Dingleberries

I've been trying to remember that word for months now...phew!

Went to see The Producers tonight...BAD movie. There was a guy infront of us though using his straw as a batton to conduct with. Just sitting there waving it around like he was the composer, it looked like he really knew the movie well. At first I really thought it was the really thing, but later realized it was only a straw. On the way out we saw two high schoolers sitting on each other's laps with unlighted cigarettes in their mouths!

I had a good holiday and just got back from MI to visit with NorthCoast. The show is really cool again, as always. We decided on a member to give the first ever alumni scholarship that I started, it was nice.

Went to visit with Meghan and Greg also. They are living in MI now and had moved shortly after their wedding in Buffalo...I was the best man by the way. They made me the nicest blanket of bears camping, very awesome. But the greatest thing was that Meghan gave Elisabeth her old Nintendo. So for the last couple hours we've been playing duck hunt and mario and bump and jump....my childhood!

Still looking for new year's plans, any suggestions?

One of the worste experiences of my life...

trying to pee with cold hands.

Old Stompin' Grounds

I'm back at PG, my old park and place of employement. Helping them out with some winter work and such. Well, there's never anything to do in the winter, so I'm in front of the computer checking up on things and posting! This place is in shambles, and I feel bad. Up until yesterday I have always wanted to come back here and be the director of the nature center hoping that I could stir this place up and make some changes for employees. I came here as a kid and held this place high, upon working here it has crashed so far. It's so dissapointing. I wanted to resoter it to its glory, until yesterday. A. elisabeth doesn't want to come back here and B. yesterday was the sealer...this place will never ever change. Too many good ol' boys in the upper ups that will never change. I hate it. I feel miserable about this place and the poor schlubs that have to deal with this.

On another note, thank god for internal thoughts!!!! That has saved my ass SOOOOOO many times this week.

Time to poop!

Crazy

Last night I was at Santa's Workshop again building toys with youth. Which I truly enjoy! I see lots of people there I know most of which I am super excited to see. Last night was a first though, I was absolutely SHOCKED out of my mind. Last night Mrs. Morton and Mr. Morton and their son showed up. These two were the coldest teachers in the world from middle school. Mrs. Morton used to be someone else, like Miss. Chaulka or something, I honestly forget her maiden name. She was my tennis coach and 7th grade Social Studies teachers, she hated me. I used to be good at tennis and should have been high ranked on the team. Because of her hatred of my music dedication, she put me low and sometimes not at all. I didn't care much, but I sure did vocalize it and make her life hell. Mr. Morton, I never had for class, but she used to make him come in and talk to me about proper behavior. I told him to tell his girlfriend to play to win and quit being prejudice against my skills, yo! I got detention, but the team voted me MVP...HAHAHAHAHAHA! I showed her, the people spoke! But last night, the BOTH of them were vometing praise! WTF!? "Oh god, it's sooooo great to see you, how are you!?" Me - EAT it BITCH! Not really, but I wanted to.

I watched Harry Potter Four last night at my house. My uncle is a member of the academy and my aunt is in town so she brought the "consideration" video. What a let down. Harry wins this lame trophy and doesn't even get a little party, not even a good job pal! Blah. I don't get those films.

Goodluck with the holidays everyone!

The New Hottness!

Week went by quickly and now I am back in Willubee!! Wednesday Elisabeth and I went to her skate night for her school...OH MY GOODNESS!!! I didn't think I would have a good time, but it was hysterical! Watching kids try and skate and falling all the time was very funny. After awhie though, it lost its luster and I began to feel sorry for the kiddos. Elisabeth did a great job of introducing me to everyone, made me feel great...thanks everyone.

Thursday, Erin came into town. erin was Elisabeth's good friend from Ashland and currently attends grad school in Florida. She stopped with us half way home and drove us the rest of the way to Ohio yesterday. 13 hours later, we made it. Ouch. We tried peppertinis from target. Peppermint martinis that is, GROSS...don't waste your time. I got really sick going through the mountains on the way home though, still feel crummy.

Earlier in the day was the interview at NC State, wow it went awesome. For one, I don't think they interview any grad prospects, just review their credentials. So my showing up helped a lot. Thanks Tim for all the questions, and thanks to Mr. Martin for his words of advice. I nailed it, home run all the way. Long stroy short, at the end she started showing me around the office and introducing me to the other staffers b/c, "I'll need to get to know their faces seeing as how I'll be spending so much time there soon." She said that if I do well on my GRE, that is meet the minimums, that I'll be fine. She told me this too, grad students with assistantships are given: instate and out of state tuition, health insurance, $1,000 stipened a month, and the opportunity to attend classes at anyone of the triangle areas universities...whic is a lot. So I am really excited.

Does anyone have any prep material for the GRE? She told me there were some books to buy. Bobby, Al, Jake, Tim' do you have any you could bring home? Thanks again for everyon's help! I hope to see you all soon!

