12:30 spin class with Darryl November 26, 2008

I SO WISH YOU WERE THERE

(this is what i almost used as
the title for this post)

oaky

how do i begin?

this was the craziest class i’ve
ever attended.  half way through
the class i asked myself,

“is this guy on crack? really.”

i am going to try to explain this
class to you.  take the funny factor
and multiply it by 15 and this
was 12:30 spin class with darryl

if you can imagine a disturbing
cross between a charismatic choir
director (kirk franklin-like) and
a steroidal-demanding-crazed
broadway choreographer you
get darryl.

i got into class right on time.
just as i was adjusting my bike
he pumps up the music and
starts yelling at people to
“get on and move your legs!!!!”
“fasterfasterfasterfaster!!”

absolutely no warm up.
none.

so my heart rate goes through
the roof!! which i can handle, but
i was a bit worried about the big
man on the bike next to me.
i would hate for him to have a
heart attack and me have to use
the emergency nitro i keep with me…
for times such as this.
(just kidding i don’t keep nitro in
my back pocket…but i should!!)

so big man is hauling next to
me, sweating like a maniac.
and…is there a pregnant lady
across the studio?  i’m not sure.
several bikes in front of me is a
young guy. his bike is perpendicular
to mine, so i have a good view of
him.  he was intense and lovin’ it!
his face looked like a justin timberlake
video and his legs were like dash,
from the incredibles. i’m not even
kidding! the lady in front of me had
perfect form, a perfect body, and
was working her bike.

i was recovering from being sick earlier
this week (this was my first workout back)
so i felt sluggish. But with all the yelling
and legs in the room going at superspeed
i felt like i was watching it all in slow
motion…the whole class. don’t get
me wrong, i sweat like a beast and
my heart rate was in the 80% most
of the class. so, i did some work.
but not as much as perfect girl,
dash, and a few others in my view.

the instructor acted like he was
directing a 12 part choir:
pointing
waving his arms to the beat
demanding crescendos and decrescendos
starting people up and cutting
people off with a flick of the wrist
jumping to the beat of the music
clapping

i tried my best not to make eye contact
because i hadn’t warmed up my voice
before class.  

throughout the class he leaned over
with his hands on his knees (knees
tight together), got in the face of the
perfect girl in the front row and said,
G I V E  I T  T O  M E  ! ! ! !   G I V E   I T ! !
(it’s still funny)

he leaned in close to jt/dash’s face,
“MOVE IT!”
“MOVE IT”
“MOVE IT”

“troy!! come on!!”
“Jason! let’s go!!”

to the entire class he yelled:

30 seconds, i want all you got!!
NOW!
GO!
GO!
GO!
GO!
ALL YOU’VE GOT!!
YOU CAN DO IT!!

AND UP!
UP!
UP!
1…2…1…2…1…2…!!!
BACK ROW GET UP!!
(that was me…the back row.
me and the big man)

he pointed at me several times
while dancing and jumping to
the beat of the music hysterically.
he clapped in my direction and
threw some crescendo gestures
my way. i never really knew
what he wanted form me or if i
gave it to him.

at one point in the class he had us
ride sitting straight up on our bikes
with our hands raised up to the sky
for a solid 3 minutes.

i giggled to myself throughout the
class wishing someone, anyone, i
knew were there with me.

at the end of the class he turned off
the music after our almost nonexistent
cool down and yelled breathlessly,

“GOOD CLASS EVERYONE!
EXCELLENT WORK!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!”

i don’t know why he was so out of
breath. he was on his bike maybe
5 minutes the whole class.  then again,
any “directing” like he did would take
it out of a person.

needless to say, i do not think i’ll be
back to the wednesday 12:30 spin
class with darryl. 

p.s. so i just youtubed kirk franklin
to make sure i have my references
right…and oh, is it right!! 

so put kirk franklin in a warm up suit
throw some cycling shoes on him
and you basically have darryl…
sans the talk of the holy ghost.

p.s.s. the writers of snl would pay
some good money for material like
this.  and i’d watch it and laugh!

again, i wish someone was there
with me to enjoy it.  my description
is a poor poor picture of the
classoncrack that i got myself into.

