Brookes’ Bytes

Dad: My dad is awesome. He is an amazing cook, he knows how to fly a plane and he likes Sara Groves. Dad taught me how to drive a car. Whenever I go over to his house, he feeds me…even if it’s just for five minutes when I drop something off I borrowed. And I never stay for five minutes, cause we always get talking. I believe that my dad values what I have to say, cause he asks questions that show he’s listening and wants to hear the answers. I love my Dad.

Dates: No, I don’t mean the weird fruits, I means dates…time spent as a couple. I like it when Nayt surprises me with dates. I like planning dates. I like dressy dates. I like casual dates. I like dates that are free. I like dates that include tickets and parking downtown. I like dates that mean trying out new restaurants and dates where we go to our favs again. Dates mean time with Nayt, therefore, I like dates.

Dessert: um, who doesn’t like dessert? Specific favs? homemade angel food cake, lemon pound cake from Starbucks, apple pie with gravenstein apples , german chocolate cake, any kind of cupcake, raspberry jello, molasses cookies, creme brulee, madelines, chocolate fondue with strawberries, peach ice cream from UDF or Graeter’s, frozen yogurt, frosties, or if I’m particularly craving the sweets and have nothing to satisfy: frosting by the spoonful from the can or a handful of chocolate chips. Desserts are what I go for when I’m feeling like a couch potato. Thank you God, for SUGAR!

Douglas: I have a pet dragon. He’s gold and plush and doesn’t look scary at all. He looks more like a lizard than a dragon…except he has wings and I imagine he breathes fire. In 2006, my friend Merry gave me Douglas as a random gift. I carried him around in my bag purse like he was my dog or something. His little face would stick over the side. Coincidentally, the summer I got Douglas was the summer that Nayt and I started dating. Nayt “babysat” Douglas for me during SoS 2006. Douglas sits on the top shelf of a bookcase in our living room. He reminds me of flirting with Nayt and Nayt talking to Douglas in a silly voice. He reminds me that being silly and childish isn’t so bad. He reminds me of the beginning of my relationship with Nayt. RAWR. Scary dragon.

The Canterbury Tales: I majored in English Literature in college. Part of the curriculum for that degree was a series of 6 survey courses to cover all the major literary periods. Call me a geek, but I LOVED Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Part of this affection came from the fact that Professor Kamholtz was interesting and could make any piece of literature seem worthy of our time. Part of this affection was stirred up when I had to read it in the language it was written in: Middle English. And if you think “middle english” sounds like english, you’ve got another thing coming. I had to memorize the first 18 lines of the General Prologue and still can recite them (for the most part) today. ” Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour…”

Cedar Campus: This place is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and hosts the Family Camp that Nayt’s parents and sisters have been attending for a long time. I was invited to come along when Nayt and I were dating, and I fell in love with the place. It’s so peaceful up there. Lake Huron is cold and beautiful. And even though I have to wash dishes when I’m up there to pay my way, it still feels like a vacation when things like hiking, sailing, camping, amaretto hot chocolate, star gazing and family time are included. So blessed to have a vacation spot like Cedar Campus in my life now.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: I like to bake…a lot. It’s probably the one thing I do that makes me feel like a wife from the 1950’s who earns her keep by cooking. I’ve probably made over 100 batches of chocolate chip cookies to date. I’m still perfecting my recipe and process in order to produce a soft, chewy cookie. My not-so-secret secret is to take them immediately off the cookie sheets and let them cool on aluminum foil. This makes them soft. MMMM.

my Craft room: Nayt and I lived in a one bedroom apartment prior to our current location. My crafting area became our kitchen table…therefore, we could never EAT at our kitchen table cause it was covered in a layer of paper, rubber stamps and various card-making supplies. The biggest perk (for me) to living in a two bedroom place was the extra dedicated space I could have to “craft it up” in! Being able to leave a mess out is nice. Knowing that I could go into a room, shut the door and emerge hours later with handmade things makes me smile. Now…if only I had the time and discipline to crank out some more projects! Seriously grateful for my craft room…

Bad Kitty Can: This has been the only thing that will keep my cat from randomly biting me. Therefore, this little disciplining tool (a crystal light can with pennies in it) has become something important to me.

