D. thinks:

Cooking is more of an art than a science. (Though baking at times can be an exception.) A cook learns flavors the way a painter learns colors and both use their corresponding medium to try and create something beautiful.

Before you think I am going off the deep end, consider it this way. There is a common misconception that cooking is defined by recipes and that good cooks are able to execute them well. It is often forgotten that, though you might go along with it, someone just made that recipe up. There was some trial and error involved to get things exact perhaps (not necessarily), but someone made up that tasty dish either by luck or artistic insight.
To cook by executing recipes is like paint-by-numbers. If you paint where the numbers tell you to, you'll probably get a good picture. But it was probably a real artist that made the picture that was broken into small areas with numbers so you, the novice, could mimic it. Paint-by-numbers might be a good way to learn to paint, but real painting is more free and heartfelt than that. So is real cooking.

So be set free; you don't have to do it the way you've always thought you had to. Real life, like cooking, is more of an art than a science.

gotcha

I am in class and watching James (who is sitting in front of me) write a blog on his computer during the lecture, so I'm going to beat him to it. He sneakily took a picture of Jackson sitting behind him in class and it appears as if he intends to use it in this in-class blog entry

John's hat is too tall.

John Carr, Jackson Strawn, and myself are all enrolled in REL 1044, Religious Ethics, with Professor Jeremy Carter. Also in attendance in this lecture period, are KT Surrat, TMac, and Greg Mackey. The main reason I'm writing this blog is 1. Because I'm bored. 2. Because John loves cruising the internet and is bound to come across this by the end of the period. and 3. Because I enjoy writing blogs about my roommates.

If you didn't notice the title, or the picture, John Carr is wearing a tall hat. Or knit cap, or beanie if you will. And I trust that you will. If you pay very close attention, you will notice that the girl behind John can't see over his hat. This explains why she has a perturbed look on her face, and is leaning slightly to the left, in order to see around John's huge, obtrusive, slightly-hipster hat. I don't know her name, no one does. This is because she always gets stuck behind John and his outrageous headgear, and therefore never can answer any questions, or contribute to discussions. John has singlehandedly made her receive a probable zero on her class participation grade. But in all honesty, its her own fault. She should've moved, John's ears need to stay warm. This is a known fact.

In other Willard news, Jackson's old room/my new room is coming along quite nicely. We've yet to have pillow talk but I eagerly await the day when that can happen. He is a strong sleeper, I have come in while he has been asleep twice now without him waking up. Last night he tricked me. I walked in, his arms stretched up, and he cracked all his knuckles before turning to his right and his arm falling limply off the bed, as he continued in on his slumber. I've never witnessed this before. I was slightly amazed and flabbergasted. The only problem with rooming together so far has been that whenever Jackson moves on his old, wooden lofted bed during the night, it makes me think I am in an earthquake. Oh, and last night I woke up and thought I was in a log cabin before I remembered my bed was moved and I was in actuality, in my house.

Sam and Jeremy are pretty stressed right now, they have three days of solid school work. You should send them encouraging texts.

<3>

James Crockett Harris III

Jackson

Jackson Strawn.

Lanky.

Tall.

Wily.

Smiley.

Housemate.

Roommate.

Friend.

Beanie Wearing.

Study Buddy.

Tonight, Jackson and I made moves within the willard household. In his own room previously, our room currently, my bed is now caddy cornered under his lofted masterpiece, and his desk now sits against the wall to my right in my old room. It was a long time coming to happen, mainly because I had done all my laundry before break, then decided I didn't want to fold or put away any of it before I left for Thanksgiving. One of the top thirty worst deciscions I've ever made. But after much hanging, folding, complaining and griping, my room was clean enough to start moving things around. The dream of a reading nook has now passed, we don't want the space to be cramped. However, we do have space to lay out on the floor and do work on our stomachs which, as everyone knows, is the best way to do work. The picture above is one from tonight, our first night together, working as brothers on our studies. His, summer internship applications. Mine- facebook chatting and the such. Ah. BFFS. and Now, BFWST,F. Best Friends Who Study Together, Forever.

