Happy Birthday Eric and Christine!!

Happy Birthday to my oldest brother, Eric!! I'm so thankful to have you for a brother, and I can't wait to see you and Jene and the little guys tomorrow!










Also happy birthday to Christine Two!! Chicago may not have any giant cowboy boots, but I hear you've got a normal-sized pair in your closet! Throw caution to the wind, Christine. Go line-dancing!

Googling Australia

Hello everyone,
I spent some time on Google Earth today and, as always happens, I ended up wandering the streets of Australia and I couldn't help but remember lots of good times spent in these places with my friends.

Where I lived:

At the top you'll see the complex I lived in (College Square), untagged just above that is the Independent Grocer of Australia (IGA) where I had to make runs for milk and crackers during commercial breaks of Big Brother.

Top right is the safeway - also there was a Borders, a coffee shop, and a movie theatre.

Safeway and College Square were on Lygon Street - world famous for its Italian restaurants (go ahead, google it). Just to the right of this picture there was this incredible Italian restaurant that had a Nutella dessert - Erika and I enjoyed this masterpiece on many an ocassion.

To the right you'll see Uni Melb - just where the little tag is you would find the union - in the union there was a rancid sushi joint, a store that sold award-winning lotion, a wonderful coffee shop where Erika and I would hang out every Tuesday afternoon, the computer lab, and lots and lots of smart people who care about stuff and held protests.

"Kiddy Corner" (American phrase) to my apartment building was the Jewish Cemetary. It's big. My friend Joe once chased a fox in there on our way to the playground (tagged below the cemetary). There was a gravestone for Elvis in there.

Above the cemetary I have pointed to where I saw a dead bat on the sidewalk once.

Mid to low in the picture you'll see Erika's college. A college in Australia is what we would call a cross between a dorm and a fraternity. They had a ball - we would have called it a dance, but they did not. We went to it.

Down low is the Melbourne Zoo. Jess and I saw some otters there. This is a picture from that fateful day:


Speaking of pictures, this is one of Erika in my apartment building on halloween:


Downtown Melbourne:

Up top you'll see a casino. It's an indoor city with pillars of fire outside (literally). Erika and I saw a movie there once (the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre if you're interested) and had to walk all the way home afterwards as the trams stop running after 1am. We ate free popcorn and strangers tried to talk to us along the way (see tag).

There's a music venue in the middle of downtown. This is where I met many of my wonderful Australian friends.

Below that is where I once tried to climb on the briefcase of one of these strange statues and wiped out onto the sidewalk below:


Then there's Chinatown.

Then Nando's Chicken joint - where they proudly boasted "No Fat Chicks."

In the lower right is the Queen Vic Market, where fruit is purchased.


Townsville, The Strand:

This was my most exciting find. I spent Christmas in Townsville. December is summer in Australia, so there was a Christmas parade - I remember there was Mary and Joseph, a manger, and several camels. Knowing I'd never seen a camel before, my friend Frog hooked me up with the meeting and petting of one of the blasted creatures.


If you look to your right you'll see a bathroom. Jen and I were in the bathroom one evening, and the boys were outside waiting for us. Then some Bogans came up and said to Joe (wearing a brown and orange polo) "nice shirt." Joe responded "it's the way of the future man." Then the Bogans began throwing beer bottles at the car and the boys were fleeing the scene as Jen and I exited the bathroom. We sprint to enter the moving vehicle as the bogans are chasing us. Once we were safely inside, Jordan sticks his head out of the car window and yells "God Bless!"


Youthful exuberance.

"Dynamite Charles Spurgeon quote"

"Seeing that we have such a God to trust to, let us rest upon Him with
all our weight; let us resolutely drive out all unbelief, and endeavor
to get rid of doubts and fear, which so much mar our comfort; since
there is no excuse for fear where God is the foundation of our trust.
A loving parent would be sorely grieved if his child could not trust
him; and how ungenerous, how unkind is our conduct when we put so
little confidence in our heavenly Father, who has never failed us, and
who never will!"

(A nod to Anna Leisa for passing this one on)

$5 Date Challenge

I've never been one to let my singleness take me away from a challenge - and neither has Anna Leisa. That is why we are the newest competitors in the $5 Date Challenge.


The best part is we don't have to cater to those boy-girl-boundaries-in-not-hanging-out-late-at-night-alone-in-your-apartment rules. Booyah!

Hey AL, how's about we share a blanket and watch a documentary sometime?


Booyah!!

A Day at the Fair

After a late evening of Mafia and that blasted Apples to Apples game, I woke with the sun (9am) to venture to Valleyfair - with Ben and Joe.

I just need to note that as we were approaching the fair, we all agreed to this: "We are definitely not going on the stupid antique cars due to their lameness."

When we arrived we headed for the Enterprise. After the spinning and the screaming and the upside downness, I was feeling a little wobbly (Ben sat that one out knowing its effect). We proceeded onto Chaos and Steel Venom and then we went to, my personal favorite, the Monster.

Now at this point Ben and I could really no longer take it (Joe is still young)...we debated whether food was a GREAT idea, or the worst idea ever. I decided it was great, and we headed to panda express where I quickly out-ate the boys.


Afterwards we looked at the antique cars and decided it sounded like a really wonderful idea. Ben and I just wanted to sit and let Joe drive us around. Joe really wanted to drive. Perfect.

Here are pictures from that joyous ride:

As we were nearing this area, Ben proclaims "look, it's the antique car graveyard:"

There was something about these statues, something funny. I don't remember what it was:

I took a picture of this wonderful woman (that won't load for some reason) and she walked towards our car mouthing, "put your camera away, NO CAMERAS!!!"

I put it away, and then seconds later I defied her by take a picture of an antique-car-ride water fountain (not interesting enough to post).

