Arbitrating Austin

Computers, Cars, and Community

2012-02-26T10:02:00.000-06:00

Writing this post makes me feel good, because I'm actually doing what I said I'd be doing. Example; not posting very often. As unexciting as that may be, looking back and seeing that you've done what you set out to accomplish makes me feel really good.

As another example, see my last post; I set out to build a computer, and I did!

My friend David helped me make it, as this was my first time, but dang son, it's nice! And this is just a snapshot of some of one of the games (Star Wars: The Old Republic) my computer can do:

My character: Bryker Rickriver, Bounty Hunter, Republic's Most Wanted

Next on my goal list: acquire a new car! I've thought about if I actually need one, and I think it's a wise decision. I keep pouring money into this one, and it's not going anywhere. I'm also afraid of the car breaking down because of all the repairs I regularly delay putting into it. So I think in the spirit safety and financial wisdom, it's time to make my first grown-up purchase!

Actually, yesterday I took my first test drive of a car ever. So get this; I pull into the dealership, and I'm on the phone when I get out of my car, right? I'm like 20 feet from the door into the dealership, standing there while I finish my phone conversation before I go in.

My brain: "Oh, so exciting, time to be assertive!"

But apparently, they stop at nothing, not even social norms.

My brain: "Oh crap I'm alone and he's already coming at me! Must try to look..imposing..."


My brain: "OH S*** HELP"

Apparently, looking imposing and having a fake phone conversation louder right next to me is a great way to sell cars. I still don't know if he was mocking me or trying to be funny, but whatever it was, it made me feel like a helpless puppy in the rain. Good thing my friend came, otherwise I probably would have bought a 2005 Dodge Stratus for $53,000.

But yeah, I got to test drive a Nissan Versa! It was pretty neato, but I think it's too small. Since I'm still really not sure what I want and what's the wisest decision, I'm going to look around a bit more.

Some other random thoughts:
-I have a Crock Pot now!!! It rocks.
-I get to play racquetball like, all the time! Hurray!
-I like my friends in FUSE. Here's a picture of a bunch of us!


I FEEL SO LOVED IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYONE

Well, that's that I guess. I'm growin' up fast...

Happy New Year!

2012-01-07T16:08:00.001-06:00

Happy new year!

Well, I'm back! And man a lot has changed for me!

As I wrote before, I moved. I now live alone; both S and G are no longer in Texas currently. I had a bunch of my friends from church help me move, and man they are awesome. Moving was a breeze with their help, and although I still have some unpacking to do, I'm mostly settled in.

And let me tell you, the place is nice. I'm feeling lazy right now, so I have no pictures. But there's new carpet, nice appliances, a garden tub, crest molding....it's a very nice place. And on site, there's a volleyball court, tennis courts, a pool....and...a racquetball court. I've already played on it like 5 times. I feel like I'm living like a rich man. Kinda feel bad about it, heh. But hey, I'm getting much more regular exercise now!

But living alone is weird. I get pretty lonely quickly. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. It's nice having a place of my own to manage however I want. But I don't like being alone a lot. I think I need another month to decide.

Well...I don't think I'm going to post too regularly on here. I've been getting settled into some good routines in my life, so I don't think there's much blog-worthy very regularly anymore. Get up, make breakfast, make lunch, work, get back, make dinner, be a bum or go to small group. All good things, but unless this is my journal, I don't want to put up the nitty gritty details of my life here. But when some bigger things happen, I might come here to write about them. Here's a list of things I plan on this year:

Buy a new car
Build my first new computer
Go to ACL

...yeah, that's not much. But, just a forecast of what's to come. Thanks for reading and being with me for my first seven months in Austin :)

P.S. Also...people I know from Illinois are moving to Austin soon! YAY!

P.P.S. I just tried some Chicago style deep dish pizza at a restaurant here in Austin. I now feel like Austin can be home :D

Fun with Friends, Fun with Family

2011-11-27T10:13:00.001-06:00

Well, these past two weeks have been really fun. Let's get to it.

Alcohol and Adults in an Arcade = Absolutely Acceptable in Austin
Man, alliteration is too easy. Anyway, last Friday, the one before Black Friday, I went with a friend to this place called Pinballz. Basically, it's an arcade with a lot of pinball machines. Pinball machines for Sherlock Holmes, X-Files, Frankenstein, Batman, Playboy (yeah, weird, I know)...and some other non pinball games, too. Normally when I go to arcades with my friends from back home, they're filled with 10-year-olds. And some teenagers. And we're kinda creepy, being the 20-somethings that we are. But...in Austin...well, look at the title!

That's right. It's a BYOB arcade. And on that Friday night, it was filled with buzzed 20-somethings and 30-somethings playing a bunch of arcade games. We fit right in. So awesome. They got cupholders everywhere! I know where I'm hanging out Friday nights from now on...

Church Camping
The next day, I also went camping with some friends from church. That was a lot of fun. Camping is definitely different down here. For one, there's a burn ban, so that was the first camping experience I had without fire. Kind of weird, but I enjoyed not being all smokey the next day. Also, instead of just dense forests, there were less dense forests with a lot of open fields too. One of those fields was also a dried up lake. The drought has been pretty intense lately, apparently.

On Wednesday, my friend helped me make my desk at work a standing desk. We'll see how that works out.

Family Time in San Antonio
...And then my mom came in!

We headed right to San Antonio, where my mom's husband's son and daughter-in-law live. We spent from Wednesday to Saturday there. Here's a list of some things we did there:

Watched a lot of TV
Nothing
Had Thanksgiving dinner with their family
Nothing
Had breakfast made for me by my mom
Nothing
Ate a delicious Mexican meal downtown
Nothing
Saw the Mexican markets downtown

As you can see, I did a lot of nothing. By which I mean, I did a lot of sitting on the couch watching TV, being lazy hanging with my mom. It was kinda nice.

On Saturday, we headed back to Austin. On the way, we hit Rudy's. I've not talked about this place before on this blog, but it is great. It's a barbecue place with all kinds of meats. Sausage, brisket, ribs, etc etc. And they have creamed corn, and..you know what? It's so amazing, I really can't describe it. So, if you ever come to Austin, go to Rudy's. And don't even think about complaining that you can't eat at a gas station.

Back in Austin
Also, our car stopped to get me some new kitchen supplies for my new apartment. Then, when we got to Austin, our car stopped at Hey Cupcake!, a trailer with, well, cupcakes. It's really neat; you can get them with a Whipper Snapper, which means they inject whipped cream into the middle of the cupcake! Tell me that's not cool, I dare you. They're freakin' good cupcakes, too.

When we met back at my apartment, the other car apparently went and got me a new flatscreen TV for my new apartment as a Christmas gift. You know, like you do. So, thanks mom and company :)

After my place, we went to...Master Pancake!

Ok, seriously, if you're reading this and you don't know what Master Pancake is, read my past posts about it or search it. Because Master Pancake is amazing.

This was to celebrate "Hanksgiving". It was awesome. I can't even really describe it...but do you know how many scenes in movies Tom Hanks pees in?! Everyone knows about Forrestt Gump, "I gotta pee", and then he does. If you've seen The Green Mile, you know half the movie is about Tom Hanks's character not being able to pee. In Castaway, remember when he pees into the ocean? No? Well, he does. Then there's this movie called Money Pit, and he pees in a forest in there too. No more, right? Wrong.

Remember when Rosie O'Donnell actually was getting famous for something other than just being famous? That thing called acting? Yeah, A League of Their Own. The flick about the women's baseball team. Well, a drunken Tom Hanks stumbles into the women's bathroom and pees for ....you know what?

This explains everything.

Anyway, it was great, hilarious, and I tell you again, if you come to Austin, we need to see one of those shows together. Trust me. :)

Anyway, we got back, my mom cleaned my entire kitchen (thanks again), and then left the next morning!

Sorry I was so lazy on this post. So much happens, it's hard to sum up. But yeah, that's my last few weeks. Now, it's going to be some time before I write back here. I gotta move soon, and then I'm going to Chicago for Christmas time. I'll write more once I get more settled into my new place in January...so, until next year! Have a Merry Christmas!!

Comic Con Austin 2011

2011-11-13T09:32:00.001-06:00

Saturday started off really boring. Peaceful, nice, but boring. After getting up at 8am and doing errands and chores, I decided to hunker down and resort to playing video games for the rest of the day.

But then destiny called.

I got a call from my friend from church, and he asked me if I was still interested in going to Comic Con. I had decided not to go up to this point in order to save money, because I've dumped so much money on moving costs and the flight home for Christmas. However, he mentioned that another one of our mutual friends had an...extra ticket. For free.

I instantly realized my fate for that Saturday. My Cyclops gear, completely untouched from Halloween, was quickly put in order. We met up, ate some Whataburger (really delicious), fixed up our costumes, and walked to the con.

As we were walking in, I started feeling self-conscious of my costume. I knew it wasn't con-quality, and I commented that I'll probably run into a much better looking Cyclops. Literally, within 10 minutes:

Go figure.

It was still pretty cool though. I mean, the fact that I had a costume was awesome. People kept wanting to take pictures of me and my friend, even though our costumes had absolutely nothing to do with each other. I felt like a freakin' celebrity!

Speaking of celebrities...you remember the bratty girl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? You know, "I want it now!" Veruca Salt? Yeah.

We got to meet her!!

I also got to meet Peter Mayhew, the guy who played Chewbacca. It was really cool talking to him, asking him about his favorite scenes (the Mos Eisley Cantina in episode 4), if he still keeps in touch with all the other actors (yes), and stuff. Sorry, no pic though! But trust me...he's huge!!