Everyone is heading back to blacksburg tonight to be at the VT vs UVA game, I won't be headed back until Sunday, like I said I'm not that stoked on football haha. I'm giving my ticket to an awesome friend of ours, quinton, who unfortunately goes to UVA. This thanksgiving break has been awesome though, my girlfriend stef (who is from lawrence f-ing kansas) flew into roanoke a week ago and was with my family and I down in hatteras. She is a wonderful person. She is beautiful and subtle and joyful and loving. She points me to Christ in a real way, I cant describe to you the encouragement she is to me. I havent gotten to see many of my friends from chesapeake but time with family has been awesome. stef and I did get to spend time with justin and libby ryder though and it was great. justin is my best friend and his wife libby (www.libbyryder.blogspot.com literally life changing) is also very dear to me, she was recently diagnosed with cancer and it has been so hard being away from them while they go through this season of their life. It was so encouraging for stef and I to sit and talk with them about life and what it looks like to love your spouse and what cancer has taught them about the urgency and truth of the gospel. justin shared with us some incredible insight, he basically told us that jesus is real and that life doesnt actually have that much to offer, its a lie to think life gives us fulfillment, it doesnt, only Jesus does. speaking of Jesus I've been reading through Luke lately and I read Luke 12 today and it wrecked me. its a wonderful chapter where Jesus is so real, gosh it the most charismatic chapter of the Bible I've ever read, you should check it out. Anyways, I'm rambling. I basically started writing this to explain to y'all how much the Willard guys are like brothers to me. I literally find myself talking about the house or the guys living there all the time. I have texted everyone multiple times and am reminded of them around every corner. "Jeremy would love this" "I gotta tell Sam about smoking with my cousin" "I bet Doug would pick me up on Sunday" and the list goes on. I am so grateful and thankful for the community of brothers I have in blacksburg. I cannot wait to get back and stuff ourselves at family dinner, I cannot wait to share with everyone about my break, the good stuff and the shitty stuff, I cannot wait to hear about their breaks and most of all I cannot wait to see what God has planned for us in the upcomng weeks

peace, love, and leftover turkey

Quietness

coming from my hometown of fredericksburg the drive to blacksburg is around 3 and a half hours, depending on traffic. i make this drive by myself and i always ask myself the question, what am i going to do the entire drive? its impossible to listen to my ipod because i dont have a car jack and finding a radio station every 2 minutes can really get annoying. so i often resort to sitting in silence. this may sound weird to most, but why is silence weird? and i have no answer. is it because we are afraid to be alone and silence is pretty lonesome? maybe. is it because we are afraid we are missing out on something else going on? maybe. is it because we are afraid what we are going to think about during this time of silence? maybe. or maybe it is because we are afraid to listen? when we are not talking then we are listening. truly listening to what someone has to say is one of the hardest skills in our world to day to master. the world around us is always so busy it seems like we never have time to listen. our minds are often racing thinking about what we are going to do next, who is talking about who, and i wonder what they think of me. its hard to find time to just sit down and take a break. when i arrived in blacksburg i was greeted with more silence. the willard house was completely dark and no one else was home. the funny thing is, instead of enjoying the silence i decided to fill the quietness by writing this blog about silence. i guess thats a little irony. my challenge though for all of us is to find time this week or next week or this month just to sit down and enjoy some silence. it can go a long way.

ps. i apologize for the creepy picture of the baby. i just found out how to add images.

The Men over Break

It is tough to write a blog about the Willard men's interactions when the Willard men are not together. But from what I've pieced together from everyone about their time during thanksgiving break this is what I have gotten...

Joe "Daddy" Danehower is spending a lovely holiday at his home in Chantilly, Virginia. Finally back with family and friends, Joe and his brothers are sure to play some quick basketball games in their driveway on thanksgiving morning, followed by a gourmet smorgesboard of food served by Mrs. Danehower. After dinner, its a gurantee that the real Daddy Danehower will gather everyone around a fire to sing Christmas Carols. An American Family.

John Carr spends his time at the beach, as we all know. He and his family have traveled down to the always tropical beaches of north carolina, where john has been surfing for 22 out of the 24 hours in a day. Boy, he loves to surf!

Sam's been spending time with Nancy and Bruce back in Fishersville, most likely riding his chopper, reading Eragon/HarryPotter, and hunting. Also, he may have planned a visit to see his girlfriend Eliza, but who really knows with this mystery man.

