The work of a proud mother and the hometown newspaper... I hope the town doesn't go aflutter at the misguided suggestion that we are one of those "hyphenated" couples (Thompson-Applegate)
I don't have any real beef with hyphenators... I just see the next generation and the next generation spiralling out of control in a sea of dashes. It's not pretty, I tell you!
But fortunately, we don't have to deal with that dilemma... *grin!*
Journal and Courier Online - Weddings
Brent and Kathryn Thompson Applegate
March 18, 2007
Kathryn Ann Thompson and Brent Allen Applegate were married Sept. 3. Pastor Nathan Hitchcock officiated in the North City Presbyterian Church in San Diego.
Parents of the couple are Craig and Jan Thompson o Fayetteville, Ark., and Roy and Jan Applegate of West Lafayette.
Honor attendants were Jennifer Duncan of Fort Worth, Texas, and John Hatcher of San Diego. Other attendants were Jennifer Strange of Shreveport, La.; Sara Brownell, Hank Miller and Gordon Fletcher, all of San Diego; Julie Monaghan of Wooster, Ohio; Avalon Moore of Henderson, Nev.; and Brad Stratton of Corvallis, Ore.
The bride graduated from Plano (Texas) Senior High School and has a bachelor's degree in biophysics from Centenary College of Louisiana. She is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and is a doctoral student at Scripps Research/La Jolla.
A graduate of Harrison High School and Purdue University, the groom has a degree in industrial engineering and is a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity. He is program manager at Hewlett-Packard in San Diego.
They live in San Diego.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The Catch-Up Post
A week-plus since the last blog update, and my "blogger guilt" has become overbearing!
This past week my camera has been sadly inactive, though we seem to be moving a million miles an hour. I'll do better this next week, I promise!
Anyways, here is a run-down of what is happening with us:
Doing
This past week, Kat and I have both been doing a lot in the area of Missions. Since getting catalyzed by the visit we had with a Ugandan pastor named John Mugabe, we've taken the lead to get a 2-3 week missions trip to Uganda organized for August.
This has meant lots of emails to travel agents, missions-sending agencies, and people over in Uganda. We are coming up on "Decision-Day" when we see who is in, and are praying that God would bless us with a good group of enthusiastic people.
Watching
Still haven't watched broadcast TV in months... Have a dim notion that some show about Idols gets talked about a lot. We are becoming so out of touch. After the Crash-fiasco, I cleaned up our Netflix list to PG-13 and below, and Over the Hedge was a nice antidote to the bleakness of crash... Certainly, there was some serious themes in it, like when the turtle takes the wagon of stuff... oh, ok, so its all just fun and silly, but THAT'S OK! It's entertainment!
Eating
Well! Very well, in fact! Kat's friend Katie's parents took us to a really nice restaurant in La Jolla to celebrate Katie's birthday... Kat's aunt and uncle totally amazed us with a dinner of Filet Mignon in early celebration for Kat's birthday. I feel plump and happy, to say the least!
Reading
Kat- Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barabara Hughes
Brent Logic of Failure by Dietrich Doerner
Learning
God is faithful, even when we are faithless. I find life in Uganda so appealing because with so little, they are forced to live on faith alone. Kat and I are learning more about how to celebrate our marriage... The honeymoon shouldn't end after just one week in Hawaii...
And THAT'S all I am permitted to say about that! :-)
Better sign off here before I get into any trouble with my wife!
This past week my camera has been sadly inactive, though we seem to be moving a million miles an hour. I'll do better this next week, I promise!
Anyways, here is a run-down of what is happening with us:
Doing
This past week, Kat and I have both been doing a lot in the area of Missions. Since getting catalyzed by the visit we had with a Ugandan pastor named John Mugabe, we've taken the lead to get a 2-3 week missions trip to Uganda organized for August.
This has meant lots of emails to travel agents, missions-sending agencies, and people over in Uganda. We are coming up on "Decision-Day" when we see who is in, and are praying that God would bless us with a good group of enthusiastic people.
Watching
Still haven't watched broadcast TV in months... Have a dim notion that some show about Idols gets talked about a lot. We are becoming so out of touch. After the Crash-fiasco, I cleaned up our Netflix list to PG-13 and below, and Over the Hedge was a nice antidote to the bleakness of crash... Certainly, there was some serious themes in it, like when the turtle takes the wagon of stuff... oh, ok, so its all just fun and silly, but THAT'S OK! It's entertainment!
Eating
Well! Very well, in fact! Kat's friend Katie's parents took us to a really nice restaurant in La Jolla to celebrate Katie's birthday... Kat's aunt and uncle totally amazed us with a dinner of Filet Mignon in early celebration for Kat's birthday. I feel plump and happy, to say the least!
Reading
Kat- Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barabara Hughes
Brent Logic of Failure by Dietrich Doerner
Learning
God is faithful, even when we are faithless. I find life in Uganda so appealing because with so little, they are forced to live on faith alone. Kat and I are learning more about how to celebrate our marriage... The honeymoon shouldn't end after just one week in Hawaii...
And THAT'S all I am permitted to say about that! :-)
Better sign off here before I get into any trouble with my wife!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Crashing inward
I saw human kindness displayed today, when I wasn't even expecting it, and it left me feeling ashamed...
