The Noise I Make

Soon

2010-02-23T20:04:00.001-08:00

I shall return.

Smiles

2009-08-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been long, but they've been really good. Me & the Mr. Mike attacked the foyer of the church & established dominance over it, bringing it into proper submission. With help from Kristopher, Pastor Eli, & moral support from LG, we made it happen. Over the past few days I've learned a few things:
1- Mike is one of those guys who can do everything.
2- Pastor Eli reminds me of me..a lot. He asked more questions that anyone I've met, other than myself, & he is my equal when it comes to persistence. I told him these were good traits to have.
3- Painting passes time crazy fast

If you've called the church in the past 2 days, there's a good chance no one has answered. That is because my secretary is in Virginia this week. One of the things that brought joy to my day is that Elijah answered the phone once. He answered, "Hello this is Pastor Elijah, can I help you." Awesome. Too bad it was his mom on the phone.

I've been teaching Ellie to pray before bed for the last week or so. I have her repeat after me, but the last two days, she goes for it herself. Pretty awesome. Tonight she started after her bath before bed & prayed for just about everyone, including her books Lou Lou & Mack Mack.

Swine Flu Article

2009-08-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Interesting...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1206807/Swine-flu-jab-link-killer-nerve-disease-Leaked-letter-reveals-concern-neurologists-25-deaths-America.html

Waiting...

2009-07-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

We're still waiting on the baby. It's not late or anything like that, but we'd like it out. It's interesting how stress can creep up on you. Exhale. Ah. Espresso.

Today, I was downstairs reading. I hear Ellie yell from upstairs: "Dad!" She usually calls me dada, but when she's being demanding, it's dad. So I walk to the bottom of the stairs & tell her good morning. She throws her sippy over the safety gate & down the stairs. It landed at my feet. She said, "orange juice." She knows what she wants. I'm in for it.

old lady

2009-07-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

I went to LA a few days ago. There were about 38 people, mostly between 20-29 years old. Pretty much all of those in attendance were doing similar things with their lives, ie, working in ministry etc. It was...well, it was one of those times that are too few & too far in between. It was a little uncomfortable at first. Being in a room with people I'd never met for the purpose of getting to know them. There were other purposes as well, but later.

I was flying back to Reno on the 4th, which is something I'd never done before, flying on the 4th. I figured it'd be slow but man was it slow. I started off in Ontario airport. No checking baggage is the way to go, so I went straight to the security. Much to my surprise, I was the only person to be found, other than the security personnel. I made mention of this as I got closer. "Wow, I get airport security all to myself." Luckily I didn't get the extra frisking, but it was special. Things were relatively smooth. The first trip was to San Fran. I flew United because it was the cheapest. The plane was tiny, really tiny. The lady next to me said she was thankful that she got to sit to a small person. I liked her immediately. That was all the chatting that happened. She dove into her women's mag & read all the way. Me to, except in my book.

This is where Jesus enters the story. I deplaned & looked up. There it was...Peet's Coffee. Truly blessed I was. I said, thank You God for my Americano with whipped cream & room for cream.

The next leg of the flight was a short jaunt to Reno, about 35 minutes of actual flying. I hate landing in Reno. It's always a little sketchy. We landed early, so as soon as I was able I called Jessica to let her know that I was ready. I was finishing up my phone call as I walked out of the tunnel into the waiting area for the next flight. This old lady caught my eye. She was crying. Like crying, crying. While I was finishing up with Jessica I was scoping the immediate area. There was no one around the lady, but lots of people around. Most were quite aware of her & looked uncomfortable with what was happening, but they were doing their best to pretend that they were busy & unaware that there was something definitely wrong. I was a little nervous, but I hung up my phone & approached her. It got pretty quiet. I asked if she was ok, if I could do anything, get her anything, help with anything. She said that she was traveling with her son & that she was ok. She thanked me. I said ok. I slowly walked off, thinking about the crazy situation I just witnessed & questioned if I had done "enough," or if I did it "right." Who knows. I do hope that someone else picked up where I left off.

...

2009-07-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

Later today I'm leaving on a roughly 50 hour trip to LA, which means I'll be back on the 4th in the afternoon. That is also the day that North Korea have threatened to launch a missle at Hawaii. Yeah, that would suck. I'm flying down to spend time with other people my age to get to know them & to have meaning of life discussions. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm going in optimistic. I'll either be blogging there or later about my trip & the discussions we have.

...

2009-06-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

When you squeeze a lemon, lemon juice comes out. When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out. When a person is squeezed...no, this is not a poop joke. The pressure that life brings is a lot like squeezing a piece of fruit. Under pressure, under the squeeze, what's inside comes out. We can't stop it. We can try to ignore or deny what's there, but it's pointless. It comes out. I'm finding that there are still mindsets, attitudes, beliefs, etc that find their way to the surface when I'm squeezed. What to do, what to do...

Ponderings

2009-06-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about life. Not necessarily the "miracle of life," but the way we/I live it. I've been noticing some things lately. It seems to be easier to be negative than it is to be positive. This is both in outlook or worldview & in the words people speak. It seems easier to point out what's wrong with the world & what's wrong in the world, than to see what's good or what's right. It also seems that there will never be a shortage of things to complain about...people...circumstances...situations...or fill in your own favorite.

There's nothing like attitudes of negativity & criticalness (possibly my own word) to get our focus off where it should be. These attitudes are selfish, they're about us...or me. What pushes this? Why is it so common, so normal? BItterness, unforgiveness, loss of hope, emotional pain, physical/emotional trauma, "real" life experience? Sin? Probably.

Like with most things, I have to...or get to choose what will be true of me. How will I look at people, circumstances, & situations? Am I going to be critical? Negative? Am I going to complain & think of little more than me, me, me? I can tell myself that this is normal & this is just how people are. I could, but I'd be selling myself a load of you know what.

I'm pretty sure it says somewhere, in some book I once read, that I should be a person who loves, who hopes, & who sees people, situations, & circumstances in a different way. It's a much better way to live. It's preferred. God help me to live it & not settle for less.

bluahhh

2009-06-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

A couple nights ago Ellie launched all over her bed...this was at 12:18am. The good thing is that she promptly asked for a towel to clean up her mess. I like her style. Yesterday after church, I had a soccer game. On our way back, about 1 minute from home, she launched again, this time in her brand spanking new car seat. I just finished cleaning it. Upon arriving home, my wife made her contribution, although she made it to the bathroom. She continued puking into the night. I can only imagine that they were made sick by watching the team I play on attempt to play soccer. It was ugly. We have lost every game so far. 0-6. We lost 5-0 yesterday. You know it's bad when someone walks off the field. Regardless, soccer brings me joy & I hate it when something that I enjoy so much turns into more of a frustration. I look forward to the next game. With that being said, I could sure go without my family being sick, granted Ellie is just cranky now. Jessica is off most of this week with summer session coming next week. I don't think being sick on her "break" was part of her plan. Alas!

On a lighter note, I have a softball game. Team Armor Plate is 4-2 so far, far exceeding last years record of 2-7-1 (the 1 was a forfeit, which is different that a win). We play at 8:50 at shadow mountain field 1 if you want to come watch greatness.

college

2009-06-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

Just because I haven't blogged in awhile doesn't mean life has stopped. One new development in the life I live...
I was accepted into our denominations college to continue my education. I've considered going attending there in person before but this will do for now. I applied for a program via distance learning, but it's not the program that they normally offer through distance. I guess an exception was made. I think the hardest part was getting into the college. I talked to an insider who said the meeting where my app was reviewed was interesting. I was what they call an "outlier." This title is mine because I am both a "christian," AND I moderately gamble, consume alcohol, and I've smoked tobacco in the last year. Good thing I had someone in there to vouch for me. It's just one of those things. Needless to say, I am extremely thankful & grateful that I get to continue my education & that the college made an exception for me. I'll be getting a second bachelors degree & it will require 39 units. That's only 13 classes, & after I transfer my other "bible" units, I'll be down to 33 units.

...