Doug is still on his journey home for thanksgiving. A wilderness man at heart, Doug is hiking the 400 miles back to Maryland. Even as I type this, Doug is probably fighting off one of the creatures native to the wilderness known as Baltimore. Possibly an Oriole. No need to worry though, the Orioles are pretty easy to beat.

Evan is hunting.

Jeremy has traveled back to the desolation known as the North. This yankee doesn't eat turkey for thanksgiving, no one in the north does. They don't celebrate thanksgiving in the north. They celebrate beating the south in the civil war. Just can't let it go can you Jeremy?

Jackson has had an interesting break so far. His long time friend and house keeper passed away, so he attended her funeral at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. It was quite the event apparently. Her life was celebrated however, which is awesome. He also has been sneaking out onto his front porch late at night when his family is asleep....

What have I been doing? working like a dog. Not really though, I did some work this weekend for my aunt and gramma, and then Monday drove the four hour drive ( I made it in three) to Vienna, Virginia to visit Allie. We walked around Alexandria, saw artists, ate lasagna and stargazed. So it was pretty amazing, especially if you have never had Mrs. Golden's lasagna before. Now i'm going to eat lunch with long time friend, James Thomas Tetsuo Lopaka Tworek.. And yes, that is his full name.

Thanksgiving

To my pleasant surprise, last night was Thanksgiving dinner at D2. Here's a quick update on what I ate, and since I eat vegetarian it might be more or less interesting than you expect:

Veggie Rice: boring, but still a staple of the Olives line at D2, thought I'd try it

Butternut Squash Lasagna: awesome, went back for more

Fingerling Potatoes: the best kind of potato (that's debatable)

Tropical Fruit: I think D2 bought this from Edible Creations, a local food-art catering place, because I don't think anyone who works at D2 can carve melons and such that way, maybe I'm wrong though

Iceberry Blue drink: yeah I know, it's a drink but still, if you haven't tried the fruit drink machines at D2 you should branch from the sodas

That's all actually. Like I said I was surprised by the special D2 event, I thought I was signing up for a regular D2 experience when Craig invited me, so I didn't prepare to stuff myself like usual at Thanksgiving dinners. I'm not a fan of that style anyway though, so moral of the story: I left satisfied and Butternut Squash Lasagna is choice.

D. thinks:

Welcome to this segment of the blog where Doug tells you what he thinks about some random topic.

I think that the universe that exists demands that it was made by Someone. Obviously me saying that doesn't convince you, but it is what I have concluded over the years. With that said, if everything was made by a Creator, I don't think he would waste his energy creating something that was just filler. Or in other words, even the filler would be poetic. Any good story teller is like that, and of what I know of our Story Teller he's a good one.

Therefore I think that we can look at anything that exists and see something about God. For example, we can look at space and see that God is big. Or we can look at space and see nothing but space. Of course I'm not saying that we can find godliness in anything, because some things are evil. But we can also learn about light by knowing darkness. And we can know wholeness on a much deeper level because we are intimately acquainted with brokenness.

Changes...Tupac Style

as i sit in my psychology class next to taylor macdonald (t-mac) i decide to blog about some of the changes that are about to occur in the willard house within the next couple of weeks. last night at approximately 3 am as i lie awake in my warm cozy bed the realization came to me that i wanted a roommate. as i weighed my options between the two remaining roommates without "roommates" i had to decide between jeremy and james. when it came to jeremy all i could think of was his boyish laugh and his ability to to grow a quality stache. when it came to james all i could think of was his loud snoring and unsanitrary personal hygiene. i went with james. i approached him at approimately 3:02am after a long mental debate between him and jeremy. james, as i expected, accepted the idea with open arms. james will be moving into my room after thanksgiving break. we will turn james' room into a "study" with a reading nook in the corner. when i told john this morning of the breaking news he simply replied, "that's hilarious." we are both excited about the move and look forward to spending quality time together. the only downfall is i have to clean my room for the first time and i wont be able to play my GREAT music at night. on another note, the willard house would like to give a birthday shout out to our main man mike schrieber. we are going to celebrate by going to d2 for the tgiving feast at 530pm. if you read this in time you are more than welcome to come. mike is a great friend of all of us. and he is the roommate of lil mike. lil mike left his bike over at our house a few months ago and i have been riding it ever since. my bike was stolen during the willard house robbery of 2010. thanks lil mike for the bike.