This ride did the trick. I still felt disoriented and woobly, but we all felt better in the tummy. We went to the Excalibur and had the time of our lives! Then I requested we go to the white roller coaster...Ben and Joe anticipated a crappy ride. Boy were they surprised to find it is SO fun. Up and down, up and down. It's just fantastic.

On our way to the white roller coaster we overheard (from the waterpark) that song that goes "every time you go away, you take a piece of me with you." It was in my head, and I proclaimed that those lyrics made me sad. Ben and Joe argued with me - they were good. I said "no, no, the lyrics should be more like 'everytime you go away, I'm sad because I really enjoy you, but I'm still okay.'" This spawned much laughter and many more corrective lyrics. "It's like what you say to an old high school friend: 'I kind of like you, you're okay to be with, when you go away I miss you a little.'" I wish I could remember some of the more funny corrections. Joe, Ben: help me out will ya?

Later we went to the Wild Thing where I thought I was definitely going to die. I kept expecting the car to ride right off the rails where we would plummet to our deaths on the mini golf course. Horrible.

Then I requested the Tilt-a-whirl. I think Ben was less than enthusiastic. We took note of the people in front of us who had the most spins - it was the ones who were not trying. So our theory was to "relax." Once we got on the ride we realized that wasn't getting us anywhere...Ben yells out "relaxing isn't working!!!!!!!!!!" and we all shift to the left. I yell "COMMIT TO A SIDE!!!!!" and then someone yells "committing isn't working!!! SHIFT TO THE RIGHT!!!!"

Have you ever been so happy all you can think to do is laugh? This was the sort of joy we experienced as we spun and spun and spun:

Later we went home, and I watched Schindler's List with a room full of people who don't cry. From the time that the man with no arm was shot and onward I was a complete basketcase.

Valley Fair and Schindler's List - great combination, huh?

Happy Birthday everybody.

The Quotable Ben Robison

Ben seems to say lots of funny things. For instance, he just commented on Ann's blog, that he "loves short people more than regular people."


This got me thinking about how often Ben says funny things. I might make this a regular feature on my blog. Here are a few off the top of my head that he's said recently (or maybe not so recently):


"I'll meet you at Mount Ararat" (to anna leisa)

"Sometimes I feel bad for all the miserably single people...than I remember how happy I am." (last monday)

"I don't think I've ever been this wet, not even when I was swimming." (after a hard rain)

"I've never dissapointed in conversation." (to anna leisa during my move)

Add yours today! If we can get this up to 365, I think we've got a marketable product on our hands.

That Fresh Feeling

In the immortal words of the Eels, this is that fresh, that fresh feeling.


This morning Emily and I met at 6:30 to spend a little time in the Bible. I even brought my Santa Biblia (that means I meant business)! Em had to go a little after 7, so I spent a good hour by myself journaling, praying, reading - it was great to have intentional, not squeezed in, extended time with mi Redentor...

But now I can't get that song out of my head.


Birds singing a song....you know?

Winner

Winner of "Guess this Picture" game: I'm not sure, it's either Adam Ochuk or Jon Dordal. They were birs stuck to my sweatpants (I was running the other week, and there was this massive tree that had fallen into the path. I had to get around it through the woods and now my sweats are covered with those crazy birs). Jon Dordal pretty much had it, but Adam wished me a happy "bir-day" so I don't know. Congratulations to you both!

Birthday Recap

Oh man...what a day!! Yesterday it was a full time job just to keep up everything birthday-related. I've never had an August 23rd like it! Wow! What did I do to warrant such an immense showing? Nothing! I just have the most amazing friends that have ever existed!!

Back in our livejournal days we used to recap how many phone calls, facebook messages, etc that we got on our birthdays. Let's bring back those days!

Facebook: 20 messages
Blogger: 15 messages (5 outside of the christineone blog)
Phone: Emily (singing from the TOP OF HER LUNGS), Sarah, Mom and Dad, Maren and C2
Cards: Parents, Maren, Ann
E-cards: Melanie and Darrick, AL, Lane
Emails: Maren, Ben, Jon D, Rachel, Karl, Lane, and Will (Will's was a day late, but not a dollar short)
Text Message: Maren
Fax: Maren
Myspace: Shawn Berres, Jess, Maren
In Person: Maren, Ann
Gtalk: Maren, Lee, Alexis, The Miz, Sarah
ROSES: AL, Em, Rach, Sarah

Best use of Technology: Maren (I love technology, but not as much as you, you see...), who utilized every single possible medium to wish me a happy birthday (my favorite was the fax)

Best poem: Anna Leisa

Favorite Blogger Comment: JK (I don't know why, I just liked that my mom got the props!)

First to say happy birthday on the actual birthday: Hoops (good job, you've done well!)

Most secretive and sweet greeting: The sweethearts from 17th St (plus AL)



Those are the flowers I got yesterday, if you look to the right you'll see the fax Maren sent ("I just faxed to say I love you")


Thanks everybody for making yesterday the most memorable birthday I've ever had!! You didn't have to! For the record, I'm fine with my birthday being ignored for the next 10 years.

Musical Accompaniment:
Ann and I met after work to go to the Mae concert. This was a very fun time! One of my favorite moments of the evening was when we were driving down 394 on our way to Dinkytown.




"That's where I work" - me pointed at the Interchange Tower up ahead.
"There?" - Ann pointing at a closer tan building.
"No, there" - pointing at white Interchange Tower.
"There?" - still pointing at tan building
"No! Over there!" - pointing at white building
".....there??" - pointing at tan building
"No, the white one up there" - me (still pointing)
"The Interchange Tower or the tan building??" - Ann
"The Interchange Tower" - me
"That's where I work!" - Ann
"what???" - me

Followed by much much laughter.

So we made it to campus (after taking a birthday phone call from Maren), and dined at Jimmy Johns before heading over to the Varsity.




