i'm being calvinized

Hey Everyone (Digs and Susan)that have been begging me for a new entry. It's going to be short and sweet, kinda like me.
Um, I'm here at Calvin visiting Britton again before we head back to PA. We are visiting Britt because he broke his collarbone on Thursday. Guess how? Playing ultimate frisbee. Oh, he's so hardcore!
We're headed back to PA tomorrow.
Peace out cub scouts.

helping Father Mark with his interior design needs

Yesterday my mom received a phone call from Fr. Mark. He explained to her that he is in the process of remodeling his attic, and transforming it into a bedroom for he and his wife, Cindy. He asked my mom and I to come over sometime today to assist him in selecting the paint color placement.
Monday apres lunch we ran over to Fr. Mark's. Fist of all, I was amazed by the transformation. Words can not do it justice. He essentially transformed a dirty basement into a "Tuscan inspired Loft". It is sweet, I want to move in! There are alot of angles, and the ceilings are angled down. His color palette is a creamy off white(upper half of the walls, and bathroom, and hallway ), a evergreen (bottom half of a few walls), and a creamy brick coral(chair rail, and trim). He sanded the black wood floor, and uncovered a beautiful hardwood floor, which he was getting ready to polyurethane! I can't wait to see it done.

As we were leaving, Seth came up looking half asleep and said, "Hey, Dad, what's that mythical mountain that all the greek gods lived on?" "Mount Olympus." replied Fr. Mark. Then Seth went back to wherever he came from, just like that. He's so random, I love that kid!

The pic is of Father Mark. It's the only one I could find online. I thought you might like a face with the story. It's pretty excellent because the photo is from the "Faster Pastor" race back in July. It was a stockcar race they had with pastors from local churches. I think he must of won, unfortunately I was not present to see that event!

of course

I should preface this by saying I have had a killer headache for like 2 days now. It won't go away despite my vicious attacks with tea and drugs.

I had to go do some errands. You know those days when everyone is in your way, you feel like you are doing things in the most backwards way possible, and everyone else is a bad driver, yeah today was one of those days.

I knew going out to do errands would only accentuate these feelings. I went anyway. I left the house feeling like crap, and quite frankly, dressed like it too. I had this feeling as I backed out of my driveway I would run into someone I knew. Now, this is quite a task, given I only know a few people in this fine borough. (and half of them live under the same roof as I do)
I'm driving, driving, winding through the hills, enjoying the scenery and fall foliage, when I notice something red. No, It's not a red tree. It's a red vehicle. A red Jeep. I don't know about you, but when I see a car, that I know one of my friends has. I make a point to see if indeed the operator of the motor vehicle is an acquaintance. I flipped through my memory- red Jeep...humm. Jon the Hippie. As I came closer- I noticed long curly hair, yep, mos def Jon the Hippie. Now, I'm sure he had to have seen me because 1. there weren't any other cars on the road and 2. who seriously drives a saturn in Somerset?

Well, there was no furious slamming on of breaks, nor non-romantic rondez-vous in the back woods of PA. So I will never know if he saw me. But, he's practically engaged by now to a curly red headed english girl. Really there are no hard feelings, just a wee bit of irony.

Young Kwok?!

Thanks Michael Williams for the imagery to this Blog Post! I couldn't resist sharing it! The identity is not 100% confirmed, but my money is on A.Kwok.
Note: the tie and button down combo, excellent!

The quest continues

it's day three now. the tension is growing. narrowed down between two houses. i feel like it's the miss america pagent, or america's top model, or better yet, average joe!

Today we met with Kyle, a builder. My dad said to us in the car on the way over, "whenever I say 'Kyle', I think of that guy in Shrek2" after that comment, i couldn't really look this builder in the eye.

Other adventures include:
Stopping at Kohls for a look around. I picked up some button-downs for 8 bucks. Just to make Sarah Dignal happy. I also examined the crazy 3.50-5.00 clearance rack of men's button downs. Playing the game of "WWJSB" What Would Jon Schaller Buy? Yeah, there were some high possibilities, in my opinion. You should check it out, Jon.
But perhaps, my favorite part of Kohls was standing in line. There was a girl standing in front of me with a bright orange zip up on. On the front it said "Holland". I spent a good deal of time mentally sizing her up, and contemplating whether I could tackle her, and jack the zip-up. All with good intentions, of course! It would have been a good match I think.