And then I met one of the lead artists for Star Wars Galaxies and Star Wars: The Old Republic. And then he signed a REALLY nice print for me. For free.

That's the Star Destroyer from SWG!!

At this point, I was just geeking out.

Level 85 Geek

Speaking of World of Warcraft references...

A quest giver.

For those of you who never played WoW, people who had quests for you to do had yellow exclamation points above their heads, like above. I passed her, did a double take, and came back to her.

I asked her, "Do you have a quest for me?"

I expected her to giggle, and say something like, "Yeah, I've been getting that all day.."

Wrong.

She immediately opens her bag, takes out a piece of paper, and hands it to me, very seriously. It's a full on quest, just like the real game. The quest?

Click to read easier.

I knew the drill. Apparently, so did she.

Also, have you ever played Street Fighter? If so, you might remember a weird character named Zangief.

Only semi disturbing.

Well, here you go folks.

Actually disturbing. Click to enlarge for more disturbing.

There was so much more there, but these were definitely the highlights. I think I'm one of those people...you know...those Con-people. Oh jeez.

Man I wish every weekend was this cool. Trust me, it's not. Well, have a good week!

P.S. Phat lootz. Magnet.

Mom, remember we used to make these? How come we couldn't make cool ones... :(

Halloween and a new Home

2011-11-06T08:27:00.000-06:00

Hello again on this fine, quiet Sunday morning. It's slightly rainy, overcast, and about 68 degrees outside. It's kinda nice, peaceful, serene...

Anyway, I've been really busy just like, doing chores and errands and stuff. I've been trying not to go out too much either, because I need to cut back on spending. Hence, my life hasn't been all that exciting. I guess that's growing up for you.

Halloween was kind of cool though. I didn't do anything on the actual day of Halloween. Well, I played tennis, but that's like saying I blew my nose on Christmas. No one cares. Anyway, that weekend, some friends from work hosted a costume party! So, I worked on this costume, and my friend from church helped me out a TON. So now presenting...

Geordi LaForge!

Just kidding...although that was some people's first guess. I was Cyclops from the X-men. See the big X on my jacket? I got the idea from this video for the visor; click here to check it out. It wasn't perfect, but it was still pretty cool. Better than just resorting to red sunglasses, right?

Other than that, I found a place to live finally! And the place has a racquetball court. VERY excited about that. I'm moving in early December, which means I'll be living in two places for a few weeks. Bummer, but if I really want to go home for Christmas, I'll have to pay double rent for a bit. Oh well. I get to move again....yesssssss.

And to end this post, I saw two of these...things. I call them booze trolleys, but they're really called PubCrawlers. Look at this:


Drinking and Pedaling is different from Drinking and Driving, apparently.

These things exist in Austin. Apparently, you can bring your own keg and drink while you pedal through town! Absolutely crazy. Check out their site if you're interested, click here.

Have a good week, y'all!

Halloween Imminent

2011-10-23T17:24:00.000-05:00

Yes Jacob, apples do taste better in the shower.

Hey guys! It's been about two weeks being back in Austin after having gone to Illinois twice. I can honestly say it's good to be back here without all this traveling.

Here's some bullet points:

I got a tetanus shot. All by myself. It's like I'm an adult. I'm so good at fooling people...
I realized: awful horror movies still scare the crap out of me. Even if they're awfully hilarious. (e.g. The Thing)
I played this board/card game called Dominion. If you ever get a chance, play it. Awesome.
I'm working on a Halloween costume...hopefully it doesn't fall through!
I realized this past week that one of the things I'm working on at work is really cool. But I'm not allowed to tell anyone. Guys....it's so cool!!
My mom might be visiting me for Thanksgiving!? What?!

So yeah. Let's see. Oh yeah, I made spinach and tofu pizza! Here's the recipe. I thought when they said prepared pizza dough, they meant like, Boboli, or some crap. Apparently not. Here's the finished product:

It wasn't really bad, actually. Probably too much tofu and not enough cheese, though. Will have to try again!

I also went to another Master Pancake. Guys, these are so good. This one was on the movie, Halloween. It was freaking hilarious. They do great commentary on these things. Guys, did you know that this movie's setting is in Illinois?! Yeah, well, watch the movie. Watch it closely. Look at the greenery of October. Look at outdoor lockers of a high school. Look at the lemon tree. LOOK AT THE PALM TREES. Yeah, that's Illinois alright.

(start paraphrasing)

Also, when I was in line (I was wearing my Illini Racquetball shirt), this girl near us was like, "Liek, omg, you're from Illinois? OMG can we get a picture together?! My friend goes there and she's gonna flip when I she sees that I met an ill-eye-nee!!!!"

"Haha...uhh..yeah, it's actually Ill-eye-nye."
"Oh, liek ogm ok, well, let's take a picture together, Mr. Ill-eye-nee or Eye-lye-nee or whatever!"
*snap*

(end paraphrasing)

So, yeah! I'm looking for a new place to live now, as G moves back to Illinois in December, and that's when our lease ends. Let the hunt begin. Busy busy busy! Thanks for reading!

Chicago, Ich liebe Dich

2011-10-11T22:31:00.002-05:00

They made Paris, Je t'aime. They made New York, I Love You. Now...it's time for Chicago, Ich liebe Dich. Don't you think?

This weekend was awesome. It was another wedding weekend; my friends Peter and Amanda got married!

I flew in Friday morning, and I just spent great times with great friends that I've missed dearly. I was reminded of a few things that I had almost forgotten about back home:

Most of my friends are still way taller than me.
My friends beat me all the time at video games and board games.
Chicago pizza is really delicious.
Chicago weather is still stupid. Seriously. Two weeks ago, I show up in a T-shirt and shorts, and it's 50. This weekend, I show up in jeans and a long-sleeve, and it's 80. Thanks Chicago.

But yeah, I got to spend a ton of good quality time with a ton of great people. Played video games, board games, drank some wine, ate Giordano's deep-dish pizza, ate an apple in the shower, went to church with friends, gave some head rubs, made breakfast, and...did I mention Peter and Amanda got married?! It was super cute. It's so weird to see my friends getting married now, but I'm also really happy for them. :D :D :D

Wow. I just loved this weekend. I just kinda want to gush about my friends, and how welcome I felt, and how much we all just....were together. It felt so right. I felt like...like I was in love. I can't express how much those kids mean to me.

Alright, well, I just wanted to share that with you. I could go into details, but you probably don't want to hear about the nitty gritty details. I gotta focus on my life back here in Austin. Because, like 2 weeks ago, I'm realizing more and more that Illinois really isn't my home anymore. Gotta keep moving. Gotta keep arbitrating!

So, in the next few weeks, I've got some things I gotta do. Like officially become a Texas resident. And get my eyes checked. And my teeth. And maybe the rest of my body. And get a Halloween costume. We'll see. Maybe they'll be some interesting stories.

P.S. Yeah, I danced again. It was awesome.
P.P.S. Did you know that the guy who's credited for inventing Chicago-style pizza was from Texas?! He went to school at the University of Texas here in Austin!!!!
P.P.P.S. That Home Slice Pizza place here in Austin is alright. It tastes good. But it's still not Chicago-style pizza.

Advance, Yield, Advance, Yield

2011-10-04T23:04:00.002-05:00

Hello! Thanks for coming! I've got some things to share from this past weekend and what's to come!

This weekend was a conference at my church called Advance. And the theme of it was called Yield. So while we were thinking of advancing, we were also trying to remember to yield. I just...felt so torn!

But seriously, it was a pretty sweet weekend. To sum it up really quickly, we had a lot of teaching, a lot of intense prayer time, and story sharing of what God has been doing in the church this past year. A lot of growth happened, and many have come out of really tough places in life into very loving, biblical communities to which they have contributed themselves. It was really motivating, and I'm excited to be a part of God's work here at this church.

I also felt a lot more peace this weekend. I was struck by how similar I felt like the Israelites in the Bible in Exodus. Look at these parallels I've observed.

In the Bible, the Israelites were enslaved by Egypt.

In January, I was concerned about what my future looked like. (Stick with me here.)

The Israelites cried out to God for deliverance.

I asked God for this job here in Austin.

God brought the Israelites out of Egypt into the desert.

God brought me out here with a job in the desert. (i.e., Austin)

The Israelites then freaked out that God abandoned them in the desert.

I then freaked out that God abandoned me in the desert. (i.e., Austin)

I shared a little before about wondering what God has in store for me down here. I don't think I shared how much I've actually been worried about my future down here. I've just had a lot of doubt as to what my future will look like away from Illinois. But, after this weekend, I realized, I should have peace, because God will provide like He did before, you know? So, I got some freakin' peace, and you should too! Peace be with you! (for all you Catholics :D)

Also, I want to tell you about FUSE. FUSE is this group of 20's/30's people at my church. I met them a few weeks ago at a little get together party they were having. Well, after hanging with a few of them some more at Advance, I went to their small group meeting after church on Sunday for lunch. And then we were together again later that night at our Network Rally. And I gotta tell you...these people...I like em! They're all rather different, but I like...I dunno. I felt like I belonged among them. It was the first time I really felt like I belonged in a long time. I really can't wait to get to know them more!

Anyway....I need to sleep soon. Sorry for the lack of media lately. I just wanted to share these things with you all, because I'm really excited about it. Here's a few more bullet points of things goin' on...