the gray cup November 23, 2008

brianne’s brother in-law is a
professional football player
in canada.

he’s a giant man (320lb 6 foot 7 inches, he’s really big)
on the offensive line. he always gets
his man, and when his teammate
misses his guy, he gets them too.

several weeks ago (the first week
of october) we took a

R O A D T R I P
to montreal to visit them.

like always, we had a blast.

here is a list of highlights:

*driving in a car.
*fun road trip playlists.
we listened to i would walk 500
miles by 10000 maniacs on repeat
for a good portion of the drive.
*maren and jeff!!! and their cat
luna. maren is great! i really like
her. the genow sisters are super
individually. and when they get
together they are pretty fantastic,
but you have to watch out because
they tend to gang up on people.
and whatever it is they usually
win.
*wii. this was my first time and
it was all could think about for
the rest of the trip.
rockband
tennis
boxing
mario cart
and so much more
now as most people know the
nintendo wii isfun and people enjoy
it, but i fell for it harder than the rest
of my friends on the road trip. all i
wanted to do was play wii.

funny story: one night me, meghan,
brianne, and jeff were playing tennis.
i was in the middle of the room next
to jeff. when he swung the controller
to hit the ball, hit me too. imagine
the amount of force huge jeff can exert,
and then imagine it going into my hand!!
it hurt so badly and the broken blood
vessel immediately welted up on the
top of my finger. i expected my finger
to be broken, but it wasn’t. just a good
bruise. jeff is giant, but has a very
gentle spirit. he apoligized profusely.
*canadian football. did you know
that they have slightly different
rules than american football?
(see appendix a for details)
*getting lost in the car with
maren in her own city. i heard she
used to be a good driver…umm well…
*TARGET!!!!
we were living the dream. do i need
to say more? i will say that we were
literally up to our eyeballs in target
bags on the way home. trunk: full
back seat: me, maren, and target
were nice and cozy.

this is the car portion of our trip where Lisa drove
very safely (as illustrated above), brianne was a fantastic shotgun
navigator/driver’s assistant, and meghan “did not sleep”
our snack consisted of the usual: triscuits, beef jerky,
and jalapeno flavored foods.

(please forgive me for the lack of pictures.
more are coming in time. i’m having some
troubles. but return for some really great
pics of lisa, meg, and the genow sisters…
and jeff)

oh, so here’s the point.

jeff’s team, the monreal alouettes,
are playing in the gray cup tonight!!!
the gray cup is the

c a n a d i a n s u p e r b o w l

we’re having a watch party
to cheer them on…
we don’t need much of
an excuse to get together.

i can guarantee you, there will
be nintendo wii playing at halftime
and at the end of the game.

(brianne and meg got a wii after
we got back from our trip to
canada. a very good move)

appendix a:
*3 downs instead of 4
*12 players instead of 11
*larger field. 150yr x 65yards with 2 20 yrd end zones
*in a field goal attempt one point is awarded for kicking the ball through the goal posts (located on the goal line) and if you miss the goalposts one point is awarded if the ball goes past the end line of the feild (into the stands usually)…so basically its a point for trying.
*when one team punts the ball to the opposing team they have the option to do a “drop kick”s. they kick it back in hopes to score a field goal. so basically when a ball is kicked to you you can kick it back. i like this rule.
*and something funny happens with canadians and safeties, i’m not sure.

does this make you want to get
yourself some films and study
canadian football?

do it for jeff.

g o o d
l u c k
j e f f
#54

i’d say that in french, the preferred
language of montreal if i knew it.

mom’s group November 22, 2008

me, caroline, and betsy on the bus
wed morning. kari jo is behind the
camera. aren’t the cates’ girls
darling?!!  it was superdupercold
that morning. the bus brings out
caroline’s funky side…i guess.

on wednesday morning
i got up to go with kari jo
and her girls to mom’s group.

yes, as you all know i’m NOT
a mother, but i really wanted
to hear kathy keller talk about
psalm 34.

thanks for the invite kj!

i had to say, “i’m not a mom.
i’m here to hear kathy” about
25 times as i worked my way
through the room of socializing
mommies with babies in their
arms or strapped to their chests.

naturally, i was not heartily
invited back. 

