'it always rains'

But the sun also always comes out...and usually lasts much longer.

Life is like Colorado weather, which at first I hated but now am getting used to. It changes constantly. But for the most part, it's nice and sunny out.

That's life.

Speaking of life, let me tell you about what I do with mine.

I am currently sort-of but not really working on a job. I'm applying to get my substitute license, but no joke, the process in Colorado is ten times more difficult and longer than that in Kansas. Let's just say these people need to learn a lesson from Lawrence Public Schools and the Kansas State Department of Education.

So it looks like I may not be substituting until next semester, which is fine. Because this morning I talked to the lady I nannied for last week and she wants me to work sporadic days when I can, which works perfectly for me. I may have to clean up some pee or poop, but it's a job that I believe God has provided for the time being, so I'll take it.

That was all boring work stuff. Now my real life.

Here's the rundown of the few people I spend the most time with here.

First, there's Alan. And no, not Alan Fogelman. Or Keller. A third one.

This is Alan Rowe. Together we are Rotate, as one student pointed out. I took this picture from his facebook because I don't have any. Alan and I are the new guys out of this whole group. Both of us moved here from far away and don't know many people. He moved from California where he grew up and graduated from Azusa Pacific--Kyle Wahaus! He also has a girlfriend in Colorado but she's like an hour and a half or so away in Loveland. So Alan and I tend to be bored a lot and hang out a lot.

It's good because we enjoy similar things in life: 2gether, Mystery Science Theatre, making the same joke last forever, wishing Riley was here, random adventures around the city, you know, that kind-of stuff.

Often times though, Alan and I are joined up by our good friend Alicia.

That's her with Cait, who I miss a lot a lot! Cait was in my Denver life for awhile, but she had to go back to Oregon. Go Ducks.

Alicia has lived here and worked at the church for awhile now, and I think she will become my first Colorado boo. Alan, Alicia and I are special BFF. The other night Alan made us dinner and Alicia and I made...wait for it...

Beignets! Thanks to the mix Danielle sent me, we enjoyed some delicious, Cafe DuMonde original beignets. While watching some of the Saints game their first night back in the Superdome. Oh New Orleans, I love you.

Anyway after that we went to these people's house name Denise and Ken who basically said we can come hang out whenever we want and we watched a stellar MST3K episode called Mitchell and then went in the hot tub. It was great. Our other friend Danielle was also there, but she's too busy to be our friend for very long amounts of time.

Here's another couple guys I like a lot.

That's Mark and Andy. You may recognize Mark from knowing me most of my life and being my brother. Andy's a new one though, and we're pretty good friends now after spending several hours together my first week here preparing for the Jr. High scavenger hunt.

They have a nice little house that is probably one of my favorite places to go hang out and watch the Ilo. Jub, you remember the Ilo. I make them let me come over and watch Project Runway. But I think they enjoy the company, and possibly the show. They just got a new roommate though who I don't know, so now it's slightly scarier to go there. But I'll get over it, don't worry.

Now last weekend my life left me. All of my new friends went on the High School retreat, and I was left behind as the lone Jr. High resident. Sad. So then I got to hang out with my only two other friends in the Denver area.

Ah Alan and Nick. They are good ones to spend time with because they remind me of home. I mean sure, Alan always tells me I'm awkward and Nick tells everyone we're dating, but it's fine.

Remember how I'm supposed to be working on getting all this job stuff done? Yeah I need to go do that. It's just so exciting that I have internet in the house now! Woot.

In closing, if anyone knows where our dear friend Riley is who is supposed to complete our Resident force, just let me know. Thanks. Alicia and Alan are concerned.

super nanny?

So I'm nannying this week. Every time a kid cries (well really it's just one kid) I remember watching Super Nanny with Julie Van Rossum and wonder, "What would super nanny do in this situation?" I don't know, but dealing with a 2 and a half year old little girl who I've had to clean pee and poop up after in just three days of sitting is not fun.

I don't plan to do this long term, but we'll see. I realized that much like substitute teaching, there are always funny stories to tell at the end of the day, but at least you get new kids everyday substituting. Any job suggestions? The staff makes fun of me for not having a job.

Denver has been great. I love the kids in the youth group, and I love the staff, so I'm content. I have no idea how long I'll be around here, but I'm off to a good start, I know that much.

