Where There's a Road

like 1930 that night...

2009-11-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

So...I have to apologize to my loyal and numerous readers for not blogging in a long time. Here we go, let's get this started again.

So here's a quick list of what's been going on.
- We're getting settled well here in Canajoharie, NY. Small town life is much different than Jersey but we're digging it.
- Being close to the ADKs is awesome. We've been hiking 10+ times since moving here, not to mention the trails and gorges around our house that we've been discovering and exploring.
- I've been keeping busy substitute teaching which means a little bit of teaching and a lot of reading. I've been devouring books which has been great. Last book finished was "Half Broke Horses" by Jeanette Walls. Really interesting read. A slightly fictional but mostly accurate story of her grandmother who was a rancher, pilot, teacher, and rabble-rouser.
- We went to Michigan a few weeks ago to visit Miriam's family which was a lot of fun.
- We've started composting, sweet and begun making plans for our vegetable garden. We will likely grow some interesting things since we seem to be able to get our staples from a guy around the corner who sells veggies on two card tables out in front of his house. Zucchinis for 10 cents a piece is hard to beat!
- We inherited a mini-van from my parents which has been helpful in moving big stuff around, like the elliptical we also inherited from them. Living close to them again has been great. We invited ourselves over for dinner the other night and plan on doing it a lot in the future.

Ok, plenty more has happened but I need to be off to sub for the afternoon!

everybody say: Mr. Rain Man can we have a rainy day?

2009-07-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

We're currently out in Michigan visiting with Miriam's family and getting ready for Miriam's ordination service this coming Sunday. It's been a great week filled with plenty of good food and good beer. I have really grown to appreciate Grand Rapids and would not be opposed to ending up here some day.

That said we move to Canajoharie, NY in t-minus one week. I haven't even begun to let myself think about how close we will be to the Adirondacks and how amazing that will be. We're less than one hour from the park and a little over an hour from camp. It will be nice to (hopefully) be able to get my canoe out more as well.

As of right now I am still jobless but hopeful.

Miriam and I are also super jazzed about being chaplains at camp August 2-8. Miriam got to be a chaplain last year while I took summer Greek but this year I get to join her. A number of our good friends will be up volunteering as well which just makes it all the more exciting. It will be very cool to see the construction progress as well.

stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey...

2009-07-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Now I know I rag on New Jersey all the time, let's be honest who doesn't love poking fun of the Dirty Jerz? But as I reflect on our last few nights in NJ I've been thinking about the things I will miss about Jersey and here they are in no particular order (except for the first one which is the single greatest thing I will miss about NJ)
1. Listening to Bruce Springsteen while driving on Jersey highways. You understand his music on a whole different level when you do this.
- Bent Spoon ice cream
- the Pine Barrens
- downtown Princeton
- the Presbyterian Church of Westfield
- the Jersey section of the Appalachian Trail
- Bearfort Ridge
- Sourland Mountain Preserve
- getting away with driving like a jerk
- the Trenton Farmer's Market
- the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
- getting to live next to Ben and Emily
- Seminary friends

I am sure I left something off but there it is. So for all you people who like NJ there you go I gave you some things I will miss, are you happy now?

mellow yellow

2009-07-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

So the greatest sporting event of the year, the Tour de France, started on Saturday. I find myself in a very weird place this year as I follow the race. When Lance Armstrong was winning like crazy I was rooting for him big time. I would go out and buy up all magazines with his face on the cover, I read his books cover to cover, I even have a Lance Armstrong training book for cycling. Needless to say, I was drinking the Armstrong kool-aid.
Yet this year I find myself rooting against Lance. I do not support post-retirement comebacks with the exception of Jordan’s first comeback (I mean let’s be honest, he was too young to retire). Post-retirement comebacks inevitably cloud the memory of one’s great athletic achievements (see Jordan’s second comeback). Lance’s comeback just seems like a big ego-trip to me wrapped in the neat packaging of his Livestrong, cancer research fundraising. Now don’t get me wrong I am by no means angry that he is trying to raise money and awareness for cancer research, that is awesome. What I don’t like is his ego in this comeback. Lance always had an ego, it’s what made him an exceptional cyclist but this comeback seems to take it a bit too far.
I also don’t approve of the comeback given that I began rooting for one of Lance’s teammates while Lance was retired. Alberto Contador is the future and the present of cycling. He has already won all three Grand Tours and is barely out of the Young Rider’s classification. The man is a beast. He got shafted from defending his ‘07 Tour title for joining the Astana team which was banned from the ‘08 Tour because of the team’s previous doping history (which was turned around after the ‘07 season). It’s his turn to make a triumphant comeback this year, not Lance’s. Come on Lance you won 7 Tours already, really, do you need to prove anything more? Let the young guys have a chance.
It makes me sad to say it but it’s true, as the Tour progresses I will continue to hope that Contador beats Lance and not just beats Lance, trounces him.

if only i hadn't...

2009-06-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to something I've seen a lot of lately: Bad idea tattoos. Now defining bad idea tattoos can be a bit problematic since one person's trash is another person's treasure but I think this list of tattoos I've compiled should be no one's treasure. Ever.
1. Neck tattoos. These are always a bad idea. At some point you are sure to regret them and unfortunately turtlenecks will never be cool. Ever.
2. Tattoos that reference money. I've seen in the last month a tattoo on the back of someone's hand saying "Get Money" and another one on someone's forearm that said "Money" with a bunch of bills around it. These are an even worse idea if you are in fact not getting any money.
3. Getting a tattoo when you are 16. If you are a parent and your kid asks for your permission to get a forearm tattoo tell them no and ground them for even thinking that was a good idea.
4. Insert your own. You know you've seen a bad idea tattoos recently one that made you cringe and think "was that really the best idea?"

If I know you and you have a tattoo similar to something like one of these I of course think it's great and will tell you so. Sike!

But seriously I've always wanted a tattoo of some sort but have never been able to decide on one. The more and more tattoos I see the more I think I will not get one for fear of regretting it in 20 years.

the best view of new jersey is in the rear view mirror...

2009-06-16T18:25:00.001-07:00

- the Barnes are heading to Upstate New York! Miriam received and accepted a call to be the next pastor of Canajoharie Reformed Church this past Sunday. It's been a long process but in the end we're both excited about heading up there and beginning this next part of our life.
- I've been quite mum on the blog as of late because of this process. It's been consuming a lot of our thinking and besides wanting to keep you all on the edge of your seats we needed to keep it all off of the internet. Expect posts to continue more now...or at the same rate, who knows
- we'll likely move towards the end of July. My first order of business once we move is to get the New Jersey plates off of the Subaru and get NY plates back on it. That will be one of the greatest days of my life.
- I am currently in Michigan taking an RCA History course. This is last intensive I have to take which is exciting. I've enjoyed good brews at New Holland while I am here, taking advantage of the location.
- That's all I'm up for writing right now, word.

sleep in thin tents, caked with dirt...

2009-05-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

- We've been busy. I've not posted. Oops.
- I graduated this past Saturday. It was a nice ceremony, a bit boring but not as boring as it was hyped up to be. It was quite warm, I sweat a lot which turned out to be the story of the weekend. My parents, great Aunt Bobbie, and Miriam's parents all came for the ceremony which was really great. We grilled Saturday afternoon before the ceremony and had an overall good time.
- We left right after my graduation to drive up to my parent's house because Jane was graduating Sunday morning at 10am. Her ceremony was nice as well though a number of people were incredibly rude. Once they started announcing names people decided to get up whenever they wanted and talk as though they were the only people in the room. It's one thing to shout for your graduate, as I did for Jane, it's another to act as though your graduate is the only one who matters. I sweat through my shirt there something fierce, it was a bit gross. It was good for Miriam to see Hamilton as well.
- I found myself a bit nostalgic for Jane as she was leaving Hamilton given that I've had some good times there when she's been there. One of my favorite times was skipping half a week of class last year to go to a show at Hamilton and hang out for five days.
- We're planning on heading down to the Pine Barrens today for a hike which should be fun.
- I've been a bit hush-hush on the blog as we try to figure out what comes next. I can't say anything right now about where we're going to be but big news should be coming out soon, so get ready, check the blog frequently.

little bit of gold and pager...

2009-05-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

So it has been quite some time since I've posted here. Severe lack of motivation combined with a busy April meant no posting. But here's what's happened/is happening
- I finished seminary. Blam. Done. All I need to do now is graduate. It feels good but has yet to sink in really. I think the fact that Miriam is the one looking for jobs right now and I'm waiting until she gets one to look makes it feel like I'm not graduating.
- April was an incredibly busy month. We went to the Smokies for a week, were back in Princeton a week, Miriam went to Michigan for a week, then Texas two days later for an interview, then back here, then it was May.
- We cooked last night for the first time since before we left for the Smokies. When I say cooked I mean more than a meal that we could open some cans and put together in 5 minutes. We were a little rusty but the food turned out good.
- I was finally able to attend the Youth Ministry Forum that the seminary puts on each year. The past two years it has been during finals which made it difficult to have any interest in it. It was refreshing to attend some seminars that dealt with real practical issues.
- My time at Westfield Presbyterian Church is coming to an end soon which is sad. I have been there all 3 years of seminary and have really grown into myself there and developed a lot of really great relationships which I will be sad to say goodbye to, but life moves on forward and I suppose it's the nature of the beast.

tennessee river and a mountain man...

