In Memory

In memory of Christopher, one of the most influential people in my life thus far (and probably for the rest of my life as well).

Christopher Ryan Hicks, May 4th, 1985-May 21st, 2009

And the beautiful obituary that his father wrote:

On Thursday May 21st, 2009 Christopher Ryan Hicks finished his 24 years with his family and friends.

Fierce and loving big brother to Jonathan and Kathryn, captivating first-born son of De and Julie, strong and devoted ally to many, co-owner and founder of Rottweiler Bikes, Christopher stands out as our example of a perfect man. His profound love of family and friends, his passion for life, his pure devotion to God and his unceasing resilience have enriched and inspired countless people. To spend an hour or a lifetime with Christopher was never enough. Nothing could ever really start until Chris arrived. His brilliant smile, keen intellect, insatiable curiosity, robust sense of humor and alluring playful spirit left us uplifted, strengthened and refreshed. And, Christopher's uncritical love made us all feel safe.

Chris' love of beauty expressed itself in photography, the written word and graphic design and his dog Vegas. Every inch of Rottweiler Bikes, his company, is an expression of his creativity and tenacity.

"I'm living the dream!" he would often exclaim. His deep passion, love and devotion expressed itself nowhere more fully than when he spoke of his brother Jonathan or his sister Kathryn. With unshakable loyalty and strength, Chris glowed as he spoke of Jon and Katie as his best friends. To know them is to know the heart of Christopher. Chris made his father, De, a stronger and more faithful man; he made his mother, Julie, a sweet lover of the many joys of life.

Chris' family, his extended family and close friends humbly invite all who knew him up close or at a distance to join them for a celebration of his life and impact on us this Saturday, May 30th, at 2 p.m. at the Peninsula Bible Fellowship (9590 Radcliff Ave NE, Bremerton, WA 98311, on Waaga Way across from Rocket Golf). Please join us, wearing red, white and black (Chris' company banner colors) or bright colors. Come with a full heart. Come to celebrate. Bring anyone who knew him. Additionally, for those looking for a way to express their affection and support, donations can be made to a memorial fund at Washington Mutual/Chase downtown Bremerton branch.

Just FYI

Christopher passed away this morning. I'm not sure what else to say, but if you pray, please keep the Hicks family (De, Julie, Jon, and Katie, Elise, friends Donny and his family, and Christopher's dog Vegas) in your prayers.

Don't stop believin'...

Did anybody watch the series premiere/sneak preview of the new TV show "Glee"? That is sooo going to be my new favorite television show this year, I can just tell. 

This past week was lovely, as Danielle invited me into her dad's home to hang out (slash go to three games of the Rangers/Mariners series in Arlington). Not only am I completely in love with her and her father (I was part of the family!), I don't think we stopped laughing the entire week.

We drove to Fort Worth on Tuesday, dropped our stuff off at her dad's house, and then headed to meet Sarah P. and her family to go to the Ms/Rangers game. Sarah is one of Danielle's friends that she met during freshman year, and Danielle is pretty close to Sarah's family (so much so that she's been on a few family vacations with them). Sarah's dad has connections and got us a centerfield suite for the Tuesday game, which was pretty neat for someone like me who comes from the humble baseball seated life. For some reason, I have no picture of the group that went--Sarah's family, Rachel, Danielle, me, and her brother and sister's friends--but we had a great time. And stuffed entirely too many people in an Escalade, but that's another story. 

On Wednesday, the M's had another night game so we decided to go to the Fort Worth Zoo to kill some time. We were planning on heading over to Six Flags, but sadly it didn't open for daily use for another two days...ridiculous! Anyway, the zoo was a lot of fun, although it didn't compare to Point Defiance in Tacoma. 

Here I am with Danielle, imitating the monkeys we saw who were picking lice off each other. Yay for grooming!

Then we saw two turtles doin' it. To quote the little boy behind me, "Ew, those turtles are making baby turtles!"

On the way back from the zoo, we passed a S. Lake St. and of course I had to take a picture! 

Here's a picture of Rachel, Danielle and I at the game on Wednesday. It's edited because Danielle and Rachel both have light shirts on, and it was really hot that day (think sweating), so for their sake, it's antiqued. I kinda like it though...! Notice how I'm reppin' my boys! 

Then on Thursday, the game was an afternoon game so we decided to stop at Sarah's place first to say hi. Is this not a gorgeous house or what?!

Then went to the game, and although we were only out in the sun for a little while, we both got sunburned. You think that Texas would give me a break, but apparently SPF 15 is not enough. 

After the game, I was commenting on how Sarah's house was one of the nicest, biggest houses I've ever been in, and she told me that we were going to stop by her friend Jared's house to say hi (and so I could see what a really big house was). Here is a picture of his house...please note that this is only 1/3 (yes, 1/3) of his house. 