I blame it partially on my poor Netflix-choice of renting "Crash." So the movie won a bunch of Academy Awards, and a number of friends have really liked it, but I should have done just a little bit of research to figure out that the film is dark, bitter, angry, fear-mongering, and that Sandra J. Bullock plays it totally straight with absolutely ZERO humor (Oh, how I wished she would do that snorting laugh of hers just to lighten things up!) -
We didn't make it too far into it, but caught the jist that it was about racism and dysfunctional relationships... Nice choice for newlyweds, right?
Anyways, so I was heading down to a restaurant at lunchtime today. I was stopped at a light, pondering the rest of the day, and enjoying that acquarium-like feel of staring obliviously out your car window at nothing in particular.
Until I realized that there was something going on right beside me. A middle-aged Asian man was walking around and looking confused. I noticed he was carrying an old school walkman, which for some reason always triggers memories of "Rain Man" for me for some reason.
He was being attended by a roughly dressed woman, who seemed to be trying to calm him down. Our eyes met, and because my window was open a crack (A leak in my acquarium) she came over and started talking to me. I noticed that she didn't have the middle 4 teeth in her bottom row. My heart started beating faster.
"I think he's really messed up," she said, and I flashed back to scenes of a carjacking in the movie. "He's looking for a McDonalds... Is there one around here?" I stammered a bit until I recalled one, less than a quarter of a mile away. "Yeah... Yeah. It's down that way." I gestured, praying that the light would turn green so that I could speed away to my team lunch of mediocre Mexican food at Chevy's. "Thanks," she said and turned back to the man.
And as I looked back, it was like my eyes cleared of the fog of fear. I saw that the man was not disturbed, but just confused by the fact that the sidewalk he needed to cross was under construction. I saw that the woman who was roughly dressed was so garbed because... she was a construction worker. And last, I saw that woman put her arm around this now unscary man and show him the path through the construction site to those fabled arches in the distance.
When we get to be so focussed on protecting our own self, it's easy to forget how our role model came to us saying, "I am the bread of life." The point of life is not living in fear to avoid trouble, but its living in love to help those in trouble to find their way out. Amen...
I blame it partially on my poor Netflix-choice of renting "Crash." So the movie won a bunch of Academy Awards, and a number of friends have really liked it, but I should have done just a little bit of research to figure out that the film is dark, bitter, angry, fear-mongering, and that Sandra J. Bullock plays it totally straight with absolutely ZERO humor (Oh, how I wished she would do that snorting laugh of hers just to lighten things up!) -
We didn't make it too far into it, but caught the jist that it was about racism and dysfunctional relationships... Nice choice for newlyweds, right?
Anyways, so I was heading down to a restaurant at lunchtime today. I was stopped at a light, pondering the rest of the day, and enjoying that acquarium-like feel of staring obliviously out your car window at nothing in particular.
Until I realized that there was something going on right beside me. A middle-aged Asian man was walking around and looking confused. I noticed he was carrying an old school walkman, which for some reason always triggers memories of "Rain Man" for me for some reason.
He was being attended by a roughly dressed woman, who seemed to be trying to calm him down. Our eyes met, and because my window was open a crack (A leak in my acquarium) she came over and started talking to me. I noticed that she didn't have the middle 4 teeth in her bottom row. My heart started beating faster.
"I think he's really messed up," she said, and I flashed back to scenes of a carjacking in the movie. "He's looking for a McDonalds... Is there one around here?" I stammered a bit until I recalled one, less than a quarter of a mile away. "Yeah... Yeah. It's down that way." I gestured, praying that the light would turn green so that I could speed away to my team lunch of mediocre Mexican food at Chevy's. "Thanks," she said and turned back to the man.
And as I looked back, it was like my eyes cleared of the fog of fear. I saw that the man was not disturbed, but just confused by the fact that the sidewalk he needed to cross was under construction. I saw that the woman who was roughly dressed was so garbed because... she was a construction worker. And last, I saw that woman put her arm around this now unscary man and show him the path through the construction site to those fabled arches in the distance.
When we get to be so focussed on protecting our own self, it's easy to forget how our role model came to us saying, "I am the bread of life." The point of life is not living in fear to avoid trouble, but its living in love to help those in trouble to find their way out. Amen...
Walls
We had one of Kat's friends from her lab, Khoulud, over for dinner this week. We had a nice dinner of oh-so-tasty lasagna, and then watched a movie about the Israeli settlement movement in Palestine.
The film is called "The Iron Wall," and it was produced by a Palestinian agricultural group, which unto itself is a bit strange because the movie is about 90% about politics and 10% about agriculture... Still, its a lot more entertaining than most agricultural productions I recall from my rural childhood (ie, the 5:00 Corn and Soybean Futures report, Milking Monthly, etc.)
Anyway, the film, which can be viewed in its entirety on Google (its just under an hour long) tells the story of the history and impact of both Israeli settlements into the occupied West Bank territories as well as the more recent and ongoing wall construction project that is underway.
