'Jamie Lang' & 'The Robynson Family'

Below are excerpts from the book 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan. These stories hit me pretty hard, so I just thought I'd share them.

Jamie Lang
When Jamie was twenty-three years old, she flew from the United States to Tanzania with $2,000 from her savings account. She planned to stay until she ran out of money, at which point she would come home.
Jamie was overwhelmed by all of the need that she encountered, so she started praying that God would allow her to make a radical difference in one person's life. After about six months, she met an eight-year-old girl at church who was carrying a baby on her back. Jamie learned that the baby's mother was dying from AIDS and that she was too weak to care for him. Jamie began to buy formula for the little boy, Junio, to provide him with the nutrition he desperately needed. At the time, he was half the size of a healthy baby.
Jamie fell in love with baby Junio. She wondered if she was being foolish - a barely twenty-four-year-old, single, white American entertaining thoughts of adopting a baby. Besides, she didn't even know if Tanzania allowed international adoptions. Eventually, he discovered that the country didn't allow international adoptions; however, because she had lived there for over six months, she could establish residency.
Before Junio's mom died from AIDS, she came to Jamie and said, 'I have heard how you are taking care of my son, and I have never known such a love. I want to be saved.' Just before she died, she said, 'I know that my son is taken care of, and I will see him in heaven someday.'
Jamie spent six months going through the adoption process and then five more months working with the American embassy to get Junio a visa. When she finally came home, she had been gone for a year and a half.
Junio is now five years old, totally healthy, and HIV negative. When Junio's mom was pregnant with him, she took a 'morning-after pill' late in her pregnancy in order to abort him. But instead it induced pre-mature labor, and because Junio was so small, no bleeding occurred during his birth. Thus, he did not contract HIV from his mother. What was intended to end his life, God used to save it.
Since adopting Junio, Jamie has gotten married, had a little girl, and is moving back to Tanzania with her family to work with Wycliffe to translate the Bible for a group that has never heard it before.

The Robynson Family
This family of five, with three kids under that age of ten, chooses to celebrate the birth of Christ in a unique way. On Christmas mornings, instead of focusing on the presents under the tree, they make pancakes, brew an urn of coffee, and head downtown. Once there, they load the coffee and food into the back of a red wagon. Then, with the eager help of their three-year-old, they pull the wagon around the mostly empty streets in search of homeless folks to offer a warm and filling breakfast on Christmas morning.
All three of the Robynson kids look forward to this time of giving a little bit of tangible love to people who otherwise would have been cold and probably without breakfast. Can you think of a better way to start the holiday that celebrates the God who is Love?

my miracle

when I walk this road
and I stumble and fall
I reach out for You
and trust in Your grace
there are times that I find
I can't carry it all
so I'll let You wipe
tears of sorrow from my face

I have to choice
I trust no one but You
for even in my darkest moment
Your love is unchanged
I'm desperate man
who is lose without You
but I'm desperate for You
and no one else

I'm so profoundly in need
and You meet me here
You will always be
my miracle
that You could truly know me
and still love me
that You can hold and forgive me
is a miracle
You are
my miracle

The Man Trip - I didn't see any wind in the Windy City!

I basically spent half of our time in the car thinking of witty titles for my blog posts, so my alternate title for this one is, 'I robbed three banks in Gotham City, and Batman didn't show up.' You're welcome.

Chicago was the first serious leg of our journey. Long Island to Boston is only about five hours, but Boston to Chicago is 16. So, after we checked out Cheers and our little duck-statues park, we decided to hit the road. For whatever reason, I wasn't super excited to visit Chicago. I'd told Robby it seems like a neat place to stop, but if we wind up altering the route and going somewhere else, I wouldn't be all that upset about it. Good thing that didn't happen.

We got into town around 7a, after a sleepless night (the car wasn't arranged to its peak efficiency for comfort up to this point). Chicago was the first place where we found the joy and beauty of Hotwire. We didn't have any reservations in town, so our first stop was the nearest Starbucks so we could caff. up and make some reservations. (Little side story, working for Starbucks and traveling cross country is awesome. Every time we stopped at one to get drinks, the barista would ask where I worked, and I'd get to tell them about the road trip and my transfers, and they almost always hooked me up for being a fellow partner doing a sweet trip). With Hotwire, you get to choose how many stars you want your hotel to be, and what part of town you want to stay in, but you don't find out what hotel you'll be at until after you book. Ritzy hotels don't want to advertise rooms for $90 a night. We started in each city by checking out where the coolest and classiest bars, pubs and restaurants were, then searching that part of the city for hotels. In Chicago, that led us to reservations at the Palmer House Hilton in the North Loop, across the street from Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago. Yeah, we're classy like that.

The Palmer House is one of the original 4-star hotels; it helped set the standard for what a high-class hotel is supposed to look like. I need to get pictures from Robby, but it has one of those extravagant lobby entrances, with high painted ceilings, art everywhere, and fantastic architecture, and a killer balcony to look over the whole thing. I'm pretty sure there's a promenade somewhere. I'm not entirely sure what a promenade is, but I feel like this is the kind of place that would have one.

They graciously gave us an early check-in, which allowed us the opportunity to sneak a nap in after our overnight drive. Again, I really just need to get the pictures from the hotel instead of trying to describe it, but the rooms boast one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in (granted, trying to sleep in a car where the seat won't go down may have altered my perception) and a killer bathroom.

Post-nap, we wandered the city. Our first plan was to find some killer jazz bar, because where could be a better place to sit and enjoy and beer and some jazz than Chicago. Unfortunately, the only place we found was called Legends, I think, and it was a little too touristy, and a little too far for us to walk to at night - didn't look like it was in the best neighborhood. Thankfully, we decided to skip out on Legends later that night. From there, we wandered up to Millennium Park, which is a sweet spot, even if it is a little touristy. There's a giant water feature with a bunch of video screens behind it, so even though it's a little creepy when there's a face open it's mouth and water shoots out of the fountain, it's also very cool looking. There's also The Bean, a gigantic mirror ball, in which you get the most stereotypical, but also coolest looking, photo of yourself and everything reflected and refracted all around it. We want back later that night and got a shot of a the skyline reflected with everything lit up. As an added little treat, David Gray was performing at the stage in Millennium Park that night. It's one of the best venues I've ever been able to check out. We didn't buy tickets for the show or anything, just looked at the stage and seating as we went by. As always, I had to resist the strong urge to wander backstage and offer my services for the show; someday I hope to get to work there.

I don't know if I can even remember now all the different places we went later that night. I do remember that I don't ever recall paying more per drink than I did at a few of the places, though. As we were already downtown, and we were staying at the Hilton, we felt like pretending to be classy for part of an evening, so we went to several of the hotel bars to hang out. I'm pretty sure we were the only people making less than six figures at some of them. The coolest one we visited was The Wit, the rooftop bar down the street. They have a bunch of outdoor seating, and a fire pit that lines the patio so you get to sit right along the fire no matter where you are. All those really cool seats were taken, of course, so we had to settle for sitting at one of the indoor tables, but you still have an amazing view right out the window over the city and the park. We later went back to our hotel and paid $31 for two Long Islands. Yeah, we spent a lot of money in Chicago...

