Half a Day of Sleep

This was not exactly an ordinary week for me in IV; I slept for 12 hours last night, my most of this school year. It wasn't exactly an ordinary week in IV altogether, what with there being no school today and a lot of rain the past couple days. It's weird how when the geographic and other outside circumstances produce unusual weeks, there's plenty of other unusual things that go on. Notice I didn't say bad though. The week itself was pretty normal, it was the weekend that was absurd, absurdly amazing. I left IV this weekend to go up north, as far north as I have ever been, near San Louis Obispo, I think. I went with a bunch of other Sophomores that Love Jesus. I wasn't really sure what to expect, no leaders, a bunch of college kids in cabins near the woods, rainy and dark-it started out like the beginning to any good horror movie, or any cheesy one I guess.
Thankfully, it progressed quite differently. The weekend was exceptional, such that it is hard to describe. I knew most people who were there, but not everyone, and the first night was admittedly, a little awkward with people who kind of knew each other talking about themselves. That was where the awkward ended and the awesome began, as once worship started the weekend really got going. People created deep bonds this weekend, and deepened the bonds that they already had, especially with God. I Loved it, and there was one point in the weekend where I really felt like these people were my family.
I rarely think about family, especially my family. But I hung out with my family this weekend, and I realized that I take many of them for granted. I see them so much that I have no desire to know them deeply, until now. I have noticed we as humans do this often, get surface deep and then stop. Maybe we are scared, maybe we are lazy, but for whatever reason, our desire to grow deeper with someone wanes the as we actually do just that. It's just like with eating, most people and eat and don't want to eat anymore; most people eat relational food and are relationally stuffed. I have decided that I no longer want to take these people for granted, I want to know who they are, what they Love and Hate, and how I can Love them more. I Love them so much more now. I feel energized. I got 12 hours of sleep last night.
Restaurant of the week: Firestones. Coming to you all the way from SLO, this place is known for its tri-tip and delicious BBQ. It had a line out the door the entire time we were there and an entire plaza devoted to its patrons. Good amount of food for the price. A must have if you are in SLO.
~Good Luck and Good Eats.
Cody

Sex, Sermons, and Baking

Sex, Sermons, and Baking

That's right, I'm actually posting on a Monday, try and hold your excitement.
Anyway, this has been a long, pretty intriguing week for me in IV. It started last Monday which included me seeing a hidden, all-female boxing club while biking on DP. It saw last Sunday on which I was again riding my bike on DP at night and I saw some girl standing, holding a giant stick-like appendage, standing as still as a statue. Those are just some off the oddities that occur while biking throughout IV. For me, this week was characterized by sex, sermons, and baking. The baking was probably the most delicious, yet the least integral part. I baked some orange, blackberry scones, and also some kentucky derby pie and brownies at various points in the week, something I want to start doing more of, baking. It's a new hobbie that I have I have picked up and had a chance to practice quite a bit this week. Another hobbie I picked up this week is sermon watching. I have watched several sermons in just a few days and have greatly enjoyed it. Most of them have been on Manhood and Marriage and it has really helped to learn more what it means to become a man and it has been so good to hear and experience. God used it to teach me so much about what it means to lead a wife and be a man of God. It is so much more than I thought it was, and I feel like I am much better prepared and view many things quite differently after God talked to me through sermons and through other people this week. I would encourage others to do the same thing because it will definitely help anyone to learn more and gain more desire for God.
Like I said, many of the sermons were on marriage and with sermons on marriage inevitable come sermons on sex. I have heard much about sex within marriage this past week and I also attended UCSB's veritas forum, a speaker talking on sex, in relation to Jesus. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was still quite the talk, and an uncannily appropriate adjunct to the week. All in all, it was a strange yet illuminatingly growthful week. Just another helping of Isla Vista Chocolate.
Restaurant(s) of the week: I tried two new restaurants this week, Chino's Rock and Tacos on Pardall which has some great deals during the week on Mexican food, and it was utterly packed when I went there. The other was South Coast Deli in Goleta, which had exceptional, high-quality sandwhiches. Certainly not the biggest portions, but the food is very good and the ambiance was also very unique.
As always, good Luck, and Good Eats
~Cody

443 Dollars and an Electronic Failure

I know, I'm not posting this until Tuesday again, but my Mondays keep getting busy, and I don't think anyone is waiting in anticipation, so whatever.
Anyways, two major events this week while living in IV (I'm not counting the underground women's boxing club I stumbled upon while riding my bike at night, maybe more to come on that next week). First off, my laptop, which had Windows XP on it, just decided to stop allowing me to log on to the internet this week. Turns out I had a virus, so frustrating. Thankfully, IV (And UCSB) is full of extremely unique people. It seems like each person is quite different from the others with their own distinct stories. One such person is my dear friend Punya who worked for Intel for a good deal in his life. The man knows his way around a computer like Oscar Robertson a basketball. Not only did he fix up my computer, he gave me Win7, so advanced it feels like I'm in the future. The imperfection of my computer was transformed into something so much more beautiful and precious.
The other interesting event that took place this week was that while browsing the financial aid website I discovered I got an ACG grant for an additional 443 dollars this quarter, extremely unexpected, but oh so nice. It's interesting because ordinarily I do not look at my financial aid mumbo-jumbo during quarters, only at the beginning and end, and yet, there it was. It was just God's way of telling me that despite my lack of trust in Him, instead of disciplining me He instead blessed me and taught me a lesson that way. He took my imperfections and turned them into something beautiful and precious, just the way Punya did with my computer. So nice to know that God does this, and that IV is so unique that I can count on more adventures to come. Just more Isla Vista Chocolate.
Restaurant of the week: The Habit Grill. Great burgers, a little pricy for combos, but overall very good food.
~Good Luck and Good Eats

Night Fog

I'm one day late on this post, oh well.
Of all the places I've lived in my short life (only about two or three), Santa Barbara is the only one that has ever had night fog. I've always known fog to be in the morning, burn off by 10, 11 at the latest, but here, fog starts at approximately 7PM! It lasts the night and still burns off at around 10 or 11 at the latest. It's a strange phenomena, more than likely on account of the proximity of Santa Barbara to the Ocean. The night fog is strange because it is so unexpected-everyone is taken aback by it the first time they experience it. And speaking of which, that pretty much classifies this past week for me.
Many times this past week something fairly unexpected happened that lead to a first in my life. It's interesting the way God often arranges things. On Thursday, I was considering not going to Real Life-I was exhausted, basketball was on, and I wanted to eat a big dinner. I thankfully ended up going, something I didn't think that I was going to which lead to me experiencing many firsts. It was the first time I ever prayed for people at Real Life, an event that ultimately equated to me being very joyful, the first time my friend Ed ever came to Real Life, which also made me very happy, seeing him, and the first time I have ever been told that I am the perfect height for hugging, one of the best compliments I have ever been told. All these things combined just gave me so much joy and peace internally, an event that would definitely not have happened had I not gone to Real Life and stayed home and watched yet another basketball game.
Another event was the pancake night that my bible study hosted in the dorms. That was not the unexpected part; the unexpected part was when I ran to the office to get napkins, something I didn't think was going to happen. It made me see pictures of classes past, for the first time, and reminded me how blessed I am to go to school here.
This past week was filled with things unexpected that lead to firsts, very analogous to the night fog so easily felt in Isla Vista. Whereas too much time spent in the night fog makes my eyes water, too much Isla Vista Chocolate makes my eyes water with joy. Thank you, Jesus.
Restaurant of the week: Not a restaurant, but a website: foodporndaily.com-exactly what it sounds like it.
~Good Luck and Good Eats
Cody