Matt’s Blog

This Thanksgiving I traveled all the way from Seattle to Atlanta (again) to, among other things, attend the best college football rivalry game in the country; the Georgia Tech vs. U(sic)GA game. This year the game was the first and only GT game that I attended at Bobby Dodd stadium (readers will recall that I also saw the team play in person at Vanderbilt) and unless you have had your head under a rock for the past few days you probably also know that the game did not go well for us.

Now I don’t really know what qualifies a game as “rough” but here’s what made the game last Saturday rough for the GT faithful. First, we hate UGA. Good, clean hate mind you but hate none the less. Perhaps it’s because most of their fans didn’t even go to the school, and cheer for them because they win a lot and make an easy team to root for. Perhaps it’s because they usually beat us in football. Perhaps it’s because their football players and mascot tear up our field in front of our fans when they win. Whatever. We just don’t like them at all and losing to them only makes that worse. Second, we were actually good this year. Although I’ll admit that I thought the ranking in the top 10 was a bit optimistic, I really do think that we’ve done a good job this year. And in years past when the roles were reversed and U(sic)GA was on top we got trounced. Any of those years we would have loved to play the spoiler to U(sic)GA’s otherwise great season. Why then on the one rare occasion where the roles are reversed are we the ones who provide redemption for our rival’s otherwise mediocre season? Third, the game was so close. Although we were trailing pretty much the entire time, we were always within striking distance. And except for a brief period in the second quarter we had plenty of offensive momentum. This means that for pretty much the entire game we were all on the edge of our seats screaming our heads off hoping that we would take the lead. Right up to the very end. Let me tell you how much fun it was to wake up the next day, unable to speak in anything above a raspy whisper and remember: “oh yeah, we lost to Georgia last night, sweet.” And finally, on the topic of that period in the second quarter, it wouldn’t be a game against the dawgs without a little “coincidence.” How fortuitous that the first play immediately following our recovery of a U(sic)GA fumble for the go-ahead touchdown our star quarterback goes down with a twisted ankle…

Phew, now that’s out of my system.

The rest of the trip was great. I had a great time with friends and like every time I go back I left wondering why I moved so far away. Also, this might sound dumb, but this was the first trip where I realized that I’m really not in college anymore. For the game I was standing with my fraternity just like the old days, except that it wasn’t. Most of my close friends have graduated and in their places are all these new guys who I don’t know. Even those guys that I do know are getting ready to move on to grad school and other things. So the limited connection that I do have there will soon be gone. Even just being around the house or on campus was interesting. For the first time ever I felt more at home at the alumni tailgate then I did anywhere else.

But then, what are my alternatives? I don’t really feel old enough to move to the alumni sections for the games. I mean who really wants to sit through a football game? If I wanted to sit then I’d just stay home where I can camp out on the couch and drink beer that didn’t cost eight dollars a bottle. This might not have been all that bad of an idea given the outcome of the game… Anyways the trip was great and the times were good. So I can’t really complain all that much, even if I’m becoming one of the “old guys.” I’m just not there yet.

So, it occurred to me that recently there’s been a pretty high word-to-picture ratio going on around here. That’s fine, words are good and quite entertaining when properly applied; however, preliminary research suggests that there is a strong correlation between the word-picture ratio and the douchey-funny ratio. I’ve dubbed this concept the “Butters principle.” Now, clearly, we can’t have the D-F ratio rising too high around here which means: It’s time for some images! Fortunately I did some image-worthy things last weekend.

Most anyone who’s known me for a while can tell you: I love GT football. This is why last weekend I flew all the way from Seattle to Nashville to watch Georgia Tech play Vanderbilt. Well, that and to spend time with some of my closest friends from college… but mostly to watch football. Um…. let’s call it a 55/45 football/friends split. Anyways, here are some of the reasons I love going to GT football games:

The Stadium Atmosphere

This season I’ve mostly been watching our games on ESPN 360 which is neat, but not the same experience as actually being at a game. There’s just not that excitement/energy level. Of course you might argue that going to a live game at Vanderbilt is pretty much the same thing as watching it on TV, but whatever.

Friends

I have some of the best friends in the world. Many of whom also cheer for Georgia Tech, which is actually a pretty important requirement for friendship with me. Just kidding, but no… really. Of course some of my friends look better than others. No offense Dustin

Paul Johnson

I’ve previously written about why I love our coach. But this season in particular I’ve gained new respect because a 4-quarter application of PJ usually results in…

Winning

I’ve already booked my tickets for the GT/UGA game and I cannot wait. Go Jackets, Fight, Win!

