"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."

 

Now that I have you all in the proper state of mind, allow me to back track and explain myself and the purpose of this particular post.  For the past few days, I have found myself reflecting on idea of friendship and  my particular experiences with it.  Specifically, I've been meditating on what it means to lose a friend and how that has effected and impacted my life. 

Now, anyone who knows me well enough understands that I'm not the type of person who verbally expresses his feelings to, well, anyone; especially when it comes to how I feel about the people I know.  While you could conclude that this is because of a lack of strong emotional ties, it is actually quite the opposite.  It is due to the depth of feelings that I'm generally uncomfortable telling friends how much they mean to me. 

Before I continue, let me provide some context.  Unlike most people, or at least what I perceive about most people,  I have had periods of my life where I would say I had no friends.  Let me provide my definition of "friend" before you reject this statement.  For me, a friend is someone who, when I ask them how they are or what they've been up to, I'm asking out of a desire to know the answer, not out of formality (If I had to create categories to describe my relationships with non-family members I would only have three: acquaintance, friend, and brother from another mother)

From second to fifth grade I knew three guys that would meet my definition of friend. We were all homeschooled and predominately knew each other from being in the same history class.  Throughout the school year we saw each other at least once a week and had ample time to play between classes.  Our main staples were basketball, tag, and mock war games.  These were the glory days, where the amount of time spent having fun far exceeding the amount of time spent on school.  Unfortunately this carefree period of connection came to an abrupt halt at the end of fifth grade. 

One day close to the end of the semester, my mom told me that my best friend of the three would be moving back to his hometown of Reno, Nevada.  Needless to say, I was devastated.  This was still the pre-email address stage of my life and even at that age (I believe I was 10 at the time) I understood that it would be hard to keep in contact with him.  That being said, I never fathomed that I would never see nor hear from him again, which is the unfortunate reality of the situation.  To make matters worse, that very next year my history class, a symbol of friendship and consistency for the past 5 years, dissolved.  This was a tough pill to swallow as a introverted eleven year old.  It didn't help matters that I was about to enter a period of time where I wasn't particularly close with any of my siblings.

Now, I'm sure you all are thinking, "Well, Christopher, this is a delightfully depressing story but... what's the point?"   My point is this: there is a reason Aristotle said, "Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods."  As human beings,  we are created for relationship; first with God and then with other human beings.  The crux of Christianity isn't obeying God, but knowing God.  To take a friend, or any relationship for that matter, for granted is to commit a crime against the very fabric of our being. 

Fortunately for my story, there is a happy ending.  I've been blessed to not only meet guys that I would call friends, but also that I would call brothers.  I can go to bed at night confident that if a situation were over to come up, I could count on them to be there for me, either in person or in spirit. 

I'll end with a few words of encouragement and a link to my favorite song about friendship. 1) To everyone who has ever lost of friend, regardless of the circumstances, there are some days when you wish (or at least I wished) that you had never known the person.  With that being said, it is far better to have experienced that depth of relationship and then lose it rather than never experience it at all.  2) To those who have been blessed enough to have grown up with friends and are still in contact with them, allow me to reiterate myself: don't take it for granted, good friends with whom you can cultivate a strong relationship over a number of years are NOT a dime a dozen.  Lastly, to all my friends out there, to my "brotha's from another mother," (you know who you are) know that I am extremely grateful to know you all and I'm a better person for having met the lot of you.  A guy couldn't have a better band of brothers. 

Well that's all for now.  As Paul always said, grace and peace to you, and remember, if you follow my advice, success shall follow you like a stray dog.

Christopher's Ten for 10: My Top Ten Favorite Posts

After 3 years and 1 month it has finally arrived, my fiftieth blog post. I'd first like to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has stuck with me for the past three years and I'd like to give a special thank you to everyone who has ever commented on a post, whether you were pointing out a grammatical error or telling me how much you liked (or disliked) a particular post.  While I write about the things that I'm interested in, my purpose for writing is largely to entertain you all; to provide some small source of relief from the stresses of the world.  Hopefully you all have enjoyed (and will continue to enjoy) what I write as much as I have enjoyed writing it.  Now, without further ado, I give you the final post in my ten part mini-series.  "Christopher's Ten for 10:  My Top Ten Favorite Posts"  For your convenience, I have embedded links to all these posts inside their respective titles, so once you read my summary, just click on the title to read the post in it's entirety.