I guess I find it totally astounding that the Israeli's are in the midst of a 650 KM wall project inside the West Bank, that when completed, will form a physical barrier between Israel and a smaller chunk of Palestine than was taken after the 1967 war. Probably the most astounding thing to me was that I was totally oblivious of this fact. SOmehow, in all the stream of news, I need to grab ahold of the actual stories, and not just read the headlines.
The film is unabashedly pro-Palestine, and I would really be interested in hearing the pro-Israel response to it. I have always instinctively "rooted" for Israel whenever I hear of news from that region. Whether because of their Biblical roots, more familiar western lifestyle, or perennially picked on and persecuted status, my bias is always for Israel. Khoulud made some good points in challenging this "gut check" reaction...
The film is interesting while certainly slanted. Its worth seeing and knowing what is going on in the Holy Land. Now I know I will pay much closer attention to anything relating to "settlements" and "walls."
The film is called "The Iron Wall," and it was produced by a Palestinian agricultural group, which unto itself is a bit strange because the movie is about 90% about politics and 10% about agriculture... Still, its a lot more entertaining than most agricultural productions I recall from my rural childhood (ie, the 5:00 Corn and Soybean Futures report, Milking Monthly, etc.)
Anyway, the film, which can be viewed in its entirety on Google (its just under an hour long) tells the story of the history and impact of both Israeli settlements into the occupied West Bank territories as well as the more recent and ongoing wall construction project that is underway.
I guess I find it totally astounding that the Israeli's are in the midst of a 650 KM wall project inside the West Bank, that when completed, will form a physical barrier between Israel and a smaller chunk of Palestine than was taken after the 1967 war. Probably the most astounding thing to me was that I was totally oblivious of this fact. SOmehow, in all the stream of news, I need to grab ahold of the actual stories, and not just read the headlines.
The film is unabashedly pro-Palestine, and I would really be interested in hearing the pro-Israel response to it. I have always instinctively "rooted" for Israel whenever I hear of news from that region. Whether because of their Biblical roots, more familiar western lifestyle, or perennially picked on and persecuted status, my bias is always for Israel. Khoulud made some good points in challenging this "gut check" reaction...
The film is interesting while certainly slanted. Its worth seeing and knowing what is going on in the Holy Land. Now I know I will pay much closer attention to anything relating to "settlements" and "walls."
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Pastor John
Pastor John Mugabe stayed a night with Kat and I. John is visiting from his home in Uganda. He has come to our church to help raise support for his numerous ministries.
John leads a large prison ministry, presides over a primary school and a newly-established secondary school, and pastors a growing church. Oh, and he and his wife have developed an in-home ministry to protect the babies of female prisoners from almost certain demise by taking them into their own home... They've take in 30, to go along with their two. John is 31 years old, and I am so impressed.
It was such a neat time of fun and fellowship with John. Kat and I are looking into how we can best support his ministry. But more than anything else, his visit is a reminder that God is faithful, and that we shouldn't look at anything, not money, jobs, education, or any such thing, for our confidence in this life.
Seeing a man who was given so little and has turned it into so much. It made me simltaneously aware of all the gifts we have been blessed with, and how little we have done to put those gifts to good service.
C.S. Lewis says, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." I feel the call roaring like a train whistle through my heart this evening...
John leads a large prison ministry, presides over a primary school and a newly-established secondary school, and pastors a growing church. Oh, and he and his wife have developed an in-home ministry to protect the babies of female prisoners from almost certain demise by taking them into their own home... They've take in 30, to go along with their two. John is 31 years old, and I am so impressed.
It was such a neat time of fun and fellowship with John. Kat and I are looking into how we can best support his ministry. But more than anything else, his visit is a reminder that God is faithful, and that we shouldn't look at anything, not money, jobs, education, or any such thing, for our confidence in this life.
Seeing a man who was given so little and has turned it into so much. It made me simltaneously aware of all the gifts we have been blessed with, and how little we have done to put those gifts to good service.
C.S. Lewis says, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." I feel the call roaring like a train whistle through my heart this evening...
Bridge to Teribble Theology
My good buddy Hank and I went to a movie on Friday night... Hank and I get together for a bite to eat and a movie every so often, and I usually try to pick movies that are more towards the softer and gentler side.
We went to see Bridge to Terabithia, which I knew very little about at the time though I have now learned that it is a movie based on a very popular kids book of the same name by Katherine Patterson. I was just going by the fact that it was a solid "B" pick by critics and yahoo readers, and seemed a much less graphic pic than, oh, say "300" which was debuting as well.
The movie's rough plotline follows "An 11-year-old boy has his life changed forever when he befriends the class outsider, a girl. Together they create the world of Terabithia, an imaginary kingdom filled with giants, trolls and other magical."
I loved the imagination of the movie, and it really was a fun film. Yet, it also takes these insidious jabs at Christianity. Though not falling into the usual categories of disapproval, aka sex, violence, etc, the film paints Christianity as a religion based on artificial fear-mongering that must be overcome with the "purity of one's imagination..." Secular characters are presented as free-thinking, free-expressing, and likable. Christian characters are dull, plodding, and uninspiring.