I went to a Dave and Buster's this weekend. When I was a kid, I loved that place. Now, I'm pretty sure that's the reason America has ADD.
I'm going to a place called Home Slice Pizza tomorrow. Supposedly it's awesome. We'll see...I am from Chicagoland.
I asked for a pop at a Starbucks this weekend. The girl working there looked at me like, "You know you're at an effing Starbucks, right?" But then she got this huge smile on her face, and exclaimed, "You just called it pop. Liek...Ohmaigawd, are you from the North?!" Darn tootin', sister.
I cooked pork chops last night. With wine. That's right. And it was AWESOME. Guys...I'm getting the hang of this cooking thing!
Bugs keep coming up in my life.

There was some bug (or 2) that looked like it/they were mutating/mating/spawning like some demon spider or something in my shower. Freaking out, I squashed it with 8 wipings worth of toilet paper, and flushed it down the toilet. While flushing, it crawled out of the TP, and skitted atop the water as it was being flushed down. Pretty sure it was evil incarnate.
I had a dream about a Black Widow jumping on my face a few weeks ago. Do not want.
We talked about bugs today at lunch at work. Effin' gross.
I had a dream last night about going through a house, and there were slimy bugs everywhere.
What does this all mean!?!? Does this mean something about my childhood or something? Or does it relate to all the bugs (errors, not creepy crawlers) I find at work?

I'm starting to look for a new place to live, because G moves out back to Illinois in December. Is it bad that one of my criteria for an apartment is if it has a racquetball court?
I keep playing tennis with a friend from work. I'm like freakin' Federer or somethin'. You should see my backhand!
I'm going back to Illinois this weekend for another wedding!! I'm so excited! I may even get to visit my friends at college!! Awwww yeah!

Well that was coherent. Anyway, off to bed. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate you doing so! Peace!

Transition, Traveling, Tacos, and Tieing the Knot

2011-09-29T08:10:00.000-05:00

I need to make a public profession of my love really quick: Alliteration...I've liked you for a while. I know you might not have noticed...but I think it'll work between us. I just want to tell the world....I absolutely adore alliteration!!

Oh, hey there! Thanks for reading again! I know it's been practically been a month, but to be honest, life hasn't been super exciting for these past few weeks...until this past weekend. We'll get there. But in the mean time, I'll post some assorted bullet points of this past month:

I made a 4lb pork shoulder that fed G and me for a whole week. Sweet and tangy pulled pork for the win. See the end if you're interested in how I made it.
I also made tacos for a potluck! People liked them! And then I made tacos again tonight! Woohoo!
I maybe had the best weekend in Texas like 3 weeks ago. I played video games, tennis, card games, board games, bunco...so many games. I felt like I was in college again :)
There were some really awful fires here in Austin. They've calmed, but a ton of homes were destroyed. I was far from them, but if you're interested in donating to their cause, let me know and I'll try to help direct you.
We got rain finally! And storms! I can hear my mom now, "BRANDON. OFF THE COMPUTER, AWAY FROM THE WINDOWS, BEHIND THE COUCH. NOW." Sure miss those days.
G was away for three weekends in a row, so I got a taste of what it's like to live alone. Not sure how much I like that yet...

Oh yeah, and my mom got married this past weekend. Isn't that crazy? And I got to go! She got married in Indiana. As I was going there with my friend Chrissy, I asked her, "Who gets married in Indiana anyway?" She replies, "YOUR MOM!!!!" Good joke.

But yeah, my mom got married this weekend. Considering the antics that were had, I'm going to detail this one.

The Arrival
I arrived with my friends TJ and Chrissy to this lake house in northwest Indiana. People are running everywhere, and HEY! It's my brother, my grandma, my aunt, my mom, and tons of other people I haven't seen in forever! That was really good to see them. And everyone was getting their hair done, makeup done, or setting up some other stuff. I was really excited. Time to suit up!

The Ceremony
No "I do"'s. Instead: "Yep", "Absolutely", and my favorite, "Anyone got a lighter?" (That was for the candle :D ) Otherwise, everything went fairly well. And a chipmunk got to watch too!

The Reception: Phase 1 - Dinner
Dinner was great. Very tasty food, and some heartfelt toasts were given. In particular, my mom's maid of honor, Maureen, gave a great toast, talking about how her and my mom were childhood friends, and even though they moved many states away, they still meant a lot to each other. It was kind of creepy, because as she was saying these things, Chrissy (who I've known since 2nd grade) and I looked at each other, and we realized, she was also talking about us. That was really touching.

Also. I met some people. I didn't know them beforehand. But they knew me. From this blog. Whoa. People read this thing who don't even know me?! That's so cool! But yeah, my mom shared my blog with some other people, and I got to share with them rather deeply! They seemed to really enjoy the content on here! I'm glad to know my experiences are inspiring others, apparently!

The Reception: Phase 2 - The Antics
I don't know if you know...but I'm a fabulous dancer. Ok, not really. Well kinda. See, I just kinda throw my limbs around with confidence to music at weddings, and that, not dancing, is what impresses people. And this wedding needed just a flair of fabulous. It was like the days of the Mother/Son dances me and mom used to go to in high school...except more awesome. I tore the place up as I saw fit.

But man. We had some funky dancers in the house. Mad props to Maureen and Aunt Betsy, especially. Someone must have fed them some PCP or something, because they were just groovin' all night long like it was their day job.

There was also the chicken thief. Some guy we don't know goes up to TJ:
"Hey, gimme a piece of that chicken!"
"No, it's mine!"
"Come on! Just give me a bite!" (leans in)
"No!"
"...I'm just messing, hehe.."

I'm....just gonna leave the antics there. :)

The Reception: Phase 3 - The Great Booze Loot
Let me preface this first: I am not condoning alcoholism or drunkenness.

Anyway, my mom purchased $1500 of alcohol for the wedding. And of course, like anything else, there was tons left over. So my mom says to Chrissy and TJ, "Guys, take whatever you want." They exchange glances of exhilaration.

It was like Supermarket Sweep meets Binny's (or in Texas, Spec's). We were running cases of beer, bottles of wine, and handles (as Chrissy called them) of hard liquor out to their cars. They each easily got over $150 of liquor. We were like bootleggers in the Prohibition days. How proud Al Capone would be.

So yeah, that was the wedding in a very, very, tight nutshell. I noticed something about going back to Chicago. I definitely felt that although I'm always welcome there by friends and family, but something was off. It's not home anymore. When I got back to Austin, I definitely felt more comfortable, but it's not home either. Now I realize, more than ever, I'm in a period of major transition. I'm longing for the day where I'm finally settled in and at peace with things. So, all alliteration aside, let's keep Arbitrating Austin!

Final note about yesterday. A guy in the locker room at the gym said hi to me. I thought that was illegal! But anyway, after mentioning how tired I was, he said something to me while I was putting on my shoes that was really encouraging and meant a lot:

"If it was easy, we'd all be doing it."

He was referring to working out, but I think it's highly applicable to other things in life, too. So let that be a reminder that if you're going through something that isn't so easy, you're a special kind of person for doing so. So keep at it. :)

Till next post!

P.S Pulled pork -> Throw apricot preserves, dijon mustard, soy sauce, chopped onions, and what the heck, chopped apples in too, and let it slow cook (I did 4 hours on the stove) Thanks Mom!

Wistful Wednesday

2011-08-31T23:10:00.000-05:00

So I'm going to tell you about my Wednesday. I don't have cooking stories. I don't have pictures. I don't have videos. In fact, it's probably really boring. But it was really important to me. I think God's showing up in my life more and more. So I'm gonna share. It's a lot of reading. Sorry! I hope you enjoy it or get something out of it.

I got up today, made breakfast, as usual. Didn't get gym clothes because I was going to a church function later after work instead of working out. Grabbed leftovers for lunch..wasn't even enough. Whatev's. It was one of those days where I forgot to put on my caring face. (A waiter here at Austin actually told my group that once after he screwed up our bill twice...lol)

So I got to work. Finally got some stuff submitted. But then I was stuck the majority of the day on this one thing I was trying to find. I was trying really hard not to give up and ask my mentor. I was trying really hard to be patient and find it myself. I was trying really hard to put it in perspective, and cut myself some slack. I was getting really fed up with feeling like an idiot.

Eventually, around 2pm, I realized I was going absolutely nowhere. I finally asked, and of course I was looking in entirely the wrong place. Then we had a meeting.

After the meeting, I went back to my cube to start actually working rather than searching, making some more progress for the day. Progress is always good. During this, I started to ponder. What am I doing here in Texas? What do I do these days? I'm either getting worked up about my own incompetence, fantasizing about how ninjas will ambush our office and we'll all pull out wands and swords and battle them, thinking about how much I miss my friends and family in Illinois, or daydreaming about Magic. I started thinking about what difference I could make in this world. I thought about all the money I could give away....but that's it. And I realized how little I could actually do with that. I just felt...useless.

After some more progress, I shared with my mentor some of it, and got some more direction. And I shared with him my frustrations a bit, and he affirmed my efforts, assuring me that at least the things I'm doing are actually helping him a bit. He didn't really have to say any of that. But he did. Not all engineers are socially inept without a sense of compassion. I think I'm rather blessed.

As the day drew to a close, I was anxious to leave right at 5, because our church group was going bowling tonight really far away at 7, and I was going to have to battle traffic. After battling the traffic just to get home, we get ready, and we leave just around 6. Just enough time to get there, I'd say.

On the way there, my car felt a little shaky. I felt like there were times it veered off a bit. Nothing major, but it didn't feel right. Then again, my car is old. I'm also paranoid ever since I was in that blowout two years ago.

