Best Christmas Present Ever

Our family is celebrating the arrival of the first grandchild. My sister and brother-in-law welcomed John Alexander into the world after some considerable effort and beckoning.

He was born at 3:58 p.m. on Dec. 20, a solid 9lbs 6.5 oz and 20.5 inches in length.

Life is truly the greatest gift.

The Applegate's 2007 Christmas Letter

Hey Friends,

We've gone high-tech/low-cost on our Christmas Letter this year. Like Radioheads new album, we are online only.

Please click this link to access our 2007 Christmas Letter

Perhaps when I get a job someday, we can send out those fancy cards again! :-)

Merry Christmas to all. Please keep in touch!

Brent

Passing the time...

Kat, here. One thing's for sure. When you have mono, you have a lot of time on your hands.
Feel the pace of my day for a moment: First, you wake up about two hours later than you normally do. You get up just in time to have breakfast with your husband before he runs out the door.

You then decide to embark on reading multiple pages of Matthew Henry's gi-normous commentary to try to understand one of Jesus's more difficult parables, but it makes your eyes hurt and so you just sit for a while on the couch. It's ok to just sit. Then you wander into the kitchen for a snack and are pleased to find you still have a much more civilized appetite than normal: half a banana will do.

Let's go check our email. You actually sit down and type several longish emails, because it's only 11:30am, after all, and you still have much time in the day. You check the New York Times for the headlines and read the good science stories, and then you check out the Scripps News & Views (normally you just skim, but today you read--intently--all the articles).

Your husband calls at 12:30pm on his lunch break. You still haven't done anything on your mono-approved to-do list, but hey, you're supposed to be resting. You then suppose that yes, it is time for lunch, so you fix half a sandwich and some soup and start a movie. But you can't actually finish it when there's so much to do!

So you start typing up your travel journal from your August trip to Uganda. It could be a great Christmas gift to your dad and grandparents--basically the only folks who will actually read it. And it's been on the to-do list for weeks. Well, soon your back hurts from resting so much, so you take a walk. And you see this! A frightening sight at first, but you're now getting used to the idea that your neighbor is probably a professional yard man, not a crazy out trying to intimidate the neighborhood with his wide array of torture devices. The air is crisp, the day long, and you've learned how to handle not being...busy. What a gift this holiday season!

Mono-Vision

First, my apologies for the appalling lack of recent content on our blog. I can only offer two excuses:



1. Brent has been mono-focused on his first round of Final Exams in 6 years. Accounting on Monday summed up nicely, but Econ on wednesday appears to have had the supply of knowledge unequal to the demand of the test. Final exam for Quant is this afternoon...



2. Kat has been mono-ridden. Her tiredness, headaches, and sore throat were finally diagnosed as mononucleosis. :-( Not good, but at least we know what she has. Say a prayer for renewed health and lifted spirits, if you have a chance.



More to come... Merry Christmas!

B

December Showers

So I entitle this post as such, for two good reasons.

1. It rained this weekend - hard - for like the first time in 10 years or something. OK, not exactly that long but its been a LOOOOONG time. We had to rummage around to find an umbrella, and honest to pete, I had to actually blow the dust off of it before using it (However this could be a function of my housecleaning abilities... Hmmmm?)

2. Kat attended a Baby Shower for our dearest friends, Gordon and Lis



Now, thankfully, this wasn't one of those "couple's showers" that an increasing number of weak-willed husbands are getting talked into. As the ad campaign pounded into our heads, "Just say NO!"

I went with Kat just to pick Gordon up so we could go hiking, in order to allow the ladies to do... whatever the heck it is that ladies do for 3+ hours at a baby shower. Gord was delayed for a bit, and I was the only male present for a very terrifying 15 minutes. I finally elected to go out to their garage, just to feel a sense of solidarity with the paint cans, tools, and other such manly items.

When it was all said and done, Gordon and I went on a great hike, and Kat enjoyed the shower immensely. She praised "the attention to detail, beauty of the mom-to-be, and the individualized attention 'showered' on each guest." That and the cheese. Mmmmmmm...

*********************************************
One week from final exams for me... Here we go!

Thanksgiving Times Two

So it's now official. The only thing better than Thanksgiving is... TWO THANKSGIVINGS! I am seriously considering observing the Canadian version next year, in the interest of determining whether three could be even better!