2009-05-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

I grew up wanting to play softball. I used to watch my dad play monday & wednesday nights. 'Watching' meant glancing over in between our games of pickle. Anyway, softball is fun. Like anything, it has it's down moments. That is usually not monday nights, they are fun. For the last month or so, the church team has been playing on monday nights in the mens league. Recently, we've had injuries popping up but nevertheless we've been able to field a team. The team we played last night had 2 girls on it. The Pasty informed me that he knew them & one plays for UNR & the other is a senior in high school. They had game. One hit the ball harder than some of the guys on her team. One of the girls was playing first base. She did this in fairly short shorts. After about the third time she stretched to make a play, one of the old guys on our team objected & didn't think it was fair that she do gymnastics in front of our dugout. Obviously...funny. We ended up forcing extra innings & won in the bottom of the eighth, 10-9. 4 games in & we've already exceeded our win total from last year...

Bach yahrd?

2009-04-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

I'm meeting with the landscaper monday to discuss what I have to do to get sprinklers & grass in the back yard. This meant the long awaited day of hot tub removal had to be today. I wanted it done last year but it didn't happen. Now I can post this year too. How exciting, huh Laura? Hopefully it will be done within weeks.

Thinking...underrated

2009-04-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

"If everybody's thinking the same thing, then nobody's thinking..." George S. Patton

In a world full of groupthink...or...nothink...

I've been contemplating differing opinions. I read this book called "Meet the Rabbis." It was really insightful, good, exciting...pick a word to describe a book you enjoyed. In one chapter, it talked about the value that the jews placed on having a friend "haverim" that they could argue/debate with. This debating & arguing was looked at as a good thing that mentally sharpened & helped them to formulate & articulate arguments & ideas.

It seems like people look at opinions differing to theirs in a few ways:
1- Some people dismiss others as morons or idiots
2- Some people view differing opinions as a personal attack
3- Some people view differing opinions as just that, a different opinion

I can see how & where I've fallen into each of these categories at some point in my life. I know I'm not the only one, but what is it that makes it hard to deal with opinions & ideas that are different? Pride. Fear. Insecurity. These are pretty isolating & destructive, especially when you're making attempts at relationship.

Friends...

2009-03-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

I like friends. Not the tv show, but the real ones. On another note, I have a gift. It is the gift of launching into meaning of life discussions at the wrong time. Sorry brother. Maybe tomorrow.

Letters

2009-03-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

I just talked to RPD. It is indeed against the law for people to have sex in their car in our parking lot at 2:50 in the afternoon. Good to know. That's not the blog topic but a free bit of wisdom for you lurkers out there who read.

I'm continuing my education. I had to fill out an application for a school, send transcripts, & write a personal essay, answering 4 questions. The questions, my answers:

1. Describe my salvation experience.
I believe it was around 1984, which would put me at roughly 3 years old. My family lived in Reno, Nevada at the time. I remember sitting on my parents bed, which was conveniently located in their bedroom. I was having a conversation with my mom about Jesus and what it meant to have Him come and live in Your heart. I decided it was something that I wanted to do. We prayed together & I went out & told my brothers what I had done. I can remember growing up & not necessarily taking ownership of my relationship with God through Jesus, but there came a point when I did. I realized that my parents weren’t responsible for my relationship with God around 6th grade. That didn’t necessarily change anything that I was or wasn’t doing at the time. I had a few moments here & there that you could say were wake up calls, or at least good reminders that this God thing or this “enemy” group were indeed real. With that being said, I believe me taking God seriously was a process that began in1984 & is still being worked out today.

2. Describe my Christian service experience over the last 5 years.
Is it service if it’s your job? Let’s say…yes. Going back to 2004…I was serving in the role of youth pastor & oversaw worship at The Fountainhead Foursquare church in Carson City, Nevada. Over the 3.5 years that I was employed there, I “served” in my area of responsibilities & also with things like: VBS, mission trips, & community outreach.
The past 2 years I’ve served at Hillside Foursquare Church in an administrative role. 6 months ago I began overseeing the worship ministry.

3. Describe my present stage of spiritual maturity
This is a loaded question. It’s “funny” that I’m asked to evaluate my spiritual maturity. I think I may be biased in my answer. When I think of spiritual maturity, a list of what I do & what I don’t do, runs through my brain. Thank you growing up in the church. Instead, I’m learning to look at a few things:
1- Am I consistent in my relationships with both God & people? I believe yes.
2- Am I able to resolve conflict? Usually, but still working on it.
3- Do I believe that you have to think or be like me, or am I threatened by “other opinions?” No.
I’m not sure where that would put my on the scale, but my mom says I’m a 10.

4. My perceived direction in ministry
I’ll be ordained by the Foursquare denomination on April 26, 2009. I don’t know for how long or it what capacity I’ll do my current job, but the plan is to continue doing what I’m doing. My current direction is continuing my education, which is the purpose of this application.

LA

2009-03-20T08:36:00.001-07:00

I went to LA this last week. The purpose of the trip was to go hang out with a friend who teaches at a bible college. It happened to be preview day. Preview day is where the college invites mainly highschool juniors & seniors to come check out the school & they do their best to pimp the college. We, however, followed David around to his classes. There were three. Pentateuch, Biblical preaching, & a youth ministry class. I really liked sitting through the classes. It sounds dumb to say, but the classes were very academic. On one hand I wished I had the opportunity to go there & take these classes before I started "my min-uh-stray," but I'm grateful that I had a scholarship & was able to get a business degree. I'm going to begin distance learning/online courses from the school hopefully within the month. Yay learning. The students were pretty standard college students. A few paying attention, but then there are the disengaged, bored, etc. I can remember how I felt in many of my college classes. I think sometimes you only get perspective after the fact. I'm married, 1.5 kids, house, job, & responsibilities. Going to school the "traditional" way is unrealistic for me right now. But in some ways, I wish I could. Yay learning.
We went to chapel, or the campus church service. On the worship team was a guy named Caleb Quaye. Electric guitar player. Played with the beatles, Elton John & there are many more. The sad part...you couldn't hear him play over the clanging keyboard with piano sound. Oh well. He is a professor at the college. I'd like to take that class.
I got to sleep on the floor in Chumley's dorm room. I think the funniest part may have been watching Louie attempt to climb up to the top bunk. No ladder, just lovely awkwardness. We shared a bathroom with 4 other guys. OOR style bathroom on a smaller scale. Louie pointed out a wonder woman sticker on the inside of one of the stalls. Good choice.
The flight back was interesting. Lots of loud on the verge of drunk guys. I came to find later that there is a huge BBQ convention in town this weekend. That was them.

Conversations...

2009-03-12T21:11:00.001-07:00

Another kid is on the way. It's official. I cannot deny it. I don't really want to deny it, but even if I did, I wouldn't. I drive a 1987 VW golf named Shirley. I used to drive a subaru wagon, which was pretty cool. We sold it & the explorer in order to get a nicer, safer, newer car for Jessica & baby todd. Enter the Pilot. Jessica loves it & I have no complaints. Shirley was my replacement. Shirley is great. She is old, but is barely broken in. 30,000 miles, all original & I even have the dealer's sticker in the glovebox. She's a smaller car & with baby todd, it's tight, in the cramped way. A few months back, Jessica had to drive the car one night. A large truck pulled up next to her & a few things came to her mind: 1- Shirley is tiny. 2- Shirley does not have airbags, child safety locks (for the carseat), side impact door beams, etc... She told me she liked the car but thought that I should get/deserve a "newer" car that is safer. I somewhat agreed. I'd like to keep her, but I need the money for a down payment. After much talk, I listed Shirley on a VW website for $5000. Sounds crazy, right? This is the car that Isaiah S. laughs at & tells me that my car is "funny." Not a good thing to be called funny by Isaiah... Less than 2 hours on the site I was contacted. The guy is interested. Hopefully it sells.

Anyway, I've been looking at Shawn's favorite website...craigslist. Everyday, 3 times a day, to see what cars are out there & how much $$$ I'd have to spend to get one. I like looking but haven't found "the car."