Normally I frown upon people who post blog entries that talk about the frequency (or lack thereof) of their blog posts… generally a post of that type assumes that people actually read your blog and care if you post or not. An assumption that I find rather comical in general given the average readership of most blogs (mine included), and quite outrageous in this particular case given that my last post was over two months ago and by now the few followers I had have undoubtedly moved on to richer reading pastures. So, on that count there’s no reason to apologize for the lack of posts recently. Furthermore, far be it from me that my site would become just another tombstone in the vast graveyard of dead blogs filled with posts lamenting the lack of time for proper writing.

Anyways, that said, it’s been a wild couple of months. I left Atlanta on the 29th of June, Seattle bound. After a long cross-country trip with a brief stop in Colorado I arrived in Seattle on the 6th of July. There hasn’t been one aspect of my life that has not changed at least a little, and most areas have changed so significantly that I have yet to fully grasp the magnitude of the difference.

Since I left Atlanta:

• I’ve gone from living in a double-occupancy room in a fraternity house to living in an apartment alone to living in a three-story townhouse with a friend from GA.
• I have not eaten at Jason’s Deli, not even once.
• I’ve left my church home at Buckhead Church where the music was like a rock concert and Andy reiterated everything three times for 30 minutes tops and started attending Mars Hill Church where the music is indie-ish and Mark Driscoll yells at us for at least an hour every Sunday.
• I’ve gone from being a poor grad student to working for the largest software company on the planet although, in contrast, my wardrobe has remained relatively constant.
• I’ve gone from working out at the GT Rec Center with a bunch of college aged guys and one girl to working out at what amounts to the Microsoft Rec Center with a bunch of 40 year-old guys and no girls
• I’ve gone from walking 5-10 minutes to and from class/work to a 30 minute minimum drive from home to work. I now take the bus almost every day.
• I can pretty much afford to eat out whenever I want, but I no longer have nearly as many friends to take with me.
• I’ve gone from living in the middle of constant activity to living in a quiet neighborhood and working alone at a desk for most of the day.
• I’ve gone from near constant involvement at Theta Xi to nearly none outside of observing the e-mail lists.
• I’ve gone from anticipating the GT football season with great excitement to mere indifference.
• I used to sweat just looking outside, now I wear a polar fleece jacket nearly every morning, and often throughout the entire day.
• I’ve gone from having to pay for each load of laundry in washers and dryers with two clothing settings: Maul and Destroy to having a washer and dryer with more settings than a mid-sized aircraft.
• I’ve gone from having basically everything I own in one room to having to go to Ikea to get stuff to fill up all the extra rooms in the house.
• There hasn’t been a day, or really even an hour, that I haven’t missed all of my great friends back in Georgia in one way or another.
• I’ve been blessed with the seeds of new friendships here in Seattle.
• I’ve struggled as God has moved me across the country and away from all my connections, comforts and familiarity to the place He wants me to be. And I’ve been amazed as He has given me grace to persevere in the face of what can often be overwhelming sadness and frustration.

And that’s just a few of the things going on now. When people ask how the move has gone I usually tell them that it’s like a roller coaster; there are up days and there are down days but in the end the entire thing is an exhilarating ride. It’s been a very exciting period in my life, but as I get settled in the swings become less frequent, and less severe. As I move forward I always try to recall the feeling of awesome opportunity that I had in anticipation of the move when I was still in Georgia.

And, if all else fails, I just book a ticket “home” for the weekend

Sunday I met with the small group leaders at Buckhead Church for the last time. Typically we have these lunch meetings once a month throughout the course of the semester. The objective is to get together to discuss everything that is going on in our groups, and share methods and ideas with each other. Last Sunday was the last meeting of this semester and, for me, the last one I will attend.

As this is the last week of class, and next week is finals week, it’s inevitable that there are going to be a lot of these “lasts”.

It’s difficult for me to write about this because I really don’t know how to feel. There’s definitely excitement, but there’s also a great deal of fear and uncertainty. Imagine looking around at everything you can see or experience and being afraid to like it because it will be a 7-hour airplane ride away in a couple months. Not that Seattle is a bad place, quite the opposite in fact. The quick glimpses that I’ve gotten through my visits there and by listening to Mark’s podcasts are promising. It’s just that I’ve done this whole move-across-the-county thing before when I came to Georgia from Colorado, so now I’m burdened with the knowledge of what that move will do.

I’ve had a really good time here. That’s what is clearly apparent in the “lasts”. If I hadn’t had a good time, then there wouldn’t be any “lasts” worth experiencing. As I reflect back on the time I’ve spent here I’m amazed at all the great things I have to remember. But as I began writing about them I realized that if I put them all in one post it would be close to a mile long. So instead, I’m going to parcel them out over the course of a few days/weeks starting with this one:

Small Group

I started my small group experience at Theta Xi before I was even a brother. Charlie Wright, who would eventually become my big brother, invited me to join a group my sophomore year at Tech. As I was really struggling for Christian guy community at the time; I joined. Eventually my involvement in the group led to my pledging at Theta Xi, but that’s another story. The next couple years I led groups of various size and effectiveness through the house. When I entered graduate school, however, things really took off. I decided that I wanted to join a group (not lead) through Buckhead Church to branch out beyond the fraternity. I didn’t want to lead, because I didn’t feel that I had the proper experience or knowledge to adequately lead. Apparently God thought differently. He brought a group of young guys to me, and for the next two years they asked me to lead them as we all “did life” together.

