Bubbly Weakness

So spring break in IV has come and gone, and boy was it raining. It was revealing, filled with prayer and a healthy dose of baking and cooking. Very few people were left here, and a few of the highlights were dog sitting for a day, sleeping at the MANsion, and being bored with Kyle Marchand and his brother. Already only a few hours into this quarter and I can already tell that spring break and spring quarter have distinctive feels. There is more of a sense of urgency in Spring quarter whereas there was not during spring break. Summer is looming just ten quick weeks away, and that brings problems and idiosyncrasies of its own. Summer is something that most people look forward to-improved weather, no school, fewer responsibilities. However, school's relatively easy, the weather is always gorgeous here, and summer means I am officially half-way done with school. No fewer responsibilities. Also, I am spending the first half of summer in Santa Monica and I am yet to start my support raising for it. Spring Break was a week wherein I, somewhat inexplicably, just got really joyful and bubbly, hence the name of the post. I guess I just got a better understand of God's grace and thus became so much more joyful realizing how blessed I am by God's grace.
Despite the realization of God's grace, it is still a bit ominous, all the summer hijinks. Then I read 2 Corinthians wherein Paul says that we should be thankful for our weaknesses because when we are weak God's power is made perfect. By being weak and not really knowing that much about support raising or how this summer will look, it's perfectly ok, and even better than ok because it will give God more glory because I am so weak, God is made perfect, and I will settle with that at any time. So yeah, I may be apprehensive and weak in this area, but God' power will be made so perfect that it is just all the better that I am weak.
Treats of the week: made homemade mac and cheese this week. Also made blueberry pancake muffins, banana chocolate chip muffins, and banana chocolate chip pancakes. I also made double-stuffed oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies. And yes, that's as delicious as it sounds.
Good Luck and Good Eats as this quarter gets started.
~Cody

Pride and The Great Exodus

This is spring break in IV. One of the most beautiful places around, yet nobody comes here for spring break, they leave, in masses. I'm calling it the great exodus, so many people left is such a short amount of time. If I thought finals week was creepy, it's a friday night on DP compared to spring break. The few people that are left are the CC kids, those students who have to work, and me. Isla Vista is actually quiet, and boring, two adjectives that almost never describe IV. I cannot overstate this enough, people are not here! Yet there is a certain quaintness to it all, kind of a glimpse into what life would be like if I didn't live in IV: I'm living with just one other guy, there is not a gang of different houses of people I know within walking distance. It's a weird kind of lonesome. But it definitely gives me time to think and pray.
Using that time I have made a discovery: People are very prideful. People do not have a very good understanding of what pride is, so let me clear it up for you all; pride is taking credit for things that God has done and saying that we did said things. Claiming any gifts or talents as our own is prideful, and thinking too highly of ourselves is extremely prideful. Virtually all sin comes down to pride in some form or another, as does a lack of compassion. All this compassion I've seen missing in society, it is because people think they are too good for each other. I'm one of them. I do not love people or care for people enough because of my pride. I'm trying to repent of it, and the people who are really truly prideful will read this and think nothing of it. Just something to mull over. Hopefully you have some time to do so, I know I do.
Treats of the week: Another busy baking week. Banana-Mango Coconut dream muffins, rice pudding, and pumpkin cream-cheese chocolate-chip muffins. I think the pumpkin ones have been my best batch yet, not sure. I used a generous dose of Isla Vista Chocolate though.
Good Luck and Good Eats
~Cody

