*ehem*

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
broke up with someone. geh! honestly, I can't think of anything I did this year that I had never done before. sad, right? OH WAIT! I got a job! I WORKED!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Chances are I didn't, but I'm not sure what they were. I'm hoping to keep the ones for this year, but chances are I won't keep those either. Not for the whole year anyway. I mean honestly, does anybody keep their new year's resolutions for the entire year?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Negative

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My grandmother

5. What countries did you visit?
Sadly I visited no other countries in 2006

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
a solid relationship with God and then maybe when that's on track, some love.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory?
Apparently I didn't have a memorable year!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
getting a job and doing it really well

9. What was your biggest failure?
Disobedience

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
negative

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The blanket on my bed :)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
gray miller's (like woah), harrison jones', ginnie friddell's

13. Whose behavior made you feel disappointed?


14. Where did most of your money go?
very unnecessary things because I am entirely too materialistic

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about in 2006?
Lake Week.

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
When I listen to a song that reminds me of a certain time, I don't generally think, "OH MAN, this brings me back to 1998!", I think "Wow, middle school." So, my thinking is that a song would remind me of either sophomore year of college or junior year of college, of which I spent one semester each in 2006. Then there was the summer. Since the entirety of the summer occured in 2006, I'd have to say either, "Heal Over" by KT Tunstall, or "She Doesn't Get It" by The Format. "Heal Over" was just a song that I listened to a lot - but I have vivid memories of sitting on the dock at lake week watching Harrison go crazy listening to the new Format CD, specifically "She Doesn't Get It." I think I'll always think of that when I listen to that song.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you
i. happier or sadder?: happier
ii. thinner or fatter?: thinner
iii. richer or poorer?: poorer (despite having a job over the summer)

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
praying

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
buying and complaining

20. How did you spend Christmas?
at home with my beautiful family

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
no

22. What was you! ! r favorite TV programs to watch in 2006?
American Idol, Grey's Anatomy, 24, Charmed, Alias (while they were still on)

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I don't like this question

24. What was the best book you read?
I have to name two because they go together: A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard, both by James Frey.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Ingrid Michaelson

26. What did you want and get?
a camera

27. What did you want and not get?
something I shouldn't have gotten anyway

28. How did you begin 2006?
with Brandon

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
it's a tie: V for Vendetta and The Prestige

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
My birthday happened before my birthday - I celebrated it over the weekend and my birthday was on a Monday, so the weekend was really great (melting pot, california pizza kitchen, two days of wonderfulness) and then the day of was nothing spectacular. I turned 20.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
loving God a whole lot more

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
plain and comfortable

33. What kept you sane?
The Family

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
i have a girl crush on Jennifer Garner. I wouldn't say I fancy her, obviously, but I think we'd be really good friends. Weird.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
When the Richmond family (the ones who owned World of Mirth) was tied up in their basement and their throats were cut. It was their entire family, young daughters and all, and it was random. I bawled.

36. Who did you miss?
The Family

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Claire, Butters, Sted, Christy, Teryn and Chala (Chala may have been really late 2005 but I don't count that. We didn't really know each other until 2006)

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006:
Life is a whole lot better when you love Jesus.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
So what can I say

What can I do

But offer this heart O God

Completely to You?



So I'll walk upon salvation

Your Spirit alive in me

This life to declare Your promise

My soul now to stand



So I’ll stand

With arms high and heart abandoned

In awe of the One who gave it all



So I’ll stand

My soul Lord to You surrendered

All I am is Yours



"The Stand" - Hillsong

In Christ Alone

No guilt in life, no fear in death...
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand!
'Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Racecar Drivers

I had a dream last night that Tyler, Jimmie, Harrison, Steve, Jeff Gordon (yes, Jeff Gordon) and I were in an English class together. It was in what felt like a gymnasium, and the professor was Dr. Marina Favila, my english/film professor from a couple of semesters ago. She was out of the room doing something for a couple of minutes and Tyler prompted me to sing "Bohemian Rhapsody" with her. Gradually more people in the gym heard us singing and joined in until the ENTIRE class (which was hundreds of people) were singing, with harmony and all, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. When Dr. Favila came back in, she thought it was hilarious and went to find other teachers so that they could see it. It was really beautiful.