Martin Girls Say Funny Things

"I don't like sushi all that much, my mouth gets sick of chewing it."
Elisabeth

"I wish I had a cat...so I could skin it!"
Amanda

HA

Party

We went to a White Elephant party last night, which I don't particularly enjoy, but this was a hoot! Instead of bringing a lame gift, everyone had to bring a liquor of their choice. All this gifts were wrapped and hidden under the tree in preparation for the exchange. The group was a mixed crowd of army guys and teachers and me. All the teachers brought liquor, drinks, juice, pop, cups and wrapped it all in a nice bag with a card and everything. The army guys each brought a 40oz inside a brown paper bag. (There was Old English ((union made!)) Bud and a German Spiced Wine - ouch) Two of the guys felt really bad about their decision in liquors and ended up with someone else's 40. The one guy did not and ended up with a BIG Bacardi-O, Orange Hi-C and two non-tippable "drunk" glasses. On top of that, he didn't even share any of his hooch. Almost all the drinks were gone by 9 o'clock and this guy then gets up and walks out with his treats un-opened. The one poor teacher, who also happened to be the only one under age, ended up with the spiced wine a little bitter.

All and all, it was a great party and a great idea. Elisabeth and I brought Vanilla Vodka and Sprite, which when mixed tastes like Cream Soda = Dangerous!

Grad School

I was recently accepted to interview with NC State University for graduate work in Parks and Recreation Management. The interview is this coming Thursday, so not much time to prepare. All she told me was to bring my resume and plenty of questions. Mr. Martin graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in the nearly the same MS degree, so I'll be calling him soon for some inside help. I'm interested in anyone's help in this process though. Is there anyone that reads this and has been through this before that can offer help? I would appreciate it.

Invisibility

Elisabeth and I have been together now for about two years and very close friends nearly ten. Still, to this day, she has the uncanny ability to make me feel invisible. There isn't much that she does that wears on my nerves, and apart from smacking my lips the last two chews of every bite, there's not much I do either. (she even handles my constant tapping) It's a silly thing she does, but it hurts me deeply. I feel like I'm not present when this takes place, and it happens often. Even though we've talked about it and I've expressed my thoughts, nothing has changed. Since being here, less than two weeks, it has happened twice. Like I said, it's silly, but she never introduces me to new people. Whether it is a friend, co-worker, family member or just an acquaintance, I never get introduced. Sometimes I just throw my hand out and intro myself, "Hi, I'm Christopher...her boyfriend." Which makes me feel like a hu-mungo chode because I had to give my title, it's like she's embarrassed by me or something. I know that she is not, and I know that she just forgets each time, but it sucks. I feel unimportant when it happens, and I get the opinion that other people look at me the same way when she forgets to intro me. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but it drives me crazy. It happened again tonight and it set me off.

On another sad note, I really miss my students. I've been thinking about them since down here and I want to see them and hang out. It's funny how DL works. Most teachers and students don't develop such a relationship, but it always happens in DL. I miss there company and I miss the weekly marching percussion fix they allowed. I hope I get the chance to see them over break.

This is a dreary post, sorry, but thanks for letting me vent.

Personality Exam

From Pepsiqueen13:
"Here's a test of your personality, but just copy this and answer honestly. Once a few of my blog-mates do it, I'll show you how to analyze it. I first did this in the early 90's so maybe some of you have heard it. It works best if you use adjectives below:"

What is your favorite animal? Dragonflies

Three words to describe that animal: Stealthy, Territorial, Cannibalistic

What is your favorite Color? Green

Three words to describe that color: Serine, Envy, Spring

What is your favorite season? Spring

Three words to describe that season: Life, Excitement, Fragrant

Now, you are in a room, everything is white, there is nothing in the room but you. How do you feel? Lazy, Tappy, Singing

PQ claimed she would post the results on her blog soon, we'll see what all this means I guess.

Stay at Home Dad

Since moving to NC for winter break, I have felt like a stay at hom dad. I wake up in the morning, way too early, and drive elisabeth to school. I come home and make the bed, clean up a little and find something to do. Today I was going to head to the State Preserve to volunteer, but since it was all outside work and it has rained steadily all day, that was nixed. I went to the store and got elisabeth her christmas gift. I bought her a five gallon fish tank with some fish and all the trimmings. She liked it. I did this because when I was here last I killed her beta. She actually killed it but blamed me for it.

Once I got home I was blessed with the opportunity to see Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. It was reallllllllllllly funny! You should try and watch it if you can. I can imagine that if I were at the taping I wouldn't get it, but the end result is great. It works similar to the Whose Line show but with a twist. They conduct all the sketches like usual with crowd involvement and all. Once the show is taped it goes off to animators and they digitally add background, costumes, and sometimes sound effects. Since it is filmed entirely infront of a green screen, this is done rather simply. Very Cool.

Got Snow?