Thanks for all your comments on my last blog, and sorry it's taken so long to get to another one. I never get on the internet for long enough. So I decided to take this opportunity while the kids are playing video games to say holla.

So my birthday was this past Saturday, and thanks to all of you who called and sent me stuff and hung out with me, because it was a great day. When I realized that my birthday would land only about a week after I got to Denver, I automatically assumed it would be lame and I would miss my friends. But God is good and I was wrong. I made friends quickly with a few people here, and I just threw all my friends in the Denver area together for one big event. So it turned out to be sweet. And I'm freaking 24. Wow.

I want you all to know that the other night I purchased two episodes of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 on VHS. Well actually I purchased one and my new friend Alan purchased the other for my birthday. I love that stuff.

Other good gifts:
-money
-cards
-awesome journal from Jen
-NOLA stuff including Cafe DuMonde beignet mix from Dani
-Rain DVD (Rob Bell) from Emjo
-cookie cake
-The Fray cd from Caitlin (duh I need that one now)
-iTunes gift certificate from Mark
-Target gift certificate from Andy and Chip
-Dinner from Alicia
-Putt putt coupons from new Dani
-A random assortment of things including a hubcap, koolaid, and Veggie Tales poster from Nick and Alan
-MST3K and a homemade Fray t-shirt that says "Ben is Awesome" on the back from new Alan

It was good.

Tonight I'm giving a little 10 minute talk at Jr. High youth group. I'm a little nervous, even though there's only like 20 of them and it's real short. Should be fun though. Then all my friends leave me for the High School retreat this weekend. I'm not going, but I'm okay with that. Should be a relaxing weekend after spending too much time with these little little kids.

Ok there's a lot of whining and crying coming from the other room, so I better go check things out. I'll try to keep you all updated more often of my Denver adventures...

a time for everything under heaven

If you've been wondering where I've been, or where tateblog has been, or why I haven't responded to your email or facebook message lately, here's why. Let's review my life over the past week or so.

Saturday, September 2: Went to Manhattan for wedding prep, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Sunday, September 3: Melissa's wedding.

Monday, September 4: One day break in Lawrence.

Tuesday, September 5: Went to St. Louis for visitation for Grandpa Tate.

Wednesday, September 6: Funeral for G-pa and back to Lawrence for the last night with friends.

Thursday, September 7: Drove to Denver.

Friday, September 8: Moved into my new home and went to the first Jr. High youth group of the year.

Saturday, September 9: Unpacked and somewhat organized my room and hung out with Caitlin Murphy.

Sunday, September 10: Went to church. For a long time. And another church function at night.

I sat here for a moment and wondered how I could cover all those events in one entry. How could I talk about a joyous occassion like a wedding and follow it with a grievous occassion like a funeral and meanwhile explain how excited I am to be in Denver but how sad I was to leave Lawrence?

Then I remembered Ecclesiastes 3:1.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

Keeping that in mind, I feel confident that all of the events in my life over the past week plus not only can be explained all at once, but perhaps they are in fact a perfect illustration of Solomon's God-inspired words in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes.

a time to dance

rejoice with those who rejoice.

I've gotta say, the Hartnett-Velazquez wedding was one of the best I've attended and been a part of. And trust me, I've been in and to a lot of weddings as this was my fifth appearance as a bridesmaid.

To start off, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were so relaxed: The guys wore jeans and t-shirts, the dinner was in a barn, and we dined on Grandma's rice and beans. Plus we got to all have a chance to talk about how da bomb Clint and Melissa are.

The wedding itself was pretty sweet as well. We sang some worship songs together, Miguel and Katie and Bob Velazquez performed some sweet music, the pastor said good things, they said I do, and they were married. Melissa looked so good, as did her bridesmaids, I must say.

And finally, the reception was bomb.

For the wedding party dance, we formed one of those dance lines and everyone went down in pairs. I, of course, did the worm in my dress, and don't worry, everything stayed in place. Then we all just danced the night away, including some swing dancing as well as Brazilian dance-fighting.

It was phenomenal. All of it. Melissa and Clint, I'm so happy and excited for you two, and so glad I got to be a part of such a sweet, God-glorifying event in your lives. And Melissa, you are attractive.

a time to mourn

mourn with those who mourn.