Here is a list of cars that I've seen & liked = I would buy them & drive them:
Toyota FJ Cruiser, 4runner, newer Rav4, highlander, Tundra
VW Passat wagon, toureg, Jetta
Honda Pilot, newer CRV
Ford F150, F250 diesel

I was looking today & saw a BMW that was sweet. AWD, leather, power everything, low miles. You get the picture. I was talking to someone today who came in to pick up their child up from the preschool & I told them about the car. We got talking. They smiled, laughed & said, dude if you roll up here in a BMW, there would be people who'd throw a fit. I was intrigued. A few things that we discussed:
-Their father (not a pastor or church employee) experienced something similar with people when he bought a Mercedes. A Mercedes that was cheaper than a new Kia. He sold the car after a year.
-It doesn't matter how much it costs, it's a BMW & that means something to people
-People would gossip & be pissed that a "pastor" drove a BMW, thinking "that's where my tithe is going" & other misc negative thoughts

This kind've blindsided me a bit. I say kind've because I've heard similar stories of pastors & how people have reacted to their cars/houses/clothes/hot tubs/anything that is nice. I know of pastors who have gone out of their way to live an impoverished lifestyle in order to avoid this conflict. Are there expectations that pastors/church employees shouldn't drive nice cars? Live in nice houses? Have nice things? Are my personal finances & how my family chooses to spend money under scrutiny because we are paid by a church/out of the tithe?

What would be insinuated by the gossip, the looks, the thoughts? That somehow I'd done something wrong? Are we serious? Are these expectations real? What are your thoughts?

....

2009-02-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

Ah, Valentine's Day...
It's one of those days that carry with it great expectations...for some. We try not to do the whole pressure thing with "special days" & it usually works out. Flowers & chocolate are pretty awesome gifts. The problem with chocolate is that it only lasts about 2 days in our house. We each got a pound this year so maybe it'll last 3 days. Back to the specialness of valentine's day...

For me, I never had a "girlfriend" when I was younger, however I did "like" girls. Valentine's day was about getting candy hearts & making sure you gave the hearts with the extra special messages to the hott girls. So, that and chocolate. I bought flowers for this one girl in high school on valentine's day. It was love baby. Didn't last. She was an idiot.

When I think Valentine's day now, I think of last year. February 14th. I woke up at 5am & drove over & picked up Moses. We had a flight to catch. We got to the airport & stood in line like good sheeple. As was standard back then, we exchanged some Old Gregg quotes. What caught me off guard was the chick in the other line who rang in, "I'm Old Gregg." She said I sounded just like him... We arrived in Vegas pretty early & were picked up by uncle Morris. He took us to the Beetle Barn where Shirley was. Shirley is my 1987 VW golf. We got her, drove over to the DMV to get a moving permit & then over to Morris' house. This is where Moses showed me how to best clean the inside windows. It's not just windex & paper towels stupid. We left. I'd never driven from Vegas to Reno. The first hour of the drive was me driving & Moses looking in the glove box at all the original paperwork & repeatedly saying, "no way." We made great time. Tonopah was the halfway point. Boring. We ate at taco bell in Fallon, filled up with gas again & then made for Reno. Picked up the other car at the airport & dropped it off at the house. Now, it was Valentine's day & we effectively were away from our wives all day. We headed for Costco. We each got flowers & then See's candy gift certificates. Went to the candy store to cash in...and did.

No vegas trip this year. But still good memories.

get ready

2009-02-05T10:53:00.001-08:00

For you conspiratists out there...& the rest of you too. The other day there were 3 C130's flying circles around the city at a low altitude. Keep your eyes open & pay attention to how many people get sick in the next 2 weeks.

....

2009-02-03T17:24:00.001-08:00

tired...and it's tuesday.

....

2009-02-02T18:54:00.000-08:00

I think running for fitness is supposed to be painful. I'm finding lately that after a run, I'm not tired. The two possibilities: I'm not going far enough or I'm going to slow. I think it was the slow part. I ran faster than usual today. I think it was a personal best. I thought I was going to puke at one point. I was tired. It hurt...but it felt good.

....

2009-02-01T20:53:00.000-08:00

I watched more football today than I have all year.
I ate a chocky chip brownie. It was tasty.
Mike's hard lemonade is not a man drink.
The super bowl shouldn't be watched alone.
I learned that some kids like to be spanked.
Am I really that oblivious?
Someone told me that when your wife is pregnant, her hormones effect all in the house.
Good time management is not a common skill.
It's either time to hang it up or pick it up.
If you have to say it...

...

2009-01-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

Today I will go to work without my family. Ellie is about to push several teeth through the surface which obviously means she isn't feeling well. Constant nose running, chewing on sleeves, & some crankiness now accompany my child. Jessica hasn't been feeling great either. She gets to finally take a day & do her work from home. Gotta love the laptop. It got me thinking about the last 13 months. Minus vacations, baby todd has been up at work with me...& she's not even getting paid. I was a little excited because I can attempt to set a lunch appt with a friend. I'll be able to play whatever music I want, however loud I want. But, then I thought:

1- Baby todd will not be coming around the corner with a big smile & a book for me to read her
2- I won't hear Ellie's playing & constant run of words which include nananaaa & hhhaaaaaaa (whipped cream) in the other room
3- No playing & wrestling between tasks (unless Louie is up for it)
4- No poopie diapers to change

It's only one day, but I already miss her. More often then not, I don't realize how lucky I am to be able to spend as much time that I do with my munch. She is the best.

Sigh Tigh

2009-01-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

This time of year is when I am busiest at my job. Number crunching, filing reports, sending reports, making reports, faking reports, cooking the books...Man this is tiring.

Bottle Thief

2009-01-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

It's one of the weirder things that has happened to me this year. I went to take out the trash & recycle stuff today & I noticed something. All the bottles were stolen out of my glass recycle bin. It happened sometime between last night & this morning...you know, when "bad" people are out & about creating mischief. I stared at my bin & felt a little violated. But then I thought to myself, should I care if someone takes all the bottles out of my bin? Yes. Yes I should. It pissed me off. My first thought: Some law breaker stole these bottles to take outan & use for target practice. This defeats the purpose of "recycling." I'm trying to do my part for the "earth" & now I have to worry about polluting thieves. My second thought: someone stole the bottles for the recycle money. I thought about calling WM (the mob) & telling them that someones stealing from them. I think there should be a $$$ charge for not recycling recyclables. And/or a $$$ credit for being a "good consumer" & recycling...or both. Not recycling = laziness. I think the Bible says something about laziness...and being smote.

Priceless?

2008-12-09T18:38:00.000-08:00

I was just on facebook & was looking a one of my "friends" pages. Under his groups, I saw something funny. The first group he was a part of was called, "1,000,000 Christians praying for president Obama." The second group was, "One million americans against Barack Obama." It was awesome.

104

2008-12-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was pretty nice. I worked monday tuesday wednesday & then basically had the rest of the week off. That didn't mean there was less work than normal, I just didn't finish as much as I would've. That is why we have next week.

This Thanksgiving was different. My family signed up for the 10th annual Sparks Turkey Trot. Jessica & Baby Todd signed up for the 2 mile walk & I did the 6.2 mile run. The race was at 8:30 so we arrived at 8. It was pretty cold still so I felt bad for baby todd, but she did pretty ok. Turns out we had to wait a little longer than expected for the race to start. In the meantime we were standing in the crowd with Brint & Shawn (my running partners) & someone was extremely gassy. It wasn't me, I was sure of that. The only other fun part of waiting was watching the overachievers warm up. There were in their tank tops & butt shorts jogging back & forth on the side. Sorry Matt, they were dudes. The race eventually started & we were off. I'd never run a race at this distance. I did a 5.1 leg in a relay & then did the Sheel's 5k a month or so ago. The training really paid off. Most of the race was enjoyable. About 4 miles in, I realized that the next 2.2 wouldn't be as fun as the first 4. Shawn busted out the random candy & I popped one in. I don't know if it helped but I was worried that I'd choke on the everlasting gobstopper. At mile 5 we decided to do our walk break & try to finish strong to get under the 60 minute mark. The last .6 mile was horrible. I tried to pick it up & about 10 seconds after I did, my chest got pretty tight so I slowed back down. I finished at 59:03. I'm was happy with the time & I felt good after the race. It was a good start to Thanksgiving. And to top it off, the sweatshirt wasn't half as gay as Shawn thought it would be.

A couple race highlights:
1- Hearing Brint & Shawn comment on the "retards" wearing the smoking stickers on their shirts. The sticker was two stick people. 1 smoking & the other not with the caption, "I didn't ask for this."
2- About 3.8 miles in there was a chick on the side of the road. She had just finished puking. It was pretty awesome.
3- I recognized people I hadn't seen in years. People I had classes with in college. My kindergarten crush (I was also in kindergarten at the time, this is not a current event).

