Same ole’ Roy

“In daylight? In sunsets? In midnights? In cup of coffee? How do you measure, measure a year?” I believe the Rent song Season of Love asks a valid question. Now, multiply that year by two. It has officially been more than two years, since I left my house to join the Holy Cross Associates.

Since I have been gone many things have changed. Friends have graduate college. Some have almost completed their master programs. People have gotten married. My sister and brother-in-law have become parents again (and another is on the way). Cousins are entering their final year of high school. And so much more. While living in Bolivia and Chile, I have changed. I am now more mature, know what I stand for, and understand my values.

Two weeks ago, I decided to take a mini-vacation with some of my community members to Mendoza, Argentina. I quickly threw stuff into a backpack, and we hopped on the metro – fingers crossed – hoping that we would be able to catch the last bus out of Santiago.

As we got settled on the bus, I began to get comfortable. I took off my sweater folding it into a pillow, pulled my hat over my eyes, and wrapped myself in my blanket. After a few moments, I opened my eyes, only to see my three community members laughing at me. Or better yet my blanket.



You can put Roy in a life changing experience and make him more mature, but down deep inside, he is still just Roy. I guess something will never change.

Theological gadget

Over the past few weeks, my coolest gadget - that has been both a blessing and a curse – is my alarm clock. My parents as a birthday gift some time ago sent me an alarm clock, because I had been complaining about the one I had. Years ago, I would have said, “Geez, this is cool. Never seen one of these before” very sarcastically. However, this year, I was completely stunned by this cool gadget. The alarm clock has huge digital numbers, a blue indaglo light, alarm clock, the date (month, day, and year), and a thermometer, all displayed on clock face. It’s awesome.

As winter arrived, I began – and still do – to talk to my parents on the phone, while in my sleeping bag. Yet, my mom and dad would laugh as I spent minutes on end shivering through the phone. “Why are you shivering?” my dad would ask. “I am cold . . . burrrrr . . . I swear . . . burrrrr . . . it’s colder in my room . . . burrrrr . . . than outside” I would mumble through chattering teeth. I must have told everyone in the world that it was colder inside my house than outside, and of course no one believed me. However, my new gadget proved my point.

The first day I got my toy; I took it outside and put it directly underneath the sun. Five minutes later, it read that it was 18 degree C. Then I realized, since my room isn’t directly underneath the sun, I should move the clock to the shade. Ten minutes later, the clock read that it was 15 degrees C. Then I put on my scarf, sweater, gloves and beanie and walked my clock into my room, and left it there. Five minutes later a difference of another 6 degrees was revealed, making my room a freezing 9 degrees C. Finally the proof I needed.

I say that my new gadget is both a blessing and a curse, mainly because I can now see how cold it truly is inside my room. Reading in bed and stealing glances at my clock, only to see the temperature dropping doesn’t help the morale in my room, especially when “nature calls.”

Being a native Texan, I have always had heat year-round. It’s probably because I never really had “white winter” or any winter, in fact, that I always painted it romantically. In the Houston heat, exiting your car, walking from the driveway to your house, you are already drenched in sweat. It’s nasty! I have spent my number of sweat-drenched days in Texas, to determine that I would rather be cold than hot. In the heat, you can only take off layers of clothes until a certain point before it becomes a crime. However in the cold, you can always put on layers. After spending winter in Santiago, I have experienced a cold so cold that it hurts your bones. Honestly, the winter – the cold – SUCKS! Wow, wasn’t I naïve?

Recently I had a conversation with Patrick about what Heaven will be like. I told him it would probably be nice and warm, unless my neighbor loves having blizzards. Then my house might get some nice cold fronts. As I sat on my sofa freezing, this did not appeal to me. So I thought to myself “Dude, screw that, go to Hell, heat all around.” Suddenly a quote popped into my mind “The biggest trick the devil ever pulled on mankind, was to make them believe that he didn’t exist.” I disagree. “The biggest trick the devil ever played on mankind was making them believe that hell was hot. Five bucks says in freezing cold!”

Thus, I pray “. . . lead me not into temptation.”