Elisabeth found this email that was sent to her:

"Anyone can tell from the grimace and the gun that this is one snowman that won’t be making it into any fluffy Christmas song. But the full menace of the T-shirt is more clouded. On the bottom, it reads “Got Snow?’ – a harmless play on the famous milk campaign to some, a blatant reference to cocaine to many others. Still versions of the character are hot sellers at Street Stuff in Westfield Independence mall, said J.R. Holmes, a sales associate at the store. Buyers of all races and both sexes associate them with rap, not drugs, he said.Young Jeezy, a drug-dealer turned star rapper, popularized the angry image. His album Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard album charts this summer. In one of his songs, he raps, “Get it? Jeezy the Snowman/ I’m iced out, plus I got that snow, man.”Snow is slang for cocaine.The most common design features a simple snowman that looks like any other cartoon snowman apart from a glaring brow, Holmes said."

The Cadillac Ranch

Last night we went to The Cadillac Ranch and line danced. I was born into a western family. My parents met at a barn, I learned how to ride a horse before I could walk, I have been in several 4-h clubs and spent many a summer at a dusty horse show or sweltering week of fair, I even own a cowboy hat and boots still, yet I felt completely out of place at this bar. When I'm at weddings or clubs and get the chance to dance, it's fun! I can be a goof and make things up and most people think, "Wow, he's good." or more likely, "Wow, he can make a fool of himslef and not care." And anything goes when this is the case. Like making fun of our parents and recreating the dances of their day, but at the cadillac ranch one thing goes, no room for embelishment. First we met some of elisabeth's friends down here at their apartment, all very nice and fun. Turns out all six of us were from Ohio too, very nice. When we went they all got in free and I had to pay. It was a horrible experience. They would all say, "oh this one is easy, come try." Everytime there was a twist or turn, I was out. I had no idea what was going on ever. There was skipping and kicking, and some involved laying on the floor or kneeling. Let's just say when everyone is laying on the floor and you're standing looking around like an idiot, everyone off and on the floor notices you and laughs. I tried one other dance which involved kicking in a big circle, much like a kickline. That was cool, I wouldn't say that style of dancing is fun, but I can see how if you were single it could be a great time. A date or partner is not needed to have a good time with friends. Oh well, I had a great time hanging out with her friends. Turns out that if you hit the top of a beer that is nearly full with the bottom of another beer, the full beer foams over and the person has to chug it so it doesn't flow everywhere but sometimes it shoots out the side of their mouths. Funny.

From Luke

Novy's Google Me-Me
Do a Google image search of the following and post the first result for each:

The name of the town where you were born
The name of the town where you live now
Your name
Your grandmother’s name (just pick one)
Your favorite food
Your favorite drink
Your favorite song
Your favorite smell

___________________________________

Euclid, Ohio








Fayetteville, NC








Christopher








Katie (This is not how my grandmother looks)














Cheese








Cream Soda







I Don't Have One







Freshly Cut Lawn

Hiking Amidst Gunfire

Today was super exciting, no snowmen sightings but I did se my first cottonfield! I almost got out of the car to pick some, they were already picked over with little left, but I was on a very fast highway and felt it wasn't safe. Once I got to the state nature preserve Weymouth Woods I went out for a hike. I was out for a couple hours, really early so there was no one around and the birds were everywhere...very cool. When I first started on the trail I heard this loud, "rat tat tat tat rattattattattattat......GAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM GABOOOOM GABOOM G'BOOM GAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOM....SHREEEEEEEEEEIK!"

As some of you remember I'm in Fayetteville, which is host to one of the largest active installments of the army in the US. Well, on the other side of this base is Weymouth Woods and apparently the army only aims their artillary towards them and not Fayetteville. So as I hiked through this truly serine place, large amounts of artillary, semi-automatic weapons and jet fighters "training" nearby. It was such a crazy mix. I've been at parks where the highways have too close and you can easily hear the traffic, but military amunition was simply nuts. The woman at the front desk said you get used to it and that once someone complained and some of the local residents said that, "...it was the sound of freedom and we should stop complaining."

To make a long day short, I then went on a scavenger hunt of city, county and state parks trying to find some work, volunteer spots and to make some contacts. It was very successful. I was offered a seasonal down here starting in June and made some great contacts. Tomorrow I am heading to the transportation museum that is not yet opened and will be helping them. Saturday we are going to another state park about two hours away and on Monday I'll be heading to the Botanical Gardens to do some more of what took place today.

More and more I feel that this is turning into a chat room between Luke and I. I wonder if Tim and Jenn ever read this anymore.

Snowmen of Crack

Did anyone hear about the unadorned snowmen and what they represent? Turns out if you see anyone wearing a snowman shirt without a charcoal face, carrot nose, cuddly scarf, pipe or top hat, he is a drug dealer. Elisabeth was telling me about it a couple days ago. We went to this pizza buffet (truly amazing for four dollars) and saw a guy with a white tee-shirt and a golden snowman. (I enjoyed tat the snowman was bling) It concisted of golden circles that got progressively bigger on the way up, but apparently that's the idea. I was so tempted to walk up all cooth and ask him for the good stuff. It seems so funny to use a snowman as the symbol. I guess it's an easy one to use without many people catching on since so many folks are wearing snowmen this time of year. What will happen after the 25? Will they switch to unadorned St. Valentines or Cupids followed by unadorned St. Patricks? Oh man! Easter?!?! Now that I think about it, they could easily avoid the unadorned religious figure and head towards easter eggs or rabbits.