I didn't realize there was a spot for a title...

So far so good.

Every day since this blog was created, at least one of my brothers that I live with has contributed a thought- deep, funny, true, humble ( or three out of the four in my case. You can choose which three.) And it's been great. I have a sense of excitement about being able to use this blog as a way to share our fellowship and love to people who know us, and to people who accidentally come on this page when they are looking for the adventures of another house. I'm glad that the first few blogs didn't suck, and therefore now some of you are hopefully addicted to our blogging expertise.

This is the first blog I'm trying to go deep in and lets hope it goes well. I'm not the most articulate guy ever, I usually try to write with humor and not seriousness. But there are times that call for both, and my mood now is joyful to the point of seriousness if that makes sense. So I write the following with all seriousness.

Everyday when I come home, I experience a sense of pure happiness. My 7 best friends live in the Willard house. I'm able to experience love whenever I walk in the house. I'm crying as I write this, filled with love for my brothers, because that's what they are. I don't have any biological brothers, and never was able to experience what having another man my age, who cared about me, that live with me was like,and now that I have it is indescribable. As John says, Jesus holds us together, and what a glorious bond it is. I would die for any of the men I live with, and if you have never had that feeling before, I assure you it is not one pride, or being a "good christian" (I strongly hold to the point that there is no such thing as a good christian,) but of the greatest of all things, love. I love them. I look at Jackson and see someone who has a joyful heart, who quests after the Lord. I look at Doug and see a spiritual father, a man. Joe is my best friend, no matter what I screw up, we'll be able to sit together late at night, eat pb and j's and talk about what we go through. Jeremy is a gentle giant, with love in his eyes. John can be harsh, but out of love. I used to not see that. I used to think John judged me. But that's not the case. John is filled with glorious love for everyone, he has a spirit of power, not of timidity, and his love flows through. I have learned the most about John this year, and I can't imagine him not being in my life now. Sam is joyous and free. Free, Free, Free. Wild at Heart as Johnny E. would say. Evan is my brother. We know each other's hearts, we're there through the good times and the bad. I sit here at my computer, tears rolling down my face, and ask the Father why He has blessed me in this. That he is with me everyday in the lives of my amazing brothers. Brothers. God has given me brothers.

Earlier this year, I went through a tough time. It seems petty but I broke up with a girl that I thought I had been in love with. I had hurt another person, and had to walk away. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done. So I drove home, not able to see past my tears ( I do do things other than cry, I'm not a complete wuss,) and walked into my front door. Noone was there so I went and laid on my bed, bawling. Thinking that I would never find someone who could care about me again, noone who could put up with my moods, where I fall short. I thought I was alone. Then I heard Jeremy come in the house. I walked out of my room, he saw me and held me. He got the other guys, we went into my room and as I sat on the bed crying and thinking I was dying inside, they showed me life. They showed me love. They didn't talk at first, just sat there with me, through the hard stuff. Through the stuff I didn't want them to see. Through the stuff I didn't want to feel. And they loved me. We talked at the end, not much, it wasn't really needed. I think sometimes you can learn more about relationships through silence than you can with words. God tells us this, to be still and know Him. He wants our relationships to mimic ours with his, but so often I find myself talking to fill silence. I'm afraid of silence. What the other person will think. But when you can truly be still with another person, silent... You learn alot. You learn that you are brothers not just when someone is being funny, or nice, or listening, but when you can be in each others presence and know that you both feel Christ's love for each other. It's powerful. I know I'm babbling on, and what I've written may not make sense, but if I could sum up all is said with a few words it would be....

You learn about love in silence.

God shows His love for me through my brothers. And has taught me so much about Himself through them, from which I am eternally thankful.