2009-04-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

- We're currently in the Smoky Mountains on vacation with Miriam's family. We left after work on Friday, stayed halfway in Virginia and got into Gatlinburg about 1pm Saturday afternoon, quickly dropping our stuff off at the cabin and heading out to meet the fam on a hike. The wildflowers are out here like crazy, quite beautiful. Sunday we headed up Mt. LaConte, one of the biggies in the Smokies. It was a really pretty hike and a great way to spend Palm Sunday. Yesterday we went on a hike with Miriam's sister Rachel and her husband Mark along a ridge to Charlie's Bunion (a sweet rock outcropping). Sunday was filled with sun and was nearly 80. When we left the car Monday it had just started snowing and was 31 pre-wind chill, gotta love how mountain weather can shift so quickly. We got pelted with snow the whole hike and by the time we were coming down New Found Gap Road they had closed the lane going up because it was getting so icy. Currently we can't see the mountains because it is snowing and blowing like crazy. They are predicting nearly a foot for high elevations, pretty wild.

- Some things I've noticed about the Smokies in comparison to the mountains I know best (The Adirondacks)
- You see a lot more people on the trail who look like they have no idea what they are doing. We saw one woman Saturday in a blouse, dress vest, dress pants, and dress shoes out on the trail! We had another guy ask us at 5:45 pm if he could take his kids up a 4 mile round trip trail that is mostly up! I suppose that happens in the most visited national park in the US, but it still is pretty wild.
- Gatlinburg is a mix of Lake George and Lake Placid. The boutique shops of Lake Placid mixed in with the hokey touristy things of Lake George.
- It's cool getting to talk with thru-hikers since the AT doesn't come into the 'Dacks.
- The roads to the trails take you up a lot higher in elevation so some hikes just involve a hike along the ridge to the peak of the mountain.

- The trip has been fantastic overall, so nice to be in the mountains and on vacation. Miriam's family asked if it was a hard sell for me to come here and miss a week of school. My response was "Miriam said, 'hey want to get out of NJ for a week and skip school?' and I responded with an emphatic, 'yes! So no, it wasn't a hard sell!" We head out Thursday morning and it will definitely be a bummer to leave the mountains.

moonlight spills on comic books

2009-03-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

- Jane has been in town since Tuesday night, that's been great. I took her with me to the soup kitchen yesterday which she enjoyed. It was good to show her how I spend my Wednesdays. I had a meeting at New Brunswick Seminary in the morning and we ran into a camp friend Kyle, who we had lunch with. It was a nice unexpected surprise. We intended on going rock climbing this afternoon but it's raining here which put a damper (pun intended) on those plans, so we went to the movies instead. We saw "Watchmen." I am still trying to figure out if I liked it or not. It was depressing yet also thought provoking. I can see why it has gotten mixed reviews though.
- We're heading to Upstate for the weekend since Miriam is preaching at Bellevue. Unfortunately I will not get to hear her since I am heading back on a train Saturday night. It's confirmation Sunday at Westfield and I really need to be there. If the trains run on schedule the trip should only take about 30 minutes longer than driving and I'll be able to get some good work done.

And oh it's gonna drop, gonna fill your cup

2009-03-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

I've gotten on this kick of only updating once a week but life has been fairly normal as of late, nothing much to report beyond the daily grind. March is that type of month, huh? I remember back in grade school March was a supper lame month because you got one day off during the whole month for staff development but the month dragged on forever. March meant spring break in college but in seminary it means reading week which means midterms. And above all that March is a pretty gray month. So it's not surprising that March becomes a basic, simple, day in day out, daily grind type of month. That said, here's what's been going on:
- Good week. Sun was out a lot. I like the sun. The beer I brewed for the Smokey Mountain trip was bottled on Monday, hopefully it turns out good.
- Good weekend. We went to a preaching event on Friday night called "You Say I Preach Like a Woman?" featuring three sermons from my female classmates. It was good and a nice affirming event that women are indeed called just the same as men. Saturday was Miriam's bosses dad's memorial service. It was a very good service, really a good time of remembering the life he lead and the people he influenced. Sunday was church stuff as usual which is always fun and as spring rolls around becomes more and more exciting and energetic.
- That said, I am nearing the end of my time at the Presbyterian Church of Westfield and trying not to think about it too much because it's sad to think about leaving. I've put in 3 years with the youth of this church and I've grown so much because of my time there, it will surely be a place I'll never forget. So let's stop talking about it because it makes me sad.

took it to the chop shop, got the dang top dropped

2009-03-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

- Miriam was in DC this weekend which means I got very little accomplished. For example, this blog post about Miriam being gone and me getting nothing done was meant to be published yesterday. I did get some reading done which was good and finished up a paper. Having this whole week off and doing school work the entire time meant that I was pretty drained and loath to do any work but I did.
- I am getting really pumped for the trip to the Smokies with Miriam's family coming up in a couple weeks. I brewed a batch of beer for the trip and will bottle either tomorrow or Tuesday. Hopefully it turns out as good as my first batch!
- This week starts my final 5 weeks of seminary, one of which will be spent hiking (sweet!). It's really hard to believe I'm nearly done. Pretty soon I will be a Master of Divinity and will prefer to be called Master of Divinity Barnes much like Ph.D's go by Dr. So-and-So (I think Master of Divinity sounds cooler, kind of like He-man, Master of the Universe).
- I finally purchased the new TV on the Radio album yesterday. I really enjoyed their first two albums but the iTunes samples for the new album didn't sound that great when I first listened to them. I went back and listened to them yesterday and bought the album right away. I've listened to it 3 times already, it's really good.

the harrowing adventures of...

2009-03-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

- We had a great weekend. Saturday's weather was marvelous. I had an ultimate frisbee game in the morning complete with a muddy field. I rode my bike back and forth from the game since it was so nice. It was my first time on the bike in a month, probably and it showed. It's amazing how in riding a lot you get so comfortable on the bike and how you lose that a bit when you don't ride. In the afternoon we checked out a collegiate bike race over at the University, it was a lot of fun. In the Men's A race, a Princeton Senior Nick Frey dominated the field. We find out from someone in the group we were hanging out with that he is basically a professional and went to the world championships this year representing the USA under-23 team. He's beast. We rode our bikes back and forth from the race, taking advantage of the sunlight and nice weather.
- Sunday brought its normal routine with a little bit of tiredness from the springing ahead but I managed.
- No classes this week but lots of work to do. I am preaching at Westfield tomorrow evening for a lenten service and I've got two paper due early next week. Needless to say I'll be busy this week!

ghost under rocks

2009-03-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Princeton listening to Sigur Ros and trying to sermonize. How's it going you ask? I'm blogging right now...you tell me. I have to preach for a lenten service at Westfield on Tuesday. Normally I'd be practically done with my sermon by now but alas, I am not.
This week has been a lot less busy that the last. Nothing too exciting this week other than the half snow day on Monday. It allowed me to get caught up on some work even if I still had class in the afternoon. Pretty laid back weekend this weekend, first one in a while. The weather should be pretty nice which is a plus. We're hoping to catch a few of the bike races going on over at the university on Saturday which should be fun. Their doing a criterium race (read: short course, lots of turns, lots of laps) on the university campus which should be pretty fun to watch.
That is all for now.

represent queens but raised up in brooklyn

2009-03-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

- We went to the city twice this week, oh my! It's funny, prior to going to India I was overwhelmed by the city and it made my anxious as all get out. Since going to India, NYC seems like Wyoming, needless to say these trips were actually fun and not too intense.
- Miriam had to go into the city for work on Thursday so I met up with her in the afternoon. We met up on the Upper West Side and went to the RCA offices on Riverside, right on the Hudson. The woman we were meeting had a corner office on the 18th floor staring down the Hudson towards downtown, it was awesome! We met up with one of Miriam's friends for dinner and had some good Thai in the Hell's Kitchen area. We then headed to the Lower East Side to The National Underground to hear one of our favorite bands play (Basement Band). They were supposed to go on sometime between 8:30 and 9 but didn't go on until 9:40. Miriam was exhausted from getting the 7:30 train into the city so we only stayed for about 6 songs and then headed back to Princeton.
- Saturday we headed in to meet up with Jane, who had extra tickets to Will Ferrell's one man show "You're Welcome America." We hung out before the show, walked around visited Central Park, had lunch and then caught the show. The show was hilarious, a bit raunchy at times but so funny. Ferrell did a fantastic job and we had seats in the front row of the balcony which was sweet.
- I helped in worship today and totally messed up the call to the offering, it was embarrassing. I finished the prayers of the people and turned around to Tina saying, "you need to do the call to offering." I completely blanked and just said "And now...the offering." It was absurd but I recovered a little. On a better note though we went to an Indian restaurant for lunch and had Dosa's which were one of my favorite things from India. Very good.

