Books and such.

I flew back into SJC today with a one hour and fourty minute late flight, oh well.

This weekend was a blast down in LA, with much fun in the sun, sorry no pictures this time.

I finished Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up this weekend, and I will have to take some time to digest it. I thought it was an interesting book on the history and practices of the early Christian church. I may mention it later as I think about it some more.

So I headed over to the bookstore to find something new to pick up. I had heard of Guns, Germs, and Steel and had a friend recommend it to me so I picked up a copy. I think the idea behind the book is facinating, and am excited to get started on it.

Well, I am tired after a long weekend and will be heading to bed soon.

Friday night in the city.

This friday night I was invited up to San Francisco to have dinner with the Stollers's (Clark, Cindy, Katrina, and Leah from Gridley, IL) at the Boudin Bakery on Fisherman's Warf. So I headed up after work. Their hotel was right by the piers and we just had to walk across the street for a wonderful dinner. We had a great time and afterward wandered around a little by the piers. We capped the night off with some Gin Rummy and a few games of Egyptian Ratscrew (I may have to try some of the variations listed on that link).

This is just a reminder that anyone can come out to enjoy the Bay.

1, 2, 3, 4. The counter knows all.

I just added that nifty little counter to my page and it is pretty cool. You can see where in the world people are visiting the site from, and lots of other mundane details.

The weather here is finally back to a reasonable mid 80's so things are good. I will be heading back down to altadena this weekend for perhaps more fun in the sun.

These new iPods are almost too much to resist, I may have to pick one up to entertain me during my travels. Also every (expensive) accessory known to man is made for it. It will also make it easier to listen to my books then on my shuffle, which was great for my college life, but not so great now.

Also having to use quarters for washing and drying is really inconvienient, and doing laundry outside your living space is tiresome.

I have decided that I will play these MMORPG's only with people I know and using voice chat. They are just too much of a time waste if I am not interacting with friends.

I have been using AIM a lot more then I used to so feel free to look me up with the screen name matthewschrenk.

I just finished reading Cryptonomicon and the batman comic The Long Halloween and enjoyed them both. Cryptonomicon is very techie focused, but goes along at a good clip for all 910 pages.

So, anyone out there have a new gadget that they really like? Perhaps a good book recommendation?

Some like it hot.

This last weekend I headed down to LA once more and had a really great time. You can find a few pictures here (I really don't understand that first photo). There were a few people up from San Diego and I hope to visit down there some time. We had a great time on Saturday at the beach where we escaped from the dreadful heat. That evening we had dinner at Joe and Sue Klotzle's house. There was some King Elephant and fun all around.

Sunday services were vary nice. Sunday was also Jim Klotzle's 23 birthday, congrats Jim. We hit the Pasadena Ice Rink for some more beating of the heat. Remind me to avoid rental skates in the future, the ones I had were lacking in the edge department. I flew back Monday morning to get in six and a half hours of work.

Work is going well, I feel like I am really learning new things and I am excited by the progress we are making.

Till later.

Hiking California

I almost cannot believe that I moved out to California almost one month ago. It has been a very busy month, so I am glad that I have been able to stay at home the last two weekends. The last two Saturdays I have gone hiking with my brother, sister-in-law and little Arthur pictured here. You can find my uploaded pictures form hiking here.

This last weekend my parents flew in to visit me and make sure that I was settling in OK. I was happy to accomodate them for a few nights on my guest airbed. The hike we went on togather was pretty long, probably about six to seven miles with a pretty steep vertical climb for the last mile (it was all uphill from the ocean). We were hiking in McNee Rance State Park up the side of Montara Mountain (we hiked the yellow trail from the left and took the split off on the purple trail till we could see over the mountain). We were a little dissapointed when we reached the top and our view of San Francisco was blocked by the clouds. The first half of the hike was through some pretty thick fog also. On the way down it was a little dangerous because of how steep it was. Mom just had on some tennis shoes and slipped and fell two times. She was carrying little Arthur in his backpack so it was a little tense. So I got to carry Arthur on my back most of the way down until he got fussy and hungry.

I am getting a little better with my camera, and was able to take some good shots of flowers and the fog. I am really enjoying all the outdoor activities that California offers and hope to spend lots of weekends enjoying some nature. The fog on the mountain was very majestic and beautiful.

We had a little Bible study on Sunday reading out of Ezekiel 33 which in part discusses that if we turn from our path and follow him we will live and the people declared in verse 20 that "The way of the Lord is not equal." They were right, because God is both just and merciful and will restore us if we turn to Him.