family dinners

hey friends. jackson here. this is my first time "blogging" so dont hate on my lack of skill. for those who dont know me im known as the funny guy around the willard house. i have also been called a hood rat from time to time because of the attire that i often sport. i am currently sitting in the lodge awaiting sams arrival from elizas and i figured i would talk about something we call family dinner here at the willard house. we decided to have family dinners because in todays society they are non-existent. growing up i was lucky to have a family dinner and it was usually on a special occasion. we made a promise to one another at the beginning of the year that we would sit down and have a meal once a week to have fellowship and to just spend quality time with one another. every sunday at approximately 730pm one of the house mates will prepare a meal to feed all 8 of us. thats right all 8. it is up to the preparer of the meal on what he is going to fix. for example, when i made a meal i made grilled cheese and soup, because who doesnt love that delicious combo. well tonight for dinner doug made jumbalia or however you spell it. to this minute im still uncertain on what i actually ate but it tasted good and i guess thats all that really matters. during the meal we usually converse and chuckle about our daily trials and tribulations. this often resorts to us crying in laughter because someone did or said something stupid. after the meal is over we take time to go around the table and talk about our lives. we often talk about the highlights of our weeks but also the struggles of the daily grind. this is a great opportunity to really catch up and learn about each other. we all enjoy this time because as we look around the table we know we are all brothers and will have each others backs no matter what. without this time there would be no intentional time set aside for encouragement in our daily walks. we hold this time very dear to us and it really is something special.

Lazy Sunday

Wake up in the late afternoon

Call up Tmac just to see how he's doing

Yo what up Tay

Hey Jamesy whats happening?

You thinkin what I'm thinkin?

D2!

Yeah it's happenin'

Hop in the Baron

Get to Brunch fast

Don't bring my money, cause I don't need no cash

Swipe, Swipe goes the card,

$1.11 left

Mateyk and I hit the breakfast line stat

Big Guys Club eatin all the best food

D2 is for us, other dining halls lose.

Cause it's the De

what?

trick dining hall

cause it's the De

what?

trick dining hall, hall, hall.

The best part about Sundays would have to be dietrick dining hall. Part of the fabled tradition that is Virginia Tech food, D2 contains the best specimens of edibles from all around campus. After becoming a staple of Sunday food for Taylor and Myself last year, we were pleased to discover that Jeremiah loved it as well. This contributed to the formation of The Big Guy's Club,

or TBGC. TBGC has a few requirements, you must be over 6 feet tall, and weigh more than two hundred pounds. Requirement after that point gets a little shady, but one thing is for sure, you must love D2. Off the subject of TBGC, but nonetheless relevant to the glory that is D2, after beating UNC in football, there's nothing better the chowin down at D2 brunch. Mm Mm Good.

Together

So I’m John Carr and this is my attempt at writing an entry. As I type this we’re watching the Tech vs UNC game and currently crammed into the darkroom (our stadium style seating TV lounge of sorts that is located in the basement.) I’m not really into football, what can I say? but I’m learning how to yell things at football games, Jeremy usually feeds me lines to scream, most of which I butcher, or yell incorrectly on purpose. Anyways I’m writing because the idea of a Willard blog is sweet and I give props to James for making moves. Also, I should clarify that I don’t actually have plans to become a pro surfer, nor am I a hipster… however I can act as a mediator between hipster culture and the rest of the world. Living at Willard this year has been awesome and quite honestly the only reason I’m back at tech this year.

A friend of mine and I got breakfast one morning earlier this semester. We talked about who we were, as individuals and how God was in everything. He said that God was in the two of us, in our coffee, in the morning sun, that He was invading the hot sauce. He asked me how I viewed the world, and I had a difficult time answering him, I mean that question is vague as crap. He told me he thought that it was one of the most important questions we could ask ourselves. I thought about it a while and said “I guess I see the world as beautiful, sort of like poetry.” My friend told me if I see the world that way then I should do beautiful things, I should write poetry, build the mini ramp in our back yard, make art, ride my bike fast, and do it all excellently and for the glory of God. I like that idea a lot. The guys who live here at Willard are striving to make that idea a reality. We built a mini ramp, I sit around the fire with everyone and write things, we had a Willard Halloween Party (Hoedownween I think we called it, or maybe Hollowillard) we laughed, and dressed up, and square danced, and it was beautiful. We have family dinners every Sunday and make it a priority to be together for a meal and afterwards talk about struggles, about God, about girlfriends, about school, and about life. It’s hard sometimes cause its so raw and real, but its good. I need that time, I need these dudes cause I can’t do life alone, and I don’t think we’re meant to.

