Facts about Morocco

Time to give a little info about the country of Morocco.

Area: 172,500 sq. mi.
This is just slightly larger than California.

Population: 33,757,000

Capital: Rabat

Countries that border: Algeria (to the east) and Mauritania (to the south)

The Atlantic Ocean lies on Morocco's western border and the Mediteranean Sea to the north. The Straight of Gibraltor seperates the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediteranean Sea and is only 8 miles across at it's narrowest point seperating Morocco from Spain.

It is a monarchy very similar to Jordan. The King is Mohammed VI (a very popular name in this region of the world) and has done alot to help the country grow over his 9 year rule. He created a new family code that has helped give women more rights and power.

I don't think I ever mentioned this in the post about Jordan, but their King's name is Abdullah II. Hopefully in my future posts about Jordan and Morocco I can give information about the people and sites of those countries. I am very excited to get to know more about where I'll be living for 2 years.

Six degrees of Nick McBride

A friend and I were talking about who we are connected to through other people that we know. Sort of a "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon", but with normal people. Now just to let other people know, I worked as a batboy for the Durham Bulls for 2 years and therefore all of my connections start there, but they don't end up where you would expect them to.

Here's my top 5:

1.
Pat Borders played for the Durham Bulls in 2000
Cecil Fielder played with Borders on the 1988 Blue Jays
Jerry Tarkanian was a coach at UNLV in 1982 when Fielder attended
David Robinson played under Jerry Tarkanian on the 1992 Spurs

2.
Randy Winn played for the Durham Bulls in 1999 and 2000
Barry Bonds played with Winn on the 2005 Giants
Bobby Bonds is Barry's dad
Mike Tyson played with Bonds on the 1981 Cubs
Joe Torre played with Tyson on the 1972 Cardinals

3.
Jared Sandberg played for the Durham Bulls in 2000
Ryne Sandberg is Jared's uncle
Ed Brandt is from Sandberg's hometown of Spokane, WA
Rogers Hornsby played with Brandt on the 1928 Boston Braves

4.
Julio Franco played for the Durham Bulls in 2000
Gaylord Perry pitched against Julio Franco on June 1, 1983
Don Larsen played with Perry on the 1962 Giants
Mickey Mantle played with Larsen on the 1955 Yankees

5.
Corey Lidle played for the Durham Bulls in 1999 and 2000
Derek Jeter played with Lidle on the 2006 Yankees
Jason Alexander had a scene with Jeter in Episode 143 of Seinfeld
Julia Roberts starred with Alexander in Pretty Woman
Kevin Bacon starred with Roberts in Flatliners

I had to eventually connect myself with Kevin Bacon...let's see you top that Breeback!

Asheville, NC

Kimberly and I went to Asheville (well, really Hendersonville, NC) this past Saturday through Tuesday for a mini-vacay to celebrate our anniversary. We had a great time seeing the beautiful scenery and just relaxing. I'm realizing more and more that the city is not for me. I just feel more at ease when I'm in a smaller town than I do when I'm in the city. There's just too much going on in a city...but I digress.

We went to the Garden Jubilee Festival in downtown Hendersonville on Sunday that was pretty much a mini market for people's plants. It was nice though and Hendersonville has a very charming little downtown. Ate at a Cajun restaurant that was delicious! Went to a $2 showing of Horton Hears a Who. It was very worth it; a very funny movie that has a great message and actually didn't ruin the book that I know and love.

Monday was all about the Biltmore Estate. It was the first time that I had ever been there and I was in love. The place is gorgeous and massive. It was built in 1895 and has 43 bathrooms! At that time most houses didn't even have one indoor bathroom. After viewing that we walked through the massive garden. Then, it was on to the Farm and Winery. We drove 4 miles from the Estate to the Winery, and stayed on the property! Toured the Winery and tasted the wines. I just don't have the taste for wine...I find it thoroughly disgusting. It burns the throat and dries out your mouth and doesn't have any desirable taste.

Tuesday we went to the Arboretum in Asheville. It was beautiful, but kind of hot, so I don't remember much about it. We then left there and continued home. It was a great vacation and it was nice to see some parts of NC that I haven't seen much of in my life. Here's a link for some of the pictures from our trip to Asheville.

Asheville

Facts about Jordan

I thought to kill some time while Kim and I wait to hear from the Peace Corp that I would do a little series revealing facts about the two locations we could possibly go to: Jordan or Morocco. So from time to time I'll introduce some new facts. Today I'll talk about Jordan.