new horizons

2009-02-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

So I am embarking on two new projects that you all should know about:
1. I have started blogging for Matthew25.org. Matthew25 is a community of progressive Christians trying to think about what it means to follow the passage in Matthew 25(v.40-"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these you did for me") in our modern world and in relation especially to the Obama administration. It's a cool site and you should all check it out.
2. I have started a new personal blog that will not replace Where There's A Road but go in a different direction. I have really been inspired lately by a number of blogs that just post pictures of various things with no words attached. I am embarking on a blog project that follows that method to allow me to a) post more frequently because I will need to spend less time writing what I am feeling and can post pictures and b) will allow me to show others things I find super cool visually. For those of you waiting with baited breath for the web address here it is One Thouzand Wordz

fit it all, fit in the doldrums

2009-02-11T17:12:00.000-08:00

Been a while!
- Was on a ski trip with the youth group this weekend. It was great. Went up to Bromley, VT. It will be my only time skiing this year but I got some great turns in. I thought I would spend the first half of Saturday getting used to skiing again but by the second run I was off into the woods making crazy turns, I couldn't resist. The trip reminded me just how much I love skiing.
- This semester is going to be a lot busier than last semester but should be really good. I really enjoy my classes so far and it should be a good close to my seminary time. It is hard to believe I am in the second week of my last semester but here it is!
- On Feb. 28 I get to go see Will Ferrell's one man show "You're Welcome America" where he played George Bush. Jane's school has an extra ticket and I am super excited. Will Ferrell's impersonation of Bush is so good.
- We had a bluegrass service today at chapel that rocked. I played the mandolin and we had a banjo, guitar, dobro, and fiddle. Only thing missing was a upright bass. There were a good number of people there too which added the awesome-ness of the acoustics of the chapel.

don't let 'em pass you by...glory days

2009-02-02T06:49:00.000-08:00

Kindergarten style picture of the first day of my last semester of seminary...holler!

i put on for my city...

2009-01-30T08:34:00.000-08:00

I found this photo this morning and I had to admire the cleverness of this sign

...i just want to knit a hat for it

2009-01-28T08:17:00.000-08:00

- It snowed last night here and we got probably 3 inches. In typical NJ fashion these things happened in reaction to the snow:
a) All schools and non-essential businesses closed
b) Once the snow fell it started sleeting and is now raining and will be over 40 degrees by mid-afternoon
One of these days we'll get an honest to goodness snow storm...maybe
- In a weird way I am ready for classes to start. I need something to do. There are only so many things I can do around the house and errands I can run. I also tend to get a lot less done when I have lots of time to do it, it's a little absurd. I am also just ready to get this last semester started and get it over with. I am ready to be done with seminary, not so much the learning part but the paper-writing, having things due part.
- In another snow related thing: when the snow is fluffy here they use leaf blowers to clear the sidewalks, it makes no sense. I honestly think that at some point they tried to ban shovel-use in NJ and nearly all of the population backed the banning. I bet the leaf-blower lobby in the state capital is huge, almost as big as the military-arms dealer lobby in Washington.

they'll have 5,000 branches, but you'll have 5,000 leaves

2009-01-23T12:34:00.001-08:00

With temperatures pushing over 50 degrees and the sun shining brightly I decided to take the old two wheeler out for a spin. It was a good idea. I haven't been on it since October and had all sorts of trouble with keeping air in my tires, no such problem this time. It was all in all a great ride until the last .5 mile when a women insisted on honking at me to make a left hand turn quicker. I don't think she realized that bikes move slower than cars and it just wasn't possible. I decided not to give her the ol' one finger salute because I am trying to be a better person.
Snow tubing trip this weekend with the middle schoolers. Hopefully all the snow didn't melt today.

there's snow way...

2009-01-20T07:31:00.001-08:00

I come back and it's actually snowing in New Jersey. Weird.

dorothy we ain't in bangalore anymore...

2009-01-20T07:05:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting in our living room sipping my attempt at Indian coffee reflecting continuing to reflect on my excursion to India. I brought back Indian coffee, a filter, and authentic coffee cups (small and stainless steel) in an attempt to be able to replicate one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had. So far I've been mildly successful. I made some for Miriam on Saturday morning that took a couple tries but managed to turn out pretty good. This morning's cup I would place at a 6 on the 1-10 Indian coffee attempt scale. In attempting to make Indian coffee I've realized how impossible it is to replicate the exact moments and experiences you've had in the past, no matter how hard you try. Making Indian coffee in my kitchen will never be the same as drinking Indian coffee at a roadside stand in the middle of nowhere India or in a 3500 year old city, it just won't be. But that's okay. I want that experience to continue to hold a special place in my memory and I fear that if I was super good at making Indian coffee and could magically conjure up a roadside stand to drink it in whenever I wanted then it wouldn't hold that special place anymore.
So that's my random reflection for the morning. Quite different than the bullet point account of what we did on the trip I wrote yesterday!

Back in the USSR...well more like the USA but it works

2009-01-19T10:33:00.001-08:00

I got back from India Thursday night and this blog post is a long time in the making. Attempting to sum up my excursion to India is a daunting task and one I have been putting off for sometime because of its daunting nature. I think what I will do is give a day by day brief synopsis and hope that works. Just know that it is hard to condense and organize all the thoughts in my mind after this trip! (If you want to skip the synopsis and just see pics from the trip go here: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=258393580/a=159080799_159080799/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink)
Wednesday January 7:
- Breakfast at JP's parents house (JP was our trip leader, he is Indian and lives in Holland, Michigan with his wife and daughter)
- Tour of the World Cassette Outreach of India headquarters conveniently located right next door to JP's parents (since JP's dad runs the outreach it makes sense). They record the Bible or parts of the Bible in many different languages to give out to people (they've recorded in 200 languages and India has over 1600 languages!)
- Lunch at the best Indian restaurant I've ever been to (which makes sense given that it's in India!).
- Our first exposure to shopping in Indian markets (one word: chaos)
- taking on ride on the back of JP's motorcycle through crazy Indian traffic (one word: chaos and then another word: awesome)
Thursday January 8:
- up early to head out on a bus at 530am
- breakfast at a road side stand called the "Dosa Camp" located at the Shark Food Court. Dosa's are an Indian breakfast that are a lot like a crepe filled with potatoes, peas, celery, and spices. It also came with tomato and coconut chutneys to dip in. It was awesome.
- we went to 3 temples during the day. 1 Jainist temple (which we had to hike barefoot up 627 stairs on an exposed rock to get to. In the temple was a 58 foot statue that is the largest monolithic (single stone) statue in the world. It was impressive). The other two temples were Hindu temples that were about 1000 years old. The carving on the outside of them was incredible.
- We had dinner at the Shark Food Court and feasted for about $2 a person. It is cheap to travel inside India (it just takes a small fortune to actually get there!)
Friday January 9
- The day started out by calling Miriam at an STD (not what an STD is in the US! STD's are phone booths in India. Needless to say, they make for good jokes)
- We met in the morning with 10 Indian pastors who had been persecuted for their beliefs. It was one of the most powerful things we experienced there. It was amazing to hear how they stood by their beliefs and the sense of urgency their faith held for them.
- Another trip to the markets. A couple of us walked through the vegetable and fruit market which was unbelievable. So many fruits/veggies to enjoy and in back they had chickens in cages and goats tied up that you could buy to have slaughtered (no frozen chicken isle here!)
- We shipped out on a bus @ 9pm for Kerala. We were supposed to take a train but they were all booked because of the harvest festivals in Kerala. The bus ride was a trip, to say the least. About 2 hrs in they turned on a very loud Indian movie which jarred a lot of us from sleep. We would later find out that they turned the movie on so loud to cover up the fact that they were running out of gas! (There was a gas shortage in India as a result of a strike and the first station we stopped at was all out of gas.) We spent about 1.5 hrs on the side of the road waiting for the driver to catch a ride to get gas and come back. We then drove about 4 miles up the road to a gas station only to wait 2.5 hrs to fill up the tank! Orderly lines are not really a strong suit of the India, watching tour buses jockeying for position in line has to be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen.
Saturday January 10:
- We arrived at our destination 6 hrs late as a result of the bus situation. It was not a big deal. Not like the US where the bus company would have had to give everyone their money back or face lawsuits. Indians deal with it, it's pretty awesome.
- We stayed with the Bishop of the East Kerala Diocese of the Church of South India. I didn't realize it upon arriving but this was a big deal. People kiss the Bishop's ring when they see him, though we didn't have to.
- The Bishop's wife Betty took us around to some local churches in the mountains after lunch. The views were amazing. At the second church we were given fresh coconuts with straws to drink the milk (it's not actually as good as it sounds). We also saw rubber trees and the first steps in the rubber making process. The church housed a boys school so we got to meet the boys which was fun, they ran up and excitedly shook our hands and even a few got so excited they hugged us!
Sunday January 11:
- We were up early for our first church service at 7am. This service was in English and about 1.5 hrs long. Men and Women sat on separate sides and women had their heads covered and the service followed the Anglican tradition.
- The next service was at 10 and was not in English and lasted for 2:45 hrs! It was also 90 degrees inside the church. Surprisingly though it didn't feel as long as one would think.
- After some naps in the afternoon we walked down to a boys school down the street in search of a cricket game. We were unsuccessful but did play an hour long pick up game of soccer with some males from the village ranging from age 15 to 25 (there were a couple 40 year olds I think too). When we arrived we said "game, game" hoping to get one going since there were a handful of guys kicking the ball around. Well, a call went out to the village and they all came running. It was a blast.
Monday January 12:
- We shipped out early again to head over the mountains to Bodi and Madurai. Driving over the mountains was incredible. The views were beautiful especially the tea plantations in the upper parts of the mountains. And there is nothing quite like driving on a road that is only 1.5 cars wide in a small bus with steep drops on the side of the road. It's something everyone should experience at least once!
- We met with some RCA missionaries in Bodi. Bruce is a doctor in the village providing inexpensive medical care to those in the surrounding areas. Tamar runs a income generation company for women in the area. They make jewelry and sew various things as well, many of which get sold to Ten Thousand Villages and other fair trades organizations. The women get free childcare, lunch, and have the ability for a pension. Meeting with them was one of the top highlights of the trip.
- We shipped out from there to Madurai to stay in a hotel for the night.
Tuesday January 13:
- Morning coffee at a small roadside stand near the hotel was another big highlight of the trip. Drinking coffee that cost 5 rupees (about 10 cents) in a 3500 year old city surrounded by Indians was unreal.
- We visited the Hindu temple in the city where the inner sanctum (Hindu-only) is 3500 years old and the outer area (where we visited) was 1400 years old or so.
- We left in the evening for an overnight train ride back to Bangalore. I've never been on a overnight train and the experience was great. The train was way smoother than any train I've ridden in the States and I slept like a baby in my upper bunk.
Wednesday January 14:
- This day was mostly some last minute shopping and Bangalore experiencing and a walk through the big park in the city.
Thursday January 15:
- We flew out bright and early at 2:15 am and after 33 hours of traveling I got back to Princeton!

