I’m ready to trade shoes for books. After almost two months of winter break during which I spent the majority of my time working very closely with shoes, I reached a point where I began counting the days until school will begin again. At Crown we were never really given enough of a break to bring me to a place at the end where I was ready to go back. By the time I wound down from a crazy semester and returned to a pattern of sleeping every night instead of a few days a week, it was time to return and start all over again. Now, I’m ready. I’m so ready that I have decided to increase the amount of classes I am taking this semester just to see what happens. I feel this unexplainable need to finish my Master’s as quickly as possible, and the more classes I take, the faster I will get to the finish line.

Yesterday I was talking about the upcoming semester (which begins tomorrow), and the various activities I am considering joining to fill in my spare time, and Matt told me, "Do you realize that whenever you are in school, you are crazy?" This I quickly denied, I’m not crazy, I just like to keep busy. "No Lynnea," my mom added, "you’re crazy." Well, when your mother confirms something, you have to believe it. So now I’m faced with this trend in my life, trying to discover an explanation. Why do I feel compelled to fill my life with just enough activities that I can’t quite handle them all and retain my sanity simultaneously? And is there anything wrong with that? Most likely. But for now, I am just going to enjoy my final day of sanity and attempt to approach this semester with the knowledge in the forefront of my mind that there are many people in my life waiting for me to relax a bit and experience the here and now. We’ll see how that goes.

hello all.

so i am looking for yet another job. (i just keep repeating to myself "jas you can hold a job, yes you can hold a job" one of these times it might work.) anyways, the little discount store is just not cutting it. i was desparate-- $5.50, folding fabric. it was good for me for a bit. i was reminded to be grateful, and i was oh-so-humbled. than last week i was moved from the place of (and lesson of) "being content in whatever circumstance" to "hey little miss college grad it is time to be responsible with the talents and gifts and hours that i have given you." lesson to lesson. goodness. um, so i am looking back into factory work. honestly, i just want to pay these stupid loans fast because personally i have relized i don't want to be paying on them for a long time. the factory........contentment, oh yeah.

that was a just introduction i guess because that is not the only reason i sat through the tedious process of my computer gaining enough 'umph' to actually accomplish a task on the internet. it is somewhat ridiculous.

because i moved back home i have had the incredible oppurtunity to step back into (closer) accountability with some of my friends from jr high and high school youth group. (whoever is involved in youth ministry to date, keep it up. such a vital networking time!) they're three of us who were pretty close. for the past five years we went in very different directions... this past monday night, we got together for coffee and crappy cinnimon rolls. we chatted. we have kept in casual contact throughout the years so it wasn't as if we were participating in an actual reunion. one individual brought up an idea. for the next four hours we dreamed and planned about this idea. friends from crown college, i do not know what this will turn into. it is so neat to me-- friends from youth group with different gifts and talents and expeirences were pulled together agian to tap fingers in expectancy about God's awesome plans for the future. i ask for a prayer covering from this network of believers. if i jump into your mind in the next several months, ask for protection for this 'baby idea' and ask for wisdom and growth for this 'unnamed ministry.' t h a n k s k i d s. i really do not know.at present i do not have eyes to see. God is a big one, and we know this to be true.

lynnea, i ran across some pictures that you gave to me to use for the yearbook. i am so sorry. i didn't think i still had them. i will mail them to the address that's on the other web page. ((thank you!))

farewell until next time.
continue on.

jas

Steve, you can talk to me. My first post...awesome! Oh, I'm engaged!

Chris, the I-told-you-so's will get you nowhere. Sorry I made fun of your spelling mistakes. It cold happen too any won. And for most of you, ignore the following:
Okay, can I remind you that I missed some of that movie, so I don't even know how it ends. Watching 24 was hard. Eating frozen pizza tonight was boring. Watching the Napoleon Dynamite director's commentary wasn't very fun when I laughed in my echoing apartment. We'll run on your schedule. I'm suprised you feel as okay as you sound. Well, let me know. Life's kinda slow, anyways. And now you know what I meant by weighty classes in grad school.
To the rest of you, what's all going on? Josh, are you still out there? I heard Anne went to Disney World. What happened with that? I think even Nathan Miller once graced us with his presence. What a thought. Oh well, most of you think I'm just blabbing because I have no job and no future in the workforce. Tomorrow is cleanning day. Or at least it should be. We'll see what happens. We'll talk sometime (that is really a message to just about all of you I can think of).