Through this trip, I've learned that the two best people to ask when you need to find good local (read, 'not touristy') place to hang out are cab drivers and bartenders. When I ask a bartender where I should visit, they tell me where they'd be if they weren't at work. This strategy led us to Wicker Park. Admittedly, we didn't really wander Wicker Park very much, and it was a little late to be exploring anyway, but we did find a place called The Southern, if I remember correctly, a cool little bar in an old garage. I think our main reason for going there was just to say we'd hung out in Wicker Park, though. On the way, we decided to go to a place called Rino, a nightclub that is apparently pretty chic (how could it not be chic, with a name like Rino?). We got there about ten minutes to 11, with a line outside, which I think is always a pretty good sign. Figuring it'd be busy and expensive I asked the bouncer about the cover, and found out that because it was a Thursday night, there wasn't even a cover, but they didn't open until 11. Then, we got inside, and found out that all vodka drinks were free until 1:30! How a place manages to make money without charging for entrance or drinks is beyond me, but it was definitely a hot little club worth visiting. It's not very big inside at all, so the bass pounds throughout the entire room, and everything is dark and mysterious with 'reserved' seating everywhere, and one of those guys in the bathroom who gets the door and offers you cologne. A sweet place to visit, but by about 1a, I was finally done, and actually wound up ditching Robby and cabbing it back to the hotel. We wanted me to stay and talk to some girl in a sundress we'd met out front. But he wound up at the hotel 30 minutes after me anyway, having sat by himself at the club until he decided to leave. I feel like I made the right decision.

The next day, before leaving town, we made an impulsive decision to visit the Art Institute. I'd never been to an art museum, and didn't think I'd be too joe-joe about the experience, but it turned out to be great! I'd have to flip through all my photos to remember all the different exhibits, but getting to see Monet and Van Gogh up close in person is freakin' awesome. It's a little crazy to look at the art and realize that it's not just a print, but the original, painted a couple hundred years ago. When in an art museum, though, remember not to step across, reach across, or lean across the little barriers they set up in front of the art; they don't like that.

And that was Chicago. An art museum is a great way to end any trip to a city, so I'd highly recommend that to anyone traveling. I'm sure I'm leaving parts out - I think that's what happens when you write about something that happened three months ago while you're jacked up on caffeine and started to get shaky 'cause you haven't eaten... But, you'll soon learn, as I did, that cities only appear to get better and better the further west you go in America. Our next 16-hour drive took us from Chicago to what was, in my opinion, the best city of the trip: Denver.

The Man Trip - you like apples?

I think I forgot to label my last post, but my friend Kirsten dubiously (or appropriately) dubbed Robby's and my trip from NY to Oregon as 'The Man Trip'. I felt like it was a very fitting title.

It turns out I suck at keeping up a blog. This is either because I'm lazy, or because subconsciously I figure no one else could possibly care about my ill-advised escapades traveling from coast-to-coast. However, keeping things right on par with my usual standards, I'm delivering what I promised, just a little later than I promised it.

Next stop: Boston! City of... I don't know what Boston is the city of. My alternate title was, 'I parked my car in Harvard Yard', but that would be a lie. I parked my car at the Ramda Inn. Which was a bad idea, by the way. Robby and I figured it would be a good idea to get a hotel a little outside the city center, so we could pay less for the room. However, saving $50-100 on a hotel room doesn't mean much when you end up spending $80 on a cab in and out of downtown. Little tip for everyone: just use Hotwire, and stay downtown. That's what we did for the rest of the trip after Boston. More about that once we get to Chicago, though.

I think when we did Boston, we were still warming up; we hadn't quite hit our road routine yet (which eventually came to consist of drinking local beers, sleeping, and driving). We asked out hotel clerk where to head, and he just sent us to Harvard Square, which sounds very cool and Boston-y, so that's where we headed. The architecture is rad, exactly what you'd expect from Boston. Everything is packed tight, and everything is brick. There is even lots of cobble stone everywhere, which looks awesome. We walked around Harvard Square for a bit before we decided it was time for - what else?! - finding a sweet local pub. Our cabby had told us to find a place called Tommy Doyle's. It sounded like a good spot to hit, but what really locked it in for us was asking a cop. Some cop was just standing on the corner, doing his little beat, and when I told him we were only in town for a night and wanted a good Boston spot, he said, 'Tommy Doyle's. I'll be there in half an hour myself.' So we headed in.

They had some live music going, but I'm pretty sure it was a banjo, if I remember correctly, which isn't Irish at all. Nonetheless, we had a killer bartender who sat and BS'd with us the whole, who himself had been coast-to-coast. With a little hesitancy, I ordered bangers & mash. I'd never had it before, but I was determined to get a decidedly Irish dish. Freakin' amazing. I don't think I even knew what they were before I had them, but I will forever be a fan of bangers & mash after that. Hopefully some lame local bar won't go ruining them next time I get them.

We chilled at Tommy's for a few hours before we decided to take off. I had to run upstairs to pee before we left, and, true to his word, the cop was upstairs with his partner having a beer, which I thought was awesome. As we checked out, our bartender asked us, 'You guys showed me your IDs for the Harvard discount, right?' To which I responded, 'Yes, yes we did.' So, our night in Boston, we hit up a sweet local spot, and our bartender helped us pretend we were locals.

On the way into town, we'd passed a van of a few people who were also road tripping, did the whole writing signs thing, and eventually just wrote our numbers down. We chatted, laughed, and said we'd meet for drinks later that night. They were north of us, so we had to head out of town a little ways. Now, I've never had a rendezvous in a bar, but it's just as cool, and weird, and slightly creepy as you'd think. Rob and I walked in, not really sure who we were looking for (we'd only seen each other through windows going 75), so we sat down, called the number, and watched for whoever answered their phone. It was kind of fun to meet some random person in a bar, but at the end of the night, not worth it. It was a funny story to tell the rest of the trip, but after we had made it to Chicago and then Denver after that and we were still getting texts from the girl, she got nicknamed Crazy Andover (for the life of me I don't remember her real name), and we decided we wouldn't be doing anymore phone number exchanges.

As cool as Boston streets are to wander on foot, driving them sucks. I'm pretty sure I wound up doing at least two illegal turns and going the wrong way down a one-way that night before we finally got back tot he hotel (and no, not because I'd drank too much). We headed to Capitol Hill the next day, struggled through one of the worst parking situations I've ever been in, and finally parked to wander the streets again. If Harvard Square is cool, Capitol Hill is... boss. Sorry, I couldn't think of a better adjective to top 'cool' off the top of my head. It's hilly, and bricky, and has awesome store fronts and apartments. I would love to live in an apartment there. I'm pretty sure they were something like $2400 for a one-bedroom, though. So I probably never will.

We had made it a goal to get some sweet flasks for the trip, so we kept checking stores there, but to no avail. In retrospect, it's probably really good we didn't get them. Right as we were about to leave, I happen to look behind us and discover that we parked only two blocks away from the Cheers bar without even noticing it. So, of course, we went to the cheers bar for lunch. Now, I am aware that it's not the real bar from the show (Rob), but it was still kinda cool to head in there. I don't remember the food or beer being too memorable; really, the place is a little touristy, but they, that's it's gig. It was just cool to say we'd been there. There was a killer park across the street, so we finished lunch, wandered through the park a bit, where, by the way, we found some sweet duck statues that were completely random, and hit the road.

Boston was probably one of the least eventful stops on the trip, which is actually really sad to me, because I've wanted to go back there since the first time I went, when I was ten or eleven. But, like I said, I think we were still getting into the swing of things and learning how to really explore and appreciate a city in just one day. I'm definitely glad we made that a stop, and I can't wait to go back. Much as I expected, though, things just kept getting better as we headed west :) The next Man Trip installment will be from Chicago!

No Sleep in Brooklyn!

Goodness gracious, it's been a long time. If you still check my blog, then I'm sorry, Amanda :) There are several posts on the way, though...

So! Adventures in the city. It's hard to remember everything when I don't write it down as it happens. I blame Robby for keeping me too distracted. Robby is, for those of you who don't know, my boyfr...I mean, my best friend. About six or seven years ago, a group of us from high school started talking about taking this little road trip, that would start in Oregon and end in New York, hitting up ballparks along the way. The details have changed a little (it's only Robby and me, not the group, and we're not doing all the ballparks), but nonetheless, Mr. Hill flew out to NY, and we've spent the last couple days road tripping. The route will take us from NY to Boston to Chicago, and we are doing the cities right!