Ahh, the foolishness of this world, to keep selling this lie that "everyone is good on the inside just the way they are..." It really just motivates me to try and live more openly before a watching world. Christians need to show the world that yes, we are serious about sin, but only in the sense that you don't have much appreciation for grace if you haven't first considered sin. Grace only becomes amazing when you realize that it is offered to you, a sinner, who doesn't deserve it but so desperately needs it...
We went to see Bridge to Terabithia, which I knew very little about at the time though I have now learned that it is a movie based on a very popular kids book of the same name by Katherine Patterson. I was just going by the fact that it was a solid "B" pick by critics and yahoo readers, and seemed a much less graphic pic than, oh, say "300" which was debuting as well.
The movie's rough plotline follows "An 11-year-old boy has his life changed forever when he befriends the class outsider, a girl. Together they create the world of Terabithia, an imaginary kingdom filled with giants, trolls and other magical."
I loved the imagination of the movie, and it really was a fun film. Yet, it also takes these insidious jabs at Christianity. Though not falling into the usual categories of disapproval, aka sex, violence, etc, the film paints Christianity as a religion based on artificial fear-mongering that must be overcome with the "purity of one's imagination..." Secular characters are presented as free-thinking, free-expressing, and likable. Christian characters are dull, plodding, and uninspiring.
Ahh, the foolishness of this world, to keep selling this lie that "everyone is good on the inside just the way they are..." It really just motivates me to try and live more openly before a watching world. Christians need to show the world that yes, we are serious about sin, but only in the sense that you don't have much appreciation for grace if you haven't first considered sin. Grace only becomes amazing when you realize that it is offered to you, a sinner, who doesn't deserve it but so desperately needs it...
Friday, March 09, 2007
Highlights from the Photo Shoot
"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille"...
Here's some of the best pics from our recent for-class Photo Shoot with our good friend Dinah... Kat looks amazing! Best story on these: Dinah shot them on film, so they were developed in her class dark room at UCSD. Another of our friends is in that class, and was in the dark room working on her stuff, when she moved some things aside and all of a sudden, was staring at pictures of... us! She was not a little bit confused!
Anyways, these are some of my favorites, but you can view the whole set on Flickr here!
Here's some of the best pics from our recent for-class Photo Shoot with our good friend Dinah... Kat looks amazing! Best story on these: Dinah shot them on film, so they were developed in her class dark room at UCSD. Another of our friends is in that class, and was in the dark room working on her stuff, when she moved some things aside and all of a sudden, was staring at pictures of... us! She was not a little bit confused!
Anyways, these are some of my favorites, but you can view the whole set on Flickr here!
Of Romans and relations...
Kat and I went to a talk last night over at a dark building in the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. I mention that the building was dark, because its not a bit too creepy to head down to this dark, looming building down near the wharf... Feels a bit like the kind of place you might leave from for a dip in the ocean wearing cement shoes.
FORTUNATELY - These are much nicer folks with the UCSD Graduate Christian Fellowship. The talk featured Dr. Peter and Rebecca Jones, who are affiliated with the Westminster Seminary and have a ministry called Christian Witness to a Pagan Planet (CWiPP).
The topic was on gender, and in short, he built up a very fascinating foundational approach for why the preservation of gender roles and sexual orientation norms are so,... well,... foundational.
The main text he cited was Romans 1:25-26.
25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
He pointed out that the progression here goes: Step 1. Cosmological- Who do we see God as?, Step 2. What do we worship, the creator or the creation?, and Step 3. How do we interact with each other, esp. with regards to sexuality.
I had never really comprehended the connection between sexuality and worldview.
Nevertheless, in a group of grad students, even "Christian" as part of their title, there was a lot of bristling and tension that I felt. This is definitely one of those divisive "flash points" where I think Christians need to take stands, but in love, and for the right reasons and motivations
FORTUNATELY - These are much nicer folks with the UCSD Graduate Christian Fellowship. The talk featured Dr. Peter and Rebecca Jones, who are affiliated with the Westminster Seminary and have a ministry called Christian Witness to a Pagan Planet (CWiPP).
The topic was on gender, and in short, he built up a very fascinating foundational approach for why the preservation of gender roles and sexual orientation norms are so,... well,... foundational.
The main text he cited was Romans 1:25-26.
25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
He pointed out that the progression here goes: Step 1. Cosmological- Who do we see God as?, Step 2. What do we worship, the creator or the creation?, and Step 3. How do we interact with each other, esp. with regards to sexuality.
I had never really comprehended the connection between sexuality and worldview.
Nevertheless, in a group of grad students, even "Christian" as part of their title, there was a lot of bristling and tension that I felt. This is definitely one of those divisive "flash points" where I think Christians need to take stands, but in love, and for the right reasons and motivations
My vote is Springfield, OR
Hey, they may not have a nuclear power plant, but other than that, my memories of Springfield, OR are that it has just about the right mix of kooky characters... Sunday, March 04, 2007
Tales of tables, kitchi-puters, penguins, and amateur modeling
The weekend... Has left the building
Ahh, me... How the time does fly by? OK - What have we been up to? Oh yes!
First, new table
Kat and I made the difficult decision to put our old four-legged friend down. Yes, 25 was a ripe old age for a table, and this one had been handed down through multiple generations of her family.
