Santa Barbara Weekend: A few of us were going to do a weekend of volunteering at a camp near Santa Barbara for the Vincentians. It would be cleaning and setting up for the summer camp. We were planning on staying with Sally and Allison (The VSCs in Santa Barbara). Due to the weather, the volunteering was cancelled. Since we had no other plans, we decided to go up to SB Friday night and stay until Saturday for fun.Because of the weather and Friday traffic it took over 3 hours to get there. It normally takes around 2. It was terrible. We got there fairly late in the evening. Allison had gone to bed (She was spending time with a friend or family-we didn't see her unfortunately). Sally met us there. We went and got delicious b
urritos and basically went to bed right when we got back.The next day was great. We walked around downtown Santa Barbara (The weather was much improved). There is great architecture in SB. Very much Spanish influenced. I'm told there is some sort of city building ordinance or something that dictates the architecture of buildings. I'm not sure to what extent or where it applies. All I know is that it was really cool. We grabed lunch and proceeded down to Stearn's wharf, which was freezing! We wandered down the pier, into some shops and headed
back inland.Santa Barbara is and up-and-coming wine country. There are numerous wineries that offer all sorts of tastings. Connor, a VSC from last year, who is pretty much all knowing when it comes to what to do..anywhere, suggested one not far from downtown. It was $5.00 to taste 6 wines plus you got to keep the glass. I didn't have my ID (fool) so I offered to drive. Next time, I'll be enjoying those wines, too. From what I was told, it was $5.00 very, very well spent. A mere 10 minute drive back towards the house put us at the Santa Barbara mission. We pulled in and checked it out. Situated on a hill, it had a great view of downtown and the oceans with the mountains behind it. We didn't stay too long as mass was beginning.
We intended to head back to the house, but decided a trip up the mountains was in order sin
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there were right there. We were pretty high up in under 20 minutes. The views were spectacular and we even got to experience some snow! We got out several times to enjoy it all. It was great how in one day we were surrounded by great architecture, 
wonderful shops and restaurants, the wharf, the winery, the mission and the mountains! It was all so close. Nothing....NOTHING at all like LA. It was great. Plus the air was cleaner. Santa Barbara > LA (Most places are).Two weeks ago Holly, Alli, Jonathan and I went to LaCosta for the Cougs vs UCLA game. Unfortunately, the cougs lost. The good thing in that meant they played Thursday night and Alli had two sets of free tickets to all the PAC-10 tournament games! I was the most interested in going so on Thursday she and I set off to the staples center to watch the Cougs play their rivals, the Huskies. It was a really great game that the Huskies won...barely. It was a blast.
That weekend it was Jess' 23rd birthday. In celebration we went bowling on Friday night (Something we've been meaning to do for a long time and now finally have done-clarification: We've all b
owled, just not together in LA). Saturday night we went to LA live (Staples center basically). We went to the yardhouse for dinner with our house (minus Alli who was in Chicago for an interview), Alli's sister and Meaghan. Afterwards, we went for cocktails at a really chill lounge type place. A game of Apples to Apples rounded out the evening. In the morning she got the usual birthday surprises: Vincent and Louise's speech bubbles ("Dryer Bole" "2 questions: Is he single and is he cute?" "How come you guys never wanna come out with me" "Organic & Vitamin"), 
the "Feliz Cuplianos" Banner and for her a cardboard/spraypaint new york skyline. Bagels and Black & White Cookies rounded out the display. I'll try to post pictures of that (and my birthday display) when I upload them. (Most of these pictures are Laura and Adrienne's. None are mine. Thanks Laura and Adrienne!)This past weekend was the religious education congress. We hosted the San Fransisco house, which put our house at capacity for the first time since we've been here at 13 people. Santa Barbara stayed at Boyle heights.
The first day of the congress went all right. When I arrived my attitude wasn't the greatest. 40,000 people (99% of them Catholic) was just not my scene. It was at the LA convention center in Anaheim, which is huge. That and the organization made it feel like there weren't that many people there. We had preregistered for 8 sessions (each about 1 and 15 minutes long). My first and third sessions on Friday were all right. not bad, but nothing worth writing home about (or in this blog for that matter). The second session was called Mission Haiti and was very moving. It was about a priest's ministry in Haiti and all of the things surrounding that. He was a really cool guy who said it like it was. We watched a few videos made by some of the people in one of the supporting parishes. Pre and post earthquake. Again, very moving and heartwarming. A great call to action.
My second day was awesome. My fourth session (the first on Sat.) was about Thomas Aquinas and the New Atheists. The presenter spoke about The New Atheists and there assertions. He agreed and went on to talk about what God is and isn't. It was very intellectually charged and got my mind moving. My fifth session was terrible. I walked out. This woman was just going on about this Chinese legend. I'm assuming she was going to draw a point, but she was a terrible speaker. She circle the airport of 50 times and still didn't land the plane. My sixth session was a powerhouse of new ideas and in a way a nice follow up to my fourth session. It was titled "God for those who don't need God". Again, he talked about the New Atheists and why they are right. He got into some very heavy, philosophical thinking. He brought up a lot of things and took questions along the way. A lot of people left during it (About 25%, from a total of about 100-125). You could also tell that some people were shaken by their questions and comments. He made a lot of great points and it helped me immensely. One of his big points was that the Catholic Institution needs to reevaluate itself and needs to reassess how science comes into play. It was wonderful. I will admit that I lost him a few times-not because he was boring, it was just really deep and intellectual.
That night we had all of the VSCs over for a burrito bar fiesta. It was a total success! Delicious food. Simple to prepare, easy to clean up and a crowd pleaser for sure.
My seventh session kicked off my Sunday. It was titled "All things Catholic". I'll admit when I registered for this I was maybe looking to get a bit riled up. It wasn't that case. This one had John Allen Jr, CNN's vatican correspondent. He laid out what he thought were the top 3 stories in the Catholic church, the top 3 underreported and the top 3 to look for in 2011. It was informative. I didn't particularly care, but he was a fine speaker, so overall, a good session. My final session was titled "Religious beliefs are not intellectual suicide" I was hoping it would echo my 4th and 6th sessions, but it didn't so much. The speaker was awesome and hilarious. Overall, the session gave me a boost in my enthusiasm for what I do, which was needed. Our house was empty for a few hours. Laura's Boyfriend Ted is now here, my friend Matt arrives for a 3 day visit and Jess' mom flies in tomorrow.
All good things-though it will be nice to have the house back to normal after all of this.