As we head north on the highway, we finally hit the traffic jam, which was to be expected. It was moving though, which is doubleplusgood. By the time we start nearing 35th street, with still a while to go, BEEEEP.

"WHAT?!?" That's always my response when I don't know what's going on after someone beeps at me. I look to my right. There's a woman. She wants me to roll down my window. I fumble for the button while I'm still driving...there we go! Window rolls down...

"Your rear left tire is really low!!!"
"...Oh, my God, thank you so much, thanks so much!!"

I KNEW IT!!! AHH. Thank you Jesus for watching out for me. Thank you so much. Thanks so much for that woman. She rocks. I think since there's not a level surface in Austin, it makes sense that I didn't notice it earlier. Still, she'd only tell me that if it was really low. So, I decide that this is a high priority. I get off at the next exit at 35th street.

Now, I had only been on 35th street a little before. I was trying desperately to find a gas station...and there were hills and bumps EVERYWHERE. And no gas stations. Poor tire...hang on buddy! I take a random left at a light.

...frick...frick...FRICK so many houses! Come on, just one gas station. Wait...is that..it is! I pull in, and the nice gas station attendant confirms that the hose I see on the ground is indeed air. Success! I get my gauge out, check my front tires first. Good. Check my bad tire...wow, doesn't even get a reading. Ok, buddy, time to get air!

"G, turn the hose on when I plug it in."
(plug in, noises, switch, no noises, switch, noises)
"...it was already on."
"Oh ok. Let's just fill it up then..."
*30-45 seconds pass*
"K, let's get a reading..."
(take off hose)
PSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"...dear hobbits and halflings, why is it leaking so much air?"
(take reading anyway)
"...crap it's still leaking!"
"Maybe put the cap on?"
(take it off, put cap on)
"..why is it still leaking!? Come on! Here G, take the cap, try to do something. I'mma call my dad."
"..Dad? Hey." (tell story) "And now....crap....it's actually flat now. This isn't even drivable."
"...you're gonna have to change the tire. Do you have a spare in the back?"
"...YES. I didn't realize I'd ever have to actually use that thing."
"Yeah...well, this'll be a good experience for you."
"Heh..yeah, right. Well there goes bowling for tonight. Gotta get this fixed now...thanks Dad, bye."

Someone call the freakin' waaaambulance, cause' I was hungry, cranky, stressed, hot (not in the good way), and all sorts of pissy. We get the tire out, and thank you Lord again for G, because all of those tools came natural to him it seemed. Him and S also had a flat before. So he knew a few things. Long story short, it all gets fixed without a hitch. Took some time, but we did it! And we got so much XP, that we gained a level in Mechanic!

At that point, I just didn't feel like trying to reach out in my church group. It takes even me a lot of energy to try to get really into socializing with everyone there, and I just didn't have it at that point. So we decided to head home, and grab food on the way there. What's this....A Jack In The Box?? You don't say!
*swerve*

So G and I decide to get some fine dining, and grab Jack in the Box. It was really quiet there. Kind of nice. As we're there, I get the impression that maybe some of the people that are there don't actually have homes. But I'm not sure. I could just be insensitive. Nonetheless, I start thinking about stuff from earlier at work. What AM I doing here? Worried about fitting in a church, fretting over my stupid flat tire, chowing down on this burger...and then I realize, I've eaten practically every day of my life. I've had all sorts of good and bad habits. Working out, nail picking, video games, but eating is one of those things that I've just done everyday. And for some people, that's unfathomable. And here I am, worrying about my stupid crap. What am I contributing to anything? I can throw money at problems, but that can only do so much. It's not like I'm Steve Jobs or something.

Well...whatever. We wrap up. G gets another refill before we take off. We open the door, step out, and there's that guy that was in there earlier who wasn't talking. He has something written down on a piece of cardboard. I was so startled, I read it quickly. I didn't get the whole thing, but basically, he wanted food. Communicating with him was a little challenging, but he read lips real well.
"You want food?"
*nods*
"Uh..ok, what do you want?"
*Points at big sign on the window which says "The Really Big Chicken Sandwich Combo, $3.99"*
"You want that?"
*nods vigorously with a smile*
"Ok, just hold on."

So, he comes in and waits by the door while I order the food. It's a huge sandwich, and a ton of fries, and a drink, and it's not even 5 bucks? Crazy. While we wait, I ask him his name, where he's from, and stuff. He only mumbles a word once in a while. He mouths and signs the rest. I got: his name is Billy (I think), something about losing his house, he sleeps outside nearby, he's from California, he rows a boat somewhere, and that's about it. He then asked me to make sure it was in a bag, because he needed to...do something outside? I didn't get it. But yes, I reassured him, it's going to be all in a bag. I also got him his drink. He wanted Dr. Pepper, it seemed. Got it.

Foods ready. I grab it, give it to him.
"Alright...here you go. Well uh...I guess we're gonna head back home now, so you have a great night, ok?"
(signs and mouths "Thank you")

I then shook his hand, and then I saw it. He didn't just scamper off, away with his prize. He was really happy. Like, really happy. I saw it in his eyes. As I walked toward my car, I choked up a bit. I think that guy was happy to converse with me. And honestly...I was really happy to converse with him too.

As I mentioned before...I've been struggling to understand what purpose I have now that I'm out of college. In college, it was crazy. Meeting people left and right, watching people encounter loving community and mature in faith and going deeper with each other and with God. But now...it's been as if my presence here in Austin has had little impact at all. I just want to know that God has something in store for my life down here.

Honestly, this whole encounter wasn't that big of a deal. All I did was just ask some questions and spend less than $5. I did was most of you would probably have done. But I saw some light in some guy's eyes. And it was really touching. And I thank God that He let me be part of something that actually mattered to someone.

:)

Quarter-Year Mark!

2011-08-28T14:23:00.000-05:00

Hello there again! Thanks for coming to my 3 month anniversary of moving to Austin! It's kind of hard to believe. The weeks just fly by...

Before I begin, I just want to mention that I'm becoming more aware that people outside of my intended audience (friends and family back at home/school/etc) are actually reading this thing! If you are one of those people, to you, I say, Willkommen! (That's German for "Welcome") Feel free to contribute at any time!

I'm just going to write some little bits about things I think people might be interested in.

Work
It's hard. As one of my coworkers put it, new hires out of college have an "astronomical" amount to learn. Good to know that my lack of knowledge is normal. Still, it makes it difficult sometimes when I want to be as productive as everyone else. But the people are really cool, the material is really interesting, I'm seeing progress in myself, and my mentor is especially great. He's really patient with me, knows when to push me, and knows when to walk me through something. Overall, I think it's a good situation!

Master Pancake and the Bull Ride
So I made this post that talked about the Alamo Drafthouse and if you haven't seen it, check it out here.

Now let me tell you about Master Pancake. It's these three guys that do these comedy shows at the Drafthouse. They have a viewing of some movie or TV series and then they sit in the front row with microphones, cracking jokes and making hilarious commentary during it. They also do a skit in the middle of it, in which they dress in costumes. It is absolutely hilarious. A while back, I went to one that made fun of the Star Trek series (both the original series and The Next Generation), and last weekend, I went to one on the Breakfast Club. I hurt from laughing both times. If anyone plans on visiting me...let's try to coordinate it for one of their shows, because it's great.

After seeing MP last weekend with some church friends (thanks to my friend Janice for planning it!), we decided that, since we were already downtown, let's live it up a little! We decided to go to a country bar downtown. I could tell you all about it. Or, I'll just put this video here...

My First Cooking Experiment
This past week, I tried to experiment a little, with a little help over the phone from one of my best friends' mom, Mrs. P! The reason I wanted to try this was actually from an experience I had in France 4.5 years ago. We ate in a blind restaurant, where it was pitch black, all the servers were blind, and we weren't allowed to bring anything that emitted light in. I still don't even know what I had to this day, but it tasted like fish and pasta, and it was really good. Great start for experimenting.

So maybe...tilapia, this tomato alfredo sauce, some linguine, some sauteed mushrooms, some cracker crumbs....it'll be awesome, right?
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Actually...it kinda looked like vomit...

It wasn't horrible, actually. It's just the sauce was so heavy, it didn't click well with the very light fish. But I sort of liked the cracker crumbs, although G didn't like it as much. And the noodles were really thick, and I didn't cook them long enough. Some lessons learned, including sauteing mushrooms! If you have any more tips, feel free to contribute.

Missing School
Not this past Thursday, but the Thursday before was freshman move-in day back at Illinois. I've been missing home/school/friends/family for a while now, but dang. That was pretty hard that day. I don't think I've ever missed anything so intensely before. It was the first day in 4 years I wasn't moving into my dorm. I really miss it and the community there. I felt like I had a purpose from God there. Now, I feel like that's all in the past, and I'm currently struggling with my faith and my purpose here in Austin. I know there is one, so as Jamie, the Very Worst Missionary (one of my inspirations as of late) was also encouraged, I need to keep going. Even if it's hard at times. So, that's what I'll do, seeing what God has in store for Austin, and I hope you'll keep reading along!

Actually Arbitrating Around Austin (And Alliteration Always Amazes All)

2011-08-15T23:03:00.001-05:00

Ahoy Amigos! Ok, enough alliteration. That was killing me.

Wow, it's been exactly 3 weeks since my last post. And admittedly, until this weekend, life hasn't been super exciting down here. It hasn't been particularly boring, either. Just dry...very very dry. Haven't had time to cook much, either. Let's see...

