Independence Day 2009

Independence Day 2009 was one of the best I have had in a while. While I did not shoot off any fireworks, I got to spend the day on a boat on Lake Erie and Cuyahoga River and view the fireworks from right above my head instead of in a car and far away. Usually, I am at home with my family bringing barbecue in and going out to Edgewater Park to enjoy the fireworks from afar. This year, I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted to stay in Cleveland but instead of going to the same spot for the fireworks, I wanted to change the location and the experience. This year, I went with just my sister instead of my parents and my sister.


The plan: we "got away" from the house and stayed in a nearby hotel at a cheap rate for the night. I did not know how wild the night would get so to be safe, we stayed in a hotel. We had a light lunch (I had mussels and my sister had spicy garlic wings). We relaxed a bit in the hotel after eating before we headed to the pier at Voinovich Park to get our tickets for the elongated cruise. The day was nice and there was a nice breeze coming from the lake.


Around 6:00 pm, dinner was served. The dinner was a traditional one: ribs, chicken, cole slaw, beans, and cake. We sat at the table with two other couples to accommodate all incoming passengers. The name of the boat was the Goodtime III, the newest addition to the Goodtime family. The boat was at capacity around 800 passengers. At dinner, the boat was about halfway at capacity but the main deck was the area where everyone was seated for dinner so at felt more crowded at dinner. The boat started to cruise around 6:30 pm and made its way around once to the west and back and then to the east and back.


We left our dinner seat and headed up to our designated deck- the 3rd floor. There, people started to slowly move toward their decks and enjoyed the open air. I saw the daylight turn into dusk and around 8:30 pm, we approach the dock again to pick up the other passengers on the boat who bypassed dinner. This time, the boat was at capacity and it was rather hard to move from one area to the other. The third and fourth decks were at capacity and the lower two decks were packed. The true celebration started even before the fireworks as people were dancing in the aisles and having a good time.


The boat continued to make its cruise through downtown Cleveland and beyond as the darkness overtook the sky. There were many smaller cruises that blocked off certain parts of the lake; as a result, the Goodtime III looped around several times and parked itself in a neutral area where the fireworks could be seen clearly. The fireworks started around 10:00 pm and ended at 10:30 pm. I took pictures of the fireworks but the resolution was not great so I switched to my videocamera and that worked very well. The boat returned to its dock at 11:30 pm and we headed back to the hotel for the night. In the hotel, there was quite the crowd since there were many family reunions happening. There were no stairs (I found the stairs early morning next day) so we had to wait for a while to board the elevator. We left around noon that Sunday and arrived back home in the early afternoon.




























Wishing Everyone a Belated Happy Independence Day,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10

Jubilee Weekend

I went to this awesome conference called Jubilee last Friday. Jubilee was for three days and I lived every minute of it. For those of you who do not know, Jubilee is a conference for Christians and anyone who wants to know more about Christianity. Jubilee is sponsored by the Coalition for Christian Outreach and was held at the Westin Convention Center in Pittsburgh. Some of the pictures consist of the conference and others consist of things that I did in my spare time (which was not much). There were a lot of students from OWU and we shared a charter bus with students from Ohio Dominican. The purpose of the Jubilee Conference was to instill Christianity in every aspect of life for believers and to recognize that there is always alternatives to the earthly ways of the world for skeptics and non-believers. Even though the conference brings a Christian perspective to life and its issues, the conferences sought to teach all people. The conference was not one sided and I think people left out of the Westin a lot stronger in their search for a better life and towards their walk with Christianity and its issues. I am sure that everyone was more than satisfied with the turn of events and programs for the weekend and that everyone will bring a friend for the conference next year.
To start off, I guess I will talk about leaving OWU on Friday to go to Pittsburgh. I did not know what was going to happen for the week. I just wanted to let everything fall into place. When I arrived on the charter bus, I was settling in with my books and my thoughts of the weekend. What I did not expect was the arrival of the Ohio Dominican students in full force. All of a sudden, the bus was packed. On the trip down to Pittsburgh, we watched Across the Universe. I thought the movie was kind of like an acid trip. It was surreal in some parts and just trippy in other parts. I got to know some of the Ohio Dominican students as well during the four hour bus ride. We got to Pittsburgh around eight o'clock when the conference was about to kick out with the first plenary session. We got our stuff, checked it through the chaos of 2000+ people, went to our rooms in the Convention Center, and following the crowd to the Ballroom area of the Westin. This was all done in the matter of twenty minutes after we got off the bus. The plenary session for the 8pm session on Friday was interesting. The keynote speaker was Anthony Bradley. The key point I got from them was that there is idolatry and pain in our lives and that both of these elements can effectively ruin a relationship with our family and God. If we can overcome idolatry of material items and escape pain in our lives, then we will be better able to grow in our relationship and create homes that are less likely to become broken. Right after, I had a small group discussion with a couple of people from OWU. For ten minutes, we discussed if the session had an impact and what was important in the speaker's message. I learned a bit from Anthony Bradley and so did the other members of my group. I went outside the ballroom area to purchase some books about how to implement Christianity into our lives in the professional and sports setting. The books are really interesting. I got a couple of books about hip-hop and the Bible and a book about the impact of Christianity on athletes and coaches such as Tony Dungy. After my purchases, I went back inside the ballroom area to hear a group called the Cross Movement. All of the songs were catchy and guess what, NO VULGARITY! I was hearing the truth in their message while they addressed urban issues, something I deal with in the summer when I am back home. I brought their newest CD. I have yet to listen to it since I have been back at OWU but I will eventually. I went back to the hotel room soon after the concert; it was getting late and I had to catch up on some reading for class. I got to order room service (of course, it was not the cheapest thing in the world but I figure that I would be stupid not to take advantage of the opportunity. Also, I was starving.)
Saturday-
Saturday was the longest and probably one of the rewarding days I have had in a long time. I started the day off with a tour of the five-star workout area, sponsored by Reebok. Honestly, I did not know what to expect but once I got going with experimenting the equipment, I was floored (and since this was at 7 am, I was all the once floored). I worked out for about thirty minutes, training with the elliptical, the abdominal machine, and the military presses. Seeing that I was on limited, I decided to switch up to the pool area. Around 7:30 am, I went to the whirlpool section of the pool area and hopped right in. The sensation of the bubbles on my body was tantalizing and relaxing. The whirlpool put me into a contemplative mood where I reflected on Friday's sessions and what was in store for the day. After ten minutes of relaxation and contemplation, I jumped out and headed into the sauna room for a couple minutes for more contemplation. The first time I got into a sauna was in the Mariott in downtown Cleveland and have fallen in love with it ever since. In the sauna, I prayed under the intense heat. The experience was enlightening for me. I showered and went to the elaborate locker room to change. I will explain in detail the locker room under the pictures later. I went up to Lisa Ho's room (one of the administrators on the trip from OWU) and got breakfast- OJ, bagels, and breakfast bars were on the itinerary. I had to head up to my room, which was on the 23th floor, hers was on the 19th, to quickly change as I had a breakout session at 9 am.
The first breakout session I went to was for an outreach program called Blood: Water Mission. The purpose of this program was to raise money to put in 1,000 clean water wells in regions of Africa. The program was started by Jars of Clay for outreach to Africa. I thought the presentation was good and that it seemed to really serve a valuable and practical purpose- everyone involved would be able to benefit from the outreach program. This program was a good one to warm Saturday up a bit.
The second plenary session was next at 10:30 am. The local band played to get the crowd pumped up for the day and the session went off without a hitch. The second keynote speaker of the series was Kelly Monroe Kullberg. When I first heard that she was during the keynote speaker, I thought she might take the perspective from a feminine approach. However, she did not and rather, she reflected on life stories on herself and other individual to convey her points. She was very subtle in teaching us her life story. Her triumphs, her failures, everything was included in the session. I was very happy with the overall presentation and I knew that things in the conference could only go up from here.
We left for lunch and I ended up in the strip session of downtown Pittsburgh. The streets were packed and I was trying to find a restaurant and finish it quickly to go back to the sessions at 2 pm. That did not work out as well as I thought. The plenary session ran a little late and I did not find a good restaurant until after 1 pm. I settled at a place called Roland's for lunch, a very homely place to eat in the middle of the day. I ordered a little bit and realized that I would not be back around 2 pm. Instead, I hiked back around 2:30 pm and caught the last hour for the next breakout session. Breakout session #2 was Lowrie McCown. This session was interesting for the fact that he spoke on the issue of incorporating a Christian lifestyle into the often aggressive ways of sports. I am not an athlete per se but I know the principles of being on a sports team is the same as being on any other team. There are some times where we get so caught in the passion for sports or other things that we forget about why we are playing in the first place. Integrating your thinking to be above the material things in the world of sports is something to consider. Two examples were shown. One was Tony Dungy and how he implements his knowledge of Christianity into the sports realm. The other was rather weird for me at least. The example was of Seabiscuit. Once Seabiscuit was shown and his life story explained, I understood why Seabiscuit was chosen. Determination despite being the underdog and overcoming the odds was the key for the session. I was glad to be in that session- I learned a great deal that I want to share with the athletes here at OWU.
Breakout session #3 was really interesting because it was different than any other session, plenary or breakout on the agenda. Before I arrived at the Jubilee conference, I signed up for the Jubilee Africana/Latino portion. I did not go to the two scheduled previously so I figured I better go before my time was up at Jubilee. The 3rd breakout session was off-site at Epiphany Church. The session was about the differences that Blacks and Latinos see in each other. A siren went off in my head. How controversial is this going to be? The session starts with the Blacks naming the characteristics of Latinos and vice versa for them to us. Then we analyzed the issues and eventually we looked at the message of solidarity which was given to us in 1 Corinthians 12 12:26 (I have that bible verse memorized out of all the verses said over the week). I thought the message the session was trying to convey was very cool and applicable in our lives. Despite the fact that we judge from time-to-time (Christians too), we all have to see that we are the same and that we all need to mutually edify yourselves to becoming a better people for ourselves and for God. After the session, the Church fed us food in which you will see a sample of the food in my picture. No, I did not take the picture of the food just to show it off. This picture is more symbolic and I will explain that later in the pictures section.
I went back up to the conference area to find OWU members around 7 pm in the Ballroom where the 3rd plenary session was to commence. Same format- worship, introduction, more worship, more information, then the announcement of the keynote speaker. The 3rd keynote speaker was Charles (Chuck) Colson. Just some information: Chuck Colson was the chief counsel for Nixon from 1969 to 1973 and was one of the Watergate Seven jailed for Watergate-related charges (underlined words for emphasis) After his emergence as a Christian, he reached out to those less fortunate to where the most feared criminals reside: the prison system. This is a very rare opportunity to hear someone like Chuck Colson speak about her faith and why it is important to believe in God. For about an hour, my spirit was lifted like never before and my confidence as a Christian soared as high as the heavens above. Basically in the simplest of terms, he told us that he was proud to see young Christians congregating and that we would have to continue to spread the Word. I have so much more to say about the message that Chuck Colson told us but I cannot possibly write it all in this blog. All I can say is that Chuck Colson's speech took my level and understanding for the Bible and for Christians unto a whole new and exciting level.
My small group once again on the day and this time, we all felt the message and elaborated on it- heavily. We all felt revived and happy with the sessions of that Saturday. I was ready to soak up another concert- this time with Derek Webb and his wife, Sandra McCracken. I was vaguely familiar with the work of Derek Webb before the concert because of Caedmon's Call and I never even heard of Sandra McCracken. Once again, I arrived in the middle of the concert set because of my small group meeting and browsing the books again. The music I did pick up was very fresh and good to my ears. The song that stuck out the most was Savior on Capitol Hill. The song was fresh to all of our ears, reminding us that it is that time of year in our lives (political season, that is). The song was short but to the point. To end the day, I went to the tables near the hotel rooms where people talked about seminaries, missionaries, and other opportunities for people interested and who are called to do these opportunities. I decided to go try out the Fish Market downstairs. I hung out with some of my friends from OWU for a late night fish feast. I knew that this would an expensive excursion but I am in Pittsburgh so I am going to live a little. My Livornese Chilean Seabass cost $$$$ but it was definitely worth it. I went to bed satisfied in almost every way. Yeah!!!
Sunday-
Same routine as Saturday until 9 am where I attend the final breakout session. The issue is controversial- homosexuality. Chad Thompson was the speaker for the breakout session and we discussed his book- Loving Homosexuals As Jesus Would. As controversial as the topic was, there were no major outbursts or anything of the sort. Chad Thompson told his story and then told how us the message of the book. I liked the session because it gave me a better view of how Christians need to stop being one-sided in their view of homosexuals and become more open in their views. Being one-dimensional towards a group of people will not help Christians out and that their view needs to become more broad to remove this image of Christians. I wish this session was longer because the room was packed like many of the other sessions for me on Saturday.
Last session of the conference was a plenary session with Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz. I felt like this session was a success as well- Donald Miller was funny, insightful, and even had us interact and move for a little bit for a little activity. I felt that the perspective that he told us about his work as an author was a little different than the other plenary sessions. He was a little more out there in his logic even though to me it made sense. Donald Miller seemed more whimsical in his approach to implementing Christianity into the art of writing, production, and daily life. Nevertheless, he was laid back and the message was here for us to grab and spread to everyone.
Just to reflect. This was an unbelievable. Totally worth the money. Practically every second from the second I got on the charter bus at OWU until the second I got off the charter bus at OWU was a thrilling roller coaster into delving wholeheartedly into my faith and my walk with God. Celebrating my love for Christ with 2000+ other Christians was unforgettable. I am definitely telling my friends, family, and everyone else about my experience because IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I am still recovering from the high I got being at Jubilee 2008.

Now, some pictures, in no particular order, shown at the top of the page.
#1- Night life in Pittsburgh. Beautiful.
#2- The Infamous pool area and the beloved whirlpool that I reflected my thoughts in.
#3- Another view of night life, this time from the 23th floor on my room.
#4- The ultimate workout room. I was pumping that iron before I was pumping my mind.
#5- The locker room! This reeks of awesomeness! That was truly a surprise and a treat to me. The services were top-notch as well, I might add.
#6- The title of this says it all. The Ballroom where everything went down!
#7- The nice looking 5-star Westin Convention Center.
#8- The sunset that finished off our experience at Jubilee 2008. Pretty, isn't it?
#9- This image caught my eye. "To Live" is the point of coming to this conference.
#10- Jubilee- A catalytic event about living out your faith in every area of life.
#11-Derek Webb performing Savior on Capitol Hill.
#12-Ah!!! The Fish Market. High class, might I say.
#13-Shelbie Ely and Mery Kanashiro smiling for the camera.
#14- The men of Greek Life- Andrew Au and yours truly.
#15- The OWU Jubilee banner for 2008.
#16- An interesting picture of the landscape coming back from lunch. Environmental alteration, anyone?
#17- Me playing with the camera with my new bud from Ohio Dominican, Barry. I have a new facebook profile picture as a result of this picture and Barry's camera. Check it out.
#18- Dinner at Epiphany Church outside of the Westin Convention Center. ODU students await.
#19- Some of the meal. Chicken, salad, and penne pasta. Yeah, baby!!
#20-Another picture of the concert- Sandra McCracken and Derek Webb.