If you read through all of this, you win.
So there it is, in a nutshell my trip to India. I'm sure I will post more thoughts about the trip but this will do for now. If you have more questions about the trip feel free to contact me I'd love to talk about it!

and I'm holding all the tickets...

2009-01-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

- We had a sweet time out here in Michigan (Miriam went back yesterday but I am still here for another day waiting to head to India!).
- Highlights of the trip include:
- spending lots of time hanging out with the nieces and nephews and other family members
- New Years Eve party at Dustyn and Brandon's
- going to Founder's Brewery twice
- going to New Holland Brewery once
- family Christmas parties
- worshipping at Trinity twice
- having nothing to do

Overall it has been a really nice trip, though I did manage to get sick yesterday. I am feeling better today but still not 100%. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be close to 100% since I am heading to India! I leave tomorrow afternoon on a bus to Detroit, catch a flight at 6:50 to Bangalore, India via Paris. I'll only be there 8 full days but it will surely be sweet. I am heading with a group from Miriam's seminary. I'll hopefully be able to blog some when I am there since Bangalore is the technology capital of India (1,500 software companies in the city!). But if I can't I will be sure to post when I get back.

when the weather outside is frightful...

2008-12-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

- We made it to Michigan yesterday...barely. We left around noon and picked up Alaina in Philly. The weather was fine across Pennsylvania and into the beginning parts of Ohio and we were making great time. Then came the first accident. We sat for an hour on the highway about 90 miles east of Toledo while a large accident got cleared up. Luckily we were: a) about a quarter mile behind the accident so we weren't involved and b) about a quarter mile behind the accident because the Ohio Turnpike had to be backed up at least 20 miles. After they clear up the accident we got moving and the roads were treacherous. Sticky slush tried to pull the Subaru all over the road but the Subby refused to be man-handled in such a way. It rained through out the rest of Ohio and hovered near the freezing mark making any driving above 60 mph foolish. As we entered Michigan the roads cleared a bit, which almost had me thinking I was on the well plowed roads of the New York State Thruway. I soon found out how wrong I was. It was only a matter of time before the road became barely "plowed" if you even want to call it that. It was not uncommon to find myself driving back and forth between the lanes merely because that's what the plow had decided to plow. Numerous SUVs were off the road, only further confirming my beliefs that many SUV drivers think they are invincible and are in fact, not even close. Our speed was around 50mph for this section and once in a while on a good stretch I could push it to the blistering pace of 55mph (for anyone who knows how I like to drive, 55mph felt like walking but I was smart and held back from speeding). Interstate-96 brought slightly better paved roads and we passed a few plows (I will save my diatribe against the poor design of Michigan plows for another blog post). We passed plenty of accidents and plenty of people flying along the highway at a good 30mph (they obviously hadn't been driving from New Jersey all day). The worst accident we passed, which we likely barely missed, was a tractor trailer completely spun around and 2 cars off the road near it. The vehicles didn't look too damaged but we called 911 to alert them and police were already on the way. I only hit one spot of slush that tried to make the back end come around but with a little correction the Subaru again refused to be driven off the road bringing to mind the civil rights era song lyrics, "We shall not, We shall not be moved." The precipitation at this point was minimal and our greatest danger were the bad road conditions and even worse drivers including the mini-van who was tailgating me for a quarter-mile. We got off 96 onto 28th St safely, though the exit ramp was a mess and pulled onto Jefferson SE at approximately 3:58 am Subaru time, 3:53 EST. We quickly unpacked the car and hit the pillows, relieved to be done driving.

So we're here. And we're excited.

when the clock says stop we're all gonna drop

2008-12-18T11:16:00.000-08:00

- I are currently in Day 4 of the DTTOYTDLEADSTWDST Project '08 (see the last post for what the acronym means) and I am doing pretty well. The list is being checked off at a quick pace and I am proud to say that I have not felt as though I have wasted a day of break so far.
- I just got back from the Bonner Foundation staff White Elephant gift exchange and unfortunately got stuck with one of the gifts we brought, which to say the least, was pretty bad. Luckily the format of this gift exchange was things that we pretty bad, so plenty of other people got stuck with bad things.

their green grass is green, our green grass is brown

2008-12-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

- The weather has been absolutely silly lately. I went running Saturday in tights, long sleeve thermal, gloves, and a hat. Today I went running in shorts and a t-shirt. That is just silly.
- Today is the first day of the "Do the Things on Your To-Do List Eric and Don't Spend the Whole Day Surfing the Internet" Project '08. It was mildly successful. I luckily started with applying for an exam I need to take in February. I say luckily because, unbeknownst to me, today was the last day to sign up. Sweet life Eric.
- I am thinking of starting a monthly mix-CD give away. It will go something like this: I will post a blog entry which says "This Month's mix-CD is ready" and the first three people to respond with their addresses or SBN's will get a free copy of the mix-CD, postage paid and all. The mix-CD will contain songs that I have been listening to a lot during the month, or that are fitting to the time of year. There may be repeats month-to-month, as mix-CD maker, I reserve the right to do that, because I can. This may or may not also be a shameless plug at keeping people's interest in the blog peaked.

run, run, rudolph whizzin like a merry go round

2008-12-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

- Fall semester 08-09 is done! I finished up this morning with a Greek translation exam on 1 Corinthians 13. We translated it during the semester and it's a pretty easy passage so it was no problem. It feels good to be done and hard to believe I have only 1 semester of seminary left.
- Miriam and I are enjoying another relaxed weekend at home, she's currently doing some craft projecting and I am celebrating the end of the semester by wasting time on the internet doing nothing productive.
- We don't take off for Michigan until the 23rd and Miriam still has to work this next week and a half so we've set up quite a list of things I need to accomplish during the time. Lists are good for me because without them I, a) do absolutely nothing and b) tend to forget anything that Miriam asks me to do or I think of to do.
- Some of the things on my list:
- Schedule dr.'s appointments
- Not waste the entire day on the internet
- Get new banjo strings/learn to play banjo
- Clean up my crap
- Clean up our storage unit
Big things!