After our church's annual grid-iron struggle, aka The Turkey Bowl, wound up with yet another suspiciously scored tie, we went over to our good friend's, the Clementis, for Thanksgiving lunch. Turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, and all that good stuff.

We passed on the pies, knowing that we had an hour and a half drive up to LA for Thanksgiving dinner with Kat's great-aunt Ginny. Thanksgiving round two did not disappoint. Good times with family we don't get to see all that often.


Ginny was as superb of a hostess as ever...

At some time past 9 pm, after ingesting some 5-lbs of turkey throughout the day, I drank a strong cup of coffee, said a prayer, and we hit the road. I did fine through LA, which was merciful to us for a change. Kat had to spell me halfway home, though. I was BEAT!

I just barely noticed Kat as she slid smoothly out at 5 the next morning towards the "Black Friday" sales. You'll have to consult her yourself to find out what she was able to score. I love this holiday!

What's in a name?

A professor from my program was involved with this research - Pretty tantalizing stuff, though not a drop-dead connection. Still, I can't complain about being a B-rent, A-pplegate!

Psychologists in marketing at Yale and the University of California, San Diego studying the unconscious influence of names say a preference for our own names and initials — the "name-letter effect" — can have some negative consequences.
Students whose names begin with C or D get lower grades than those whose names begin with A or B; major league baseball players whose first or last names began with K (the strikeout-signifying letter) are significantly more likely to strike out, according to the report published in the December issue of Psychological Science.

Save

Lindsey's Visit

(Preface: I know, I know, I'm way overdue to be writing a blog post. It's my first one! To honor my husband's faithful blogging, I back up the blog each month (using the scrapbooking tool in Mozilla Firefox), but I never write on it. Why? My reservations about writing publicly have been two-fold: 1) it takes time and effort and could conceivably come back to haunt us and/or embarrass ourselves or others, and 2) it feels presumptuous to assume that good people will spend their time reading what I have to say. But, Brent has convinced me over the last few months that I should no longer be just a spectator on a blog that bears my name.)

Here goes, then... My good friend Lindsey came to visit from Dallas last weekend, and we had a fantastic time. While Brent was playing Robin Hood at the Men's Retreat, Lindsey and I took in the sights and sounds of San Diego. On Friday I picked her up mid-day (woo hoo! half a day off) and went to Coronado Island to walk around the Hotel Del and have lunch. Then we bumped up the coast to Del Mar for some coffee at sunset, and then even further up to Solana Beach for boutique shopping.

Saturday we enjoyed walking on Torrey Pines Beach (except for a washed up dead seal), lunching at Old Town, driving around posh La Jolla, and going on a harbor cruise. The latter was probably the highlight for us both, because the Star of India, 144 years old this year, was out sailing. It only goes out a couple of times a year, and it was great to see it with its sails up on the high seas. I half expected cannons to start firing at us and pirates to appear, raising their hooks in defiance! The evening was complete with an enthusiastic viewing of the X-Files movie (VHS, no less). Sigh...David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will always have a special place in my heart.

On Sunday after church, Brent, Lindsey, and I ventured down to Balboa Park to attend the free Spreckels Organ concert. It's the world's largest outdoor instrument - over 4,500 pipes! You can even walk around inside it and see historic photos and the inner workings. It was a nice time, if a bit overcast and cool. Strange to hear Gershwin played on an organ, though.

Ready, Set, RETREAT!!!

NCPC had a men's retreat this weekend. The topic was "The Fear of Man versus the Fear of God." I thought this a particularly good topic, especially since it seemed to really be on target with all the guys I talked to. That, plus we shot a lot of arrows and had a lot of fun. Here are some pics:


John says, "Now which end is the business end~"


No foam Javelina's were left standing at the end of the day


No, I can't really add too much about this one...

Snippets...

of the not-so-secret lives of Brent and Kathryn...

Brent is...
tired from digging a trench at Church on Saturday morning,

feeling a little queesy about his accounting midterm on Monday morning,

excited to be going on a men's retreat for church this next weekend,

still a bit puzzled about how to compete in a contest this week at school for who can deliver the best elevator pitch... Hmmmmm?