Hubka!
How many years have I tried to get you to watch 24? FROM THE BEGINNING! It is honestly one of the most creatively written shows today. Especially with all this reality TV crap! Paurus must kill his family! HE MUST!

Folkestad (wow that is a couple posts in only a couple days. I feel a resergence.
HUbka I want you to see the big words I used today. They may not be spelled right or make any sense, but what do you expect from your old roomie

Folkestad, don't joke about having me come live with you. Look where all Robbie's joking got him! Methodist widows, eh? As long as they're not concerned with the santity of life, I think I'll be fine with them. =)
This'll be really short, and probably not make much sense, but ignore me if you're not following and just blog, okay (is this too much coercion, Lynnea?). I think that Harry was trying to imagine a friendship that he had before things happened, and I understand why he thought it wouldn't work. But I'm not Harry, and I am willing. It was hard watching 24 tonight. It was hard eating alone. I don't know if I can just jump back into things right now, but I think I'd rather try friendship and fail at that then not give it a chance because I screwed things up once already. Maybe you don't even read this anymore, and everybody else thinks this is mindless babble. We'll find out.
So who did see 24 tonight? What a show! I've never seen anything like that. It reminds me constantly that if my family ever is part of a terrorist plot, I need to kill them before they try and kill me. How else can you deal with it? That's what I'm talkin' about. Makin' some sweet moolah with Uncle Rico. Sorry, I really am all over the place. Hope everybody is doing well. Later.

This is for all the ministry people out there (and steve at the end)
Has anyone preformed a funeral yet? I have. Wow that is a different situation. My senior pastor left for a conference at the Crystal Cathedral in California and he leaves me with a dead man. Not Nice! How ironik is it that I preached the santity of life sunday and the next day I was preaching at a funeral. Kinda like a cigar I think. haha Anyway, if you have not done a funeral yet, don't be afraid. It isn't as bad as it seems to be. Plus you get a nice little check to go along with it! Too bad it pays for like 1/3 of my new suit I had to buy for the shindig.

Hubka, I live on a 5 bedroom house on a lake. You know that you are welcome here! There are pleanty of widows in our church that are looking for some younger blood! Come over and give the Methodist Women a try!

Talk to everyone later! If anyone talks to Wakefield, tell him I am still waiting for his cd!
Later,
Chris Folkestad
PS> when reading an obituary do not say, "dishonorably discharged" I guess I need to get glasses! (I didn't acutally say that, but it was on the tip of my toung!)

Just like six months ago, a gourmet root beer, a cigar, and a quiet walk do wonders amidst the rigors of life at its worst. I think many things in life are like cigars: They're bound to get bitter and hot at the end, and you know they'll be finished at some point, but when you start, you really can't predict how long it will go. Life isn't all coffee, ya know, good to the last drop and all that. My eyes still sting from the smoke that blew into my face and my throat is still scratchy with a dingy taste, like a basement. Is that the point of the cigar? To tell us that good things end? Or that good things can end poorly? Amazingly, the temperature today is not that different from the last time I took this walk on the fourth of July. Maybe ten degrees difference. Snow on the ground this time, but wet all the same. I know, I'm rambling, not making much sense. The goofy blogger that you're used to on here has given way to a bit more serious, contemplative figure that can't put things together in a sensible fashion right now.
I do know how to get myself in trouble. I apologize for my impetuous reaction to Kurbis saying nobody will blog ever again, or whatever he said. Lynnea, you are a funny girl.
Maybe next time I will have the heart and the mind to relay the story of Robbie bringing a gaggle of sixth-graders into our apartment, wandering around like curious goslings dropping pizza sauce on the carpet wherever they would go and not noticing a bit what was happening around them. I don't remember what it was like to be a sixth grader. I barely remember what it was like to be a grad student. Wish me good luck in officially quitting my program tomorrow. Maybe a job will come my way around here, or maybe I'll find another former roommate youth/worship/co-pastor to live with until they find a special someone to wed. It's been fun thus far. Folkestad, do you have a room above your garage? Does Wakefield even read this? Wakefield, if you're out there, say something. Wait, we talked yesterday. Nevermind. I'm sure I'll have more to say sometime soon.

