great weekend in houston.

since it’s soccer season (we have a game tonight, in fact), i am officially admitting how terrible i’ve been about keeping up with friends and family and keeping everyone abreast of my life here in the Arrogance State…er, i mean…the Lone Star State.  so i figured i could update a lot of you with a brief post about a few recent goings-on in my life and the lives of some of ‘my people’.

this weekend was fantastic.  ellen came to visit me in houston on thursday, and she didn’t have to fly home to cincinnati until yesterday afternoon.  what’s more, the soccer tournament that was scheduled for this weekend (friday night and most of saturday) ended up being postponed and then cancelled due to weather, so we had an entire day and a half that we didn’t initially plan on having all to ourselves.  she knew that the tournament was this weekend when she booked her flight, so she was planning on watching some (actually, quite a bit of) soccer (how cool is that, right?); nevertheless, it was really nice to have all of that extra time to spend together.  the whole cincinnati-houston thing definitely puts a damper on the quality-time-together aspect of our relationship, so an extra day and a half was actually a huge bonus.  it really made her visit seem much longer…in a totally great way. 

we ate at several really cool restaurants downtown, got to hang out with sean and laura one night, spent a rainy evening inside watching bad tv and movies, went to see 27 dresses (actually pretty good…especially for a chick-flick), went on a quest one night for a restaurant that serves brownies (i mean, seriously, is it really that much to ask?  i was shocked at the difficulty we encountered and the scarcity of such a seemingly common dessert), went downtown to hermann park on sunday afternoon and enjoyed the sunny (albeit chilly) weather while we walked around, made several random trips to sonic to try a whole slew of slush flavor combinations, and even caught some of the packers/giants game.  (on a side note, i’d like to both air my disappointment with brett favre not being in the super bowl after the freakishly successful year the cheeseheads have had and send eli manning my condolences for the severe and total beating which he and his new york football giants will undoubtedly endure in the super [lopsided] bowl in a few weeks).  but i digress…in short, the whole weekend was so great, just to have ellen here and to be able to experience parts of the city that i had never really encountered.

my family was all in memphis to see anthony’s show (he’s on a national tour of high school musical), and he was actually on as one of the leads for this tour stop.  they all said that he did a great job…which is no surprise…and they all seemed to really have enjoyed the show.  i wish i could’ve been there with them, but i at least got to see the show a few weeks back when he was in little rock.  it was great to see him for that weekend and to spend some time with him.  we rarely get to hang out, and it was totally worth the drive to little rock to be able to see him for a few days. 

i miss seeing my fam…i’m really looking forward to seeing them in april when i go home for matthew’s show.  he got one of the lead parts in one of the big shows at southern miss this spring, which is a huge accomplishment considering the miniscule attention and recognition most usm freshmen receive in the theater department.  he’s been really successful, and i’m really pumped that he’s enjoying school so much.  in the words of ron burgundy…he’s kindof a big deal.  i’m pretty proud of both my brothers…if you can’t tell.  i’m just trying to figure out two things: 1) where the heck did this whole acting/performing gene come from?? and 2) why the heck did it skip me?? 

so to all of my family and friends, i really hope that you can forgive me for being such a small blip on the radar screen that is your email inbox or your cell phone call list.  i hope you guys are all doing well.  i miss all of you and look forward to catching up with you sometime soon(most likely when soccer’s over).

lessons.

ok, so the time for a new blog post is, once again, long overdue.  i’m not sure who exactly is out there reading this, but it’s funny how knowing that people are looking periodically for something new on here makes me feel so much more accountable than i would otherwise.  this made me begin to wonder:  am i only posting random tidbits of my life out of a sense of…obligation isn’t really the right word, but it’s all that comes to mind…?  and the answer – short, simple, and sweet (unlike most of what i have to say) – is a resounding no. 

as i begin to set down new roots in this new place that i have yet to become totally comfortable calling “home,” i find that, while i am a teacher by trade, it is the role of learner that i am playing most frequently these days.  it has been quite some time since i can say i’ve had a day in which i did not make some discovery, marginally interesting or life-altering (although the latter of these occur much less often), about myself.  i’ve learned how much i genuinely enjoy serving people to whom i owe nothing and from whom i will most undoubtedly never receive any credit, let alone praise.  i’ve learned that life is much more pleasant when you’re in good company; moreover, i’ve learned that i am good company, be it to my friends or to myself.  i’ve learned that my culinary skills need some work.  i’ve learned that my God-given abilities can be used in so many more ways than i ever imagined.  i’ve learned that if you live in texas, you will swiftly become a master of the u-turn.  i’ve learned to appreciate the innocence of children, whether they are too young to realize the corrupt world around them or too teenaged to realize that it still exists within them.  i’ve learned that the tollway is almost always faster…even if it is more expensive.  i’ve learned that most people just want to know that you care.  i’ve learned that i can’t do it all…and i’m learning how to discern between what i should and shouldn’t take on.  i’ve learned to become comfortable accepting, admitting, and even saying to others that i am okay…even good…at things without worrying about coming across as haughty or arrogant.  i’ve learned that i don’t mind traffic as much as i thought i would.  i’ve learned that my family is amazing and i have been so fortunate for the privilege of knowing them and seeing them so frequently throughout my life.  i’ve learned that i am slowly, but surely, becoming a conglomeration of my father and my grandfather (although with twice as much naivete and half as many corny preacher jokes).  i’ve also learned that, in my book, there is no higher compliment i could ever be paid than to be compared to either of these men.  i’ve learned what an amazing example of selfless sacrifice my parents have been throughout my life.  and i’ve learned that i never have, and probably never will fully convey to them how much that means to me and how much i appreciate everything that they’ve done.

