christ.

We first read John 10:1-21. Jesus is talking about the sheep and their shepherd. A lot of times I read this and try to be the shepherd, taking other peoples burdens upon me and thinking I am called to be a shepherd. Jesus says "I am the good shepherd" twice. How did I read this and think I was anything in this story besides a dumb sheep.

We then talked about the characteristics of sheep. They are mostly dumb. They rely on the shepherd for everything. Food, water, protection, everything. Sheep will cast themselves or fall onto their backs and it is very difficult for them to get back up, sometimes it is impossible; they need a shepherd, someone who will take care of their every need and discipline them when they wander. But for how dumb sheep are, they can recognize voices. They know their shepherd's voice and will only respond to him/her.

Reading Psalm 23 concluded our time. This psalm came alive when I read it picturing myself as a dumb sheep. David speaks with a trust in the Lord that I want. Knowing that the Lord will make me rest, lead me to green pastures and will take me on a crazy journey but will always restore my soul.

Following Jesus is simple. Be a dumb sheep. One who relies on Jesus for everything. Know His voice and block out all others. But don't be fooled, simple does not mean easy.

I think I am going to get some sort of sheep (preferably stuffed) as a reminder that I might end up having a leadership position but I am called to be a dumb sheep and Jesus is my shepherd.

New Cell Phone!

Kinda.

So, in my experience with cell phones I have noticed that they aren't really made to last the entirety of a two year contract. My last phone was the Samsung Sway. It broke about every 4 months and this last month was no different. The screen went out and since there was water damage from a particularly violent thunderstorm this spring, all hope for a replacement was lost. I had to search my families stash of old phones for one that was least broken. I thank Suze for this gem which I now call my phone.

Yep, thats the Red (Pink in the light) Motorola Krzr. A phone that is way too cool for vowels. There is already a crack that runs through the front of the phone but it works fine. I am eligible for an upgrade in September and that is when Verizon is rumored to launch 4G. I can't wait to be that unemployed guy who is living with his parents but has a sweet new 4G smart phone.

Life in the Burbs

Since I now live in physical isolation from all of the people I love in Kansas and elsewhere, I figured it was time to create a blog so that these friends can keep up with my extravagant lifestyle. That and inspiration from Hattie

Speaking of extravagant, these are a few things I have realized during my short time back in Aurora:

1) My 5 years in college DID NOT prepare me for the real world. Seriously, I'm under qualified for every job I have applied for. My career really is dependent on Young Life or grad school.

2) There is no shame in telling people that I am an unemployed college grad living with my parents. Everyone I tell has either done that themselves or understands the nature of this economy. I just let them keep thinking that its the economy and not so much the first point.

3) I am more prideful than I had previously thought. I guess living with my older brother who currently doesn't have a degree or a license (second DUI) but has a job will do that to you.

4) Graduating college is not the milestone that stops your parents from speaking to you like you're in middle school. Maybe marriage? Dang, this might take a while.

I will try to update this thing daily but I make no promises. At this point, I have time to update it 20 times a day but I don't exactly have the content.