To start, I'd like to highlight two posts which didn't make the top ten list, but are still worth checking out (at least in my opinion).  First we have the post, "And you thought Friday the 13th was bad.... Part 1" .  While mildly amusing, the best part of the blog is not it's humor, but that it was the first in a series, a series which I never actually finished.  It has a complete cliffhanger ending and I'm one of two people who actually knows how the story ends.  Perhaps if enough of you ask for it, I'll write the sequel.  Secondly, we have,  "Which of These Things is Not Like the Other...".  I wrote this post back in May, after  a discussion I had with my Mom.  Two things make this a must read post.  1) This is one of maybe three posts where I actually mean everything I say.  The topic covered is very near and dear to my heart and I finally got tired of allowing other people to disseminate fiction as if it was fact.  2) It references the dandruff of baby Cherubs.  Need I say more?

With those appetizers out the way, I present the main course.  Let's start with numero diez.

10.  Christopher, Christopher, come there's a snake!!!!!!!   -  Long story short, there was a snake near my Mom's car and I had to get rid of it.  Did I mention that I, like Indiana Jones, despise snakes? Yeah, needless to say, some serious stuff went down that day.  (Now, you should notice that this last sentence is a classic example of an unintentional rhyme, something that occurs quite often within my writing.  I guess you could call it a trademark.)

9.  One Day Later....  Who is Christopher Webb?  No post better answers this question than, "One Day Later...".  Written the day after my final Piedmont exam, it is an inside look at Christopher Webb, unburdened.  It's a shame we don't get to see him more often.

8.  Hello Officer...    This post recounts my experience being pulled over by a police officer whilst learning how to drive, facts not required (although they are included for contextual purposes).  Christopherisms (complex analogies and metaphors that only I really understand) abound.

7.  How To Catch Vermin: A Critical Analysis of Catching Mice, Snakes, Spiders, and Camel Crickets (devil bugs).   The first in a five part advice column, this post was an instant hit.  Humor is elegantly interwoven between actual practical advice, which makes this post a must read for all who are scared of Spiders. (Note: another title for this post was going to be "Killing Spiders for Dummies", but apparently that infringed on copyright laws or something like that.)

6. How To Catch Vermin: A Critical Analysis of Catching Mice, Snakes, Spiders, and Camel Crickets (devil bugs).  Part 2   Part two of the "How To Catch Vermin" series covered an insect unique to the Albemarle county area, the Camel Cricket.  Building on the formula put in place in the previous post, this post contains references to it's older brother to reward fans of the previous post, while still remaining accessible to new readers.  (This post contains the second and slightly altered appearance of what has since been something of a catchphrase for my blog. "And remember, if you follow my advice, success will follow you like a stray dog."

5.  How To Catch Vermin: A Critical Analysis of Catching Mice, Snakes, Spiders, and Camel Crickets (devil bugs).  Part 3 Inspired by a week long assault by mice in our house (which resulted in some late nights and grumpy mornings for those of us involved), this post might be a little less practical than the others, but what it loses in applicability, it makes up for in creativity.

4.  How to Catch Vermin: A Critical Analysis of Catching Stinkbugs  My first and only foray into satire, this post is mostly a reference to the irrational fear people have of Stinkbugs, an emotion that I can't understand.  (Plus fear should have already been purged anyway.  It's not like you're battling a Terminator or anything like that.)

3.  How to Catch Vermin: Special Edition: The Dark Side of Free Will   Part rant, part research article, this post covers my (some would call extreme) reaction to some startling news that I read about on the interwebs.  The final issue of the "How to Catch Vermin" series (for now...), this post concludes with a rousing message of courage and perseverance.

2.   The Death of the Movie Theme?   The hardest post I've ever written, and by far the most satisfying to complete.  Inspired by an article that claimed that the movie theme as seen in Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc., was dead, I spent three days on vacation explaining why this simply isn't true.  What this post lacks in humor it makes up for as an academic style  persuasive essay.  While I'll be the first to admit that this post is extremely daunting to read in it's entirety (It's probably close to 4 pages double spaced), I think it would be extremely worth it to read the entire thing.  Also, listening to the music samples included further completes the experience, as these samples provide the real meat of my argument.

1.  Drive Slowly and Carry a Big Shotgun...    Every once a while, we all do something really cool and have no idea how we did it.  For some people it's an athletic performance, for others it's overcoming a fear.  For me, it was writing this post.  To be perfectly honest, I still have no idea how I wrote something this brilliant.  And I'm not being arrogant, this post has the most views and comments of any other I have written, so my readership agrees with my evaluation.  If you were to read just one of these 10 posts in your life, this would be the one I'd tell you to read.  So what are you waiting for, get to readin'!!!

Well, thus concludes this post.  As one era comes to a close, another creeps over the horizon, peaking out behind the mountains, getting ready to shine it's light upon the dewy landscape.  If you enjoyed this post, don't just keep it to yourself.  The comments are there for a reason :)   Also, if you are a current subscriber (and by subscriber I mean someone who I email whenever a new post comes out) the let me know what your favorite post is.

That's all for now, look for more posts to come on an infrequent basis (the nature of having a blog during the school year) and also pay very close attention to any posts that come out December 2013/January 2014.  Change is coming ;)  Goodbye for now and remember, if you follow my advice, success shall follow you like a cat chasing the beam of a flashlight.

Christopher's Ten for 10: Ten Things I've Done/Seen While at VCU

Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

So, I took a little longer than I thought I would to get assimilated into VCU's culture.  Sue me.  Regardless, I have returned to finish up my mini-series and finally write that oh so illusive 50th post.  Today's post will be #49 and then the big 5-O will come out tomorrow (ish).  Any who,  let's get down to business.  Without further ado, I present, "Ten Things I've Done or Seen While at VCU".

10. Get up for class before 8 on a regular basis:  Yeah, not the smartest thing for a night owl to do.  I'll admit, it has taken every ounce of my strength to get to class on time, and while I have had some close calls (most recently this morning), I'm still keeping my head above water.

9.  Watch Lie to Me - How I'd never heard of this before 2 months ago, I don't know, but this show is da fuzz.  Tim Roth is the perfect balance of crime fighter and arrogant know-it-all.  So far I've seen all of season 1 and the premiere of Season 2 and I've been very impressed. (Two notes. 1) Episode 12 of season 1 is one of the best episodes of any show I've  seen.  2) Shout out to Maddie Johnson for telling me about the show.  Big thanks).

8. Walk to get something to eat -  Pros:  You feel better about eating any type of food 'cause you know you're gonna burn it off anyway.  Cons:  If you don't feel like going anywhere you either have to suck it up, or get food a day earlier than you plan to eat it.

7.  Where a hoodie inside - At home, my house is kept at a comfortable 78 degrees.  Here, my dorm room is kept at a chilly 68 degrees.  That's not only a ten degree decrease but also a net loss of 72.573 leisure and comfort units.  On the flip side, I sleep very well and haven't had any night terrors.

6.   Read the Bible more than once a day - Pretty much the only good thing that came out of being laptop-less for a week (long story), was that all I could do was read and the Bible was the only thing I felt like reading.  Once I got the laptop back, I still wanted to read it so I've continued to read it throughout the day.

5.  Socialize outside of class- Lest I come across as a homebody, let me go ahead and say that living on campus obviously makes it easier to meet up with people spontaneously then commuting from home.  That being said, If I'd come to VCU as a freshman, I probably would be a lot less willing to trade studying for hanging out.  I've clearly matured since then.

4. Watched Dragon Ball Z and the music video, "White and Nerdy" - I'd never seen either of these before coming to VCU and clearly I only missed out on one of them.  And by one of them, I mean the one that makes you laugh, not the one that makes you want to read a textbook to regain lost brain cells.

3.  Go on a retreat -Yeah, so I'd never been on a retreat before joining VCU's Chi Alpha and needless to say, I've been missing out.  It was FAN-FRICKIN'-TASTIC.  Got to meet a ton of cool people, the large group, medium group, and small group bible studies were great, and a bevy of inside jokes were created. Can't wait to see what's coming up NEXT.  Finish this if you know how it ends, "You look..."