When I try to describe the dudes living here to people back home I usually explain that none of us have anything in common, besides Jesus. Now that’s not entirely true, Sam and I have pretty similar personalities, Evan and I both love music, Jackson and I laugh a lot, I surf and James pretends to surf, a bunch of us played soccer, Joe reminds me of my dad, a bunch of us lead YoungLife… so there’s some stuff going on, but for the most part we’re all radically different people. Somehow over the course of this year Jeremy and I have gotten really tight and I know that it’s only because of Jesus. We are funny together, I’m 5’9 and barely 150 pounds he’s like 6’3 and 215. We’re currently working together on a street art project, with the goal of showing Grace to people on campus, though art… or vandalism, whatever you prefer to call it. We at the Willard House are all very excited for the next two and a half years. We have already been through a ton together… we’ve been robbed together, met the neighbors together, had parties together, broken and/or burned lots of things together, crashed our bikes together, screamed our lungs out together, built a mini ramp together, broke a trampoline together, skated the mini ramp together, sang songs together, prayed together, and cried together. Together, because we weren't meant to do life alone.

I love the parts of the Bible where Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven. He says that the Kingdom is here and now, that we are called to bring heaven crashing into earth. There’s a quote by a lovely old nun from Philly named Sister Margaret that says:

“We are a broken people who need each other and God, for we have come to recognize the mess that we have created of our world and how deeply we suffer from that mess. Now we are working together to give birth to a new society within the shell of the old. Another world is possible. Another world is necessary. Another world is already here.”

I wrote this quote on wall at the end of the hall in big black letters because I think it describes all of us in the house and what we’re running after. It’s a beautiful thought. If there’s one thing I could share with you about our adventures and what is happening in Blacksburg, I’d tell you this: God is doing beautiful things at the Willard House through those of us who live here.

Doug here...

The Willard House is of great importance to me. I love what we've got goin' on here. School is almost over for me, and I am trying very hard to finish well (which includes actually passing a class that I am dangerously close to failing...).

James mentioned the Lodge in his previous post. I think it would be appropriate, after telling you about the character of its residents to describe to you the design of the house. First, on the way in you'll find one of John's old surfboard's hanging over the spot on the porch where we have spent a lot of time. It's getting cold now, though. Entering the front door you find on your left said Lodge, full of pieces of dead things, ways to make more dead things, and (on most evenings) a handful of not-so-dead things sitting by a fire. The lodge is painted forest-green. Straight ahead is our kitchen, where we keep the giant kitchen table Jackson's parents let us have.
On your right you'll find the picture room where we have hung the house pictures from the men of the past and the present, as well as a wall papered with random other photos. We don't use it for squat, but I appreciate having an open space. Makes me feel like I have room to breathe, don't know why though.
Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms (speaking of which, if anyone w/ the law asks, only 4 people live here). First on the left is James', painted a sort of sea-foam green which goes with all of the surfing decorations his mom got him.
First on the right is Jackson's, painted some other sort of green; a cool guy sleeps in there. Next on the right there is John and Evan's, painted a color that reminds me of sand or wood. Back in the left corner is Jeremy. His room hasn't been painted a funny color, but he's got a bathroom. Between Jeremy's and James' room there is a bathroom across from the stairs. Somehow I have never had to wait more than a minute for a shower, even living with 8 dudes. Maybe the fact that we are dudes contributes heavily to that, but I still find it sweet.
Down the steps you'll find on your left the room where Joe, Sam, and I sleep. We painted it purple. I don't know why, but I love it. It is a big room that used to be used for nothing but a place to put a ping-pong table that never got used. Much better as a bedroom, and I think we could fit at least another person down there with no trouble.
On your right you'll find a blue room with no windows which has been committed to the watching of movies & TV and playing video juegos. Our house favorite is Super Smash Bros. 64 (my best character is Mario, but have recently picked up DK), though there has been plenty of FIFA '09 thrown down there too.
Next is the study, a.k.a. the Golden room since it is painted yellow and shines brightly in the morning sun. I don't know what I would do without this room.
Passing through the back of the coat closet you'll come to Narnia, which might be more appropriately titled Lantern Waste as all that it is back there is a storage area and a passage to the real goodness: the Bosom. The Bosom is a dwelling of manliness within the dwelling of manliness that is 402 Willard, our heart of hearts perhaps. The Bosom is painted red and has been pasted with a picture of C.S. Lewis enjoying some tobacco and a message of radical collisions. If you'll look closely, you might find some other things pasted about...