But it was tricky to have a table that only could seat 4, and so when Kat found this cool table on Craig's List, we pounced!
Fortunately, we did find the old table a nice new home with a young couple at Scripps... Maybe we can stop by sometime and visit, just for the memories...
Second... Now why did it take us so long to think of this?
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... a laptop strapped to the shelf of our kitchen!
So, it might not win any style awards, but we were able to put this old laptop to use as our "Kitchen Computer Console" - Now we have easy access to recipes, files, etc. Not too shabby, I'd say.
Third... Down by the sea
One of the best things about a year in which you've a.) Lived in San Diego, and b.) Had a ton of visitors in from out of town, is that you start collecting all these memberships. Wild Animal Park, Zoo, and of most relevance, Sea World.
Yes, we indulged in that most American of pasttimes this weekend with a quick trip down to see Shamu... We actually didn't see Shamu (or at least one of the 7 Orca whales called Shamu), but we did see lots of sharks, dolphins, and of course, penguins!
I think the most fun about going to a park like Sea World is to hear the kids reactions to everything. I want to foster that kind of amazement with God's creation.
Fourth... Last, but not least, Just Shoot Me!
Kat was asked to help out our good friend and amateur photographer Dinah to sit for some portraits for a class she's taking.
Kat looked GREAT! I can't wait to see the results back. Dinah had asked the "dark, brooding, and handsome" Bulgarian guy from their lab to pose as well, but when he didn't show, she shoved me in front of the camera. I'm less excited about THOSE results, but it will probably be good for a laugh, which I hope you've at least once had yourself as you've read about our little weekend in this post. Until next time...
Ahh, me... How the time does fly by? OK - What have we been up to? Oh yes!
First, new table
Kat and I made the difficult decision to put our old four-legged friend down. Yes, 25 was a ripe old age for a table, and this one had been handed down through multiple generations of her family.
But it was tricky to have a table that only could seat 4, and so when Kat found this cool table on Craig's List, we pounced!
Fortunately, we did find the old table a nice new home with a young couple at Scripps... Maybe we can stop by sometime and visit, just for the memories...
Second... Now why did it take us so long to think of this?
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... a laptop strapped to the shelf of our kitchen!
So, it might not win any style awards, but we were able to put this old laptop to use as our "Kitchen Computer Console" - Now we have easy access to recipes, files, etc. Not too shabby, I'd say.
Third... Down by the sea
One of the best things about a year in which you've a.) Lived in San Diego, and b.) Had a ton of visitors in from out of town, is that you start collecting all these memberships. Wild Animal Park, Zoo, and of most relevance, Sea World.
Yes, we indulged in that most American of pasttimes this weekend with a quick trip down to see Shamu... We actually didn't see Shamu (or at least one of the 7 Orca whales called Shamu), but we did see lots of sharks, dolphins, and of course, penguins!
I think the most fun about going to a park like Sea World is to hear the kids reactions to everything. I want to foster that kind of amazement with God's creation.
Fourth... Last, but not least, Just Shoot Me!
Kat was asked to help out our good friend and amateur photographer Dinah to sit for some portraits for a class she's taking.
Kat looked GREAT! I can't wait to see the results back. Dinah had asked the "dark, brooding, and handsome" Bulgarian guy from their lab to pose as well, but when he didn't show, she shoved me in front of the camera. I'm less excited about THOSE results, but it will probably be good for a laugh, which I hope you've at least once had yourself as you've read about our little weekend in this post. Until next time...
Sunday, February 25, 2007
The next step
So this is what home will look like, God-willing, next fall:
On Saturday, Kathryn and I got up on a bluebird-clear morning and went over to Torrey Pines State Park for a time of prayer, reflection, and decision-making. The decision for accepting the UCSD Business School invitation is due on Feb 28th, and so we wanted to take some concerted time to make the call together.
Thankfully, God has been very faithful to make this decision clear for us. The school is in San Diego, we won't have to move, the curriculum is focused on technology and innovation, which is one of my passions, and they are moving this fall into the tremendous new building (shown above.)
But the factor that made it abundantly clear was the school offered me a merit fellowship to cover all tuition and fees. This is such a blessing to Kat and I. We just praise God for his good favor.
So our time together at Torrey Pines was less about soul-searching, and more about expressing thanksgiving about the past and talking excitedly about the future...
Change is on the horizon, but with great change comes great promise. We are both so excited to see what will happen next!
On Saturday, Kathryn and I got up on a bluebird-clear morning and went over to Torrey Pines State Park for a time of prayer, reflection, and decision-making. The decision for accepting the UCSD Business School invitation is due on Feb 28th, and so we wanted to take some concerted time to make the call together.
Thankfully, God has been very faithful to make this decision clear for us. The school is in San Diego, we won't have to move, the curriculum is focused on technology and innovation, which is one of my passions, and they are moving this fall into the tremendous new building (shown above.)
But the factor that made it abundantly clear was the school offered me a merit fellowship to cover all tuition and fees. This is such a blessing to Kat and I. We just praise God for his good favor.
So our time together at Torrey Pines was less about soul-searching, and more about expressing thanksgiving about the past and talking excitedly about the future...
Change is on the horizon, but with great change comes great promise. We are both so excited to see what will happen next!
What's so amazing?
On Friday, Kat and I went out for dinner and a movie with our good friends John and Heidi. We went and watched "Amazing Grace," which I would definitely recommend ~
The film, if you haven't heard of it, is about William Wilberforce, who fought for many years in the English parliament to abolish the Slave trade. The movie is openly Christian, which is awesome, and is actually well-made. After Narnia last year and now this, Christian filmmaking is making great strides to overcome the likes of such specatacles as Kirk Cameron's now infamous turn in the "Left Behinds"...
One cute thing about watching this film ~ We saw it on opening night, and the theatre was packed. We got there during the open scene, and hte last 4 seats in the place were in the absolute front-right corner of the theatre, so we were staring up the entire way.
But this was like the most totally Christian-dominated audience I've ever experienced at a movie. In one scene where a dramatic moment led to something climactically said about "God's grace overcoming..." there was a huge collective sigh in the theatre, and not a few amens. I love seeing Christians engaging with Hollywood, and not giving up on it!
Good film - Go see it soon, to make sure its not banished to video in a week as many such films are...
The film, if you haven't heard of it, is about William Wilberforce, who fought for many years in the English parliament to abolish the Slave trade. The movie is openly Christian, which is awesome, and is actually well-made. After Narnia last year and now this, Christian filmmaking is making great strides to overcome the likes of such specatacles as Kirk Cameron's now infamous turn in the "Left Behinds"...
One cute thing about watching this film ~ We saw it on opening night, and the theatre was packed. We got there during the open scene, and hte last 4 seats in the place were in the absolute front-right corner of the theatre, so we were staring up the entire way.
But this was like the most totally Christian-dominated audience I've ever experienced at a movie. In one scene where a dramatic moment led to something climactically said about "God's grace overcoming..." there was a huge collective sigh in the theatre, and not a few amens. I love seeing Christians engaging with Hollywood, and not giving up on it!
Good film - Go see it soon, to make sure its not banished to video in a week as many such films are...
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Arizona Adventure
We've faced down Mother Nature... and lived to blog the story about it!
Over the President's Day Weekend, Kat and I got out of town to see our good friends Terri and Derek over in Tucson.
This was a weekend of firsts for us - First camping trip together, first road trip to leave the state of California together (It's a REALY big state), and first chance to see a desert monsoon... More on that in a minute.
We left on Friday, and drove out to Yuma, AZ, along with 10-gazillion of our fellow SoCal brethren. Kinda slow going, and my misguided decision to pull off the freeway in El Cajon led to twilight-zoneish drama as we struggled for what felt like 30 minutes to get back on the freeway at rush hour. Still, we got to the rather plush though thin-walled Holiday Inn, Yuma, and our spirits were significantly revived by our discovery of a Barbecue place that was actually open at 10 pm when we were looking for dinner.
Saturday woke up sunny and nice. We enjoyed a great, albeit fattening, start at the Cracker Barrel (Mmmmm... Oh, heavenly realm of grits, pecan pancakes, and gravy... where have you been for so long???) and then headed off to Tucson to see Terri and Derek. Crystal clear skies and a pretty good book on CD called Prep, by Curtis Sittenfield, and we were there before we knew it!
Amazing advances in the art of talking plastic animals at the Cracker Barrel gift shop
Dateland Arizona - Famous for dates... and the most ridden plastic pony in 3 counties
Saturday night and Sunday we were with Terri and Derek in Tucson. They have a great property on the edge of Tucson, out in the desert. We hiked around, admired the cows that are on the open range, and met an eccentric neighbor who is an heir to the Procter and Gamble fortune... He has the company logo tatooed on his shoulder! He showed us...
On sunday we headed east again to the Painted Petrogylphs state park for some tent camping. Its a pretty cool area where teenage deviants since 4000 BC have been leaving graffitti... I guess after a certain amount of time it becomes art, but I'm sure at the time that these prehistoric taggers were considered a menace.
We camped one night in said tents, though everybody else in the park was in a comfy RV. The wind HOWLED that night, but thankfully the rain held off until Monday afternoon as we were driving out. It was great to see the rain pound down in the desert as we drove out.
All in all, a great weekend, and hopefully the first of many such adventures... Now, where to next?
Over the President's Day Weekend, Kat and I got out of town to see our good friends Terri and Derek over in Tucson.
This was a weekend of firsts for us - First camping trip together, first road trip to leave the state of California together (It's a REALY big state), and first chance to see a desert monsoon... More on that in a minute.
We left on Friday, and drove out to Yuma, AZ, along with 10-gazillion of our fellow SoCal brethren. Kinda slow going, and my misguided decision to pull off the freeway in El Cajon led to twilight-zoneish drama as we struggled for what felt like 30 minutes to get back on the freeway at rush hour. Still, we got to the rather plush though thin-walled Holiday Inn, Yuma, and our spirits were significantly revived by our discovery of a Barbecue place that was actually open at 10 pm when we were looking for dinner.