Our first stop has to be NYC, of course. Our buddy Jake from high school lives there, and there have been two or three times since I've been out here that he and I have tried to connect in the city, but it never works out. So finally, especially with Robby in town, it became a priority and I got some time off of work.

About four weeks ago, Jake told me he'd moved into a penthouse in Brooklyn. Now, there are penthouses in Brooklyn, then there are penthouses in Brooklyn, so I was pretty intrigued to see which he lived in. I don't even remember what night of  the week it was that we headed to town, probably Saturday. Either way, that night, Jake was painting at a loft party a buddy of his was throwing. Jake does a lot of live painting, which if you've never seen done, you need to. The artist has a blank canvas onstage, and throughout the night as bands are performing, he works on the painting. It's one of the few times you get to watch the creation of a piece of art completely from beginning to end. It's freakin' rad! If I can find a good picture of the finished piece, I'll be sure to put that up, especially since Robby and I both posed for it. It's a collage of faces, profiles, and bodies. It looks very cool. Rob and I were going to try to buy it, but some guy had already shelled out $600 cash for it before we even asked. Yeah, it's that kind of party.

The show itself was great. A couple of really good local bands, lots of cool people to chat with, and this guy's loft was sick. However, having worked, not slept, and been out every night since Robby had gotten to town, I was done pretty early, at about 1a, and was desperate to get back to Jake's apartment. I was warned there might be an after party at his place, but I didn't even care, so as soon as Robby and Jake's roommate left Jake's to go back to the show, I crashed right out. Stripped down to the skivvies and passed out on Jake's couch. Until about 3 or 4a, that is, when about a dozen freakin' people showed up! So I wound up getting up, getting dressed, and attempting to be social until 5 or 6 that morning, when things started winding down and the few remaining people started finding their sleeping spots. Based on this experience, I've decided I will most definitely attend any loft party I ever get invited to in Brooklyn.

Needless to say, we started a bit slow the next day. One of the first things I did was to step out onto Jake's patio (did I mention the entire roof is decked, and it wraps around, and that's Jake's patio?) to check out the view. The interior of the apartment is clean, super spacious, hardwood floors, with three or four bedrooms. It's killer. The view from outside? You can see Staten Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the skyline. And on the other side there's a famous cemetery, Greenwood Cemetery, maybe. Jake's place is decidedly the good kind of Brooklyn penthouse.

While we were out and about in the neighborhood, we got a chance to check out some great local spots. We stepped into a café that could have been on any corner of northeast Portland, and met three other people from Oregon in there! After coffee, Jake had to take off to some work done, leaving Robby and me to fend for ourselves on the mean streets of Brooklyn. The mean streets of Brooklyn, by the way, are not all that mean. We found Roots, a café Jake frequents, grabbed some breakfast burritos, and made our way to the subway to head into the city.

It was fun to take Rob on his first spelunking expedition into the subway system. One thing that's funny about NYC subs is that they don't operate on a schedule. Other public transit systems have schedules posted, or signs indicating 'On Time' or 'Five minutes late'. No such thing exists for the subway. We found our station, found where to make a transfer, and then had nothing to do but sit and wait for the next train, and hope that no one too awkward or disagreeable tried to talk to us. 

There were only a couple of things I hadn't already scoped out, so we took the train straight to Ground Zero to start out, one of my obligatory destinations. Couple of funny things about Ground Zero on this particular day: on the train, Robby asked if it rains a lot in New York, to which I responded, 'Hardly at all since I've been here.' As we got off the train, it was pouring. I mean, if you didn't have an umbrella, it would be a matter of minutes before your clothes were merely sponges. Also, a group of protestors had decided to do what they do - protest - on that morning. So we got off the subway to pouring rain and ignorant... I mean, angry protestors, not to mention the cop presence. Everything at Ground Zero is boarded off for 'construction' anyway (not that any construction has actually happened there in the last nine years). So, I'm glad to have been there, but it wasn't exactly the powerful experience I thought it could have been.

From Ground Zero, we walked our way around soggy Manhattan, so I could show Robby many of the famous spots of the city. A lot of them were the ones I'd already visited: Rockefeller Center, Columbus Circle, Central Park (and I actually made it to The Great Lawn this time!), etc. We spent some time wandering through the Marriot in Times Square, too, but I'm pretty sure the bathroom Steve wanted us to visit doesn't exist anymore. The other place we hit up was the Village; I guess my brother-in-law Steve lived there in college, and after visiting the Village, I finally understand why he loves the city so much. If I ever move to NY again, I will live in the Village.

We had a long, wandering day around Manhattan before we finally made it back to the LIRR, and got back to Long Island around nine that evening. I'm sure there are things I've left out of the day, but I'm finishing this story two months after all this happened, so I think I'm okay with that. I need to collect photos from Robby's camera next time I see him, and then photos of the adventure will be up on Facebook.

There's no place like home...

I'm entirely too tired right now to come up with a better title for this, but nonetheless, it has occurred to me that if I'm going to use movie titles as references, I need to start using much more manly ones than Sex and the City or The Wizard of Oz.

Anyway, I know the number of people who even noticed my blog was even more inactive than usual is slightly smaller than the number of people who noticed when Katherine Heigl starred in Zyzzyx Road. But for those of you who did, this one's for you.

I'll start with the good news: I'm posting from my Mac! About seven weeks ago, my MacBook Pro mysteriously ceased to function (a lot like Sarah Palin when she joined Fox News). I was very distressed, thinking I'd lost my hard drive. I finally had my buddy Adam work on it, and he not only narrowed down the problem to my motherboard instead of the hard drive, he even backed it up for me. Then, after taking the computer to Connecting Point, they informed me that the issue was covered under warranty! So about a week ago, I got my computer back completely repaired for free, instead of paying $2k for a new computer or $900 for a new motherboard!

Now for the other good news: I'm back on the West Coast! I got back to Oregon after an epic, expensive, and possibly ill-advised road trip with my best friend Robby Hill. I've got a couple blogs I started working on that I have to finish, so I'll try to have some regular posts recapping that trip in the next couple weeks. Let's just say by day two we stopped staying in any hotels that weren't at least four star, we've sampled more local microbrews from across the country than I'd ever even heard of, and we spent more than ten times on the drive back to Oregon than I did on the way to New York.

Without getting into too much detail, at the end of the summer, I spent a lot of time considering what I'd accomplished (and could look forward to accomplishing) in New York, and what my opportunities in Oregon would be, and I felt like God wanted me here. I have a great church family here (not to mention real family), I'm helping start a new young adult ministry at that church, Living Waters, and I feel like I'm moving forward with a lot of things. I couldn't be happier to have stayed in NY for a while and seen my family, and I'm glad I took the opportunity when I had it. I may still wind up back in New York later. But for now, I plan on doing some more traveling that God's laid on my heart over the next year or so, and using Oregon as a home base for doing that.

So that's my belated mini-update. Like I said, hopefully I'll have some fun stories worth reading up in the next couple days. And if things go as I hope they will, I will have plenty of very, very exciting things to be writing about over the next several months. Thanks to all who've kept in touch and supported me with everything!

The Wisdom and Scope of Whose Plan?

As I wrote in my last post, I've been spending quite a bit of time lately processing what the next step in my life is going to be. Most of us have, and all of us will go through points in our lives when these decisions and opportunities present themselves to us. But what is our response?

Ephesians 3:14 came to mind last time I spent some time thinking about it: 'When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plans, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father...' I was reflecting on that for a few minutes, when the thought came to my mind, 'It's the wisdom and scope of God's plan.'

