Happy Halloween!!

Just as I write that, I am guessing that quite a few people are putting that for the title of something today... Happy Halloween anyway!

I am going to do this thing in reverse chronological order, with this comment to start: I am a little bummed that I did not partake in festivities this year for Halloween. I could blame this on the lack of interested friends (may be just a lack of friends ;) ),  or that I did not have the space or the time or the money for a costume... I don't really know why I did not do anything, but I was a little bummed that I didn't do anything. Especially after hearing about a particular IRA Soldier and a Cupcake in Colorado (props to Alana and Jamie).

That being said, Mother, Chelsea, Holly and I guess Caleb you are getting grouped in here, I just got back from YadGrad where one of the girls showed up in a remarkable representation of Abby from NCIS. Complete with a spider web neck tattoo and lab coat... You guys would have appreciated it.

Today (Sunday) was mostly spent working on Machine Learning Homework. Lots of fun. However this morning before church, something may or may not have slipped when I was shaving:

 Draw Strength from the Beard!

This weekend I have also been taking care of Theo! Mitch (they guy who I have been working with in Machine Learning) and his wife were on a retreat, so they asked if I could watch their dog. It was lots of fun. We watched a lot of Lost. He is such a goofy dog, but very well behaved, and is very friendly.

Hanging out with Theo was a significant part of my day, mainly because they were doing construction on the only path I knew to their house. And Saturday morning was the first time I went thinking "oh, I have been there like 5 times, I don't need my GPS..." Ha! God, you have a funny sense of humor. Don't worry, I made it there after some exploration of the south side. Good thing I have mastered my car on hills, there are a few crazy ones over there. Other events of Saturday include working on my computational Photography project, which is coming along... 

I just realized that I need to preface this next part with a little story:

About 3 weeks ago, I was standing in the atrium of Shadyside after the service, just minding my business and enjoying a cookie. As I was there holding the wall up, a couple came and stood in my general area. After some time had past, the girl of the two, asked me if I knew where the coffee was. At this point the conversation went as followed:

Me: "Ummm... I don't really know. I am a bad person to ask, I have only been here for a few months."

Girl: "Oh! Ok...    well were are you originally from?"

Me: "Washington State. What about you guys?"

Girl: "We come from Juno, but we both grew up in Washington, what area?"

Me: "Spokane? You?"

Guy: "No way! What High School did you go to?"

Girl: "I went to Mead, he went to Ferris"

Me: "Oh... well I cant talk to you anymore... Haha, I went to Mt. Spokane."

Girl: "Man... small world. What church did you attend there?"

Me: "Colbert Press. up north on Highway 2"

Girl: "No way! I am one of the charter members of that church!"

Me: "Wait a sec! I am too... "

Girl: "Who are you?!?!?"

Well it turns out I was talking to none other than Kendra Dye. Someone who I had not scene for, I figure, a good 10 years. I had spent a lot of time with her Brother Issac when they lived in Spokane. Their family was very integral in the formation of Colbert, and it was very sad to have them leave shortly after. So Kendra is going to the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Dang small world. So we were sure to exchange contact info.

Ok, so on Friday I joined Kendra and a group (9 or so) of her seminary friends for a little bon fire and fall celebration. I was picked up after class and we headed out to a country house about 45 minutes outside of Pittsburgh. It was awesome. They had horses, they had trees, they had space. There were no cars, there was not very much concrete, there was a lot of green (well... fall ish). It was wonderful. I didn't realize how much I had been surrounded by the urban environment until I got out there. One of the girls' mothers had a whole spread of food ranging from Apple cider to bratwursts and hot dogs to s'mores to trail mix and fresh caramel corn. It was wonderful to just sit around a fire talking with like minded individuals. The whole evening reminded me of Colbert Youth leaders, the more rural parts of Spokane, the Tri Cities and French town. Over all a great evening.

Well for this to be a great evening I need to finish up this homework...