On the weekend that my parents were not here I called in to Altadena to listen to their service. I first tried it with my cell phone, but that was not a very easy way to listen. So I checked out Skype. I have not yet tried to talk to anyone, but just listening on my computer worked very well. I think I will get a local number through skype, because it does not cost much per year. Also calling out for the rest of the year is completly free! And, I know some people going to Mexico soon, and it looks like calls to Mexico are free this weekend (July 22-23). I think I might be hooked on voip.

Have office supplies, will trade.

I just had to post about this guy. He decided to try and trade his way from one red paperclip to a house. And he succeded in just a little less then a year. How bizzare is that?

Fourth of July in Minnesota.

Wow. I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Minnesota for a long holiday weekend. I didn't manage to get a picture of the entire group, but most everyone is represented in the pictures at http://matthew.schrenk.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=19. I am happy to report that I now have a place to post all my pictures as can be seen by the previous link. I hope to do some more work on matthew.schrenk.org, because right now there is nothing there but the gallery.

I was going to fly out of San Jose, CA to Minneapolis, MN at 6:35 AM Saturday July 1, and so I woke up at 4:30 and was at the airport at 5:45 to catch my plane. I approached the gate to the announcement that the flight was overbooked and they were offering a free round trip ticket voucher for anyone willing to give up their seat. I established that the next flight left at 12:10 and decided to take that offer. So with a $100 voucher and a round trip voucher on Northwest I got back in my car and drove back home. This made me five hours later that I had planned and I missed some of the first day activites.

You can find another view on the trip over at Tifani's blog.

Ben Dill picked me up from the airport and he headed over to join everyone at Minnehaha park, but we passed them as they left, so we just headed back to the Dill's house for a cookout dinner of brauts and hotdogs. I think we sang everyday for at least 30 minutes, sometimes twice a day. Patriotic songs were high on the list, and I found out how many of those songs have a strong christian theme. Our founding fathers (and also our founding composers) had a great deal to say about what made this country great, and it was God.

That night we played some four and a couch, occupation, and telephone pictionary with the whole group. The group consisted of UofI people (Katrina stoller, Brent Sauder, Eric Zimmerman, and Loren Mogle), some sister from Kansas (Stephanie, Tifani, and Chelsie Bahr), and the Minni YG (Krissa Skoglund, Cheryl Luthi, Zena Davila, Ben Moser, Jeff Rienhardt, Braden Mogler, Meg Dill, and Ben Dill). I think that telephone pictionary is one of the best group games with more then six people, it really helps you get to know each other in a fun way. Braden Mogler's family invited me into their home for the weekend and I thank them. Sunday was my first time at Minneapolis church and I found it welcoming. It was small enough to get around to everyone and have some conversation with a few. After church the rest of the UofI group left. I was sorry to see them go so soon. We relaxed Sunday afternoon then headed to see some Shakespeare in the park ("The Merchent of Venice"). We had a picnic dinner, played some frisbee, and walked around the park.

Monday was a late start to do 17 miles of canoeing on the St. Croix river between Minnesota and Wisconsin. We had a blast and just got a little wet, OK my canoe did tip over for no reason, but we still had fun. That night we had to say goodbye to the Kansas group who was driving out in the morning. On the fourth we visited Historic Fort Snelling and saw some historical reenactors showing how the fort was back in the early 1800's. We also visited St. Paul to spend some time at the Taste of Minnesota. The longest game of the Settlers of Catan that I have ever played was between dinner and the fireworks.

I was so sad to say goodbye to everyone as I flew out the next morning, I hope to see them all soon, and perhaps will need to visit Minnesota in the future.

Almost all settled in

I have now been in Redwood City for almost two weeks, and I have been busy. Last Saturday I flew from San Jose to Burbank to visit the Altadena church and meet some of the young group. We had a blast with a trip to the (cloudy and windy) beach and an evening of fellowship pictured here. I am pleased that I will be spending time attending church down south for now.

I have started working and am still getting used to it. The major adjustment peroid from college to profession is hopefully almost over.

My mom helped Rachel, my sister, and her family pack up for the move from Burbank, CA to Quakertown, PA around the week I was down near Burbank. Then mom came up and helped me pick out and assemble furniture from IKEA. I appreciate the help and support that she gave and continues to give. So now my apartment has furniture, and I will post some pictures soon.

Go West Young Man!

... or "That time I almost died in the desert." Here I am Friday, June 16, 2006, 6:15 AM with my car packed up and ready to go. Just 2122 miles to go. I just needed to go pick up my friend Drew Winship who was going to help me with the drive. The original plan was to take three days out to Redwood City. We would travel 13 hours from St. Louis to Denver, then 10 hours to the Nevada border, then the last day 10 more hours. This was not to happen.



