jesusita fire.

the past three days have been quite dramatic here in santa barbara due to a horrible wildfire that started on tuesday. so my apologies for being so out of touch here on the blog and via e-mail. bleh. my house was just on the edge of the mandatory evacuation area and thereby in an advisory area. so i loaded up the hard-drives and client files, collected all my valuables and voluntarily peaced-out. i fled south to stay with some friends in carpinteria on wednesday night. it was nice to breathe some cleaner air and get a good night's rest.

but i returned to my eery street late last night only to find the sidewalks covered in ash the street lights dimmed by the smoke. i decided to camp out at the house. that was fun. it was hotter than the hinges of hell in my lil room and due to the smoke and ash, i opted to leave the windows closed. somehow, i managed to get some rest though only to awake to the news that my alma mater, Westmont College, had been evacuated. the community just recently suffered a huge loss in the tea fire and my heart broke when i heard that they had to relive any part of that. although the fire is still rather distant from campus, i am pleased that the students are safe and sound elsewhere. and i am totally bummed for all my buds who are graduating tomorrow. they have worked long and hard for this moment. it is supposed to be a time of celebration. a time where they reflect on what was and what is come. in this time, they are faced with mixed emotions of joy and grief, excitement and angst. it is hard enough to leave westmont after four years of it being your home, your community, your life. throw an evacuation in there and you got yourself one horrible & difficult situation. it sucks. my heart is heavy for them and for the dozens of families that lost their homes.

yet i am filled with pride. am proud of the firefighters, government officials and law enforcement. they are rockin' it. and, they are bad-ass. and i am grateful for their willingness to protect us and fight that fire. seriously, they are awesome. and i am proud of westmont. they stand strong and united in spite of everything. what a community i tell you. and i am proud of my friends who are graduating tomorrow. they pushed long and hard to get to this day. they are here. they made it. through finals and fires, headaches and heartbreak. though all-nighters and nail-biters. and not only that, but they learned and become better people through it all. i am excited for the world today because there is quite a crew being sent out tomorrow. get ready world.

in closing, i invite you to pray today. and love. in time of crisis it is all we can really do. we can pray and we can love on the people who need it most. so today is love your westmont grad day. yup.