Area: 45,000 sq. mi.
This is just slightly larger than Ohio.

Population: Roughly 6,000,000

Capital: Amman

Countries that border: Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, West Bank, Israel

The only major bodies of water in Jordan are the Dead Sea on it's western border and the Sea of Aqaba on the southwestern tip.
It is a monarchy just like Britain, but no Queen Elizabeth or celebrity weddings, etc. Also, unlike Britain, this monarchy has power. The reigning monarchy is the head of state, the chief executive officer, and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. So the King is like our President and the Prime Minister is kind of the Vice President...except that if the Pres dies they don't get to take over.

That's really all I've got for today since it's coming up on the end of my work day, but next I'll do the same for Morocco and then maybe in the coming weeks go into more detail on both.

Viva la Midnight

Yesterday, Kim and I had to do an awful thing. We had to make the decision to have my parents dog, Midnight, put to sleep. I'm not really a dog person...I'm not really a pet person. I like animals well enough, but they tend to get on my nerves. I did love Midnight though and it was terrible to have to do that, but it really was necessary. She had gotten out and somehow gotten into an accident that fractured her pelvis and hip. Because of her age it just wasn't worth it to go through a complicated surgery that she might not recover from.

It tore Kim up just to even be in the animal shelter for as long as we were...it brings back memories to her of when she had to put her dog, Missy, to sleep. My mom was destroyed over this, but thankfully she was not in town to see it or have to deal with it personally. It actually did upset me a little, and I wish now that we would have gone back to see her just one more time before we left.

Midnight was an 8 year-old black labrador retriever. She liked laying in the hot sun, chasing her baby sister Emma around the yard, and eating ice and slices of cheese. She was a loving dog and still was mischievious even at her age. Midnight I wish we could bury you with your fly swatter...you will be missed.

Oh Happy Day!

Yesterday was mine and Kim's 2nd Anniversary. It's quite amazing how quickly it all goes by. It seems like just yesterday that we were in college and dating and now we've been together for over 4 years. We had a very nice anniversary even though we had to work. We went out to eat at one of Durham's finest restaurants, Magnolia Grill, and had a wonderful time. We had probably one of the best discussions we've had in a long time along with a delicious meal and a dessert that had enough chocolate to kill one person...so we split it.
Thank you Kimberly for 2 wonderful years! I can't wait for the next 183 years.

No-no

John Lester of the Boston Red Sox threw a no-hitter last night, striking out 9 in the 7-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Some interesting facts about no-hitters.

Pitcher with the most: Nolan Ryan (7)
Second most: Sandy Koufax (4)
Team with the most: Dodgers (21)
Second most: Red Sox (19)
Team given up the most: Phillies (18)
Second most: Giants & Dodgers (15)
Teams with no no-hitters: Rays, Mets, Padres, and Rockies


On a side note, I continue to be baffled by the Florida Marlins and their accumulation of amazing stats in such a short amount of time. In their 15 years of existance in the league they have had a winning record only 4 years. Yet, they have won the World Series twice. That's more than 12 other current teams. They also have thrown 4 no-hitters. That's more than 9 other teams. It just blows my mind how they can be so bad and then every so often put together a decent team and do something.

Weddings...

Weddings are a great place to meet up with old friends and to make some new ones. My brother got married this weekend. It was a really nice time hanging out with everyone for a few days. Saw lots of Emmanuel College people (although most were my own family). All in all there were 23 current and former attendees of Emmanuel College and over half were my family members. Even saw a good friend of mine (Greg Dixon) who I hadn't seen in 4 years. Found out he's been scarring the minds of youth for over 4 years now as a youth pastor. God bless him for being able to put up with that.

Kim got to meet more of the Alabama McBrides and surprisingly, she loved them. They didn't scare her too much. Honestly, I hadn't seen some of them since my grandmother died 12 years ago so that was a really nice treat for me as well.

But on the wedding end of it, it all went well...I didn't pass/black out, although it was burning up in the church. They both said yes, and the wedding was nice. I do have some serious issues with some traditions in weddings, which I won't air out here. Probably why Kim and I cut out most of them. Also, Kim and I still hold the record for the shortest non-courthouse wedding as far as we know (this one was about 25 minutes).

Thoughts on James

Yesterday, my small group had a great discussion on various verses in the book of James that stuck out to them or struck a chord with them. It was an awesome time of sharing and learning. I'll share the verses and some of the comments that were made.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 - Joy is something you choose to have, happiness is an emotion. This is not being happy with your circumstances, but having joy in growth that is happening.

