let's raise a toast to saint joe strummer...

Pretty average week so far.  Miriam has been at work a lot this week because of a conference the Bonner Foundation was hosting.  While it meant she was at work until 9 Monday and Tuesday and had to go in on Sunday, it did mean I got to mooch 2 free meals which was awesome.  For those who don't know I love free stuff, I'll take advantage of anything free, even if it makes no sense to take advantage of it.

We're heading up to camp this weekend which I am really looking forward to.  Miriam will be chaplain all next week while I'll be taking Greek...meh (though we don't have class Monday so that is nice).  It will good to see all the changes up there and to see people, not to mention that the Adirondacks have to be about my favorite place on earth.  In the few days I'll be up we'll hopefully get in some good hiking and canoeing.

Read two more books so far this week: Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris and Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut.  Ferris' book was a fiction novel about a marketing office trying to survive in the early 00's.  It was really quite funny and a quick read.  I have never worked in an office but I feel like it probably gave a good portrait of office work.  Vonnegut's book was by far the weirdest of his I've ever read but good none-the-less.  I think I need a break from him though.  3 of his books in 2 weeks has left my brain fried.

I've been listening to The Hold Steady's new album and it is freakin' great.  They are truly a modern day Springsteen with a little more punk mixed in.  I also recently downloaded an older Drive-By Truckers album, The Dirty South.  The album came out in 2004 and it kicks major ass.  The album is a driving Southern Rock album that is able to embrace and at the same time rise above the hick-ish stereotypes of the south.  

i try not to set precedents just stack dead presidents

-I've read four books in the last week:

Cat's Cradle and The Sirens of Titan, both by Kurt Vonnegut

The Legend of Colton H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller

Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This is surely one of the nice things about not being at camp for the summer.  I would always show up at camp expecting to read one or two books and come out reading one or two chapters.  So far this summer I think I've read nearly 10 books already, it's grand.

- Yesterday Miriam and I nearly got pinned into a guardrail by a NJ Transit bus while out riding. I swear that drivers in this state could care less if they kill a cyclist.  Needless to say NJ Transit will be receiving a complaint from the Barnes' about that driver.

- We video-Skyped with Miriam's brother and sister-in-law and their kids last night.  Technology is quite a nice thing when you're 11.5 hours away from people.

 

hott in...so hott in hurr

So it's been about a million degrees here the last week or so.  It has been quite an adjustment being back in real place with real heat during the summer.  It would get hot in the mountains but usually we'd be near water in some manner or on the water and that made it bearable.  In Jersey it's just hot, no relief.

Which leads me to how we spent our Saturday: at the Jersey Shore...yes, the Jersey Shore...and yes it is nearly as ridiculous as your mind is imagining right now.  It took us 3 hours to drive a 1:45 hour drive because of traffic.  We also were headed to Ocean City which, is a little farther than the closest beach to Princeton but Miriam has a friend working their this summer.  Let's just say Ocean City is everything about New Jersey that makes me sick...amplified: lots of people, lots of gaudiness, lots of unnecessary SUV driving, and lots of unchecked consumerism.

I also got ran off the road by a tractor trailer last week...it was awesome.  It really makes me glad I don't remember anything about getting hit in September because I am sure something like this past week would make me not want to ride.

We saw The Dark Knight on Friday and it was out of this world good.  Heath Ledger's Joker makes Jack Nicholson's Joker look like child's play.  The movie was really dark but that just added to its awesomeness.  I really can't say enough about Heath Ledger's Joker, it was flawless.  He never broke character and the character he developed was classic.  Movies like this don't aren't normally Oscar worthy but Heath Ledger should get at least a nomination, regardless of the sentimental votes he will get because of his death.  Go see the movie...now.

gimme da loot gimme da loot

So one week of greek down.  It isn't too bad so far, so much easier than Hebrew already.  I know it will get really difficult at one point but it is alright for now.

I have come to resent the English program at Schalmont (my school district) for not teaching good grammar skills, it has really hurt me trying to learn language.  It is hard to know what an indirect object is in Greek when you don't know what one is in English.  My dad, who was an English teacher before becoming assistant principle told me that there was a movement away from teaching grammar in the 90s, sweet...thanks English educators for being dumb.

We've had a few people over this week at times for meals and it has been fun.  It is nice to host people in our new place.

We got a KitchenAid mixer for a wedding gift.  I've used it twice already.  I made cookies today (they were awesome) and I made bread yesterday.  The bread turned out about 75% good I'd say.  Yeast is tricky and the bread tastes good but didn't rise a ton and thus is only about an inch tall.  Oh well, it's a learning process.

n-e-double u jerze

Today was a sad day: I took off my NY license plates and put on New Jersey plates.

Yesterday was a sad day too: I had to hand in my NY driver's license and get a NJ one.   The upside: my picture looks good. 

So I haven't written in quite sometime but as you can now imagine, we are finally settled into NJ for good, and by for good I mean for a year...then we are getting the hell out.

So a recap of June:

- I got married! It was a tremendous affair and I think all involved had a great time.  Official pics will be up on our photographers site soon and I'll post the link.  It was awesome to have seminary friends, camp friends, college friends (holla!), other friends, and family all hanging out and enjoying themselves.  It was also sweet having the wedding on Sunday because it meant we had a whole weekend of festivities.

- We had a dope honeymoon in Ithaca, NY filled with lots of hanging, hiking through some sweet gorges, winery stopping and wine tasting, and other fun things.

- I spent 3 weeks taking classes that were required for RCA ordination.  They weren't as bad as I thought, though writing papers for them now sucks.

- I turned 24.

- I discovered some of the greatest cycling roads ever in between Holland and Saugatuck in western Michigan.

- I've been riding fixed way more that free wheel and loving it.

And a recap of July so far:

- I started summer Greek at Princeton on Monday.  Motivation is hard to find.

- We had a sweet party at my parents in NY complete with a performance by the Sacandaga String Band who graced us with 3 sets of bluegrass/folk/mind rocking.  It was great to see camp friends, friends from home, and other people I hadn't seen in years.

- We're almost to completely unpacked and our apartment is looking great.   

Now that I'm settled in one place I'll write more often...hopefully.