This marks my second attempt at writing the Willard Blog, I know I am starting off strong, but as with most other strange hobbies I've attempted I'm sure it will tail off into a once weekly, monthly, or dare I say it yearly affair. Though yearly might be too long. I have been thinking about what a blog means the past well, day or so, and have come to the conclusion that the purpose of a blog is to transport the reader into the daily life of the writer. Normally this is a menial process, made bearable through funny anecdotes and witty remarks. However, I have the admirable task of chronicling the lives of 8 strapping young men, and that means it is not a menial process. Well sometimes it might be menial, but for the most part, it promises to be an exciting and stimulating affair.

Have you ever heard of the game Shenanigans? I have. It's a thrilling experience to say the least. Shenanigans is a game in which when a person makes an outlandish statement, such as, but not limited to "I'll wear the shirt for a week if you give it to me to." and before another word is said, some passerby yells "Shenanigans!" At this point the game gives you two options. You can A. Follow through with the statement (wear a shirt for a week straight) or B. Get slapped in the face by the shenanigans caller. This game is slowly becoming a staple of Willard house life. About ten days ago, John Carr was wearing a ridiculously large shirt on him (a large) and walked into the lodge ( a quick note on the Lodge of Willard, most visitors favorite room of the house, and definitely mine, the Lodge is the hub of Willard life, with a fire place, two lazy-boys, close proximity to food, and a hearty decor of dead animals and woodland scenes, the Lodge fulfills our goal of "more manly, less sanitary.") of Willard when Jeremy and I were lounging discussing deep questions of life. John started to think out loud ( a normal occurance) that the shirt was far too big for him, and it needed a new, larger body to fill out it's good looks. Jeremiah and I both immediately vied for the shirt, when I made the fatal mistake of saying, "Johnathan, if you give me that shirt, I will wear it for a week straight." and so Shenanigans started. Since Sunday, November 7th I have been wearing a red and black flannel shirt, with no undershirt. I have slept in the shirt, I have gone to class in this shirt, I have lived life in this shirt. Today is day 6.

The first thing most people say is "ew" or "gross" or "James that is disgusting" but I say no. Sure it may smell funny, and I nearly choke myself with cologne in the morning. Sure, the kids at the high school may not talk to me because of said smell. But, when I say I'm gonna do something, I do it. I'm not afraid of the slap to the face, no, it's not about that pain. I do what I do because I'm a man. Additionally, it has really cut down on laundry costs, which is a plus.

Be prepared for future segments of the blog such as "A Day in The Life:____" where I will stalk a fellow member of the house, "Joe Knows" guest editorials by Willard's very own Daddy Dane, and many more tantalizing tidbits.

This Blog is a test of my responsibility and dedication. I have decided to start a blog to update everyone on the ongoing adventures of the men currently residing at 402 Willard. As this is the first of what I'm sure will be many blogs to come, I would like to give you a quick rundown of the inhabitants of Willard, starting with the oldest, and most likely wisest, Doug "Fuzz" Clelland.

Doug Clelland is a bearded 22 year old who is currently finishing up his degree in Engineering this semester at Tech. A Willard Veteran, this is Doug's second year in the house, after previously residing in the Willard apartments. Doug works as a cook at Boudreaux's where he gets to hone skills necessary for his upcoming adventure, traversing the Appalachian trail after graduation. Doug sleeps on a floor mat in the basement.

The next oldest member of the house goes by the name of Joe "Dad" Danehower. Joe is a blonde, jacked, 20 year old man who enjoys lifting weights, avoiding class, and asking confirmation questions. His preferred character in the N64 hit game Super Smash Bros. is Captain Falcon, one of the worst possible choices. Joe is an engineering major as well as Doug, but doesn't like it nearly as much as far as we can tell, judging by the amount of skipped classes. Well-versed in Old Testament Scripture, we sometimes question the validity of his Christian Faith, and are suspicious that we have a Jew impostor in the house. Joe lives in the big basement room with Doug, but he has a bed. I've slept in it before, and must say it is quite comfortable.