Hey Brad, do you know if Bethany is coming up here for Marty's wedding?

Hey All,
I must break my blogging fast in order to challenge Kurbis' ignorant comments about a dead blog. Brian why are you scared to love and be loved? Join in the blogging world and cast off the hippy inside that holds you back!
Wakefield, how are things going at your church? I hope all is well.
Hubka, I think that steeling internet is a perfect example of being a good steward of your money. Doesn't the Bible encourage this?
Folkestad, I have not talked with you in a long time. How about those Gophers?
Lynnea, it is always great to read how things are going in your life. Way to keep the blogger faithful on track with correct blogging philosophy.
Whatever happened to Nathan Miller? Didn't he blog at one point?
For all you who are considering becoming parents someday I have a comment you may want to hear. Babies have the ability (or at least they seem to have the ability to me) to poop up to half their body weight! I have a disgusting story that goes along with this, but I will refrain from sharing it on this family friendly blogger site.
I will leave you with this question. When is the last time you read "The Pursuit of God" by Tozer? If it has been awhile then I would encourage you to read it again. It is changing the lives of many at my church and is worth the read. Enjoy!

Okay, enough. Steve, you know how to get yourself in trouble: They blog is not dead or over or anything of the sort. This is what is called a SLOW time. It’s normal, it’s expected, and it’s OKAY. So calm down. Here’s what happens: The regular writers on the blog either become too busy to post, or feel they have nothing of interest to post. When this happens, the sporadic posters feel self-conscious about posting without the mass of other postings to feel a part of and abstain from writing. And of course, those who have been reading without posting (and there are many of those) aren’t about to make their blogging debut at a time that would make him/her so vulnerable. So then what? Time passes and people think that the blog is dying and we shouldn’t post anymore. Kurbis declares it dead, Steve freaks out, and I say RELAX! I don’t think this thing will necessarily last 20 years, but it has served its purpose well over the last several months and will continue to do so as long as you let it. Steve, I’ll read your postings as long as you post, and I know many others who will as well, whether they respond or not. Continuing the community is important to me, and if that community dwindles down to a few or just two, it’s better than no communication at all. So instead of giving up, keep posting your thoughts, encourage others to post theirs, and enjoy.

Maybe Kurbis is right! Ahhhhh! What will I do? What will you read? Well, before any of you leave us permanently, I'd just like to say that I'll miss you all and wish you the best for wherever life will take in you the next nineteen years. This is the sort of blog that gets me in trouble with Lynnea. I'm like the middle child that acts out to get attention. =) At least the cupboard isn't open, Lynnea.
Well, speaking of the Erickson family, I got an e-mail from Lynnea's brother with a great article about the quirky state that I live in, and how I fit in a bit too well. Great to hear from people that I'm pretty much a political nutcase. Don't shout "Amen!" too loud or you'll get yelled at from another cubicle.
In case anybody is questioning what's going on in Molly Donelson's life, she's presently on vacation in China, planning to head into Thailand soon, so anybody heading that way should stop by and say hi to her.
Here's a fun thing you can do if you're bored and watch the show 24: Put Luke Peterson in the role of Jack Bauer and see how long you could imagine him going without having major heart troubles. I don't think they could make more than forty-five minutes without needing the defibulator. I wish Luke read this, at least he'd laugh. He's a mix of Dick Cheney, Donald Trump, and a rascally jr. higher. What a kid.
And just to clarify, I made a mistake in my last blog giving the Montgomery bus boycotts to the city of Birmingham, something my girlfriend (at one time considering her home Alabama) informed me was wrong. Well, if the state would put it on their quarter, maybe I'd remember, now wouldn't I. Not that this is an indication of anything, but I asked Bob where the bus boycott took place, and he said Birmingham, so at least when you're above the Mason-Dixon line, you see all those Alabama cities as being equally troubled. So instead of being informed about the different aspects of the civil rights movement in Alabama, I'm told about Helen Keller's spirit of courage! I still think somebody could have put Rosa Parks on the quarter without too many KKK rallies. Whatever.
Well, I'm off to make a bologna, salami, mustard sandwich and get up the guts to go to campus and officially quit school... forever! Okay, maybe not, but it's still a little scary. It's also scary because a guy fell off a building a few days ago on our campus and was killed. Those buildings are dangerous. I have plenty of my life left to live (much less depending on how many more similar sandwiches and Mt. Dews I have in the course of my life). One last question: Would you feel bad if you "stole" wireless internet from an unknown and unsuspecting neighbor? Not that we're doing that, I'm just asking in case the chance comes up in the future. I don't think I'd feel bad. But ya never know until you try it, eh? Like cocain and country music. That'll make Kurbis feel good, if he gets this far. Okay, I'm done. Later.