"But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:6 - This is how I feel when I doubt the ability of God, like everything within me is being tossed all over the place.

"If one of you says to him, "Go I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?" James 2:16 - Deeds are not more important than faith, but instead a natural outpouring of your faith.

"But no man can tame the tongue." James 3:8 - We cannot tame the tongue, but we can ask God to change our heart because out of the heart the mouth speaks.

"What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." James 4:14,15 - We cannot plan from one day to the next, because we don't know whether we will even be here.

Stats

Those who know me, know I love stats. Here are some interesting ones.

Barry Zito, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants has a deal worth about $18 million a year. So far this season he has zero wins and seven losses in eight starts. In case you haven't figured this out yet, if he only got paid for winning...he would still be broke. Unfortunately, the Giants still owe him $18 million for this season even if he never wins a game.

One other interesting stat. What team has the second best record in the Major Leagues? Technically, there are 3 teams tied at 23-16; Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, and Florida Marlins. The fact that those 3 teams are tied with the second best record on the 14th of May is an amazing stat within itself, but that's not the most interesting thing. The Tampa Bay Rays are averaging about 18,000 fans per game good for 26th in the league. The Florida Marlins can do one better averaging about 14,000 fans per game or 30th in the league. Goes to show that it takes a long time to build fan support. Or for the Marlins about 9 months to buy it and about a month in the winter to sell it off again.

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. - James 1:6

God don't let me waver in my trust in you. Though times are tough right now, I will continue to trust in you to bring us safely through them.

With His help

As Kim and I prepare for the Peace Corp we have had to do some pretty rigorous health check-ups to get approved. Vaccinations, blood tests, dental checks and other work and as you can imagine this is not a cheap thing to take care of. Fortunately, the good ol' US Government is helping us pay for some of it. I figured it up and it should come to just under 10% that they are offering up to us. Fortunately, again Kim and I have saved a considerable amount of money and so this hasn't hit us too hard. It's merely a frustration.

Now, it would be easy for Kim and I to pat ourselves on the back for working hard and saving up the money to pay for these expenses that we've undertaken. But that would be wrong. I can see God looking out for us all over this one.
For instance, Kim has a job that she doesn't particularly like all that much. Why doesn't she get another job you ask? Well, she has applied and not been so much as interviewed for another job. It's very frustrating, but also ended up being very good. This current job pays completely for very good health insurance for Kim and also offers extremely good, extremely affordable dental insurance for both of us. Without both of these things, our already crazy expenses would be through the roof.

I just wanted to say this to encourage those who don't see the evidence of God in their life to look around and realize all the glorious things he has done for you that you are taking credit for yourself. God is great, never fail to give him his glory.

More baseball

Hilarious video of Mr. Redlegs, the Cincinnati Reds mascot getting decapitated.

Funny Comment

Just something funny I heard on the radio this morning that made me laugh hysterically. "Braves shutout the Padres last night 5-3." The guy just kept going like he said nothing wrong.

God Bless Joe Alleva

**Warning, I'm about to talk about sports**

I thought it was best to issue the warning since some people don't like sports.
I'm going to jump around here, but all things tie in together so bear with me.
This year Duke's basketball was severly lacking in the large man department. They have a very large man on their basketball team, but unfortunately he doesn't know how to play basketball or do two things at the same time (like think and dribble).

Joe Alleva is Duke's former athletic director who after the season was hired away by LSU to be their athletic director. I personally was very happy to see this happen since I was not a big fan of Mr. Alleva. He had just mishandled certain situations during his tenure at Duke (the football program and an nationally known investigation to name a few).

Shortly after starting the job at LSU he hired Stanford's basketball coach, Trent Johnson, to be the new head basketball coach at LSU. Stanford then in turn hired long-time Duke assistant Johnny Dawkins to be their head coach. I was very saddened to hear this news since I absolutely love Johnny and was looking forward to him being the next head coach at Duke whenever Coach K decides (hopefully never) to retire.

In steps Miles Plumlee. Miles Plumlee is a 6-10 big man from Indiana that had committed to attend and play for Stanford next season. As soon as the person who recruited Miles left for another school he immediately asked for a release from his commitment. Miles' younger brother, Mason, is coming to play for Duke in 2009...guess where Miles chose to play next year. You guessed it, Duke University. Karma is a wonderful thing!