The last two years have been some of the most exciting years of my life in small group. I’m so amazed at the growth and maturity that each of the members of our group has experienced, myself included. It’s hard to remember all the things that we have done together outside of the regular meetings; going to Kenya, mini-golfing, feeding the homeless, and generally just hanging out. When we first all met I think there was a significant doubt that we would even work together, but now I can safely say that if I get married I know a couple guys who will be standing with me at the altar.

Ok I lied, as I was driving home from the lab where I posted that last video and claimed that I didn’t have time or energy for proper writing I got to thinking and now I actually have something to write.

But before that. Apparently the left turn signal in the ol’ Rodeo has given out. Now instead of activating the signal there’s just this annoying buzzing. I’d fix it immediately, but the sound coming from the relay seems to be somewhere deep in the dashboard which probably means the fix won’t be easy or fast which means it probably won’t be happening anytime in the immediate future. I can sometimes finagle it to work (oh the joys of older cars) but for the most part the only legal direction I can turn is to the right… So clearly the conclusion here is that both in old cars and in politics you could say that going to the left too much causes things to break… har har.

Anyways, so as I drove home from yet another late night in the lab I was thinking of people (out of state friends and family and such) I had neglected to call/e-mail over the past few months, and mentally rehearsing what I would say to them to excuse the fact that I was so tardy in contacting them. The funny thing was that in almost every case this was not the first time that I had let a long time go between points of contact and that my excuse was the same one I always go to in that situation: “Sorry, but I’ve been totally slammed with work.” Which got me thinking…

When have I not been slammed with work?

The obvious implication here is that the amount of work I’m experiencing is uncharacteristically high, and that’s why I haven’t called. But it would seem that if the workload is constantly high then me being slammed is not all that abnormal, and should probably be expected. As I considered further I realized that I wasn’t all that busy and that I, along with many other people I know, just use that as an excuse to get out of the guilt of ignoring someone who we wanted to contact. After all, saying “Oh I’m sorry I haven’t called, I was just playing Halo and screwing around on Facebook all night” doesn’t have quite the same legitimacy as “I was studying cures for cancer in the lab all night.”

Not to say that I don’t have a lot of work to do sometimes. But I have this belief that college students (myself included) have awfully inefficient work habits and take weeks do to what could be done in days. This, coupled with high expectations for the amount of communication there will be will have with remote friends and family makes for constant “busy-ness” as an excuse for lack of quality conversation time.

So I have two conclusions from this:

1. Don’t expect to have more contact with remote friends and family than is reasonable. Stop making excuses for why you chose to go get shakes with the guys after the chapter meeting instead of calling that friend you’ve been meaning too.
2. Work harder and use profitablly the free time that hard work creates.

Now it’s time to make a wise choice with my time and go to sleep.

I hate that my roommate’s last drive out as wreck driver was marred by the classless “prayer” the U-Miami players decided to have:

• Before the game.
• In front of our student section.
• Directly in the way of our mascot.

I really hate this sort of thing. Prayer at football games is fine, just as long as it’s intended to glorify God and not men. Which usually means it’s done unobtrusively (center of the field, not in the opposing endzone), after the game (so it’s not about who wins), and involves both teams. I can’t believe how angry this video made me.

At least we won.

This is my roommate Dustin. He’s graduating in one week and going to med school at Vanderbilt. We’ve been living together for three years which I believe qualifies us for common law marriage. This is oddly ironic because living with this guy has given me every confidence that someday, if I get married, I will be able to survive it.

Dustin and I starting rooming almost by accident. It’s funny how most life-changing things start that way. When I look back at all the people that have influenced who I’ve become in college, I would say that Dustin is one of the top 5. He’s inspired me, challenged me, annoyed me (which I’m sure was reciporcal), made me laugh, and made me proud. He’s also drastically improved the way I dress.

I was working in the room the other day when I realized…

I only have one more week before he moves out.

I’ve always seen my life as a series of stages (or chapters, or whatever tired analogy you want to use), and this is the close of a major one for both of us. I’ve got that feeling you get when you reach the end of a good book and sit there for a minute and just let it all soak in. It’s not that I want to go back and re-read anything, but I just don’t want to forget the (many) good parts.

Farewell Dustin, and good luck. I’ve really enjoyed our time together, and as you move on to better things I hope you take as many fond memories as I have.

These two were within 9 items of each other on my news feed: