January Post #2

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7TH, 2010

This evening Cary Anne and I went into DC via the Metro. You can tell she really loves public transportation.

We went into DC to see City and Colour preform live. I got us tickets as part of Cary Anne’s Christmas gift. It was a good time.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 8TH, 2010

Today, Cary Anne and I ventured out to REI so she could look for a new winter rain coat. Sadly, what she could afford she didn’t like, and what she liked she couldn’t afford- a problem I encounter pretty regularly.

This afternoon, Cary Anne got me to stuff ponies with her for a bit. She’s making a quilt for Isaac and these bad boys are the final touches.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9TH, 2010

This afternoon, I went with Cary Anne and her mom and dad to check out this place, The Grand Atrium, as a potential spot for our wedding reception. We all liked it, so I think that’s what we’re going with…despite the fact the Asian lady who showed us around referred to me as “Steven.”

You can follow more of Cary Anne and I’s wedding plans at our site:

www.mywedding.com/spencerandcaryanne

After checking out the Grand Atrium and having lunch at Chipotle, Cary Anne made our trek west to Lexington. Here’s Cary Anne silhouetted against the factories as we entered Kentucky.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10TH, 2010

Today I managed to get up to go downtown and check out Embrace United Methodist, which meets in the Kentucky Theater. It was a cool service, and sadly, Cary Anne wasn’t able to pull herself from bed to come with me.

Tonight, Cary Anne and I had a fun time hanging out in one of the upper rooms of Common Grounds with Sharonda and Beth. Some cheesecake and one broken chair later, the fun times continued at Waffle House until the wee hours of the morning.

MONDAY, JANUARY 11TH, 2010

Today was a cool day because Cary Anne finally got to meet and hold her soon-to-be-nephew, Isaac.

After holding him, Cary Anne gave Isaac the pony quilt she made him. Isaac said it was very well made and that he would treasure it for many years…not with words of course, but with his eyes.

The Start of January…and a new decade.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1ST, 2010

This picture’s pretty blurry because I had to take it quick and didn’t really give the camera proper time to focus. Anyway, as you can see, this morning the rollers on the donut line popped off track and caused a major donut pile-up for a few moments. Not a great start to the new year…

Morning window frost.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 2ND, 2010

Tonight I went to visit Chris, since we hadn’t had a chance to exchange Christmas presents yet. We spent some time catching up and enjoying Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

I went straight from Chris’ to work, so I changed in his bathroom. It weirds me out that in the bathroom I saw this picture of Hannah and the family cat in a frame that was clearly intended for a picture of her and Chris.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 3RD, 2010

Tonight, Jon invited me over to help do some editing to the video footage we shot during our adventure from Billings to Lexington.

You can find the finished product here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qib9Wxo97s8

While Jon and I worked on the video, Andrea and Isaac enjoyed a nap together.

MONDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 2010

Today I was supposed to drive the Chantilly to see Cary Anne, but after hearing about the trouble Jon and I experienced in Chamberlain, her parents offered to go halvsies on a cheap plane ticket to Baltimore, which is only about an hour from their house. So that was nice…

Airplane fun.

Before arriving in Baltimore, I had a small lay-over in Atlanta. There, I caught sight of Rev. Jesse Jackson enjoying some fried chicken at the food court. Sadly, this was the best shot I could pull off.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 5TH, 2010

Cary Anne’s mom made us this lovely plate as a Christmas gift. When we opened it I laughed for a long time about my peanut feet and Jew fro and Cary Anne’s Amish dress. It’s so awesome.

Cary Anne loves Bananagrams. I feel sad that I have an English degree and can never seem to win.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6TH, 2010

Tonight, I went to dinner with Cary Anne’s family at a local Panera. And there I saw none other then THE IMAC GUY, who has gained some internet fame on tech sites in recent history. He is famous for taking his desktop Imac to Panera and playing World of Warcraft for extended periods of time. Pretty cool, huh?

After dinner, we drove into the city to see a 2-person play based on CS Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters.” While I had my doubts about how good it was going to be, it actually turned out to be quite incredible.

“Almosts” for December 2009

#10

Downtown Lexington

#9

Me and Dave during my last week at Cumberland.

#8

Though Sarah has lived on campus all semester, we hardly ever get to see her because student teaching has taken over her life. Due to her lack of presence on the social scene, I accused her of being a bad friend, and she, in turn, gave me a lecture. Cary Anne snapped this picture during said lecture.

#7

Doesn’t seem right that Isaac got more presents for Christmas then me. Greedy.

#6

It’s pictures like this of Cary Anne that are my favorite.

#5

Mom and her grandson.

#4

Lindsay and Alli blowing out the candles.

#3

Dave, posing after a successful round of Killer Pong.

#2

Mike, making Diontae even more emo for my one act play.

#1

Craziness after my final MNL.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27TH, 2009

Today, the interstates finally opened back up, allowing Jon and I to get back on the road and complete 17 hours or so of driving we had left. Jon asked me to take this picture of him at a rest area. Those are newspaper stands buried behind him.

