Willard Wardrobes

When the cold weather comes, warm clothes come out. Yet, as we all know, the Men of Willard are known for their distinct fashion sense. Even when it is eleven degrees outside and it feels like -20, we all try to look our best.

Doug- this cold weather warrior keeps it simple. A Manchester united beanie and beard are really all he needs.

Jeremy- this isn't really cold to him. Compared to his frigid northern mindset (and heart), Virginia Tech is equivalent to a spa.

Sam- A big puffy blue jacket, duck boots, and a beanie are the faves of this Staunton native

John and Evan- Duck Boots, Jeans with the ends rolled up slightly, a flannel shirt, brown belt, beanie and warm vest get these two roommates through the winter feeling toasty.

Joe- Strangely enough, Joseph Danehower wears a United States Postal Service jacket. Or he had. There's a slight possibility that Claire stole it, and destroyed it.

James- Gray pants with flannel lining and a long sleeve flannel, and jacket. I keep it tasteful and stylish in the winter months.

Jackson- His old soccer warm up pants worn real low down, tube socks and sneakers, his FCC Buccaneers sweatshirt, and black beanie have him lookin straight "goon" this February.

We would also like to include an inspirational quote from Becca Fitz, taken from the article located on the VT website.

“Every time we met someone new on the trip, they would say: ‘Welcome to Malawi! This is your second home! We are family now!’ And they really meant it.”- Becca Fitz

chemo number 12

today is the long anticipated day. today my best friend's wife and my dear friend, libby ryder is getting her last chemo treatment. libby has been through so much in the last six months, needless to say, but today is the last day. the last day of treatment, of feeling sick, of a long and difficult season in her life. this sounds so selfish as I say it, but it has been so hard for me to be in blacksburg while libby and ryder go through this in chesapeake. im crying sitting here typing this because I feel like ive been so far away from them the past six months, ill never forget when ryder called while i was sitting in the baysinger's living room in lawrence, ks to tell me libby was sick. i felt like i got punched in the stomach. i know that it in no way compares to what they have been through but it has been so hard for me to sit back and be there for them at a distance. libby has been stronger than any person I have ever met during the last six months and she has shown Christ in that strength to literally thousands of people in the chesapeake community and through her blog (http://www.libbyryder.blogspot.com) but this is not a sad day or a day of despair, today is a day of rejoicing, of celebrating. because Jesus never promised that a life of following him would be easy. or that everything would work out perfectly. he only promised that it would be full and true, that it was the best way to live. libby has demonstrated the truth of that in an absolutely beautiful way.

if you pray, send a few up for her, that her final report would come back cancer free. for her husband, the man of God that he is and has become through the past six months. and for sweet little ava, who will hear stories of the strength and Godliness of her mother for the rest of her life.

for our King,
johncarr

ps: heres a video ryder made last night on the eve of libby's last treatment, oh and of little ava walking!
http://vimeo.com/19735616

Becca Fitz is Famous

Longtime Friend of Willard and on campus resident Becca "Bad B" FitzGerald, is loving her fifteen minutes of fame here at Virginia Tech. This past Summer, Becca went on a trip to the foreign country of "Malawai" in "Africa" where she helped "kids". This itself would be pretty cool, but even more cool, is that Virginia Tech is now using the heartwarming pictures of Becca Fitz with small, African children as an advertisement for the school. Becca is humble as always about the situation and hated that I kept quoting her randomly in conversation.

“Their joy does not come from the latest iPhone or newest car -- it certainly does not come from things. They do not find their happiness in possessions, but rather in people, relationships, and family.” - Becca Fitz

So, props to Becs, here at Willard, we're all very proud of you and happy to be your friend.

In other news...

This Friday Willard is participating in a "Progressive Dinner" with sophomore girls. They're making delicious hors d'oevres and desserts, while Jackson is making spaghetti. We're really shooting for the starts with our menu eh? I'm sure it will be fun, and we'll update you if any love is in the air, cause well, it is Valentine's Day after all, right?

Wrong. I hate Valentine's Day. As Ardi Shahini once said, V-Day is the one day a year where dbag boyfriends and husbands do something nice. Therefore, instead of doing something because it is Valentine's Day, just chill and do something next week.

That pretty much wraps up this blog, oh and p.s. the girl in front of me in class is looking at the Becca Fitz article: http://www.vt.edu/spotlight/impact/2011-02-07-malawi/malawi.html

A Visitor's Viewpoint

We had a visitor this weekend from Johnson Bible College. His name was Josh Cubol. And he is a man. Thankfully, he keeps a blog, and he decided to share about his experiences at the house this past weekend. So here it is, a visitor's view on the Willard life...

http://joshuaccubol.blogspot.com/2011/02/weekend-at-willards.html

Snoring.

Little known fact: more than fifty million Americans struggle with snoring.

