Year Challenge Goals: The Triathlon

I am going to try a triathlon.
Next weekend.
In Alabama.

Yes.
Swimming, biking, running.
All together.
Very quickly.
With a crowd of other people.
Early in the morning.


I am aware that in this, as well as maybe other aspects of my life, I am crazy.


However, it has actually been some fun. It has been amazingly tiring. And my body has never been as sore before in my life. But, I am connecting to my community as never before, and learning so many new things. My thank you have to go out to most of the Sewanee community. Between supplying me with equipment and coaching and encouragement, I would never have been able to do this for the first time without y'all.

It is amazing to think that in high school I actually day dreamed about doing a triathlon. I was much heavier then (by about 70 lbs!), and triathlons involve running, and I was firmly against running. For this bookworm, sweating was totally disgusting. It might be an understatement now to say that I have gotten used to sweating.

However, I learned somewhere in the last year about life challenge goals and so I set myself two for this year. The first is to complete a triathlon. Hopefully next Saturday I will do this. My goal simply is to finish. The second goal that I set for myself this year is to go on a date. I have decided that it doesn't even have to be a good date as long as it is actually a date.

Honestly, I am not sure which is going to be harder.
I have spent four months now training almost every day for this triathlon. Yet, thinking about trying to find a date has been scarier than thinking about swimming, biking, and running for more than three hours on a Saturday morning.

Either way, I am looking forward to accomplishing both of these challenge goals this year.

If anyone I know in Southern Tennessee or Alabama is looking for something to do next Saturday and needs some inspiration, come see me cross the finish line! It will be quite the sight to see. ;)


What Actually Happened

Okay, so there wasn't any baby hugging or town hall meetings, and there was minimal hand shaking, but in our little world of a blue Subaru, Yoda and I did run for the presidency. We did so by adding a spin to the traditional license plate game. In our version we didn't just see how many different state plates we could spot, but for each new state we came across we would award ourselves that state's number of electoral votes. Then, when our electoral vote count reach 270, we would declare ourselves President and Vice President elect.

We did this for each full day of driving during our trip (6 total).

Unsurprisingly, or maybe not given who was running, we won every travel day! Of course, being us, we kept the data on which states we won each day, and then made some lovely graphs! Enjoy!









My Fellow Americans!

Four Score and Seven, uh, days* ago, Master Yoda and myself devised a plan.
March 14, 2014, a day which will live in (not) infamy, we carried out that plan and ventured across this vast country of ours, shaking hands, hugging babies, and holding town hall meetings in order to achieve one thing: a Presidential Victory! We set out with an abundance of courage and determination; of confidence in our platform and of the conviction in the American people to do what is right. Our platform is as follows (spoken softly but while carrying big sticks):

  1. Anti-poverty: We don't like poverty because, well, who does?
  2. Pro-education: Rarely is the question asked: "Is our children learning"?
  3. Redistribute defense budget: Some old guy told us to watch out for this "military-industrial complex" thing.
  4. NASA: Because where would we be without memory foam mattresses and water filters?
  5. Abolitionists: If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.
  6. Agriculture reform: Because soy subsidies are forcing innocent people to eat chicken curry in an Texas Arby's.
  7. Heath care reform: Dude, that system is broken.

These are not Republican issues. These are not Democratic issues. These are American issues. We must reach across the aisle to be successful. Which is why we ran as Independents. (Also, there was a little mishap with getting our paperwork through, so we were also write-ins).

America, indeed, you have nothing to fear but fear itself as you have shown in voting for us time and again (because then either you truly have no fear, or are crazy).

God Bless America!

* Approximately

One Rock, Two Rock, Red Rock, Blue Rock

Sonic and I recently returned from an amazing road trip throughout the southwest of the USA. 
Anyone who has ever been out that way knows that there are a lot of rocks.
And if you read this blog, you know how much I like rocks.

So, we wrote a rock book.
Of course.

(the long hours in the car may have started getting to us...)

Kind of like Dr. Seuss' One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish...
 One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (cover art).jpg

except about rocks.

We call it One Rock, Two Rock, Red Rock, Blue Rock*.



One rock
two rock
red rock
blue rock*
    *more turquoise-ish
purple rock
white rock
yellow rock
black rock 
grey rock
multicolored rock
Let's be inclusive.

Rock n'roll!
hard rock 
(not the cafe)
soft rock 
(not Journey)
mixed rock 
(not mash ups)
new rock 
(not the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs)
old rock 
(not the Eagles)
ancient rock
prehistoric rock
lava rock
no post rock, 
but rock in post shape.

Shaped rock!
big rock
medium rock
small rock
tiny rock
minuscule rock
circular rock
square rock
rectangular rock
parallelogram rock
rhomboid rock
(we studied math)
broken rock
smashed rock
flat rock
sharp rock
dull rock
wind swept rock
rock eroded by water 



Speaking of water,
snow covered rock
rock that follows gravity
rock that defies gravity
rock with art*
   *really bad art
plain rock
rock from outer space
crumbly rock
hot rock
cold rock
pure rock
rock supporting life
rock deterring life
single rock
rock with companions
rock in the multitude
dry rock
wet rock
untouched rock
trampled rock
fields of rock
rock with bacteria waste

Need I say more?


But of course I will,
traveling rock
stationary rock
useless rock
useful rock
(sheet rock)
(wait, what?)
organized rock
rock in chaos
(by itself?)
striped rock
abused rock
loved rock

Rock Rock Rock

(Any offensive opinions expressed in this book are unintentional and cannot be blamed on any one person specifically. 
Sorry.

Also, the soap budget for the making of this book was exceeded. 
Please send soap donations to: 
We Need More Soap
333 Desert View Dr.
Grand Canyon AZ)

Blessed by Rocks

I have been blessed by rocks.
After the last post, I was given another gift of rocks.
The new ones are polished, colorful, stones with words on them such as Peace, Joy, Faith, Wisdom, Blessings, and Laugh.

 Kind of like the ones in this photo, but not the same.

I am grateful that the start of my ordained ministry has been filled with rocks.
It's earthy, grounded, incarnational.
Life is full of rocks, challenges which come and offer us opportunities and changes of direction.
God is here.
Even with the rocks.

Someday, I hope you would share some time with me,
and tell me the story of your rock,
your challenge,
your victory and failure,
just us
and our rocks.

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