All posts in F R I E N D S

I’m spending the morning trying to get some momentum on a few different projects at work, so I won’t be looking out my window until this afternoon, at the earliest.

In the meantime, I highly encourage you – nay, I compel you – to check out a brand-spanking new blog that is written by one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, Mrs. Sarah Guffey Kinser.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present Complusive Analysis. For those who can’t follow the link, the direct address is (http://compulsiveanalysis.blogspot.com)

A quick perusal confirms that Sarah has plenty to say, and the world will be better for it. So take a some time and check it out. And then, when you realize that it’s better than my piddly postings, just remember how cute I am and remember to come back here every once in a while, at least out of pity.

I wanted to take a couple of minutes to speak to the Lambuth alumni that may be reading along. If you’re not one of these lucky few, don’t worry – we’ll return to regular broadcasting shortly hereafter.

Recently, the Alumni Board has rolled out a couple of intiatives to increase alumni participation, as well as to raise a little money for our beloved alma mater.

The first (and most exciting) is the new Alumni Network website, which can be found at http://alumni.lambuth.edu. It’s actually more than a website, it’s more of an online community for all generations of LU alums. Think "MySpace" on Lambuth Boulevard. If you haven’t already, I highly encourage you to register and spend a few minutes setting up your profile.

Perhaps the best part about the new Alumni Network is that we now (finally) have the ability to donate money online, electronically. It sounds weird, but the fact that I no longer have to write a check, buy a stamp, and remember to go to the post office is a big deal, for me at least. So if nothing else, hop on there and send a dollar or two to good ole’ LU. Lord knows it’s needed.

The other thing that Lambuth has recently announced is LambuthTravel.com, which is a travel portal which allows you to book all the usual travel needs, such as airfare, hotels, or rental cars, with a percentage of the commission (40%, I hear) going back to Lambuth. You can also do stuff like honeymoon bridal registries, purchase concert tickets, send flowers, order a passport, and book golf tee times too, which is pretty cool.

This one is open to anyone, whether they are an alum or not, so pass it along to those you know who like to do such things.

So anyway, just wanted to let everyone know about a couple of things that are happening in the realm of Lambuth Alumni Relations. They are unconventional, sure, but I for one welcome the attempt at something new. If you have any other ideas or suggestions, let me know and I will pass them along to the Alumni Board.

I have been remiss in announcing the following bit ‘o news from my good friend, Formerly Korean Dave:

On Sunday July 30, 2006 one David Michael Dietrich dropped to a knee
and proposed to one Jennifer Leanne Murray on the Spanish Steps of
Rome.  Jennifer delightfully accepted despite being accosted by two
bedraggled Italian men attempting to tie "love strings" around her
finger for the bargain price of 15 Euros in the middle of such a
special moment (true story).  Otherwise, it was a lovely and enchanting
trice.

As many of you know, Dave was my roommate in college, and remains one of my closest friends. However, also I’m of the opinion that the boy completely lucked out by finding a gem like Jennifer. She is most definitely a keeper, so I’m glad that Dave is doing so.

So congratulations, Daver. Love truly is a many splendored thing. Whatever that means.

Happy Monday, one and all. I hope everyone had a supergood weekend, as did we.

As some of you may have heard, we held a rather large gathering at our house on Saturday night called Daveapalooza, in honor of the return of Dave Dietrich. To refresh your memory,  Dave is my friend who (along with his girl Jen) has spent the last year in South Korea, teaching English to small childrens. They came back a couple of weeks ago, and so we thought the only proper thing to do would be to throw the biggest party of the summer in his honor.

And so we invited over 60 of our closest friends, ordered scads of barbeque, and planned a full-day music festival to be held in our backyard, with 8 music/comedy acts performing. In other words, not your average cookout.

Now, I can’t say if it lived up to anyone else’s expectations, I can only report that I enjoyed the evening thoroughly. The barbeque was tasty, and of course, the musicians were amazingly talented (except for that Tyke fellow). 

But as always, the best part was seeing all of our friends. They came from everywhere – Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee. There were people that I see every day, and people that I hadn’t seen for five years or more. Truly a great reunion.

If you had a chance to be there, thanks for coming out. If you had to miss it, maybe we’ll do it again next year.

Maybe.

