What's black and white and RED all over?

The answer to that question is of course a bloody penguin! That's right folks, in case you were wondering, it's still wintertime here at UNC. So in light of the Christmas Season, here is a poem.

Twas the week before break

and all through the campus

all parts of the brain were straining

even the hippocampus!

It's finals week here

and some get so stressed

but not me and my friends

we're in our ugly Christmas sweater vests.

Holiday parties run rampant

sparkling cider and all

I take binoculars outside

and watch people fall.

It sometimes gets icy

best to go to some parks

you can watch the geese run

and hear the dogs bark.

People pack their bags for home

and trudge through the snow

they'll suffer the cold

but I'll be in SAN DIEGO

Well that's all the rhyming I have in me. I'll be blogging through break, so be sure to tune in!

Love,

Brink

Dentures and Diapers

There comes a point in every young person's life, when they start to actually feel like a grown-up. Sure, you'll see little pictures of adulthood here and there. For me, I would have visions of adulthood while standing in my parents kitchen when they were out of town, or while sitting at a recliner while drinking out of a root beer bottle. Now I stand at a crucial point in my life. I'm almost done with school, I'm not so afraid to talk to "real adults," and I can grow a decent mustache. 
All around the world, young people have different rites of passage. Rituals that must be completed in order for someone to pass into the next stage of life. I'm not sure if there is a distinct ritual here in America. Maybe it's a matter of moving away from home. Maybe it's paying all your own bills. Or maybe, it's when you enroll at a school for superheroes (even though you initially don't have any powers of your own) . Through the course of time, you find out you have an arsenal of powers and you save the school from your father's superminded nemesis...I did say maybe. For me, I get the feeling all the time that I'm becoming a real man. Often times, it comes upon me when I look into the eyes of my wonderful girlfriend and imagine myself spending the rest of my life with her. Oh the many joys of getting older.
UNC has been my home for growing up. I attribute the community here at UNC for helping to shape me into the man that I'm becoming...I'll give my Dad credit for the mustache.  I can't think of a better place or better people for me to share this part of my life with. It can actually be a little scary at times. Who knows? Before you know it, I'll be wearing dentures and diapers.

Stay Fly Folks,
Brink

You smell that? It smells like good clean fun!

Wow guys. I've really missed you. But I have some great news! This saturday I'll be attending Christian Challenge's Pre-Thanksgiving Day Feast! This whole thing was really my brain child last year (note: my brain did not actually conceive, it's just an expression). You see, the community is so great here, that I consider a lot of people to be like my extended family. So I thought, "why would I not celebrate thanksgiving with these fine folks."
With that I mind, I bought a 20 pound turkey, and embarked on the journey of a lifetime. Through many panicky phone calls, and sweaty moments, the turkey turned out just right. Tons of people came and brought their favorite thanksgiving day treat (mac n' cheese is a thanksgiving treat right?). It was so much fun and it was such a success, that Challenge decided to make it an official event this year. It's probably for the best; organization isn't really my strong suit. That's one of the reasons why I love UNC so much, because I'm involved. Welp, I better go get my stretchy pants ready, a thanksgiving feast is one thing I don't mess around with.
Later Days!
http://www.uncchallenge.com/

The British are coming...and by british I mean snowstorms

Man. Just when I was pulling out all my great fall attire (flannels and cardigans), we get hit with snow. I did not see this coming. Thus is the fickle lady weather that reigns over Colorado. I think we probably had 8-10 inches fall of wet heavy snow. So heavy in fact, that we had trees snapping and falling on power lines. Here's the silver lining, we got a snow day! This gave me an opportunity to catch up on being unproductive, and gave my friends a chance to make a great snow fort on Gunter Green! (Note to all snow fort connoisseurs: Never leave you snow forts unattended due to ruffians that roam around looking for fun ruining activities to partake in). I'll attach a picture of the snowy street that I took on my phone. Look at the tree that's leaning. One thing that's nice is that Greeley does an awesome job getting streets cleared after big storms, I never feel stuck anywhere.

I've recently become fond of walking to the campus music store right off of 16th street. They have so many folksy guitars there. I also have an egg shaker and a tambourine that I purchased there once. Hey that reminds me, my band will probably be playing at Open Mic Monday, just one of the great events that UPC (university program council ) puts on during the year. http://www.unco.edu/upc/ It's always a blast. Well hopefully this whets your pallet until my next blog.

Later days,
Brink

I am Brink

Hey hey readers! So you may have found yourselves wondering, "who is this guy?" Well I suppose I can shed some light on the issue. My real name is James. I'm from the lovely Colorado Springs and I'm a senior at UNC this year (soon to be a super-senior!). I chose to come to UNC based on the fact that my brother attends. We're twins, so that means we split from the same egg in the zygote process. Good times. Anyhow, he had transferred up to UNC after a year at community college, and I had stayed a year longer to try to go to a private university in Nebraska. After I found out it was too expensive, I took the trek to be roommates with my little brother (I'm 19 minutes older) and attend UNC. I was skeptical at first. I came for my brother, but I stayed for the community. There are over 120 clubs and organizations on campus and it's easy to find a place for you to belong. I myself am an avid member of Christian Challenge. Check out a list of clubs here http://www.unco.edu/clubs/clubslist.html.
In addition to being involved on campus, I do lots of other things too. I love to juggle and play guitar. My band is actually playing at Zoe's (a local coffee shop) tonight for a benefit show. If you enjoy duckies like I do, Greeley has over 40 different parks and recreational areas to enjoy (http://greeleygov.com/Parks/default.aspx). You also might see me scootering around campus.
Such is the introduction to the life of a soul skater at UNC. Signing out for team Pup N' Suds,

-Brink-