“have a kid and then come back.”
was a lighthearted comment from
one sweet mom.

“sure!, but let’s go in order
here.  we should really start with
a husband…no we even need to
back that up a bit…how about a
date!”

you know what comes to mind when
i read over the above paragraph?
the do-re-mi song from the sound
of music.
“let’s start from the very beginning.
a very good place to start. when you
read you begin with A B C . when you sing
you begin with do re mi. DO RE MI”

anyway, there were laughs all around
form the wives and mothers near me,
while i ran to the bathroom with
tear stained eyes and my face in my
hands.

oh, you know i’m kidding, right?!!

so, back to the point here…

kathy keller.
hearing her perspective on this
psalm and her own personal story
of God’s grace in her life during
times of suffering was moving
and deeply inspiring. i could have
sat and listened for hours.

anyone want to memorize psalm 34
with me?

anyone?
anyone?

ooey gooey November 21, 2008

wednesday night i made these
for my fellowship group.

ooey gooey pumpkin bars

they were a hit!!

as was felicia’s picadillo.
i’m not even sure how it
is spelled, or even if that’s the
correct name.
it’s a carribean dish involving
ground beef, beans, rice, fried
plantains, and lots of yummy
goodness.

it was  d e l i c i o u s !

this is me at kari jo’s holding
off the natives while i tried to
finish the dessert.  i had to use the
batter as a bribe to get homework
completed. 
sugar always gets it done!

we talked about genesis 1 and creation.
our discussion was very enjoyable
and insightful.

one memorable thought from the time:
cory pointed out that in most, if not all,
other creation stories earth/humanity
is not good in itself.  it was a place for
the gods to be banished to or a place
created from the clash or war btwn two
gods and so forth. but in genesis we see
all of creation as a product of a good,
genius, loving God. 
it is GOOD.
the implications of that are vast.

Tim’s sermon on Gen 1 last sunday
was incredible. 

before there was anything else there was:

1.God
2.love
3.darkness

i’ll let you download the sermon
and fill in the outline for yourself.
it’s worth it.

corporate to private November 19, 2008

this was our corporate prayer
of confession at church
last week:

Heavenly Father, we come before you confessing our sins; thoughts that are not like your thoughts, selfish desires and evil passions, and their wicked fruit – cruel words and unjust acts. Keep us, Lord, from pride and arrogance, and from scornful judgment of others. Keep us, Lord, from worshipping the blessings that you have given us. keep us, Lord, from trusting in anything except your grace. Lord, you know our temptations and struggles. Show mercy on us, that we may seek the righteousness of faith, that we may be forgiven, and that we may be strengthened each day by your Holy Spirit, to serve you in the joy of liberty.

this corporate prayer has become
my own private prayer since we
prayed it aloud together a week
and a half ago.

keep me from worshipping your
blessings…i beg you.

i beg you to…help me to see you
as beautiful and not useful.

strengthen me each day by your
holy spirit…i beg you.

keep me from trusting in anything
other than your grace…i beg you.

pride and arrogance are alive in me.

my need is great, and it is quite
obvious.

but one thing i LOVE about confession
is that i don’t have to stay there!
i have a way to move out from there
because
i have a Savior that lifts my eyes to
the heavens, bears the weight of all
my sin, and turns my heart toward
him.

my heart is
dark
and hard
and cold
but during confession there is a
moment of realization and illumination
then
light
a melted spirit
and warmth
pour in and take over.

praise be to God, my help
and salvation!

smileyhappybaby November 18, 2008

 you know that 1991 r.e.m. song
shiny happy people ?

well, that’s what goes through my
mind when i look into the face of
my precious home care patient, ashley.

she’s such a smileyhappybaby.

i’ve been working some days shifts for
her recently. we go out for walks in 
central park or just around the city,
and it’s amazing how easily she draws
people in the park and on the
streets to her stroller and charms
them into blissful delight. 
it’s really quite enjoyable to watch. 

often i can’t help but verbalize the
looks on their faces and in their eyes:
“she is so sweet, isn’t she!!”
“isn’t she the cutest thing?!!!”