Welcome home, Daver.

Hope that everyone had a yankee-doodle-dandy long weekend. Ours was full of cookouts and poolsides and potty training, so no complaints here.

Well, we’ve been back from Florida for two weeks now, and so on this rainy day in Memphis, I thought it would be nice to think back on our experience. Now, I know that it’s never as much fun to hear about someone else’s vacation, because these accounts are usually full of inside jokes ("That’s what she said") and stories where you "just had to be there." So instead of subjecting you all to that, I’ve condensed the entire trip into a Top 10 list, with a few explanatory comments.

So are the 10 best things about our trip, "Six On the Beach" (cause there were 6 of us that went AND it is 2006, get it?):

1. Friends…and I don’t mean the TV show (KEN), I mean the people that we went with. Our friends are wonderful people, and are the biggest reason that our trip was so great. I hope that we can take another trip next year, that more of our friends can go, and that Jared remembers to re-apply sunscreen.
2. Seagrove Beach…was a revelation. It is located between Destin and Panama City Beach, specifically adjacent to the more-popular Seaside. It was clean and quiet, the beaches were spectacular, and it was actually ver affordable. If you are looking to take a family vacation, I would definitely recommend Seagrove Beach.
3. Suppertime…was something I looked forward to every night, because we all took a turn preparing a feast for the rest of the group. And I’m telling you, we can cook. We had jerk shrimp kabobs, omelettes, homemade hamburgers, steak, snow crab legs, and loads of glorious sides. And yes, that sound you hear is my stomach growling in rememberance.
4. Clarity…is the quality that the water possessed. The only other time I’ve seen water that clear was in Mexico on our honeymoon. In fact, it was so clear, that Mary got in and swam around for hours at a time.
5. Hide-and-seek…is the game we played one night in the completely darkened house. Could be my favorite night of the trip. Yes, I am 27.
6. The Gran Maze…is a big honking maze at Coconut Creek where I almost had a nervous breakdown. The first time we did it, I got seriously lost in the maze and spent about 30 minutes scurrying, sweating and swearing while all the others (who had already finished) looked on and laughed at me. The second time we did it (I did much better), Jared and I finished at the same time and fought to the death about who was going to click their card in first. Again, I am 27 years old.
7. Phase 10…is an extremely-addictive and competitve card game that Jared introduced. It’s pretty much a combination of gin rummy and Uno, and it makes me a mean person.
8. The Brown-Eyed Girl…is the name of the beach house that we stayed in, and probably the biggest surprise of the trip. I thought it would be the standard dorm-style condo, but instead it was like a house from The Real World. Just beautiful. Incidentally, they were selling it for just under $1 million.
9. Shipwreck Island…is the waterpark that we went to in Panama City Beach. Going there makes me feel like a kid again, except I’m not scared of the big slides anymore. I am, however still scared of the wave pool, since it tried to kill me. The only thing that was missing was Kevin Ganaway.
10. The Red Bar…This is a restaurant in Grayton Beach that was recommended to us by about 27 people we knew. It didn’t dissappoint, and I would gladly add to the chorus of those celebrating its merits.

So that’s the trip. I know it’s long, but I’ve also left out a lot for your safety. If you’d like to live vicariously through photography, be sure to check out the album over there ————–>.

Now, anyone up for next year’s trip?

I’ve been meaning to mention this for quite some time, but I just wasn’t sure which words to use.

This Easter, I received a package from the incomparable David Dietrich, my friend and former roommate who is now teaching in South Korea. Since Korean culture is evidently quite different from ours, so I’m never really sure what to expect when I see a package from The Daver.

Sure enough, when I opened the envelope, I saw the following items.

Don’t recognize what those are? Well, that’s E.Coli on the left, and Salmonella on the right.

That’s right, these are just two in a series of plush toys called Giant Microbes. Now you too can cuddle up with such cute cushy versions of Ebola, Sore Throat, Bad Breath, Pimple, Mad Cow Disease, and others.

Evidently, these are quite popular in South Korea, and one can see why. So the next time you are sick, rest assured that you now have the option to cuddle up with the very bacteria that is causing you ill.

THANKS DAVE!

There are some things in life that you only want to do once – and then no more. Last weekend, I discovered one such activity, as I helped my friend Ken Weatherford lay his new ceramic-tile kitchen and laundry room floor.