Jeff Gordon?

Quite the bonding moment

We were supposed to be acting like somebody told a hilarious joke.... but look at my face.

The Taste of Watermelon

We're so badass.

Smoking cigars on the porch after the Into Hymn christmas party.

The Writing on the Wall: How the Christ stole Christmas

A holiday tale, narrated by Boris Karloff
By Brian Goodman, opinion editor
Posted on December 7, 2006

Everyone down in Churchville liked Christmas a lot,
In very large part ‘cause of all the stuff that they got.

The folks all loved Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
It was their best time of year for many a-reason.
They loved all the food, all the long strings of light
The displays in the mall and their lit homes at night.
But I think the best reason that I can provide
Was that it made them feel warm and toasty inside.

But whatever the reason, the decorations or elves,
They all loved the holidays because of themselves.
Their minds never turned to they who were trodden down
Living in the big city near their picturesque town.
They paid no attention to their neighbors in need
For it was the night before Christmas and there was pride to feed.

Christmas Eve was a time to gather in throngs
For the Christmas Eve service, where they sang the old songs.
They knew all the words but knew not what they mean,
Though it made them feel good as they read off the screen.

But while they were gathered in the warmth of their church,
A suspicious figure roamed about on a search.
He had no beauty or majesty to which one would cling
Yet it was quite apparent that he was a king.

He wandered about looking but the prospects seemed grim
For no part of the festivities seemed to be about him.
“It’s all about them, now,” the glum Christ did say
“I thought they’d remember me on this day.”

All the windows were dark. Quiet snow filled the air.
All the folks were at church, so no one was there
As he made his way to the Churchville town square.
And as the sad Christ-y Claus wiped away a sole tear,
He made every last piece of Christmas crap disappear.

And the one speck of Christmas
That he did leave back there
Were the donated gifts for those in foster care.

He left rather quickly; there was no need to stay
For there was much work to be done before the end of the day.
The Christ made haste for the congested city
Where people had problems and things weren’t so pretty.

So many places to go! Where would he start?
Since he was the Christ, he just followed his heart
He went to the orphanage, taught and played with the kids,
And then to the AIDS hospice, though convention forbids.

Then to the homeless shelter with those in from the cold
And the retirement center for the lonely and old.
He brought with him food so that thousands could eat
And paid every bill so they all could have heat.

He had come without ribbons! He had come without tags!
He had come without packages, boxes or bags!
But in love he had brought them, his sisters and brothers,
The true meaning of Christmas — the loving of others.

Every person he visited, the tall and the small,
Found the reason for the season, once and for all.
He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming; it came.
But this time it involved him, and not just his name.

They all puzzled and puzzed, till their puzzlers were sore,
For no one had shown such love to them before.
“But you see Christmas,” he said, “doesn’t come from a mall.
My birth in that manger was to bring love to all.”

And what happened then? Well, in Churchville they said
That with no Christmas things the holiday was dead.
They stayed home with their heat on and tried hard to cope,
Never seeing the people who at last had some hope.

But now up in heaven, all the food at the feast
Will be eaten by those who on earth were the least.

Brian Goodman is a senior communications major.

heal over

I think something that's important to remember is that hearts cannot be mended by humans. They can certainly be broken by them but I think too often we look to those same people, or sometimes other people, to pick up the pieces and sew them all back together. It's not possible. It's one of those things we forget. Looking to other people to mend our hearts is like looking to other people to make us happy - and while that's another thing we forget, I'm pretty sure that if we expect satisfaction from others, we will be disappointed. We cannot expect joy from imperfect beings - not eternal joy, anyway. Maybe not even long-term joy... just temporary joy. So the same goes for hearts. Maybe somebody can mend the pieces temporarily, maybe even the same person that broke it in the first place, but it will be missing a couple of pieces until we ask God to mend it.