We went over to Aric & Trista's. Coffee with creamy Bailey's & a delicious breakfast burrito with ketchup. For some reason, the ketchup part grossed Aric out. Weird. Ended up going back home to cook my turkey. My 2nd annual turkey turned out great. I have a new recipe that I will modify again next year. Tasty.
Finished off the day at Louie & Joni's with the Harders & my parents. Matty got called into work...gay. Jay was sick or something so no Carmonas. It was still good & fun. Lots of deliciousness, especially the desserts- yay Jami & Jessica. Next.

Small Joys

2008-11-25T17:40:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I've been in a surprisingly good mood. This is in contrast to my latest series of ups & downs over the past few days. Right before I left the office I answered a phone call. They asked for pastor wiley. I of course smiled, mostly because I knew I was talking to a telemarketer...but not just a telemarketer...a christian telemarketer. I played along. "Sorry, no pastor wiley here." They sounded shocked..."isn't this Hillside Foursquare Church?" "Yes." "Then who's the pastor?" "Who are you with?" "A ministry in Texas...who is your pastor?" The guy really sounded bothered. That was ok with me. I waited a second & hung up. About 3 minutes later the phone rang & I answered with a normal hello. It went something like this.

"Hello?" "How about Louie Locke? He's the pastor." "Yes, there is a pastor louie at this church." "Then why didn't you just tell me who the pastor was?" He was quite agitated at this point & I of course picked up on that. "Excuse me sir, what ministry are you with in Texas?" He responded, "I doubt you're even a ministry by how you're talking to me!" I responded, "Is that supposed to make me do something?" He hung up. I hope he calls tomorrow or maybe writes an email. That is one of the better calls I've had recently. But there was this drunk guy who was calling weekly. He was pretty weird. Kept talking about needing a miracle, his meds, & a couple perverts who were trying to get him to do stuff he didn't want to. Who wouldn't want to answer the phones @ the church?

Economic Stimulus

2008-11-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

I got some economic stimulus today at the Nugget. I won the Texas hold em tournament for the first time. I won with a nice big full house. Somehow, my winning also enabled Brint to take 3rd place & a good amount of money. I decided to do my part stimulate the economy. You should expect a big market rebound soon.
We found a good sushi/chinese food place today with the Harder Trio. CJ Palace next to Chili's on Los Altos. No menu restrictions for lunch. The food tasted fresh which is a plus & the service was excellent. No complaints. We followed it up with trip to Ross & got Ellie a few more books to read. Jessica & Ellie also got colorful slippers, not quite matching, but equally cute. It was nice to be off today. It felt like a Friday. I'm not motivated for tomorrow because I know what's waiting for me. Hopefully by the end of the week, I'll have the projects finished. Side note: Ellie laughs when she burps & farts. Actually we laugh together.

The Sheel's 5k

2008-11-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

This saturday the fam decided to do the inaugural Sheel's 5k. They called it the 1st annual Sheel's 5k. Brint wondered if you could call it annual if it's the first one. Any thoughts? The Weez came along too. She walked with Jessica & Baby Todd & I ran with Brint. It was fairly poor weather with the wind but without wind it would've been nice with the 50 degree temp. We arrived to get our packets at 7:15, which gave us 45 min until the race. I seem to have a pre-race tradition of a deuce finding its way to the chamber. The guy at Sheel's pointed me to the Johnny on the spot. No thanks, I did that at Tahoe during the last race. We decided Starbucks would be nice. It was. Clean bathroom. Right before the race started, this younger dude came over to us & stated that he was a first time runner & had trained for about 10 days. I let him know that I suggest starting slow & finding some young ladies to run behind. He'd be fine if he stuck with that. We started the race & I was surprised at how many were running fast. Or maybe that's an indication of me running slow...

I wasn't impressed with the costumes people wore, but I did have a few highlights. First was Brint trying to pin his number on his chest while running. That was brave & pretty humorous. Second was the smell. Probably not what you're thinking...I kept smelling chocolate chip cookies. It turned out that it was the Sheel's fudge factory cooking it up fresh. It was awesome. I finished the race without major problems & I was only 19 seconds slower than my previous tuesday run where I about killed myself. Baby Todd was pissed. She hates heavy winds in her face.

As we crossed the finish line we were greeted by a very good cover band. I don't underestimate their talent. These guys were really good. They were playing stuff from the 60's & 70's. Baby Todd thought they were too loud & I agreed. Sadly, my ankle hurts this morning. I think it's a combination of the running mixed with soccer yesterday. I guess that's all part of it.

All lubed up...

2008-10-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

Today was my second appointment with the cardiologist. From the parking garage, I rode in the elevator with a "physician." We both got out on the same floor. As soon as we exited he let a pretty healthy fart that I believe was wet. I laughed & he didn't miss a step as he walked away. I promptly showed up to the office 5 minutes early & found my place in a comfy chair with the sports section. I don't think I'd read the paper since I lived in carson & received the Nevada Appeal for free! Yes, it was nice, but not nice enough to pay for...Anyway, not 30 seconds into reading this 65+ yr old dude barks at me, "whats nevada gunna do this saturday?" I told him I had no clue. I didn't even know who they're playing. He then informed me that he lost good money on them last week & missed a few of his other bets. At that point I started nodding & looked back at the paper. I think the last thing he told me was that he'd placed 5 $10,000 bets in his life & won 4 of them. I let him know I'd seen $10,000. At that point I was called in, & asked for the sports page & told me good luck. Weird guy.

I was ready to wait for an hour in the back room (because Louie did) so I brought the classifieds...you never know who's getting rid of quality guitar gear for a smoking deal. We got back to the room & the lady told me to take my shirt(s) off & lay on the table facing her. No waiting. Nice. I felt like a nude model...at least half nude. She then made sure I was adequately lubed for the echo. Interesting. I reminded myself I was paying for this. The funny part was when she asked if I grew up around here. I was waiting for the elevator music to start in the background...luckily it didn't. I was on the table for about 25 minutes. Relatively painless. It was weird to see my heart on the screen...a little scary. Met with Ram (the real cardiologist). He sat down & said..."you don't have it." He asked a question or two followed by my question or two. He proceeded to use his college words, of which I understood 2 of them from anatomy in high school. Oh the good ol' days.

Detour

2008-10-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

A small detour from my last post...It appears that sometime between after I left work yesterday & arrived this morning, someone crawled under my desk & turned off my power strip. This has my computer, printer, and etc plugged into it. Louie was out of the office yesterday & I might have possibly left a little early. Could it have been pastor letting me know that he's always watching? Or, perhaps someone started a new secret ministry. Time to check the alarm code logs...Yes it's true, I can do that...which narrows down who it could be. I will find you...and then ask what you were doing under my desk...I hope you didn't sniff my chair...

My first beverage(s) part 1

2008-10-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

I remember believing that alcohol was bad & that those who partook were also bad. I also remember that people who gambled were sinning because gambling was a sin. My earliest memories of alcohol were when I lived in reno the first time. I remember there being wine in the pantry. I never got to taste it, but it was there. We then moved & I don't remember alcohol in the house other than the Sutter Home "cooking wine" that was hidden in the top cabinet in the very back. When we'd go to my grandma's cabin, there'd be Budweiser in the fridge. I wondered why there was Bud in the fridge but never asked. I did ask to taste it but my dad said it tasted like horse piss. He wasn't lying. Thanks Pop. Budweiser is horrible. I remember getting brave one day & I stood on the counter to try the "cooking wine." It was for when my mom cooked beef burgandy...it was pretty gross.

Like I said, my belief growing up was that alcohol was bad. I never really "experimented" with alcohol & that was mostly out of fear. I think my first drink ever was at the Reno Hilton. A guy named Davey worked the ticket counter & I went with my older brother & some of his buddies to some lame country show. I was 16 or 17. I learned a few things that night...drink toks were cool, orange juice & vodka went good together, and Heineken tasted like skunk. To Be Continued...

Ta-booze

2008-09-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

I have decided to write some blogs discussing some of things I believed to be sin in my early days (0-20ish). Some will include the obvious...alcohol, sex, gambling, and of course wild orgies.

Ode...