I will freely admit that I did but a fraction of the work on this project. By the time I started helping, Ken (and others) had ripped up multiple layers of previous flooring, and had measured and laid the backerboard. So all I had to help with was measuring and cutting the tile, laying mortar, and laying the tiles. Sounds easy enough eh?

Well, we started work in the laundry room around 11am on Saturday. SIX HOURS LATER, we had finished about 10 square feet.

Needless to say, we were a bit discouraged. Nevertheless, we buckled down for a few more hours, finished the laundry room, and even made it into the kitchen before calling it a night.

Because I am now officially old, I had a bit of trouble walking for the next couple of days, and then went back for another round on Monday night. Either we were starting to get the hang of it, or our frustration propelled us, because in a couple of hours of work, we were able to lay out the entire kitchen (sans mortar) and measure and cut the edge tile.

Fast forward 24 hours, and I called Ken to check on the progress. With equal parts jubilation, exhaustion, and relief, (to my amazement) Ken told me that the floor was D-O-N-E.  And so, without further ado, I present the new Weatherford kitchen and laundry room floor.

Isn’t it spectacular?

Now, I say all this for a reason.  If you’ve ever laid a tile floor, I salute you. If you’ve never had that pleasure, and you are presented with the opportunity,  I’d suggest that you open your phone book and pick one of the myriad of tile floor layers that are listed. Pay no mind to the price, because even if they charge you thousands of dollars, a turkey sandwich, and your firstborn child, it’s worth it.

Consider this your public service announcement for the day. Now back to your regularly scheduled programs, already in progress.

It might as well be December 25th, because I have been more blessed and amazed today than I ever have been around a Christmas tree.

Some of you may already know that our very good friends Leah Beth Bryson and Chris Mason were caught up in the tornado Friday night in Gallatin, TN. They are ok physically, but there house and all belongings were swept away.

I sent out an email last night to our sorority list serve and my faculty at school. In 12 short hours I have received over 50 emails responding with promises of aid. We have collected money, clothes, shoes, furniture (entire living room set), Bedroom linen sets, two offers of wedding dresses and the list goes on.

I just wanted to tell my friends and family how proud I am to be surrounded by you. And tell anyone else reading good will is alive and well in Tennessee.

Love you all!!!
God Bless!!!!

Mary Elizabeth

I wanted to pass along something very interesting that I found out today. The one and only Rev. Andrew Thompson has a regular column on the UM Reporter Interactive website, and it is a GREAT read.

Andrew is a good friend that I first met through Danny Rhodes, who was the campus minister during my time as a student at Lambuth. Andrew eventually became the campus minister at Lambuth himself, and we became friends ourselves when I returned to campus to work there.

Anywho, Andrew has since gone on to become the pastor at First United Methodist Church of Searcy (Arkansas), where he lives with his wife, Emily. I’m not sure how long he’s been writing his column, "Gen-X Rising," but I do know that it is published every two weeks, and can be found on the UM Reporter Interactive website, which can be found at www.reporterinteractive.org.

I highly encourage you to check out his current column, titled "Pew Potatos Need Rousing." It’s a very practical, grounded approach to something that, despite our good intentions, often gets swept away in the whirlwind of life.

If you like it, add it to your bookmarks. I know I did. If you REALLY like it, subscribe to the UM Reporter print edition, cause I know that it can use all the support that it can get.

Enjoy.

Last week, I received a random invitation to join a barbershop quintet that will be performing at a fundraiser. (For those who may be unfamiliar, a barbershop quintet is a lesser-known relative to the ever-popular barbershop quartet, and are rarely seen in the wild.)

In any event, there are two things that a good barbershop quintet must have – a catchy name, and sequined vests.  Thankfully, we have a lead on the vests, but we’re still in search of a name.

So consider this a call for help. I know that some of you out there (Jonathan, Travis, Andy) have actually been in a barbershop quartet, and others of you just like to name random things (Casey, Laura). I need your talent, cause if we don’t come up with something, we’ll be taking the stage as The Fantastic Sams.

(Wait for it…. Wait for it…)

Funny, no?

So leave your suggestions in the comments section, and don’t forget to show your work.

Thanks in advance for the assistance.