Kat is...
amazed at the outpouring of relief efforts after the fires at the center she helped at on Saturday

attending a neuroscience conference these next few days

reuniting with old friends who are in town

looking forward to her friend Lindsay's visit

Resumption of Normalcy

Normalcy is restoring to Southern California...

Our schools have resumed, and my first midterm is today at 10. 6+ years since I last had to take such a test, I find myself feeling... too old for this stuff! But I digress...

Our community is rallying well together. FEMA has camped out on what used to be our Ultimate Frisbee field near work, and our church is getting involved in the relief effort. Its really neat to see how community and government at all levels can come together to lend a hand to those in need.

Now... I need to do some last minute "cramming!" :-)

Stephen Colbert on Georgia

Just when you thought Georgia has had enough... Horrible droughts, Michael Vick, the Bulldogs losing to Tennessee (though beating Florida, which is some saving grace), along comes Candidate Colbert.

Watch out, Georgia!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQgq_11XbO0

Safely home

Kat and I are very thankfully back in our home in Rancho Penasquitos. We actually were allowed back on Wednesday afternoon. The smoke is clearing in San Diego, and life is returning back to normal.

Its a bit eerie to drive around neighborhoods like Rancho Bernardo and to see them so... normal. On the TV, it looks like the whole place is some type of hellish inferno, but in reality, the firefighters did a tremendous job of minimizing the exposure.

So far, none of our friends that we know of have been directly affected by the fires. It's still early, but praise God for his blessings on our community! It really makes you appreciate the gift of safety each day.

Smoky but Safe

Hey Friends,

Just a quick update... Our neighborhood was evacuated this morning... We turned nomad, spending part of the day with Kat's aunt and uncle before finally landing down in UTC with Katie.

Say a prayer for poor San Diego. Its so hot, so dry, and there are just so many fires...

B

San Diego Sizzles...

Ahh, San Diego... The running joke you hear when you move to Southern California is that we have two seasons: dry and fire. Unfortunately, we have entered the latter.

Maybe its the proximity to Halloween, but its just spooky out there. Large fires burning east of here fill the air with smoke, so the sun and moon have a blood red tinge. The hot desert winds, called Santa Anas, are fanning the flames and howling through the inland valleys. Our temps are expected to be in the 90's with less than 5 per cent humidity. Not good!

When I was a kid I read a story by John Steinbeck about how a community went kind of nutty during a Santa Ana storm. Now I can understand why. Please say a prayer for SoCal, and especially the brave men and women who will be battling these blazes.

Why I love football

Could it get any better than this?

NEW YORK -- The New York Stock Exchange threw the yellow flag on a floor broker from a famous football family -- over back-and-forth taunting that got out of hand.
The NYSE Euronext unit imposed a two-week suspension on Stephen Mara, whose family is part-owner of the New York Giants football team. His infraction: pinning another broker to a trading post for several seconds in December after the victim chided him after a Giants loss.

The floor broker/victim -- not identified by the NYSE, but disclosed in earlier news reports as a fan of the rival Philadelphia Eagles -- approached Mr. Mara on Dec. 19 with "a gesture and comments mocking " the Giants, a NYSE hearing board panel wrote. Two days earlier, the Giants had lost 36-22 to the Eagles in a key game. The other broker imitated the Giants' celebratory "jump shot" ritual.

Mr. Mara threw no punches, but his illegal procedure caused "minor injuries" and violated a rule against "acts detrimental to the interest or welfare" of the NYSE.

"I'm glad that this regrettable incident is behind me and I'm happy that we can all move on," said Mr. Mara in a statement through his lawyer. Mr. Mara recently completed his suspension, said lawyer Paul McCurdy.

Swearing Is the Best Way?

I read this in the journal this morning... Interesting, especially in light of my new peer group at school which uses the F-bomb as a rejoinder for, well, just about everything.

There is no better way to capture human feeling or describe situations with humor and attitude than by swearing, says Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard University.
Swear words have emotional power not simply because they refer to offensive things, says Mr. Pinker. Brain scans suggest that profanity's impact stems from the way vulgar language taps a part of the brain that links memories to emotions, investing expressions with a sense of dread. "An expletive kidnaps our attention and forces us to consider its unpleasant connotations," says Mr. Pinker.

Is there a Christian response to such an argument?