2008-12-10T06:48:00.001-08:00

- Just a quick correction that the title of the last post should have been 2 Kings 2:23-25 not 3:23-25

2 Kings 2:23-25

2008-12-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

This weekend was Miriam and I's first weekend with no travel since September and it was wonderful.
Thursday brought a holiday party at the Borough which was quite fun and included a rousing game of Blokus.
Friday night was the Christmas dinner and dance at the Seminary. The dinner was disappointing but the party and dance were very fun. We danced hard, until they blew the amp and the music stopped for 20 minutes or so. By the time the music started again Miriam and I, like the old married we are, were too tired to continue dancing it out and retreated back home.
Saturday was a day filled with absolutely nothing and it was awesome. Miriam and Emily spent the day running errands and doing things. All I did was make 2 loaves of bread and clean the toilet. Other than that I spent the entire days in sweats basking in pre-finals laziness. That night we went to a surprise birthday party for our friend Jenelle which was very fun and included a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting (my favorite).
Sunday brought its usual churh-i-ness which was fun and tiring but I survived.
This week is finals week and my motivation is near an all time low (a bit of senioritis perhaps, something my parents will likely shudder at the thought of, given my senior year of high school)
That is all for now.

the day that will live in infamy

2008-12-04T16:43:00.000-08:00

Burt Reynolds Day '08: The Day When the Mustache is King

staring at the sun, trying not to breath

2008-12-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

Some pics from Thanksgiving weekend in Upstate.

get paid!

2008-11-27T18:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!
We arrived at my parent's house last night around 5:30. Miriam got out of work early which was fantastic, meaning that we could beat the terrible traffic. Surprisingly though most of the traffic we saw was heading into New Jersey. Apparently Thanksgiving is the only time of the year when people aren't desperate to get out of NJ.
Ran the Cardiac Classic 5k this morning. It was a brisk 35 degrees or so this morning but I still ran in shorts and a singlet with t-shirt underneath. My buddy Matt won the race and I ran a 28 second p.r. for a 17:55. Pretty exciting for me since my previous 5k p.r. came at the end of XC season my junior year of college when I was arguably the fittest I've ever been. The race felt pretty easy and I ran really smooth through the whole thing which was great. Miriam was a champ and braved the cold to cheer along the way and my Dad was out as well with the dog taking pics. Jane ran it as well.
After that we headed over to the Busman's for bagels and to see lots of camp people. Dinner was amazing at the 'rents though Mamma B went to bed around 1:30 with flu-like symptoms...bummer. We finished the preperations and had a great meal but it was sad that she didn't get to see so much of her hard work get devoured in no time by hungry Barnes's.
Overall a great turkey day. I've decided that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Namely, I love racing in the morning, heading to Busman's, seeing family in the afternoon, and then hanging out with the Hileman's in the evening. It also doesn't have the over-commercialization of Christmas to go along with it.
Off tree hunting tomorrow with the fam and then who knows what!

T.E.E.O.

2008-11-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

- Haven't posted in a while so here goes:
- I still find myself very excited about the election results.
- Was on the High School retreat this weekend. We had a really great retreat, despite the rain we made it work and I think the students had a blast. It was very weird that this was my last High School retreat with this youth group. This being my third year working with them it is going to be really hard to leave the program. I'm trying not to think about it
- I've gotten to talk on video Skype with my nieces Grace and Hannah and nephew Sam a couple times these past few days while Miriam has been visiting Mark and Rachel in Michigan and that has been really good. I spent nearly an hour this afternoon talking with Sam and Grace. We played a couple games of guess the number between 1 and 10 and Grace read some poems and Sam explained something he was building it really was quite great. It was a bummer not being able to go but being able to see them and talk with them anyway helped to make up for it.
- I am getting pumped for Thanksgiving. Really hoping to run a good race at the Cardiac Classic in the a.m. and get some major eating in during the p.m. followed up with some football watching (I only watch the NFL on Thanksgiving anymore. I don't really care about it, but some traditions just don't die!)

startin up a brand new day

2008-11-05T07:13:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning tired. Tired but with new eyes. Driving Miriam to work this morning and being in Wegmans getting groceries I realized that I was just really happy, no other words to explain it. I can hardly explain what I feel in coherent words but I now see America with new eyes. I know that Barack will not solve all our problems. I know that one person is not the answer. I know that we have a long road to go and there will be times where I think the decisions Barack will make are stupid. But that doesn't stop me from being excited and pumped to see where the next 4 years will take us. I by no means think the US is God's gift to the world and the greatest nation ever. But I do believe that America has a lot to offer; a lot that it needs to offer to the hurting places of the world. It will be nice to see someone in office who (hopefully!) thinks America has more to offer than just more bombs.
Voting yesterday was electrifying. Being able to press the button for Barack Obama/Joe Biden filled me with giddiness. My mother called at 6:55 am because she has just voted and in her words "was all tingly." That right there shows what kind of candidate Obama was. No one would have been going as crazy if Kerry has won in '04 because most people were voting against Bush and not for Kerry. People were behind Obama, were excited about what he could do.
I also can't forget to mention the sheer awesome-ness of partaking in such a historic vote yesterday. Racism is by no means defeated in America but a lot of people stood up yesterday and echoed the words of MLK when he said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
This is a great day indeed.

straight up tell me...

2008-11-04T21:44:00.000-08:00

Oh it happened.

vote

2008-11-04T08:15:00.001-08:00

VOTE TODAY

and it's a big, a big hard sun

2008-10-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Snow in Central Jersey seems to be something a bit rare in the winter months but snow in October?!?! That's just unheard of! I had to get out the camera to take a picture to prove that is was so. Today was quite a change from yesterday's sunny 60ish temperatures. High near 40 today and blustery. Did go running around 5:30 and the weather really brought me back to running in Geneva during cross country season as fall progressed, it sure got cold up there.
Election day is a week away. At this point I'm ready for it to be over with. Why not just hold the election tomorrow? Is anyone actually still undecided?
Big night tomorrow at the soup kitchen most likely. Our highest numbers ever were 408 at the end of last month and this past week we had 400 which is amazing because it wasn't the last week of the month. This being the last week of the month should make things interesting. It is amazing how the need in this country keeps on growing.

here's comes the rain, do, do, do, do

2008-10-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

- Some pics from the trip to the farmer's market today: Enjoy!
- Miriam's friend Alaina is town visiting which is fun except it's rainy here today which it always seems to be when we hang out with Alaina, bummer.
- I have been working with the Comic Life program on my Mac to make posting pictures cooler. Blogger's formatting is pretty bland with just the box formats of one picture stacked on top of another. But with Comic Life I can tile the photos and put them all as one which in my humble opinion is more appealing to the eye. I am intent on putting up more pics so the few people who actually read this blog can see what Miriam and I have been up to. Also, if the pics are too small to see you can click on it and it should zoom in: sweet!
- I had my mid-certification interview yesterday for ordination. It went really well and they are pleased with how I am doing and what I am doing. It's good to be affirmed in that for sure.

two wheels to freedom

2008-10-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

Rode today for the first time in almost two months. I was inspired to ride by some work I was doing on the bike yesterday and the cooling fall weather. Kind of hard to not ride a cyclocross bike during cyclocross season, kind of sac-relig. Here are some pics:

oooo, how do you not smell that peppa?

2008-10-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is HILARIOUS:
http://www.ucbcomedy.com/videos/play/2692

Seriously, watch it, it has potential to change your life

he's got two left feet and he bites my moves

2008-10-20T17:57:00.000-07:00

- Had a nice little weekend this weekend. Jane got into town Thursday afternoon and we filled her visit with Karaoke, Hiking, Ultimate Frisbee, cooking, and other fun things. Saturday we met my parents at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, NJ to see Romeo and Juliet. One of my dad's former students had the part of Romeo. I really enjoyed the whole show, the way it was done was superb. Romeo did a marvelous job and my Dad was quite excited to be able to see his former student perform. We went into the green room afterwards to meet up with Jordan (Romeo) and he greeted us with an excited "Mr. Barnes!" I am sure he was pretty stoked that a former English teacher of his drove 2.5 hours to see him perform.
- I have off from school this week which is pretty exciting though I have plenty of work to be doing. I have my mid-certification interview this Friday for ordination so I am busy preparing for that. I don't have much of an idea of what will happen during it but I am confident I can go in and let them know I am learning and still feeling quite called to ministry (now it's just making them believe me!)
- Middle school retreat coming up this weekend at good ol' Camp Bernie. I have been really looking forward to the retreats this year so I am stoked about this one.

2008-10-15T07:51:00.001-07:00

2 blog posts in 2 days, consider yourself lucky...or cursed
- We went to see Toni Morrison read from her new book "A Mercy" last night. It was really cool to be able to hear such an amazing writer read from her own work. Her voice was really soothing and part of my was glad I was not on a couch because I would have fallen asleep hardcore!
- I found out today that I am going to India in January with Western Seminary. As an RCA student at another seminary I can apply to take advantage of Western's Intercultural Immersion programs. I did find this out until this year and it would not have worked until this year given that finals had been after Christmas until this year. I had originally put Oman as my number one choice but got a call from the dean of Western this morning saying things had changed and India was an option so I changed my number one choice and lo and behold I will be heading to India. I do not have a lot of info on it quite yet but I am really excited to be going. I tend to feel a little bit behind on the whole world travel front given that Miriam has been all over including spending 6 years of her childhood living in Liberia (I've only been to England and Bermuda. Canada doesn't count)

on the road again

2008-10-14T08:04:00.001-07:00

- We had a great weekend in Upstate. Trip back on Friday night was a bit stressful given that everyone from NJ and downstate NY leave on the weekends to go elsewhere but we made it to Duanesburg unscathed. Saturday brought beautiful weather and a fantastic run along one of my favorite routes to run. We had lunch with my grandparents and enjoyed a housewarming party at Jenna and Jordan's new casa where we saw a lot of camp friends which was awesome. Sunday brought a drive out to Geneva and Canandaigua for a wedding of two college friends. The ceremony was great and the reception as well. We saw a lot of people I had not seen since graduation which was awesome. Nothing like saying, hey haven't seen you in two years tell me in three sentences what you've been up to and oh yea, I got married! It wasn't too overwhelming for Miriam and it was good to have her there with me. The drive back took 5.5 hours and we got back at 2am, that part wasn't as fun.
- A few observations I made while in Upstate:
1. The leaves were amazing and being able to see them on rolling hills is just what the doctor ordered.
2. Way less people drive SUVs in NY than do in NJ, nevermind that you would actually find an SUV useful in NY winters whereas in NJ they are completely useless.
3. I miss space, NJ just doesn't have a lot of open space.
4. I forgot how many political signs people put up around Rotterdam. What was interesting though was there were many more signs for local and state elections than the presidential one. I wonder if that has to do with the fact that Obama would take NY even if he didn't campaign there.
- Speaking of voting, I had to drive to Trenton on Friday to register to vote because they never submitted the form I filled out when I got my license to register. I blame it entirely on "the man" trying to suppress my vote.
- Jane is coming on Thursday to visit which should be a lot of fun.
- We are reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson in one of my classes and I am nearly done and want to read the whole thing again, it is an amazing book. We have next week off so I plan on doing just that.
- Election day is three weeks away, I feel like I get more nervous everyday. I am anticipating some sleepless night as it gets closer.
- Miriam and I put our Obama sticker on the car this past week and I have actually been able to look at the back of the car again and not focus entirely on the NJ plates that we have.

i've never felt so strange, standin in the jersey rain

2008-10-07T06:16:00.000-07:00

- Art, Music, Justice tour was excellent. We really enjoyed the music and the overall message. Would have liked to see some more music but can't complain too much. One of the artists, Charlie Peacock could have to used to just not talk. His talking drove us nuts, he attempted to preach a short sermon and it was annoying, just not the place for it. But a good weekend overall, we enjoyed hanging out with some of Miriam's friends from her days working at Messiah (I suppose I can start calling them my friends now as well)
- First full Sunday at Westfield this week. We played a rousing game of number hockey in High School fellowship that further proved to me that number hockey is the best game we play there.
- I try not to get too political on this blog but lately Sarah Palin has just been pissing me off. I really get tired of the attacks trying to question Obama's patriotism. News flash: People don't run for president who aren't patriotic, that would just be idiotic. I am also sick of the Republicans trying to use Jeremiah Wright's sermons as fodder for attacks against Obama. Taking parts of his sermon's out of context does make him out to be un-American but if you listen to the sermons he's telling the truth. One of my preaching professors cites Wright's post-9/11 sermon (one of sermons used as sound bites) as a good example of prophetic lament. I respect the man because, if for nothing else, he's not like so many preachers these days whose allegiance is first to the United States and secondly to the Church. That's not biblical. Ok, enough ranting.
- As we head up to NY this weekend I am really looking forward to seeing the leaves changing colors, hopefully we haven't missed too much.

every step i go i grow another second young

2008-10-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

- I've been a little Upstate New York-sick these last couple days. As the temperatures get colder and fall moves in I can't help but yearn for some rolling farm country or the Adirondacks. Miriam and I are heading upstate next weekend which will be excellent. We're off to a couple friends housewarming party in Glenville and a wedding of two college friends of mine in Geneva. It should be a great trip, we're stoked about it to say the least.
- I stumbled across a group called The Gaslight Anthem in the latest Rolling Stone and the description of them as a punkier Bruce Springsteen jumped out at me so I checked them out. They are awesome to say the least. The group is from New Brunswick, NJ (about 25 minutes from Princeton) and sing the usual Jersey-themed lyrics which seem to be about getting away from where you are. Needless to say these songs have resonated with me in my state of desiring to get the heck out of NJ. While I usually turn to bluegrass when missing Upstate NY this time I turn to a little Jersey-road music.
- Week 3 of classes is done and I've begun to set a good rhythm in place.
- Miriam and I are heading to Messiah College for the weekend to see some of her friends and to see the Art, Music, Justice tour which features Derek Webb, Sarah Groves, and Sandra McCraken. Should be a great trip.
- The beer Ben and I brewed is done and mighty tasty. We're pretty excited that our first attempt turned out so well. We're planning on brewing again in a couple weeks.
- Phish are getting back together and playing 3 three shows in Hampton, VA. I've seen them on their last two 'final' tours and loved it. I listened to them a little earlier this summer but before that hadn't listened in a year and a half probably. I haven't seriously listened to them since the last time I saw them. I'm hemming and hawing if I have the desire to see any of these shows.
- Nov. 4 is fast approaching. Register to vote if you haven't yet. I'm eagerly and nervously awaiting that day.

blame it all upon my rosary

2008-09-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

- Miriam and I went into NYC last night to take advantage of free train week for students and to see a favorite band of ours, Basement Band. B-ri got me into them during my first summer at camp and I've subsequently got Miriam into them. I saw them in Albany back in December or January and was quite stoked to see them again; they did not disappoint. A little flustered by the sound guy telling them they needed to start out right after setting up because they needed to be off within in 35 minutes the show started a little slow but built in huge momentum. They covered a Dylan song and rocked it. They also played a number of my favorites of theirs including "Charleston" which has some of the most amazing harmonies I've ever heard; with that song they completely sold the crowd who was filled with some of their bands and some to see bands playing later in the night. They end the night with a Fleetwood Mac cover (The Chain) in which Amal, their female vocalist was a dead ringer for Stevie Nicks. It was such a great show and tough work I imagine selling yourself to an audience in NYC but they did excellently. We are excited to see them again sometime soon. If I was a record exec, I'd sign them...NOW!
- Just finished up the first week of classes and it looks like it will be a good semester. I'm only taking 3 classes compared to the normal 4 to 5 because of the curriculum shift here and it should be great. I should be able to give more attention to each class than previously before. One of the classes involved creative writing which excites me, haven't done too much creative writing here outside of sermon prep.
- Youth group has begun to start up at Westfield which I am really excited about. I also started my other internship there working at their soup kitchen in Elizabeth. It is raw. I'll be posting more about it I am sure. But if you need any proof to refute Republicans who say the economy is not bad shape come along and you'll see they're lying. It is good work they do there and very much different from any soup kitchen I've been to before.

thunderstruck

2008-09-09T07:57:00.000-07:00

It's thundering big time here right now, it's awesome. I love thunderstorms and the sounds of pouring rain. We hadn't gotten rain in a few weeks and we had an all day pour-fest here on Saturday and now it's at it again. Good for the earth I suppose. I learned to appreciate rain two summers ago when the first week of camp it rained and rained and the lake rose nearly 3 feet. That was crazy.
I was listening to NPR on my way back from the market this morning and they were interviewing a guy who is working for a company working to bring inexpensive high speed internet to third world countries. Now my first thought was "really, do they need high speed internet there, what about food, medicine, and clean drinking water first?" But then he acknowledged that high speed internet was not the answer to all problems but these countries also needed better communication tools overall and better means of transport, not one mention of food, medicine, and clean drinking water. Now I don't deny that third world countries need better means of transport and better communication tools but high speed internet... really? I can just picture it now, a small village in the Congo where people still live in fear of militia attacks and constantly deal with dysentery because of unclean drinking water and AIDs in still unchecked, but hey, at least they can watch YouTube and surf for porn, now how's that for progress?!
School starts up again in less than a week. Can't decide if I am excited or not. I will keep you updated.