2. Play Ga Ga Ball - Imagine dodge-ball, but with more emphasis on body control and strategy instead of brute strength and accuracy.  Yeah, I got the same anticipation butterflies in my stomach too.  And since it takes place in a gladiatorial style arena, the action is always up close and personal.  If you've never played, look it up on YouTube, You'll end up wanting to build an arena for your house.

1.  Skype - Let's all give a round of applause for the inventor of Skype.
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Ok, stop.  Skype has allowed me to keep in contact with the folks, and see the little brothers every now and then.  It's definitely been nice to have the random conversations with the family and be able to see everyone's expressions whenever someone says something worthy of a, "Whatcho talkin' 'bout Willis?"

Thus ends the widely anticipated 49th post. Here's a preview of what's next on, "This mortal body has grown weak, I need sustenance."  Tune in next time and remember, if you heed my advice, success will follow you like a stray dog.

Post 50: Christopher's Ten for 10: My top ten favorite posts (so far).
Post 51:  Hint - Et mor chikin.
Post 52:  A look back at the Chi Alpha fall retreat (aka NEXT)

Christopher's Ten for 10: Top Ten Favorite Movies

This is it.  The one you have all been waiting for.  The extremely cliche, but also necessary, top ten movies post. I could go on and on about what I like and what I dislike about each of these films; instead, I'll simply include a trailer, and put one thing that I like about the movie, whether it's a scene, a theme, a character, etc.

10. The Ultimate Gift*
The thing that I most enjoy about this film is the authenticity of the relationships between the characters.  I think the character arcs are really well developed and the acting is top notch which leads to some really great emotional moments.

9. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark *
This is an example of one of those movies that I could watch anytime it showed up on TV, regardless of what part of the movie its at.  Also, I think Raiders is a great example of a movie that uses humor as a tool  to make a better film, as opposed to a movie that gets sucked into making the humor the point of the film.  Harrison Ford's pretty good, too.

8. Spider-man
Another example of a movie that if I see it on TV, I will almost always watch it or record it on our DVR (despite the fact that we own the DVD).  The action was extremely good for its time and Tobey Maguire does a great job displaying the weight and responsibility Peter Parker faces due to his powers.

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*
My favorite of the trilogy, the music is great and the action is intense and gritty.  Favorite quote: Frodo-  "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." Gandolf- "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

6. A Few Good Men*
 Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Jack Nicholson, Kiefer Sutherland, and one of the most memorable quotes of all time.  Need I say more?
                                          
5. Man of Steel*
The special effects are breathtaking, the action is unparalleled, but the heart of the film lies with the relationship between Clark (aka Superman) and his parents; both biological and adopted. In addition, Hans Zimmer delivers a score that perfectly compliments the film, creating incredible themes for protagonist and antagonist alike.

4. Star Wars*
As I watched the film yesterday, I began to realize how much I liked this movie.  I then got to the scene in the trash compacter and realized that I was watching Tony, Ziva, and McGee from NCIS. That's when I knew it was top ten.  Plus it has my favorite Darth Vader quote, " I find your lack of faith disturbing".  The epitome of a classic.

3.  The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe*
They took a beloved childhood book and didn't screw it up.  That may not seem like much but considering the quality of the next two, apparently adapting a book accurately is harder than I thought.  Also, Liam Neeson was born to voice Aslan, no joke.

2. The Dark Knight Trilogy*
I couldn't live any of these movies out, so I am looking at the trilogy as one giant, epic movie.  I love each movie for different reasons: Batman Begins because its a great origin story and the best interpretation of Batman as a character, The Dark Knight because it has the greatest conflict/villain for Batman to face, and The Dark Knight Rises because it has the best emotional moments of the trilogy.

1. Inception*
The only movie I've ever seen that I can find no flaw with.  Simply put, it's a cinematic masterpiece and the standard according to which I compare all other films.

Well, there it is, my top ten favorite movies.  What movies do you hold in high regard?  Put a couple of your favorites in the comments, and let me know what you think about my list.  Look for posts 49 and 50 to come on Monday.