Internet like water?

Kim Jong Il reportedly told visiting South Korean President Roh Moo- hyun in Pyongyang last week that he is an "Internet expert." If so, we'd love to see his "favorites" list. That makes him about the only Web maven in North Korea, where Internet service is banned and possession of a VCR or DVD player is also a criminal offense. Even radios that aren't permanently tuned to the official government station are illegal.

I just find it so amazing how important information is to the freedom of people. It is so interesting to me to see that it is shut off when a leader lays siege to his own people. Could it be more important than, say, water?

Applegates, Apple Days

Kat and I got out of town this weekend, up to the nearby mountains of Julian. Its a pretty little mountain town, kind of old-westy in a very tourist gift-shop kind of sense, about an hour from our place.

We went up for the Julian Apple Days festival, which we learned has a long, albeit spotty, history up there. Basically it comes down to "Apples in season + San Diego people yearning to experience even the slightest NIP of Fall = $$$"

We duly did our part and joined in the fun!







Lots of good stuff going on up there. They had the pumpkin patch and beer gardens, polka music and bratwurst, and lots of eccentric people hawking antiques. Our favorite part of the day had to be talking to the vendors and hearing their stories... It takes a lot to start a business selling solar powered decorative wood lamps.

That, and pie. Mmmmmm... Warm apple pie on a cool day. A Julian must. Kat and I got the crumb topping. Is there anyone who could convince me of the superiority of patry topping on Apple pie? I challenge you to do so!

Marketing the church

So the other day I got a flyer in the mail for a new church in our neighborhood. Now, I generally view this as a very good thing. California is notoriously anti-religious, and so there is definitely no lack of opportunity for churches.

But I found myself... well, shocked and awed at the marketing chutzpah on display at this new outfit called "the hills."





I'm a Christian who identifies very strongly with the Reformed tradition. The Reformers, in grossly simple terms, put forth a model for justification that I believe is very Biblical: It says that God calls us out of our heredity and nature of Sin. When we are finally fed up with our inability to live right, we turn and repent and discover the new birth of life in Christ.

So I cringe a bit when I see a flyer that promotes, among other things, having a blast, be whoever you are, and short services.

But the marketer in me has to admire these folks: Lead with a topic like sex, use attractive models right out of a Viagra commercial, and make it as appealing to as large of an audience as possible.

What do you think? Am I way off base? I do thank God for sex... Hmmmmm...

GRAMEEN

I went to a talk on campus yesterday by the CEO of the GRAMEEN Foundation. GRAMEEN was the organization begun by Dr. Mohammad Yunus to provide micro-finance loans to primarily women in 3rd world countries.

 
 

The approach was groundbreaking and innovative, in that it involved lending small sums to individuals, and not large sums to governments. Furthermore, accountability to repay the loan was guaranteed by a group of women, and not just the individual.

 
 

I've always thought that the "group dynamic" facet was the most intriguing. It seems like peer pressure has always gotten a bad wrap! Think kids smoking, making bad decisions, etc. But so often, the gentle (or not so gentle) persuasion of a peer group can really make a positive impact.

 
 

It makes me think of other applications in modern-day life. Admittedly, as an American, I hold a pretty high regard for the individual. However, I could see interesting applications of this positive social pressure in a number of areas, from driving the speed limit to going to the gym. The challenge is of course, one of economics and incentives. How to provide the right impetus to "do the right thing."

 
 

Not a whole lot of answers, but it does raise up a number of good questions...

What's going on...

What's going on with Brent and Kat...

Well, for starters, Brent is a student again...

I have to say, its been a pretty smooth transition back into the realm of fulltime student status. After a 2-week orientation, we had our first two days of classes last week. I am taking Quantitative Analysis, Economics, Accounting, Leadership, and Introductory Interpretive Dance. *GRIN* OK, nix that last one. But I would love to squeeze in a golf class somehow.

The biggest adjustment is the number of group activities. These business schoolers could give AA a run for their money on focusing on group activity. Speaking of AA, that's another adjustment to be back in the collegiate environment where if your peers look bleary in the morning, its not because of some dire family emergency, but rather its more likely its due to a late night at the pub. I'm glad that chapter is closed for me...