2008-09-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

I've felt like my age was catching up to me for awhile now. I realize that I'm "only" 27, but my body feels like it is slowly falling apart. I've had a bad knee for over a year now & it is showing no signs of improvement. Ankles, hips, back, neck. If I were a dog, I'd be bad for breeding. Since I'm not a dog, & Ellie is good evidence of at least some of my genes, there will be no fixins for me anytime soon. I played a soccer game sunday after church & followed it with softball monday & tuesday evening. I'm reaping the consequences. I'm supposed to be training for a marathon relay too. Maybe life would be easier at 180 pounds.

I laughed

2008-09-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

I like to laugh. I generally laugh a lot. That may come as a surprise to many who doubt that I even smile. Maybe I just don't like you & your presence makes me gassy. That's hard to cover up.

I was talking to Jessica monday afternoon in our kitchen. We were discussing our plans for the afternoon among other things. She let me know that she wanted to go to target to buy some bathroom essentials for our guests from Germany that will be here in 9 days. She also listed a trip to Maurice's, possibly Old Navy, and Ross. I think there was something else she wanted to do but I can't exactly remember what it was. Knowing we had plans that afternoon, which happened to be double booked (sorry Hudson, it's my fault), I started to ask questions about timelines & questioning whether it would be feasible to accomplish everything on her list. Let's just say Jessica was less than pleased with my probing. I explained myself to the best of my ability to calm her frustration & she said she understood, but she let me know: "I just don't like it when I feel like you're telling me what I can and can't do." My response, "submit wife." Not really. I laughed, and Jessica did too. It's amazing that she doesn't like it when she feels like I'm telling here what she can & can't do. Weird. I wonder if there are any other wives who don't like it if they feel like they are being told what they can & can't do? This may need research.

2008-08-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

Good last couple days. Sold Jessica's explorer on craigslist. Turns out the guy who bought it races bikes with a guy from my old youth group. Pretty cool. Went to the batting cages with Shern for some extra practice. Our softball team is 0-2 including last weeks 12-0 shutout. It was painful. Went to dinner with Shern & Marie & had the quesadilla explosion salad. I'm still waiting for the explosion. Not bad, but nothing overly special. After dinner, it was off to the movies to see the new X-Files. I love the xfiles. I watch the series most everyday I can. If you're interested & aren't yet committed enough to own the dvd's, they re-run on TNT most everynight starting around 11pm. Set your DVR. We haven't been out on many dates since baby todd was born. It was fun. We'll do it again too. I think we've found a system that will work for us. We'll see. I hope they make more xfiles movies. I need.

My Child is MY child

2008-07-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

Organization. When people hear that word there are a few possible reactions. People like me like that word. Organization usually eliminates chaos & leaves unanswered/assumed questions/thoughts answered. There are other people whom organization is not their thing. I will refer to them as the fly by the poop in your pants people. They may not have poop in their pants but we'll imagine for fun. They may see the organized type as an overachiever or perhaps a whacked out control freak. Obviously these 2 are not the only types but are just 2 examples from me.

Yesterday afternoon, I was steam cleaning the oft soiled (by baby todd) carpet in the front room. Jessica was making Ellie's food. When I say making she was cutting, cooking, and puree-ing her fruits & veggies. Ellie decided that she wanted to sit in her high chair & snack a bit. Jessica gave her some pieces of chicken & some cheese puffs. She placed them in a pile in the center for Ellie. A few minutes later Jessica realized Ellie had sorted her chicken from her puffs. It was a proud moment for me. I don't know what's normal for a 9 month old (today by the way), but I wonder where she'll go from here. Maybe laundry. Separating the lights from the darks, towels from the clothes. I know that'd make Jessica happy.

Sunday sunday Sunday

2008-07-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday has come & now is mostly gone. The weekend was good. Finished the parents fence of friday. It was pretty hot, but at least there was a breeze here & there. Ate good steaks followed by another delicious chocky cake. Birthdays are good that way. Saturday, went to the new Acura dealership. Wow. It's crazy is a good way. It's the nicest dealership I've seen. 2 floors, but I only saw the lower. 3 different sitting rooms equipped with flat screens & choice of tv, movies, and or fill in the blank. A sound proof kids room with toys & movie playing on 42 inch flatscreen. Outside the rooms is a type of lobby with custom Starbucks machine & always fresh Otis Spunkmeyer cookies made hourly by the on staff manicurist. I guess she is multi-talented. It was a thing to see. Bathrooms with nicer fixtures than most of the hotels I've stayed in & a flatscreen above the urinal...but nothing in the pooper. I can't say I see the logic there. Jessica got herself a car. She likes it. Me too. Now we must sell the Explorer. No 3 cars for this house. My dog isn't acting so normal. She won't eat. Hopefully it'll pass.

Pretty good day today with Morris at church followed by a Citrus Chicken salad at Claim Jumper. Tasty. An hour at the softball field to work on the swing & take some fly balls. Now all that's left for the day is some pilates & sleepy time. A new week. Time for spring cleaning at the office. Bye bye to unwanted & unneeded clutter out of all the offices.

None

2008-07-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

No title for this one. How do you title ramblings...Perhaps "ramblings." No thanks. I've been really tired lately. It probably has to do with the fact that my workout routine is dead. I have no motivation to do anything other than pilates at home. It's pretty fun & challenging, but is getting easier. I've been going to bed later, probably due to softball. Last night was the first night in quite some time where I felt like I slept good. I'm reading a couple books. The one that is most interesting/makes me smile the most is Pagan Christianity. It's a second addition written by 2 guys that delve into history to show that the current practices of the church, ie, the sermon, how the meeting of the church is structured, etc, comes from pagan practices & not from the good book. Some of the history shows that people have been & will continue to be screwed up. Some of the research I'd probably question if I cared more. The best chapter is titled: The Pastor: Obstacle to every member functioning. I have decided to refer to Louie now as either, The Obstacle, or just obstacle to every member functioning. I've laughed a couple times & agreed a few too. I'm reading the book to broaden my horizons, but more so we can discuss the book & its claims/conclusions up at the office. Those are fun days.

I sometimes watch religious tv. It usually bothers me or makes me laugh...or both. I was flipping through & landed on the catholic channel tonite. It was 3 priests sitting in a room with other priests & soon to be priests. They were doing a probably halfway staged question & answer session. I watched the whole thing. I had to pause it for 7 minutes to help Jessica, but promptly went back. It was fairly boring, but these guys were genuine. It was a big contrast from christian tv where the preachers talk with big booming voices & shout hallelujah & tell you to send in your fill in the blank seed. I disagreed with some of what they were saying but I enjoyed listening. I was surprised by the amount of education they require & the intensity of their study. It inspired me.

I'm going to breakfast with Shaun McC in the am. It'll be fun. After that it's off to the parents house for 5-7 hours of fence building followed by dinner of course. It'll be fun. I like working with my hands. It makes the time pass. I've thought of doing a fence building/fixing thing on the side for some extra cash. My parents were quoted $4000 to do theirs. I offered for free. I guess it's one of those things that is good for everyone. They save some $$, & I get to see the parents & spend the day outside with the pops while my mom brings refills of water & crystal light up the hill. Jessica & baby todd will come too. They'll do some swimming & probably hit starbucks in the hopes of running into old friends.

Saturday, maybe a new car. We've looked, we've driven & I believe Jessica has found. Maybe we'll wait. We've never had a car payment so she's scared. Any car payment is HUGE. I let her know that the average payment I saw when i worked at the dealership was at least $425. We couldn't afford that anyway. I have some stuff to do starting with pilates.

When are you coming back Brint?

2008-07-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

I thought of Brint tonite. I am sitting on my couch with my AC on of course. The other day I noticed that "The Empire Strikes Back" was on so I DVR'd it. Recordings come in handy when you want to watch tv, & nothing is on. Tonite is one of those nights. I was drinking my decaf americano & watching the movie mentioned above when Jessica walks in & sits down. No more than 3 words come out of Ben Kanobi's mouth & Jessica asks how only she can, "can we watch something not so boring?" I thought of Brint. I'm sure he would've had something to say in response to Jessica's lack of respect for Star Wars. Be that as it may, I'm finishing my coffee & we're now watching the baby borrowers. How exciting.

