Academic Blood Sport

I was unaware, when we registered for language school, that we were enrolling at some sort of Jean Claude Van Damme School of Language for Cage Fighters.

Not to worry, I'm sure these phrases will come in handy some day...

When You Marry a Man-Child...

You have to be very intentional. For his sake.

She loves me well.

Australia

I made a video for our time in Australia, finally.  We spent 3 days in Australia on our way to New Zealand, and made it just in time to catch the New Years Eve fireworks at the Sydney Harbor.

$20

The other day I went out to the market and the Nepali store and actually paid attention to how much I was spending in US dollars, not just Chinese yuan.

This is what I was able to get for right under $20 (about $18):

For $18 we got 4 bananas, 2 lbs of Chicken breasts, cereal, broccoli, orange juice, sweetened condensed milk, 3 apples, 3 oranges, 2 cucumbers, green lettuce, and a small bag of dried peaches.

We'll be in America in the fall, and I have no idea what to expect the cost of food will be.  I'm hoping this picture will bring me perspective about something then (like maybe this is a lot for $18, or maybe I'll just remember how good it was when we could get corn flakes with mango?)

Blue Jays and Leprechauns

It's May, Division 1 lacrosse tournament time. This past weekend was the Quarter Finals, with 2 games that I couldn't wait to see:

1. Albany versus Notre Dame



The Thompsons. Straight baller.

2. Duke versus Johns Hopkins

I was pumped about the first game because Albany has three Native American players (2 brothers and their cousin) who are absolutely mind-blowing to watch.

They are, for lack of a better word, dazzling. Plus, I love Notre Dame.

In that game, I was pulling for the Dame, who was losing 12-7 in the 4th quarter. 

However, to cap off the greatest lacrosse game I've ever seen, the Fighting Irish clawed back to tie it at the end of regulation, and then scored in Sudden Victory Overtime. 

For. The. Win!

The Fighting! Irish! Win!

This picture really grosses me out.
It's someone with (almost) my last
name 1) playing for Duke and
2) hugging Duke's coach. Worst.

The following game was Dook against one of the schools I wanted to go to - the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. 

Though historically Hopkins has been the powerhouse in collegiate lacrosse, recently Dook has been dominant. 

Unfortunately, the trend continued this year and my beloved (2nd only to the Tar Heels) Jays fell in rather drab fashion.

So here's what we're looking at, going into Championship Weekend:

99 Problems

Oh, you don't dry your clothes by hanging them in the window?

I feel bad for you, son.

True Love

We were clearly made for each other.

Groundhog Day

In the Spring, there are two things I look forward to with eager anticipation:

1. The first weekend in April, when I hope to see the UNC Tar Heel men's basketball team cutting down the nets after a national championship, and,
2. The last weekend in May, when I hope to see the UNC Tar Heels men's lacrosse team hoisting the national championship trophy.

However, on Saturday this happened:

Like a recurring nightmare, the Tar Heels play the Pioneers of Denver University in the tournament, and every time they win. FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS IN A ROW.

It's like Kansas is for our basketball team.

Maddening.

Useless

I always thought that authors of introductory language learning textbooks would try to find useful example sentences. You know, takeaways to help the novice.

Apparently, I was wrong.

Under Control

A week ago, I reported that I had let things get… rustic… in the facial hair department. Well, I realized it was time for a change.

So, with a pair of clippers, I got to work. Here's where we started:

Bold. Glorious.

Our first stop: the General Burnside.

Spot on. Nailed it.

From there, it felt necessary to class it up a bit.

In case you missed it...

Of course, my brother Josh was inspired...

I never really thought the Eye of the Tiger could get any classier. Clearly, I was wrong.