Saturday, February 16, 2008

Valentine’s Day

calvin pays for parties.  that is, alcohol-free, responsible parties.  initially, i was skeptical because it was a reimbursement grant with an application process, but after getting a personal email from the dean of student development, bob crow, about hosting a party, i decided to give it a shot.  yeah, i did not expect mr. crow to invite me to host a party with calvin money.  the invitation came after he apparently he heard a good report about our house from some of our neighbors.  the head of calvin’s neighborhood relations department gave us and email, and then mr. crow followed it up shortly afterwards.

so the morning on the day before valentine’s day, i came up with the idea of a dinner party where the guys made and served personal pizzas to the girls.  during chinese class, i filled out the application for the reimbursement grant, and after class, i left it at mr. crow’s office with a note asking for urgent approval.  when i got home, i had an email in my inbox saying my party had been approved.  i quickly put together a facebook event and sent out the invitations.  because it was such short notice, i called some people up to make sure they got the invitation.  my friend kaitlyn picked me up later that afternoon to buy the pizza ingredients, and the next day, over 20 people show up for the party.  Although I didn’t hang out in the basement where everyone was because I was busy cooking pizzas, people sounded like they were having fun. Their laughing kind of hinted at it.  I spent most of the evening cooking pizzas so others could host the girls, but near the end of the evening, the party came upstairs and kept me company as I finished pizzas for the stragglers.  we ate everything; the only things leftover were some butter, parmesan cheese, and rasperry tea mix.  in the end, the entire event cost me $1.55. this grant seems to work pretty well. i just hope i really get reimbursed for throwing a clean party.

For some reason, the cleanup seemed more effortless than previous parties.  My housemates helped me clean up, which is always helpful, and we ran our dishes through the dishwasher. After hearing my pastor, rob bell, talk about one birthday party he hosted where the aftermath was only one small bag of trash, I’ve been aspiring to leave as small a waste footprint as possible at my parties. When I was in holland michigan the past summer for my birthday, I remember seeing each trash canned paired with recycling containers. The Waste Management company logo was emblazoned on containers, and I was proud to see a trash company take recycling seriously.  we followed that example and setup recycling bins in the kitchen.  instead of using disposable cups, eating utensils, and plates, we brought out glasses, silverware, and dinnerware.  at the end of the evening, our recycling bins were a little fuller, but we barely had any trash.

Calvin has definitely had an impact on the way I deal with my trash (literally). Recently, Calvin joined thousands of other colleges in america for Focus the Nation, a movement encouraging climate change awareness through various programs and lectures. I didn’t know it, but my biology class professor Dr. Warners was part of the organization committee for calvin college. He required us to attend 3 Focus the Nation events that day, asking us to write summary reports of the events. I was glad I went, because I learned so much about how climate change is affecting the Earth. Events like these encourage Calvin students to love God’s earth more, and to take more steps towards living an eco-friendly life.

but i digress.  eventually everyone left, and with that came the uncertainty of whether everyone really had a good time.  well, i didn’t really care if everyone had a good time; if all the girls had a good time, then us guys did our job.  the next few days, i got facebook wall posts from some of the girls thanking us for organizing the party.  if it’s on facebook, then it’s confirmed - the girls seemed to have enjoyed themselves.  and that was my valentine’s day, a rushed calvin-sponsored dinner party!

Posted by Nehe555 on 02/16 at 11:14 PM
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