Halloween: By the Numbers

Yeah this post is way late, but so what.

My school has the dubious distinction of being one of the top party schools in the nation. As such, our Halloween's here in Isla Vista are world-renowned, especially on the infamous Del Playa Drive. Incidentally, that's my street! So for Halloween (which lasted Thursday-Saturday) I had a front row seat of the madness unfolding before me. It was quite the experience.




The following Monday, our school newspaper had some interesting facts. From the long Halloween weekend here's some stats for some context:

We had an incredible 45,000 revelers from out of town (this is upswing of 60,000 people in a one square mile radius!)

There were 250 arrests (up from a mere 154 last year)

250 police officers from agencies around the state were in IV patrolling the streets (up from 150 a year ago)

560 citations were given (compared to 377 in 2007)

55 people were given emergency care (thankfully no deaths, which usually happens from people falling off the cliffs)

$1,000,000 in costs for police enforcement

50 cars were towed (on my street, there could be no cares parked on the street after 3:00 PM. Right after the stroke of 3:00, there was literally a dozen tow trucks driving around and towing cars. It was quite funny)



I wish I had pictures of how empty the streets were with no cars on them. During the daytime, IV had quite a festive atmosphere, which was pretty surreal to be apart of with all the out of towners descending on all the local food joints.

It was unbelievable to witness so much from the balcony of my house, with literally thousands of people on the street--solely pleasure-seeking. It broke my heart to see it, but God revealed his glory to wipe away the streets by inducing rain both Friday and Saturday night to scatter the partiers.

Luck Is (Not) Hard to Come By

There's a relatively popular saying that "Luck is hard to come by"... and I'll be the first to refute this notion of stupidity. This may (certainly) be true for good luck, but I found it is increasingly easier to come across a streak in bad luck. Take for instance some mishaps in my life recently:

1. My camera broke. Yes, my priceless Canon Photoshot 10 megapixel kicked the can, and literally for like the 4th time in the last five months. I sent it back to the Canon service center in Elk Grove Village, IL (I only know this from having to mail it so many times!). As such, I have had the misfortune of being unable to record the absolutely gorgeous sunsets we've been having recently. After a month, I still have yet to receive it, but Canon was 'gracious' enough to provide us with a subtle replacement--a 7 megapixel Photoshot, a nice downgrade. Thanks to my maverick-y Dad, I am now being sent a 10 megapixel camera. Good riddance.

2. My cell phone broke. This has been an ongoing problem with my stupid LG 8600: everytime I would get a call the screen would go blank and I would have no idea as to who was calling me. So I had the bright idea to press against the screen (in the hopes that it would help) and proceeded to crack it! So I went about a week without a phone, but thankfully my contract was up and proceeded to purchase the LG Envi, and I absolutely love it!!

3. Single-vehicle crash: Yep, I'm a moron. I was on my bike the other day, lookin pretty cool riding around with no hands (like always) and got cocky. Literally 50 yards from my house, I decided to be 'smart' and unlock my U-lock... well that didn't go to well and ended flying off my bike with it landing on top of me. So embarrassing! Yoikes.

There's been other nagging things getting me down, but then I happened to read this verse in the book of James 1:2-4-- "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Upon reading this verse, my attitude in general about things drastically improved. In fact, in each of the above situations, everything worked out. Through persevering in the tough times of not having a phone or without a camera, I have viewed other aspects of my life more positively and have relied on God to get me through it, which has been acutely rewarding.

More posts to come...