life to the full

So i have the club talk tonight for club. First monday club in the history, ok so we've only been around for 4 years, of Jerome YL. Using John 10 and talking about life to the full. The question that scares me is do i believe what I'm about to go tell kids? I mean first reaction says yes you idiot...you know that there are things that steal kill and destroy but if i look deeper my actions say..ehhhh probably not. I mean i know that there are things that steal the joy that is Gods grace in my life. I know there are things that destroy what should be unbreakable in the center of my life. The problem i run into is the ease with which i let myself fall into these patterns, the ease with which i believe the lies and believe that comfort and instant results are really the best things for my life.

I also look at others lives and think "hey he's got it down maybe i should duplicate him exactly and then it will work out." Perfect example is this spring break....i went down to Charlotte and hung out with my friends the Gardners, Burris(es??), Lights for a couple days. I got caught up into thinking "hey they're married...hey they're on YL staff....hey they look like they've got it together" and tried to figure out in my own little mind how they were doing that and what i needed to do to get all that they had (idolatry 101). When i step back and look at it its easy to say "you tard don't follow them follow Christ" but why is that so hard to see in the moment? Even as i write this its hard to believe that i actually thought/believed these things...but its true.

I did pick up a new podcast to follow over the weekend though "Matt Chandler and the Village Church". Picked it up on the drive home from Chris Light, Chandler is a pastor down in Texas and is kinda like Driscoll Lite. He has the same passion and same kinda pastoral style (i honestly tried to find a different word there from "preaching style"....just doesn't sit well with me to call it that). I haven't listened to much but he seems like a cross between Driscoll and McManus in my head...i know big comparison...kinda like calling someone "the next Gretzky, Jordan or Ryan Leaf" side note the best part about blogging is that i can link wikipedia and its legit unlike any paper you ever have to write.


Those are my thoughts...more just things i know i need to get better at but still struggle with

Song o' the day: Runnin by 2pac/Notorious BIG (thank you random button from the hip hop playlist)

ten things i love about today

Ok so the title is a bit misleading....what i'm doing here is something my friend cam and i love to do when we're bored and talking to each other on gchat. What you do is go through and look for the 10 best status updates from facebook and see who has the better ones....I'm still trying to decide if i should put names to them or not. For the record status updates don't have to be serious but "lists" agravate both of us so they get a special nod and shoot up the list

What you see here is a combined top 10 with cam and myself...the post spring break updates haven't been as amazing as we would have hoped, we only assume its cause people are still on spring break or hung over from spring break

10 - Class then work then. then.. then...? AHHHHHH!!!! Stay calm... breath... Look both ways then cross the road. Now I got it. (first list plus a freakout...good start)

9 - gaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh EFFFFFFFFFFFFF Effing film fest ideaaaaaaaaa (this makes the list mostly due to how much it confused me...confusion over what exactly this is?)

8 - Sunday recap. 5 frosty miles 15 beers 2 frozen pizzas and 6 hours of planet earth on Discovery. Could be worse. Could be a lot worse. (how could that get worse?)

7 - is going to class. visiting the boyfriend. running. possibly work. ...Chels, when are we having our night!? ...Steph, I love you, esp. for tonight! Haha! ...Furball, when's tour de franzia so I know when I'm coming down! (a list...just leaving us asking Why? and really?)

6 - it's 2 am, still time for one more bad choice. (this from a NA dude...we assume its sarcasm but you can never know....he is tricky)

5 - feels like the kid in home alone, except no one is trying to rob my house and michael jackson didnt rape me....(no comment needed)

4 - since when do car handles just break off??? wtf i am soooooo pissed (this prompted a "YES" from both cam and myself)

3 - is stoked for Fast & Furious! (really?...the first 13 F&F's weren't terrible enough?)