The house was gorgeous inside and out, and his mother and sister were the most welcoming people I've ever met. Jared gave us a tour (they had a movie theater [!], a huge game room, and a pool with a waterfall) and then his mother fed us with truffles and cookies that they had made for a party the next night. Don't worry mom, you've taught me well, I made sure I commented multiple times on how gorgeous the house was and sent thank-you letters for Sarah's family, Jared's family, and George (Danielle's dad) to thank them for their hospitality. 

After Jared's, we went back to George's place and he made us a yummie chicken dinner. Then Danielle's coworker Mo came because she had a 6am flight the next morning and was going to commute in the morning from Waco, so Danielle insisted that she spend the night and we'd take her in the morning. Mo had been to Fort Worth before but never to the Stockyards, and I had never even heard of them so George drove us around. Apparently the Stockyards are where farmers can go and buy cattle, or trade them, or learn how to ride longhorns, or go to bars. The bar in Walker, Texas Ranger is literally two blocks away from this picture.

Here is Mo, me, and George pointing at the "Stockyard Station" sign. Danielle was mad that we weren't more into it!

On the way home, we passed a Beer Barn, which is something that I had never seen before and had to take a picture. I wasn't going to, but George insisted we turn around and drive through it!

But sadly, in the two minutes it took us to turn around, it had closed! Basically you drive through the center of this building (the garage door opens) and it's a convenience store! Texas is one of a kind, that's for sure. 

So that was last week! This week is going to be a bit more low-key; because classes are over and I don't have too many responsibilities, I borrowed a few books from Nathaniel and am excited to read them. My best friend Chelsea comes to visit on Saturday, and then Mom and Dad come Memorial Day! I'm sure my next post will be just as full of pictures. Love and miss you!

[And a warning, it's 10pm and I didn't proofread this, so no judging!]

Bad surprise

After coming back from Dallas (which I'll blog about tomorrow), I went in the other room then came back into the bathroom and saw this...

No wonder why my toothbrush has been tasting mighty fishy lately. Don't worry, I bought a new one. At least my cat has the cleanest teeth on the block!

Bring it on down to Plasticville!

I love Justin Timberlake (thanks to three 'N SYNC concerts and countless CDs), half because he reminds me of Scotty and half because he's absolutely hilarious. Anyway, his newest SNL skit samples some of my favorite current songs and made me laugh out loud. Not as funny as last year's "Homelessville," but a close second. :) Check it out.

And Homelessville, from a few years ago:

Just Dance

For those who are concerned, Christopher is doing well at the hospital and they think they got the vessel clamped sufficiently. Now I can go back to pretending that it doesn't bother me that he's dating another girl. 

I am done with my first full year of graduate school! Okay, so I do have to be here over the summer, but considering I've finished two semesters, it feels fantastic. Although I don't feel like I've learned anything, which makes me a little wary... :/ 

In other news, this morning I participated in my first Graduate Student Association meeting! It was nice being able to voice my concerns (albeit quickly) and start planning for next year. I'm interested to see how much of an impact that I can make. I joined the social committee--I'm sure that doesn't surprise anybody--and also volunteered to help head the insurance issue with two other women. Better health insurance is my personal crusade! And by "better," I mean "any." :)

Tonight I'm going to the bar that we normally go hang out at; one of the grad students I hang out with (Jay) has his brother visiting, so I think I'm going to hang out with them and just relax. This week has been pretty intense so it'll be nice to just kinda chill.

Tomorrow morning is the normal routine: Church Under the Bridge before heading off to First Pres for church! I promised you pictures, so here is the only one that I have of CUtB: Here is Patrick, me, Bill, and Danielle doing the "Sarah Pose" (you know, hands on the hip, head slightly tilted). They were having a good time making fun of me! You can also see the huge bridge that they attend church under--it's pretty neat, and it's about three times bigger than what the picture shows. 

This is the picture of the 1/3 of the bridge that church isn't under! We're on the perimeter of the center island where the service is held. 

Next week, I think I'm going to two--or three?-- Mariners games at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, and then to Austin next weekend for a friend's party. Other than that, it's data entering and analyzing all week! Hope everybody has a great weekend and an even better next week!

For Chris Hicks

I can’t sleep. It’s 1:48pm and I woke up at 6:30am this morning and I tried to take a nap, but for some reason, my brain won’t let me sleep.

It might be because I had Starbucks this morning and then downed a Diet Coke when I got home. I think it’s because I can’t stop thinking about you.

I found out this morning while I was in the lab that you were in the hospital. Shayla texted me (of course), and when she said, “Did you hear about Chris?” I thought she was implying that you had proposed to Ryen. I would’ve preferred that to the news that you were at Harborview about to go into surgery #2 for the day.

After trying to hold back my obvious anguish, I called my mom to let her know and then promptly burst into tears. I left the lab trying to hide my tears and called Danielle to console me, and she just held me while I cried. I drove home bawling, trying not to think of things that reminded me of you. Everything reminded me of you.

