A New Blag
There’s a new blog on the interwebs that I have recently made a habit of reading often. A friend of mine and fellow graduate from Belmont University has recently moved to a far away place for two years. You can read his blog here.
Ah Kirk, what a great human being. This is the guy that I will forever remember as the guy who desperately wanted to go to a Nickelback concert dressed as an extreme Nickel back fan because of his disdain for the band and everything they do. When I met him, this desire seemed completely absurd. However, after a few years of bonding and growing friendship, this desire makes complete sense. You see, Kirk is the guy that always says, “I hate (x) therefore, I must become involved with/do (x)”. A few examples of this: Buying around 8 gallons of Halo 3 Mountain Dew Game Fuel because it was both disgusting and available only for a limited time, wearing ridiculous clothes while playing disc golf and experiencing NASCAR with hand-drawn tattoos on his body.
All of these are documented with photographs in one of his 60 or so albums on Facebook…
Kirk and I don’t look as though we should be friends (he’s a good foot and a half taller than me) but from the moment I informed him that I could get him free tickets to the Nickelback concert, that is exactly what we became. Throughout the next few years, we had in-depth conversations about our inability to be good Christians at all times and our disdain for n00bs who launch to the middle of the map with the missile-pod. The latter is only understood after hours of playing competitive Halo 3 games.
I heard a theory about friendships recently. The theory is that there are two types of people, two types of friends. There are Balcony friends and Basement friends. The Basement friends are those that bring you down, those who discourage you. I think we all have these friends. They are the ones you can’t spend more than a few hours with because it’s exhausting. But then, there are Balcony friends, the friends who encourage and challenge you, who not only want to see you become a better person but also want to come along in that journey.
Kirk is definitely a Balcony friend. He encourages me and helps me to see the possibility of what I can become. He’s hard to get to know, his humor is flooded with boastful sarcasm and he has a unique ability to be transparent without being narcissistic. But when you push through, when you realize that he’s not trying to be as arrogant as he sounds, he’s one of the most unique/hilariously honest individuals you will ever meet.
Anyway, he’s in China now and he’s writing about his experiences. They make me laugh. I hope you take a moment to read some of his thoughts and that you can find a friend like him or become one yourself.