Banana Ice Cream: Bar none the best ice cream EVER, but only from Cold Stone and only with coconut and pineapples chunks mixed into it. MMMMM. What a wonderful creation.

Bedtime: This time of day fluxes for me, depending on how busy my day or week has been. Typically I fall asleep on the couch between 9pm and 10pm while watching Friends. Sometimes I make it to the bedroom prior to turning off my brain. I love sleep. And nighttime makes me sleepy. I love my soft bed and blankets and a cozy home to sleep in. YAY! for Bedtime!

the Brookes clan: This set includes Traci, Donn, Meagan, Lauren and Jon (who has been adopted in). I’ll save Nayt for the N’s. Lots of horrid stories go around about the dreaded “in-laws” and I have the most amazing set in the entire world. Not only are my husband’s parents super welcoming, funny and creative, but all their kids are AWESOME! Nayt’s sisters are more like my friends than distant relatives. I am so grateful to be surrounded by them all.

I got this idea from my friend, Sarah, and thought I would try it out. Blog every day, going through the alphabet, listing things you are grateful for…I like being grateful…plus, it will give me something to do to get posting…so today we’ll be starting with A:

Anne of Green Gables: I’m grateful for a childhood full of great reading. I remember reading these books and then discovering that there were movies about them! Mom and I used to watch Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea all the time. I loved reading about a girl with an overactive imagination who devoured books. That resonated with me. I liked to devour books as a girl too! And I still have problems with my overactive imagination (i.e. I can’t watch scary/intense stuff without it affecting my dreams.) This is a classic character and a classic series, even though I’m ashamed to admit only remembering the storyline through book 4: Anne of Windy Poplars…

Answers: I love when God talks to me, but especially when He directly answers a question I’ve posed earlier…even months earlier. He always finds a way to make me feel heard and known when He does this. I appreciate the way He reminds me that I asked Him a question and He’s choosing to respond to it. Makes me feel like He listens…:-) I’m extremely grateful for God being AWESOME about this.

Apples to Apples: By far one of my favorite party games! My small group has a blast trying to guess things that would “win over” whoever is judging. I love throwing down cards that don’t make sense or are the opposite of the green adjective card. Seriously, a fav…mostly cause it’s a word game. And I love word games. Grateful for fun, brainy games to play!

Aunts: Aunts are awesome. They are girls, which makes it easy for me to relate to them. And all my aunts are SUPER crafty and AMAZING. My Aunt Joanna made Nayt and I this incredibly beautiful quilt that’s shades of greens and browns. It’s GORGEOUS. My Aunt Yvonne taught me how to make cards…which words can’t express how much that has meant to me. My Aunt Greer crochets and embroiders all kinds of things. My Aunt Gayle is a master at sewing and has the most beautiful garden…Aunts are awesome. All my aunts flew out (or drove up) for my wedding, and seeing as none of them live in Ohio; I’m so grateful for an awesome family. Seeing as I’m now an Aunt to two adorable nieces of my own, I’m looking forward to beginning the aunt role.

Happy Father’s Day.

A know a few people who think Hallmark holidays like Valentine’s, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are a “corporate greed kind of brain-washing society into spending money buying gifts for people” thing. So, I’d like to take a moment to refute that.

Did a little research at good ole Wikipedia and found out how Father’s Day came into effect. You can read the story for yourself: here I think it’s interesting to point out that Congress did NOT want to nationalize the holiday for fear that it would become commercialized. And why is it we were celebrating Mother’s Day 40 years before Father’s Day was officially recognized? Do we like our moms more than our dads?

Maybe it’s just easier to lavish on our moms cause they’re easy to shop for. Moms are girls, therefore flowers, candy or a card: done. But you have to THINK if you wanna give a dad something. Apparently some of us don’t want to think…

All joking aside: I’m one of those people who likes to take advantage of “silly holidays” to say things that are often unsaid. Things like: “hey, thanks for sacrificing your life and working hard to feed us” or “I really love talking to you, it feels like we wrestle with great mysteries” or “thanks for having a wheezy laugh that we make fun of” It’s not like we would be inclined to say thanks in a deep or meaningful way at any other time of year. Even birthdays don’t seem to be moments to thank a man for being your dad.