John "Angry Bird" Carr is the next oldest member. A self-proclaimed bridge between hipsters and Christians, John tricks everyone into thinking he actually is a hipster, by listening to hip tunes, wearing hip clothes, and doing hip things. He dreams of riding a fixie to class. Growing up in Chesapeake for his high school years, John enjoys the art of surfing, and hopes one day to go pro. However, his lung capacity has diminished while residing in the house, which is detrimental to his pro surfing career. John is known for his frequent trips to Kansas, to visit his "Girlfriend" named Stef, who is a narcoleptic and cataleptic soccer player for the Washburn Whales. Oh and he's a history major.

I don't know who the next oldest member of the house is, so we'll talk a bit about Jeremy "Big" Mateyk, the only true northerner who we allowed to reside in the house. Blessed with a beautiful smile and boyish good looks, Jeremy has dabbled in modeling in pictures taken by John's girlfriend Stef. During the Summer, Jeremy volunteered at Rockbridge, a younglife camp in Goshen, VA. There he acquired a taste for mountain biking, after riding ten miles a day, and losing fifteen pounds. Jeremy goes to class a helluvalot more than Joe, and continues to show his stroke of genius by acing Statics tests, which apparently are hard or something. Jeremy resides in the master bedroom, and his a personal toilet, which we all are jealous of and therefore use constantly.

Evan "Chipper" Underwood, born on March 8, 1991, resides in the last room on the right, and rooms with house hipster John Carr (described above) Evan enjoys hunting, fishing, gardening, reading, writing, building construction, driving, and having people smiling at him ( as shown by his license plate "smile4ev") 19 years old and going strong, he weighs in at a nimble 115 pounds, of pure muscle and bone. Best friends with Sam Bowman in high school, they attended Wilson Memorial High School, where he played soccer and did some other stuff not important enough to mention. Evan owns guns.

Samuel Bowman, whose nickname can sadly not grace this blog due to a multitude of reasons, is one of the residents of the basement along with Doug and Joe, and sleeps on a bed like Joe. His bed isn't nearly as comfortable as Joe's though- it's a twin and Joe's bed is queen sized. Well maybe both beds are of equal comfort, but I'm a bigger guy so I like the queen more. Anyway, I digress, Sam Bowman is a biology major here at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. A champion wrestler in high school, Sam routinely wrestles the other members of the house, in order to keep us humble. Son of Nancy and Bruce Bowman, Sam enjoys riding motorcycles, shooting stuff, and learning about genetics. He also enjoys dating Eliza Craymer, and sitting on the front porch of the house about 2-3 times a day.

Jackson Strawn may be the skinniest member of the house hold in comparison to his height. At 6 feet tall and 100 pounds, high schoolers have given him the nickname "Mr. Tall" which has caught on quickly among the residents here. The son of a librarian and a principal, Jackson has been groomed for college since an early age, reading great novels at the feet of his loving mother, Susan Strawn. His older brother Tyler also attends Tech and is currently a senior- Tyler used to play DandD alot, and loved it so much that he got a tattoo of a twenty-sided dice on his shoulder, which is unfortunate, since he does not play anymore. Jackson likes to play soccer and supersmashbros, hes ok at playin the soccer, but sucks at playin the Nintendo. Jackson doesn't have any really manly interests, he's friends with a guy named Miles, and wears casual khakis to class everyday. Oh, and he can't sleep unless he listens to bad music with the volume on high.

And now for the writer of this blog, James "Smokey Bear" Harris. James is a good looking 19 year old, who's height fits his weight very well. With broad shoulders that he could hold the world with, James enjoys a multitude of hobbies, such as playing basketball, reading, playing as Samus on SuperSmash, doing well in school, and being kind to everyone he encounters. This Intramural Soccer MVP also enjoys writing blogs apparently, as he has had much fun in dabbling in this one so far. A native of Chesapeake, James did not know John in high school but now they're bffs. James lives in the tastefully decorated first room on the left across from the stairwell- formerly the prayer room. Well who are we kidding, it still could be considered the prayer room. James spent many nights last year enjoying late night DX with Joe, and walking to class every morning with Jackson. You're likely to find this stud at Hokie Grill on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10:45 and 11:30 eating delicious Chick-fil-a Sandwiches with Jackson. James likes to ride jetskis.

I hope that this brief synapsis of the Willard Men can bring you one step closer to feeling like you know them, if you don't, and bring you closer to understanding them if you do luckily know us already. We will be residing in this house for another two and a half years, so there will be many blogs to come. Thanks for starting this journey with us. We appreciate it. Catch ya on the flip side.