Saturday woke up sunny and nice. We enjoyed a great, albeit fattening, start at the Cracker Barrel (Mmmmm... Oh, heavenly realm of grits, pecan pancakes, and gravy... where have you been for so long???) and then headed off to Tucson to see Terri and Derek. Crystal clear skies and a pretty good book on CD called Prep, by Curtis Sittenfield, and we were there before we knew it!
Amazing advances in the art of talking plastic animals at the Cracker Barrel gift shop
Dateland Arizona - Famous for dates... and the most ridden plastic pony in 3 counties
Saturday night and Sunday we were with Terri and Derek in Tucson. They have a great property on the edge of Tucson, out in the desert. We hiked around, admired the cows that are on the open range, and met an eccentric neighbor who is an heir to the Procter and Gamble fortune... He has the company logo tatooed on his shoulder! He showed us...
On sunday we headed east again to the Painted Petrogylphs state park for some tent camping. Its a pretty cool area where teenage deviants since 4000 BC have been leaving graffitti... I guess after a certain amount of time it becomes art, but I'm sure at the time that these prehistoric taggers were considered a menace.
We camped one night in said tents, though everybody else in the park was in a comfy RV. The wind HOWLED that night, but thankfully the rain held off until Monday afternoon as we were driving out. It was great to see the rain pound down in the desert as we drove out.
All in all, a great weekend, and hopefully the first of many such adventures... Now, where to next?
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
A Woolly-Bully Time
This past weekend, Kat and I went opposite ways - She to the (presumable) warmth of the South (Texas, Arkansas) and I to the cold and snow of Mammoth Mountain. Fortunately for me, we had plenty of snow and not too much cold up in Mammoth. Unfortunately for Kat, it was just about as cold in Texas and Arkansas as in Mammoth.
Anyways, I went skiing with my buddies from work on Friday-Sunday.
Mammoth got on the order of 2-3 feet of snow while we were up there, which it SORELY needed.
Now, I know that scenes like this are all too familiar for most of the country right about now, but for us out in California, it is definitely amazing! The snow made for some fun challenges on the mountain, though unfortunately we weren't able to ski off the peak runs at Mammoth ~ Fog and high winds kept it socked in.
The best moment on the trip was when the four of us, 20-something guys, all wearing jeans and boots and stuff, walked into what we thought was a modest-priced Thai restaurant. We walked up the stairs and into the restaurant, and I thought to myself, "Man, this is really nice?" but my brain was on autopilot, so I wasn't thinking too hard. The place had just a few tables occupied, but the girl took one quick look at us and said, "Uh, we don't have any tables free" - Turns out the cheap Thai place was downstairs. The snooty expensive place is upstairs. I had this flash of the scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts walks into the expensive store and the girl immediately says, "We don't have what you are looking for..."
My 10 dollar Thai food downstairs never tasted better. Guess in this world there's top shelf and all the rest... Me? I'm all the rest - :-)
Anyways, I went skiing with my buddies from work on Friday-Sunday.
Mammoth got on the order of 2-3 feet of snow while we were up there, which it SORELY needed.
Now, I know that scenes like this are all too familiar for most of the country right about now, but for us out in California, it is definitely amazing! The snow made for some fun challenges on the mountain, though unfortunately we weren't able to ski off the peak runs at Mammoth ~ Fog and high winds kept it socked in.
The best moment on the trip was when the four of us, 20-something guys, all wearing jeans and boots and stuff, walked into what we thought was a modest-priced Thai restaurant. We walked up the stairs and into the restaurant, and I thought to myself, "Man, this is really nice?" but my brain was on autopilot, so I wasn't thinking too hard. The place had just a few tables occupied, but the girl took one quick look at us and said, "Uh, we don't have any tables free" - Turns out the cheap Thai place was downstairs. The snooty expensive place is upstairs. I had this flash of the scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts walks into the expensive store and the girl immediately says, "We don't have what you are looking for..."
My 10 dollar Thai food downstairs never tasted better. Guess in this world there's top shelf and all the rest... Me? I'm all the rest - :-)
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Spa-rise me on my birthday
My oh so crafty wife pulled a fast one on me for my birthday. I was in Portland through Friday, and she told me to keep Saturday, Feb. 3rd, before my birthday on Sunday free. The morning of, I got up only to find that she had been bustling around for an hour or so preparing things.
We got in the car to go in the morning, and started heading... out into the middle of nowhere. I mean, like scrubbrush city. The whole drive I was just scratching my head and trying to figure out WHAT we were going to do. Finally, after about an hour of driving she pulled off the freeway and started heading out on a little backroad. Things were looking pretty "earthy" out there, I thought I heard that banjo refrain from deliverance somewhere in the distance, and I was just starting to get nervous when an oasis of green grass, palm trees, and mini-coopers opened up in front of us: Glen Ivey Day Spa.
Yes, my wife arranged for me to spend a day with her at the spa.
Mud baths, hot tubs, massages, facials, the WORKS! It's a pretty amazing place. You can really appreciate the joy of spending an entire day in your bathrobe by the pool... Something Hugh Heffner has known for YEARS!
I told Kat it was the perfect gift... The kind of thing that I would probably never in a million years actually ASK for as a birthday present, but an incredibly great way to celebrate with the woman I love. And my skin? You just don't KNOW how well exfoliated it is!