In the Bible, one of the ten commandments is to honor your father and mother. What does that look like? Sometimes that word “honor” trips me up. How does this play out in everyday life? Does this mean that I throw my parents parties and make them crowns? Should I send my dad a card every month to tell him something nice? Does this mean when I talk about my family to other people, I need to be sure to tell my stories in a way that would honor my parents’ decisions and not tear them down?

When it comes down to it, maybe some of us don’t know what to say on Father’s Day. Dad has been human. He’s hurt us, or left us, or made some mistakes. We feel his absence or neglect more than we might feel the absence of a mom. Maybe in those moments, honoring the good in him is important…

I guess a day to be intentional about recognizing your dad is not silly. It’s probably necessary. If only to get us thinking about what they have given to us…life, provision, themselves. I’d like to be the person that tells my dad, “hey, you did a good job parenting your kids.” I think it means just a little bit more, seeing as I was one of them. I’d like to be a blessing to him. Out of a place of gratitude, I can begin to understand what it might mean to really provide and be a dad.

My dad is one of the hardest working people I know. And he’s fearless about work, he has had many different types of jobs, from restaurant manager to accountant to truck driver. I respect him so much for this. Not many people I know can pick up a completely different work hat and master it within a few short months or years. My dad must be brilliant. And his work ethic and dedication to us has taught me a lot. It’s taught me that we are valuable to him. My dad has suffered through many crappy jobs…for us. There were many times when going to work was probably something he dreaded. But he did it anyway, cause that’s the kind of dad he is. And he’s always given 110% on any job, even the crappy ones. In this way, he modeled sacrificial love to us.

But my favorite thing about him is the way he thinks about people. I think he was born to talk to people. He has this way to be able to have a conversation with you where you feel heard while at the same time you learn something cool, or even deep. Some of the greatest moments we’ve had together have been over a cup of coffee at Starbucks, or sitting in his living room, discussing personal work struggles or relationships or religion. Dad always makes me feel like I have something to bring to the table, conversationally. He’s very wise. And he’s intentional about people, about making people into better versions of themselves. You can’t help but to want to be around someone like that…

Especially when that someone cooks so well that they could be a professional chef, makes you laugh hysterically with his jokes and is willing to play the weird board games your husband brings to family dinners.

I love my dad. Can’t wait to hang out with him today…

Happy Father’s Day.

I know most of my posts aren’t philosophical, like Nayt’s tend to be. More often than not, I’d rather share what I’m experiencing in my daily interactions than talk about heady things. Maybe it’s just a selfish thing, but I have this weird desire to tell you all about my life instead of have an intriguing conversation about metaphysics or religion. Call me an egotist.

However, this post may deviate from my usual stories of “what’s new with Jes lately?” I feel the urge to stand on my soapbox a little: so be prepared.

One of the most important things you can do is give away kind words generously. In my opinion, this is not optional. Encourage the people you interact with. More likely than not, the feedback they hear is not about the good things they do. When someone is considerate to you, THANK THEM. When someone has fostered change in your life, shower them with your appreciation. Even if it’s been five years, ten years, a lifetime…even if there’s palpable tension from a lack of appreciation in the past. This is non-negotiable. You can change a person’s world by telling them what they have meant to you.

Be sincere. Be creative. But take the time to think about what they may need to hear…

Human beings can do crappy things. We all know and experience this. But human beings are capable of such amazing love, such beauty, such creativity, such justice…such goodness. Spread goodness and see what happens…

*gets off soapbox*

Ok, now you can go back to your internet browsing. Thanks for reading…

It’s time for a post from Jes, don’t you think? There have been plenty of Nayt posts recently.

I’m back from New York. And lemme just tell you, there’s nothing like vacation to make you realize how much you get done at work, cause it’s all piled up for you when you come back! Work’s been busy in a good way: tackling the balance of excellent patient care and efficient business. I enjoy it. The left side of my brain is getting a healthy workout each day.

In “right brain land” news, having space to create is proving difficult, but necessary. I love that people have birthdays, which spawn creative projects. This works toward my goal of reducing the amount of extraneous crap laying around the second bedroom. I need to get crankin’ on the creative machines if I hope to really glean and give away. Thankfully, many of my friends and family are crafty (in a non-menacing sense) therefore, you might be receiving some craft items in your near future! Hand-be-downs can be wonderful things!