My amazing mother wrote me a letter last week. In it she asked, 'So what are those things that are most important to you: School? Ministry? Relationship?' That question helped me to narrow my focus and choices. But as I tried to look beyond this summer, this year, the next five years, the thought became (as it often does) overwhelming. Not in resignation, but in an attempt at surrender, I simply said, 'God, what do you want?'

That thought shouldn't be new to any Christian. But it clicked something for me. So often, we make decisions based on what we want or what is important to us right at the time. But it's not our ability to plan that God wants. It is God's plan that should overwhelm us and bring us to our knees. What if we set our own ideas aside, and simply asked God, 'What do you want?'

'I fall to my knees...'

In Ephesians 3:14, Paul says, 'When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father...'

I may be taking this a little out of context, but it best reflects what I want to say right now. I have some serious decisions coming up, and not only about whether to move back to Oregon or stay in New York, although that's one of them. There are only a few times in our lives when we get to (or have to) make decisions that will have lasting impact; decisions that will affect career, relationships, family. Over the last couple weeks, I've been pondering a lot of these decisions. I told my uncle's friend, George, the other day, 'I can't imagine living to be 70. I'm only 22, and I'm already having a hard time figuring out my life! I can't imagine another 60 years of making these decisions.'

As I spend time trying to understand what God is telling me to do and what I feel best about doing, I take comfort in remembering everything that has already happened in my life, all the blessings and opportunities I've had:

I have amazing friends and family, across the entire country
I've been able to travel from coast-to-coast more times than some people even travel outside their home state!
I've been a part of amazing church bodies
I've attended a life-changing school of ministry, which led to the opportunity to work in ministry full-time, being a part of changing peoples' lives
I've lived in Oregon and New York (and a few places in between)
I've worked at Britt and seen and met more award-winning artists than I can count anymore
I've been on several powerful missions trips, including one to Israel (that was too dang short!)
And this is all just off the top of my head; if I took the time to think of every person and relationship and opportunity I've been blessed with, 'I suppose that if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain the books.'

I don't want this to read as a list of 'why my life is better than yours,' or all the things that make me so cool. What I'm trying to say is that, even though I am genuinely nervous about what this next part of my life is going to contain, I can remember what God has done for me, and trust that he'll see me through this, as well. Shoot, I'd even go so far as to say that maybe I'll have a fulfilling and successful life when all is said and done.

Solo in the City

God help me, I think I just made a 'Sex in the City' pun...

It's been a couple weeks now since I made my first trip into NYC. Amanda recently informed me that I don't blog enough to maintain readers' attention, so I figured it was about time I got this one up!

My buddy Andy from the one and only Medford, Oregon was in NY for a cheese festival. Yes, a cheese festival. I didn't know if it was some little local event or what, but apparently it was a pretty hoity-toity gig. We're talking private parties, four-star restaurants, Cheese Monger secret parties... I think he said it was something like a $6 million event for the weekend. And yes, I just said 'Cheese Monger'.

So Andy and I figured it out, and we decided to meet in the city to catch a Yankee game while he was in town. He was busy cheese festival-ing all day, so I headed into the city early to wander around by myself. There are so many things I wanna do and places I wanna see in NYC, but for anyone who knows me well, you'll understand why making my first trip to the city by myself and just exploring was perfect.

The train ride to Penn Station from Port Jeff is about two hours, but being here has completely changed my perspective on what a 'long trip' is, so it goes by very quickly. I think a lot of people mistake 'living in New York' to mean 'living in New York City,' and they're two very different things. I live on Long Island; there are lots of trees, strip malls, and neighborhoods. I got off the train at Penn Station and walked onto street level, and I felt like I was officially experiencing New York.

I couldn't count how many blocks I walked up and down the streets that day, but it was a lot of backtracking, cutting back and forth, and general exploring. I think there are only two places I really want to visit that I didn't make it to: The Great Lawn in Central Park, and Ground Zero. Ground Zero is way south, at least 50 blocks, I think, so I didn't make that walk. And I walked for 15-20 minutes through Central Park and didn't even make it halfway through it! It's definitely the biggest, and one of the prettiest, parks I've ever been to. Can't wait to go get a game of ultimate on in Central Park and bring a little Southern Oregon to the city :)

My family has always really liked New York photography and landmarks, so I've been looking at pictures all my life of places around the city, and I finally got to go check them out! I was at Rockefeller Center (can't wait to go there during the winter), Central Park, Times Square, Broadway, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Columbus Circle, not to freakin' mention Yankee Stadium that night with Andy! I also tried to find the public bathroom in the Marriott Marquis Times Square, which I've been told is the best public restroom in Times Square, but I didn't feel like wandering around an entire hotel. I'll make sure I find it next time, Steve.

It was a great first trip to the city. I went in with no plans, no friends to meet, no idea where anything was in the city, and no money. I feel like that's pretty much how my life goes! But it was great. And if I had this much fun just going for a couple hours to wander, I can only imagine how hard it will rock when I go in to do dinner and a show or something!

Living in NY: Top 5

It's been about a month now, and so far, here are the five things I've come to appreciate most about NY. Keep in mind, these are things specific to New York, not necessarily things I'd get living in any big city.

1.  Seeing family! Being closer to this side of the family has been awesome. I've had to chance to meet so much family I'd never even met before, and seen lots of other family who I hadn't seen in years. For the 4th of July, we had a big BBQ slash going away party for my cousin Ricky who's joining the Marines. I saw my Uncle Mike for the first time in 11 years. I met his son Michael for the first time ever! I saw my grandma for the first time in about two years. My grandma and two of her three living sisters were together for the first time in about 40 years! People were in tears when all the family started showing up. It was awesome.

2.  Live Yankee games. I can't explain how disappointed I am that I will never see a game in The House That Ruth Built. Nonetheless, tripping into NYC to wander the city, then catching a game with Andy, was amazing. The stadium is beautiful, there's no such thing as a bad seat, and I was in freakin' Yankee Stadium! I can't wait to go back for my next game (maybe a playoff series if I'm still here...)

3.  Every Yankee game is broadcast. On the West Coast, the only time I see the Yankees play is if it's against the Mariners, maybe against the Angels, or during the playoffs. Sometimes a Yankee-Red Sox or Yankee-Met game would make it on TV, but not all of them. Out here, every game they play all season is on network TV. Which means I get to come home after work and regardless of day or time or opponent, a Yankee game is almost always on.

4.  New York accents. I love 'em. And everyone here has one. That's all.

5.  Driving. Nobody calls me an aggressive driver, nobody gets pissed off and tailgates me when I cut back and forth. My driving fits right in on Long Island, and I like driving however the heck I want, while everyone else does the same.

Stained Glass Window Shopping

I didn't get to sleep until around 3a last night. I had some funky dream that kept me up, I woke up when my uncle got home around 4:30, and then I was up at 8 with a text then a phone call. Despite all that, I managed to get myself up and at church like I promised myself I would.

I checked out several churches online and finally decided I wanted to visit Three Village Church. There was really only one reason I chose 3VC as my first option: they had an updated, decent website. Maybe it's callous or a sad commentary on my generation that that's what I looked at first, but to me, an appealing website to me is indicative of having at least some young people in the church. Also, the fact that they have a hip acronym like 3VC (which is reminiscent of LW or 'el Dub' to me) helped.

Not being entirely certain on service times (that was the one thing about their main page I didn't like), I decided to show up for the earliest one I saw. It was decidedly the early service. I saw almost no young people, despite info on their website about 'College and Career' ministries. I was a few minutes late, which is sadly typical for me these days due to my need for a cup of coffee on the way to church, but I walked into the sanctuary to hear a familiar song playing, which was really nice. Apparently the church is in the process of looking for a new senior pastor, so they had a guest speaker, but he was very engaging and was easy to follow. That means a lot coming from me, since I've found probably less than half a dozen people that I actually like listening to as much as Garris.

