First Down: Melissa

All our bets about who will get married first are over -- it'll be Melissa on August 20 in Southern California. Congratulations, Melissa and Eric!


The Decadox girls affectionately referred to Melissa as Biola's first lady because she was dating the student government president, Eric Weaver.


The nickname was doubly meaningful because their story really did begin with politics. When several Biola students went to California's Republican Convention, Michelle encouraged Melissa to take the last ticket. When Sarah Palin spoke at the Home Depot Center, Michelle urged her to "need a ride" from Eric.

Melissa had always thought that Eric was a hearthrob and only slightly abused her journalism privileges by arranging to interview him for a Chimes article her junior year. Now it was her senior year and fate had presented another chance with Eric Weaver. Before the phone call, the rest of us were only aware of Melissa's nervous struggle by her giggling fits, frantic rationalizations that he wouldn't think she was weird, and violent back-flops onto the couch. But sure enough, Eric fell for the bait and they started "hanging out" soon after the convention.

And now they're engaged!

Ships Ahoy for Spring Banquet

A Decadoxer never misses an opportunity to dress up and take part in communal application of makeup. That in mind, Spring Banquet presented ample opportunity for 70 percent of our membership to party hardy on the Queen Mary ship in this grand Biola tradition.

Thirty percent of the Decadox took a date, while James Dean (pictured at left) and Scott Munekawa collectively took the other 40 percent.

There was some misinformation transmitted to one Decadox vehicle by a certain AS vice president: rumor had it that all attendees had to arrive before 7 p.m. because the ship was setting sail at that time. Hopelessly behind schedule, that Decadox vehicle arrived late. But to their joy, the ship had not yet left port! Curious, Scott Munekawa asked a crew member when the ship was departing, and the security guard laughed in his face. Apparently, the ship hadn't moved an inch for the past 40 years.

Scott felt a little silly.

Overall, the evening was delightful. Tasty food, enless photos and an excellent jazz band filled with some [creepy] old men made for a lovely banquet. But we were soon to find out why Biola's no-social-dancing policy may need revision -- a banquet without dancing only keeps attendees' attention for about an hour and a half. We were all ready to go shortly after we ate our chocolate mousse and flan.

With the great company involved, I'll venture to say it was better than prom.

Jet Setters Visit the Decadox

We moved on from our sticky fingers business and welcomed two of Janelle's traveling buddies, a British couple she met in Nepal, named Ev and Alicia.

Alicia was actually from Pennsylvania (woot!), but had adopted an accent almost as thick as her husband's. Ev had a sense of humor, but we were probably most amused with how his accent could make almost anything hilarious. I don't even want to know how it sounded when Ev tried to help Julie with her German homework.

What a life. The two spun stories from their year-long, around the world traveling experiences--one year, they said, can feel like 30 and can make or break a marriage.

Their visit was short-lived, but before they left we introduced them to two American must-haves: In-N-Out and Berry Cool, our favorite frozen yogurt joint.

Best lines of the day -- Berry Cool:
Claire: Yeah, with 10 girls in the house people call it a brothel. (Michelle's PET PEEVE)
Ev: A brothel? Well I'll be your pimp.
(Gangster-looking guy with dreads pulls up in a brand new Mercedes)
Ev: Oh, here's your pimp right here.

Sticky, Sticky Fingers

As fate would have it, some people have selective vision in noting initials on food in the refrigerator. Kate's pomegranate vinegar was recently assailed by a chugging thief and an e-mail pleading its recovery was dispatched pronto. The hullabaloo inspired Jessica to author this poem:

it all started with the diet coke, it was in the fridge and then i was diet ... broke!
oh where did my little diet cokes go, was it patrol one, or was it lost in cookie dough?
and then the brownies, oh my oh my. i wish i was paying better attention with my eye (to the brownies).
maybe then I would have seen, who ate katie's brownies, which are not flavored of bean.

oh the decadox, is having some problems, with sticky fingers as sticky as bubble gum(s).
just today, we found out it happened,the raspberry vinegar is gone!
all while katie took a nap(pened). i mean, who drinks a cup of vinegar anyway?
it's probably the fastest way you could ever decay.
and then there's claire's special table cloth, flowery, lovely and not full of moth.
it's under the black sofa... we don't know how.
and claire's spirit is taking a pow (of rejection).
oh woe to all of this missing food,
hopefully this poem will put you in a better mood.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños a tí!

It was a cumpleaños muy feliz for me -- the whole Decadox showed up! To top it off, the girls helped out as we fixed up carne asada, homemade tortillas, frijoles and arroz! ¡Que divertido!

And if the Mexico flag looks a little ... squarish, it´s because it doubles as a bandanna. Thanks, Dollar Store.

Thanksgiving Breakfast

Recipe from Hannah Reid (James’ Novia)


Cranberry Orange Scones:
1 box cran orange muffin mix (don’t use canned berries if it has them)
1 egg
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoon orange juice
1-2 handfuls or craisins

Blend with electric mixer
Drop ice cream scooper-sized portions on ungreased cookie sheet
Bake at 350 for 10-15 min or until toothpick comes clean

Icing:
Mix powdered sugar and water, drizzle over baked scones

Devonshire cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sour cream
3 tablespoon powdered sugar

Whip with electric mixer until thick

James brought the flower tea!

Decadox Moments Slideshow