while you be makin it rain, i be makin it snow

2008-09-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I've written so lots to tell:
- I finished Greek last Friday. It felt good to be done and felt good not having stressed a lot over it all summer.
- Miriam's parents have been in town since last Friday which has been great. My parents came down for Saturday afternoon and Sunday which was also really good. The pics are from our hike on Monday. We hiked Bearfort Ridge in northern Jersey which I'd been to once before and has to be my favorite place in NJ. You can see the NYC skyline a few times during the hike (which none of the guidebooks mention which we think is a way to keep people from flocking to the trail like crazy). We also saw a black bear during the hike which is cool in a scary/exciting way especially since it was a cub and the mama bear was no where to be seen so we freaked a bit thinking we were in between the two (never a good idea). A little retreat down the trail and some noise making scared the bear off and we finished the rest of the hike with our nerves a little on edge. We also saw a 3 foot long snake, some salamanders, and crossed the NY/NJ border on the AT. Quite an interesting hike to see a bear and the NYC skyline, perfect example of the craziness of NJ.
- Had to run home yesterday for a meeting with my classis (the group that ordains me). They tested me on some things and I passed, one step closer to being ordained!
- While driving through Schenectady yesterday I saw someone with a bumper sticker that read "Say NO to FOIS GRAS: Ban force feeding." It also had a picture of a goose or duck being force feed. For some reason this bumper sticker really pissed me off, not about the force feeding of geese/ducks but about the fact that this was this particular person's "cause" of choice. I couldn't help but think, really, this is what you are angry and protesting about? Some delicacy that less than a tenth of a percent of the world's population could probably afford to eat, let alone have any interest in? What about something that affected a few more people, perhaps people going hungry right in Schenectady or the War in Iraq? But no, you chose to be pissed off about Fois Gras. I know I shouldn't judge lest I be judged but this really pissed me off for some reason.

i look good

2008-08-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

forgot to post this in the last post. Our wedding photographer put up some pics on his blog. They are dope. I look good. Miriam looks better. 'Nuf said.

blog.danieljpesta.com

my mercury's in retrograde

2008-08-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

- Almost 4 weeks ago now I decided I was going to be a runner again. Since finishing up cross country my senior year of college I have had quite the love-hate relationship with running. I'll go through a phase in which I'll train, run a race, do well, have fun, then half a week later decide I hate running and strictly cycle. Then 3 months down the road I'll start running again, the annoying part of course being that I would have lost all the running fitness I built up. This past running-hating time period was probably the longest I've had, despite the fact that I ran a 25k during that time period (though not on more than 20 miles a week). But now I'm back running again, this week I'll probably do just 20-21 miles but I'm building up again and deciding between the Harrisburg Marathon (Nov. 9) and the Philadelphia Marathon (Nov. 23) with the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which will entail running sub-3:10, which is within reason if I train well. I've been running in the high heat of the day down here (between 2 and 3pm when it's anywhere between 80 and 95ish), which is something I've never done but I'm enjoying. But enough about that.

- I've been working on a bike I found next to a dumpster in our apartment complex and I've come to a stand still. I cannot get the bottom bracket off (the part that helps the cranks and pedals to turn) which makes sense considering the bike is probably 15+ years old and a little rusty and no one, likely, has taken any of these parts off before. But it's fun and it is good to learn on a bike that was free as opposed to one you paid for.

- We watched Smart People last night, very funny movie.

- The NBC announcers for the Olympics are, at times, completely terrible. During the Men's 10k on the track the announcer continuously called Abdi Abdirahman "Abdi Abdirockman" and at one point called Jorge Torres, "George Torres" before correcting himself. They love to put at least one person on the commenting team who has absolutely no idea what they are talking about on every sport, makes sense...not. Michael Phelps is an animal, though I think it is high time for them to quit constantly talking about him, let's hear about some others feats. Track cycling was fun to watch, Chris Hoy, who won 3 golds for Great Britain is a beast. I'm sad the Olympics end on Sunday but I suppose it is good that they don't go forever, keeps them exciting.

- This post was entirely too long and did not real say much of anything.

everything i spit is pure gold...

2008-08-11T12:17:00.001-07:00

- Spent most of the last week up at Fowler. Miriam was chaplain for the whole week but I had class Tues-Fri. I was able to take my test early and head up on Thursday which was nice. So good to be up there for a bit. Confirmed my decision to not work there for another summer but it still is a place I miss. A few former staff were up this past weekend and we had a great time. Some good canoeing and hanging out on the swim dock were fantastic, just what the doctor ordered.

- Jane and I did some hiking last Sunday and then Miriam, Jane, and I did some on Monday. I love the Adirondacks, they truly are a beautiful place.

- I-87 has now replaced I-287 as my least favorite road to drive given its abundance of Jerzey and downstate drivers that fill it up and drive really crappy.

- Greek is going really well, just started the 6th week which means less than 3 weeks left which is great. It is hard, though, to believe summer is almost over.

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

2008-07-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

-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

2008-07-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

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.

tryin to catch me ridin' dirrty

2008-05-25T17:01:00.001-07:00

-Pics from yesterday's ride, beautiful day in the ol' Upstate NY. It's nice to ride on roads without tons of traffic.
-Had my first beard trim done by a barber. It was sweet. If I could figure out how to shave with a straight razor without slitting my own throat I totally would do it all the time.
-It has been so nice to just relax this past week and a half or so. I am feeling more relaxed than I have in quite sometime.
-The adult choir sung "America the Beautiful" in church today; I had to leave during it. Church is not the place for patriotic songs at all. There are plenty of venues for that, not the church. It was kind of a bummer to see in my church at home since they are doing some awesome stuff, it just seemed really out of place, got me.
-I head out to Michigan tomorrow to begin the big move: exciting!

something something something; stack that cheeze

2008-05-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

- School is finished for the year, sweet.
- Went out to Michigan for Miriam's graduation, it was an enjoyable time. I ran the River Bank Run 25k while I was out there. The first 3 miles were awful but then, like so many other times, I took a poop and it was awesome from there. I rediscovered that I do, in fact, enjoy running.
- Jane and I started out for a planned hiking trip on Thursday but after one day in which 15.3 miles took us over 12 hours because of blowdown, snow, and covered up trails we decided that what we really would enjoy at this time of life is some good old R & R at home. It was a wise decision. The day we hiked was wonderful but when you're hiking herdpaths without designated trail markers and there is tons of blow down and the trail is half covered with just enough snow to be annoying it can tend to slow you down. You would think Jane and I were cutters if you didn't know we were hiking because our arms and legs are so torn up.
- I've read 3 books since school finished: Love in a Time of Cholera and Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Catfish and Mandala by Andrew Pham. Garciam Marquez is an absolute genius. His lyrical writing is amazing considering it is translated from Spanish into English and still is fantastic. I can only imagine what it is like to read him in Spanish.
- I'll be moving out of my parents house forever in a little over 2 weeks, I am excited about that. It will be nice to actually live near Miriam.

they should take this beat and make a rest in peace shirt of it

2008-05-04T19:19:00.000-07:00

So I haven't written anything on here in a while, so here I go:

- I saw a Jeep Cheeroke with a bumper sticker on it that said "Love your mother" with a picture of the earth; obviously a pro-environment sticker. What was funny is that it was on a Jeep Cheeroke, they obvious did not realize the irony of that sticker when they put it on there. Also funny was a Mercedes I saw a few weeks ago with a bumper sticker that said "Buy Local Everything." The irony in that one is of course the fact that it was on a German made car in the US. I like things like that, they make me chuckle and make me happy to be so enlightened.

- One more final tomorrow afternoon and I am done with middler year of seminary! Can't wait.

- Thursday, it's back out to Michigan for Miriam's graduation, quite looking forward to it.

- Today was the last night of youth group for the year, pretty sad saying goodbye for the summer to many and goodbye to a lot of seniors. I am really happy to be working there again next year.

- I got nostalgic about camp yesterday and bummed about not being there this summer. I know it is the right decision and I will be glad of my choice come mid-summer.

I'm out.

out of the silent planet

2008-04-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to a lot of Iron Maiden and Lil Wayne recently, two very different tastes in music I know. I've been listening to Iron Maiden because my friend Ben gave me a mix CD of theirs and they've been a band I figured I would always would enjoy. It is true, they are awesome. I've been listening to a lot of Lil Wayne because so many people keep talking about how he is the best MC out there and he puts out music like crazy. The stuff I've heard of his is okay so I've been giving him a second chance. His beats are okay and his flow is original for sure but his lyrical content is typical of the dirty south, all lyrical content focuses on money, cars, drugs, and sex which is unoriginal and kind of wack. I am trying to listen to a wide variety of his stuff to see if there is any good tracks but so far I've been unimpressed.

Today was my last day of class for the year. Kind of crazy to think about how I am almost done with my second year of seminary. It seems like just yesterday I was getting here and amazed by the place. I still am amazed by what I am doing, just less frequently as it becomes more and more a part of me. All that lies ahead of me now is a paper on a holistic health plan for youth, a theological rationale for 'going green' and a Hebrew translation exam. I am loath to say it but I am really looking forward to the two papers!

i'm hot cause I'm fly...you ain't cause you not

2008-04-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

Pics from today's ride, note the sweet pink socks in the 2nd pic. 3 hour ride along the canal path, first 2 hour + ride of the year, felt good. Got back and cleaned off the bike then promptly went to sleep for 40 minutes because I was so tired, slept in my chamois, it was awesome.

Youth Sunday this weekend at church, quite looking forward to it. The kids at my church rock and hanging out with them more will just be more fun and craziness than a normal week and I'm down with that.

1 week of classes left. Hard to believe that I'll be done with 2 years of seminary in 3 weeks. Remember how just yesterday I was a freshman in college? Well I do. I can't believe at some point someone is going to grant me a master's degree. Do they really know what they're getting themselves into? Most likely not.

still the same o.g.