The first band, Vedera, was very good - we enjoyed them immediately. The second band, The New Amsterdams, much anticipated by me, was AWESOME (though I would've preferred that they played a few more songs and did an encore...). During their set, we "met" a slightly intoxicated and loud woman. My hope is that Ann will blog about this woman, but I'll share my favorite quote of hers: "I REALLY LIKE THIS BAND, I MIGHT GET THERE CD!....I'M NOT DRUNK!!!! ONLY A LITTLE DRUNK!!! I'M NOT TALL!!! I'M JUST WEARING HEELS!!!!!!!!"

But...the band was great. Then Mae came out, and they were phenomenal!! Simply great. Concert of the year.

After the show, we went to McDonalds to have a couple Mango-Raspberry Shakes...we spent a good amount of time talking about various topics...and at about 11:00 we left and headed toward the car. As we were crossing 14th avenue, the lead singer of Mae illegally ran diagonally across the intersection of the street. He's a pretty handsome young man, nice brown shirt, expressive. I'm a fan.



After watching the guy on stage for a few hours, I wouldn't have missed him crossing the empty street (though somehow Ann did). He smiled at me, I smiled back and said "hi" and kept walking. Then I told Ann, and she said "Christine! You should've at least said 'good show tonight, it's my birthday' He would've said happy birthday to you!!" A smile and a hello is really fine though!

Anyway, best birthday ever!!!!!!!!




And in case you were wondering, my pinkies are still two different sizes:

I JUST GOT ROSES

I wish I'd brought my camera to work today! I just got back from lunch to find a package waiting for me of 36 baby roses! They're so pretty! I can't believe this!






I am BLOWN AWAY. I don't think I've ever felt so cared for ever! It's a full time job just trying to keep up with all the love that's flowing. Thank you Anna Leisa, Rachel, Sarah and Emily! You guys are the sweetest girls in the world, I'm so grateful for each of you, and you're making me cry at work!

Check me out! I'm gold!

Happy Birthday, everybody. In honor of this holiday, I am hosting a picture post.


These are a few pictures of Rachel gorging herself on Buca's:




This is a picture of Yuppie Trash:


I was driving behind this car last week. It has been painted Red....but if you look closely on the left side of the bumper, you'll see that they chose to paint over a Minnesota Wild sticker instead of taking it off beforehand:


This is a lovely picture of The Miz and Alyssa:


This is a lifelike sculpture I made of Emily made out of clay. Not Medusa. Emily.:




I was thinking about sealing this picture in a Manila envelope and putting it under Will's doorstep with a note "I thought you should know the truth:"


My dearest Jess, in her Virginia Slims ad:


"All strapped in and ready to go:"


"This straw is gold! How did they know??:"


I snuck this picture yesterday while Maren was praying:


Those were the best free noodles I'd ever had, Thanks for coming out to Noodles with me Maren!!:


This was one of the most dissapointing moments I've had in a long while. I saw this in the New Release section of Blockbuster. It is Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys and if you look to the top left you'll see that, yes, Corey Feldman has stooped this low:



And now a game. Guess what this is a picture of! I promise that the answer will be neither exciting or even interesting in the slightest. But guess anyway:



Thanks to everyone who has sent me greetings today already!! I'm overwhelmed by all the love!

The Maren Dream

Hey, dreams.


The other night I had one. Maren and I were trying to meet for Chipotle at 6:00 am. I told her there was one by the Perkins across 94 from campus (there isn't one). So we were walking along, climbing over cement blocks, and I felt really bad because it was 6:17 and she had to be at work by 6:30 and she's pregnant, so I didn't want her to get hurt with all the climbing we were doing. My stomach hurt, so when we finally made it to Chipotle, Maren ordered her chicken burrito, and I had this conversation with the guy behind the counter:


"Let me guess, Diet Coke, right?" - guy
"Better make it a sprite" - me



Then I got out of bed and popped four advils.



Dreams, huh?

Everybody's talking about it

A few minutes ago as I was spooning free taco fillings onto my paper plate in the lunch room I overheard this conversation:

"He turned two yesterday" - Lady 1
"The 20th was the big day, huh?" - Lady 2
"Yep...he'll be 20 for his golden birthday. That's a good age" - Lady 1


I was gleeful...and almost told them it would be my golden birthday on wednesday! Almost. I don't know them.





This weekend was pretty much the most productive weekend in the history of time. I rented a Rug Doctor and steam cleaned my couch. That's right. The first thing I did after running 10 luxurious miles (didn't sweat gold, but I did sweat a ton of salt), was steam clean my couch. Bought a staple gun too...and began reupholstering my kitchen table chairs. I also watched the entire BBC version of The Office and realized that it is not the American actor who plays Jim (on the American version) that I have a crush on - it is actually just the Jim/Tim character. Because I began having crush-like feelings toward the only-slightly-chubby British dude.

And if that weren't productive enough, laundry and grocery shopping happened too! I also bought a present for my parents - security dowels. You're welcome, parents!


Much love, and feel free to come to Chipotle tonight at 6 - movie & music in the park afterwards (Come one come all! Bring a blanket!),
Christine

Yesterday's "Sudoku Story"

This is a story that may be better hearing it out loud - I get very excited explaining how all the hubbub seemed to continue spiraling more and more out of control.


1:00 - I recieve an email from our boss asking cube-neighbor (CN) and I to stop by to talk about a project

1:02 - CN and I walk in and catch our boss playing Sudoku. CN inquires what this game is. I am visibly gleeful and containing my excitement from even the thought of sudoku as boss explains the game.

1:05 - Boss asks me the question I always hoped to be asked: "Do you play Sudoku?"

1:06 - Boss says he has never attempted a 5-star Sudoku...I assure him he would have no trouble finishing one.

