sick

Being sick is a real drag. I got a cold on tuesday and have not been the same since. I can do things with intensity for about 20 mintues and then I have to just give up. It is like my brains functionability is linked to the amount of stuff clogging my sinuses. I dont understand this. But I would like put three things forward:

1. DUKE BASKETBALL:
Natalie got to see her first Duke basketball game in person last night. We played Valpo and beat them pretty badly. Though it was a blowout, it was pretty exciting and I was glad we got to go. I would not have gone but it is probably the last game I will go to this year and possibly ever. It was great to share that with her and to go out on a big win.

I started talking about them a few weeks ago and then we lost a few games. Therefore, I will probably not blog again about them until after they finish the season. So, note this: I am on DUKE'S side, (mens and women's too) and am pulling for championships of huge proportions. That said, I will be away from the subject because it is close to the heart.


2. We are ankle deep in slush, snow, freezing rain, and sleet again today. The school age kids have missed 5+ days of school and all of their makeup days are gone. This is only of note because this is FREAKIN NORTH CAROLINA. I know "north" is in the name, but it is a relative term. Sure we are north of the equator, key west and the southern carolina, but the people of this state grow cotton, rice, soybeans and tobacco. This is the heart of the south!!! So, we got lots of winter weather this year and if the psychics from the farmers almanac is right, there is more to come in march. I have not seen this much snow and mess outside of upper Michigan in my whole life.

3. I love pizza. Last night we got pizza from this place called Lilly's and it was good. We also have this shop called Capital Creations which is really good too. So, if you want to come visit, you can try the bar-b-q on your own, but you can trust me for some great pizza.

well i am off to eat some cold pizza and get hopped up on cold medicine- advil cold and sinus, here i come.

back, kindof

my computer is still stricken with a sort of alzheimers due to an internal batter dysfunction, but i have managed to take it on a field trip to the internet today. Computers being down are a drag.
here is an update on me though:
it has been a really busy last 7 days. I have traveled to texas, myrtle beach, led a youth sunday, gone to class, read many articles on the matrix, gotten sick, stressed over the status of my Haiti mission trip and dealt with needing a new transmission in my Jeep.
My trip to Texas and the current retreat was Great. I got to see old friends like Jamie (Dudley) Allen, Linda Dudley, and Jake Hall. I also made new friends with lots of "young cbf ministers" and guys like David Burroughs of Passport. In case you didnt know, George Mason is a pretty good preacher and Dallas is a nice city.
My Mrytle Beach trip was to lead a Breakout session for a bunch of youth ministers at a CBFNC youth ministers retreat. My pastor Jack Glasgow and I rocked the room as we set up a hegalian "thesis+antithesis= Synthesis" idea for healthy staff relationships.
I got a cold from being run down but 12 hours of sleep last night has helped.
My Jeep decided it needed a new transmission on my way to our church 's mardisgras party on sunday night, that will cost about $1800. Again reiterating that Jeeps are fun about 8 days a year: 5 in the summer when it is not 150 degrees or raining, and 3 in the winter when i can drive through the snow with the 4wd. If you would like to contribute to a fund to help me pay for the transmission, you can send you checks and change to:
Chris's Jeep repair
c/o Chris Aho
PO Box 94
Zebulon, NC 27597

I am also supposed to go on a medical mission trip to Haiti in March, but it will probably be cancelled due to the govt problems there right now. I will not be near any of the violence if I do get to go, but getting out of Port-au-Prince will be a problem.

Finally, I have an outline for my Matrix and missions paper due on tuesday and have lots of work left to do, actually i need to get started.

Life is really busy, but I love it and hope you do too. I miss writing on my blog and hopefully I will find a solution to the computer problem soon so I can get back to a normal life schedule.
peace
aho
ps. any typos i contribute to the fact that it is almost 2pm and the only thing i have in my stomach is coffee. I got the shakes and need some food.

