August 3, 2002
4:33 p.m.

We had another one of our infamous food days at work a little while ago. This time the theme was cultural. We were supposed to bring foods that reflected our heritage. It took me a while to decide what I was going to contribute. I was thinking of expressing my African-American heritage with some soul food, but this presented two problems:

a.) I suck at making soul food.

b.) I hate the taste of most soul food.

Obviously that option was out of the question. The only other cultural heritage left to me was Cherokee (my grandmother grew up on a Native American reservation in North Carolina). So I attempted to make some Indian Fry Bread. This attempt went horribly awry (my apartment still smells like burnt bread), so it was on to plan B. I successfully created some Hoe Cake (so called because it used to be cooked on the back of a hoe; I know what you were thinking) with the left over ingredients. It was reasonably liked among my coworkers.

The food the others made was quite delicious. Kim made the best taco dip I've ever tasted. Darren made some sweet Hawaiian chicken and Lance made awesome jambalaya. There was also rice & beans, beans & taters, plantains, small beef steaks, German chocolate cake, chips, cookies, and more. I was quite full at the end, but it was well worth it.

Later that night I hung out with Darren and Davowa. Darren taught Davowa and me the finer points of the Tiger Woods' PGA Tournament video game. Then we had a tournament, which was pretty intense. We were tied for most of the tournament; so the money and the pressure mounted with each new hole. Finally, Darren (who, oddly enough, was the underdog even though he taught us the game) won by sinking a ten-foot putt at the 18th hole. It was a beautiful thing.

There was a campus ministry devotional in Kent last night, so for once I didn't have to travel all the way to Cleveland for church activities. Nick put some scriptures inside bottles and hid them all around the park. It was fun looking for them, though I was disappointed because I was the only one who didn't find one. He also taught us this song he learned from two little kids and it's been stuck in my head all friggin' day. I think I may have to sing it to someone else in order to get it out of my head.

After the devo I went out to the bars (Great combination, huh? Church and drunkeness) with Jackie, Shicole, Ethan, Darren, and Darren's friend John. I had a pretty good time, even though people were trying to get me to drink like they always do. Silly drunks.