1:20 - I receive an email from my boss telling me he finished the 5-star

1:21 - I congratulate him via email

1:22 - He responds saying he used probability to figure out two squares, then asks if that is cheating or okay. I immediately tell CN and we have a good laugh.

1:25 - I storm into boss' office with a websudoku (level: evil) printed puzzle, tell him that CN and I agree that it didn't count.

1:26 - CN walks in yelling "CHEATER!!"

1:30 - CN sees Triva quiz in the paper and tells us how his family used to play them all the time

1:32-1:50 - Boss and I (and one of my office friends (OF) also joins around 1:40) attempt to answer the questions (and get nearly every one wrong). One question was "what is the shape made from honeycomb." I reply "A guy at my church wrote a song about bees [it was on Jodi's New Orleans CD], one of the lines was 'Hexagons are the foundation of our society.' So Hexagons." (This was my victorious moment for the day).

1:51 - Boss racks his brain over what 6, 28, and 496 have in common. CN, OF, and I look at the answer (they are all perfect numbers). CN and I do not know what a perfect number is.

1:53 - OF takes us in the hallway to attempt to explain a perfect number...but the point wasn't fully made.

1:56 - I proclaim "I'll call my mom! She was a math teacher!" I head back to my cube.

2:00 - My dad answers the phone in las vegas, I explain what's going on a little and ask if I can speak to mom. He wakes her so she can take my call. (noon in Las Vegas, my mom stays up kind of late playing sudoku and watching Forensic Files...)

2:02 - Mother (a little groggy) has a hard time remembering what a perfect number is. CN comes to his cube and decides to google it. He does. I read the definition to my mom, and they both try to explain to me what it all means.

2:10 - We go back to our boss' office, where another coworker has joined the fun. Our boss is close to figuring out the puzzle. He figures it out (but not knowing that what he's figured out means they are perfect numbers). We fill him in on what we've learned about them (did you know there are only seven perfect numbers??)

2:20 - CN and I stop by our funny coworker's cube to ask if he knows what a perfect number is. This leads to a discussion about pi. This coworker knows a lot about pi. I say something to the effect of "Pi! 3.14.....that's all I know...." Coworker rattles off 7 post digit pi numbers. I mention the movie Pi, which none of us had seen, I speculated that it was probably about this guy obsessed with pi. Funny coworker says "hmm, me too. French Silk." CN and I laugh it up, and I walk back to my cube.

2:25 - I open my email to see an email from my mom. This is what it said:

1,2,248,4,124,8,62,16,31 = 496

Love,

Mom

2:25 still - I snort louder than I have ever snorted before. I am embarassed.

2:30 - CN comes back, I show him my mom's email. We laugh.




After 1.5 hours of Sudoku, emails, trivia, perfect numbers, my parents, pi, and loud embarassing snort laughs, I remembered that I cannot help but love my job.



Then I made a bunch of charts.

Golden Birthday - Day 2 & 3

Day 1 was the Noodlegram

Yesterday I celebrated by having dinner with Laney-boo at Olive Garden (the genius is forcing yourself to eat as many breadsticks as possible so you can gorge yourself on baked ziti the next day for lunch - all for the low low price of 17 dollars after tip).

I also celebrated yesterday by having coffee at a Cupcake joint with Anna Leisa.




Tonight's festivities include a reunion with The Miz, Joe, Jordan, and Alyssa (second reunion with her - also a farewell) and following the Rock, a rousing game of Cranium. I'm so excited! I love games!!!


Day 4 will include a 10 mile run (although my stubborn refusal to stretch has caused a permanent limp) and I expect to sweat pure gold! Come one come all!!

Golden Birthday Celebrations have begun!

Last year I led the student small group with this dude Lee.

Moments ago I had this google talk conversation with him:


Lee:
I'm baking a cake for your Golden Birthday.
Christine:
you are not
Lee:
It includes: celery, pickles, peanut butter, butter, cranberry juice, flax seed, flour, yeast, sardines, and Salsa. You'll be impressed! It will be the BEST birthday cake ever!!!
Christine:
as long as there's butter, I guess
Lee:
Aren't you excited!
AND, here's the best part. Only YOU get to eat it. AND, you have to eat the ENTIRE THING on the day of your birthday. Otherwise, it's 7 years of bad luck. That's just the way it is.
Don't worry, we'll be videotaping to make sure you don't stuff any in your napkin.
Christine:
that's good, the sardines will help it slide down
Lee:
ewwwwwwwww...
Christine:
as I eat it I will never refrain from staring at you - that'll be my gift to you
for being so thoughtful
then you will feel my wrath and hope you never have a birthday again


lee is offline and can't receive messages right now


Where did Lee go? My guess is he's now hiding in fear.




Also, yesterday I got a Noodlegram for a free bowl of pasta from Noodles & Co. That made it official. The Golden Birthday festivities have begun!!

How the Good News changes my life

Yesterday I was driving into Minneapolis from work and I felt peaceful, content, and filled with joy - and the best part was that I knew it wasn't fleeting.


This world is full of darkness and pain. People are full of rage - violent fights are started on our University campus hospitalizing friends for months. Wars are raging in countries all over the world - friends are having to escape their homes before bombs destroy them. Flying has become so dangerous that our carry-on belongings must be visible in clear plastic bags (the reason for them, not the safety precautions themselves, are what I find loathsome). Despite the seeming unnaturalness of death, people we love are dying - I cry often knowing people I care deeply for are presently grieving over the death of a dear friend, brother, and role model.


Without Christ and without the hope of a restored world, to experience this kind of peace and contentment (which surpasses all comprehension) I would have to help myself to a sizable helping of denial. But standing on the promises He's made to us, I can, knowing full well the evil and pain lurking everywhere, set my heart at rest.