I got home and texted Shayla to see if she had your dad’s cell number. She had Jon’s, but I was too afraid to text him and not get a response. I finally texted him, and his response was short but thoughtful—you were in surgery and supposed to be out in four to six hours, but he’d let me know of any further development. Megan Corey (or whatever her married name is now) told me that Jon found you in your house two nights ago and you were unconscious, and how the story progressed since then.

That leads me to now. It’s 1:57pm and since I’ve gotten home, I’ve listened to our Death Cab song twice, looked at all of the pictures I had of me and you, and haven’t stopped thinking about you. I thought I had deleted all our pictures, but apparently I never deleted my favorite pictures of us that I had printed for the scrapbook I made you. I find myself smiling when I look at the pictures, because we look so happy; we look so in love. Then I start crying, because I realize that the overwhelming love I felt for you was never the love you felt for me.

After not speaking with you for almost five months, I still find myself in love with you and it angers me. It makes me so upset that I can still have so many feelings for someone who probably never thinks about me, for someone who has moved on and is in love with another girl. It makes me mad at us for ever dating, at me for moving to Texas when I so desperately wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, at you for moving on so quickly and for not coming to visit in November, and at God for not keeping us together when I thought we were perfect for each other.

I lied to you. I told you that it was tough being away from you and that’s why we couldn’t be together, which is true, but not the real reason. I felt like I was holding you back from the world, like you needed to be an eagle and spread your wings but you were too busy calling and texting me to fly.

After more reflection, maybe God’s purpose to have me in your life was to teach you to open up your heart so that you could find true love in Ryen. I think He just wanted me to be the vessel that helped you realize that love is possible, even though it wasn’t with me.

I love you, always and forever. It’s 2:04pm now and I’m just waiting for the text from Jon to tell me that you’re okay. I hope, wish, and pray that you’re okay. I need you to be okay. I need you to be the strong rock in my life as you once were. But if you’re not okay, Christopher Ryan Hicks, I just want you to know that I’ll follow you into the dark. 

I would only be mad if you aimed

It's May, which means only one thing: prom season for the high schoolers! Dave was asked to drive a few of the high schoolers from the youth group and I was asked to join as well! So this past weekend, I got dressed up (in 80s gear, mind you) and went to prom...err, dinner before prom. 

Here's the bus we rented (apparently Jimmie, the head pastor at First Pres, promised the church bus to someone else). We decorated it to make it classy. :) 

Dave's contribution to the decorations:

Lauren and I. The awesome 80s dress I am wearing was borrowed from another member in the youth who found it at Goodwill a few years ago.

Here's the group! All of these students attend First Pres and are a part of the youth group. Here's Katelyn, Riley, Mary Catherine, Colton, Lauren, and Adam. 

And the group again, in front of the bus.

Hailing from Washington (where prom is a "big" deal but mostly a lot of fun), I was not ready for the hoopla that was a Texas Prom [capitalization and bold font for emphasis]. Not only was this a Junior and Senior prom, but apparently Texas traditions are insanely focused on idolizing the prom attendees. There's a red carpet, with staff in tuxedos waiting for the limo/luxury car/party bus to drive up so they can open the doors. Then the kids get out of the vehicle and walk through an arch that is on a red carpet where a professional photographer --and 20 of the students' closest non-prom-attending-friends and family members who rush the archway--snap a billion pictures. The couple then walks down an aisle that's roped off with Christmas lights, with a ton of people surrounding the aisle watching the couple walk down. Apparently people from the community (besides friends and family members of prom attendees) come to watch the high schoolers enter the school. I took a picture, but it doesn't even show the massive amount of people that were there.

You can't tell, but there was at least 500 non-prom-attending people. 

We also went out to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse, but for some reason I don't have any pictures of that. It was fun. 

Sunday was normal, just went to church (where there was only one senior attending, Garrett, who had to attend because he was playing the bass in church) and then to Church Under the Bridge. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of Church Under the Bridge up here soon, as Rachel brought her camera this past time! We then went to play racquetball, where Rachel (accidentally) hit me with the ball right in the face--so hard that it knocked out my earring! Rachel kept apologizing, and I thought it was funny because she didn't do it on purpose--I told her that I would only be mad if she aimed. :) Sadly, it did not leave a battle wound (dangit!) but I'm sure it will happen again; it's only a matter of time.

Sunday night after youth group, I went to a barbeque that Rachel and Danielle invited me to at a park by my condo. It was a lot of fun (complete with a "super slide" where you sit on a burlap sack on wax paper that shoots you down this large slide), with a lot of food! There was so much food leftover however that the people who organized the barbeque tried to give it away to everybody. The girls and I decided to put the extra hot dogs together (there were at least 20), grab some bags of chips, and three boxes of cookies and bring them to MBK ("My Brother's Keeper," the shelter owned by Mission Waco) for our favorite Church Under the Bridge attendees. It was nice to be able to drop it off, and we were glad MBK let us drop off food unannounced! 

Rachel and Danielle have 48 extra buns in their apartment if you need some.  

Other than that, one final on Thursday (statistics!) and I'm done with spring semester! Love and miss you all!