2 - omg lol our break was so messed up lol we didnt make since half the time we were talking and that stupid video we made lol what was that al about haha..... i should have climbed threw that window with u lol. Oh did u ever give that pair of socks back haha that was funny haha.... I got my suitcase today and i have to tell u my dream about it last night lol i was so scared this morning  well call me later i love you hoe (wow...just wow)

1 - Iz back in skooo after 6 MONTHZ!!! 4get the gamez im on it this quarter!!! (and not a quarter too soon....winner winner chicken dinner)

again these are just a few that made us both either laugh or scratch our heads or both....not in order even though i did crown #1 as the winner (but honestly how could that one NOT win)

so yeah...leave a comment or 12 on how you feel about the list, or if you want to make your own go ahead

Charlotte

forgot one thing...but it didn't really fit last post anyway

I'm going to Charlotte with my friends the Lights tomorrow night through Friday. I can't wait to get down there and hang out with folks i haven't seen since i don't know when. Like i said in an earlier post this kicks off my month by month road trip extravaganza. This month its Charlotte next month its NYC/CT for the NFL draft. The month after that its the Woerth wedding then its off to camp.

It is almost 3 am and I'm still up i can't believe it....probably not smart since I'm going to be driving tomorrow but that's what sleeping in and coffee are for right?

sports

not a long post just some quick thoughts

-March Madness....i feel like I'm the only person I've talked to who isn't hating their bracket after the first two rounds. I'm sitting pretty in the only two pools i entered (1st in one and 3 way tie for 2nd in another) and need Memphis, Louisville, Oklahoma and Pitt to make it to the Final 4 with Oklahoma and Memphis making it to the title game with Memphis coming out on top...then its winner winner chicken dinner.

-Blue Jackets....according to this site the jackets have a 95% chance of making the playoffs. I still can't believe it. They have been around for 8 years or so and this will be their first dive into playoff waters. I have been to a couple games this year and have caught the rest on tv except for the occasional one that falls on monday or wednesday nights. I can't believe that this team is playing well enough to make the playoffs. A lot of credit has to go to Steve Mason, the 20 year old goaltender who couldn't pass for 17, as he has tied the team record for shutouts with 9 this year and has been amazing after taking over for LeClaire when he got hurt earlier in the year. The play of Mason let GM Scott Howson get rid of Pascal LeClaire at the trade deadline to pick up a center, Antione Vermette, that the Jackets have desperately needed. Vermette has been exactly what the Jackets needed and has helped right away on the PK. He also has chipped in with 6 points i think in his first 7 games...its either 6 points in 7 games or 7 points in 6 games....either way he's been an incredible pick up for Howson. I really hope i can somehow snag a playoff ticket if and when they get here. I was at the Bruins game (which i still have to pay my friend for....Jody if you're reading this i will pay you soon HA!) with a bunch of folks and the atmosphere in the Nat that night was exciting. There was a certain buzz in the arena maybe it was the fact that the number one team in the east was in the house. Maybe it was the sense of excitement that they might actually make the playoffs this year....whatever it was it felt right and i can't wait for playoff hockey.

-Crew....The Crew won the MLS title last year. I think this is the first pro sports title for a team from Columbus since the Quest won back to back titles in the 90's. In case you weren't growing up in the city at that point or in case you didn't click on that link the Quest were a professional womens basketball team led by future Gold Medalist and former Buckeye Katie Smith that won the championship in the only 2 years the league existed. Well that's a lie the league existed for the start of a 3rd year but it folded 14 games in with the Quest having a record of 11-3 and an all but certain 3rd straight title. that played in Battelle Hall in downtown Columbus. Battelle Hall has been used in such prestigious events such as the Quest winning a title and housing the 2001 Commencement ceremonies of Thomas Worthington High School. So yeah....the Crew winning the MLS Cup in 08 slightly upgrades the trophy case in Columbus...slightly. The 2009 team fields 10 of the 11 players from the 08 cup winning side. The only player missing is Brad Evans who got selected by expansion side Seattle in the draft. Seattle also hired former Crew coach Sigi Schmid who had been in Columbus the past 3 seasons. Filling the gap (theres a weight joke in there somewhere but i'm too classy to find it) left by Schmid is Robert Warzycha. Warzycha played for the Crew back in the mid-late 90's....unlike Sigi he is a Columbus guy. He played here, was an assistant coach when he retired and lives in Dublin (go Celts). He has a son who plays soccer for OSU right now and it will be interesting to see what happens when its time for Konrad to turn pro.