Knowing this intellectually is not enough to bring any peace, joy, love, patience, etc.; it is only by the "assurance of faith" that these have begun to become real in my life:

And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:21-23)


Because of the Good News, I need never worry or be brought to despair because "He who promised is faithful." I can delight in the Lord and adorn myself with the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, and in so doing with a thankful and prayerful heart, my heart is set to rest and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.



Other things the Good News does:

- It can serve to make all my deeds motivated by love and not out of a desire to get something in return or to please others...

- It makes me able to delight righteously in precious moments (like an open road, windows down, favorite song on the radio), and precious friends I've been given (even if only for a season) without any fear of mistaking those treasured people and moments for the real deal.

- It redeems us and promises an eternity of unending discovery and joy. Having confessed with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believing in my heart that God raised Him from the dead, I have been made righteous and I am saved (link) and therefore can hope on an eternity so wonderful that we can barely begin to imagine it.




I'm supremely thankful for the Good News, and am excited to hear how It has changed some of your lives. Feel free to bless me with your additional comments!

Dear Ann Rosenzweig,

Why didn't you tell me that the New Amsterdams were playing with Mae?????

alsdkghlaskfhglaksdglsad.



My birthday is going to be the greatest day of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




(It's been, literally, 3 years since I've been this excited about a concert, nay about anything)

Golden Birthday Slogan/Schedule

Okay, so I've got a golden birthday coming up...and I'm in the market for a slogan. I've had only a few ideas so far:



We'll Sleep when we Die!


Ben or Bust!


King Midas was the greatest man to ever live!


Valley Fair! Yeah! Gold!



That's really all I've got so far. I am in desperate need of more suggestions: make em now or forever hold your peace!

And this is the schedule thus far (come one come all!):

August 21st: Music/Movie in the Park - Band: Low. Movie: A Philadelphia Story
August 23rd: Mae concert
August 25th: Post-church-activity-yet-undecided (Dueling Pianos have been discussed...)
August 26th: Valleyfair (THE GREATEST PLACE ON EARTH)
Labor Day Weekend: Las Vegas with the family!
September 8th, 9th, or 10th: Gold Party - All gold. All the time.


I'm looking for more celebration ideas as well, so don't be shy! I'm pretty okay with this birthday celebration lasting us until December '07...


Edit: I've decided that this should not be just a celebration of my golden birthday (even though I have been waiting so long for this)...but really it should be a celebration of all things birthday, all things gold, and all things love. If you've ever had, or will have, a golden birthday, this is a party for you my friend! Get excited!

Pixy Stix for everybody!

19 months in the making...

...can anyone say "finally" ?

So sometime in January of 2005 I said something to Sarah S. to the effect of "You should date my friend Ben."

She said "Okay!"

I said "Okay! Let's go visit him in Madison!"

And we did. The weekend of February 11th, 2005. All they really talked about was bananas or something.




And then their agony began. 19 months of "I like him"s and "I like her"s and "not yet"s and "ugh"s.



These 19 months culminated into a 5 hour Starbucks/Quizno's meeting in Wisconsin Dells - where they decided they would like to be "boyfriend-girlfriend."


Congratulations, you guys! Be sure to wait a year before you hold hands - best to take things slowly, that's my motto.



Okay, seriously? I'm really proud of both of these two raggamuffins and how they've handled themselves this past year. They've prioritized their own growth and their own relationship's with God over a relationship with each other (which they both desired). So now they get to enjoy the fruits of their obedience!

What cute fruit!!

Ben refuses to blog about this, so I asked if I could. He said sure. He also said I could say whatever I wanted to because it's my blog...(Edit: Please note that after I wrote this Ben forced me to make a few changes)



Well, this is all I have to say, and it's a personal message to Sarah Anne Slauson: A wise man once said to me "Once you go Robison, you can't go back." So watch out - from here on out, it's either him or Dan.




So it better be Ben.

I'm hip, I'm cool

Despite Ben's shock, it's true that I went to a show this week, but he was right to be surprised that I knew who the band was (since I stopped discovering new music 2 years ago) - I didn't. As proof, I ran into one of AL's coworkers on the way, Dan, and I believe I said something to the effect of "I'm going to First Ave...some band called...On Georgia?"


So anyway, I went to see Of Montreal Wednesday night with Jess and her friend Erik. They were pretty good, very entertaining, but I quickly remembered how stir-crazy I get at stuff like that. Stir-crazy and cramped-feeling and also sleepy.

This guy, who reminded me of a dark haired Paal, decided it was his patriotic duty to dance like he would never be afforded the opportunity again. I was behind him, all clammy from the compressed body heat of the concert-goers. As I tried to stay out of his space, it became increasingly more and more difficult. Eventually I resigned myself to the fact that his butt was going to be bumping into my rib repeatedly and there was just nothing I could do about it but continue to sweat nervously and occasionally look over to see Jess' laughing face.

Great band though! I think. I'm not good at having first impressions.


One thing was for sure, it was an all ages show.

Want proof? Check out this youngster:



Immediately after the flash I muttered awkwardly "uh - sorry, I didn't mean to take a picture of you guys."

Uhhh...


More small children "after the jump":




The only other thing I can think of to discuss (besides how wonderful my company was!) is encores. I despise encores. Encores are like white oleanders sprinkled into the food that the very existence of music eats (did you know that white oleanders will kill you? If not, I guess you haven't been reading many hit novels). They should be ashamed of themselves - they're completely insincere and downright uncomfortable. Yep. Definitely on the top ten list of things to hate - somewhere between black licorice and winter.


Encore and teenage sweat aside, it was a great night and I can't wait until the Mae concert!!

25 minutes in...

...and already I'm pretty sure Annie Hall is the greatest movie I've ever seen.


I'm watching it while typing on my ibook and eating carrot sticks in my Ikea-donned apartment.


That's right everybody - I'm a living breathing stereotype. I think I'll reach over and take a sip from my diet coke.





