wrestling-literally and mentally

it was a cold, wet and stormy friday night up here atop the Westmont hill. the clock struck 12 midnight, therefore causing some unseen force to take hold of our better judgement provoking us to run out into the gushing waterfall, down the hill and attempt to wrestle each other to the ground in the mud. Amy and I took on Barrett and Kathryn, and let me just say that we totally dominated, although if you ask them, they might give you different answer. the entire action was so random, but so much fun. by the end of it, we were soaked and covered in mud and grass. oh, how i love college randomness.
on a more serious note, last thursday i decided to get out in the Santa Barbara community and go to bread of life (campus organization that helps with feeding of the homeless every thrusday night). we went down to a park near upper state and served the food we had brought and then were allowed to simply socialize with whomever for the remaining hour and a half or so. Tamara and i first began talking with one man named eddy about singing. when we told him that we were both in choir, it was the coolest thing to see his face just light up at the realization of a point of connection to us. he burst into song and kept changing between different folk tunes until we knew one and could sing along with him. it was pretty great-totally made me smile.
another man we talked to opened a conversation with us by commenting on my tennis sweatshirt i was wearing. "do you play tennis?"
"yes, i do"
"ah, so do you know what eternal life is?"
those didn't seem like related subjects, but boy was i wrong. :) after being asked if i could explain eternal life to him and explaining it, he told me i was wrong and that eternal life could be obtained through the sport of tennis. unique thought...
the conversation took many turns and routes. apparently he (ken is his name) is starting a revolution called the tennissance (catchy name, eh?). it's like the Renaissance through tennis. in this perfect world after the happening of the tennissance, there will be no competition and the only point in playing the game will be to be the best that one can be. another key principle to this reformation is that people should all become ambidextrous in order to balance the body and the mind. i learned all this and much more in the course of an hour.
at one point, ken asked me what i was studying in college. i replied English and art. the moment i said "art" he goes "do you know the artist Jackson Pollock?".
"yes, i do. i love his work", i replied.
he then went on to tell me that in his opinion Jackson Pollock had the right idea in life-don't come to the canvas planning what the painting is going to look like. come to the blank slate and simply let it be what it will be. interesting thought, especially from a guy trying to reform the world one person at a time.
he really was one of the most interesting people i've ever talked with. two things i also found fascinating was one, how much knowledge he actually had of the Bible. he kept quoting verses here and there and telling me how they applied to his ideal utopia. unfortunately i wasn't really able to get a sense of what his views on the Christian religion are, because i think that would have been pretty interesting as well. the second thing that intrigued me was how many ways this guy connected with me-art, tennis. i mean, don't worry, as much as i love those two things there is no way i'm jumping on board that they are a way to eternal life haha. i just found it refreshing to connect with someone not of my social group on things that i can't sometimes even connect with my peers and get a whole new perspective on something that would have never crossed my mind in a million years.
it truly was a good experience and very enriching. i think i'm going to try and go back as often as possible.
well, just thought i would share that with you all.