There's a whole coffee, fellowship, bagel shindig upstairs in their youth area between services, so I wandered in there. I have to say, I appreciate a church that has a good youth area, because it reflects on their values, and 3VC has a very nice area. It's not extravagant, but it's clear that they want to give their youth a space of their own. I'd already decided to stay for second service to see if more young people showed up, but between services I was caught by Jon, one of the pastors on staff. Talking with him was great, I met several people through him, met their youth pastor, Bart, between services. All-in-all, I felt very welcomed.

As second service started, I definitely saw more young people come in, and started to actually believe they had a college/career ministry. The church clearly isn't very big, probably about the size of Living Waters, my church in Medford, maybe even a little smaller. Their services are a little more liturgical than I'm used to, their worship a little less contemporary than I prefer, but it was all very comfortable. Clearly a group of people who come to worship. I did use my phone for reading and note taking, as is standard for me, which is fine until it falls off my leg while I'm not using it, and everyone around me probably assumes I'm texting or checking Facebook (which in all honesty, did happen a little...).

After second service, I had the chance to meet a few more people, including the young adult leaders, and Bonnie. Bonnie is, as far as I can tell, a lady who's a part of the church. We chatted for a bit, then she invited me over for bagels and coffee. Bagels and coffee. Of course I went. I only got home from her house about 30 minutes ago, so I was there for a couple hours after church. I spent the afternoon with her, her husband, her niece, and met her daughter and daughter's boyfriend. It was great! After only one day, I felt welcomed and like I've finally met people on the island!

So, I think I've found my church. I've had some heavy things go down back in Medford since I got here, so I asked God to spare me from church hopping for the next two months trying to find a good place. I found 3VC online, thought it looked nice, and simply asked that this would be the church for me. I think it is. I was initially going to write this blog with the intent of asking what people suggest I look for in a church, or how they've church shopped before, or what helped them decide. But now I'm afraid my title is misleading. After today, I don't have anymore shopping to do, I only need to spend more time there! I suppose there are still things to find out, a very small number of things that are theologically important to me. Based on the service today, however, the familiar worship, the Bible-based teaching, the welcoming atmosphere, I feel very good about this being the right place. This may be the only church I've ever gone to where I've felt comfortable and at home without already having a group of friends to welcome me.

That's been my experience. So although I don't think I need to do anymore shopping, I'd still be intrigued to hear other stories of church shopping, things that helped, maybe some funny church fail stories, or ways that you know you'd found the right place.

Road Trip Guidelines

This is something I intended to write while I was on the road, but when I finally arrived at my destination every night, I pretty much just crashed. So now, a little late, here are some road trip guidelines I came up with on the drive:

• Snacks: keeps lots of snacks in the car. Buy a flat of water to keep with you. For me, stopping for coffee before I leave town is a must, and I always have Clif Bars or granola bars with me. Snacking will keep you going for a long time instead of stopping for food all the time. And if you're a smoker, bring extra cigarettes. Unless you're really casual or you have great willpower, you will wind up smoking more, because there's nothing else to occupy your time.
• Comfy clothes! On my trip, I was driving 9-12 hours a day, so I wanted to be comfy! Find the most comfortable jeans or shorts you own and put 'em on. Shoes that slip on and off easily are nice. And a light jacket, so you can drive with the windows down even when it's a little chilly, is great.
• Pack light. You're driving, you're not trying to impress anyone. If you need to look nice once you get somewhere, put one extra outfit in the bottom of the bag and forget about it. And make sure you pack extra underwear. The more you road trip, the easier it is to remember everything.
• Make a checklist. If you write things down as you think of them in the few days before you leave, it'll make that morning much easier. You won't be running around trying to remember anything, you can just check your list, have peace of mind, and hit the road!
• Music. Music is a whole subcategory in itself. If you don't care about music that much, you can skip this part:
• First off, this is the digital age. If you really feel like changing CDs every 30 minutes, and carrying around that huge book of CDs, go for it. But seriously, just get a stereo with an aux. in or an FM transmitter, and load up your iPod.
• You've gotta have your favorite music with you. I don't ever start or end a road trip without having some Ben Folds blasting, and I don't remember the last time I had a long drive without some Blues Traveler or Hilltop Hoods.
• You need a good variety of music to mix things up. Something funky-fresh to get you psyched up when you leave, but also some chill stuff for the end of the drive. When I've been driving for 11 hours, I don't want to listen to anymore Rage Against the Machine, I want to listen to Damien Rice or Micah Dalton or Elliot (yeah, check them out: Elliot).
• Make sure you have good speakers that work! Nothing can suck more than having your music crap out mid-drive.
• Bring new music so you don't get bored with all of it, but also bring good music you know, so you can crank the windows down, the music up, and sing along like an idiot! :)
• Know how and when to stop for photos. Unless you have lots of time to kill, don't stop for everything little thing. For example, if you see McAndrews Road, don't say, 'LULZ! OMG! There's totally McAndrews in Medford!' It's not that exciting. If you see Jackass Hill Road, yeah, stop and take a picture. I took a picture of every state line I crossed, which I thought was cool for me. Also, learn to take pictures while you drive, it takes less time ;)
• A map is good, but honestly, not necessary. I just drove across the country without printing out a single page. Like I said, it's the 21st century, get a GPS or an iPhone. Actually, just get an iPhone. It's a good investment for life.
• Have people you can call or text while your driving. Er... I mean, don't text while driving, it's not safe. Practice safe text! But seriously, sometimes having a voice on the line can make the difference over that last hour between a safe drive and nodding off at the wheel.
• For my last guideline, I'll apologize in advance to the ladies: sorry, ladies. There are two good reasons to stop: you're having car problems or you need gas. A good rule is to not get on the freeway with less than half a tank, but you can push that with certain cars. But you need to pee? Pee when you get gas. Out of snacks? Buy them at the gas station. In an emergency, take 30 seconds and pee on the side of the road instead of 15 minutes to pull off and find a gas station. Unless you have no time constraints, then stop whenever you please, and stop at cool places to take pictures!

That's it. Those are my ideas, after five days and 3100 miles on the road. If you've got your own road trip guidelines, put 'em up!

NY and Bust

The first (almost) week in NY has been... fairly uneventful, actually. My cousins, Sam and Sabrina, were over at Rick's house Sunday and Monday night, so it was nice to finally get to meet them and hang out for a bit. But mostly it's been a lot of chilling around the house. Rick works nights, so it's been nice to have the house quiet and empty at a relatively early hour so I can crash, or start working on something and not bother anyone.

My new store is - interesting. Definitely a different culture and mindset out here. And I'll just put it this way: I was trained very, very well to do everything according to standard and to make the customer my number one priority. So at this store, I look great! There are a lot of different and strong personalities working at the store, but they're all friendly and I have no problems with any of them.

Long Island really hasn't turned out to be all that different from Oregon. So far, I've talked to some random lady in Starbucks about Apple computers, I've sat and read at (several) Starbucks, I chopped up some firewood for Rick, and I still buy cigarettes from Indian people! On the way to Starbucks today, some guy's car died, so another guy and I got out and helped him push it, and people totally open doors for each other! It's practically the same place. Oh, and I brought the Oregon weather with me, apparently: 66º and sprinkling today! So much for the beach on my day off.

I'm really looking forward to next week at this point. Probably because they were unsure of my availability and training, I was only on the schedule three days this week. I did manage to pick up a short shift on Friday, but it's still not much. Without having work, and without knowing anyone on the Island yet, I pretty much just sit around and get kinda bored. So once work picks up, and hopefully after I visit this church on Sunday, I'll have a little bit more going on.