you can judge for yourself…

i’m not so good at taking self portraits
with my iphone yet.

not yet November 15, 2008

many of you know that christmas in
new york
is a wonderful thing

b u t   n o t   y e t ! !

halloween candy is still stuck
to the teeth of children everywhere,
and it’s a lovely 60 degrees outside!

yet stores began decorating  their
windows for christmas a few weeks
ago!

no!

no!

no!

why can’t we calm down and
give thanksgiving a chance?

the warmth of squash soup
the smell of hot apple cider
the glow of glistening cranberry sauce
the FOOTBALL
the delight of perfectly spiced pumpkin pie
the time of giving thanks for God’s perfect gifts

…it all happens at thanksgiving

but consumerism is swallowing it
up whole.

i’m truly deeply sorry for that.

for me no christmas music, no
christmas trees, no christmas
anything until AFTER thanksgiving
has come and gone leaving me full
and warm inside.

and my resolve remains firm despite
the pressure around me to do otherwise.

this is columbus circle.
beautiful!
but premature.

 

 
this is inside columbus circle.
after 5pm these stars lights up
and change colors to the blaring
sound of christmas music.

it’s mesmerizing,
but it won’t draw me in yet!
(this one is hard, but i’m trying
my best to stay away)

 

this is the store front of gracious home
on broadway a few blocks down from my
apt.

internally i cover my eyes and say
“notyetnotyetnotyetnotyet!!!!”
each time i walk by.  i refuse to let
my eyes feast on the dazzling red
and green ornaments, the trees, the
lights, and the winter wonderland
in the window.

it’s just not time!!

oh, but come november 28th
you can bet your bottom dollar
that my frank sinatra christmas
album will be blasting forth into
all of apartment 1B.

true story November 11, 2008

 today i was in whole foods
(surprise)
and as i was waiting for my food
a regal and distinguished looking
man in a nice beautiful suit
stood next to me. he looked a
bit like stuart scott from ESPN.
very cool glasses.
(i was going to put a pic of s.s.
here, but just can’t find a good
one, nor does this whole foods man
look enough like s.s.)

he looked over at me.
then looked again and said,
“you know… you have a twin.”

as it turns out, i did already
know this.  there is a woman
somewhere in new york city
that looks so much like me
that she almost fools my friends.
people have told me that they
saw me and said hello to me
in this or that neighborhood and
i was nowhere near there on
said day. 

brianne and meg see her regularly
and call her Risa. i have never seen
her.

i know about risa and wasn’t
surprised to hear this man
tell me he knows someone that
looks just like me.

but as we began to talk it got
more bizzare.

check out the things me and this
look-a-like have in common:

i’ll start with the
biggest one…
our name.
her name is LISA TOO!!!!

she is in her early thirties…

she is part haitian…

she is a home health care nurse…

AND SO AM I!! 

(okay, i’m not quite 30 yet,
but i will be in a few months!)

we stood in line holding our
quickly cooling food wide eyed,
almost breathless for a moment. 
we both had that weird
feeling that threatens to give
you goose bumps all over and
make your hair stand on end.

w
e
i
r
d

he said, “you have to see a picture
of her!”  i gave him my email and here
is a picture of her.

okay,
okay,
just kidding,
that’s me,
but when he does send me a
picture i’ll post it for you to see. 

________________

fun and random side note:
if you have a minute go to
ESPN magazine online and read
sporting equivalencies. 
it’s great. 
ESPN writers are brilliant!!

break in the silence November 10, 2008

hello friends!!

i’ve been away for a while.
not physically,
although
i did take nice trips to
canada and upstate new york.

i apologize for leaving you for
so long, and without any warning. 
i will not give you a list of
things that kept me away,
but i will say that it’s nice to
finally have the internet in my
apartment. 

i will not attempt to binge blog and
overwhelm you with all the pictures
and stories that i’ve neglected to share
over the past five or so weeks of
blogging silence.  but you may get 
condensed versions of the stories
and pictures over time.

for now, i’m just glad to be
back sharing with you some
of my life and thoughts.