Lifestyle changes for Jon

Hello guys, in the last month I've made some pretty radical changes (for me) in my life and am finally here to give everyone an update.
But first I'd like to say a huge thank you to Strauss, Dave DeGroot, Brett, Liz, and Carrie for giving me places to stay during my vacation in August and for spending time visiting with me. It was an awesome trip and very relaxing. It felt great to see such good and dear friends again. Hopefully it won't be another three years until I can see you guys again. And now the update....

As we went into September and right before my vacation I turned in my notice to McDonald's. While the job certainly filled a need for me in the past it had become a great source of trouble for me in the past six months or so. It was almost impossible for me find ways to keep advancing myself musically except for the odd lesson or so because I had to schedule everything at least a month in advance. I was also almost never able to attend church because there were only three of us salaried managers to cover all the shifts in a week. And I had zero time to unwind with friends and family whom I was seeing about once every two weeks or so. Add to this an ever growing sense of frustration and depression and this job had to go.
I'm now doing several things part-time to earn money. On Monday through Wednesday I'm teaching piano lessons and accompanying a few singers at East Central College. I only have a very few students or singers right now though so it's not as much money as it will hopefully become. And for the other part-time job I'm now a bartender at a local restaurant called the Pasta House Company. It's been a lot of fun lately and once I learned the different alchohols and drink recipes it got a lot easier and while I'm not the best bartender they've got I definitely not the worst either.
Since I can no pretty much set my own schedule I auditioned for a select choir in St. Louis and made it in. They're called the Bach Society Chorus. You can check them out at www.bachsociety.org if you want. It's really been a great choir to be a part of everyone in it is such a high caliber singer that it's really a joy to be in rehearsals with them. And almost everyone in the choir is a Christian and most of the pieces that we perform and sacred in nature. Almost all of our concerts are performed in the great cathedrals and churches in St. Louis. All in all it's going to be a blast I think. Hopefully if I'm a member again next year I can actually earn one of the paid positions but we'll see.
I'm also able to take lessons right now from two really great teachers, Dr. Leon Burke and Jim Uselman. They are both really great guys and I feel blessed to have them both as mentors and teachers. Which I've been sorely lacking for the last few years. I think that under their tutelage I'll be able to grow both as a musician and as a person.
I'm going to go now but I'd like to leave a note of encouragement for anyone who might need it. If circumstances in your life are making you feel miserable and depressed, whether they are from a job or whatever the cause. Don't be afraid to change your life. It can be pretty scary to leave the safety of the known for the uncertainty of new things. But if you don't make the changes you need to, then the only thing you can be certain of is that no one else will do it for you. Think hard, pray hard, and then act. You'll be much happier in the long run if you listen to your heart and what God is telling you. Bye guys I'll talk to you all later.

The Struggle to Find Us

I decided to see how hard it is to find our site using the new google blogsearch.

It couldn't find us using Traber 6 or Traber6.

It couldn't find us in a search for TEFKAMS.

It couldn't find us in a search for Traber Wheaton either (but it did provide some mildly interesting results).

Nor could it find us in a search for Strauss Greenspan or Glubby Jones.

I did find us when I searched for Dusty Marlett.
Dusty rollin' in the dough
16 Jul 2005 by Stephen
Dusty, what happened to your site?? http://www.marlett.net/ Did you sell the
domain name for the big bucks?? "This site is currently under contruction If you
are looking for Dusty's personal site, it has moved to a folder inside of this ...
611 Online! - http://traber6updates.blogspot.com

I also found us when I typed in 611 online.
611 Online! - Welcome friend! Consider this your online Steve-and-Adam's room! Traber 611 Online! So kick back, grab your favorite SAGA-esque snack,...



Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. I'm not ashamed by our site. Plus, our site is stinking hard to find even with blogsearch unless you know to type in 611 online, or you have a fascination with Dusty. If we really feel that this situation needs to be remedied, the easy solution is to expel Dusty from the blog and wipe out all 611 online records of his existence. I don't see wordpress as necessary.

For Dusty: John 15:13*


* Disclaimer: Expulsion of Dusty is a tongue in cheek suggestion that I do not feel should be carried out yet.

Tabla

Steve and I went to an new Indian restaurant in our area tonight. We were the only ones there for most of the time, so we started talking to the (Japanese) owner and asked him if he had any cool Indian music to play on his CD player there. He played a 'tabla' drum CD and the reason I'm telling you this is 1)Steve made me, because I never post to the blog and 2)I'd like to know what other intellectual-friendly tear-inducing brooding and esoteric music you guys know about and I don't...said music retaining intricate chord structures and penetrating and voice-shatteringly high melodies and at the same time remaining radio-friendly.

