A Familiar TG in an Unfamiliar Place

This past Thursday I was able to gather together with a group of great friends to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Even though I was definitely not where I usually am on Thanksgiving (that being one of many various locations along the East coast of the United Sates), I was able to enjoy a fairly typical Thanksgiving.  There was still a crazy amount of delicious food, lazy activities like boardgames, and football both on the TV (via recorded games) and outside.  We were actually not simply playing, but preparing and tuning our spread style offense for the annual Flag Football Turkey Bowl games the next day.

Here is a snapshot of the table packed with people and food.  Believe it or not, this was actually after an hour of feasting...There really wasn't anything missing: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, fruit salad, jello fruit salad, rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, corn casserole...and pretty much anything else you could make into a casserole.  Followed by pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie, chocolate chip pie, and apple pie all topped with homemade whipped cream.

That night my roommate, Andrew, set up the little Christmas tree that was left in our apartment by the guys that lived there before us.  It definitely hasn't started feeling like Christmas outside yet as our city is still in the 50's and 60's.  However, I did realized the other day that I will be celebrating this Christmas closer to Bethlehem than ever before.  I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

Oh So Lonely

If you read my last two posts you may have noticed that I was just back in the mountains for another trip.  Well...this trip was cut short for me due to an eye infection and some kind of cold that is still not wanting to leave.  Since the trip solely consisted of hiking and camping in sub-freezing temperatures my boss and I decided it wise for me to return early.  The real concern was the eye infection that continued to get worse.  Therefore, I bought myself a bus ticket and left early the morning of our fourth day to head back to our city and the international doctors that it held.

That morning I woke up at 5 AM and walked to the bus station only to find my bus full of smoke.  A great sign when you are preparing to descend 8,000 feet.  After allowing a few minutes for the smoke to escape I reluctantly loaded onto the bus for the 6-7 hour ride down.

Soon after we got rolling a scene presented itself that I will not soon forget.  As I sat there observing my surrounding I noticed how lonely the situation appeared.  They were unable to close the window infront of me after the smoke incident so sub-freezing wind was pouring in.  Therefore, I was cold, sick, in minor pain, tired from the early morning, sitting in the dark, surrounded by 35 people that didn't speak my first language, and adjacent to the stereotypical "overly affection couple."  Then a few rows behind me someone began to play a song for all to hear on their phone.  "Mr. Lonely" by Akon.  It is a remix off the original Bobby Vinton song "Mr. Lonely."  At that moment I just started laughing aloud to the stares from all those around that had no idea what the lyrics even meant (I'm not really sure why everyone over here listens to American music even if they don't speak a word of English).

 

Here is the overly affectiate couple.  (Yes, she is sitting in his lap)  I was able to keep my breakfast down despite all the PDA....but he wasn't.  He started puking not long after this picture was taken.

It was at that moment that I didn't feel lonely in the least. Sure there have been moments of loneliness during my time over here. It has been difficult for me not being able to break out in "real" conversations with strangers on the street. However, during this situation in particular all I could think about was the amazing promise that I will never be left alone. So, I enjoyed my Company the whole way home while listening to songs about Him on my Ipod.   It ended up being a great time.

Another reason to not feel lonely?  I just hit 5,000 views on my blog since I started it at the end of June.  Thanks for reading!

Planking, Yesterday's "IN"

Maybe you have heard of a somewhat recent fad called "Planking."  Wikipedia describes it as,

Planking" (or the "Lying Down Game") is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the sides of the body and having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game.^[1] Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play.^[1] The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden plank. Rigidity of the body must be maintained to constitute good planking.

It has really taken off because anyone can do it.  It doesn't matter your

OCCUPATION

LOCATION

FITNESS LEVEL

or AGE/SIZE

The first time I actually ever saw someone I know plank something was on my dear friends Mike and Megan Martin's blog.  They just hiked the entire Appalachian Trail this summer and took pictures of themselves and our friend Brock planking multiple things.

This picture is incredible!

Well friends, I believe I have recently invented something that will make planking obsolete.  It is called...

wait for it... 

"Little Mermaiding!!!" LMing for short

This is me "LMing" the top of the mountain I was climbing in my last blog post.  I really think this is going to be HUGE!  I can just hear hiking dudes in Colorado talking to each other now. 

(This is to be read with a slight surfer voice)

Hiker dude A:"Bra I just totally Little Mermaided Pike's Peak!"

Hiker dude B: "Sick bro!  I just LMed Mount Elbert last week!"

(A high five or chest bump then concluded the scene"

"Little Mermaiding" (or the "LMing game") is an activity consisting of posing in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the item being LMed while having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game.  Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play.  The term Little Mermaiding refers to mimicking the acuatic Disney Princess Ariel . Curvicure of the body must be achieved to constitute good Little Mermaiding.

It would make my week to see pictures of you guys Little Mermaiding.

A Little Hiking Action

Here is a little "picture dump" post.  These are a few pictures from a recent trek we did.

Stay tuned for a story coming soon.

No Vacancies

Not only is our apartment starting to fall apart...we also have multiple unwanted roommates.  A week or so ago the population of our apartment decreased by one in an epic battle of man and beast (when I say man, I mean men (4) and when I say beast I mean...no it was a beast). 

Two good friends (same ones from the photo shoot) came over to hang out with Andrew and I.  We were talking and watching youtube videos when Andrew jumped onto the couch and screamed, (and I mean that word literally) "There he is."  Based on his statement I'm guessing you can deduct that we have seen this rat and maybe even his family members multiple times.  Him/her/they live in the ceiling above our kitchen.  We have been planning on how to take him down for months now.  We even considered letting a mangy cat that roams our complex live with us for a few days till he caught it.

Well this rat picked the wrong time to make an appearance the other night.  There were four large men that ooze adrenaline and testosterone ready for battle.  We were able to trap him in our living room and each man armed himself.  Weapons included but were not limited to: a large rock(not really sure why that was in our house), a broom, a basketball, and feet.  After 20 minutes of yelling grunting, moving furniture, and throwing objects...we had our prize.  After the fifth go around we were able to stun it with the basketball and finish it with the rock.

In another battle of Man vs Beast.  Man won! (look how fat that thing is)

I'll be honest, after the adrenaline faded...we weren't nearly as proud of ourselves.  However, the event has not gone unnoticed as we have neither heard or seen another rat sense.

I will be heading back up to the mountains for a week of backpacking in the morning.  I'm sure I will get a few good stories along the way so be sure to check in next week.