And for a change of pace, Kat has been hanging out with Nobel Laureates and writing a book chapter



In between very long days trying to wrap up a book chapter for a Biology textbook, Kat went to a talk from James Watson. Watson, as you geeky types will recall, was the co-founder (co-stealer if you ask me) of the structure of DNA. Kat said his talk was... well,... quite unique.

I suppose you get to a certain age and station in life, and it is easy to say whatever the heck you feel like. If what you say might be offensive to, say, women, minorities, or the memory of Francis Crick, who cares? You won the Nobel Prize, doggonit! And don't forget it!!!

I really shouldn't even talk... My Nobel chances are looking pretty slim these days. But the Pulitzer for this blog... *grin*

Have you seen this phone?

So... It's Day 3 of the phone hunt. Kat has "temporarily misplaced" her cell phone, which is definitely a shame, but I am trying to view it as an opportunity for change.

We have a shared plan through ATT, and have the minimal minutes, but it is still a good 70 bucks a month and we NEVER use anything close to our monthly minutes. Do you have a "pay by the minute" cell phone service you would recommend?

We're all ears! Oh, and if you tried calling Kat on her cell phone, she's not being rude by not returning your call. Drop her an email instead.

Another Google Earth gem

I just saw this in the paper... Nice to see that the Navy Seals are going to invest in some "camouflauge" for their building to avoid the appearance of evil from above... The benefits of architectural review, I guess!


SignOnSanDiego > News > North County > Logan Jenkins -- Building design comes back to haunt Navy

Uganda Presentation… Courtesy of Heidi

Heidi helped us out with this great link to our Uganda presentation that we made to the church last week. Enjoy

San Diego Hatchers » Link to Uganda Presentation…

Soreness...

So, Kat has been waking up an hour for me and doing a new workout... Today, my guilt and curiousity overcame me, and I decided to join her. So little did I know, I was in for 59 minutes of pain with a sadistic chipmunk named Debbie Siebers.



This workout program utilizes elements of yoga, tai-bo, and the Spanish Inquisition. Wow! Kat warned me that I had missed all the warm-up episodes, and that this was the hard one. I, with the same bravado that allows middle-age men to think they can play football once a year on Thanksgiving, thought, "No problem!"

So... now I am sore. Tomorrow... Well... We'll see about tomorrow. "-)

First day of School

So I had my first day of Orientation today for B-school... Kat took a picture of me when I realized that I looked like the Uber-prep with my coffee mug, paper, multiple bookbags, etc.



The cheezy grin completes it... Still, this is a far cry from my first day of kindergarten, which I remember because it was so traumatic. I wanted my breath to be really fresh, so I used way too much toothpaste, swallowed a bit of it, then went outside to play on the jungle gym at my house... and threw up. Why do we only remember the bad things? Hmmmm...

So relatively speaking, today was awesome! *grin*

Oh Baby!

When I was back home in Indiana, I got to go down to Noblesville to see my good friends Sean and Jenn, who are the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl, Callie, circa 5 days ago or something. Aside from the visit taking place unexpectedly back at the hospital (Callie was looking a little yellow, so they took her back in to go under the special lights) the visit was great!

It is such a trip to see friends I grew up with put in charge of another life... I look forward to telling Callie stories about her parents someday! *Grin*

Proud parents


If you can't do anything else, you might as well make yourself useful as a pacifier


Adorable... simply adorable!

Back home again...

in Indiana...

Well, it has been a lovely visit back home in the great state of Indiana. Kat is regrettably not along for the ride, as someone has to support my deadbeat you-know-what! She is missing out on:

Weather!

Wow! You start to forget that the weather in this place is more mercurial than even the stock market. Rain, sun, wind, rain again, now some humidity, now sun... WHEW! We forget about this stuff out in California. I wonder what it is we actually talk about out there?

Expectant Sibling and Sibling-in-Law!


Talk about your exciting stuff! Mom is more than stoked about the first grandbaby along the way for our family. Julie and Jim drove over to see us, and Jim and I played a round of "value" golf, as in, get the most shots for your money kind of value. *grin*

Boilers score 30+ in a half


The fam went out to root on the Boilers against the ever-tricky Eastern Illinois "Eastern Illinoisers" (OK, maybe they are called the Panthers, but who really knows) Basketball on grass never lets one down, unless one is playing a halfway decent team...