If that's not clear, just tell me and the rest of us some music worth listening to that we don't know about. (And for me, remember, I really know nothing.)

I Have Seen the Future...

Alas, fair friends, it is true. For those of you, like Dusty, who have been fearing this for some time, I bring to you grave tidings of a new and insidious search engine, developed by Google, to infiltrate our fair blogosphere. I can bearly bring myself to speak its name... blogsearch. Oh, the humanity!

Adam's Road Trip

Adam, I expect you to fill this post or a new one with an personal update if you ever get some down time while in Wheaton. I hope you got there safely.

Coye

Coye, I will be in Austin this weekend! Just think, we will be in the same great city at the same time! Do you ever cruise down 6th street?

H

H, How is Meyers coming along? Still working there? I know I probably spelled Meyer wrong, and I sure have no motivation to attempt the proper spelling of your name, but oh well.

Does anyone have a digital copy of the Wheaton song? I am referring to the one in the college hymn book. Thanks

Look at what's hot!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8939242/site/newsweek/page/3/

HOTTEST CHRISTIAN COLLEGE Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill. This is not a Bible college, Wheaton officials say. Bible colleges mostly train ministers. Wheaton, with 2,400 students, instead is a place committed to evangelical Protestant Christian faith, as part of the education of students going on to hundreds of different vocations. "We all have one thing in common: our love and our devotion to Jesus Christ," says junior Erin Tanana. The school is known for strong academics and its honor code. Alumni range from evangelist Billy Graham, '43, to Michael Gerson, '86, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush.

Proof of My Son's Absolute Cuteness!

Post on UK Acts of Hate

Acts of hate: full list of 'deportation' actsBy Times Online
The Home Office today published a list of "unacceptable behaviours" which will lead to the deportation or exclusion of any foreign national who commits them from the UK.

According to the Home Secretary the list is indicative rather than exhaustive and covers any non-UK citizen whether in the UK or abroad.

Terrorist violence
Cannot foment, justify, glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs

Terrorist acts
Cannot seek to provoke others to terrorist acts

Criminal acts
Cannot foment other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts

Inter-community violence
Cannot foster hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK.

Method
Individuals who do the above by any means or medium are caught by the legislation, including:
- writing, producing, publishing or distributing material;
- public speaking including preaching
- running a website
- using a position of responsibility such as teacher, community or youth leader

138

Hook 'em, Horns! Well, I made it. The drive was long, the weather was hot, the furniture was heavy, the weather was hot, the unpacking was tedious, the weather was hot and the weather was hot, but I made the move down to Austin. I am still getting a few things set up in my appartment, but it is starting to fall together pretty well. I am spending this week trying to get as much of the tedious preparatory things done for school before everyone else shows up and I have to wait three hours in line to jump through the same hoops. I got my UT id on Monday, which lets me ride Austin buses for free, and I got my keys and my computer accounts and my financial aid worked through and the list continues. It has been strange to be in a city where I don't know anyone and not really have anything to do (the above chore list sort of counts, but it's not exactly a full time employment). This living alone thing could get sort of lonesome, although I'm sure it will be better when I start classes and have tons of work to do all the time. If anyone knows any tall, attractive young women between 21 and 24 who are looking for a place to live in Austin... just kidding (not really). Actually, the problem may be that there are too many single twenty-somethings in Austin. And I think we may have all missed out on some things by not going to school in the South... Anyways, I am really looking forward to starting classes and academic life in the next couple of weeks. I'll let you know how it's going when it gets going.


138 is the number of times my profile has been viewed since we started the blog in December. That means that either you guys can't get enough Coye and read my profile compulsively, or we must have had a number of interlopers on the site. Either way, I think it's pretty cool. Love you guys!

Weddings bring reunions

I was at a Wheaton wedding a couple of weeks back, and a couple of T6 guys (sahv and Jon Steimel) mentioned that what interests them most about this site is the personal updates, so I'm just going to say that weddings are great. You get to celebrate two people getting married, and you get to see old friends.

In this case, the wedding was Vince Campbell and Diana Mojica's, and the old friends were Jon Steimel, Steve Hunter, Kristin Brostrom, and Carey Stamps. Wheaton probably would have loved having a photographer there to advertise Wheaton's efforts at diversity and multi-culturalism. It was very evident that Diana and especially Vince did a great job of breaking down color barriers while at Wheaton. Guests backgrounds included Puerto Rico and at least a dozen Latin American nations, various regions of Africa, Korea, China, Japan, probably some other Asian localities. Of course, us people of European descent were represented as well. Wedding guests were encouraged to dress in traditional clothing of whatever country they come from. I could not help but think a little bit of the wedding feast of the Lamb, while at the wedding. The entire ceremony was in both Spanish and English. For those of you if any who knew Kerlie (pronounced Curly), she did a great job translating.