Here Drew poses as I pick him up. And we are off through Missouri on Interstate 70. We made our way to Kansas City with little difficulity and were going strong through the interminable length of Kansas. We were so stupified that we missed the Colorado border and were a little confused when we saw the sign for the Denver Airport, that is until we realized we had made it to Denver. It was only about 6pm, and we both felt good so we decided to push on with the trip. So we hooked a right on I-25 up to Fort Collins.




In Fort Collins we had dinner at the Charco Broiler, which had peaked our interest because it seemed to be the favorite of the locals. I highly recommend that you stop by for dinner sometime, it was delicious. After dinner we hit the road up to Cheyenne and spent the night at the Express Inn at the intersection of I-25 and I-80. That night we looked at the map and figured that we could make it the rest of the way in one really long trip. It would give Drew more time to hang out in California before he had to leave.


The next day started early once more with some toast and cereal at about 6:10. Here Drew and I prepare for the second day. Wyoming was beautiful and clear. We crossed over the Great Divide at 7000 feet and it was mostly downhill from there. Into Utah we saw Park City where the Winter Olympics were held and passed through Salt Lake City with no incident. Along the Great Salt Lake we were stopped by an accident which we were a little concerned about because one of the cars was burnt crispy. Thankfully it appeared that no one was hurt as all those involved were standing by the side of the road when it was finally reopened. And that is when we passed out of history and into Legend.

Western Utah. The 37 miles between exits 4 and 41 are the longest exit-free stretch on any US interstate. It was right here that we lost the treading on our left rear tire while we were doing 80mph down the road. Our about 4000 foot gain in altitude and the desert heat had made our tire prone to damage. So here we are in the middle of the Bonneville Salt Flats stranded by the side of the road. This is where the Donner Party had some wagon wheel trouble. The first thing we do is push the car off the side of the road so we can put on the spare. We have to unload all of my wordly possessions onto the side of the road and pull out the spare. Once we jacked it up and took off the stripped one we have to pack everything back up with this large extra tire on the trunk. We are very thankful to my Mom for packing four bottles of water that helped keep us alive in the salt filled dry air. Then we try to start the car..... and it starts.... and it sputters and dies. We panic. Then we call AAA. The nearst service station is about 40 miles down the road in West Wendover, Nevada. I call my Dad to explain the situation and he recommends that we check the fuel cutoff that triggers when the car is in an accident. We push the fuel cutoff button back in and get in the car and start it... and it roars alive! So we tool down this stretch of road at 43mph while everyone else is doing about 90 past us. As I pull off the highway into West Wendover I see that the next services are 58 miles away in Nevada, and realize that I need new tires before going to a service station in either direction. So we drive past the eight or so Casinos just across the state line and start asking at gas stations where we can buy some tires. The first buisness card we get only results in a message machine. That is when we realize that it is 5:15 on a Saturday night and West Wendover buisnesses, while located in Nevada, stayed on Utah time because of all the visitors they get from Salt Lake City. We get two other leads, "try the second Sinclair gas station on the left down this road." And a card for a tire shop back at exit 4 in Utah.

The guy at the Sinclair station asked if we wanted some used tires. We looked at the piles and piles of used tires that were stacked around and decided that was not what we wanted. Could we please buy some new tires? He would have to call his boss and would get back to us in thirty minutes. We escaped that place and hit the highway going the wrong way back to exit 4 Utah, The Bonneville Speedway Exit. Behind the only structure visiable from the highway (a gas station) we found what appeared to be the home and business of the only legitimate tire shop in probably 100 miles. By legitimate read "expensive new tires". However, there was just one little problem... He did not have the right size tire. He would sell me these two tires that were just a little taller and thinner then my current tires. When you have no other option it is pretty easy to make a buying decision.

After loosing a couple hours to our desperate adventure in the desert we set forth once more to conquer the continent. Nevada was uneventful and boring, and California was a little scary because we were driving down twisty roads at night. But, in the end we made it and pulled into the driveway of my brother, Nathan, at 3:30am after being on the road the second day for 22 hours.

I may make a later post about my first week in California, but for now I am moved in and ready for a new chapter of my life.

I just flew in from the Middle East...

Well, not really. I have been delayed in posting for a long time. 10 days in Jordan and Israel in which I did not access a computer, and now I am planning for my move to California.

Israel was awsome in every way. I went with my parents and my brother-in-law (Josh). It was a whirlwind trip as we flew into Amman, Jordan on May, 23 and returned on June, 2. We spent two days at the start of the trip seeing Jordan. Then we went across the border to Jericho and Jerusalem. The picture to the left is my dad, Josh, and myself on the Mount of Olives with the temple mount in the background. We saw the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. If you want more details then you will have to talk to me in person.

So now I am deciding on a place to live out in Redwood City. I am going to get a one bedroom apartment because I am wary of trying to find a random roomate, and after four years at Brown House it will be nice to be alone. The prices of places is pretty steep, but hopefully I will be alright.