On the homefront, the lawn is shaping up, thanks to unsolicited “advice” from a neighbor who thinks he owns the whole block. But before I went over to his house and told him a piece of my mind, I was reminded by my mom that killing neighbors with kindness is just as effective. So maybe a plate of cookies and an introduction of who were are would be more appropriate.

REALLY enjoying the blessings of friendships and family. We are lucky to be surrounded by hard-working, hilarious, talented individuals who serve and love like nothing is more important.

And a shout out to Lauren Champlin, celebrating her 27th birthday today! Happy Birthday!

So, that’s my generically vague post for now. More to come later, I’m sure.

Now that LOST is over I can finally throw in my two cents about the ending of the show! I’ve had to bite my tongue for the last few days. Also, hopefully I can answer some of peoples questions they might have about the show. SPOILERS BELOW!

First …

The Island:

It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. Forget the final image of the plane crash, it was put in purposely to f*&k with people’s heads and show how far the show had come. They really crashed. They really survived. They really discovered Dharma and the Others. The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a “Protector”. Jacob wasn’t the first, Hurley won’t be the last. However, Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He created the devil and had to find a way to kill him — even though the rules prevented him from actually doing so.

Thus began Jacob’s plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one thing he couldn’t do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates that spanned generations. Yet everytime he brought people there, the MIB corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn’t take a more active role, then his plan would never work.

Enter Dharma — Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to kill the MIB. However, the MIB was aware of this plan and interferred by “corrupting” Ben. Making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob when in reality he was doing the work of the MIB. This carried over into all of Ben’s “off-island” activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob as far as they were concerned. So the “Others” killed Dharma and later were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the candidates because that’s what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn’t do for himself.

Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB’s corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma only brought there to help Jack and the other Canditates on their overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of Canidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That’s a question that is purposley not answered because whatever answer the writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for yourself. Still … Dharma’s purpose is not pointless or even vague. Heck, it’s pretty blantent.

Still, despite his grand plan, Jacob wanted to give his “candidates” (our Lostaways) the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded: free will. Hence him bringing a host of “candidates” through the decades and letting them “choose” which one would actually do the job in the end. Maybe he knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn’t. But that was always the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith. Personally I think Jacob knew from the beginning what was going to happen and that everyone played a part over 6 seasons in helping Jack get to the point where he needed to be to kill Smokey and make Hurley the protector — I know that’s how a lot of the writers viewed it. But again, they won’t answer that (nor should they) because that ruins the fun.

In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he’d always been missing. And, in Sideways world (which we’ll get to next) he in fact saved everyone by helping them all move on …

Now…

Sideways World:

Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and metaphysical discussion (for me at least — because I love history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer’s room about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we’re all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it’s not exactly the best word). But these people we’re linked to are with us duing “the most important moments of our lives” as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime. It’s loosely based in Hinduisim with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix.

The conceit that the writers created, basing it off these religious philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created this “sideways” world where they exist in purgatory until they are “awakened” and find one another. Once they all find one another, they can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show’s concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their own “Sideways” purgatory with their “soulmates” throughout their lives and exist there until they all move on together. That’s a beautiful notion. Even if you aren’t religious or even spirtual, the idea that we live AND die together is deeply profound and moving.

It’s a really cool and spirtual concept that fits the whole tone and subtext the show has had from the beginning. These people were SUPPOSED to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these events — not JUST because of Jacob. But because that’s what the universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted to happen. The show was always about science vs faith — and it ultimately came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the series. The one question that has been at the root of every island mystery, every character backstory, every plot twist. That, by itself, is quite an accomplishment.

How much you want to extrapolate from that is up to you as the viewer. Think about season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought that’s THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosiac.

But the writer’s took it even further this season by contrasting this Sideways “purgatory” with the Island itself. Remember when Michael appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just like the MIB. He wasn’t allowed into this sideways world and thus, was not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the test. The others, passed. They made it into Sideways world when they died — some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley’s case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are “awakened” and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.

They were NOT linked to Anna Lucia, Daniel, Roussou, Alex, Miles, Lupidis, (and all the rest who weren’t in the chuch — basically everyone who wasn’t in season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways world. Why? Well again, here’s where they leave it up to you to decide. The way I like to think about it, is that those people who were left behind in Sideways world have to find their own soulmates before they can wake up. It’s possible that those links aren’t people from the island but from their other life (Anna’s parnter, the guy she shot — Roussou’s husband, etc etc).