The wedding being on Friday left another two days, before we all had to get back to our lives. It wasn't hard to convince Jon Steimel to come in to St. Louis from Gerald, MO. to be our tour guide for the day. It was a wonderful day, mostly because of all of us just enjoying each other's company. (The weather was perfect, too, which helped.) The day was so pleasant and relaxing, that I would go so far as to call it therapeutic. We went to the St. Louis arch and learned about Lewis and Clark through a movie before going up to the top of the arch in the most clausterphobic elevator that I have ever been in. They were more like pods than cars. We had lunch at the Hard Rock and wandered around the mall next door to it, before meeting up with coy. There was a shallow pool outside the mall where you could lounge around and feed the fish for a quarter. I guess we were easy to entertain. That night, we hit the St. Louis city museum, a one-of-a-kind place that Jon highly recommended. We spent the next few hours exploring tubes, caves, slides, planes, fire engines, and other types of art designed to be played on. The place had an indoor, and outdoor bar to boot. If you have any kid still in you and you are in St. Louis, that place is a must visit. The fellowship was broken at Steak 'n' Shake very late that night with goodbyes to the girls. Then, Steve and I said goodbye to Jon back at the house that we were crashing at. Steve and I parted ways. Goodbyes were easier for me than they might have been as I am seeing Jon in a week when he comes to DC, and I've seen Steve 3 times now since graduation. Then, Carey is just down the road in Baltimore.

In separate wedding reunion news, DeGroot, Brett, and myself met up with Dusty and his girlfriend Liz when they were in town for Andrea Ratzloff's wedding, on a Sat. night a few weeks back. I have very little to report other than what Dusty has already told everybody other than that Liz is tall and evidentl self motivated based on the fact that she is already almost done with dental school at the age of 22 if I remember right. I'm sure Dusty will correct me if I am wrong.

If anyone wants a more personal update, I'm giving one, but I'll keep it short. Work is going well. I restart part-time graduate school in the fall. I'm praying about how to get more involved at church as my current responsibilities ended when the summer started. I'll likely help out with youth ministries in some capacity. Given the lack of school and church commitments currently, I've had a lot of free time, which I've largely filled with fun. I saw Chelsea of the British Premier League take on DC United with Dave and Brett. Very cool. This past weekend I tubed down a river near Harpers Ferry, WV with some non-Wheaton friends, and next weekend I'm taking Monday off from work for a two day hang out at the ocean with Jon Steimel and Dave De Groot. Here's hoping that other people's summers have been as good as mine or better.

what are the odds?

Guys, do you think he can pull this off... Hyde's spot would be a tough spot to win, don't you think? I wonder if this is more of a show run, just to tell the students and grandkids?


WWJD for Congress?
By The Duke
From: 2006 Elections Table
Wheaton College professor Lindy Scott is exploring a run for retiring Illinois Rep. Henry Hyde's seat in Congress. Prof. Scott is the Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics, and he apparently is taking his own teaching to heart."I would want to serve as if Jesus were serving," Scott says. A pastor in the Evangelical Free Church, Scott was a missionary and an author before joining Wheaton's faculty.But before all of you blue-staters get your britches in a bunch, you need to know that Scott is a Democrat. He calls himself a compassionate Christian who is conservative on some issues and progressive on others. He opposes the death penalty and privatization of Social Security, and supports gun control, increased education funding, and steps towards universal health care. Foreign policy experience? Scott is the author of a book called Terrorism and the War on Iraq, and he lived in Mexico for 16 years. As the Duke has said for a long time, the evangelical community is not the monolithic conservative institution that Republican political strategists would have you believe. Wheaton College is a strong academic institution that is the alma mater of both Billy Graham and Denny Hastert. Some even call it the "Harvard of Christendom," a reference to its prominent standing among Christian colleges, so do not underestimate the impact this announcement could have across the evangelical community. The Washington media have accepted the Republican spin that people of faith are all conservative Republicans. In part this may be that there are too few Democratic elected officials who are comfortable speaking from an evangelical perspective. Lindy Scott in Congress might begin to change that.

Click on the following link!
Lindy Scott for Congress

Viva la Revolution!

