Brian and Keith

Two really good friends of mine from Auburn came into town this weekend, and I was incredibly blessed to be able to spend time with both of them. We were all fraternity brothers at Auburn, so it was great to see them.

Brian Smith is on Staff at Chi Alpha, a Christian on campus organization at Auburn. He was in town on Saturday to ask his girlfriend’s father if he could marry his daughter. He came away with clearance to land. He told me it was sureal to have that kind of trust from a man. I believe him. We ate dinner, and talked for hours. He’s been a huge impact on my life, and some I really trust and admire so it was really nice tobe able to connect with him again.

Keith Blackwood is in law school at Samford. This summer he’s doing a study abroad thing in England for about 8 weeks. He flew from Atlanta to London today, and I was able to meet with him and a lady friend of his for lunch. Keith is also one of my favorite people in the world… Unfortunatly we do a horrible job of keeping in touch. Well, I should probably say that I in general do a horrible job of keeping in touch with people.. Even though I only got to see Keith for about 45 minutes, it’s like we’re right back where we left off. I love being able to do that. We always have a great time laughing.

Camping

I grew up in the Boy Scouts. Camping, backpacking, all that outdoors stuff. I’m also an Eagle Scout, so I guess that’s proof that I know what I’m doing in the woods. But even with all of this knoweledge of the outdoors, I am the least enthusiastic camper I know. Maybe because I have so much experience at it I don’t feel the need to sleep outdoors on the ground anymore. Been there, done that, now I just want a bed.

All that being said, I went camping Friday night. A bunch of friends were going, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. We drove up just past Dalonaga, Ga to Dick’s Creek. Paved road became gravel, gravel became dirt, and then we came to a creek. Small river if you ask me, but probably 50 feet of just above ankle deep water. The two SUVs in front of me went right though. I drive a Volvo S80. I had to stop and think what I was doing.

Hoping I wouldn’t regret the decision, I surged forward and plowed through the river. We came up the embankment on the other side and both H. (who was riding with me) and I let out a big scream at our accomplishment. The mocking of the SUVs was silenced!

We got to the campsite after dark. This is never a smart idea for many reasons, but mainly because putting up a tent in the dark is much more difficult. To make things worse, I grabbed a bag that looked and felt like a tent from my parents house earlier, but wasn’t particularly sure what was in the bag. Nine hours later I’m trying to erect a tent that I can’t see, making a structure that I’m not sure what it looks like, without even assurance that I even have all the right pieces to make it. Though mostly with luck, I was able to built a tent and all the peices were there.

Hanging out that night I guess I remembered why I liked camping in the first place. I guess it’s some sort of connection I feel with nature and the outdoors, but like it or not camping is something I know how to do well. By only remembering the hard painful ground to sleep on, I had forgotten the adventure that goes along with camping. I really had a fantastic time, but next time I am bringing an air mattress!

Quote of the weekend from Robin while camping – “Did anyone bring a table? Because I brought a tablecloth!”

You are what you eat

I can not eat anything without wearing it. It’s a problem for many reasons, the most notable is just looking stupid. But quite frankly, the biggest problem are the stains. It’s just too expensive to keep replacing clothes!

I don’t think you can see it real well, but the picture above.. ice cream stains. They didn’t come out.

The shirt I’m wearing right now? Big Mac special sauce. It probably won’t come out either.

When I bought the Big Mac tonight, I actually paid the $2.68 in change. I was even able to utilize all of the standard denominations. Though while doing so, I almost felt the need to explain the to the drive thru worker that I wasn’t broke, I just had a lot of coins…

Willy Porter

Jeff and I went and saw Willy Porter last night at Smith’s Olde Bar. His music is amazing, and the show did not dissapoint. I highly recommend him..

I truly believe that the most gifted and talented songwriters to ever live exist(ed) in virtual anonymity…

Angie Aparo

Brent, one of the guys from my small group, and I went to the Highlands Summer Festival yesterday. It’s a really cool neighborhood in Atlanta where they had one street shut down and set up all of these artist tents where people could browse and enjoy a nice Saturday afternoon. 99X, a local radio station also had a small stage there with bands playing. The headliner was Angie Aparo, one of my favorites. I took a couple of pictures also:

After Angie played, Brent and I went up to Gig on the Grass, a show that Northpoint did with all of their musicians performing hit covers songs from through the years. It was pretty fun, but both brent and I liked Angie’s music better =)

Enough about me, so how are you doing? =)