. . . the greatest of these is love

Congratulations Larisa and Cameron. . .



YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!!

we love you.

Life in Oxford, Pt. 2

This is where Angela and I were last night. For those of you not in the area, there was an uncommonly strong windstorm Sunday, and the whole area lost power from Sunday until around 6 o'clock Tuesday morning (no street lights, no restaraunts...you know there's trouble when Wal-Mart has to close). It was unique looking at the moon in-town, without street lights to dim its brightness, yet disheartening that all our food was going to inevitably spoil. Ah well.

School was cancelled on Monday, but that night back-up generators were running at the University. Angela and I were studying/snacking at Shriver Center when those went out, and word spread that there was going to be a "protest" at the President's house. Angela and I went over to see what, exactly, there was to protest. There were about 1,000 (literally) other students who beat us there, as well as a large amount of police. It turns out the student body had one demand. They didn't want to go to class- again.

Some of them got their wish, not because class was cancelled, but because they were arrested. I understand they were just having fun, but I give my class three unexcused absences...and they're paying a lot of money to protest what they're paying for....I don't know, maybe I'm getting old. I do think it's too bad that many of them couldn't mobilize and get rowdy about, oh man, I don't know-- war, abortion, injustice in general.

Here's a short clip someone took. It's difficult to hear some of the more inspired chants, from "CAN-CEL CLASS," to "HOW CAN WE STU-DY, IF WE CAN'T SEE?," but you get the point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nszdvWjereo

Summer Music

Every Thursday evening throughout the summer, Oxford hosts live music in the park uptown. It’s pretty sweet. It goes from seven-thirty until ten, but Angela and I wanted good seats, so we set up our folding chairs around seven. Arriving early is important. The townies enjoy live, rowdy music, and fill up the square. I will post pictures below as proof.
The band was a bluegrass group called New Found Road, but when the young woman announced them, she said New Found Glory, which is the name of a pop-punk group. New Found Road was an enjoyable experience, and Angela and I had our chairs on the edge of the clearing, so we were able to watch the crowd between songs.
Angela saw lots of the little kids she’s been watching at her preschool, and I don’t envy her spending five days a week with them. They were rowdy mini-townies. Twice during the show, they pulled down the chain barrier around the stage.
We’re continuing to walk and bike most places. Angela’s ridden her bike to work evey day, and I plan on doing the same when my classes start on Monday. We put a check on the calendar at the end of every day we don’t use the car. We’re grateful to be in a situation where we can avoid using the gas.

Angela and her neighbor, staking their seperate plots.

Milling townies. Note neighbor in the right background.

New Found Road, playing late.

my new favorite

The Suburban . . .
A true beauty! Mine is actually a girls one but it is the same difference.
Here is a little sample of the places the Suburban has been. . .

The Library




The Movie Theater



Coffee










The Grocery Store





Downtown


Brett and I are rarely driving the car in town. It pretty much sits unless we are taking a trip to see family for things such as The Strickland Family Reunion - yes it does exist! Good times had by all:) AND to see baby Roslynn for the first time!!

I thought I would end with Elmo since he is Brielle's favorite and she had her birthday this month. Happy Birthday Brielle!!

Tegan and Sara

This past Friday, Angela and traveled forty minutes south to see the identical twin-sister duo, Tegan and Sara. They play a sort of synthetic pop, are from Canada, and are lesbians. Being a lesbian is fairly unremarkable, however what is worth noting is that the composition of the crowd was such that we non-lesbians were a distinct minority. It was a cultural event, and the show was pretty good, T & S's voices live sounded much the same as they do recorded, which is not the case with many bands.

One aspect of concerts I’m always intrigued by is the “between-song-chatter.” It’s an aspect of the artist that one is not able to experience simply by listening to their CD. Usually there’s some crowd-banter involved, a funny story or two, or an explanation of a song. I’m a fan of all of these, although the first can quickly become boring.

Crowd-banter starts to sound like this:

Female Artist: What? I can’t hear what you’re saying, everyone, shut the hell up, I can’t hear what this dude’s saying. (Crowd quiets)

Fan: (Indistinct yelling from the front of the crowd, some laugh.)

Female Artist: Oh, you love me! Hey, I love you too!

Fan: (Faint voice, impossible to make out)

Female Artist: This guy wants to marry me! Oh, I would, but my boyfriend might have a problem with that, haha.

No one ever knows what the fan is yelling. Tegan and Sara’s banter was semi-interesting, but I have important news for anyone who is a fan of this duo (Let me quickly specify that while I enjoy them, I would not consider myself a "fan.")—Tegan is the uncool one. You might want to disagree with me, and that’s fine if you do, but by that you are also saying that long, drawn out stories about a cat sneezing while someone is trying to break up with their girlfriend are cool as well. You would also be saying unsightly neo-mullets are cool.

We had fun. Afterwards, we made the long drive up to Michigan for Mother’s Day Weekend, then down to Toledo Saturday night, and finally, home to Oxford.