During our meeting with KYLE, I was looking at the names of colors of paints. I decided it would be alot of fun to be a professional color namer. "cape cod grey, monterey sand, vintage wicker, bordeaux (it was a reddish brown), tuxedo grey, and versailles blue" (all options of shutter colors!)

We also discussed lighting. I really had to bite my tongue, and not spontaneously yell "I love incandescent lighting"!


I had a picture perfect latte today. It was amazing, the coffee shop, the town it was in, everything down to the attractive barista- perfect! Unfortunately the foam sunk a bit by the time I ran back to the car for my camera, but this does it some justice. oh, and the natural lighting from the windows- so good!
I have a plan to work here, and then take product shots of the coffee, print them huge big and put them up in the shop! please forgive the reflection in the mug, it's a no good product shot, from the technical aspect!

Day Two

beginning the morning, more like tackling the day...dad with spread sheets in hand, I with "gangstas paradise" in my head, and Mom ready with her tape measure, and essential furniture measurements.

With that said, I'm not kidding about any of it. My dad, the engineer, has created tangible spreadsheets. The point of these sheets are to fill in pluses and minuses of each home, and give them a numerical rating. he's so great!

Here are some highlights from today:
1. The first stop had some amazing countertops in the kitchen. I would describe them as and ivory faux leather. WHY would you have these in a kitchen? The realtor sincerely liked them.

There was a neighbor that had a Dutch inspired home.

2. In this home there was something called a dutch door. It's where the door is split horizontally and you can open the top or the bottom. It was out to the back porch.

The exterior color palette was incredible. A tomato soup shutter, pale lemon chiffon trim, and mint evergreen siding! Beautiful!

3. How you know the current owners are in the Mafia: (or highly suspect it)
-gun closet in the back hall closet
-a tacky chandelier that is real gold and crystal, they def paid cash for it.
-the kitchen has a tuscan flair to it (italy)
-there were random tacky European accents
- the basement was, let's say...Inspired by a scottish pub. tudor, wood paneling, faux brick, a full bar, and red plaid carpet. (think a kilt)


All that being said, we really are having good luck, I am simply pointing out quirks and adventures while house hunting. There is alot of potential, we are deciding between like 6 houses, and we will probably know by tomorrow or Tuesday. Thanks to the spreadsheets!

Why this Hotel Belongs in Europe

1. They deliver you a paper outside your door every morning. Sure, it is lacking the daily updates on the Royals...
2. They have an amazing breakfast, although there aren't tomatoes, scary sausages, etc...there are some amazing choices. Including a build-your-own-parfait section, yes- signature European breakfast.
3. There are long long corridors that twist and wind left and right and all around, think Dingle or Kilkenney.

House Hunt, Day One

Currently in Mentor, OH...looking for a house.

House1: based on the things in the house, I concluded the family living in it was Catholic.
House2: definitely a Indian Family. There was a shrine in the house.
House3: a family that was itching to head to Italy, Provence, or Cali to start a vineyard. They had a wine fridge in their living room. High Tech.

(lunch break. there was a cute emo boy there. didn't quite muster enough courage to pull the totally legit, "hi, I'm moving here to Mentor, what can you tell me about it..how about a tour..after dinner?")

This is where I got excited- we headed to a development called "Lake Erie Shores" heck yes! Some of the homes have VIEWS of LAKE ERIE! Beth and I suffer from NBNALBOWS (Not Being Near A Large Body Of Water Syndrome) during the year. This totally took care of that! The possibility of living by a Lake! I'm freaking out!!

The second to last house: I was feeling pretty good about this house. Then I saw it. It was on the mantle, and I think it was a sign. A Hookah. oh yes.

Today I picked up how the locals say Mentor. It's more of "Mennor" than "MenTor" I don't know about that.

That's it for now.

gaelic storm

I went to an amazing concert last night, it was the next best thing to BEING on the emerald isle!