2 weeks ago, I went with a bunch of coworkers to a local brewery tour! That was pretty cool, and FREE. That's right, free beer! And there was this big man with a cool German accent describing all the different beers to us. At the end, he was showing us around the place, and a bunch of people were taking video and pictures of him answering questions. I happened to be right behind him. I couldn't help myself.

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Best photobomb ever. I didn't even know those people.

Yeah so that basically sums up my past three weeks.

As for this past weekend, my friends Drew and Scott flew in and visited me this weekend! I'm so very blessed...I've only been here 10 weeks! And being only 10 weeks in, I was pretty surprised, because I was showing them around Austin, and I actually knew where I was going! This city may not have direction, but it has ME. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, Austin.

It was pretty ridiculous though, because right after Scott got in, we started to drive west from the airport into the city. About 3 minutes after we leave, we stop on this very busy road because of an unexpected obstacle...
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I mean, I like to drive my house all over roads too, especially so I can park it across 3-4 lanes of traffic, so I can understand.

But yeah, the weekend as a whole was real great. I got to show them around downtown, the capitol building, the University of Texas campus, some great places to eat, the Alamo Drafthouse, the bats...it was pretty cool. I got to show them a ton of other places from my blog, too! The deceptive Sam's Club without a Wal-Mart, the place where my car broke down right after dropping my dad off at the airport, and where I played Mutha' Effin' Bingo. And we played trivia!

Moral of the story: If you want to experience what's in this blog, come on down, and I'll show you 'round! (no pressure, hehe)

Oh, and Torchy's Tacos. It's a great restaurant that I took Scott to. I showed him the "Trailer Park" taco. It has fried chicken, pico de gallo, cheese, some crazy poblano sauce, lettuce, and green chilies. And guess what. You can "Get It Trashy." That's right. Your Trashy Trailer Park taco now comes with queso instead of the lettuce! Best. Taco. Ever. Hands down. Did I mention the RANCH they give you too?!

Hm. What else? Well...my roommate, S, moved out, as his internship is finished. So now it's just me and G! We're on the lookout for a TV and a couch now that we have more room....

So yeah, life is getting more and more normal. I kinda don't like it. It's weird, not being back at school in the dorms at this time of year. But heck, I really shouldn't complain. I'm still enjoying my time down here! Just wish you all were here with me...so thanks for coming again and reading! Hope all is well with you!

American, Korean(sorta), and Italian Adventures

2011-07-25T21:41:00.002-05:00

Thanks for reading again with me, I hope you continue to read!

So my friend Thomas came and visited me this weekend! He's my first visitor! It was great having him here and catching up with him. He got to tag along to almost all of the following events. Just remember, like Thomas, YOU can be a part of the adventures down here too....*nudge*

An American Adventure at the Alamo...and Amazing Alliteration

On Saturday night, a bunch of us went to go see Captain America. I liked it a lot, but what was really cool was the theater. It's called the Alamo Drafthouse. I've never seen a place like this in Illinois; they serve food and drinks to you during the movie! It can be mildly distracting, but they do a good job of staying out of the way and being quiet. They had all kinds of stuff, from pizza, burgers, and chicken to beer, cocktails, wine, and pop. This is kind of what it looked like:

It was pretty legit. Also, they have a strict no-talking policy. Danny DeVito himself told us so. Click here to see what I mean. Seriously. Watch it.

The Korean Karaoke

Have you ever felt like only Madonna knows how you feel and you just need to belt out one of her tunes? Or maybe you feel like Bon Jovi gets you and you just need to scream "Livin' on a Prayer"? Well, I think we did. After the movie and dinner, we decided we really needed to sing our hearts out.

We traveled to the north part of Austin and found this Korean Karaoke place. We went into this enclosed room, and there was this big TV, sound system, and big book of songs. When I noticed everything was in Korean, I started to freak out. "I don't know Korean. How will I sing the Hall and Oates that my heart yearns to proclaim?" But, the sound system was well designed, with the green button meaning "Select" and the red button meaning "Cancel." Whew. Also, we found a huge section of American songs in the book. So it worked out.

Let me tell you, Karaoke in an enclosed room with friends is hilarious. Especially when you've got tambourines. And access to Gangsters Paradise. I never realized how much of that song I actually knew. The whole is experience is the most ridiculous thing ever.

Everyday Italian, with Giada De Laurentiis

And we close with a cooking adventure! Before I went shopping, I thought, "Hey, my mom used to watch that one pretty Italian lady on Food Network. Giada De Laurentiis! Maybe she knows awesome cooking recipes!" So I looked her up, and she had a ton of stuff, with difficulty ratings included. It was then I decided it was time. I must try an "intermediate" recipe...

Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs.

Ok, so maybe I'm being dramatic about it. But it was hard, ok? I don't even know what freakin' Orecchiette is. So I said, "What, EVER," and I used tortellini instead. If you read the recipe, you'll know it's not entirely straightforward. My roommate G was really crucial in helping. I did lots of preparing. I chopped my own fresh herbs, grated my own fresh Romano cheese, and took all this chicken mash and mixed it with a bunch of crap (ketchup too!)

Eventually, I had to pseudo-braise/fry/sear/sauté the meatballs in the pan with olive oil. G started to put them in while I was looking away.

"Yeeeeeeeagggggh!!"
"Wha, what?"
"It's burning, yeeeagggh!"
"Wha, FRICK......FFF...FFUDGE INA...BUCKET!!"

The olive oil was furious, and lashed out at us in little tiny blazing droplets of "F-U-CHEF". We didn't know what to do. I turned down the heat, and I was freaking out, wishing I had one of those meshy splatter screens. But then I nobly took up my protector, and all was not lost....
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Steve Rodgers lent me a little something to help in times of need.

Jealous?

In awe?

Decieved by my photoshop skills?

Thought so.

Anyway, it was REALLY good. By far the best thing I've made. And the toughest. But it was totally worth it...plus leftovers!

Well, thanks for reading. Leave a comment! Let me know you stopped by! And if you have any favorite recipes you suggest for me to try next, post those too! Maybe I'll try it, and I'll post my results here!

Post ALL THE THINGS!!!

2011-07-16T11:56:00.000-05:00

(The title is a reference to Hyperbole and a Half once again)

Hello there, thanks for coming back! I know it's been a while; I've been traveling, getting lazy, getting busy, and all other sorts of stuff.

Alright, so last post, we were talking about "tubing". It's not that big of a deal I guess, and a few of you got it right. But I think a lot of you will understand exactly where I'm coming from here.

So people are like, "Hey Brandon, tubing this weekend?" My mind instantly floods with the possibilities....

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Yeah, um, I don't wanna do that...but then I thought, "Wait, this is TEXAS." My mind fills once again....
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The horror of just such a thought was enough for me. I politely replied to my friends, "Um...yeah, I'll pass, I'm not really a huge thrill seeker."

"What?"

"Yeah, I don't like thrill things like that, it just kinda stresses me out."

"...uh...alright?"

Later, I find out this is what they mean by "tubing":

An excuse to drink gratuitous amounts of beer.

Apparently, I can't handle the excitement of floating down a river with friends, chatting and having refreshments. Who knew? Maybe I'll muster up the courage someday.

Now that we cleared that up, back to the rest of life. Since so much actually happens in life, I can generally only post very little of what goes on, and I try to post the more relevant/exciting/interesting parts of my life here in Austin. But so much has happened, I feel like I have to just spam it all at once, so...let's try this....

Cooking Casseroles, Shopping in a Toys 'R Us Like an Adult, Delicious Food + Cupcakes = Taboo, Mini-golf, Trivia Night, Meeting an IV'er at the Magic the Gathering Tournament, Just Love the Downtown Scavenger Hunt, Wedding Weekend in Champaign, Friday Night Karaoke at Best Buy, and the First Car Accident That Wasn't My Fault!!!

You understood...part of that....right? Well, I wanted to give you a glimpse of how much is going down here, and I'm not just spending every night at my computer, wallowing in my sorrow as I miss people from home. That's what Thursday nights are for.

I'm almost saved up for a camera, so I can start really sharing some photos of what this place is like. I'm really excited! However, I did take some pictures with my phone at the scavenger hunt...and I must say, I'm pretty proud of my little camera phone, it takes decent pictures! Make sure to click to see them bigger!

The scavenger hunt in downtown Austin was with my church. There's this "series" of sorts, called Just Love, and this was the first week of it. It was pretty fun, and we even met a guy from South Africa to take all of our pictures for us! It was pretty cool. The items on the hunt list that we got above are...

Picture with a non-team member with a sports logo. I'm doing the "Hook 'em horns" sign!
Picture with whole team with state capital in the background. Definitely click that one...this guy absolutely wanted to be in our picture for absolutely no reason...it was awesome.
Picture with whole team doing the YMCA on a stage. Thanks Friends!
Picture with whole team pointing to evidence of wind. Thanks Texas Flag!
Picture with whole team in elevator. Since it was late, all those super plaza places were closed. But we found a Radisson hotel!
Picture with a team member with a funny sign. Austin, you're so funny, with your signs and stuff.

Well....this took entirely too long to prepare. Hope you guys enjoy reading about my life. Till next time! Miss y'all! Leave comments and such!

Small Group, Girl Talk, and ...Tubing?

2011-06-26T14:47:00.001-05:00

Hello! Have you had a good week? I know I did! Read about it...and at the end, there's a game for everyone to play!!

