So what are we doing in ‘09? 

• Retreats, and more retreats – We just finished our first batch of Confirmation retreats for some local parishes. We’ll probably be finishing up the last of them next week. 
• Conference – we’re playing at the Vietnamese Youth Convention in July. There’s a lot going on here. We’re working on the tech and liturgy committees. It gets pretty intense month to month planning out sound systems, lighting, etc…  What’s more exciting is that we’re working on writing music for the conference like the theme song and what not. We’re working on some recordings next week.
• Music – yes, we’re working on music. The challenge to write high quality music higher than any other time that I would expect.  Especially worship music these days. It’s hard to write something that you feel people would enjoy not only listening to, but praying to. That’s a lot of pressure. Secondly, it’s even harder to like what you write. There’s a lot of songs that go unrecorded. If anything we’ve been cranking out psalms for Mass which puts us in the practice of melody fishing. Preparing for the conference is particularly motivating as well. We’re trying to think positive. We’re pretty set on releasing a few songs this year. 
• What else is up in ‘09? Figuring out what’s actually going on on LOST.

There was a great difference between the first time I went to the Columban retreat and the second one.  Most importantly, it was the people.  The first retreat, I had no idea who anyone was outside of the band.  I was able to break a few barriers that retreat.  But as months passed from that retreat to this one, I was able to make a few bonds and now found myself talking a bit more people.  There’s a lot that could be said about this retreat, but I think the one that takes the top spot: IT RAINED.

To give you a perspective, there are no asphalt roads, everything was dirt.  Now add rain to dirt?  Mud.  But before we get to the meat of the retreat, let me tell you story of the setting up at retreat.  We arrived at the retreat center, with practically three SUV’s full of equipment.  But for some reason, we managed to forget microphones and our acoustic pedalboards.  I mean, those things were practically essentials.  We went wild trying to come up with solutions.  But Kim Pham-Vu, bless her giant heart, made the seventy-five mile drive to just to hand those things to us.

Okay, back to the events.  The night was pretty relaxed.  We were all exhausted and decided to go to our cabin and try to recoop for the next day.  We ended up watching a movie.  Day broke and we went for breakfast.  What a hearty meal it was.  Eggs, sausage, gravy, biscuits, oh, I drool thinking about it now.  Anyway, we went back to our dorms and began watching another movie.  As lunchtime rolled around, we added to our already bursting stomachs.  Then, we took the walk of shame back.  Oh, how we felt like pigs.  The retreatants went out to do their activities, and in that time, we continued where we left off in the movie.  But as the kids began to trickle in, I noticed something.  A lot of them were covered in chocolate pudding.  I have yet to get an explanation from someone about that..

The second half of Saturday changed the tone of the retreat.  As the sessions began to end and evening came crawling in, it was time for the heart of the retreat.  As the skits unfolded and we went into  worship of the Blessed Sacrament, we found ourselves sitting next to Jesus.  Conversing and confessing to him.  It was very heartfelt and meaningful.  Oh, almost forgot to mention Mike’s talk abut being consumed, it really stood out to me.  But as the Adoration transitioned to Face of Faith, thing began to lighten up a bit.

Now, this next part, to give you background, there’s a saying, “What happens on retreat, stays on retreat.”  Some stories are just TOO good to pass up though.  As I urged the rest of the band to go back to the cabin, THEY DECIDED TO STAY.  Follow me, you’ll see where I’m going with this.  So they decided to sit on the fireplace, in front of everyone.  As Becky was assigning dances to the group to do, (note, we’re still sitting there), someone decided to shout, “Hey, the band should do one!”  And thus we were assigned one.  Ballet, to be precise.  The song?  Dancing Queen by ABBA.  So we went back to our cabin and decided.  Are we going to just suck and be embarassed up there, or were we going to blow the fish out of the water and actually try to choreograph something?  We decided to go with the latter.

After a good 5 minutes of choreography, we went back into the room only to find out it would be postponed until Sunday morning.

Then it happened.

Then we dominated.  What. Up.

We’re still very proud of or title of dance crew champions of the February 2009 St. Columban C2 Retreat.

But yes, it was a great retreat.

And I’ve had a higher word count in this blog than any paper I’ve written for school this semester.

This retreat was truly a surprise.  After we received the theme song, we told ourselves, there’s cheesy, and then there’s cheesy.  It happened to be the latter.  We didn’t expect many people to enjoy it.  But after the second listening to the song at the retreat, we found ourselves in those circles, dancing, clapping, being a strong tree.  But let’s talk about the retreat!

The drive up was windy and filled with sing-a-longs and laughter. And as we got there, we explored the area.  We ended up driving around, getting stuck in snow, and freezing our buns off.  But as we got into McNeil hall to set up, we saw the kids beginning to swarm in.

This weekend, I was given the task of play the djembe.  Pretty much, it’s a drum, a single one, where you could make several noises.  It requires you to strike it with your bare hands.  I thought, “Hey, this couldn’t be that bad, it’s just like tapping on a table in class.”  By the end of the weekend, there were popped blood vessels in my fingers and plenty of bruises.  If I found out anything from this, it’s that Ken’s job is not easy.

I really connected to my kid side through this one.  I ended up playing countless rounds of tetris with the boys.  I also realize, I have this thing where I like to leave things in the sink.  I’m not entirely sure why I do it, but it just kept happening.  water bottles, soda bottles, flashlights, trash!  They still give me mouth about it now.

The food was great.  Filling that many stomachs could not have been easy, so I tip my hat to all the people that spent hours preparing our food.  The talks topped the food.  They were all heartfelt testimonies of how God came into their lives.  Honestly, if I ever get the chance, I’d want to be a speaker when I get older.

But to sum things up, this whole retreat was a pleasant surprise.  After being away from the mountains and the snow for a few years of my life, it was nice to be reacquainted.  It played as an allegory to me finding my much more childish side, and in turn, finding God.

P.S.  Sorry this blog took so long, we got really busy and I never got time to finish.