Here is a brief run down of the band:
L-R
-the one and only girl. played the violin like i have never seen it played! and vocals.
-an englishman the played the guitar, and i was hoping the mandolin, but no such luck. he had a vague resemblance of Rod Stewart.
-the lead guy, from Cork. played the spoons, harmonica, and the accordion.
-the guy that played the bodhran and didgeridoo, had a vague resemblance of Jesse Katsopolis on Full House.
-a canadian bagpiper, tin whistle player, and electric oboe player (does that exist?, that's what i think it was) (he was really really cute)
..and in the back- the amazing drummer, curly long hair, signature.

when the main guy came back from their break he was definitely wearing a homestar runner shirt! all of a sudden he pulled out some hot irish dance moves.

when i got home, i was thinking, thinking about the effects of a whole evening of irish music and dance: it is precisely this event that made me want to hoist a pint! i decided the next closest thing would be sipping some ice water out of my Guinness glass as a read before bed. (maybe not the next closest thing, but that's what I did!)

reflections on a journey to the deep south

ok, maybe it was Kentucky, and that might not be "the deep south" but it sure was in "the south"
highlights of the trip include, but are not limited to:

-calling the one & only Nathan Campbell at The Franciscan University on the feast day of St. Francis; leaving him a message that went something like this, "hey Nate, it's your favorite protestants wishing you a happy St. Francis feast day!"

-attending education classes at a secular college.
-sitting in on a mock lesson plan on vocabulary. four students from the class tought the lesson, and the rest of us were the "class". we were given a piece of paper and were instructed to read it, and make notes of words we didn't know. this was the passage, entitled "transportation trouble":

"Girl, you ain't gonna believe what went down the other day! That janky tool that lives down the street tried to pick me up! I was goin' out to the club, ready to kill it with my sick new threads, and he comes walkin' up. He sure ain't got any steelo (looks like he's lit 'bout half the time!) I knew I'd never wanna tap that, but I thought it couldn't hurt to have him drop some mad cheddar takin' me out! He was all flossin' like he had this killer ride, sayin' it was the bomb and he'd drive us downtown to the club. Well, then he goes and pulls up in the biggest hoopty I've ever seen! Shoo, girl! I told him to step off, that I'd rather take the bus than be seen in that ghetto thing! I just had to call you up so I could dime him out, that nasty poser!"

...and just because it's killing you not to know the meaning of these buzz words, here are the definitions, so you too, the average blog reader, can refine your rhetoric:
bomb: best, remarkable, extraordinary
cheddar: currency, money
dime out: inform on, thell on, expose
floss: to flaunt, boast
hoopty: an old beaten up dilapdated car, originally exclusive to large American cars from the 1970's or 1980's
janky: undesirable, intensly repellant or unpleasant
kill it: to do a good job
lit: intoxicated, under the influence
sick: great, phenomenal, or high quality
steelo: style
tap: become physically intimate with
tool: fool, idiot, useless individual

-In Social Studdies, it was a lesson on the Day of The Dead. We had to make altars...some people brought in Rosarys for the altars, among other things (flags, fruit, dead things, candles, etc.). One thing led to another, and Beth and I tought the class, and Prof how to pray the Rosary!

-getting our lunch critiqued by the entire senior senior class of the college of education at UK!
it was just hummus and pita, carrots, and apples! and we ate on the grass (not THE grass) because it was warmer and in the sun! i'm sorry if i strive to actually eat fruits and vegetables!

-finally talking to Nathan Campbell on the phone, well speaker phone. and yelling as service got sketchy, "no Nate! don't break up with us!!!!"

-driving half of the way home with Beth! we stopped in Charleston, WVA for dinner, and that's where she got her ride to Roanoke. we found this killer radio station, and were jammin' to it while we were crusin' for a place to eat. it was playing all the hot stuff, like boys to men, all 4 one, n*sync. yes.

- just as I thought I had sucessfully navigated the backwoods of WVA, to the PA state line, and was good to go....the road came to a T, it should have been more of a crossroads, as my directions indicated, but contrary to the map, and real life....so I had to bootleg my way home to Somerset, but I made it!