So, I went to my first small group Wednesday! It was in this real big house, and there must have been like 40 people in it. It was crazy! The small group is a focus group for singles, and there were people there of all ages, 20's, 30's, 40's, and maybe more, I don't even know! And everyone was really friendly and stuff, and we broke out into small groups of about 8. I really liked it; some really legit genuine people. And then afterwards, we went for burgers/ice cream/beer/wine/whatever at this place nearby. They really do a lot of stuff together; I can't wait to get to know them more!

Last night, I went to a Girl Talk concert! It was my second time seeing him in concert, the first being at Illinois. The dude is a mashup artist, which basically means he just rips bits of songs together and overlays/mashes/mixes them together. It's really cool to hear live, and basically the concert turns into a massive dance party. And that felt good, 'cause I just had some moves that needs bustin' out. So, if you get a chance to see Girl Talk, do it. And prepare to get sweaty.

Well, I don't have any funny stories, really. More like semi-interesting bullet points, really:

I was making my own pasta sauce, and I didn't have any sugar. I used Tang instead. It was awesome.
I saw a dude in the grocery store without a shirt on. No one cared.
I was making pancakes, and I didn't have any milk. I used heavy cream instead. It was awesome.
While on the road in New Braunfels, I saw, on the side of the road, a dude peeing on a 2 ft. wall of the Girl Talk venue. No one cared.
My ears keep popping on the roads. What the crap?

Well, that's about it. I can't wait to get my own camera so I can start picture documenting my life down here! And now, for the game!

The Game
Don't look it up. Don't look at other comments before you do this. Now, answer this question in the comment you leave, which I hope you will! And feel free to make any other comments as you like.

Question: If your friends told you that they were going "tubing" this weekend, what would that mean to you?

Second Week Finished!

2011-06-19T22:58:00.001-05:00

So, it turns out life isn't always going to be exciting as the first week. Who knew? Therefore, I'll probably be posting less. Like once a week. Who knows?

But yeah, I don't really know what to say...Austin is still pretty weird. I guess I'll throw down some bullet points of stuff that's been going on.

I played at a trivia night last Saturday with some coworkers. My knowledge of Monopoly = a free beer! (It was luck, actually...)
I'm learning even more at work! I'm starting to understand all the jargon even more now!
I played "Mutha' Effin' Bingo" at a bar on a Tuesday night. Yes, bingo, in a bar, Tuesday night. It was packed. I even tweeted about it.
I went to a small town called Lockhart, Texas. It felt like a ghost town. But it was really calm, interesting really. And I had BBQ.

In the Men's bathroom (which was really clean btw) there was a sign that informed me of the risks of alcohol consumption with pregnancy. I now know that I shouldn't get pregnant. Dang it.

I went swimming a bunch.
My friend is in for the week, and I saw her today!!! It was awesome. I don't see many people from my old dorm anymore...
I went to church again!

I stayed for both services, and I just randomly started helping out with stuff, like greeting and ushering. It was awesome!
I'm hopefully going to my first small group this week!
I got to know people more! Like real sharing! It's like IV! AHH!! God is definitely doing something cool there.

I made an official budget. I'm an ADULT!!!
I miss people a ton. I've been on the phone for over 2 hours the past 2 days.
I made mashed potatoes! Cooking Central advised a half stick of butter. It tasted delicious. Go figure.
I made casserole!!! Look:

It was super tasty.

Yeah...my life is turning into the typical I'm-on-my-own-and-I-miss-all-my-friends-from-home-and-I-miss-my-parents-doing-everything-for-me. *sigh* It's funny, I'm working on a new playlist that I listen to at work. You can see it here if you're interested, but some of my recently added songs...well let's just say they're oddly correlated. I swear I haven't been putting them there with that in mind. In fact, as I was writing this, I was looking at the list, I was just like...stop talking about my life!!!!

Here are some of the titles, no joke:

Out of Touch
Come Home
Breaking Ties
Lonely Girl
Land of Confusion
Miles Away

So in conclusion, I'm a Lonely Girl who's Out of Touch and Breaking Ties with her friends, Miles Away in a Land of Confusion, wanting to Come Home. Thanks, Madonna.

Seriously though...although my life here in Austin is actually developing really well, I really miss people from home, U of I, IVLI...it's hard. But God's got a plan. Look at what's happened so far! How can you not believe it? It means a lot to me that you're reading this...I feel like I've got you guys with me! Will you keep coming with me?

Much love!

Church!

2011-06-13T20:08:00.000-05:00

Note: I put links in my posts so you can get more information on what I'm doing! Sometimes, they even link to videos! So if you see text highlighted in orange, click it! It'll be fun!

So on Sunday, I finally went to that church I've been babbling about...Gateway Church! I drove down the Whizzer (see my post, Questing in Austin) to get there, but I arrived about 25 minutes early. My mom always taught me that you always need to arrive 3 hours early if you ever want to be on time, and my dad always taught me that you can leave an hour later than you need and everything works out. Seeing as parents are never wrong, I think I turned out OK with being 25 minutes. (Love you Mom and Dad! :D )

Anyway, I walked up to the courtyard between the auditorium and the school (it's held at a middle school), and there were some people around in little groups. I was going to approach the people on my right, but they seemed as if they were in an intense conversation, so I swerved left to avoid social awkwardness. I approached two women, and then I met them!

They both seemed really genuine and happy to meet me! And the one women, Karin (she's from Naperville!...I think), started to connect me to all the other people in the courtyard! I was meeting people left and right, telling them how I just moved to Austin. I could tell that these people were a community touched by the love of Jesus. Sure, that may sound corny to some, but seriously, I could tell that there was a love there that was really genuine and intimate. I was so emotional the whole time, I was so happy.

Honestly, a lot of the people I met...they were different. These weren't normal church goers who were just going to church like it was on their tasklist. They wanted to be there. They were all ages, all different kinds of lives. Some people dressed nicely, some didn't seem to dress as nice (not slobbish, just more casual)....it was just diverse. It reminded me of the kind of people that Jesus loves...everyone! It wasn't like these are "church people."

Here's what they're pamphlet says:
"Gateway is a COME AS YOU ARE kind of church. You don't have to dress up. We don't care who you voted for in the last election. And please don't feel the need to pretend about anything. Gateway church is a place where God meets seeking people who are far from perfect. That means everyone is welcome, no matter where you are on your spiritual journey."

This is EXACTLY the kind of thing that gets me stoked. That love that Jesus was talking about that includes prostitutes, tax collectors, fishermen...and now today, liberals, conservatives, whites, blacks, women, men, children, drunkards, people who text in movies, the elderly, LGBTQ people, smokers, sex addicts, nuns, sports fans, illegal immigrants, punk rockers, white collar businessmen, atheists, volunteers, corrupt politicians, WoW players, bad drivers, high school teachers, gossipers...the list goes on.

I can't wait to get involved...I think this is where God wants me. But what will it look like? I can't wait to find out. Will you find out with me? I hope so :)

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I needed to post this, as it's been really important to me. Thanks for reading if you actually got this far! It means a lot that you care. Please leave a note, even to just let me know you're reading!

P.P.S I've a headset with a microphone now...if you want to Skype chat sometime, let me know!

Food and Friday Night

2011-06-11T14:48:00.000-05:00

Hello! So it's Saturday, which means I survived my first week in Austin and at work! I finished 2 training exercises at work, and I'm learning more and more everyday. I think I'll get the hang of it soon.

So, first thing I want to share about is what way too many blogs already talk about: food. The following pictures were taken by my roommate and cooking partner, G.

Major Dish 1: Pasta
Last Sunday, we made our first dish, pasta! I made my own sauce and everything! The sauce was bland, but it was pasta nonetheless. And the garlic bread was mighty fine!

There's me cooking and my mom's on the phone.

See, my Cooking skill is only like Level 3. So I need a mentor, my mother, to help me through it and level up more. It's actually really funny when I call her. It usually goes something like this:
-call to Mom-
"Cooking Central!!!!!" (she's more excited than a kid when he hears an ice cream truck)
"Hi Mom. How high should I have the heat for the sauce?"
"Put it on low heat, let it simmer, stir it once in a while!"
"Ok, thanks, call you back."
"Ok, let me know how it comes out!!11!11!!one!!!"
-click-
-5 minutes pass-
-call to Mom-
"Cooking Central, with love and kisses from Mom!" (she absolutely loves that her son calls her incessantly for cooking help)
"Hi Mom...I accidentally melted the butter for the garlic bread."
"That's ok sweetie, just spread it on there real well!"
"Alright, I'll try, thanks Mom."
"Ok, call me back and let me know how it tastes!!!!!"
-click-

Sometimes it goes on for a few more calls, but for brevity's sake, that's the gist of it.

Look, I have a cutting board and fresh basil. I'm like Emeril Lagasse. Bam!


The finished product.

Major Dish 2: Blackened Chicken
On Monday, G saw a recipe for blackened chicken. He took charge of this operation, and I assisted with making potatoes. G did a wonderful job with the spices. The chicken was super flavorful. My potatoes were once again bland, but they weren't horrible. Cooking Central suggested I just put 3 sticks of butter in the skillet and fry 'em up, but I like my heart, so I just boiled them. (Sorry Mom :D )

Tell me that doesn't look delicious.

Finished Product. That's not butter on the right, btw. Can you believe it?

Major Dish 3: Parmesan Tilapia
We had so much food, we didn't have to cook on Tuesday! So on Wednesday, G and I tried our hand at tilapia. We broiled it and put on this mayo/parmesan/butter/deliciousness coating on top of it. The coating was supposed to brown, but I don't think it was close enough to the broiler. Still, very tasty, and many leftovers for Thursday!

