I miss you

Dear Friends,
If you are reading this blog it is probably safe to assume that you love me and that I love you. Our paths have somehow crossed at some point or another and we are now linked as friends and family. I have a confession. I miss you. And I am having a hard time with it.

This year in Nashville has been so up and down. It has been so busy and it has been really hard to adjust to our new life here - as students - as newcomers - as those just trying to find a niche and some friends in a different place. In the process of all of this, I have found it hard to keep in touch with everyone that I want to keep in touch with. But there is really no excuse for all of this. What I really want to do is ask a question...well several really. Mostly I am wondering about you. I am wondering what happens with friendships when people do not live in close proximity. With the exception of only a few that have withstood the test of time and geography, most of my close friendships have been with those in close proximity and have dwindled, if not disappeared, once a sizable distance separated us. I wonder if in some ways this is the natural course of things. But who do I fight for? Who do I email persistently? Who do I call repeatedly? How do I know when I need to move on? How do I know if you are in the long haul with me if we don't communicate about that?

After we left for Nashville, I felt for a long time that I just wanted my old friends back. But on my worse days I have wondered if my old friends wanted me back. On my worse days I wonder why I have only talked to some people once or twice since we parted company almost a year ago. On my worse days I wonder why I have not heard from some people at all. I myself am bad at this but have been trying to find a better balance. I realized just today that it takes less than one minute to send a quick email to someone just to say hello. But is this enough? What does it look like to build on friendships when you do not live in the same town? I guess I just have never experienced this on such a mass scale before. But I end as I started. If you are reading this blog it is probably safe to assume that you love me and that I love you. Our paths have somehow crossed at some point or another and we are now linked as friends and family. I have a confession. I miss you. And I am having a hard time with it.

Have you heard the news?

Atlanta-based engineer Suzanne Aultman has been named the recipient of the prestigious National Young Engineer of the Year Award. The humble engineer, whose specialty is prefab concrete design and implementation, has been garnering attention throughout her career. The current accolade is the follow-up to wins at the local and state level. When asked to comment, the quick-witted Aultman simply replied, “I basically start kicking ass at 8am and don't get done until well after 5pm. There's a whole lotta ass that needs kicking!” A source close to the winner replied, “Yeah that sounds like her-especially the part about ass kicking.” Aultman will be entered in the World competition next where she expects her biggest competition to be a man from Bangladesh who was doing calculus when he was six. When asked if she was nervous about facing off with the prodigy, Aultman simply replied, “Did you hear what I said about kicking ass?”

My 25 Things

Several friends have done this, so I am throwing my hat in the ring. Here are 25 things you may or may not know about me. Enjoy!

1. I love books. I am probably an addict but who cares. At the Kalbaugh house, we have a pretty large collection of books from a wide variety of genres. A great day for me could easily be as simple as rummaging through thrift stores, used book stores, or the occasional mega-sale for a great find.

2. I love coffee. I am probably an addict but who cares. I got started on coffee when I lived in Canada (2000-2001) because it was so freakin cold there that you had to drink it to stay warm. Plus, I was introduced to a local gem called Tim Hortons. Look it up. Back then, I drank my coffee with a ton of cream and sugar but gradually realized that this is not how it was meant to be. I have been drinking it black since about 2006.

3. I love college basketball. I am probably an addict but who cares. I find myself quite depressed after a Clemson loss and will watch just about any game that comes on. I pretty much live for the ACC tournament and March Madness.

4. I used to want to be a professional baseball player. And I was pretty good. But then baseball went on strike in 1994, during my junior year of high school. That, along with my lack of superior talent, ended my baseball career. Today, the game is tarnished anyways. It truly saddens me.

5. Many people would call themselves reformed baptists. I am a reformed, royal, first-class asshole. I have done many things that I am quite ashamed of. I hurt a lot of people and was very manipulative. I am sorry to those I have hurt. I am not an asshole any more - at least not as often.

6. I was born in New Brighton, Pennsylvania - a small town in the Southwest corner of the state. My entire family is from this area - dating back generations. But I grew up in Aiken, South Carolina. It is a long story but, in a nutshell, my parents did a very brave thing and left their life behind and started over to give my sister and I a better life. It is a beautiful and courageous thing and I love them for this.

7. I love to teach people how to do things that I know how to do/know about. I especially love to teach students about medicine. Passing on knowledge and inspiring others is awesome. I know the name of every student I have ever taught and I genuinely have loved interacting with each of them over the years.

8. I am a student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. It is an amazing opportunity to learn here. I pretty much got whipped my first semester, but in hindsight it is amazing how much I have learned. I consider it a tremendous blessing to be able to go to school at Vandy.