But it does make for a lot of exciting points, 33 to be precise, in the first half before that torrential rain showed back up again. But I got my yearly fix of Black and Gold, Boilering Up, and Purdue pride.

1st Anniversary

Kat and I celebrated our 1st anniversary on Sept 3rd. Highlights of the day included:

• Brent cleaning toilets (ok, so that wasn't a highlight but was necessary)
• Romantic breakfast at sultry sidewalk cafe in Del Mar
• Tantalizing kayak excursion at La Jolla Cove
• Exciting airport recovery of Kat's aunt and uncle
  Alternating grins and grimaces as we watched our wedding video for the first time in its entirety... (Man, that dance number was HOT!)
• Satisfyingly sweet enjoyment of our wedding cake topper

It really has been a blessed first year of marriage, and Lord willing, I look forward to many more! - B -

Facebook is Amazing!

Ok, I know this is not news to most, but today, I FINALLY set up a Facebook account. All I can say is, WOW! Who knew that networking could actually be FUN? It is amazing how interactive they make it, in a non-foolish teenager way... I am impressed.

So if you are on Facebook and you see this post... Would you be my friend?

*grin*
B

news @ nature.com - Hydrogen fuel goes liquid - Nitrogen unlocks the possibility of convenient clean fuels.

http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070820/full/070820-14.html

Good article in Nature about ways that liquified Hydrogen might power our cars... I did like in the closing paragraphs how the researcher referred to the all-important "bonfire test" for gaseous hydrogen tanks... Because if I have a hydrogen tank, the first thing I am going to try to do is to put it on a BONFIRE! :-)

Maggie's Grueling Walk

OK, Just to preface this post, I took Maggie the Pug who we are ,... errr,... dog-sitting for a BRIEF walk around the block (less that 1/10th of a mile) on a day that though sunny, was only about 80... and there was a breeze.

Here's the result:

Don't worry! She perked up a moment or two later! But I thought this was pretty funny! Pugs aren't exactly likely to be winning any speed or agility contests, I don't think...

San Diego Finale

Kat's good friend and former roomate Sara is doing her farewell tour of all things good in San Diego before she departs for bigger and better things in Palo Alto. We helped her enjoy some tasty BBQ over at Phil's at Point Loma... Sara models the 2007 bib collection in this shot!

Phil's has a good thing going down there... It is constantly busy and has zero competition. In my humble opinion, it is no match for even the most marginal Texas joint, but at least you leave with your clothes smelling a bit smokier and your arteries a bit more clogged! Good times!

Uganda in pictures

Please allow me to preface this picture parade from our Uganda trip with a caveat: Pictures cannot do the experience justice!

Pictures can't capture the warmth and openness of the people. They can't express the daily challenges and unexpected events. They are not able to convey the stench of a pit latrine, the fear of Kampala traffic, or the panic that seizes you when you are told to share your testimony with a large group of men in prison.

Most importantly, they can't share the genuine love and admiration that we now feel for our many new Ugandan friends. But pictures CAN give you at least a glimpse into life in what seems like another world. Thanks to all who helped us get there! We are so grateful!!!


Our missionary cover story was that we were dorky tourists... Convincing, no?


Dave Eby is in his element in Uganda!


70% of Ugandans are under 30. There is a tremendous need for education and children's ministries


Katie T and friends in Kifimbura


Kat bonded with this woman, Sara... It was amazing how quickly cultural barriers could be overcome in this type of relational ministry.


Chris and friends in Kifimbura


Life at the Eby's started so peacefully and tranquilly each morning...


.... Only to give way to the scariest, smoggiest, and most aggressive traffic I have ever experienced!


Between the 2 weeks of ministry we were able to visit the Nile River and Murchison Falls


Our van driver was bribing the boat captain to let us on at the time... This is Africa!


Rowr, Crocodile!


Big snake... which we very narrowly avoided running over


Graceful giraffes ~ I love how they just seem to glide around


John Mugabi is a man of vision. He was a tremendous host for our 2nd week of ministry!


Can you see the future?


So many new friends!


We found that songs were a VERY helpful way to round out our teaching lessons


Someday that will be a lion... It IS Africa, you know!


Homecoming... It was so hard to say good-bye!