Family Dinner .

A few years ago the guys and I used to do family dinner on Friday nights. It wasn't family in the sense of our siblings and parents and grandparents showing up, but rather some close friends and great conversation. We'd invite them over to our apartment, and make something pretty simple. In many ways it was less about the food and more about the company. I mean let's be honest someone can only have lasagna so many times before they get sick of it...

Now I realize that that family was even more than that, and really encompassed the entirety of campus, and all its students; in fact, the Clemson Family. I love the quote that President Jim Barker relayed to my Presidential Seminar class, that 'I go to a small school, with thousands of other people.' It's the essence of what Clemson is all about.

Today my family rolled into town, here for graduation, and we had a real family dinner together at my house. I offered to cook since they would be driving all day, and let's be honest; they'll be spending enough money on gas and eating out and all the other things that go hand in hand with a big trip.

Strange as it is to have my family in my home away from home, it was kinda nice. To be able to go out and chat on the dock as the water gently lapped its edges, to have people to sit around the dining table with and say a prayer before our meal, to have folks to laugh and joke with, and show off my college life to.

I wish my brother was here, but he's starting finals tomorrow, and I wish him the best of luck. I have no doubt he'll be able to be there for the graduation of my Master's (but let's not rush things!). Plus as it turns out I'll see him on the way up too! Good deal. Tomorrow I'll be a college grad!

Generosity .

It's no secret that some people in more life are just more blessed. Whether it's through luck, perseverance, inheritance, or hard work, there will always be someone better off than you. On the other end of the spectrum there will always be someone worse off too. It's important to remember both: Aspire to reach towards those who are better off, and remember and be thankful for those that are worse off. The cliché saying "could be worse" could apply.

Merry Christmas .

Christmas went swimmingly. Gave some cool stuff, got some cool stuff, drank some 'nog, drank some Bailey's, ate desserts and had a wonderful dinner. Had the girlfriend over, enjoyed the tree, relaxed all day and watched movies. Here's to hoping all of your days went great as well! Happy Christmas!

The Comforts of Home .

Well, the semester is over, the exams all taken, and I did quite well for the semester; we already got all our grades back. I'm happy, and though the drive home took us longer than anticipated (we wanted to take some time on the drive up to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway) we made it all the way in one day. We, meaning my brother and I, because he is now in college, going to Virginia Tech, and thus the exit off of I-81 for his school is literally on my way home. It's not a short drive, 750 miles if you take all highways. Since we meandered around a bit, probably was more like 8 or 900.

friendship & sacrifice .

The other day my parents and I got into an argument about helping my sister move down to DC. She currently lives in Philly, but recently got a new (and better paying) job down there, and thus will need help moving stuff from her Philly apartment down to her new one in DC. My parents suggested that I use both days of one of my "weekends" to do this, or even take off from work to help. I have a huge problem with this, and before you think I'm just a terrible person, let me explain why.

mothers & blogging .

Over the past year or so I've been on Blogger, I've realized that there are seriously a TON of moms who also blog out there. I mean, there are other things I've sort of felt are more prominent writing groups -- like there are a lot of young couples, or newly married couples, who want to document their adventures together. There are also some family-wide blogs, where the parents write down what's going on in their kids' lives as well as their own, in addition to what the family in general is up to. I also think that the majority of people who blog are women... though I haven't seen an official demographic or anything so I can't confirm that. I will say that that might make sense though, since I think that women are more prone to talk about feelings and whatnot. Either way, I've been loving the community and the friendships made on here. People may be quick to bash online / digital acquaintances, but in my eyes it's not lame at all; it's very real. Blogging has opened another window to that sort of thing.

devotional inspiration .

Every once in awhile my daily emailed devotionals smack me in the face with some serious thought-provoking material, and today happened to be just one of those days! While I would love to post the whole thing, this is the part that stuck out and hit me the most:

"Love simply means treating others like you'd want to be treated. Love means putting other's needs before your own. And love means caring about your imperfect family...even when they drive you crazy."

an outstanding christmas .

I didn't post yesterday, so here's yesterday's post: I had a really great day; nice meals, all day in pajamas, lots of reading time, lots of relaxing time, lots of time spent with my brother. I didn't ask for much, but got so much more than I wanted / needed, and got to see the joy of other people as they opened the gifts from me. I hope that your Christmas was as good as mine.

From my home to yours, Merry Christmas.

Barcelona: Day 108 : Final Goodbyes .

So, Ryan's been packing pretty much all day. It's hard to condense four months of your life into a few suitcases. Somehow though, we're all going to have to do it. I'm not excited for the packing process; I'm going to be perfectly honest. It's amazing that the time here is coming to a close and we are all moving on the next chapter of our lives. I think that the most awakening thing will be that Ryan won't be in the room any more at all for the next 10 days. Granted, some of that time will be while I'm in Norway, but it still leaves about 5 or 7 days where I'm just here in RESA, without a roommate.

cycling .

So I recently acquired a road bike and all the fixings with hard earned money (so hard to see it leave the account in such a rush though...) and today I went on the third or fourth ever ride on it. A couple of things I've noticed pertain to the fact that road biking is absolutely nothing like mountain biking.

stormy weather .

It's been a long time since I can remember a storm... This evening I happened to be down in the basement during a workout. The clouds turned an ominous yellow, as if there was a far off fire in an adjacent town. Thick black clouds began to rampage their way through the crisp blue of the sky. And then came the rumbles of thunder, the flashes of lightning and sheets of rain so thick that everything was as distorted as when you look through beer goggles.

the world of gobat's .

Ever googled yourself before? Not much comes up when I put in my name. But if you go on facebook and just type in your last name, you might find something interesting. As far as I know, the name of Gobat is from a French part of Switzerland. But who really knows where your ancestors came from and where all of the descendants ended up? Say what you want about social networking websites -- but it provides a unique way to connect with a lot of people with the same last name as you. After all, they could be long lost relatives!