and, coming back to my original train of thought, in my short time here in houston i have learned that i am fascinated by the ability of  some people to mold the words of the english language into a palette of colors and then use that array, by way of thousands of differents strokes of their ‘brush’, to let others in on the images, the ideas, the ramblings, and the ponderances inside their heads, however prolific or banal they may be. 

so no.  i do not write this solely as an obligation for anyone.  i write because i enjoy it.  i write because it is my art (i never was much of a painter)…even if it isn’t exactly high art.

and i write because the immensity of some things is simply too big to be expressed anywhere but on the page.

life’s little laundry list.

wow.  it’s been so long since i’ve had time to actually sit down and write a post, i couldn’t possibly sum up everything that’s happened.  the ’short’ version goes something like this: since our safari in uganda, i have…

1. gone whitewater rafting and bungee jumping on the nile river

2. flown for 17 hours nonstop from dubai to new york

3. spent a week roaming aimlessly around new york city

4. seen 4 different shows on broadway

5. been to a mlb game at shea stadium and another at yankee stadium

6. come home early to attend the funeral of one of the girls from one of the teams i coached last year

7. driven from starkville to houston (texas, not mississippi) to apartment hunt for 3 days before being in one of my best friends’ wedding

8. flown BACK to ms

9. loaded all of my possessions into a moving truck

10. driven BACK to tx in a moving truck (with my dad and brother…all piled into the cab of the moving truck that only had 2 captain’s chairs…more on that later)

11. unloaded everything into my apartment in houston

12. watched the astros at minute maid park

13. driven back to ms to spend a week or so seeing family and friends

14. driven BACK to houston AGAIN

15. and attended a week and a half’s worth of new teacher orientation/staff development (of which tomorrow is the last installment…woo hoo!).

like i said, that is the ’short’ version, but maybe it shines a little light on why i haven’t posted in a while.  i’ll do my best to get a more in-depth description of everything asap.  ’til then… 

stateside, baby.

i’m back!  we flew into new york yesterday morning…i’ll be here for a week before i fly back to the south.  i just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have been so diligent in your prayerful support of me and my group throughout this trip.  it has truly been a life-changing experience, and i cannot wait to share it with you when i get home.

as i’ve said, i’m moving to houston sometime in the next 6 weeks.  i’m sure that my adventures in texas won’t be anywhere near as crazy as those from uganda, but i hope that a few of you will continue to read and respond to the random thoughts that are my blog.  thanks again for all of your support, your encouragement, and your prayers.  see you soon!

on a side note, i realize that there are 4 days of my trip that are missing…and believe me, they were CRAZY days…safari, rafting the nile, bungee jumping, etc.  i’m planning to post sunday through yesterday as soon as i can get them typed up.  i’ll try to be quick about it.  ‘til then…

here goes nothing.

this will most likely be the last post i make before we leave tonight…i’ve got a few last minute items to run and pick up and then i’m going to make sure i’m packed up and ready to roll.

i met amy, the lady in charge of our trip, yesterday for lunch.  while eating, we talked about uganda, and she answered a lot of questions that i’ve been wondering about.  i saw the formal itinerary for our trip, and i officially began to get both extremely excited and slightly scared.

i’m going to AFRICA.  holy crap.  i don’t think it’s going to seem completely real until the moment when we step off the plane in uganda.

anyway, i just wanted to take a quick second to say THANK YOU to all of the people who have made this trip a possibility.  many of you have made financial contributions without which i would never have been able to even consider going.  i also owe a huge thanks to all of the people who have encouraged, supported, and prayed for me as i have prepared for this trip.  my entire family, emily, sean, krystal, jon and elizabeth (and both of your families), as well as everyone involved with the intermission ministry, and countless others (there are so many…please don’t take offense if i didn’t name you personally)…you have all been instrumental in my taking on this journey.

i am sad to be so ‘detached’ from some of you, but i am excited…for many reasons.  for those of you who do not know, i have accepted a job in houston, tx that i will begin in the fall.  so as i prepare for this adventure in the middle of a foreign land, i have another adventure waiting for me when i return home.  God is doing some amazing things in my life right now, and i am overflowing with thanksgiving and amazement at how great he really is. 

i will continue to update you all as frequently as possible (though, as i was informed yesterday, the internet situation is quite less than ideal in gulu) and i cherish your prayers…not only for safety for me and my team, but also for the people withwhom we will be working and the children whom we will be serving and teaching.

our plane takes off at 11:00 pm (eastern time) tonight from new york city.  we will return on july 11th. 

until then…

p.s. – new photo album up from yesterday and this morning in NYC:

http://msstate.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2075160&l=1ee88&id=26501674