For those of you who may be unaware that the revolution is upon us, that the kingdom of God is at hand, I bring to you a very important announcement. As you well know, we do a lot of talking in this space about community, especially Christian community—how to define it, what principles govern it, the ontological status of its participants (is this sounding at all familiar?)—but what you didn’t know is that while we have been talking, others have been acting, and now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is and move to the great state of South Carolina. That’s right, the kingdom of God is here, or at least it will be, and you can join up in the Palmetto State. A group calling itself Christian Exodus (see media coverage), disillusioned that even with a Christian president and Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, America is still sliding into a morass of moral decay, has proposed establishing an authentic Christian community in SC with the eventual goal of seceding from the Union! (Has this been tried before?) To be fair, secession isn’t their primary goal, but it is on the table according to Mike Sawyer, a member of the group: "The thought of secession is a last resort strategy. We hope to work within the system as much as possible in order to restore a true constitutional government."

According to their website, “ChristianExodus.org offers the opportunity to try a strategy not yet employed by Bible-believing Christians. Rather than spend resources in continued efforts to redirect the entire nation, we will redeem States one at a time. Millions of Christian conservatives are geographically spread out and diluted at the national level. Therefore, we must concentrate our numbers in a geographical region with a sovereign government we can influence through the electoral process. ChristianExodus.org is orchestrating the move of thousands of Christians to reacquire our Constitutional rights by electing State and local officials who will interpose on behalf of the people and refuse to enforce illegal federal acts. Click on our Plan of Action page to find out how we can experience God-honoring governance once again…

“South Carolina can secure the rights of her citizens by interposing her authority under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The federal government operates outside its delegated powers in the areas of education, religion, abortion, domestic behavior, intrastate communication, intrastate commerce, taxation, welfare, healthcare, gun regulation, and a host of other subjects… ChristianExodus.org will continue to move Christians into South Carolina until we possess a representative majority in both houses of the General Assembly. Such a strategy will make the sovereignty debate public, and the influence of our membership will tip the scales in favor of constitutionally limited government founded upon Christian principles.”

I have to admit, I give these people high marks for creativity, but what do you make of all of this? Should we be trying to turn America into a Christian theocracy? Is that what Jesus intended for the church--in this century or any other? Again, according to Mike Sawyer, “The USA is God's country, the greatest nation of modern times. We've fed the world, fought its wars, sent out more missionaries to spread the word of God than any other. Our Declaration and Constitution were divinely inspired.” I’d love to hear if anyone is motivated by this to think about moving to South Carolina, or any other commentary on this new movement.

almost...done

So... I get to come home in another day or two... or five. Sooner or later, anyway. Hope to see you guys soon.

Dusty rollin' in the dough

Dusty, what happened to your site??
http://www.marlett.net/
Did you sell the domain name for the big bucks??

"This site is currently under contruction If you are looking for Dusty's personal site, it has moved to a folder inside of this site."

This is hilarious.

Austin

Well, I went down to Austin last week and did a bit of apartment hunting. I don't suggest trying to find and pre-lease an appartment in two days. It gives you headaches. At least, it gives me headaches. Also, for those of you who might be changing cities in the near future, it's probably worth your time to find out if there are appartment finders where you are moving. I found out (after I had spent two and a half days driving all over Austin) that there are appartment hunters in Austin who will drive you around and show you a bunch of properties at no cost to you (the property owners pay them if you rent a place in their building). That would have been nice to know. Anyways, I'll figure out my mailing address when I get down there next month (Aug 12!!!) and make that available to anyone who wants it at that point. I also got my first cell phone while I was down there, so if you send me an email, I will send you my Austin telephone number (I'm also using it in Amarillo until I move). And it's a Cingular phone, so if any of you have the same service then we can talk to free. Yippee.

More Andrew Pictures

Click Here.

I must say, from my objective standpoint, my son is quite possible the most beautiful human being ever produced.

: )

Andrew Nathanael Jones - Born: May 29, 2005

I'm pretty tired right now; my heart wants to wax poetic, but I lack the energy to fit the right words together to bring you into my current world.

Here's some of the story:

After 30 hours of initial contractions (!) Sarah went into active labor around 6:00 am. We went to the Beverly Birth Center where her contractions became quite a bit more intense--she went from 4-6 cenemeters within three or four hours there. She was bleeding a bit more than the midwives were comfortable with, so we moved over to the Hospital (which is right next door to the birth center). Then she entered the final and most intense phase of labor and pushed our crying, bloody, beautiful son into this world at 3:50 pm.

How can I describe the moment of birth to you? The agony of seeing my wife go though the most intense labor mixed with the extacy of seeing my son come, push by push, as first a small sliver of hair, then head, then shoulders, arms and legs. Incredible.

We spent two days in the hospital, and now we're home. Tonight's the first night in our own place with our own son.

As I said, I'm exhausted, and ready to sleep (we'll see how much I get!).

Life is such a gift; how incredible it is that we all began this way! Our God is so full of life and grace; may we never cease to wonder at the beauty and mystery of life!

You can see some pictures that my father-in-law took on his photo site...

More details coming soon!