A lot of people have been talking about Ben and why he didn’t go into the Church. And if you think of Sideways world in this way, then it gives you the answer to that very question. Ben can’t move on yet because he hasn’t connected with the people he needs to. It’s going to be his job to awaken Roussou, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan, Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to attone for his sins more than he did by being Hurley’s number two. He has to do what Hurley and Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Whidmore, Hawkins etc. It’s really a neat, and cool concept. At least to me.

But, from a more “behind the scenes” note: the reason Ben’s not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn’t believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud them for that. It’s pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show. They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church — but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with Locke outside the church … and then that was it. I loved that. For those that wonder — the original ending started the moment Jack walked into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the other plane flies away. That was always JJ’s ending. And they kept it.

In the end, for me, LOST was a touchstone show that dealt with faith, the afterlife, and all these big, spirtual questions that most shows don’t touch. And to me, they never once waivered from their core story — even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. To walk that long and daunting of a creative tightrope and survive is simply astounding.

It’s the type of call you never want to get while on vacation. In general, it’s the call you never want to get. I think somewhere deep down I knew one day that call would come. I met Bob in 6th grade, and I am pretty sure at the time he told me he was almost 60. So, I knew someday I would get that call, I just didn’t want it to ever really happen. Alas, it has, and Bob died this morning.

The last time I talked to Bob was about 2 weeks ago, right before I left for Wales. We had a good talk at Skyline about the metaphysical universe and high energy physics. It’s the sort of thing we always did at Skyline; we frequently frightened the teenage waitress with our weird schematics scrawled on napkins and use of large words.

I remember thinking the reason I asked Bob to be in my wedding was that I wanted to honor a man who changed my life. I could think of no better person and deep down this would be my last real chance. Somewhere I have a picture, I think I need to dig that out and print it.

When I met Bob in 6th grade, he introduced me to mixing sound, something I still do to this day. I hung out at his house weekly for years. It was the after-church place to go to play video games and fix broken stuff. I have to admit my knowledge of how electronics work and cars run has mostly been due to Bob. In college, Bob and I were sort of business partners, running his eBay operation to clean out the house. That somehow backfired as Bob collected more stuff in the house with the new idea he could sell it someday.

As a kid, I heard rumors of Bob’s basement. His house is the sort of a legend. The man himself was a legend. For 15 years he has been doing youth ministry and doing it differently then anyone I have ever met. He connected with the kids often left out or left behind in youth group, people like myself. He had the unusual ability to find the one or two kids who were ADHD and liked to tinker with things. He’d invite them over and introduce them to a world with other kids who were the same.

When I try and explain who Bob was to people, they never get it. You can’t. You have to have met him, you have to have seen his house, see his basement, see the garage. You had to experience the community he had built with teens and the atmosphere he created with young men. Only then can you truly appreciate what he was doing and who he was.

His house was more than junk piled to the ceiling, it was more than rows of computers, more than bleeding edge automation and McGyver projects. It was a play ground; it was a community center. Anyone who visited Bob’s would realize this after a few visits. The neighborhood kids hung out there. It was the place to go. The number of lives Bob has touched is unfathomable to me.

Now Bob has passed into the stuff legends are made from. He has become immortalized in thousands of people, and his spirit will endure. Bob Hood: the legend.

So today was our last day in London. We finished up the sights we missed the first day. So we popped by Westminster Abby and took a few pictures and by Buckingham Palace. Buckingham turned out to be pretty anti-climatic. The guards don’t do a big fancy change or anything at noon.

Then we ventured up to the Apple store in to pay homage. That was a fun little jaunt. We also went to the Natural History and The Science museums. Funny thing is. Here the museums are all free to visit. You do have to pay to use the toilets though. Which is weird to me.

After picking up our stuff from the storage locker we headed to the train station to head back to Wales. Only after we got on the train, we were told that our tickets were not valid because they were off peak only. So after figuring out the next train we could take we ventured here to the pub to buy some drinks and wait. Luckily for us the next train leaves in about 15 minutes. As such, I need to cut this short so we can go catch the train.