2008-04-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

Some pics from this morning's ride. More nice weather ahead for the week, just going to get warmer and warmer. Ya-hoo.

Just borrowed Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band Live at Hammersmith Odeon London '75 from a friend it is an amazing show. It only works to solidify in my mind that Springsteen is one of the greatest musicians ever. And dare I say in my humble opinion better than Dylan and the Beatles.

i just kick it from my head

2008-04-12T09:00:00.001-07:00

This past week has been a great one. Miriam was in town for the whole week and left this morning. The week was filled with hanging out with friends, eating good food, doing very little work, not paying attention well in class and other various good things. Tough to see her go this morning but good knowing it's only a little over two months to the wedding and then all this visiting malarky will be over.

Went on a group ride with my Hebrew prof and other students on Wednesday and it was great. The last time I went riding with more than one other person was with some guys from the bike shop in the town where Hobart was and there were not the most courteous of all people riding off and not chatting much with those of us who were a bit slower. This ride Wednesday was quite the opposite. It was filled with conversation and some friendly "racing" at times. I was a bit nervous going into since I ride singlespeed now but I kept up just fine. Rode Thursday morning as well and had one of my first just jersey and shorts rides in quite some time. Rode this morning before thunderstorms started being heard on the horizon, got sun showered on a bit but nothing too major. Can't wait for the sweet tans lines to start working their way in.

On Sunday I picked up a garbage bag full of early 90's cycling apparel for $20 and it was a steal. I got 7 or 8 pairs of shorts out of it, 4 or 5 jerseys, and a winter cycling jacket. Plus I picked up an old 7-Eleven pro-team jersey which I am going to throw up on Ebay to see if I can get some bank for it.

2 weeks of class left. 1 week of studying. 4 days of finals. Done. PTL.

so here we are reinventing the wheel

2008-04-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

life is very good. capital letters will not be used in this post.

went up to the poconos this weekend with three dudes from seminary who are three of my five groomsmen. we had a dope time, cooked steaks, watched basketball, took jumping photos, rode old bikes, shots skeet, all good.

went home monday night to go to my aunt's wedding on tuesday. really nice affair. all family. quite good to see my aunt happy and too see the family. it amazes me how old my cousins are getting. it makes me feel really old.

miriam comes on friday. that will be dope. fa sho.

down with the clown til I'm dead in the ground

2008-03-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting in class currently, discussing whether the so called "Christian-Right" are fascists(seems to me like they are) and whether or not they can take over the US and how all this relates to the upcoming election.

With that said: Obama '08. 'Nuf said.

Went home this past weekend to celebrate Easter with the fam. Splendid occasion, great to be home. Started the weekend off with dinner @ Bomber's with B-ri and Sandy, two of the coolest people on earth that I don't get to spend enough time with. Tried the Jamaican Jerk Pork burrito over my usual BBQ Veggie Chicken burrito, it was tasty but didn't convert me from my love of the BBQ Veggie Chicken. The weekend followed with some quality time spent with Mom and Dad, Sister Jane and the like. Hung out with my buddy Matt Friday and Saturday night and ran a race with him Saturday morning. The race was frigid and started into a head wind, brr! I ran it as merely a faster run, rather than race. Matt finished 3rd, he came to lay it down and did it. Sunday was dinner with my grandparents and uncle. My mother made about the best damn ham I've ever had.

A few observations while in Upstate:

1) Sun does not equal warmth in winter as I was ever reminded this weekend.

2) My church at home had someone praying in the church 24 hours a day for all of Lent. I got to take 2 hours while at home. It was an amazing experience for the church and I am really excited to see where this goes for them.

3) Once you get into NY a little ways from NJ it feels as though the entire countryside simply opens up and is no longer so cramped. I like that.

Back to class.

my dividenz > yo dividenz like my mercedes benz > yo mercedes benz

2008-03-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

I found myself back in NJ last night after being gone for a little over a week of traveling. It wasn't horrible being back in the state of NJ but it still ain't my fav. Here are some of my observations and experiences of the last week plus:

1. Ohio is hella flat.

2. Southern PA is quite beautiful

3. Driving is much better with someone in the car with you.

4. Bowling Green's colors are orange and brown...weird.

5. Miriam's oldest nephew Sam was quite reluctant at first to call me "Uncle" Eric when Miriam and I got engaged, even when his mother and father told him to. His response was "they aren't married yet!" It was a good point. We visited them while driving back to Michigan and he is now calling me "Uncle" Eric on his own with no persuasion of his parents, it's kind of cool. He also wrote about me in his Catholic education class on a slip of paper that said (blank) is a Christian because...He wrote "Uncle Eric is a Christian because he goes to church." He's cool. I'm cool. Nuf said.

6. Ohio is hella flat

7. West Michigan is starting to feel like a second home. It's a nice area, I quite like it. Now if it only had mountains.

8. 11.5 hours of driving is tiring to say the least.

So those are somethings that happened to me. Overall a delightful spring break, nice road trip with Miriam, good seeing her family. Now back into school. PTL for a trip to Upstate this weekend, it should prove quite nice.

so worry not, all things are well, we’ll be alright, we have our looks and perfume

2008-03-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

For a band to become one of my permanent favorites bands they really have to have albums that I can put in at anytime and listen to the whole thing all the way through. I have bands I play continuously for a while but after a certain while they fade for a while, though they can work their way back into my frequent playlist. There are a few bands that transcend this in and out category. They are: Bloc Party and Arctic Monkeys. Pearl Jam works their way in there like a nominee waiting for the final approval of the committee for a position in the hall of fame.

So this was all an intro to the fact that I have a new band that is coming into Pearl Jam status and has potential to work their way into Bloc Party and Arctic Monkeys status, that band in The National. Their album "Boxer" blew my mind and caused me to buy "Alligator" which was equally as fantastic. The true test of whether they will be able to reach BP and AM status is two fold. Firstly, I will need to check back in, in a year and see if I still am listening to them and loving them. Secondly, I need to hear their first two albums to see what I think of them. It is not easy being part of my favorite bands and those bands included should feel special (tell them I said that if you meet any of them, because I am sooo tight with them, ha.)

That being said I shall leave you with my top 5 albums to play in the morning while making breakfast (preferably pancakes, coffee is also a must)...in no particular order:

Bloc Party- Silent Alarm

Bebo Norman- Ten Thousand Days

The National- Boxer

Jeff Austin- Songs From the Tin Shed

Eddie Vedder- Into the Wild Soundtrack

Over and out

gettin' hit by cars, gettin' rocked by stars

2008-03-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

So in late September I got hit by a car while cycling. Needless to say the Cannondale was totaled. It was (no pun intended) a total bummer. I really liked that bike, I mean I spent an entire summer's wages (however small they were) on buying that thing. It was a great machine and gave me many good days and miles.

I was bicycle-less for about 3 months as a result but once the insurance money went through I decided to buy a Bianchi San Jose. The San Jose is a cyclocross bike (a sturdier road bike with wider tires basically) and also single speed. I decided on this bike for a couple reasons: Firstly, Jersey road are terrible and this would beast over them. Secondly, seeing as how I'll be commuting next year and wanting to do it preferably by bicycle, this would be an excellent choice. And thirdly, no derailleurs means less I have to deal with mechanically. The bike is a beast, I love it. Singlespeed is so much less complicated and also just fun to ride. There is no escape when the hills come, there is no down shifting riding into wind, there is no easy gear. It's a test every time you go out on it and I love it.

While the Cannondale will continue to be missed, the Bianchi is being in its place as best it can. Also another new favorite motto, this one tailor-made for cycling: Live to ride...ride to death

Over and out.

Back to the Future

2008-03-01T19:19:00.000-08:00

So I've resurrected my blog. I had to create a new one because apparently logging into my other one was impossible given that I had no idea what my user email was or anything.
So I've gotten back into the beast. Hard to believe the last time I blogged was spring of my senior year of college. Now I'm almost two years out of college, almost done with two years of seminary, and getting married in June. It's quite amazing what difference two years makes.
So in an effort to recap the last two-ish years here we go:
- I now go to Princeton Theological Seminary where I am getting a Master's of Divinity (basically I'll be like the Pope when I get out, except less Catholic)
- I am getting married in June to the amazing Miriam Ippel (we met @ Camp Fowler)
- I hiked the Northville Placid Trail last summer with campers
- I've come to realize NJ is a wild wild place
- I've come to an appreciation for upstate NY, especially the Albany area that I never had while in college
- I've calmed a bit, matured a bit, and continued to specialize it keeping it real
- I've learned more about myself in the past 1.5ish years than in quite sometime
- I got a Subaru Forester from my parents...the mini-van is no longer
- I live in a dorm room again...only for a few more months, PTL!
- I now eat red meat again...and I really like it
- I work @ the Presbyterian Church in Westfield, NJ and quite fancy it
- I took on a new life motto in December 2006: Living the dream

That's about it for now.