So long old friend

2008-06-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today I sold my Subaru. We part ways after a 3 year relationship. I married Jessica in January of 2005. She brought no vehicles into the relationship. I knew this going in. What I did have was the ok to drive the church van. Now the church van is not the optimal vehicle for a 23 yr old recently married guy. Beggars can't be choosers. I drove the van for about 4 months in good ol' Carson City. I found a Subaru in the want adds for $6800. I was the first caller. I went down to drive it, knowing it was "priced to sell (at least $1000 from where it should've been). I drove it asked if he'd take $6500. He said no. I smiled & wrote the check. She was a good car. The AWD couldn't be beat. No problems, other than the old ladie who rear-ended me. Thanks for the $$$ insurance company. That was nice. Listed it just on craigslist & got several calls. Went to show it yesterday & ended up watching this guy & a friend put it up on jacks and ask me questions that I had no idea of the answer. As of 3pm, after a short & sweet negotiation, she is in the caring hands of a Java Jungle employee named Jonathon. Seems like a really nice guy. Next is Jessica's Explorer. 1 cheap fix & hopefully that'll sell just as fast. Then, Jessica can get something a bit newer & safer for her & the baby. I am now officially a 1 car man. It's just me & Shirley, rollin' phat. I shall now celebrate with a celebratory Mai Tai.

Good wednesday

2008-06-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

It seems like this week has been one of the longer ones in a long time. It seems like the emotional drain that I've felt over the last couple weeks hit the ceiling & I've had little to give. I love watching Ellie in the morning while trying to work. By the time I'd get home from work I was tired & drained. I haven't been sleeping well the past couple nights. I think it's been a combination of the heat, smoke, a coughing & congested Ellie, and a brain that won't stop processing. Today was better. I decided to continue with my normal morning routine. Get to work about 8 & work as best I can till 1245 when Jessica gets done. I usually try to help with youth group on wednesday nights but I decided to take it easy tonight. This afternoon, I had 2 people check out the Subaru I'm selling. They both liked it & said they'd call me in the next day or so. I'm hoping it's gone tomorrow. After my test drives I checked in with the boss to offer any last minute assistance but none was needed. Went home, went to Home Depot to exchange the propane tank & proceeded to experiment with Kabobs on the BBQ. They weren't bad but definitely need some work. I also have been tampering with my Mai Tai recipe & am getting closer to the desired result. Taking it easy tonite...one more day of work tomorrow then off to Carson to build my parents fence on friday.

Early bird gets the worm

2008-06-16T06:54:00.001-07:00

I made a decision to go back to morning workouts at 5:30. I woke up no less than 3 times last night waiting for my alarm to go off. I had some interesting dreams as well. Kinda weird. I finally woke up & went to the gym with my breakfast banana in hand. I felt pretty good physically minus the obvious atrophy my muscles experienced. Between sets on the bench, there were 2 ladies, roughly 30-35 yrs old on the squat machine next to me. I usually don't listen to conversations but when people lower their voices, my ears naturally go into 007 recon mode. The blond asked, "hey did you go to church yesterday?" The other lady responded with a no. The blond continued, "the numbers were way down because of father's day." I had about 4 thoughts go through my head:

1- I can't believe that lady just said that- is she a pastors wife
2- Is this the first thing that people notice re: yesterdays church gathering
3- I wouldn't have guessed these ladies went to church
4- Weird, the numbers were down yesterday

I then punched myself in the stomach & proceeded to finish my workout. My body is tired...just in time to go wake up baby todd.

Bye bye gazebo

2008-06-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

I decided to take a couple days off work this week. Jessica is between sessions & I have the time to take, so it made sense. It gave me & us the opportunity to take on some of the home projects that have gone undone for too long. I got my tools awhile ago & have used them a few times. I got to bust out the saws on a larger scale...The gazebo. It was pretty fun to saw & rip apart, but not so fun taking the pile of wood & throwing it over the fence. Good times though. I called the guy to schedule an install of sprinklers & sod. It looks like the week after July 4th. That's a good thing since I have to sell my Subaru to pay for it. Yay.

Mor is better

2008-05-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

Baby Todd is getting bigger. Soon she will be mobile which I'm sure will create wonderful situations. There's a list of things that we have to do so we can be prepared for her next stage. Electrical outlet covers, picking up the scissors that are laying around, & of course moving the xbox up to a higher level so she can't reach it. I also get to reattach a railing at the top of the stairs which will keep Ellie from falling. I know this because her head is far too large to fit through the slats. The next problem was our table, coffee table, & bakers rack. There were pretty cool. Iron type trip with individual slate tiles as a surface. Jessica pointed out that the bad part was the danger of Ellie suffering a Higgins type event. Higgins is our male min pin. When he was a young pup he jumped out of my arms, bounced of Jessica's head & nailed the edge of the table with his head. He is now slightly retarded with a completely changed personality. So softer we had to go. We successfully unloaded our stuff, that I still much enjoyed, to some friends. We hit some furniture stores: Mor, Bassett, Ethan Allen, LazyBoy, & Dania. Mor remains my favorite. Everything else was hugely overpriced & will probably end up in a 70 yr old womans house. There was one exception. A sofa/chair at Dania. It was phenomenal. But not this time. So at Mor we found stuff we liked & most of it happened to be on sale. With my higher than yours credit we financed & it was delivered. Jessica is most pleased as seen by her smile in the picture.

My work on the yard is at a momentary standstill & I have moved to the interior so new paint can be applied where needed. The dining room is finished. That leaves the kitchen, living room, & 1 wall in the family room. I titled the rooms myself with no scientific method or thought as to why. It doesn't matter. I like home improvement. I don't like paying for home improvement. Maybe there is a government grant out there for someone like me.

Memories & Memories

2008-04-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Today is April 29th. Ellie is 6 months old. You might think that this post is completely devoted to her. It's not, but maybe I'll do one later. I came downstairs this morning after my shower & manscaping & declared, "Today is the 29th. Baby Todd is 6 months old today. She's a big girl." Baby Todd agreed with a big smile & a few grunts. Jessica agreed, not with grunts but with a big, YAY baby todd. Jessica's mind then turned..."It's my mom's birthday! I forgot that today was the 29th. I have to call her today. We got into our respective cars & headed for work. When we arrived she smiled & let me know that she talked to her dad. She told him that she didn't have her mom's number & wanted to call her for her birthday. Her dad had completely forgotten. He asked that she wait a little while to give him some time to call his wife & give her a good ol' "See, I didn't forget honey."

Jessica asks, I wonder if you'll forget my birthday & Ellie will have to remind you someday. Of course, insulted by my wife's lack of faith & her failure to give the due respect to my memory, I reminded her that I am elephant man, not because of my deformities, but because of my memory. In order to display the greatness, which is my memory, I asked: Baby, what did you order on our first date (Aug 4th, 2004. Olive Garden (I could've put August 3rd so the morons from my past who wanted nothing more than to burn me at the stake could say, SEE! FORNICATORS!))? She quickly replied to show me that her memory is equally as impressive, "I had the Tour de France." When I stopped laughing, I asked if she meant the Tour of Italy. She replied, The Tour de France is the bike race, huh? My response, Yes it is. I won't forget our anniversary, your's or baby todd's birthdays. It's not in my nature.

Swing Away...

2008-04-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

Last night was my first softball game since September or October. We used to play at Don Mello, which if you haven't heard, has been flattened to nothing more than dirt. I'd been told that at some point we were going to play at this new complex in Spanish Springs that would have really nice turf fields. Turns out they were right. I took Shirley out & to my surprise it was a massive complex. Baseball fields, football fields, soccer fields, & softball fields. It is awesome.

It was nice to see the guys again. I've played on the team for about 5 years now. Anyway. I got out on the field & it was pure wonderful. It made McNutt field seem like Governor's. I heard McNutt field now looks like Governor's, which is pretty sad. It used to be the nicest field in Nevada, high school or collegiate. It was weird though. The infield felt like a little league field in size & the outfield looked like a vast expanse. The game was fun. We lost. My arm doesn't hurt too bad this morning. That might have something to do with the fact that I have a hard time getting my arm to show up until the half way through. I need to start throwing again on a regular basis. I might help out with a high school jv team working with their pitchers. That is fun stuff. Only if I can throw live bp to the team. It's ok, I have a JV fastball...but my deuce will make you cry.

