Post-Retreat Post

So the surreal aura from Retreat is finally wearing a little bit. Real life seems to have come back in full force with my first day back to college. Can’t believe how much math I’ve forgotten over the course of three weeks! I’d talk more about my day, but it doesn’t make good blog material, so we’ll talk about post-Retreat fellowship.

So. Sunday night I took Johnny Martin up on his invite to come up to his parents’ for a small fellowship they were having to welcome in the New Year. After calling ahead to make sure they were expecting us, I set off from the Erickson’s to pick up the Indiana group (Trisha, Jess, and David Hunter). We left in a downpour around 7:15… it was raining so hard I couldn’t see straight out my side window and was run off the road merging onto I-94 from US 23. After rolling my window down to see correctly, we were on our way again… arriving an hour after we left.

We had great fun playing foos-puck, football, basketball, and air hockey (yes, the rumors are true, Trish beat me in air hockey). Special thanks goes to all the sisters who prepared the food. It was delicatessen!

Finally, the midnight hour approached and we gathered round the piano to worship and pray in the New Year. It was a great way to usher in 2007. Two hours later things still didn’t appear to be winding down by much, but we had an hour’s drive back and thus said our goodbyes. Having met some new friends and enjoyed old ones, we headed out into the night. Thankfully, it was no longer raining.

After dropping the girls off at their host’s home and walking them to the door, David and I headed back to my house. We got to sleep around 4:00.

Monday started bright and early (relatively speaking) at a quarter to ten. We made arrangements to get together with Sheri, Jenn, and Jessica at Toledo’s Westfield Mall, where we planned to have brunch and accompany the girls shopping. Matt & Mel were taking off from my house that morning, but seeing as they pass right by the mall on the way back to N.C., it worked out very nicely that they could brunch with us as well.

We all finally entered the Elephant Bar Restaurant at 1:00. A very nice place, decorated in an African/Pan Pacific motif. They even had a plaster elephant head about 14 feet tall protruding out of the wall. We’ll call him “Bob” for the sake of the story. Unfortunately, Bob didn’t roar or make any cool sound like that.

After passing Bob, we were seated to one of the most enjoyable meals I’ve had in a long while. Granted, the company made the meal – though the food was good too! It was particularly enjoyable getting to know Matt a little better and of course having Melody around for a little while longer before Matt whisked her away. It’s my New Year’s Resolution to forgive that guy, starting now.

After our meal, M & M had to take off, leaving us poor single people behind to dream of the day we could whisk away to a palace decked with tapestries of love. Ahem. We commenced shopping. Somehow we ended up in the Disneyland Toy Shop. There was too much pink on those toys for me, so I excused myself to a rather unique looking clothing store that had very predictable prices. David apparently enjoyed himself to the fullest extent... I’m pretty sure he ran the batteries out on more than one toy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for toys… I just find them a whole lot more enjoyable when I have a little kid playing with me. Somehow they just don’t hold the same lure any other way. Maybe I’m just getting old.

Starbuck’s!!! Cuscotopia. We left behind the beckoning price tags of the mall and enjoyed each other’s company over decadently hot beverages. My kind of fellowship. After awhile we headed over to Jenn’s pad, played mad gab and talked some more. Jessica had to leave and then David’s entourage showed up. We talked another hour or so and at about 8:00 David, Jess, and Trisha had to leave for the wild blue yonder… err, rather the yellow cornfields of Indiana. I stayed around and got initiated into the world of girl talk by Sheri and Jenn. We won’t go there.

Tuesday morning I wake up alone. No brother-in-law. No sister. No David to laugh at my idiosyncrasies (that was a fun word to use :). The house is empty because my parents are off at our shop. Without anyone to make things happen with, I called around to find out who in A^2 was making things happen. Big surprise here… the Tewari’s! Ok, yeah. Not such a big surprise.

After making a phone call to see if the group was open for more company, I made a few cursory phone calls to a couple tireless friends of mine. Not tireless as in infatigable, but as in “no license.” They declined, which they lived to regret... bwa-haha! Yeah. Let’s just say they were kicking themselves after finding out we partied till two in the morning.