Living in His spirit and singing the praises of His jubilee,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10

Happy New Year... Welcome to my first Blog of 2008!

After a long couple of months of coverage without a camera, I finally manned up and bought my own camera so I can give you the latest coverage on events that has happened to me in my life. I know there will be many events happening in the coming weeks and I want to photograph everything that will occur especially since school is just around the corner. This is the perfect way to kick out 2008 so enjoy the pictures.

(Note: some of the pictures are out of place so I mention it at the bottom of the paragraph.)


I will briefly tell you what went down on the eve and what I was doing when the new year arrived. Before my sister and I could arrive at our hotel in Independence, Ohio, we had to do a couple of errands for ourselves and for the household. We went and picked up a week's worth of groceries. This is the first time I have been inside a grocery store in a while so I took advantage of it. I bought a couple of items that should help me last until the time I leave on the 13th of January. I also bought some items that I might take back with me to Ohio Wesleyan. You never know how Gatorade or a can or Beefaroni will help the soul in times of need. (Picture: the Sheraton in Independence, Ohio).

After we bought the groceries, we headed home and stock all of the food in appropriate places. I knew that my mom was making a hen for the family on New Year's Day so once I arrived back home, I would not have to touch my purchased food for another couple of days. We grabbed a couple changes in clothing and headed for Independence. Having a couple of hours to spare before check-in at the Sheraton, I went to Inkstop to see about purchasing a camera. I wanted an HP because I was already familiar with the brand; however, they sold out of those camera and I chose a Canon Powershot instead. The Canon camera cost more but I knew I would be very happy with the result. I bought a 2 GB memory card to have enough space for the events later that evening. (Picture: Ornament in Sheraton- antlers used as lighting decoration.)