Cry it out baby

2008-04-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ellie was always a pretty good sleeper. From about 6-8 weeks till about 4.5 months, she slept through the night. Greatest thing ever. Then food was introduced. That changed everything. No more sleeping through the night. There were good nights, bad nights, and really bad nights. I had always heard that your supposed to let the baby cry & they'll learn to put themselves to sleep. After 2+ months of less than good sleep we decided to do it. I wasn't looking forward to letting Ellie cry for the projected 45 minutes - 2 hours, but better now than in another month when she's even more strong willed. Jessica had read up on some "cry it out" methods & found one that she believed was the least evil. So last night we did it.

Jessica was crying. I was inappropriately laughing (not because I thought it was funny). From start to finish, Ellie lasted 16 minutes. After some relief on our part, Jessica let me know that she modified the cry it out. I didn't care. Ellie was sleeping. We'll go again tonite. It's supposed to get better/easier every time. Sorry baby todd.

Monastery

2008-04-15T15:00:00.001-07:00

I sit in Starbucks, enjoying a venti americano & free bandwidth from Quizno's. Sorry Starbucks, no $10 for internet. I've taken some pictures of my room. It reminds me of a nicer cell in prison that they give to old harmless, well behaved inmates. My bed squeaks & is on wheels. Cement floors. I figure that is for easy clean up after the monks sneak in & perform their ritual sacrifices. I think that is happening next week though. I've had a pretty good time. I like being able to take time in the morning to wake up, read & write at my leisure with some instant folger's. Nasty.

I have goals for the next couple days. Reflection, understanding, revelation. I've been aware & became "more aware" of some major life issues I struggle with. I feel that God wants to change the way I think and ultimately the way I live. We'll see how that goes. I started a book this morning. I hope to finish it before I come home. I miss my fam but heard baby todd over the phone today. I wish I had a guitar, but they're not allowed. This leaves me to play the one in my head. It'll have to work for now.

Day 2

2008-04-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

I got to work on the yard again yesterday. More of the same. Move dirt from one area to another. Tear down old fence. Put up new. Worked from about 10-2 & then went to Red Robin for some happiness. We also took a detour to home depot. I needed more fence boards & have needed tools to do much of the work I'm doing so Jessica found a good deal. Needless to say, I am now the proud owner of some cool tools, which means I can return the ones I've borrowed. I'm going to be working on my parents fence soon so no worries on breaking them in. Back after food & beverages about 5 & I got the itch to go back out & work more. Finished when I couldn't really see anymore, around 8 or so. I love yardwork. Almost done with this part of the project.

Shirley's new slippers

2008-04-10T11:17:00.001-07:00

I've had Shirley for almost 2 months now. She's been begging me for a makeover. I started with her shoes. No longer will she wear 13 inch ugly clogs. Now she sports 15 inch golden slippers. She's been complaining lately that she is a little to high off the ground, so I'm gunna have to fix that for her.

The road to backyard paradise

2008-04-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

I like working in my yard. I always have. Yes, I'm one of those guys who mows the grass once a week & waters on off days so my lawn will look good. I hated when high schoolers would run over my sprinklers, but I enjoyed fixing them so my well oiled machine (sprinkler system) would work correctly. With that being said, I miss my old backyard. Decent BBQ area. Grass. Couple trees. My dogs miss it too. They are grazers. They used to eat grass all day.

My current backyard: Decrepit deck. Broken gazebo. Dirt. Old broken patched up fence. This is my project. I had a guy look at my yard yesterday to begin the process towards backyard paradise. I began today. The fence. I am replacing one of the fences. Not too bad except for the fact that I have to dig out 6-8 inches of dirt & move it to the middle of the yard. Another problem. No wheel barrow, & the shovel I had is for digging out sprinkler heads. I forgot sunscreen for the first little while, but my trusty wife called me in & sprayed me down. I hope to finish the fence this week so I can move on to the gazebo. What a pain.

Yay Internet

2008-03-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

The internet is back. Here at Hillside, we were internet-less for no less than 36 hours. It was horrible. It's back. I'm ok again. I love you internet. Please don't go away again. How addicted & dependent am I? Lots...

Yay Vox!

2008-02-27T10:40:00.000-08:00

In past times I have been known to have a problem. G.A.S. Some of you who read this blog may not be surprised by that statement, but you are mistaken in your understanding. G.A.S. stands for guitar acquisition syndrome. I usually went through stages of it & it almost went away when I got married. I now shared a bank account & was no longer able to spend on a whim. This was not a bad thing. I had obligations like, housing expenses, food (top ramen & peanut butter would no longer suffice), multiple car insurances, etc...I think you get the general idea.

A few years ago I had around 8 guitars, multiple effects & pedal boards & a nice fat marshall half stack & later, a fender cybertwin (These are guitar amps). I ended up selling 4 guitars, most of the effects & the amps. Ever since, I've had my eyes on several pieces of equipment. I was able to buy an amp that I've always wanted. It's a Vox AC30. People who've played through vox amps (the Beatles, Tom Petty, Brian May of Queen). I got a smokin' deal. Guitar Center just raised their price on it, but I saved about $200 off the old, lower price. Yay. It's loud. I like it. I need to learn how to use it.

Ich Kaufe Shirley

2008-02-20T09:03:00.001-08:00

Vegas:

I picked up Moses @5;25 on thursday morning & headed for the airport. Good start to the morning. I usually wake up at 5 anyway so this wasn't a big deal. I have learned my lesson with travel. When I have traveled in the past, I either eat horrible or eat things that I don't normally eat. This is a recipe for disaster. No more. We got to the airport & went through security without being violated (this has been an issue for me in the past especially with asian women). Getting ready to board the flight & Moses was standing behind me (Southwest has adjusted how they line up, you are now given a number to go with your A,B,C). I turned & asked, "whatcha doin in my waters?" A lady in the next line says, "I'm old Greg." This was a fantastic start to the day. If you don't know what I'm talking about & care to, here's a link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=u_hMnT44Etk

Made it to Vegas. My friend was there waiting for us just as I hoped. Went & got the car. Pretty awesome. Little did I know that the name Shirley was painted on both front doors. I guess it was cool in the 80's. I guess it's even cooler now.

After a stop @ the DMV for a moving permit & a stop at Morris' house to wash the windows & hit the bathroom, we were off. Got out about an hour & 45 min later than I wanted but it was all good. I've never made the drive between Vegas & Reno. There's not much out there but secret military stuff, dirt, & brothels. The landscape is really strange. Moses commented several times how the bushes look like they were planted in rows. The mountains were the weirdest for me. Anyway, Tonopah was cold & gas was expensive. We made it back in about 7 hours. No speeding, 65-70 the whole way. That was another strange thing. Hardly anyone was actually driving the speed limit. 5-10 under. Back to getting back. It was Valentine's day & we still had work to do. We went to Costco for flowers & of course got comments from the lonely women working there how late we were. Next was See's candy. In the end it was good. The pound of chocky covered caramels lasted about 3 days. They're Jessica's favey.

I don't really like the idea of a long road trip but I usually enjoy them. Having Moses there made the trip fun. Especially when he was going through the glove box treasure chest. God bless old people who don't drive very much. The car just turned 27,000 miles yesterday. I think it's time for an oil change, new speakers, tires, & some sweet rims.

Wir fliegen nach Las Vegas.

2008-02-13T09:07:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow (valentine's day) the Moses & I are flying to Las Vegas. We leave at 6:25am & will arrive at 7:35. We are being picked up by a friend of mine. His name is Morris. I purchased a car from him. I've wanted to get an old vw like Moses & Shern & fix it up & roll heavy down McCarran. I was eating breakfast with my dad & he mentioned that Morris was looking to get rid of a car & it was an older VW. I inquired & got some info. 1987 Volkswagen Golf. Not quite as old as I was looking for, but...It is completely original, 26,000 miles, & has been garaged for most of it's life. It was his wife's car & she hadn't driven it for several years. Pretty cool. I've never had a car with under 40,000 miles. He said he'd sell it to me for the price to get it out of the shop (it's good to get a car tuned up that hasn't been driven in ages). I talked to the shop owner for some info on the car. The ac doesn't work, but the interior looks new. It's an automatic (which means my wife can drive it), 4 door, & white. I'm pretty excited. I pulled the trigger & put it on my credit card & tomorrow we will drive it back to Reno. Hopefully we will blow all the crap & other bad stuff out of the engine. No problems, no breakdowns, & no weirdos in central nevada looking for a good time. We should be on the road by 8:30 & hopefully home to our respective wives by 4pm.

