tonyandkirsten.org

Since Autumn let me know last week that our near-by West Ames Hy-Vee does in fact sell Sushi, I couldn’t help but try it out. I almost went out the very day she informed me about it, but better judgment prevailed and I didn’t drop everything to go buy some (but if Madeline hadn’t been sleeping at the time, I really might have gone right then!).

Instead, on Saturday night after Tony and I were exhausted from lack of sleep and putting up door hangers on a hot afternoon, I decided to get some sushi as an appetizer for our “staying in” date night. The sushi can be found in the Chineese Express cooler. They have both rolls (maki) and hand-formed pieces (nigiri) in small packages ranging in price from $3 to $7, depending on the size and variety. Some packs contain a single variety, while others are a mix. I purchased two packages of rolls — one package of California rolls and one mixed variety package of crab rolls, cucumber rolls, and something else I couldn’t easily identify.

I couldn’t even wait to get home to try the sushi I bought. As soon as I got out to the car, I had to eat one. Yum! The taste of sushi conveniently located only 4 blocks from my house! Overall, the sushi was very passable. Obviously the quality and freshness was not as great as going to a real Japaneese sushi restaurant, but considering price and convenience it was a hit for me.

Thinking it would be nice to have a fun dessert to go along with our sushi and spaghetti “date night” meal (yes, I realize that is a very ethnically confused meal), I purchased a piece of $5 gourmet cheesecake from the Hy-Vee Bakery cooler case. I had really high expectations for this cheesecake. Hy-vee sells about three different price levels of individual cheesecake pieces, and this was the most expensive. Honestly, I should have gotten the $2 cheapie stuff! The label said raspberry sauce, but the small sauce container actually contained a bitter cherry sauce. The texture of the cheesecake was pitiful, and the taste was almost non-existant. This was a “Raves” brand cheesecake, and I assume that their cheesecakes from their dessert catering business are better…but I would personally reccomend again buying it from the Hy-Vee bakery case. It’s not worth anywhere close to five bucks.

Two thousand doorhangers distributed in neighborhoods with a median age of 25 and under. Survey table in the MU. “Rock Tour” to four locations in Ames at times other than Friday night — all within 8 days. Handing out invite cards on campus. Posters everywhere. Handing out bottle-opener key chains at Welcomefest. Team-level kick-off events in the dorms and elsewhere. It really seems like this adds up to more promotion and people-meeting opportunities than we have ever done to kick off a school year.

I am really eager to find out what will happen tonight at our first Friday night Rock of the semester in Curtiss, as well as next week on the MU Terrace. Will it make a noticable difference? I know that historically most people come to the Rock because of personal invitation…but we are sowing a lot here. It seems like that means we should reap at least something from our efforts. Will it help us bring more off-campus students and “20-something” non-students to Curtiss? I certainly hope so, since putting up door hangers is where a big chunk of the kick-off efforts of the Rock’s three off campus teams has gone so far.

Wow. I am really praying that God is using all this promotion we are doing to draw people to the Rock and Himself.