Life in Oxford, Pt. 1

Angela and I now live in Oxford, OH, which is approximately 35 miles north of Cincinnati. It reminds me somewhat of Lexington, primarily because they're both cities that host major colleges. The difference between Lexington and Oxford, however, is that Lexington seemed to host UK, while Miami seems to host Oxford. Everywhere Angela and I go, whether it's a Kroger run at night or a bike ride to the Library, the city is crawling with college students.
We live in a two-bedroom townhouse, which is nice because of the space it affords us. Our second day here, I walked some move-in trash out to the dumpster, and on my way back, a blonde fellow in a sleeveless shirt pulled up on his bike in front of my door.
"So, you're the new neighbor," he said. We talked for a minute, he told me his name was Neil and that he was working on his master's in geology, and then with a wave of his hand toward the row of townhouses behind us, he imparted some information I found interesting.
"Actually, that whole row of townhouses are people getting their master's in geology," he explained. "And about half the next one, too."
I found this somewhat bizarre. Everyone? All geologists? Is there a dramatic need for geologists on the job market today? Should I put an extra lock on my bike tonight? Will I have to phone the police often because of all the loud, geologist parties?
Fortunately though, the only concerns I've had so far in the week and a half I've spent here, is that one of my neighbors in the row behind me, whom I can only assume is getting his masters in geology, is continually practicing with juggling sticks on the lawn, which I honestly don't believe I've seen since approximately 1999. I'm not talking about real juggling either, I'm referring to the activity where the participant holds a baton in each hand, and then tries to keep another baton in the air with it.
The other concern I've been forced to consider today (and this isn't really a concern, as much as a possible future trust issue), is that Neil was selling me baloney that wasn't manufactured on the farm. This morning I saw a short plump boy with a rat tail, who looked nine or ten, emerge from the back of one of said townhouses with an unopened packet of saltine crackers. He kept looking over his shoulder. Unless one of the geologists was using him for some sort of experiment, I don't think that boy has anything to do with Miami's Geology department.
I'll wait before I confront Neil. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. Meanwhile, Angela and I will continue enjoying the benefits of Oxford's Public Library, and the warm Spring weather.

This is our kitchen.




This picture has no relation to anything I blogged about. But there was a cat that was living illegally in the attic of the Strickland house in Perry MI, and we had no choice to set a trap for it. Here is Angela and my dad posing with the cat, before he was deported to my garage for the night.

Stuff Christians Like

Obviously it's a play off "Stuff White People Like," and while the writing isn't quite as funny, some of the items in the list should hit home for anyone who's been in the Christian community for a significant length of time. Worth checking out if you have a few minutes, I added it to our link list.

# 20 Psalty gave me a good laugh, as did # 45 Getting the money's worth out of Youth Group Liability Forms

Will Smith and My New Kicks

Will Smith- for, or against? It's a question I've been pondering for two or three odd months now, since the advent of his latest movie, I Am Legend. I was in Africa when it hit the silver screen, so I wasn't able to go see it- but I wanted to. Will Smith fascinates me, I find his movies entertaining, and these two facts were prodding me to write a blog, but an event took place last night that has superceded the neccessity of exploring the crevices of the Will Smith phenomena. I will address the "event," in a moment, but first, a list. (Substituted for of what I believe to be the Pro's and Con's of Will Smith's career.)

Pro's
Enemy of the State
Jada Pinkett Smith
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Independence Day
I am Legend (I watched it last night)

Con's
His Rapping Career
Wild Wild West

I think I would have to create a new category for Men In Black. The event that took place last night, was me sitting at my computer, designing a new pair of kicks. They're money, and here's a picture.

The Money

I don't want anyone posting comments like, "Those are really ugly shoes," either, because I'll delete them. I could have written anything, up to eight letters, on the side of the shoes, but everything I thought of was stupid, and would greatly decrease my chances of making new friends in the future.

So.

If You Have Any "Africa" Sub-text References Next To Our Blog Link, It's Time To Change It

I think everyone knows by now, but in case you haven't heard, Angela and I flew home on February 13th due to Visa issues that could not be resolved.
That being said, we're happy to be back in the States. The past six months provided us with ample time, and space away from our culture and usual habits to reflect on our lifestyles, and on what we might like to do differently. That's all I have to say about that right now.

In other news, I finished reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road yesterday, and it is a fantastic novel. My opinon is backed by the fact that is received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. I highly recommend it.

In approximately one week Angela and I are driving out to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, to stay with my friend Kyle and his wife Amy, with whom my friend Anthony also lives. Between that, and driving to Toledo, Marion, and Indianapolis, we'll be racking up a lot of miles in the next odd week. Luckily one of our first purchases upon returning to Michigan was an FM transmitter for the ipod.

11 o’clock Tuesday

Of course there are many details. Many of which have exhausted me the last week/ month/ maybe longer. It all boils down to the final question we were asked. “You may stay in Africa and work with no visa or you may go home and be released from your contract." Needless to say our flight takes off a week from Tuesday.

Living on the ocean and working at the school has been a nice life (and I am most definitely going to miss it!), but I would be lying if I said I am not looking forward to boarding that plane so we can spend some time with family, visit friends, and not have a baby Gecko running around the apartment. :) It’s his slimy slithery tail that really get me!

- Angela