On a side note, I just ran out to my car to grab some stuff. I left my computer sitting inside, and started talking to some random guy about the area. See? This place is totally chill. The thing I have noticed, though, and yes, this is totally a shout out and props to Southern Oregon, we totally have the cutest baristas there. I'm telling ya, haven't met anyone out here that's as pretty. Oregon girls are prettier ;)

That's a week in Long Island, I think. Rick's got a huge backyard, and a pool, and a gym downstairs, so once the weather gets nice and I find an actual schedule, I'll have a lot more to do. And once I get paid and get my balance about the $30 or whatever it's at, I'll be making a little trip into the city, I think.

Hope all is well back in Oregon!

NY or Bust - Day Five: Columbus to Port Jefferson Station

Just so everyone knows, I am writing this from my new store in the Smith Haven Mall in NY! Of course, the first place in town I went to find was my Starbucks :)

As tempted as I was to spend an extra day in Bexley, by the time I woke up, I was definitely ready to hit the road. Part of me almost wishes something bad or extravagant had happened, so I'd at least have a cool story to tell. I feel like traveling across the country and not having any great stories to tell is a bit of a letdown. Well, except for that awesome night in Kansas City (thanks again for that, Rob). Oh, and I guess I did get to be there for my best friend having her baby. Maybe the trip wasn't completely boring...

Everything yesterday went really well. I felt like I couldn't get out of construction all the way from freakin' Pennsylvania to New York, but it actually didn't slow me down too much. And thanks to being in the middle of nowhere, maintaining that 'steady speed' wasn't a problem (no, no more cruise control, it was too hilly). I've honestly been surprised at how nice most of the states have been to drive through. Pennsylvania was actually a pretty state to drive through. Going over the Appalachians was very nice scenery, even though they're only very cute little mountains, barely bigger than Roxy Anne, it seemed like. The East Coast definitely doesn't know how to rock the mountains. But they get A+ for effort and still being pretty.

Getting into NY was actually pretty darn exciting. Of course, I had to turn on 'Empire State of Mind' by Jay-Z and rock that as I was driving. Passed through Brooklyn, Queens, and got a killer view of the Manhattan skyline! I got into town at about 6p, and made it the next 60 miles to my uncle's house a little after 8p... Honestly, the traffic on the Parkway wasn't any worse than in any other city I've had to drive through. But after being on the road for about 9 hours, I was ready to be done. At one point, it took me about an hour to get five or ten miles. Not fun driving.

Along the way, I had to pay a couple tolls. In Kansas, it was about $2 (yeah, Kansas has toll roads...), one in Jersey that was about the same, I think. Then I paid one in Jersey that was about $12, and coming into NY, had to pay $8. The only problem with tolls is you need to pay with cash. I'd stopped at an ATM when I got gas to make sure I had cash on me, but when I got there, I couldn't find it anywhere. I thought I must have accidentally handed the last toll guy my $20 instead of a $1. So, freaking out a little, I grabbed my change bag and started counting out quarters to pay the $8. I felt like a retard, and the toll guy was pissed. Luckily, though, I found the money laying on the floor. That was about the biggest problem I encountered along the way.

I wanna take just a minute to give a genuine thank you to everyone who helped out, or called, texted, gave me a place to crash (or booked me a hotel room), prayed, or anything else. According to Google Maps, the route I took was 3,189 miles. I just traveled over 3000 miles in the course of five days with absolutely no serious incident. No accidents, didn't get pulled over, never ran out of gas, didn't even so much as spill any coffee on myself. This is, to me, totally just one more sign that this is what God actually wants me to be doing.

What do you say to family when you haven't seen them in 11 years? I didn't remember anything about my uncle's town, or even what his house looked like. So, I found what I thought was the right address, walked up to the door, and saw him inside in the kitchen. He said, 'Come in, man!' So I walked in, gave him a hug, and said, 'Hey...' Haha! It was great. There's definitely going to be some getting to know each other and feeling each other out, but after 11 years I can just show up in NY and say, 'Hey,' 'cause we're family.

I called my other uncle last night, Mike, and I don't think I got a whole heck of a lot more than ten or fifteen words in. He sounded really excited to have me here, and couldn't stop talking about his son wanting to see me, or him coming down to visit, or me heading up there, asking me questions about the drive, and on and on. It was great! One of my cousins might be down tomorrow to have a BBQ at my uncle's house. It's great to be here with family, and I already feel like I'm part of the family - which, you know, I always was, but more than just a surface level. I'm getting to be a part of their lives!

So, today, I am taking it pretty easy, hopefully getting stuff rearranged in my room, and gonna cruise around town a bit to find out where to go, hopefully track down a decent church, and probably head down to the beach for a bit - yeah, as I'm writing this, it's 58º and cloudy in Medford, and it's 86º and sunny here... suckers ;) I'm sitting in my new store new, and already got a great welcome. It's in a mall, so I doubt this'll be my new hang out, as it's not conducive to sitting and relaxing. But the partners here are great! I told them I was scared that nobody in the store would actually be friends with each other, but they told me they all hang out all the time, and are apparently going to the beach at least once this weekend. So it looks like I may not have as hard of a time meeting people as I expected. Also, across from my store is a Cheesecake Factory and a California Pizza Kitchen.

So, since I've been sitting here for a while already, and I don't think I want all my coworkers to find out how much time I actually spend at work when I'm not working (not yet, at least), I think it's time to do some exploring of Long Island. I'll continue to put photos up on Facebook and keep everyone up to date on exciting goings-on out here.

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts, prayers, and support! I'm living in NY!

NY or Bust - Day Four: Kansas City to Columbus (Bexley) cont'd

Good morning, good morning! I got very little sleep Wednesday night, and had a very uneventful drive Thursday, so being awake, well-rested, and on the last leg has me feeling very well today.

Honestly, I can't give much of an update regarding yesterday's drive. I wrote down the highlights so I wouldn't forget them:

The abbreviation for Missouri is MO, so they have Mo' Everything! Seriously... Mo' DOT, Mo' road crews, I saw Mo' cars, Mo' towns... That's the highlight of Missouri, getting to say Mo' before everything. It's pretty much the same as when you pass a dam on the road, and then start calling everything the 'dam road' and the 'dam trees'.

The other cool thing in MO was crossing the Mississippi. But only on principle. The Mississippi is wide, and long, and dirty.

In Illinois I stopped at the Blue Springs Café for lunch, and ate a pretty decent BBQ pork sandwich. That lunch stop consisted of all of 12 minutes...

And Illinois is muggy.

Oh, and I didn't realize when I was coming up on Indiana, so I didn't get a picture of getting into that state :( There goes my one road trip tradition!

As you can imagine, with such an uneventful (but still smooth) day, I was just ready to get to Columbus and relax. Little did I know I was going to what is likely one of coolest little towns east of the Mississippi! Seriously, even just pulling into town, I felt familiar with the place. There were neighbors chatting in their front yards, families walking around, people out walking their dogs. I was expecting to arrive in Columbus, which is about pop. 1 million, and I wound up in a welcoming little neighborhood.

Matt and Allison are great people (and pretty much exactly who I'd expect Susan to stay in touch with after college)! Sadly, I didn't get to meet their daughter, who is two. Matt works in the web marketing department of a local university, if I remember, and Allison is an Italian teacher at the local Catholic high school. Not only is that kind of funny and badass in and of itself, she is also fluent in German, French, and Latin, and I think another one that I forgot. No joke. These people are ridiculously smart.

Chatting with them was great. They're easy to get along with and are very intellectual (which means it's actually intelligent conversation). Matt and I decided to walk down to a local pizza place for a late dinner, so on the way he took me all through the neighborhood then to their little main downtown strip. I wish I had more time to hang out in the town; I want to take pictures of all the neighborhoods, the park I found down the street from their house, the new Jewish Temple, Capitol University's campus (which is beautiful). This town reminds me of something from The Wonder Years :) Oh, and still a little of Spectre from Big Fish, 'cause now I don't wanna leave.