My politik: (see ben's blog)
I have not completely thought through my politik yet but here are a few preliminary thoughts:
I think our nation should be in the business of helping others like Haiti instead of always levying embargos on trade that keep people down. We could be likened to missionaries, but often we enforce before we listen.I think people should be less power hungry. (photo above is of refugees the us is turning away, even though their own national situation is terrible)
I think Christians should be more excited about movies that display grace in practical ways and not just excited about the biblical films that studios peddle to them.
I think people should think critically about the end times and not just read the gospel according to Jerry Jenkins and Tim Lahaye- read just a little about darbism and you realize some of the stretches he makes.
I think we need to think about the church's worship everyday and be critical so that we can always point people towards God- we dont need to just inherit the models of the "cool" or "tradiditonal" churches.
I think everyone should have the opportunity to study the christian faith seriously: i am grateful for the opportunity to study at duke and i think you might be cheating yourself if you choose to go to school in places like fortworth, new orleans and wakeforest, nc. Set your intellectual standards high for christianity, it can take it.
i think we need compassion, grace, love, listening, less talking, community...
thats all for now. more later

Computers Suck

I am growing to hate my computer. Hate isnt really right, but thought I desparately wish I had it, I dont miss it. Other than typing letter that I should and surfing the net, I get everything done without it. But it cant seem to get fixed. It seems it has a case of alzheimers. When you turn it off and unplug it to take it with you (its a laptop), it completely forgets who it is and what it does. Then, after you get it to the desktop, it still doesnt realize that it has programs, and drives and lots of other cool and interesting stuff that it would enjoy knowing it had.
This is also problematic for my fake ipod. I cant adjust anything, and cant upload anything. Sure i can delete my whole library, but with no computer, there is not way to upload cool new tunes for justin timberlake and jessica simpson.
So, Computers suck. Even when they work they suck, but hey they do let me talk at you, does that suck?
peace
computerless

Reflections on DUKE v UNC

I hope you all enjoyed the Duke v UNC game last night, though it was tense, I certainly did. Surely it will be an ESPN Instant Classic and I will be able to expereince Chris Duhon Ripping the hearts out of the 21000 in the deandome again. If you did not see it, click here and you can check up on it. If you want to see picutres, click here.

The one wierd thing is that we here in NC dont get to enjoy Dick Vitale in all of his DUKE lovingness and favoritism. When we play on ESPN with him as the commentator it is an enjoyable experience as he extolls greatensses of DUKE that may not even exist. Instead we get a local affiliate and a Jefferson Pilot Sports feed that preempts the regular evening programming on the CBS Station. These ACC games are so important that people cant watch CSI and Survivor until the middle of the night. It is like the anm/ut rivalry times 10, and in your face whether you like it or not. I am thankful for it.

Finally, One Tragic Thing.
I used to like carolina a little bit. I always favored DUKE but was raised to respect Dean Smith and the way he ran a classy basketball program. I still feel that way as far as respect, but I really dont like carolina any more. It would be like being indifferent and then being taught to hate the aggies by your friends on 6th street, it really sinks in. Therefore you can imagine my suprise when I hear the tune to "High above ole trinity's waters, up where things are right, hail to the our alma mater...hail ole Keller High" being played by the tarheel pep band. Yes that is right, though Keller High School stole our Fight song from Baylor (good song, poor luck in some sports lately) we stole our School song from that college in Chapel Hill. I am very dissappointed in my forefathers from Keller and my only consolation comes from the fact that I was not born there, I moved there and had to go there becuase my parents said so. Mom, Dad, I love you but maybe you should have uncovered every stone before you chose good "Ole Keller High".

Hope you enjoyed this, I did.

peace for now

LETS GO DUKE

week gone by

Last week I was having some issues with my computer, this has never happed before. Error messages abounded, especially upon startup. I knew this was not good, but as long as i could bypass them, I thought it would be alright. Then the day came, last wednesday, I could bypass them no longer. My computer pulled me over and asked for a T O. There fore I have been without for 10 days now and it has completely thrown my rhythm. I dont get stuff done I normally do, and I cant blog. I know few care about the last part, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Therefore, I will submit the above blogs without the joy of pretty picutres becuase the right click button does not work on the school computer that I am on, and we will all pray that I will not have to use the typewriter again to publish announcements becuase, though typewriters have a cool retro vibe to them, they are terribly impractical in 2004 and you can achieve the same thing with courier font. Peace
Computerless Chris