Less known fact: Jackson struggles with snoring more than I do, and he doesn't snore.

Completely unknown to me, during the night I put on quite a performance with my breathing. Described by John Carr as "a mixture between BattleBots and and train", Jackson has started to struggle with staying in the same room, this morning I discovered his bed was stripped of all covers, and he had curled up on the couch in the cold lodge in an attempt to sleep in the quiet of not having a roommate. Though there is no one to blame but himself for his struggles, I'd like to give a few tips on how to stop your roommate from keeping you up.

If they smoke, hide their cigs. Smokers snore more.

If they're overweight, hide their food. Overweight people snore more.

If they enjoy drinking alcohol before bed, hide their alcohol. Alcohol makes people snore more.

If they sleep on their back, roll them over. Back sleepers snore a ton more than stomach sleepers.

Things that don't work:

Throwing socks and other clothing you find on the ground at them.

Dropping your phone on them during the night.

Getting out of bed and waking them up by turning the light on.

Yelling their name.

Stealing their computer.


I hope this was of some use to you. The Willard House will continue working through this problem and keep you updated on any new developments on the battle against snoring.

<3's
James C. Harris III

p.s.
source for snoring info: http://snoring.factexpert.com/1258-quit-snoring.php

Sun Rise... Sun Rise

as many of you know, the bleak weather of february has already hit the frozen tundra of blacksburg, va. there have been periods of snow, wind, sleet, hail, and ice throughout the past couple of weeks. the sun barely shines and at times can get a little depressing. when sitting around the dinner table earlier this week the men of willard needed to come up with a plan to conquer this weather. with only one solution to this problem a few of us decided to run the experiment, tanning. tonight at approximately 8:30 i picked john and evan up from "europe" where they had been sipping on coffee and reading for classes. we then headed to the university mall where we would find "club tan". we did our research and found out that at "club tan" was the cheapest in the area with only costing $15 for unlimited uses for a month. however, much to our surprise, when we entered "club tan" there was a coupon for a free tanning sesh to all new customers. so before purchasing the monthly package on which we were unsure on how much we were going to use, we tested the waters. the lady behind the counter asked if this was a man date, we told her no. looking back on it though, it might as well have been one. evan was the first to enter into the depths of "club tan". the lady set his bed for 6 minutes and he hopped on in. john was up next and decided to go for 10 minutes (john has been before). the confident mr. carr needed no instruction and hustled down the hallway to his favorite bed. i was then the lone soldier standing there weighing my options on which bed and how long i would allow this unnatural light to scorch my skin. after a heavy debate with the lady behind the counter, i decided to enter for 7 minutes. i was a little nervous and i think she could tell. she assured me that i would be ok. when entering into i guess what they call the tanning room i was overwhelmed by the size of this tube like structure. they lady informed me on how to properly use this device and then left me alone. the time under the light was quite relaxing except for the fact i had rihanna and katy perry blasting right in my face thanks to the speakers attached to the bed. 7 minutes later i exited the room, no tanner then when i had entered. i must say though, and john and evan will attest to this, tanning isnt so bad. now dont get all riled up, this is not going to turn into an often occurrence. my motto is, "you gotta try everything once!" well... maybe not, but this could apply to somethings. perhaps the three muskateers will return to "club tan" someday soon...maybe not. only time and the weather will tell. peace, love, and tan.

Jackson's vocabulary

Jackson Strawn is like an onion. And you know what's cool about onions? They have layers. One of Jackson's layers, fortunately or not, is his extensive vocabulary. Sometimes near unintelligible, this blog post will try to delve into the strange sayings of the resident of Willard known as "Mr. Tall".

"goon" a term popularized in the early 20th century, it originally meant one who was big and stupid. Jackson however, uses it in a positive outlook. He can use this word to describe nearly anyone, but mainly if we are talking and mention some other guys epic exploit such as "Hypes rode two jetskis at one time!" Jackson would reply, "What a goon."

"Wavey" discovered on Jackson on his trip to NYC, wavey quickly became embedded in Mr. Strawn's vernacular. As far as we could tell through our brief interaction with NYC natives, this word means "Cool", "Ill", or "Sick"

"Irey" Easy going, fun loving, not bothered by anything. Jamaican in origin. Used by Jackson since he swam with dolphins over break.

"Gon, gon wit da gon gon" I have no idea what this means. Derived from Jacob Heatherington's "how you gon?! and Whatchu gon?!" Jackson has evolved these sayings into its current state...

"do what it do" You gotta do what you gotta do. and Jackson realizes this. Therefore, do what it do.

"Glorious" Anything that is exciting or stimulating to the senses, Jackson refers to as Glorious. That it will bring someone or something glory. At least I think this is why he uses it. He throws it around pretty freely.

These are some of Jackson's fave sayings. If you can think of more, feel free to comment with them. Jackson says a lot of strange things.