You know what else is great? Freshly ground coffee. Man, don't you just love coffee? Smells so good. And Walden. You know. Thoreau!

Bangkok Joe takes her home!

If you haven't heard, my brother is a pro-bridge player, and he's really really good at what he does. My brother, along with I think five other Americans, (Joey being the best of course, in my opine) recently went to Taiwan to represent our country in the National Juniors Event. It's sort of a strange phenomenon, how into bridge our family is...but it's really exciting!

Without further ado, this is the email I got from my mom the other evening:

Well, if you haven't looked yet, I almost died last night.

My muscles ached from working out, then I watched the last 16 boards where USA had an insurmountable lead and the commentators were questioning whether Italy would withdraw or not. They didn't and proceeded to kick our butts...

My heart was racing, stomach churning, as Italy got back to within 18 (from down 96) with 1 board to go. Alas they were valient but fell short.

USA hung on and won. First time in history of event to have back to back victories and 3 out of last 4. I imagine Joe and teammates are still celebrating. This is his last time to compete in this, will be too old.

Ironically, in 2003, they lost to Italy in the semi's after being down 104 with 32 boards to go. They came back to lose by 1/2 point. Poetic justice that Italy fell short this time. It was only year they didn't win.

Well, now for some R & R to get my health back. We weren't sleeping well with matches at 8pm, midnight, 3 am and 7 am.

Love to all,

Mom

My reply:

Thanks for scaring the living crap out of me, Mom. I'm glad
you're not in the hospital from the near death.

Guess it just goes to show you can't beat a Grue, and you certainly
can't beat America.

Can I blog this?

I love my mom, I love my brother, and even I really have no idea what most of my mom's email was saying - boards? points? Italy?





Stay tuned, I've still got to blog about the adventures at the Of Montreal show at First Ave last night.

Books

Yesterday I ordered a few books on Amazon:

Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory by William Manchester (I'm just getting into biographies, but this one is closing in on 1000 pages so, uh, ida know, pray for me?)
Till We Have Faces, A Myth Retold by C.S. Lewis (This is one of my favorites - I bought it last year, and promptly lent it to someone I probably will not see again for quite a while, so I figured it was worth re-ordering.)


I'm pretty excited for these books! And as a "shout out" to Anna Leisa - next on my list is some Watchman Nee and Anne Lamott.



I'm looking forward to my brain imploding.

Chacos, Stratford Evil Genius, and Cinematic Art

I got three things today:


1) My left Chaco fits me perfectly. My right one makes my big toe claustrophobic and caused a sacajawea sized bruise on my foottop.


2) Last night I put my whites in the dryer, and then carefully placed 5 quarters in the dryer and pushed start - I did this so that my clothes would dry properly. I came back an hour later to see that someone had taken all my clothes out of the dryer and placed them in another dryer (in which no quarters had been placed), so that they could place their clothes in my paid-for dryer and come out with a bundle of dry clothes whose dryness went unpaid for.

This is simultaneously pure evil, and also pure genius.


3) I recently joined blockbuster online, and have found I'm once again interested in the classics. After numerous film classes pillaged all the joy I had for good movies, I became physically ill at the thought of any movie made before 1960 and found myself content watching movies like Stepmom and The Story of Us. No longer my friends. I busted out the American Film Institute's Top 100 Movies of the 20th Century, and I have blockbustered all of the ones I have not seen and a few I've seen but feel like I should see again - Birth of a Nation, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove..., and Schindler's List being a few examples.

As a side note, I saw Schindler's List whenever it came out on video, I think I was 7. This was also the day I got my first Diary. My first entry read a little something like this:

Dear Diary,
I got you today. My family watched Schindler's List tonight and ordered Pizza. None of us were hungry for pizza after watching Schindler's List.

Love,
Chrissy

PS: Jacob Pearce is so cute.


That was the last time I saw it, so I think it's time to give it another go.

Other movies on the docket:

Bridge on the River Kwai
All About Eve
The African Queen
Chinatown
Grapes of Wrath
The Maltese Falcon
Raging Bull
Apocalypse Now
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (old version)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
High Noon
It Happened One Night
Midnight Cowboy (not John Travolta)
Doctor Zhivago
West Side Story (I know! How have I gone so long!? I also want to know why The Outsiders isn't on this list!)
Rear Window (never saw it despite owning it for 7 years)
King Kong
Streetcar Named Desire
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Philadelphia Story(old)
From Here to Eternity
Amadeus
All Quiet on the Western Front
M*A*S*H
Third Man
Fantasia
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Vertigo
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Network
Manchurian Candidate
American in Paris
Shane
The French Connection
Ben-Hur
Wuthering Heights
City Lights
American Graffiti
Rocky
Deer Hunter
Wild Bunch
Modern Times
Giant
Platoon
Duck Soup
Mutiny on the Bounty
Frankenstein
Patton
My Fair Lady
Place in the Sun
Apartment
Goodfellas
Bringing up Baby
Unforgiven
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
and
Yankee Doodle Dandy


I'm so excited!!! It seems like a lot...but don't worry, I'm breaking them up with orders for Seasons of the Gilmore Girls and Party of Five, and of course Weekend at Bernies 2...so hopefully I won't lose too much of my stupid.


Edit: My mom just sent me an email asking if maybe I put my quarters in the wrong dryer. Although I cannot refute this argument, I must politely disagree. Evil Geni is my story.

Edit Again: I have a game! Click the AFI link and count how many on the list you've seen. My count was, I think, 42 - I have a feeling many of you will beat me because I haven't seen such standards as Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Rocky. I did see Double Indemnity three times though, if that counts for anything - and it certainly couldn't.



Movies.

Trolls, and wizards, and fairy kings

Ahh, interval training.

Interval Training day is a fun day - sprint for 60 seconds, walk for 60 seconds, repeat 3-5 times.