In Kansas City Jonathan made us stop at a Buffalo Wild Wings to watch UK play in the Music City Bowl. Sadly, it turned out to be a waste of about 3 hours.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28TH, 2009

Jon and I rolled into Lexington around 10am this morning, so tonight we were finally able to celebrate Christmas. Here, Jonathan shows off the gift card I got him to Common Grounds.

Mailey can open her own gifts.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29TH, 2009

Tonight, Jon scored us some tickets to the UK game, so we got to watch the Cats destroy Hartford 104 to 61.

The top sections of Rupp Arena were completely packed.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30TH, 2009

When I saw this on Richmond Rd. I just had to get a picture of it, even if it meant doing some risky driving. Someone hung 2 silver bulbs on this weed growing through the sidewalk. Now that’s really getting in the holiday spirit!

Apparently we’ve got some real dumb people working a Krispy Kreme.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31ST, 2009

The Leaches invited us over for a New Years Eve dinner, but Mom couldn’t really care less about the food.

Even though I had to work 3rd shift on New Years Eve, and therefore miss any sort of party or celebration, I decided to make the best of it by bringing in some Welches Sparkling. a couple of old ladies who came through the drive-thru at 11:57pm gave us the festive head gear.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21ST, 2009

Today I flew out to Billings because I got recruited to help Jon and Andrea move home to Lexington. I got this cool shot of the mountains half-buried by some fog. Too bad I almost took down the whole plane by having my phone on the take this picture.

Christmas trees in the airport?! How dare they show such Christian favoritism!

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22ND, 2009

Today we all finished packing up the truck, and Pops hit the road with it around 3pm.

I sent this picture to Mom with the message that Isaac is being lazy and inconsiderate and not helping us pack.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23RD, 2009

Today, Jon, Andrea, and I had the joy of doing all the cleaning on this list so the place would pass inspection and they could have the OK to move out.

It snowed quite a bit in Billings today. This is the house Jon and Andrea have lived in for the past year.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24TH, 2009

This afternoon, Jon and I started the 30-hour drive (1,678 miles) from Billings, MT to Lexington, KY. Doesn’t Mailey look excited about it?

We had intended to try the drive without stopping, just alternating drivers. Things went fine for about 6 hours, until a blizzard warning shut down the interstate and forced us to stop and get a room in Chamberlain, SD.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25TH, 2009

The South Dakota Highway Safety website has cameras that allow you to check out the conditions of major interstates throughout the state. The National Weather Service was not calling for the blizzard to end until noon Saturday, but Jon and I kept checking the site and the cameras, hoping things might get better sooner.

With the interstates closed down from boarder to boarder in SD, Jon and I got to enjoy Christmas here. It’s hard to see, but there’s a waist-high snow bank just outside the door.

The truly sad thing is, even though we were stranded on Christmas, the people who ran the Super 8 still had the audacity to charge us 6 bucks for a Tombstone Pizza for dinner. It was quite the Christmas feast!

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26TH, 2009

Another day stranded in Chamberlain, SD. Luckily, some places opened up today, including Casey’s Drugstore/Cafe/Everything located next door. We had lunch here today, and I had what Reader’s Digest once called “The Perfect Cheeseburger.”

To pass the time (and because I love her, I suppose) , I spent some time chatting with Cary Anne tonight.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH, 2009

Tonight, Cary Anne and my parents exchanged gifts in the lobby of my dorm before I moved out. It was a little awkward, but I think everyone enjoyed what they got.

Cary Anne and I also exchanged gifts before I left campus. She got me a beginners fish eye lens for our new Canon dSLR, which I played with once I got home. This is our festive living room.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18TH, 2009

Tonight, I took the fish eye outside and took this picture of the house. It became painfully apparent to me that I need a tri-pod.

Today, Cary Anne tried to drive home to Chantilly, but a huge snow storm moved in on the east  coast, and effectively kept her from doing so. She sent this picture from her room at the hotel she stopped at with the message “and it’s still coming down.”

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19TH, 2009

The snowstorm crippled the roadways in the the east. After Cary Anne had been back on the road for a while she sent me this picture with the message “Mitchell is too cool for this traffic. I’ve gone 15 miles in the past 2 hours.”

As I swept the lobby I snapped this photo of the night crew (Shadrack, Anton, and Megan) cleaning the line. I like working with these guys.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20TH, 2009

Cary Anne finally made it home today, and she sent me this photo of her in front of all the snow that had so messed up her trip.

Tonight I took the fish eye downtown to take pictures of the big tree. This was one of my favorites.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12TH, 2009

This evening the annual Williamsburg Christmas parade rolled down Main Street. We filled our pockets with the free candy they threw out. Ironically, they also tossed out anti-littering t-shirts while showing the streets with candy, about a fourth of which was just left on the ground.

Someone arranged the rope line at Wendy’s so that it went in a big circle and never led to the counter. I found that quite funny.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13TH, 2009

This morning Cary Anne and I went to check out the local Methodist church. They had a pretty nice tree in the sanctuary.