Finals Week & Quarter Highlights

It's the end of the quarter that means it's finals week. I've noticed that IV gets pretty deserted during finals week, and especially my house-people leave to the library to study or to a friend's house, or the Ucen, or some other place, not to mention more and more people leave as the week progresses. It's pretty interesting, but I personally like the little change in IV every end of the quarter, seeing it deserted, quiet, and peaceful, three words generally foreign to IV. I mean, the beach is always deserted, but IV is usually packed, not to mention loud. The change is nice is all.
All things considered it's been a good quarter with a ton of understandings come to and a lot of events, it wasn't deserted at least. Over the past week I've been mulling over some of the highlights in my head: Baking A TON, the success of OLF, the utter failure of OMBOM, taking my first philosophy class I didn't enjoy (lower divs...), going to Slo back to back weekends for retreats, seeing snow, plenty of birthdays for other people, handing out muffins, studying with Bryce, meeting a bunch of seniors, saying goodbye to a bunch of seniors, learning more about what Love is, PRAYER, growing my goatee out temporarily, getting to know the men of plex, unit A really well, a 70's dance party was in there, right?, more than a couple trips to the beach, dodgeball again, laughology again, getting hooked on sliders my attempts to be more encouraging, attending Reality regularly, Blogging again!, waking up in the middle of the night from snoring, learning to season meat, playing a ton of basketball, memorizing philippians, watching soooo much clipper basketball. Most of all, my favorite memory of this quarter (and there were many more I forgot) could be summed up by one word: sophomores. Hanging out with more sophs and getting to know them better, it's been real good.
Treats of the week: I made many treats this week-Raspberry, White-chocolate chip muffins; banana, peanut-butter cup muffins; pumpkin, chocolate-chip muffins, peaches and cream muffins, and thai-fried bananas. And peanut butter cookies with chocolate glaze.
~Good Luck and Good Eats, my friends.
Cody

A Bump in the Road Less Traveled

There's a lot that can be said about IV, but there is definitely one path that majority of the residents here take. It's known as the IV scene, the party scene, or you could just call it what it is-debauchery. Anyone who doesn't traverse this road definitely take the road less traveled in IV. A lot of people, when they find out that you are one of those people will talk about how much they respect you and how cool they think it is that you don't do everything that they do. I've never understood this, you would think if they find that much respect for you for not indulging then they just wouldn't do that themselves, but perhaps they just don't like to admit it, but they themselves do not approve internally. I seemingly have to continually remind myself that this isn't really how life goes-outside of IV life is so much different.
Recently, and especially as the quarter has winded down and slowed down significantly, I have noticed a slight diminishing in my joy level. I am not fully sure why, but I have definitely seen it, and it has represented a proverbial bump in the road, even the road less traveled, much less traveled. The good news is that I have been given so many more reasons to be joyful than reasons not to. Well, not really by most standards, but if you look at it from a spiritual perspective, so so many more reasons. It's pretty nice to have this type of joy, a joy that is unable to be completely diminished. I can only thank God for it.
I am actually kind of glad that this quarter is winding down, not that it has been a particularly bad quarter, but I am excited for next quarter and especially spring break. Thankfully I can take joy in little things, you have to when you are in my situation. What can I say? I Love Isla Vista Chocolate.
Restaurant of the week: Blenders in the grass. It's not a restaurant in the traditional sense, but this smoothie place is very good, and I am a huge fan on the make your own option. I would advise trying it if you haven't.
~Good Luck and Good Eats
Cody

The Perceptions They are a' Changin

So it's Tuesday, oh well. Anyway, back to business. I've started to notice that my perceptions have been changing from what they used to be. I don't have anything to substantiate my claims, but I think most people that live in IV have their perceptions changed in one way or another, usually without them noticing. I've said before that Isla Vista is a very diverse place, probably the most diverse place that I have ever lived, but it still seems that people only take one of a couple of different paths, and their perceptions adjust accordingly-they might be similar person to what they used to be, or they might be a completely different person, but there is usually at least a subtle shift.
As far as my own perceptions and how they are different then they used to be, it has been a massive shift in they I view so many different things: cooking, baking, females, compassion, homeless people, procrastination, etc. They type of spouse I am looking for has changed dramatically from an attractive girl to a Godly woman. I used to keep far away from the kitchen, but anyone could tell you now that I am actually quite the adept chef, and my friends tell me that I should open a bakery. I used to procrastinate hard core, whereas now I typically do papers the weekend after they are assigned. And I notice the lack of compassion, generally that exists in this world, and I want to see it change so.
I don't know; maybe it is just growing up, maybe it is growing older, or maybe living in IV has had more of an effect on me than I expected it to have originally. Maybe the diversity is wearing off on me. I'm guessing that this might be a thing that happens whenever you spend a sustained period of time anywhere-it begins to mold the way you think. Whatever the reason for the change in my thoughts, it will certainly make the future of Isla Vista Chocolate very interesting.
Restaurant of the week: Costco. The food is very unhealthy, but it is also dirt cheap and quite tasty. And just try to eat 10$ worth.
~Good Luck and Good Eats.
Cody