It's fun because it's not much of a time commitment, and I get to listen to theme songs. Theme songs are a perfect soundtrack to interval training because the majority of the songs are approximately 60 seconds long.




Still don't get it? Well, let me tell you about today's intervals por ejemplo...if you use your imagination, it'll be almost as if you were right there with me!

1st sprint: Punky Brewster
1st walk: The first 1/4 of Ghostbusters (yes, this is a 4 minute song)

2nd sprint: Saved by the Bell
2nd walk: Doogie Howser, M.D.

3rd sprint: Darkwing Duck
3rd walk: The first minute of That 70s Show

4th sprint: Strawberry Shortcake (wouldn't you know?)
4th walk: Reading Rainbow

5th sprint: Golden Girls
5th walk: ER

Final descent to my apartment: Garfield
Entering apartment: Miami Vice
Drinking water: David the Gnome
Blogging: Duck Tails

And here we are.











Forever and alwaaaaaaays, I'm always here!

Cancels Out

Two things have happened today:

1) I forgot about a noon doctor's appointment.


2) Leftover spaghetti in one of the conference rooms.


They pretty much cancel each other out.

Weekends spent in sweatpants

I spent my entire weekend in 3 different pairs of sweatpants. And it was glorious.


Maybe not because of the sweatpants.


Mark's message Friday night was exactly what the doctor ordered. Anna Leisa and I have been pouring ourselves out in a sea of verbage going round and round about just what Mark shared - that what we're living for must be to please God.

After the service, we both just looked at each other, did that pursed-lip-head-tilt, and nodded our heads in agreement.

We talked about this more Saturday night during our run. How grateful we are to be in exactly the place we are in - because this is where God wants us, because it allows us to be of maximum benefit for the people God's put in our lives, because we're blessed beyond belief.


A lot of couples have been popping up recently, must be that August air... I'm happy for all the couples, but also a bit weary for my friends who have been called to be single (for their lives or for the moment - which we have no way of knowing). In today's Christian culture, a dating relationship or a marriage is lifted up as a mark of spiritual maturity - a goal that we should be pressing toward. This, I believe, is complete BS...and if I'm single my whole life just so God can prove that point, then so be it - praise God!


Having said that, on Saturday I found out that a girl from my small group is now dating a friend of mine from LT last year. Woaaaahhhhhh! Two world's collide! I'm SO excited for them!! Two people that I admire so much - when it never crossed my mind that they would even meet each other - are now joining forces.

Plus, they're just great. And now, no doubt, The Miz will be making many more trips up to Minneapolis!




Also yesterday was the most hilarious day ever. We went to Riverside Plaza area (Melanie, my sister, your old neighborhood!) to set up a free BBQ for the locals. One little boy found out we were from a church, looked at us in disgust, and dropped our rock rectangle with the most hilarious look of disdain.

Another girl (less than 10 years old) slapped me hard across the face.

Now that was a little appalling, but it was so much fun! I loved being there and just having fun with the little kids (Currie Park area holds some of the most adorable children I've ever seen).




This all went down in sweatpants, by the way.

Mid-weekend blog!

Just dropping in to note that Anna Leisa and I just completed the best run ever. 9 miles, baby!

Woooooooooooo!



It's not the 9 miles that's impressive, but the pace. Anna Leisa totally pushed me, and we went way faster than we did last week. I can't believe I was even physically capable of it! It was freakin' great.

Freakin.

Also, talking was ample - so much great.

God is so good to give us running, and to give me AL, and to give us bananas (the most efficient and useful food on the planet).



Number of bananas I ate today: 4

Number of tummy aches: 0 (go team eat 4 bananas!)

Simple Pleasures

Did I know you two and a half years ago? If I did than this video is going to seem pretty familiar to you.

This morning Emily and I were having coffee, and she started talking about the new mac ads, and I was reminded of all the time I spent on the olde english site in my Melbourne apartment watching this video on loop. Then blogging about it. Then giggling. Then watching it again.




Even with a couple more years under my belt, I still love this. That one moment in the middle when he stares, open mouthed, at the camera, still makes me cry. A little.

Simple, yet profound.


This counts as profound, right? Because I have to do 15 hours of profound before they'll let me graduate.

In Austin all day

I'm in Austin all day Thursday making my SPAM dreams come true. So instead of a post, here's an email I just got from my sister:

Hey there, family and friends,

We heard the heartbeat today. Read more about it and hear it for yourself on our blog http://mallontastic.blogspot.com/

Love,
Darrick and Melanie

Notice: This email was sent unsolicited. Please let us know if you wish to be removed from our baby information mailing list, and we will understand that you hate us and our baby. (You must be so proud.)


Have a great day,
Christine

PS - I cancelled my cable, and I'm feeling a bit over my head right now. I mean, what am I going to watch? M*A*S*H? The News?? Not likely.

You know what I love?

Women.

Man alive...seriously, alive men. Some of the greatest women on earth are my friends, and I get to spend time with them all over the place! Here is my ode to four of them.

Anna Leisa: Anna Leisa has a prestigious job title that I love to inform everyone of. I almost just said it, but thought she might get angry, but go ahead and ask me sometime. I'd love to tell you. It rhymes with resident.

In all sincerity, I have been blown away by this woman from the first moment I met her until this very moment now. Her faith is real, biting, and it shows itself in her love for other people and her desire to do something substantial for the community and the world around her. To top that all off, she has been there for me pretty much every second I've needed her in the last month. I don't know how she does it, or why she keeps coming back for more, but holy crap have I been grateful. Yesterday I arrived at work to find an encouraging email from her, reminding me of a certain fundamental truth (Jesus), and also just sharing in a little lamentation. It made me feel so cared for, and what a way to start a day! Thanks Anna Leisa!

Anna Leisa and I enjoy coffee, running, laughing, and Oswald Chambers.

