That's Not How We Do In Iowa

The much delayed post-Feast blog on what was quite possibly the Best. Feast. Ever.

This Feast, more than any other I've been a part of, was about the sermons and their spiritual impact than it was about all the people in Copper Mountain, Colorado. The amount of young people who were there and the fellowship that came resulted from it was a definite plus. All around it was a great year. Of course this Feast was memorable from the things that were talked about to the intense physical football that was played to the new friends that we made. I will highlight the quotes or events that made Copper Mountain '06 a great year.

"We're building 4 more towers!" - Line from the remix of "Welcome To Atlanta" as we rolled to the Feast and continued building more analogies to the War on Terror.

"B-B-Q" - Singlehandedly THE line from the past two Feasts. Referring to anything you do with someone from the opposite sex. It was great to see more people use the term and poke fun at each other.

"I just want some ice cream" - What Kristen Lewis called the guys' counterattack to "brain chemistry" (more below). It involves the talking, the phone calls, the walks that two people can share at any time. Pretty much refers to acts of kosherness between a guy and a girl )

"Brain Chemistry" - The two most dreaded words I have ever heard in my life:) It was coined by the resident Canadian, Kristen Lewis. When things went wrong I used it myself and blamed everything on brain chemistry. Plus, it was the perfect answer for one of the silly questions in the 4,000 questions book. Apparently there is a chemical reaction in the brains of two people but it is not enhanced by getting an A in chemistry while in school. It is just something that clicks somehow :)

"Your fundamental flaw is that you're Canadian" - Richard's brilliant line to Kristen one night at the Feast. And like other amazing quotes, it was re-used by many :)

"They are left-wing, liberal, communist, pinkos" - Mr. Meredith describing the United States' media and their portrayal of the news during his Opening Night message :)

"I want to be Jeremy and I want you to be my Kristin" - Philosophy made up by Richard in which we take Jeremy's success in the relationship area and apply it to our own lives and situation.

"We're breaking the rules" - A line that was used many a times during the Feast to poke fun at 2 people with a unique past :) It is not to be used indiscriminately though as it has repercussions.

"That's not how we do in Iowa" - My response to the scoring system that was employed while playing Taboo with the girls one afternoon. It seems to me that every time I've played that game the rules change depending on the people involved. Oh well, it was fun.

"20%???!!! Who in the world leaves a 20% tip? That is prepostorous!!!" - My response to Kristin Vorel's clue on trying to get the word "Tip" while playing Taboo. She said, "it is customary to give 20%" and it is now part of the lingo me and her employ when we speak to each other.

"There will NOT be a democracy in Iraq" - Mr. Meredith commenting on the state of the Middle East. It is also a quote we have used in our analogy in the War on Terror.

"The FLAW" - Ryan and his brilliant philosophy!

"In what world???" - Richard expressing frustration at a certain topic during guys' night.

Along with these quotes there were many events and moments that stood out. The Six Flags outing was quite a success and a big thank you and show of gratitude goes out to Kyle and the effort he put into it. I am sure he lost some sleep and some sanity in organizing the event but it went off without a hitch. It was a wonderful time and there was some definite bonding time with the 8 other people in the Armada :) Plus, we got to witness and partake of Jeremy's 4 illegal driving maneuvers on the day. Truly one of life's greatest joys!

Playing tackle football was also a challenging adventure. The altitude definitely presented a challenge in playing consistently but it was fun. The hits were brutal, the bruises can prove it, but the fun was priceless. Even some of the girls got into the action and did pretty well. I saw some great catches and some awesome tackling. I think Josh can attest to that :)

It was also encouraging to meet new people and actually spend time with them. I also got to know certain people better and had some enlightening conversations with them. It is always a plus to get to know someone beyond their face, name, and location. This was the poorest year for me financially but the most rewarding spiritually.

I think it should also be mentioned how we handled ourselves at the Feast. We got together many times and enjoyed a drink or two but it never got out of hand. I have to say I was proud of all of us young people and how courteous we were to each other. Way to go guys! I hope ya'll Feast was as great as it was for the people in Colorado.

Nos fuimos pai

Nothing like staying up late the night before heading out for the Feast road trip to get the excitement going. I did pack most of my things on Sunday but I left the dress clothes for last so they would be less wrinkly when I get to Colorado. This is going to be some kind of Feast, and I mean that in a positive way :)
Today started with some weird events happening around me. Quite scarring and if you care to know I'd gladly share the story in person but not in the blogosphere. We had our 1st playoff game for intramural football so that was on my mind for most of the day. I felt quite pumped and determined that we were going to pull out all the stops to win. Lo and behold, we played a pretty complete game as a team. Good solid defense along with some opportunistic offense allowed us to play with confidence.
I don't know what happened but we were just flying to the ball. I think we all played the best game we've played since we started doing intramurals the past 4 years :) I did pretty well quarterbacking, running around, getting some good passes out to my guys and I had 2 interceptions on defense. The second interception was the sweetest one because it was at the opponents goal line and I caught the ball one handed before it touched the ground and ran it back for what seemed like half the field. Apparently one of my teammates completely annihilated some guy on a block so they brought the ball back but it sealed the game. We didn't throw interceptions, played within ourselves and came out with the win. Not too bad for a team that lost all three preseason games. Too bad Mike and I leave tomorrow for the Feast and we won't be able to play the next game on Monday. Hopefully the rest of the team will hold down the fort and who knows, we might play deeper into the playoffs.
Now that I've ranted about our sport accomplishments, I have to say that I probably overpacked like no other for this Feast. It seems like it will be nice on the weather front in Colorado but you also have to prepare just in case it turns nasty. Plus, I've got some nice clothes I want to show off so I packed those in too. Too many dress shirts, probably too many "nice" going out shirts and a disproportionate amount of ties. Add it up and there's not enough days for the amount of clothes but I'm prepared :)
I pray everyone has a safe and enjoyable trip to the respective Feast site they will be attending. For those of you going to Colorado, I'll see you there on Friday! You guys ready? I sure am!

Simplemente no fallamos

I hope everyone had a fruitful Day of Atonement. I had a pretty awesome day and enjoyed the 91 degree weather God sent us that day :) Sadly though, I didn't do anything special to break the fast. I worked out a bit after sundown, drank 2 liters of water, went to get some milk so I could pig out on some cereal. I wasn't really hungry at all, I ate because I figured I should eat something. Overall it was a great day!
I did most of my packing for the Feast on Sunday and after talking to Mike D for hours while watching football I basically had an idea of what I wanted to pack. The thought of taking long sleeve shirts and jeans for the Feast is making me cringe. I have always been about going to the warm Feast sites until I get older. Well, that will change this year and I'm actually looking forward to it.
The weather report for Copper Mountain from Sunday-Tuesday indicates sunny with the highs around the 50's. So all your sport minded people get ready for some football and/or frisbee in Colorado. It should be fun times for all of us there. I might be inspired to whip out the cooking skills for a night or two but that is still to be determined.
This should be quite a fun Feast for myself because it will be the first time in 16 years that I will attend the fall festival without having any schoolwork to worry about. What a grand thing to happen to me :) Now if a certain door would open for me...