However, I'm going to finish up this post and hit the road. I believe I'm about 9-10 hours from Long Island, with no time zone change today! To be honest, I'm a little sad the trip is ending. It's been a lot of fun to get to adventure and see new places and meet some of these people. I think I'll be bored for a couple days once I get there, 'cause I won't be unpacking and packing my car and getting ready to drive half the day!

I'm also a little anxious about being there. I mean, I've only been gone from Oregon for five days now, it's not as if it's been a long time. Arriving in NY and unpacking will finalize this decision for me and finally make it real, I think. Leaving Oregon was a little sad, but as soon as I spent an hour or two on the road, I was focused on the trip. I think getting into NY and finally slowing down is going to give me some time to simply ponder the decision again and what it means.

But, before I can do that, I do have to finish today's drive. I checked the weather in Port Jefferson, and my app says thunderstorms. So maybe later tonight instead of doing another update, I'll watch the thunderstorm from the beach in NY...

NY or Bust - Day Four: Kansas City to Columbus (Bexley)

I am presently sitting on a microfiber couch in a ridiculously comfy, quaint home in Bexley, OH. This may be the most relaxed I've been since leaving Medford. Bexley is a suburb of Columbus, so it has a very charming small neighborhood feel, with the convenience of a real city just down the street. I went to grab pizza today with the people I'm staying with, but we didn't just grab pizza, we decided to walk there. So I got a tour of the city on the way: the neighborhoods, Main St., the college, the brand new, stinking huge Jewish Temple... I love this town. This town is like Spectre in Big Fish.

Because I didn't get much sleep last night, though, and because it's already pretty late, I'm gonna finish doing a real update later. Tonight, I'll just leave you with this cool little story:

I parked my car down the street and walked down to where I thought the house was. The first thing that struck me was how many people were either walking to their neighbors' yards just to chat or walking around themselves, even though it was getting dark. I found the right house and found the guy I was staying with chatting with his neighbor. So I introduced myself, then let them finish their conversation.

While they were talking, I noticed the sun glinting on something in the air. It looked the way a dust mite looks in sunlight, but much brighter. I kept looking, hoping to see what it was, when the sun caught it again. Then I noticed the same thing to the right of it. Then, on the left, another small flash. Suddenly, I realized: they were fireflies. It was right then that it struck me that I'm not only on the last leg of my journey, but the eastern half of the US.

Now, having lived in NY, I'm sure I've seen fireflies before, but I don't remember it. I think that for a long time, I'll remember this relaxed, familiar feeling this town gives me. And I'm going to think of Buxley as the place where I saw fireflies for the first time.

NY or Bust - Day Three: Colorado Springs to Overland Park (Kansas City)

Phew. I'm a little tired while writing this one, so pardon me if it rambles a little in places.

Highlight of the freakin' trip happened today: one of my best friend's, Jenn, went into labor when I was staying with her and her family in Colorado Springs, so I got to go to the hospital with them! I popped on a little 'Still Fighting It' by Ben Folds on the way, and even though Jenn had a daughter, it was perfect. I met her new daughter, Tischel Leanna, just a couple hours after she was born!! I was super excited to get to share that experience with Jenn and her family, one of the coolest things I've ever done. I guess that's just how my vacations roll: went to Catalina Island and saw a wedding, went to Ensenada and got stuck at a Mexican funeral, go to Colorado Springs and take part in a birth :-D

After that whole experience, I can only imagine what it must feel like to be a dad. Watching her go through the contractions knowing I couldn't help was pretty hard; that male instinct to protect kicks in pretty strong. But if I experienced a 1/10th or a 1/100th of the concern for her that a husband would experience for his wife, I know I only experienced a 1/1000th of the excitement that a new dad would have! So to all the dad's out there: props, and congratulations, and now I can't wait!

As cool as that was, though, it did mean instead of sleeping at a house and getting a full night's sleep, I caught naps on the couch in the waiting room of the hospital between grabbing stuff from the car for Jenn and her family and getting updates on how it was going. Her sister told me a lot of things about 'triage,' and 'posterior,' and '81%,' whatever the heck those things mean, then she finally said something about 'water breaking' and 'epidural,' and I totally know what those mean! So we spent the night at the hospital, Jenn had the baby at about 11:30, and I hit the road entirely later than I intended to, at a little after 2p (sans a shower and changing, mind you). I said yesterday how much Colorado reminded me of Oregon. Well, as I was leaving town, it was sunny and started drizzling on me. Yeah, that's how similar they are :)

Now, I was fully prepared to eat my words about Wyoming when I drove through Kansas. Of all the states I'd expect to suck, Kansas is right up there on that list. It actually wasn't bad! It was clear skies almost the entire way, the first really sunny skies of the trip for me, and that was great. Not to mention it's much flatter than Wyoming, so my cruise control was working great for quite a while, and I got to drive some killer back roads (CO 94-E and US 40-E) where I had a chance to enjoy scenery and make up some time. And Kansas is so much greener than Wyoming! I will say this about Kansas, though, and this is coming from a guy who grew up next to a farm in Oregon and lived on a farm in Montana: Kansas smells. Seriously. Entire parts of the state just smell funky.

The drive through Kansas went very smoothly. Huge thanks to the sheriff in Topeka who helped me out: there was construction on part of I-70 and I had to exit the freeway, so he let me follow him off the exit and back onto I-70 on the other side of town. After Topeka, I did push Gracie pretty hard, and probably should have stopped for gas a little sooner. I thought I'd make it fine, but I swear, it's like the Kansas Turnpike never ends. I was starting to doubt whether or not Kansas City even existed! So I did wind up making one last stop for gas before I got to Overland Park.

Now, my good friend Robby took it upon himself to book me a room in Overland Park, just outside Kansas City. I had no idea where I was staying until I got there, and the hotel looked nice. As I walked in, I was excited, because even the lobby smelled good! The clerk promptly greeted me, asked me if I had a reservation, then informed me he was sending me to another hotel because some of the sprinklers in the rooms weren't working. I got sent down to the Hampton Inn (which I at first misread as 'Hilton'; that was a letdown). As I got out of my car and started walking to the entrance, two cops were circling the parking lot. I'm pretty sure this entire floor was at one point a smoking floor, based on the smell. The room was definitely a smoking room. But, as Robby said, it wouldn't be my road trip or a funny story if everything went well.

So I decided to head to a bar across the street for some food and a beer before bed. The place is called 'Fox and Hound,' but according to the sign out front, it's the 'Fox an- --und.' Props for burnt out lights. Inside it actually wasn't bad at all, and the hot wings were good (I don't even have heartburn from them!). Then, when I got back to the hotel, there were six, yes, six police units outside the hotel. Apparently a guest had seem someone walking around the parking lot checking car doors. I parked in the front of the hotel, in view of the clerk's desk, and approached the cops to ask if everything was alright. They told me there was no concern for anyone's safety, and one of them adeptly pointed out to me that this is probably the safest hotel in Overland Park tonight. All-in-all, I'm just really glad to be done driving for the night and to have a bed to sleep in.

So, I'm another day and 580 miles closer to NY! I think I'd be mad at Kansas, too, if I hadn't been so entertained by all the misfortune that took place here. Now, I'm ready for a shower, bed, and starting at a decent hour in the morning!

NY or Bust - Day Two: SLC to Colorado Springs

Mad props, once again, to SLC Kate and her family, and the Starbucks crew in SLC. I'm gonna go ahead and throw a 'bucks plug in right now: buy a Starbucks tumbler. They last for years, and they keep coffee warm for at least six hours after it's poured. That's all.