Emily: Emily is my friday morning date! LOVE IT! When I first decided that I wanted to hang out one-on-one with people more regularly and consistently, Emily was the first to bite! Talk about encouraging! I kept thinking "you really would want to spend an hour every week with me?!?" Just right away, we went for it. Yeah! And we haven't missed yet (except when we're out of town, and that one time we both slept in). Meeting with Emily is a joy for several reasons - she's honest, always understanding, she's solid, and she loves finding out crap. Not crap, per se, like excrement, but you know, stuff - Emily is an answer's girl. I've been making lots of friends with circumnavigators lately (which is great by the way), but sometimes it's refreshing to be with someone who likes to jump straight to the root of whatever issue is at hand. She's also the most recent member of the Monday Night Ladies.

I've known Emily for almost 2 years now, but I've only begun getting to know her really in the last few months - I already can't wait until Friday! As a side note, this Friday morning Panera is having some super crazy thing. Free bagels for the first 1000 and then all sorts of crazy prizes. Emily and I are meeting a half hour early just so we can partake in maximum fun.

Emily and I enjoy coffee, laughing, talking about running (I could never run with her), and carrots.

Beth: If you go to The Rock, you may know Beth from the worship band, she's the short one with the brown hair - you know what I'm talking about. Beth is my wednesday morning date! I LOVE it. What a great way to start hump-day. The best way I know how to describe Beth is "edifying." I can't leave a conversation with her without feeling changed, challenged, and encouraged. Beth and I met after I got back from Australia, we quickly discovered that both of us had lived in the same city during 6 of the same months over there (Beth's quasi-Australian, she lived in Melbourne for 13 years). We bonded over Aussie slang, Rove Live, and Melbourne restaurants. But it wasn't until this last year that I've gotten the chance to really know Beth, and it's been incredible! I'm so thankful for what God has been doing in her life this year, and the example that that has been (and will continue to be) on so many other's lives (mine included). Beth is also very observant. Today she told me that I often do this thing where I say "I don't know" and then lean back, shake my head and repeat "I don't know...." What the heck? I what??

Beth and I enjoy coffee, picking up Anna Leisa's mannerisms, getting down to the nitty gritty, and laughing:

My favorite sound[word]bite from this morning's coffee date:
"I'll eat pretty much anything...except salmonloaf" - Beth
"Salmonloaf??" - me
"Yeah, you know, like meatloaf..." - Beth (as my face contorts in disgust)
"But with salmon" - Beth

Have any of YOU heard of salmonloaf??? Who would do that?!

Rachel: Ahh, Rachel. My shining, morning glory. If you go to the Rock, you might remember her from last week's video! She is actually the reason for this blog entry. This morning my day started off with another out-of-the-blue-encouraging-email. This one was from Rachel. Working so closely with Rachel this year through small group has been an unbelievably unique and wonderful experience. There have been times when I swear Rachel could finish my freaking sentences - specifically Faithwalkers with Rachel was such a memorable, sweet time...we would run together in the morning, sit by each other, pray with each other (no other human being have I prayed out loud with more than Rachel), cry with each other, and laugh til we'd hemorrhage. God has taught me amply through this girl - about the purity of the Gospel, the amazing capability He has of transforming people (I still cannot believe how much wisdom and maturity this young woman has), about embracing trials, and...of course...the importance of serving always with a cheerful spirit (have you ever seen her serve without a smile?? Didn't think so).

Rachel and I like to pray, clean, organize, run, and keep everything running smoothly.






And of course there are so many other woman that God's dumped in my lap that I could NOT be more grateful for - the other Emily, Christine2, Jenna, Amber, Ally, Maren, Jodi, Alexis, small group girls (Nicole, Allyssa, etc.), Kari, Sarah!, Jess!!

Too many to even count! Who am I forgetting? Mrs. R!, Mazvita!

Now I'm going to be in TROUBLE with every woman not mentioned. They're going to have a Christine-burning party. Great.

Italics!

Two things

1) My electricity went out last night. That is a brazenfaced lie. The electricity in my microwave went out last night. I don't know how, I don't know why, but the fact remains that I had to reset the clock this morning. Muffin???


2) Ben has the best blog ever. It's official. It's better than everybody's.

If you were to read Ben's blog, you would encounter thought-provoking conversations that really happen (or don't). His friend the Toyota Yaris, for instance, has rapped with Ben several times on his blog. Here is a snippet from today's conversation between finite and infinite:

Finite: I'm not stupid, if that's what you're saying.
Infinite: That's not what I'm saying.
Finite: Why do you keep talking like that?
Infinite: I always talk like this.

Deep. Sometimes Ben is deep.

Ben likes to talk about music sometimes too:

It's a neverending cycle of depressed teenagers and money flowing into Carrabba's blood-stained fists.

Of course, then CC got stupid and decided to make a happy song ("Hands Down"). All the kids woke from their hypnotic stupor, and you haven't heard from Dashboard since.

And that's how emo nearly destroyed America.


Occasionally Ben broaches the subject of politics, like last Friday's entry:

God gave us the monarchy for a reason and that reason is so we didn't have to vote. He saw the ignorance of the masses and decided something to the effect of, "These people have no idea what's going on, so I'm going to give them a king to smack them in the jaw so they stop yammering like idiots." The monarchy gave us several centuries of peace and good will, completely without the thoughtless mouth-wagging of the mud-besmirched peasants.

Ben recently decided to not blog any longer about his workplace (which is Cigna):

Anyway, I decided that it might be prudent of me to no longer say that I work at Cigna. I mean, you guys all know that I work at Cigna. You've heard me complain about it. That's old news. New news will no longer include the name of my company.

The first sentence of his next entry was thus:

Here at Cigna, we've had a penny in one of our urinals for the last month or so.




It's worth a look folks, it's even worth a link. Long live Ben's blog!