Tasty, eh?

So yeah, that's been some of our food adventures. I also made pancakes this morning. But that was easy. Anyway...

Friday Night
Friday night was out night! The roommates, some co-ops at my company, and I went to this trailer park eatery to eat (it was pretty tasty), and then we went to this bridge across the lake downtown to "see the bats." At first, I was like "Wtf, bats?" But then as we went on the bridge, we saw tons of people...and then...the bats! <<< Click the link for the video I took. The quality is awful, as I took it with my phone, but you can see the STREAM of bats! It was so cool! They were so close, I was kinda getting freaked out. Click here for another video that explains more about these bats. The quality is much better, too.

We also saw a guy on the lake fly a kite while watching the bats. It was pretty cool, and after a while, he even got the kite to go within touching distance from us! It was all colorful, spinning, and had flashing lights. I was so excited, I felt like I was 7 again. I'll draw a diagram, cause I want you to know how much this guy was super good at controlling this kite.

So yeah, that was pretty cool. In the interest of brevity, I'll just sum up the rest of my Friday night with some bullet points:

Went into the city, absolutely packed, streets shut down, huge motorcycle fest.
Went into a bar, live blues music! Pretty neat.
Ran into a friend from U of I!!! What are the chances!?
Chilled out at my place and played some games.

Well, I just wanted to share my first Friday night, it was kinda cool and weird, just like Austin! Now to keep on keepin' on...being an adult an' stuff...

Work

2011-06-07T22:38:00.000-05:00

So, as you know, I started work yesterday. ...I don't have too much to tell really, but I'll do what I can.

We had orientation; that was cool. I got to see all about our vision, mission, values, and how our company is really awesome. After a 2-3 hour orientation, I was introduced to my cubicle. And dude, I got my name on it! It's a piece of plastic, but it was a custom-made piece of plastic! It's really cool, no sarcasm! I get two computer screens along with a phone (also with my name on it), 2 chairs (one for a colleague or supervisor), and a whiteboard! It's all very professional and rather quiet, yet kinda laid back and sociable. I like it!

As for what I'm doing exactly....so far, just reading. Sorry, it's just not that exciting. However...it's story time. The following illustrations are for Andy, who inspires me to the brink of plagiarism and to draw illustrations just like in Hyperbole and a Half. (Love you Andy, <3 ) No originality points for me today...

So today was day 2, and I decided to bring some things to my cubicle. I brought my Jeopardy! calendar, my Bible, some school notes, and my headphones, so I could get motivated! I started reading my book right after I hooked up to some sweet tunes on the Internet.

I'm the blue guy.

And man, I was flying! I was really understanding the material, and I was proud of myself. And my tunes started nice and slow for the morning: beautiful piano music that really helped me focus. But after about maybe 30 or 40 minutes, I needed a kick. So I threw on a different playlist that was much more upbeat (techno). But something was wrong...

Whoa, they scared me! I had no idea they were there! I wonder what they want? I should probably take my headphones off...

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Apparently, my computer tower speakers don't disable when I plug in headphones. Thus, everyone within 3 cubicles of me heard my blaring techno. In other words, it was 9:30am, and I forgot to invite everyone to the techno dance party I had in my cubicle. I was so embarrassed...it's day 2 and look, I'm starting trouble! But they were real nice about it. And in hindsight, it could have been a lot worse. Just imagine if I was listening to Madonna...or K-Pop....hey, it happens. Don't judge.

So anyway, that's another update. I really appreciate everyone reading and leaving comments, btw. It was really touching, no joke. Please keep doing it if you have the time.

Stay tuned for more on cooking adventures and whatever else may befall me!

7 Minutes Being on My Own

2011-06-05T23:53:00.001-05:00

First of all, I just want to acknowledge that yeah, I write a lot like Hyperbole and a Half and Jamie the Very Worst Missionary....but they're funny, illustrated, and awesome, and I aspire to write about significant things in a humorous way. Supposedly it's working....but that being said, these things are actually happening in my life!

Anyway, so my dad's flight was this morning, and I had to take him to the airport. Oh no, driving by myself in Austin on the way back home? Well after these past mishaps, I think I got it. And mostly, I did! I was mastering those frontage roads like no other! After I dropped my dad off, I realized it finally...I'm on my own. Memories of my mom, dad, brother, and friends started to flood in, and they seemed to kind of drift away, as if I was saying goodbye more than I ever have. I stayed strong for a bit, but as I was driving away, I started to choke up a bit, missing everyone back home. But I knew everything was going to be good, God's always got my back! I really felt Him today as I was gathering myself, trying to figure out how to even get home. It was really awesome.

Have I ever told you my life is ridiculous? If you don't believe me, I strongly urge you to read on.

"Ok, I can do this," I tell myself. Still really emotional, I realize that although I'm probably going 40 mph, my speedometer says I'm going 0 mph. In fact, my whole dashboard is lit up, and my blinkers aren't working. At this point, it's 7:30am, and I'm a freaking tired, emotional, and horrible-at-driving hot mess. So I got an idea:

PULL OVER, YOU TWIT.

I got off at the nearest exit, some foreign street I've never heard of, and look, a Shell gas station! That should solve all my problems!

Ok, get in the right lane.

Ok, slow down so I can turn in.

Slowing, turning...

Wait...I'm slowing more...and not braking....why is my steering wheel locking?!

...rolling....and dead.

7 minutes of being a full-fledged-no-parents-around-driving-by-myself adult and my car freaking dies.

I must say though, being right in the middle of the entrance to the Shell, I was quite safe from traffic and people could get around me quite easily. As I said earlier, the Lord was with me all the way!

Nonetheless, I've never experienced a breakdown before, and I'm clueless. I call my dad, and of course, he's boarding. He basically can't help me...poor guy wanted to badly though (thanks Dad!) And I don't even think I've the money for a tow truck at this point, let alone the phone number for one. Well, gas station attendants are well-weathered wise sages, right? Maybe he can help me.

So I stumble into the nicely air-conditioned gas station, and of course, at 8 am on a Sunday, there's a line. No worries, I'm not going anywhere. Besides, the woman in front of me had very important business to attend to (paraphrased):

"I have this lottery ticket, I think I won like $4 or something."
"You actually won $12."
"I won WHAT? TWELVE DOLLARS?!"
"Yes ma'am."
"OOOOOOH MAHH GAWWWWWW I WOOON TWELVE DOLLARS!!!!!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIIIIIS!!!!! Oooh let's see here (looking at the other lottery tickets) give me a few of those, and some of those..."
"Ok, here you are...have a nice day."
(She starts to leave and yells the second she opens the door, because this twelve dollars cannot wait)
"HEEEEEY GUUUUUURRRLL!!!!!!!! I WON TWELVE DOLLAAAARRRRS!!!! OHHH MAAAAAAAAHH GAAWWWW!!"

It's not like this took a long time or anything. Honestly, I was rather happy for the woman; I just found it wildly ironic in my situation that this all was occurring on a Sunday morning while I had my first breakdown, you know? But moving on...yeah, the gas station attendant didn't know a single thing to help me. Come on, can't I get a break?

Who to call? 911? No, I shouldn't. Hm...well. Mom? That would go well...maybe something like this?

"Mom? I'm stranded, can you get me a tow truck number?"
"MY BABY NEEDS ME?!!? HOLD ON I'M ON MY WAY TO THE AIRPORT!!!"

...
...
...
Yeah, no. Sorry Mom, I love you, but I know better than to put you through that.
(She's not that crazy, btw...I just like to tease her :) )

I know, I'll call my brother! Of course I woke him up, but my plight is far more serious at this point. Still emotional from the fact that I'm on my own now, I miss everyone, and I can feel the love of God in this moment, my voice quivers and trembles as I tell my brother my situation. But my brother is awesome, doesn't point out that I really just want to have a good man cry, and he calls my dad to calm him down and he gets me a tow truck. And pays for it. I'm just gonna say my brother is awesome.

So after a whole other hour of chilling (or rather, baking) at the gas station, the car finally got towed. I got home, called my brother, and thanked him tremendously. But then our conversation took a rather interesting turn:

"Dude, I can't believe that happened to you, that's hysterical."
"I know, seven minutes after I drop dad off, my life just starts to fall apart."
"Oh man, mom's gonna absolutely freak."
"I know right, I can't wait to tell her. She's gonna freak so bad."
"Dude, you're so lucky that you get see her reaction, it's gonna be awesome."
"I know, you're so jealous, right?"
"I am...and I'm going to steal it from you."
"No you're not *click*"

That's right. My brother and I raced to call my mother to tell her the dreary news of her baby getting stranded in the middle of hot Austin, Texas. Which number should I call? The cell? The house? She never answers her cell...I chose the house number...*ring*.....*ring*....busy!?! Crap. My brother got to her first. Supposedly though, he was giggling so hard when she answered, she knew better that everything was alright.

So yeah, my adventures keep rolling on in Austin! And that was just the first few hours of my day! I'd write more, but I don't want to bore you, so I'll give some bullet points:

Went to church, lunch, and grocery shopping, with my roommate, G!
Cooked pasta and garlic bread with G!
Saw X-Men: First Class for the second time with my roommates, S and G!

And now....my first day of work is tomorrow! And I'm freakin' tired. So...thanks for reading, hope all is well with you! Will get pictures up eventually!