My sister and I were hungry so we headed to Champps, knowing very well that we can waste a good amount of time just eating good food. If you don't know, Champps is a sports bar, so I was in need of striking up a good conversation about sports. I ordered some Mile High Nachos and admittedly, even I was not prepared to what they presented us. It was too much even for the two of us. My entree was champagne shrimp and chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. I ate most of my entree except my green beans... I wanted to make room for dessert. My dessert was a Messy Sundae- the presentation was perfect for the description of the dessert, a glass covered in chocolate and nuts and inside was caramel and chocolate, mixed with whipped cream. I finished the dessert and was stuffed for a good while. I took the nachos with me but I did not eat the nachos in time- they were not good to eat by the next day. The food was good overall, I would definitely go back given another day and circumstance. (Pictures: 1st- actually taken from hotel serving area. 2nd- actually taken on the Nautica Queen. I did not take pictures of the Champps meal.)

We arrived at the Sheraton around 2 pm. I was stoked to get my room. The Sheraton seemed empty until we got ready to leave around 5:30 pm. Everyone was nice, the service was good, and the room looked immaculate. Just check out the pictures. The fifth floor was made to chill out in their lounge and I was surprised by the amount of equipment they had in their exercise room and swimming area. I was so happy and ready to use everything in my sight.

We left the hotel to go towards Downtown Cleveland. Surprisingly, the trip only took about fifteen minutes. I should have known since the Sheraton is right off the highway and the path to downtown Cleveland is pretty straight. Independence is closer to downtown Cleveland than where I live in Cleveland by Maple Heights. We thought we needed to leave earlier to get a parking spot in the Flats but the parking was very empty and the place to where we needed to pick up the tickets did not open until around 8 pm. This meant that we left too early. All we should do is kill time once again. To kill that 2 hour difference, we went to another restaurant in the Flats area- Shooters. I did not know what to expect. I did not want to feed my appetite quite yet, I was saving that for the Nautica Queen. Instead, I order a Red Bull and a Calamari Starter. I took it easy for a while. I did not want to drink- there was champagne on the boat waiting for me for the celebration. The area itself was interesting. I took a couple of pictures to illustrate this. Odds are, I will not be back in the Flats anytime soon so I took advantage of that and shot away.

We killed about a hour in Shooters and got our tickets. We waited for a line to build and we jumped in that line to take our seats. Upon sitting, everything we did seemed like a process. We gave our coats to the coat check people near the entrance, we checked our reservations and were shown a table. The table was near a window so we could look out of it to check out the scenery of Lake Erie. We were not the only people at the table- there was three other couple sitting with us for the experience. I got to know their personalities well by the end of the ride. There were about 400 people in attendance. People were on two floors and there was an observation deck which, fortunately for us was open. The boat did not take off until about 10 pm when people was well settled in their seats. The package of the Nautica Queen contained this: hors d'oeuvres, food- a lot of meats were presented, champagne, and of course, live entertainment with a live DJ. In my head, I knew this was going to be an interested time. For extra, people ordered alcoholic beverages. I am not going to lie, I had a flirtini, not bad I must say. I tasted the pineapple juice more than anything. The night was not as cold as I thought (I thought it would be brutally cold with no chance of wearing just a sweater or a shirt outside). I went to the deck many times to chance pictures. Honestly, it was hard at first to get a good picture because of the night conditions and the speed of the boat. I switched my camera to night scene and night snapshot mode and everything became very good. In my opinion, most of the night shots of the city are the best shots I have of the day. By the second time I went back from the deck, the dance was filled with people having a good time. I did not go on the dance floor- it takes a lot to get me on the dance floor unless it is a specific event like a formal. When the clock struck midnight for the first time in 2008, there was a euphoric feeling on the boat and I felt that euphoric feeling as well. The feeling lasted until I left the boat around 1 am when it got back to the dock. The feeling was "I made it through another year."

There was a long line to get off the boat and out of the Flats but I did not mind. We got back to the Sheraton around 2 am and immediately went to bed. I awoke around 7 am and briefly thought of breakfast. I perished the thought and went to the exercise room for a quick drill on the elliptical. I showered shortly after and dressed. We relaxed before we opened the window and realized it is a white New Year's Day. We left the Sheraton around 11:45 am before the conditions got worse. (Picture: the calm before the storm- the day before at the Sheraton. Not available is the photo of the storm.)

Reflecting on the experience, it was one that will be hard to shake because this symbolized a great start to a new year. I hope that this will last for a while in all of the endeavors I do, whether it is school, work, or otherwise. I got to experience life at its best and I am looking forward towards the adventures of a new year. Kiss all of your past experiences goodbye because 2008 is here to stay! YYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!




Opportunities are arriving in 2008,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10


P.S. There are more pictures of my New Year's extravaganza below. I will let these extras speak for themselves. Enjoy!!