So I headed off to Starbuck’s on S. State where the group was supposed to be at. Did I mention I hate Ann Arbor parking? Why can’t the meters accept plastic? Fortunately, I remembered I had my change toad stuffed away under my CD deck. Bought an hour’s parking and waltzed out of the structure with coffee on the brain. I needed coffee. I waltzed right by Starbuck’s on my way to a non-existent Starbuck’s a block further down. Did I mention I needed coffee? What about sleep?

After after finding the real Starbuck's, I got acquainted with some people I somehow didn’t get to meet at Retreat (go figure, there were three hundred people there!) and sipped on a white chocholate mocha. Soon enough, everyone decided to head off to Gallup Park. Dave (Murphy), man of the town, very graciously offered to ride with me so as I didn’t get lost (he was the one who spotted me walking by Starbuck’s). Little did he know that we were already lost, standing right outside Starbuck’s! “How is that?” you ask? I’ll tell you, dear reader.

Everyone goes to the structure they parked in. It’s not the same structure I parked in – and I have no idea where my structure is at! Mind you, it was more of a hole-in-the-wall. Didn’t even look like a structure. Anyhow, Dave and I blundered around for a while until we finally found it. Apparently lack of sleep addles my brain.

Somehow we arrived at the park the same time as everyone else. Don’t know how. They pulled out a Frisbee and I had to groan. I hadn’t touched a Frisbee in probably a year. The Lord used the opportunity to humble me… why did there have to be water around? Ah… fortunately, I didn’t have to wade in after the thing. A big stick and a human chain (good work Emily!) did the trick and we were off to Ultimate Frisbee before we knew it.

We must have played for at least an hour. The final score?

our team: 6
Gabe’s team: 8

Gabe said we had gas.

After the game, a part of the group headed out to the Cherry Blossom. I opted to go back to Dave’s house with Dave and Levi. There we enjoyed a wonderful soup, unfortunately my stomach very uncharacteristically went full on me and I couldn’t finish the soup. However, I’m sure the state of my gastrointestinal system is not one of the highlights of this tale… I’ll move on.

We must have stayed at the house for another two hours. We played some ping-pong… Levi and I still owe each other a tie-breaker. Odds anyone?

We actually had to cut the ping-pong game short because the Cherry Blossom group was ready to meet up with us again. Dave, Debbie, Jeremy, Jared, Levi, and myself all loaded into the car and met up with everyone else in the UM Law School’s Octagonal Court Yard. There we tossed glowing frisbees around in the dark and I got to hone my skillz. Fortunately there was no water around.

From there we went to the UM Student Union to play billiards. Everyone, watch out for a pool shark named Amos from Canada. He’s also got a friend named Christian. Watch him too. ‘Nuff said.

When we were kicked out of the billiard room, Levi and I entertained ourselves with the card-accepting vending machines. Rather, Levi just went to buy some pop and I found some cheap amusement letting my debit card go exploring to lands it had never before been. Unfortunately, the machines must only accept M-Cards. No pop for me that night.

Anyhow, we wrapped the night up with watching a cartoon that I had promised myself I wouldn’t watch. It was well worth it. Being the only person who hadn’t seen the movie, I was put in the rather conspicuous position of laughing the loudest… not something I’m entirely unused to so no big deal.

After the movie, I said my good-byes and let everyone get to bed. Sigh… the fun has to end sometime.

Wednesday I emailed a couple friends from camp, cleaned up from camp a little, and went to church. Thursday I hung out at Antwon’s as usual. Saturday I visited over at the Sinacola’s along with Wes-man and the Johnson’s. Sunday was Wes’ 16th B-day (do we say sweet 16 for guys?).

So that pretty much wraps things. I hope you enjoyed laughing at my “idiosyncrasies.” I know I did!

Anyhow, this is probably the last post I’ll be making in a while. There won’t be much going on during college… this’ll probly be my busiest semester yet. Fun stuff. The one thing I’m looking forward to is my residential wiring class. Should be a lot of fun as I’m taking it with Antwon. First time I’ve taken a class with a believer.

But hey, just ‘cause I’m busy doesn’t mean I don’t have time for my friends. You guys feel free to call or e-mail any time. God bless and have a great New Year!