I didn't get quite as early of a start as I'd hoped, but I did spend the extra time sipping on coffee while I updated my blog and photos, so it was time well spent. As I was leaving town, it felt like Gracie was dragging a little, which concerned me at first. It felt like she'd lost power. But I think it was just the car going from 1/4 tank to a full tank; either way, once I was on the freeway, she continued running smoothly.

Probably a little more than half the drive today was in Wyoming. Wyoming sucks. I don't know how else to extrapolate that without complaining. It's flat, ugly, nothing exciting or pretty to look at, and too hilly to utilize the custom cruise control I developed (see the Facebook photos for an explanation on that...). Also, the girls at Subway charged me $7.42 for a '$5 Footlong'... I just paid and got outta line; I didn't feel like dealing with it anymore.

Then I got to Colorado... Colorado is like taking Bend, mixing it with Portland, then blowing it up to the size of a state. In other words, I loved it. There are cities, mountains, and architecture. I thought about stopping in Denver, but I was really anxious to get to Colorado Springs and see my friend Jenn, plus I was going through town at 5p, middle of rush hour. So I decided to just continue driving. I loved driving in Colorado, though. Definitely want to come back here for a visit and hang out sometime.

Two amazing things happened while driving today: first, when I started the day in Utah, Jenn told me she'd gone into early labor! There's early labor, then active labor, and it can come and go... I don't really understand. Long story short, I'm updating this from their living room, and before I leave Colorado Springs, I'll likely get to meet Jenn's baby and be an uncle!

Later in the drive, I was chatting with Robby about my plans for Kansas City. He shot me an address, so I thought he'd Priceline'd a hotel for me. Turns out, Bob decided to surprise me with a reservation! So I've got a room ready and paid for when I arrive in Kansas City. Which means I can take my time getting there, 'cause I don't have to worry about being an inconvenience to anyone, and I can completely relax (maybe even explore) when I'm there.

All-in-all... Day two wasn't bad. It felt a lot longer than the first day, but I'm going to continue to blame Wyoming. More than worth it to get to explore beautiful Colorado, though, and spend an evening with Jenn and her family. I'll continue to keep you all updated. And please continue to pray, they are definitely still being answered.

NY or Bust - Day One: Medford to SLC

I need to start by giving thanks to everyone who's helped this trip so far:

Thanks to Nevada and Utah for being so generally flat and straight, allowing Gracie to get about 45 mpg, and allowing me to make the trip in about 12 hours

Thanks to InCase for making a dual-USB car charger, so I could keep my music rolling and charge my phone at the same time

Thanks to Jason for giving me an amp and speakers that makes the music so much better

Thanks to Apple for making the iPod and the iPhone such great freaking tools (and toys!)

Thanks to Google for making such a good map app

And being serious,

Thanks to SLC Kate and her family for giving me a place to crash!

Thanks to my family for putting together such a killer snack basket for me

Thanks to everyone who called and text with me during the long drive

And thanks to everyone who's been praying for me; your prayers are both heard and answered

My last day in Medford went a little differently than planned... Had some heavy stuff come up that I was not expecting to deal with, but God was good, and got me through it, and used it to show me even more how much he's blessed this trip. The couple days before I left, I was asking God to help me make sure this was what he wants me to do. I even took it to the point of praying that if he didn't want me to go, he'd cause me to get in a car accident. Not because I didn't want to do the trip, but because I knew it would take something that drastic for me to catch on. Well, two days, some crazy driving, and about 750 miles later, I'm still safe and sound and more confident than ever that this is the right thing!

Today's drive went very, very smoothly. I left Medford at around 9a (after getting coffee, my review, and a raise!) and arrived in Salt Lake City a little after 10p. When I first got to Utah, I was excited for the time change, because I was in the future! Then Robby made me realize that I actually just lost an hour; Utah stole an hour of my life! Friggin', Utah! I want it back!

As is only appropriate for me, I started the trip with a little Ben Folds, and wrapped up with some more Ben Folds. In between were the likes of Beck, Chili Peppers, White Stripes, Nightmares on Wax, Lightbreak, Dave Matthews, Rage Against the Machine, and Black Eyed Peas. I only had to stop a couple of times. My last stop was in Winnemuca, Nevada, where I gassed up and ate some food, then made short work of the second half of the first day. I almost pulled off when I got into Utah to spin out on the salt flats, but was worried about getting stuck, so I opted to cruise on by and satisfy myself with a couple pictures.

Today was my longest day, at about 12 hours, like I said, and it was the shortest 12 hours of driving I've ever done. From here on out, the rest of the trip is going to feel easy, being only 8-10 hours of driving a day. I plan on taking off by 7 or 8a tomorrow (which will probably be today, by the time I've posted this), staying tomorrow night in Colorado Springs with one of my greatest friends ever, Jenn! Look for new blogs in the coming days, as I'll try to put one up after each day of driving (and also post my 'Road Trip Guidelines' that I've been brainstorming). I'll try to have a few pictures up here, but the majority will be on Facebook.

Again, thanks to everyone for the prayers and phone calls! I'll keep you posted!


P.S.
I'm still looking for a place to crash in or near Kansas City, MO tomorrow night. If anyone has any contacts, let me know.

go east, young man?

After sharing the news of my move with most people, it became apparent that I'm not going to actually have time to individually contact everyone person who wants to know when I leave, how the move goes, when I get there, etc., etc. So, I decided I'd finally just start an official blog. I don't have anything as exciting to share as the people who have fashion blogs, or share spiritual truths, or adventures in Africa. But, I'll be able to stay in touch with a lot of you.

That being said, for those of you who don't know, I will start my little cross-country trek (aka, long stinking drive) to Port Jefferson Station, New York (on Long Island) one week from today. I've yet to decide whether this is going to be a solo journey or if I'll have a traveling partner, but this is the potential route I'm considering:

Medford, OR to Salt Lake City, UT ~ 13 hrs.

Salt Lake City to Colorado Springs, CO ~ 9.5 hrs.

Colorado Springs to Chicago, IL ~ 17 hrs.

Chicago to Port Jefferson Station, NY ~ 15 hrs.

Having already driven cross country with my family at least three times (it may be as many as six, I don't really remember; I'm fairly certain I've blocked certain memories), I'm opting not to make this a 'road trip,' but to get to NY as quickly as freaking possible so I can relax and see my family.

It's been three or four years since I started seriously considering a move to New York. Having been born there and having lots of family (my mother's entire side) still living there, some part of my heart has always thought of NY as home, even though I've never really lived there long enough for it to become that. So, five or six weeks ago, almost on a whim, I decided to call me uncle and ask if I could stay with him. He said yes. Then I called a couple Starbucks in NY, asking if they needed a transfer, and one manager actually told me they could use someone that weekend. I told him I couldn't get there quite that quickly, but I could hopefully be there in a month. So, I put in my transfer request, received an approval on that almost two weeks ago, and I'm leaving on Monday. It's happening fast, but that's starting to become a theme in my life.

My main purpose in moving there is to get to know my family. It's been 11 years since I've seen them, and it's time to spend some time with them. I've prayed about moving on and off over the last couple years, and I know that spending this time with my family is a God-given desire on my heart, not just the whim of a young, single guy. As I prayed about this transfer and move, every door was wide open, so I'm taking that as a sign to jump headfirst into this adventure, and that's what I'm going to do!

It's bittersweet in a couple ways. The last year living in Medford hasn't been the easiest or most spiritually fulfilling of my life. I've only just recently started to feel a sense of purpose and excitement start to come back to my heart, and now I'm leaving again. But I know I'm leaving for a good reason, and God's going to continue to open doors and my eyes to new things as I get there. And I'm not too distraught knowing that I'm just gonna have to make it the occasional Yankee game and Broadway show.

That's the news. I'll try to make sure I get some decent photos along the way and put those up, and I'll put up another little update once I make it to NY. I hope to stay in touch with a lot of you this way, so thanks for reading!


-M