We got in the car to go in the morning, and started heading... out into the middle of nowhere. I mean, like scrubbrush city. The whole drive I was just scratching my head and trying to figure out WHAT we were going to do. Finally, after about an hour of driving she pulled off the freeway and started heading out on a little backroad. Things were looking pretty "earthy" out there, I thought I heard that banjo refrain from deliverance somewhere in the distance, and I was just starting to get nervous when an oasis of green grass, palm trees, and mini-coopers opened up in front of us: Glen Ivey Day Spa.
Yes, my wife arranged for me to spend a day with her at the spa.
Mud baths, hot tubs, massages, facials, the WORKS! It's a pretty amazing place. You can really appreciate the joy of spending an entire day in your bathrobe by the pool... Something Hugh Heffner has known for YEARS!
I told Kat it was the perfect gift... The kind of thing that I would probably never in a million years actually ASK for as a birthday present, but an incredibly great way to celebrate with the woman I love. And my skin? You just don't KNOW how well exfoliated it is!
Objects in mirror may be grander than they appear
2007-02-01 MtHood (2)
Originally uploaded by agate157.
I'm back from the Pacific Northwest. The weather was AMAZING and the views of Hood, as this picture barely oes justice, were spectacular.
I am totally ashamed that the closest I got to mountains was a few rear-view mirror trick shots while driving away from the HP site. Busy week doing a lot of meeting facilitation ~ That stuff wears you out ~ Its like running a day care for 40 year olds!
Anyways... Good trip, but definitely glad to be home!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
I got in! Now what?
Good news! I got into UCSD's school of business. Here's my acceptance letter!
Bad news - I gotta plunk down a G by the end of February. Hmmm... I wonder if I could hold a rabbit hostage over the internet to raise money ... Maybe not!
1/31/2007
Dear Brent,
We are pleased to offer you admission as a graduate student in the Full-Time MBA program at the Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego, for Fall 2007. Congratulations on your admission to our Full-Time MBA class. The Admissions Committee has recommended admission for a number of highly qualified individuals and we are glad to have you among this group. Please complete the necessary form by 2/28/2007 11:30:00 PM EST. If you are accepting our offer of admission, your $1000 deposit is required to hold your place in the class.
We are pleased to welcome you to UCSD and the Rady School.
Sincerely,
Bad news - I gotta plunk down a G by the end of February. Hmmm... I wonder if I could hold a rabbit hostage over the internet to raise money ... Maybe not!
1/31/2007
Dear Brent,
We are pleased to offer you admission as a graduate student in the Full-Time MBA program at the Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego, for Fall 2007. Congratulations on your admission to our Full-Time MBA class. The Admissions Committee has recommended admission for a number of highly qualified individuals and we are glad to have you among this group. Please complete the necessary form by 2/28/2007 11:30:00 PM EST. If you are accepting our offer of admission, your $1000 deposit is required to hold your place in the class.
We are pleased to welcome you to UCSD and the Rady School.
Sincerely,
Would you like roasted shallot-whipped potatoes with that?
While the San Diegoans are slogging through the muck of one of our 5 days of rain a year, I have been enjoying myself this week up in the sunny Pacific Northwest. Clear but cold, it has been, with AMAZING views of the snow-capped peaks that are usually shrouded in fog and mist this time of year.
I facilitated a workshop today at HP ~ Something along the lines of an excercise in Survivor-like mayhem where we trap a group of 12-14 professionals of radically different background, and coax them into working together as a cross-functional team while not killing each other. I used a lot of skills I've picked up over my numerous visits to the Wild Animal Park about how to maintain stable animal dynamics on the wild African savannah.
The best part of the trip, by far, has been the FOOD! I've stored up my appetite with humble breakfasts and lunches these past three days for scrumptious dinners at the restaurant at my hotel - http://www.heathmanlodge.com/ Stuffed cedar-plank salmon, roasted venison, Draper valley chicken breast... Just the best of the Northwest... Still, a guy could really do well with some home cooked Salsa Chicken, ya know? I will be very happy to head back down to San Diego on Friday...
I facilitated a workshop today at HP ~ Something along the lines of an excercise in Survivor-like mayhem where we trap a group of 12-14 professionals of radically different background, and coax them into working together as a cross-functional team while not killing each other. I used a lot of skills I've picked up over my numerous visits to the Wild Animal Park about how to maintain stable animal dynamics on the wild African savannah.
The best part of the trip, by far, has been the FOOD! I've stored up my appetite with humble breakfasts and lunches these past three days for scrumptious dinners at the restaurant at my hotel - http://www.heathmanlodge.com/ Stuffed cedar-plank salmon, roasted venison, Draper valley chicken breast... Just the best of the Northwest... Still, a guy could really do well with some home cooked Salsa Chicken, ya know? I will be very happy to head back down to San Diego on Friday...
Monday, January 29, 2007
How popular are you?
Hi
Find out how popular your first name has been over the past 100 years, just click below and enter your first name.
http://www.birthdayalarm.com/name
Find out how popular your first name has been over the past 100 years, just click below and enter your first name.
http://www.birthdayalarm.com/name
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