wow...things are looking on this board...i guess no one likes anyone from college anymore. i guess i will see you guys at the 20 year reunion. good luck.

kurbis

Wakefield? Where's my cd?

Chris Folkestad
PO Box 246
Menahga, MN 56464

Hubka you are funny! I don't have much time to write cause a couple from the youth group is coming over. (Kinda sad I am hanging out with High Schoolers, but hey I get paid for it.) Speaking of getting paid for it, that is more than you can say Hubka!

If Hubka had a quarter it would say "Go Feed Tina" on it. I am sure of it!

Folkestad...Out

Lynnea, I take it that you don’t often read the “Dashboard” page after you log onto blogger.com, because otherwise you would have seen their little section about NaNoWriMo back in November. I thought of doing stuff with it except that I was busy thinking that grad school sucks and trying to figure out what’s up with what at present is my girlfriend. I’m up for the challenge, and if anybody else wants to jump on that train with me, just say the word. Deadlines are good. Maybe that’s why I haven’t yet found a job. Or maybe it’s because I’m worthless to every employer within a thousand-mile radius. Anyway, fifty-thousand words, eh? I’m there. Just the thought has inspired me to get writing again, so I spent today trying to work a story idea I had a little while ago. Needless to say, I didn’t write a page, but I recorded several conversations with myself on my voice recorder (good Christmas present) and really got a kick out of trying to make a workable story out of a bunch of weird thoughts floating around in my head. To those of you worried about my lack of blogging, well, I apologize to both of you, and I hope this makes up for it. Even though (and Bob can attest to this) I have no real thing taking up my time in terms of scheduled events, work, school, or anything that should restrict my blogging abilities, but things have been more hectic than I thought they would be. My internet connection has been less than workable upon my return to Montana, and my perception of slow connection only increases every time Meagan brings her laptop over and we “borrow” the wireless connection from an unsuspecting (and unknown) neighbor. For some reason I can’t really get myself to blogging on her computer (maybe I’m distracted), but I’ll try to get back on the wagon.
Okay, I just wanted to clear something up, so the reason I’m whispering is so that Bob won’t be able to hear me tell you that I’m not an alcoholic no matter what he tells you. Thankfully he can’t read this when I’m whispering, so we’re okay, but I’ll have to keep this short so he doesn’t notice and think I’m talking to you behind his back. No, serious, we haven’t even gone through a bottle of “O” in a good number of days mixing our own little drinks (it’s much more cost effective than buying O3). And don’t keep a can of pineapple juice open in the fridge very long, because it starts tasting funny. Oh, here he comes. Just act natural.
And that’s when I said to him, “Well, this isn’t even my car, so I guess we both should get off the hood and go our separate ways.” Oh, Bob, glad to see you reading the blogger without writing on it. Lots of people do it. It’s cool. I mean, it’s like marijuana – it’s perfectly legal in Montana with a prescription…. So I don’t know where I was going with that comparison.
So those of you in/from Wisconsin, good to see your quarter in circulation. Glad to see a state not pull any punches, ya know? Just cows, cheese, corn – everything good that starts with a “C”. I realize your state wanted to play it safe. No show of your Nazi Highway Patrol. No prob, I’ll spread the word while I have the chance. I mean, at least you’re not Alabama with Helen Keller sitting in a chair with the smallest Braille lettering imaginable and “Spirit of Courage” listed below (I think they have that spirit of courage thing there to remind people that it took a lot of courage to put a blind white lady on a quarter from the state of the Birmingham bus boycott and MLKJ and who knows what else that sure wouldn’t go over with some sections of the present population). I actually had wanted to see South Carolina write on the back of their quarter “We started the Civil War… and it ain’t over yet, you Yankees!” I still want to vote that the Wyoming quarter should have the entire state pose for a picture and put all our faces on the back. Shouldn’t be a problem, and crap, Oklahoma or Texas or some other stupid state is going to put a cowboy on their quarter, so then we’re stuck with Susan B. Anthony, or maybe they’ll get real courageous and put Dick Cheney’s picture on the back of our quarter. Oh, I got it! “Don’t come here, we don’t want ya.” Not to be confused with Mississippi – “Don’t ya’ll come through here… all ya’ll ain’t white.” Hmmmm? It’d be better than Colorado: “We’re California without the ocean or Mexico or unadulterated wilderness.” Yeah, 50,000 words…. I could do it in my sleep.
So, thanks to Kyle’s recommendation, I have found myself quite enamored with “Garden State”, and so I wanted to make a classic unheeded Hubka recommendation for those of you looking for a wonderful movie (Natalie Portman is in it….. mmmmhmmmm). If you find it good, you can just repeat what Bubna said to me tonight: “Wham, bam, thank you Hubka.” Crap, you know I’ve talked to so many people the last few days. Scott, Daniel, Folkestad, Michael Patrick (three of those were today). From what I hear, you guys out there need to call each other more.
Question: Has anybody ever seen more than seventeen deer in one place at one time (zoos not included)? I think they were meeting behind my apartment building, plotting the destruction of humanity like that Simpson’s episode with the dolphins. Yeah, they’re cute until they stick their sharpest appendages through your chest!
So Lynnea, what were you reading from my girlfriend’s blogger that was making you laugh? It was the stuff about me being great, wasn’t it? She’s not joking (at least that’s what she tells me). I really would like to know what she’s saying that’s striking a chord with you. Oh, Lynnea, if Matt’s seriously thinking (or for sure) about going to West Virginia, he should remember their state quarter: “We’re not inbred, but we are confused about why there’s no East Virginia and why other states have laws against marrying second cousins.” Okay, that was stupid.
That’s enough from here for now. Keep doing all those things that are making it hard for you to blog, because they must be good to keep you from writing on this thing. Just wait until I’m too busy to waste your time anymore. What a terrible day that will be (ask Meagan; I’m already wasting a lot of her time, so maybe it’s a lose-lose situation with me, in person or blogging I mean). Oh, and Lynnea’s right about a C being a failing grad grade, proving that I’m a grad failure with my two grades being a C and a C+. Great job, moron! I’m gone. Hope you guys are doing as great as me, but not much better because (contrary to Meagan’s blogger opinion) I’m not a great guy. Ha! Later.

NaNoWriMo: Who’s heard of it? I just read about it for the first time today in the paper. It stands for National Novel Writing Month. Apparently every November thousands of people commit to participate in NaNoWriMo with the goal of writing 50,000 words by the end of the month. The theory is that lack of plot is not what keeps people from writing the novel they have always dreamed of, it is the lack of a deadline. By committing to write so many words in a month, people go to great lengths to accomplish their goal. The result? Thousands of novels are written that would not have been without NaNoWriMo. Obviously this is good and bad; much of what is written is probably garbage, but it also produces many first drafts that may one day become some pretty good reading.

So why am I babbling about this? Well, for one thing, I find it a fascinating concept. And secondly, I think we should all encourage Steve to take up the challenge. The amount of word output we have all witnessed from Steve in 2004 from simple blogging alone is a great amount. Writing 5,000 words in a month would be simple for you Steve! And we all know you have the talent to do so. Writing just flows out of you! And it’s good! So, what do you think, friend? You’ve got a few months to decide, but if you decide to do it, maybe a few of us could all try it together next November.