I am going to be driving out with an old highschool buddy over the weekend of the 16-18 with two nights at hotels in Denver and Nevada. It should be one 13 hour day followed by two 10 hour days. So now it is on to packing.

The Right to Read

I was just directed to this essay and have been thinking about it. It really brought my attention to what has been happening over the last decade. This was published 9 years ago, and back then it might have seemed ridiculous, but now it really scares me. This isn't even really a slippery slope arugment that he presents here, it is the outcome of combining many laws that are being enacted today. I am glad that you can get many (older) books for free still on the internet at Project Gutenberg. I guess we will see what the future holds.

The story has a happy ending, so to all of you: amore and viva la revolucion.

I have to ask myself, why?

So it occurred to me that what is happening to me and my life may be interesting to a small number of people (perhaps my mother), but everyone else might want something more. To that end I intend to have more then just updates of my life here. Rest assured I will still talk about myself as often as possible, but there should be more here too.

I am going on a trip to Israel next Tuesday. To that end I have decided that I should practice with my camera so that I can get some good photos. To the right here is a photo of my back yard and house from the southeast. If anyone has any tips on photography, digital or otherwise, feel free to share.

I also invested in two tripods for better picture taking. One is the Promaster D1 the other is this funky gorillapod that I will probably take along because it is so much smaller. The gorillapod is cool because it can hang or stand pretty much anywhere, but it seems like it will take some work to get pictures that are pointed where I want and at the correct angle.

And over to the left is a picture I took of my niece when I was out in Burbank, CA over Easter. I mean, really, too cute for words. I really like my camera because it is so small and light. I know that if it was too large I would not take it anywhere.

So recently I have been thinking about what I am doing next in my life. There are one or two things I have always had something on my plate. Like graduating from college or getting my post-college job. Now that those are out of the way I have so many options now that it is a little staggering.

There are things I want to do in my spare time like learn a musical instrument or two. Perhaps actually get good at a foreign language. Perhaps co-found a successful technical company (hey I can dream can't I?) And, you know, other things.

I now have a link on the blog to what is essentially my mom's blog. She started it to talk about my dad's health and current situation, but she keeps updating it for now.

Well I guess that if life is a road I am still just traveling down it. At least I have a road atlas to life to rely on and give me some direction. There I went and talked about myself the whole post, but I did include some pictures and links to at least give you some more content.

Graduated!

On Sunday the 14th (aka Mother's Day) I graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with my Bachelors of Science in Computer Science. Wow. It has been a great four years in Urbana. Just yesterday I moved about 90% of my things out of Brown House, my home for the last four years. I am sad that I will not see all of my friends from school very often, but I am glad to be done with classes. College would be great if it wasn't for all those pesky classes. I think I am gonna have to spend some more time on AIM to keep up with everyone who is now farther away.

Last night I spent some time with some high school friends and my friend Drew is 22 today. We will be celebrating his birthday tonight with some food and hopefully some games.

So here I am writing from my parents house in St. Louis with all my things stacked in the hallway. It reminds me of a book I once saw where a photographer traveled the world and had taken pictures of familes with all their possessions stacked in front of their house.

I can now start the countdown to my trip to Israel on May 23 (one week from today... eek). I will be going with my parents and my brother-in-law Josh. I am a little apprehensive about the unrest over there right now, but our lives will be in God's hands.

I am not sure if anyone is even reading this, please leave a comment if you get the chance.

A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.

Seeing as I will soon be graduating from the University of Illinois and moving away, I have decided to start this blog. We will see if I have will take the time to actually keep this thing updated.

Thursday night was my first ISU bible study, and most probably my only one in the foreseeable future. The message was about lukewarmness and it was excellent. Afterword we headed over to The Dollhouse for snacks and fun. I played telephone-pictionary for the first time, and it is perhaps one of the best party games I have ever played.

Yesterday was of course cinco de mayo, and following my personal tradition I went out for a mexican lunch. I invited everyone in the Chambana AC young group for lunch, but only my roomates showed up. That ment that one more person had cinco de mayo lunch with me then usual.

Later I headed over to the driving range with Andy and BAM to test out my new clubs. It was BAM's first time out and he made some improvement. Just a few hours ago Caleb, Bob, BAM, Andy, Martin, Alyssa and I learned how to play the card game "Bang!" and it was a blast. If you ever want to play I can really recommend you try it out. Feel free to ask me to play.

I am just winding down the semester and have 3 finals to take before being done with college. I am excited to get my degree and be finished with school for now. I will miss the college experience, but I won't missing going to classes anymore. I feel that this last year has been a great time of learning and fun, but we all have to move on sometime. It will be interesting to see what God has planned for me in the future.