All in all its a pretty exciting couple months ahead for the sports scene for me and the city of Columbus in general. The Jackets are playing exciting playoff level hockey, the Crew are a strong bet to repeat in the MLS and the Clippers....didn't even mention them but they got a sweet new park in the Arena District in Columbus and a certain somebodies uncle works for the club so i may or may not try and get some tickets from him when the time comes. Just saying...if you think i know things about sports my uncle knows things that i don't think the Schwaub knows about baseball...

For the record i know baseball is starting and I'm a little excited but i can't follow baseball from games 10-160...the start and ends and playoffs are all that are exciting to me. Oh yeah the NBA is almost done they have like 15 games left and LeBron is good...that's all for now

song of the day?: Leaves Fall by Chris Thile

all hopped up on coffee

Technically i am supposed to be studying right now but I just finished watching the US beat Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic on a double in the bottom of the 9th to win 6-5. That and I just watched a wicked video from my friends facebook page. The video was a testimony of a guy who used to be in Korn but gave all that up when he found Jesus. Apparently this site has been around for a bit....like most things in life I'm on the tertiary of "cool" or "hip" or "with it"

I haven't watched all of the videos at that site yet but i imagine they're all as powerful and have the ability to speak Truth to so many people. I haven't really been doing great with the relationship aspect with Christ lately, which kind of eats at me because i talk to high school kids every week about how important this relationship is to their life. I just feel like a hypocrite because how can i say this relationship is important if i neglect it every day? Why do i do this? Why do i neglect such a vital part of what makes me go? How can i know whats going on in my friends life 10x more than i can know whats going on in my life with Christ?

My life breaks down nicely for the next couple months.

Two exams and 7 days stand in the way of me going to Charlotte for a long weekend to hang out with old friends.

38 days till i go to NYC with an amazing group of guys for the NFL draft. More on this later.

68 days till the Woerth wedding. Ben and Brittany are two great friends that let me play 3rd wheel all the time when we hang out. This has the potential to be one of the best atmospheres at receptions I've ever been a part of.

June 12th-19th = BEST WEEK OF YOUR LIFE!!!....sorry that was my conditioned young life leader response....but seriously that's a couple months away and we already have 16 kids signed up with 8 of them being girls and 7 of them being freshman girls. legit.

beyond that...come on...you should be impressed that i have those nailed down.


ok back to "studying" .....

trying something new here at the end
Your Song O the Day: #41 by Dave Matthews why you may ask?....cause its the first one that popped up on itunes when i hit shuffle

F5 Friday

Wow...there are at least 100 other things i could have done with my time that would have been more productive than what i did today. However, nothing would have been as entertaining as what i did on this particular Friday.

The day started with me reading that the Browns had traded Kellen Winslow, arguably our best offensive player, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for "undisclosed draft picks". That's right we don't even know what we get in return for our best player....awesome. This led me to sitting and talking to fellow browns fans for a couple hours about what we were exactly doing with our team this year. Other Browns news some friends and i are going to the NFL Draft in late April. We went last year and i really should blog about our draft experience....one of the best weekends ever...that blog is coming i promise.

Then i moved to Caribou with Chad where i parked my butt in a chair from which i didn't move for a solid 2-3.5 hours. I agree with Chads entry about how he enjoys himself some Caribou. I just enjoy the frou frou coffee they serve and the people watching the seem to present every time I'm there (more on that subject later). This current Caribou experience i outlasted a solid 10-15 people that came in. sat. drank their coffee. dilly dallied and were on their way.

There was also the occasional gchat conversation. Most days are filled with a gchat conversation with Cam. He works at a job where he sits in front of a computer for the 8-9 hours hes at his job...and i don't really have anything to do so i end up talking to him over gchat most days.

Then the highlight of my day...yes...best. people. watching. ever.
People watching might be one of my favorite past times ever. This one starts with a guy sitting and drinking coffee by himself waiting for his friend to get here. The guy looks strangely like this guy from the show Alias In walks a lady that looks to be having a terrible day...they greet each other with a handshake from across the table. Then the guy scoots his chair around the table from 12 o'clock to right about 7 o'clock....and gets out a pad and paper and scoots DANGER CLOSE. He is literally sitting on the end of his chair and pretty much in her lap. She looks like shes about ready to cry and hes going on and on about something....by the way she is a serious hands talker....I can't tell what hes writing down but its not like a therapy session because he hasn't written anything shes said in the past 5 minutes down. I have no idea what shes ranting about but it hasn't forced the guy to move back at all. There have been several "Dr. Phil" ish moments where he is talking to her and puts his hand on her shoulder to help explain his point. He is also a hands talker and keeps moving his hand as if to convey the point of something going on and on...very weird. Other random happenings from this people watching experience. 1) she has tried to leave on multiple occasions but never left the chair....not that he physically restrained her but she would grab her purse and not make it past getting up. 2) Towards the end it went from talking with his hands to pointing 1 finger at her as if something was her fault. 3) They are awkwardly close but still look to be arguing. 4) I wonder if they've noticed me people watching them for the past...oh 30 minutes?

