No, You're a Grownup

I got called a grownup last week, for the first time in my life. It was by a 6 year old little girl named Kaitlyn.

After thinking for a little bit about whether this was bad or not, I decided that I did not want to be a grownup. So I told her that no, I was not, in fact, a grownup. She insisted that I was. So I told her, that I was not a grownup, but rather that *she* was a grownup.

This spawned my new favorite game, which I have called "You're a grownup".

The basis of the game is that you have to use all your wits to come up with a complete proof of the other persons grownup-ness. In this case, the 'proof' consisted of the reciting of a nursery rhyme. Here is an example:

"Little Miss Muffet, sat on her tuffet...you're a grownup!"

In this example, the "Little Miss Muffet" part is sung just as one would sing the nursery rhyme. During the ellipsis, the debater would pause for dramatic affect, perhaps even pretend that they would continue the room, but then point and say "you're a grownup" with utter finality.

In my 22 years of life I have heard my fair share of nursery rhymes, so I was not hard pressed to continue to think of original ones against my competitor, six year old Kaitlyn. When she would begin to re-use rhymes, I would point out her error, and then she would think very deeply trying to conjure some new rhyme. Invariably, this process would end with the telling of a fake rhyme such as, "Spiderman, spiderman climbs the wall...you're a grownup!"

Needless to say, I was endlessly amused by these creations, as well as the game in general, so I have played it for my past two visits to LUM.

p.s. The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.

You're a grownup.

Let's jump

Yesterday I had double confirmation that the leg workouts Mr. Hunt and I have been doing are paying off.

Firstly, while playing kickball and wiffleball with the LUM kids yesterday, I took it upon myself to dunk the kickball a few times. And this wasn't "I'll try and dunk and not really dunk" or "I'll try and get rejected by the rim", this was "Hey! I just dunked!" I know that this should not be a new and fun experience to someone of my physical stature, but well, like I always tell myself, "I'm white." Not much of an excuse, I know, but there ya go.

Second, (and is firstly even a word? What is the point of the -ly? What adjective or verb is that adverb modifying? This is why I need my own personal intern.) the ultimate team had its first indoor practice last night at an indoor soccer field. I thought the fields worked out okay, and playing with traction was a pleasant change from the gym, but the point is that I was definitely jumping well. Of course I still have a hesitancy to jump when there are other people around, and, I cannot really estimate how high I should jump, and as a result, I still mistime my jumps quite severely. So really, I am not sure how far jumping by myself at the wrong time will get me, but at least I am jumping higher when I do it.

I think I'll graduate

Last semester I took an independant research project as a technical elective. I had a advising professor, a project and a goal, but I was quite lacking on motivation or something because I never did anything. Well, I set up the test, but that was it.

At the end of last semester, I emailed my professor and basically said, "I did not do anything, give me an incomplete and I'll finish next semester." So that was what he did.

So here I am, on the 20th of February, the last day to change grades from last semester (according to the University). I have not finished my testing, but I actually started it, finally. I wrote up this very very incomplete report detailing the project I have been working on, e-mailed it off to my professor and then said "Well, that's that."

If I pass, then I will graduate in May. If I don't, I will have to take Maymester, and then graduate in June.

My professor emailed me back and said "I called the office but they were closed already."

I think I want to graduate.

Apparently, I am quite disappointing

So I volunteer at this organization called Love In the Name of Christ. Love, INC for short. The organization acts as a go-between for people in the community who have needs, whether they be monetary or physical or whatever, and with churches in the community who would like to help meet these needs. In general, we act as a buffer, protecting churches from having to invest resources in verifying the claims of everyone who has need in the community. We also act as a one-stop-shop for the person in need, so that they don't have to call every church in the area.

Anyway, so Love, INC has a number which runs to an answering machine. People call in, give their name and number and briefly describe their need. Today, a lady called in and said she needed help moving. I called her back to get more info on where, when, why, how much, etc. You see, this is not an unusual request, but Nate told me that we should always find out contact info for where they are moving from and to, because we do not want to be helping someone skip out on rent or move into some place illegally. When I asked these questions, the lady flipped out, her husband started yelling in the background, and then the eventually hung up on me. The reason, as far as I can tell, is that they *are* skipping out on rent and moving somewhere else.

The interesting part, is that not even 10 minutes later, some random guy calls up and asks "Are you a Christian Society?" I was somewhat taken aback, I must admit, because the word "Society" implies to me some sort of Freemason type thing. So I hesitated and said, "Well, we are a Christian Organization, if that is what you mean." Confirming this, the man proceeded to tell me that he was a Christian and that no Christian organization should ask all sorts of personal questions when they are helping people, that he was disappointed in this, and that was all he had to say.

So...I don't get it. The lady *did* claim that the landlord was trying to screw them over, but even if this were verified, couldn't they just not pay and then win in any court battle? If you were their neighbor and had no involvement, would you help them move?

Law Breaker

Well, I have been reading these things for a while now, especially Mr. Driver's and a slew of ultimate blogs. I really liked the idea of keeping those interested folks at home up to date on the Teach for America happenings, once they go down, and I also like the idea of having a place to post all the random junk that comes out of my head.

Here's an example. The other week I was sitting and listening to the TNT sermon on James chapter 2 and I got this idea for a drama to cover the idea of the Law and its function.

Lights fade in to show a angelic looking dude, sitting behind a table. Behind him are some type of door or entryway, emblematic of "those pearly gates". Some old guy, preferably an adorable one, walks approaches the table.

Table Dude: Hello Mr. ______! It is so good to finally meet you and speak with you! Your life has been one we up here have taken a fond interest in, for you have truly been a shining example of a righteous life.

Table Dude turns around and opens a file cabinet (or shelf type storage) and pulls out two very large 3-ring binders. The first is very very full, while the second is almost empty. He opens the very large binder and starts leafing through it.

Table Dude: Well Mr. _____, it says here that when you were 12 you went on a mission trip to Haiti with your family. It really set the course for your teenage years.

Mr. ______: Smiling in memory, I remember that trip! Oh how I loved playing soccer with the kids at the orphanage. They were so much better than me, but we had a great time. Does that have my whole life in there?

Table Dude continues leafing through the binder, pointing out some other really 'good' things that Mr. _____ did, while Mr. _____ reminisces.

Table Dude puts away the full binder and opens the empty binder. There is a single sheet contained in this binder. He starts to look it over and looks disturbed.


Table Dude: Well Mr. _______, it says here that during your freshmen year of college, you took some legal pads from a company you worked for.

Mr. ______: Thinking, Yea, I remember that. I took the one I needed and then 3 extra for the upcoming school year. Everyone was taking them, and I was going to have a tough year financially, so I thought every little bit would help.

Table Dude: It even says here that you gave them back two days later.

Mr. _______: It just messed with my conscience. Every time I went home, they would haunt me.

Table Dude: Well Mr. _______, those pads did not belong to you. That was stealing.

Mr. ______: Well, I guess, but I gave them back right?

Table Dude: I'm sorry about this, but that doesn't matter. You still stole.

Table Dude turns around and pulls out a huge stamp. He stands up, inks the stamp, and proceeds to slam it down on the page with all his might, while yelling "Law Breaker!" He continues to yell "Law Breaker!" at increasing volume, while Mr. _____ falls down to his knees, cries, and the lights fade out.