On the way to Manhattan Saturday, I found out my Grandpa had died early that morning. We had been expecting that to happen for a little over a week, so it was not surprising news to me, but still hard to hear.

Up until this past week, I had only been to two funerals in my life. Both for my mom's parents, both in my childhood. They weren't even technically funerals but memorial services I think. So the whole visitation/open casket/funeral/burial service was all new to me. And slightly overwhelming.

My grandpa was pretty sweet. He could always make us laugh, just like in the way Gary Tate makes us laugh but with slightly less censoring from time to time.

He loved making things in his shop in his garage. Back when it was the cool thing to wear big shirts and like tie up one side of the shirt in the front, and they sold those plastic things to put the excess shirt in (hard to explain, sorry), he made me wooden ones like that and painted them different colors. I specifically remember a gold and black-painted one that he made me to match my softball or soccer uniform.

He made all kinds of gadgets from t-shirt accessories to wooden reindeer. Even after he and my grandma had to move into the assisted living home, I'm pretty sure he still found some sort of shop to work in.

One of my favorite things about G-pa is that he loved the movie Predator. Nobody really knows exactly why, but that movie always came up in conversation. Knowing that my grandpa had a slight obsession with that movie always made me like it even more.

As cliche as it may sound, it was cool to see how many lives he had touched as they all made their appearances at the visitation or the funeral. A good number of residents and staff of their assisted living home came, and they have only known him since March. But he was just so friendly and funny that I can imagine people felt instantly connected when they met him.

In the words of one of the other men from his American Legion post, Grandpa Tate will be sadly missed. But I'm thankful he was a part of my life for almost 24 years.

a time to uproot
I don't think I've fully realized what happened when I drove away from Lawrence on Thursday, or maybe I'm just in denial of it. After five years, I had to pull up the incredible life God had grown for me there and say good-bye.

It still feels like I'm only gone for a short time. Like that I'll be back in a couple months. The weird reality is that I may never really be back. God only knows where I'll be at the end of this year. Still, my life is significantly changing.

Oh Lawrence. I am sad to leave so much there: my incredible friends, Crusade, Grace EPC, camp people who were not too far away, a life that became so comfortable and so blessed.

But I have the confidence that I am exactly where God wants me now.

I love you my loves. You know who you are.

This is a sweet picture taken in the old Kentucky Place apartment after we moved out. The new residents were nice to let us in.

a time to build
Friday night was the first Jr. High youth group, which they call "Fusion." I jumped right in to help Mark and the Jr. High intern, Andy, prepare for the night. It was Redneck Reunion night so we ate fried chicken and fruit salad (I helped make that), played funny games that including bobbing for apples and ultimate frisbee with a dead fish, and had some worship.

There were about 20 kids there, which apparently is a little on the low side. But I'm excited for God to build up this ministry and mostly for me to build relationships. Not only with the youth, but with the staff and whoever else wants to be my friend. I'm official now though--go check out our High Point Student Ministriesweb site. I even have my own email address.

Well as I have said at the end of many a tateblog, that was sufficiently long. I will close some more of Ecclesiastes 3 and show you how much this applies to my life over the past couple weeks.

a time to be born (visiting van rossum babies) and a time to die (G-pa)

a time to plant (Mandy bought me this plant as a going away gift, which actually will most likely die soon because I don't know how to take care of plants) and a time to uproot (yeah just see above)

a time to kill (uh...I killed a spider the other day) and a time to heal (yeah I could still use some of that)

a time to tear down (tearing apart my room) and a time to build (I'm going to build a fort with my copious amount of pillows)

a time to weep (that's happened many times) and a time to laugh (Mystery Science Theatre 3000, among other things)

a time to mourn (funeral) and a time to dance (wedding)

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them (I'm not actually sure what that means)

a time to embrace (as I left all my friends) and a time to refrain (it's not really a social norm to hug people when you first meet them)

a time to search (for a job) and a time to give up (embrace it and let it go)

a time to keep (all my stuff) and a time to throw away (stuff that doesn't fit in my room)

a time to tear and a time to mend (sorry I got nothing)

a time to be silent (when I think I need one last word but DON'T) and a time to speak (to tell people they bomb)

a time to love (you) and a time to hate (my sinful selfish ways)

a time for war (with my mom over what to wear to the funeral? maybe that's a bad example) and a time for peace (oh yeah that's always good)

I'm spent.