9. I freaked out when I turned 30. I do not know why. But I did. I think it had something to do with expectations of where I would be and the things I would have accomplished. Now, I am 31 and I am ok with being over 30.

10. I have one sibling, a sister (Brooke), and I love her to pieces. My favorite memories of growing up all involve her. A common summer day for us might look like: a round of golf at an expensive country club that we did not belong to, ping-pong in a garage that was often 125 degrees, game shows in the morning, MTV and soap operas in the afternoon, and a dip in the pool. Priceless stuff. We were best pals growing up. I miss those days. I wish we lived in the same town.

11. I like to do voice impressions. One of my better ones is Alex from Everything is Illuminated. As I reflect on this, I have been doing impressions my whole life. My first three were John Wayne, Bart Simpson, and Steve Urkel. Some of these can be found on home video.

12. I like most games - especially the Great Dalmuti and the Family Game. But I hate the game Mafia and a card game to remain nameless, even more.

13. I want to save the world. I know I can't. But I want to try every day.

14. I think I am an ENFP. The description seems to fit. These things seem to change pretty frequently, though.

15. Some friends have called me an affection monster. I agree. It fits with my ENFP personality type.

16. The only video game system that I have ever owned is the original NES. My favorite games are Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Star Wars, and The Legend of Zelda.

17. I love desserts - especially cakes, cookies, pies, sugared cereals, and jelly. Delicious. Or as my good friend Austin Grigg would say, these things are "inspiring."

18. I am a home body. I like to hang out and not do much. It does not help me to accomplish #13. One of my favorite things to do is fold out our couch and watch TV on Friday night. It is an exciting life.

19. I know a lot of people who are way cooler, smarter, and kinder than I am. I am thankful that you are my friends and family. Thanks for inviting me in to your stories.

20. I am married to an artist. She is beautiful and wonderfully talented. And she is humble about her art. If I were that good at something, I would not be so humble. I marvel at her.

21. My Top 5 career choices would be: Professor, Screenplay or fiction writer, Rock star, basketball player, and used book store owner.

22. My favorite television show is Lost. Duh. It is amazing. My favorite character is Jack.

23. My favorite quote is by Frederick Buechner. My friend Debbie introduced me to this quote. "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." This helps me with #13 although I am/will continue to be unsuccessful in achieving this end. But I can keep trying.

24. I have a soft spot in my heart for pop music.

25. I wear tightie whities. Deal with it. Give them a try. You won't be sorry.

Boom. Done. Clearly.

Breaking News...

This story just in. In findings that surprised absolutely no one, Juli Kalbaugh, a local artist can be called just that - an artist. At a legitimate art show in Nashville, the budding artist sold her first painting to someone that was neither friend nor family. Her paintings, which stood out among the 60 or so artists in attendance, caught the attention of many onlookers. Comments heard included, "Wow! Is this your work? I love it. It's really good." An admiring husband was unavailable for comment because he was a little choked up by the whole scene. He was last heard blubbering something about how awesome she is and how great it was for her to be acknowledged and to be encouraged. When asked to comment on her reaction to selling her painting in a show where only a handful of the hundreds of available pieces sold, the humble artist simply said, "Yeah. That's pretty cool." But you could see a certain gleam in her eyes.

Which Personality Type Are You?

Friends - I have spent a significant portion of the night reading about the different personality types out there.  I am really interested in what each of you are.  Will you leave a comment on my blog and let me know so that I can read about it and try to understand you better?  I am an ENFP.  Juli is an INTJ.  What are you?  

This website below gives a great description of each of the various types:

personalitypage.com/ENFP  - or you can substitute your four letters to re-affirm that this is what you are.  

Thanks!  Much love - CK

Jean Claude Van Damn Its been cold in Nashville

Per several requests, I had Juli take a few pics of me before I set out for my bike ride into the tundra.  Here they are!  Hope you enjoy.  I am pretty much boom.done.clearly with the cold weather and riding around in it. 

Much love,

CK

The Vanderbubble has burst

Now that my Denny's tragedy is over, it was, of course, time for another thing to happen to make me crazy.  It was announced that Vanderbilt has lost 1 billion dollars.  For those who like numbers this looks like $1,000,000,000.  The economic downturn has officially hit here in the Vanderbubble as it is referred to....at least occasionally.  But the point of this blog is not to lament this ridiculous loss of money here...it is to say that in order to attempt to make up some of that money, Vanderbilt has been bought by PowerAde.....at least for the intramural sports season.  Is that not the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard?  Yes, our intramural sports are sponsored by PowerAde.  During the game you can cool down with nice tasty cup of delicious PowerAde.  I can't get over it.  It is just too ridiculous.  Couldn't we have been bought by orange slices?  That would have been way cooler.  Man I miss half-time....