Finals study sessions began tonight at Main Street Baptist. I go mainly for the free food and socializing.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 14TH, 2009

As more and more people head home after finals, the dinner population in the Grill thins out more and more every night.

Tonight was the study session with Doc Leskiw for our Poli Sci final. Our whole class was pretty worried, and Leskiw only gave vague answers about what might appear on the test.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, 2009

Mom and Pops always complain about the lack of packing I’ve done whenever they come to move me out  of the dorm each year, so for my final semester I decided to appease them and actually get started a little early.

My final Undergrad final, Old Testament, is tomorrow at 1pm. Jenn and I met up in the Harth RA office for some late-night studying and Flav-or-ice.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16TH, 2009

Tonight we had a joint surprise birthday party for Alli and Lindsay. This was them walking in the door.

Someone had the bright idea to cut the cake with pizza cutters. It seemed to work pretty well.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6TH, 2009

I decided to try out some night photography with the new camera tonight. So I drove out to a dark stretch on the recently repaved 92 and, using my car as a tripod, took these long exposure shots. I think they’re pretty interesting looking…

Front of the car

Rear of the car

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7TH, 2009

Today, I had some more fun with long exposure times.

For this shot, I simply turned off all the lights in my dorm, focused on the power light on my computer printer, then slowly moved the camera around with the shutter open.

This was the same process, except I focused on the light on my computer charger (blue) and the light on my power strip (red).

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8TH, 2009

Tonight we had a special MNL event called “A Comedic Christmas,” where all of our sketches and videos were Christmas themed. Since it was our last show of the semester, and my last one as leader, I made sure we got a nice group shot.

After the show, Dave turned the Gatliff into his own personal jungle gym.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9TH, 2009

Tonight was our first and final dress rehearsal for my one act play. We only had one rehearsal with the costumes, lights, and the set complete. Sadly, Lucas managed to hurt himself by jumping off this table. He recovered quickly though.

I was quite impressed by how well everyone’s costumes turned out.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10TH, 2009

Tonight my senior project and one act play, “Something Practical,” took to the stage, so I made sure to get a good cast shot. I was very impressed with how well they performed, and the audience seemed to really enjoy the whole thing.

After Stagefest and a quick bite to eat at Huddle House with Mom and Pops, Cary Anne and I headed down to First Baptist, where there was a going away party for Shelby. Next semester, she’s headed to China to do some mission work and study abroad.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11TH, 2009

The party for Shelby raged on far past midnight, mainly because of everyone’s addiction to Killer Pong.

A good game of Killer involves a lot of fast footwork, and TOMS are not the best footwear for such an event. At one point my foot slid, successfully ripping part of the back and side of my right shoe away from the sole. I had to do some duct tape surgery to get it back in working order.

The Start of December 2009

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1ST, 2009

Problems in Technical Theater class today consisted of taping down wires for the new Light Board in the Gatliff. Not very exciting.

Tonight we started blocking my one act play. It looks like it’s going to be pretty interesting.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2ND, 2009

I hadn’t been to Stearns all semester, and I figured tonight would be my last chance to visit for a long while, so I went to see everyone. They’re still up to their same old antics.

Apparently, the congregation at Stearns has finally realized the youth are the only ones using big room on the top floor of the church, so they’ve kind of given Jennifer free reign. She started by painting the walls, and, taking a cue from the book of “Every Youth Ministry Ever,” letting everyone put their hand prints on the wall. Tonight, I got to add my hand.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, 2009

Today, Problems in Tech class involved moving some platforms to storage, while refitting others with larger wheels. It was a little more fun then taping down wire.

After class, we raided the wigs in the men’s dressing room so we could film part of an MNL video. The video premises is an infomercial for a new Christmas collaboration CD. It stars Russ as Randy Newman and me as a member of an 80s hair band.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4TH, 2009

Sometimes I think I have more fun watching rehearsal for my one act play then the actors do performing it.

I’ve forced Allison and Lucas to grow very close with this production. Before rehearsals, they were only casual acquaintances, but then I made Allison play a frisky old woman and rub him every other scene.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5TH, 2009

This morning brought with it the first snow of the season in Williamsburg. Sadly, by afternoon, things warmed up, and most of it melted into the ground.

Is it wrong that one of my favorite things about my play is that by page 3 there’s already a holocaust joke?

“Almosts” for November 2009

#10

Justin shows off the ghost masks we used during “Christmas Carol.” So scary, Micah is terrified just looking at the back of it.

#9

I’m not really sure what’s happening in this picture, but I like it.

#8

During the sauce packet fight at Taco Bell, Lucas took one to the jugular.

#7

At the wrap party…

#6

Moe has too much fun with his bald head.

#5

Classic photo bomb

#4

Two classy lookin’ gents.

#3

I’m not really sure what’s happening here either.

#2

Russ somehow makes bald work for him.

#1

These people popped up on Two-a-days all the time last year. Sadly, they only show up every now-and-then these days.