In other news, West Virginia was great, now I am back to the shoe business, which I love but also find completely meaningless. It’s this kind of love/hate thing I’ve got going with it. Oh, and I got my grades finally and will be continuing on in the master’s program. Because a "C" is considered failing and both of my final papers were worth 50% of my final grades each, a mediocre grade on one of them could have put me out of the program. Anyway, I am on break until February, which is quite nice. Matt is in Colorado with the block people from Crown and I wanted to hide in his suitcase to go see all of you out there! But since that is a little bit illegal, I send my greetings to you and to everyone else out there reading this, Crownie or other. What is going on in the lives of all you graduates? Happy 2005.

Oh, one more note for Steve: Krista has been reading your girlfriend’s Blog and read me several passages from it tonight while we were baking cookies. She is hilarious, we got quite a kick out of it. Thought you'd like to know.

Should old aquaintence be forgot, dum dum dum, dum dum dum dum.... hmmm, I don't know thatsong really. Isn't it crazy? Already the year when we graduated has passed. Well, my New Year's resolution is to blog just enough to make everybody (including myself) happy, but not so much that everybody goes on hunger strikes to keep me from writing any more. Oh, and never go into a liquor store in Wyoming and ask for Leinenkugel's because you'll be socially shunned like they can only do in countries with a caste system or Beverly Hills. Apparently asking fora unique Wisconsin brew in the west is worse than saying you're a trans-gendered being. Is that the proper way to say that? Trans-gendered being? Person? Fellow? Feller? Yeah, I don't know. Anybody else scared by close-range gunfire last night? Just wondering if it wasa Wytanahodada thing or just a common celebratory act within the bounds of the seventh amendement (and I possibly just referenced the right to not incriminate oneself, or maybe the right no to quarter soldiers in peacetime or something like that since I really don't have the Bill of Rights memorized at this point).
Now this I must comment on: Who thought of a. the American parade, b. the televised parade, and c. the Rose Parade? They all three culminate in what I believe to be one of the most terrible and ridiculous aspects of our culture to date (right behind Wheel of Fortune and those talking mounted fish). I think they decided that nearly every float needed an award, so I would feel terrible if I was one of the three stupid slow-moving food and flower covered wastes of time to be rightly given no recognition (seriously watch and see how ridiculous the awards become). I mean, what are we trying to show the world? We can walk down our own streets with noisy bands and culturally insensitive displays of national pride (having Taiwan come with a marching band might be a bit of an unburied hatchet between ourselves and our Chinese brethren), only to grade a float on the basis of natural decorations used - what if we invested the time and money into trying to live more naturally? I'm not a big advocate of granola, but it seems like utter confusion for a culture to ooh and aaaw at a few slow moving street ornaments because they're made of the very materials that we have no use for in our artificial world. The Romans used to have parades celebrating victory over an enemy. Maybe we're prematurely celebrating our victory over the natural world, and our own cultural rationality and imagination. At least the Thanksgiving Day parade is symbolized with stuff blow up with hot air or helium - just a bunch of empty plastic shells that only look big because they lack anything animating.... I guess I might be taking that a little too far, but seriously, the Egyptians guilt pyramids, the Romans built aqueducts, the Chinese built walls and the first Communist/capitalst state to nearly deny both heritages, and all we can do is walk down our own stupid streets every year because it's tradition and a form of income for televising stations and advertisment for retailers (yeah, I really think the Home Depot float was just there promoting safe playgrounds for kids). Let's put all our energy into invading a country, throwing out the old regime and putting a democratic system in it's place because that sounds like something we could do if we put as much energy and interest into it as we did into this stupid parade. Let's make Canada democratic! Nawwww, it's not worth the trouble. Let them be pawns of the British gov't.... I say we try starting with our own Hemisphere, first, though. I mean, it just seems like something on the other side of the world might become problematic for cultural and logistical reasons alone. Oh well. I'll shut up now. Hope everyone has a happy new year ( I really am happy even though this doesn't reflect it). Bye all. Oh, and Robbie, I left my rent check on the kitchen counter, along with my utilities check and a dirty pizza pan. I just didn't want you to blog only as a means of telling me to send you money for rent. But isn't it always good to hear from Kurbis? I'm really going now. Bye.