I can honestly say this was one of my top 5 people watching experiences. Several questions have been left unanswered in my mind. Most of them being of the "how do i categorize these two" variety. Were they therapist and patient? Were they on a very very awkward first date? Were they brother and sister? Or are they all of the above?

Smorgasbord

- Can we get a round of applause for random friends on facebook. I'm talking about the people who send you friend invites and have ZERO mutual friends. I have received quite a number of these recently....all female. The most recent one was a girl who is from St. Louis, Graduated HS when i was already in year 5 of college and went to school at Tennessee State. I have only ever been in the St Louis airport on a layover on the way back from Dallas. I couldn't put Tennessee State on a map if you were offering me $1 million (my guess would be in Nashville since its the capital but who knows.) So why? why is this girl asking to be my friend? What in the world is this about? I've never spent significant time in either place....i didn't make any friends when i was there.

The other couple weren't exactly like this girl...they had at most 5 friends in common but still nobody that i ever hung out with on a regular basis. I am just wondering what it is these people are gaining from adding randos as friends on facebook? Do you get a microwave at some point if you have over 5,000 friends? Is it like a part of the Amazing Race? Are they getting paid by Google to add people? Can i ask more questions about this to nobody in particular?

-Bar culture...So my friend Chad and I went out for a mutual friends birthday in the Arena District. A little background for those of you keeping score at home...i like going to bars about as much as this cat loves the pool. I don't really like bars because they're just dumb. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that i don't really enjoy parties either...I'm more of a quiet kind of guy. I prefer chillin on the couch with a couple people to standing around and yelling to have a conversation. So back to the bar....and probably the highlight...or low light depending on your point of view. For a solid 30 minutes the same girl is grinding on my butt....no matter how much i move forward thinking that i was in her "dance bubble" she just followed me like i was the pied piper. I finally turned sideways and started watching an osu-michigan wrestling match that was on tv and talking to my friend cam. The girls get frustrated at my lack of action towards their mating dance and grab their coats and leave. I think to myself..."finally i can relax and not be so worried" oh i have never been more wrong in my life. You see when i turned sideways i was know up against a table that was occupied by 4 ladies all 40+. The one lady needed to sit down and so i apologized to her for blocking her path....she replied with "don't worry about it I'm finding standing up...if i need you to move I'll just grab your ass and squeeze"....WHAT?....what is going on in the world when cougars are threatening to grab my ass and girls are grinding on me? I left shortly there after and on the way back home commented to chad that that was one of, if not the, most awkward moments of my life.

-So my roommate Buergel, Chad and two other friends Deidre and Whitney and myself are sitting at applebees waiting to order our half price apps. Our waitress comes over and asks us what we would like to drink....so me trying to be courteous to this fine restaurant employee tell her i would like two strawberry lemonades. She comes out firing with the "oh my gosh are you going to be high maintenance tonight?". This is like open season, blood in the water for both Buergel and Chad....its a non stop barrage for a good 30 seconds of calling me high maintenance for the simple fact that i didn't want to make her go get another drink for me as soon as she came back to take orders. How stupid of me to try and think of her by making her job easier. However towards the end of the night she did make the comment that she hates when people have finished their drink by the time she comes back. So she was making fun of me for something she hates! I don't get it....and pretended to be upset for the entire night....although i think this was some middle schoolesque ploy for me to ask her for her phone number by being mean to me. Jokes on you Joanna I'm no Peter Gibbons. Although i do about the same amount of work and have always dreamed of eating cheetohs at my desk.

-thats all thats in my head for now...I'm sure there will be more to come

who knows I may make it 3 for 3 days...don't hold your breath though