Questing in Austin

2011-06-04T01:45:00.000-05:00

My first full day in Austin! My dad and I looked at our list, and drove out boldly into the city for much shopping, errands, and whatnot. I took the wheel this time, as I wanted to get a feel for my new city. We had a few quests on our list:

The Quest for Sustenance
The Quest for Sweet Slumber
The Quest for Everything Else : Finding the Market of Wal

The Quest for Sustenance
Always pick the easiest quests first. I drove around blindly until I found something to eat. I quickly found a pizza place, but I discovered they did not sell by the slice...but I pressed on, and I located a Koofck (KFC) nearby, and I completed my quest!

The Quest for Sweet Slumber
This quest was also fairly simple, except that the purchase was much more of a long term investment. Luckily, my father is seasoned in the area of slumber. I located the nearest mattress store, and my father proved to be an excellent advisor as to which mattress I should purchase. I laid on a number of beds, and finally, the bed that was for me was found. There shall be comfort and merriment, now that my bed will be delivered tomorrow!

The Quest for Everything Else: Finding the Market of Wal
You'd think finding the nearest WalMart in the capital of Texas would be easy, especially with a GPS. I'm behind the wheel once again, and we plug into our trusty GPS: "Walmart". It's so close by....I can almost smell the greeters and underpriced goods. We venture towards down this road and...wait....am I getting on the highway? No...wait, yes...no, wait...what?

Frontage roads. They're roads parallel to highways that give you access to surrounding area. See:

And with me driving, learning about these "frontage roads" on the fly is quite a riveting experience, trust me.

We arrive at our "destination", and we find a Sam's Club. But where there's a Sam's Club, there's a Walmart, right?

WRONG

Alas, our guide, the GPS, led us astray, being aged in years, and was wrong. It had been a Wal-Mart at one point, but was now a Sam's Club. We discovered that we needed to follow...verbal directions...to the Wal-Mart. At this point, I made my Dad drive. I was too flustered to navigate the winding, hilly roads of Austin.

Oh that's right. People think that Texas, like Illinois, is flat. You should come down to Austin sometime...there's hills and winding roads everywhere. You feel like you're on the Whizzer (basically the lamest roller coaster ever, but still a roller coaster) going around town. It's absolutely exhilarating.

So the quest continues as we brave the frontage roads and try to figure out where we're going. At one point, we inadvertently did a U-turn and got on a highway. Figure that one out. We found that our verbal directions had failed us, and we stopped to get more verbal directions at a near gas station. It seems clear at this point, and after some maneuvers, we finally arrive!

And BOY did we shop. Furniture, chairs, silverware (I was really excited about the silverware), pots and pans, and so much more! As we move to check out everything, things went awry. Scan the printer..."no not that barcode, this one....no? try the other one...no? try....try...." It took 6 minutes to get the freakin' thing scanned.

But that's only a little time. Now we're paying, Dad's got it covered...wait...it won't work? Long story short, buying a mattress in Austin looks pretty suspicious to banks and such when you're from Chicago, and they start denying your purchases. Well it's pretty dang secure, thanks banks! I decided to go to the in-store McDonalds and have another meal while my dad called his bank and stuff. Another 30 minutes later...and FINALLY we get to leave, paid in full!

As we start to head back to my apartment, we find the first road we need to take.

"Brandon, which way, left or right?"
"Right, I'm pretty sure." (Wrong)
"Wait which direction is that?"
"I dunno."
"You need a compass."
"I don't...wait...that's not even going to help."

Although my driving isn't the best, my sense of direction is pretty good. I was getting really good back in Chicago, navigating my way around the suburbs. But let me show you something:

I like Chicago. Chicago makes sense. Austin, in case you haven't heard, is weird:

You can't have a sense of direction when they don't actually exist! I mean, I guess they still form right angles, unlike Paris:

And besides, Parisians take the Metro everywhere! Not fair.

Ah well...the quest was finally completed, after having to make some more U-turns and whatnots, and we finally made it back home.

Thanks for reading about my time starting here...if you're reading this, I probably miss you a lot. So give me some feedback! And I'm gonna make another post soon I hope!

I'm in.

2011-06-03T10:38:00.000-05:00

After lots of driving, my dad and I finally got in last night! And dang, this is a nice place! Well...I have a lot of errands to run today....utilities, bills, banks, mail, shopping....I'm a real adult now!

Almost Ready

2011-05-29T19:51:00.000-05:00

For the past few months, people have been asking me, "Brandon, are you ready for the move yet?" Sometimes, they meant logistically, as in, "Do you have a place to live yet?" So I would generally respond positively, because I really have been ready to go since I found that place. Most times however, they meant emotionally, to which my reply has been a simple H-naw! I haven't been ready at all! I have so many friends and family here in Chicagoland....how could I ever be ready for that!

Yesterday, I had a huge goodbye party at my house. Admittedly, I was a little stressed about it at first, because it started to rain, and we all had to stay in the garage, lest my house become a mud filled cave suitable for no one to live...except like, Gollum. We weren't prepared on time, and I had a lot of work I had to do. And I had to have a lot of patience, because it's been running thin lately, with my emotions running high.

This is where I'd like to thank the Lord. My dad and I prayed in the car before we left to run errands for the party. Particularly, I prayed for patience. And dang. The Lord provided, because I didn't turn into a diva (see here) when my dad told me to sweep the deck and do other things I deemed useless. Thanks to dad for putting up with me, and thanks to the Lord for patience!

So we had the party. And it was awesome. It rained a whole bunch, but people still came! FORTY-ONE OF THEM. Seriously, watch me entertain and be an awesome host:

Look, I'm the life of the party. And a bro. See the jersey?

Watch me spread the joy!


Broski's to my left.

Broski's back over here.

My friends are absolutely insane. And I love them. We had a notebook for people to sign and leave notes, we played games, did the reverse rain dance, ate tons of awesome food, took pictures, and crammed into that little space known as my garage. And it was awesome.

I said goodbye a lot, too.

It hurt a lot, knowing that I wasn't going to see a lot of these people very much after yesterday. I'm going to miss them fiercely. But the party also brought me some closure, and I feel a lot more peace about leaving now. I know I've got a little more packing and errands to do, but you know what, I think I'm almost ready to go...almost! And I better be...I leave in 3 days!

I'm countin' down the days...

2011-05-23T09:59:00.000-05:00

Alright, so this blog took a bit of a hiatus, because frankly, not a whole lot has been really happening in terms of my move to Austin. Not a whole lot...that is. I did find a place in Austin with 2 other guys working at the same company, though! We shall call them S and G for now, to respect their anonymity. But yeah, we found a great deal, and it should be a great time! It's a temporary situation, since they're only doing internships, but I think it will be a good transitioning situation for me.

But yeah, some other stuff has been going on. Like me graduating. That's kind of a big deal. What, you want proof or something? Fine, jeez:

My mom took this awesome photo of me :D

Boom. I graduated. I'm just another BS kind of guy. Woohoo!
In case you didn't know, that was a joke. BS = Bulls*** or BS = Bachelor's of Science. Being a graduate means I get to make smart jokes now.

Anyway, I just got back from CFW (Chapter Focus Week) with Intervarsity, where I studied the first half of the book of Mark (intense), and now I'm back home for about 9 days. And then I gotta go...dang it.

It's been getting pretty emotional for me, seeing as I'm leaving all my current friends and family indefinitely. I've had some good crying, honestly (and hey...Jesus cried too!) But if I learned anything about Jesus from that book of Mark, it is that I need not be afraid. And if I learned anything from the book of Exodus this semester, it is that God is with us! And He goes before us...which means I won't be alone! It's going to be quite the adventure, I think, and I'm excited for it!

Anyway, expect more activity here now, because my departure is imminent! I can't wait to share more of my journey with you all, as I expect it to be exciting, frustrating, hilarious, and much more! As the wonderful picture that my dad gave me says...

"The Joy is in the Journey"

Thanks for reading!

Quest Accepted: Find a New Pad

2011-03-28T07:54:00.000-05:00

Over the past few days since I started this blog, I've started my quest to search for a place to live in Austin (while enjoying the rest of my Spring Break, of course). I've sent some e-mails and browsed some sites, but I'm not sure exactly where to live yet.

I've lived in the same dorm for all four years here at college for a number of reasons. Although I definitely don't regret it at all, it has left me with a need for some experience with apartment hunting. Here are some things I've learned:

Having enough space -> higher rent
Signing convenient length leases -> higher rent
Moving in when is best for you -> higher rent
On Craigslist, 420 = cannabis

It's a slow process. But at least I can better avoid potheads if I'm looking for a roommate on Craigslist. Awesome.

I'll make another post when I make some more progress. If you have any tips in the meantime, please share!

Allow me to introduce myself...

2011-03-23T02:27:00.001-05:00

My name is Brandon. Pleased to meet you! I'd love to get to know you, so if I don't know you already, please send me an email telling me a bit about yourself! And if you are reading this, please comment with some feedback so I know how I'm doing, as this is my first real attempt at a blog.

As for me, I'll give a quick overview. I'm a Christian/Nerd/Gamer/Techno-freak. ~~And I'm 22, as of today.~~ And currently, I'm 22 years old!
I'm just finishing up my Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering, and I have a job lined up for me now after graduation. In June, I'll be moving from my home here in Illinois to Austin, Texas. Since I'm not going to really know anyone there, this will be a big adjustment for me, but I think it will be an adventure, and I want to share that with friends and family back at home, friends I meet in Austin, and anyone else that wants to listen to my boring stories...I hope not too boring...

Anyway, as I prepare to leave, I'll be making posts on my thoughts and plans. Feedback will be appreciated. Peace for now!