Interesting read...

2008-02-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

I started reading the book of Enoch. Enoch is one of the people who never died, but "was taken" by God. Obviously, if you've blown the dust off your sword, you'll know that the book of Enoch is not in the Bible. However, it was in there for over 500 years. I read it every morning at the gym following my workout while I ride the bike. It's very interesting in its explanations of angels, demons, judgement, & creation. That is about how far I am so far. I always thought that demons were the 1/3 of the angels that were cast from heaven with Lucifer. Not true. They are actually incarcerated awaiting final judgement. Yay. I wonder why Enoch didn't make the cut during cannonization...
Thought provoking stuff.

Wow We We Wow...This is awesome

2008-01-25T11:08:00.000-08:00

Snow...

2008-01-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

The forecast is snow, snow, & snow. It's butt cold & it's gunna stay that way for a little while. I went to a couple Home Depot's yesterday in a quest to purchase pellets for my pellet stove. I was victorious. For those that don't know, pellets are a recycled wood that are formed into chicken food looking objects. You burn them in a pellet stove. I have one, thanks to the previous owners of the house. It pretty much heats the entire house, which means that I don't have to use the furnace (natural gas) until bed time. Big time money saver. I would recommend a pellet stove to anyone who likes to stay warm at a fraction of the price. I know someone who is rather large that used to sell & install them. They also sell pellet furnaces. I don't have one. Now all that is left is to stock the fridge for the next couple days I have off. Yay for snow. Yay because I can stay inside, play xbox, & drink hot chocky to my hearts desire.

Drei

2008-01-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

It's strange. Yearly "celebrations." Birthdays... Anniversaries... With my birthdays, I remember the excitement of knowing that I was gunna get cool stuff, or get to do something fun. I liked my birthdays so much, I tried to drag them out for a week. I think my wife believes that I still do this, but this is not the case. For clarification, my birthday is not till July. Yesterday was our 3rd anniversary. It was a fairly good day. Started off normal. Up at 5. Off to the gym @ 5:35. Home @ 6:45, with a steamy hot chai for my wife of course (chai is not a daily occurrence due to the cost of chai). To work by 8. Me & baby Todd hanging in the office (which is phenomenal).

Anyway, I planned a date to "The Olive Garden." This is Jessica's favorite restaurant. It was also the location of our first date 3.5 years ago. I ate the new dish, the Lasagna Rollatini topped with chicken & a lite alfredo sauce. Simply delicious. I was proud that I was able to try something other than the Manicotti. I would suggest either dish. Ellie joined us. She was her normal self. She sat in her chair & watched us talk & eat, and she occasionally chimed in with her opinion, when appropriate of course. We talked about some of what we would like to see in our relationship/our lives in this next year. Went home, watched some recorded tv shows. Put Ellie to bed.

On "special days," my mind usually goes other places, mainly the past. It's been 3 years. 3 years ago, we were vastly different people in a vastly different place. On one hand it's amazing to see how we've changed & to see what has transpired in our lives over the last 3 years. It's easy to recognize the goodness of God in these reflections. On the other hand, the last 3-4 years have been extremely painful (not the doing of my wife). Broken relationships. Broken trust. Accusations. Judgement. Burnout. Anger. Indifference. Doubt. Further burnout, which leads me to ask, how do you burn burnt toast?

Maybe it's normal to reflect, but it's way more fun to think of where we are now, 3 years in & with a baby Todd. Friends. Good jobs. Generally having fun. Yay for the present.

Thunder Gulch

2008-01-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

I apologize. The picture of the spatter in the women's bathroom will not load. I will continue trying & load it ASAP. However, I will continue with this post. Upon further investigation, I've come to a few conclusions on the unresolved matter:

1- The offender (I am offended) is between 5'2 & 5'7.
2- This person does not hold the same beliefs that I do.
3- This battlefield shall be referred to as, "Thunder Gulch."
4- "Thunder Gulch" was nowhere near as bad as "Blood Gulch."
5- I will not revisit "Blood Gulch."
6- I no longer clean the church, therefore, I will probably not have any more good pictures to share.
7- I like turtles...

God's Provision...

2008-01-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

Thursday night or Saturday night. Also known as poker night. It usually brings me great joy as poker night approaches. Friends. Poker. Suds. Interesting conversations... Last night, most of the usual crowd made over in spite of the pats/jags game. Brint, Nick & myself were the last 3 in, which isn't uncommon, & Brint commented that this game could go on forever. The next hand, all 3 were all in. Sadly, Brint won, followed by Nick, then obviously I was left clinging to my $5 buy in. Brint commented how he didn't know how he would pay for gas every week if it wasn't for poker night. I chimed in, why it's God's provision Brint. It's not something I'd develop a theology on, but I seemed to win a lot more when it was time to purchase another bag of diapers. I was going to leave this for Brint to blog, but since he slit his blog wrists, I guess he's left to commenting.

Sodium...

2008-01-08T12:22:00.001-08:00

I'm sitting here in my office, just finished off a cup o' noodles, beef flavor. I still think I prefer chicken. I love that I can get 52% of my daily sodium intake in just a few bites. Moses prefers the beef flavor because the way chickens are grown. I say, how about the way chickens are slaughtered & processed. A good reference would be the X-Files episode which takes place in a small town & a chicken plant, "Chaco Chicken," where everyone works. It just so happens that Mr. Chaco & his buddies perform ritual sacrifices & dump the bodies in with the chicken leftovers to be processed. Think about that next time you eat chicken. I won't ruin the rest of the episode for you. It's worth watching. Speaking of which, I lent Matty season 1 of the X-Files so he can expand his mind. I received the complete collectors edition for christmas, complete with all 9 seasons, the X-Files movie, a comic book (never was really into comics) and a sweet poster that will be hung in my office. Chicken or beef. Right now beef because we have no chicken. Baby Todd is hungry. She gets to eat in 7 minutes & all her problems will be solved.

I've considered blogging for some time now. I'm intimidated to blog. I get bored with my thoughts not too long after I decide to blog about them. I do however have a picture on my phone of a toilet seat in the women's bathroom after what I imagine was a messy battle. I will post that next.

Long time coming...

2007-10-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I blogged. I've written down blogging on my to do list & it just never gets done. I'm going with some friends to see David Crowder tonite in San Francisco at some club called the Fillmore or Filmore, not really sure on the spelling. Looking forward to that. I've had some interesting things to blog about like: cleaning the women's bathroom at the church & finding enough blood on the toilet seat that I thought emergency surgery was performed, & 1 seat down was a terd the size of my forearm (no exaggerating). The baby is also coming soon. Not too sure about that whole thing. Set up the travel system & a swingy type thing last night. Still not too sure what to think.

Moses fixed my Subaru. That was cool. We played Halo 3 after. Cooler. Went to Shawn's & played poker after that. I like my job. I work with people I like. We talk everyday for extended periods of time on different topics. I need that. By the way, your mom called. She wants her sweater back.

Lowe's lows

2007-09-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Me & the wife took some time today to go to Target to do some of the baby registry & then proceeded to Lowe's to purchase some 2x4x12's for a fence I'm building in my side yard. I'm building this fence on a bit of a whim. My neighbor is awesome. He lives at his girlfriend's house so he's never home. I like to use his trash can for my excess garbage (there are 7 people living at my house, but only for a few more days). In return for using his trash can, I take it down to the curb for him on garbage day (about 5 steps away from where it currently is). Anyway, he's moving & the thought of new neighbors is a little scary, especially since the side yard is currently shared. I've decided to divide the side yard according to the property line to make MY side yard & their side yard. By the way, mine is bigger. I dug the first three holes for the posts & cemented them in yesterday & today brother Louie got a taste of digging through clay (not too fun). On another note, who knew that 14 inches down was some sort of wire. At least my tv, internet, and phone still work, but can't say the same for my neighbors. Don't ask, don't tell. Back to Lowe's. We walked in, stopped by the washing machines because they're cool, then moved to the back to find the lumber. I saw it but decided to ask a guy for some direction. I approached him & said hello. He responded, "you don't see pregnant white women anymore. All I see is pregnant mexicans (he whispered the last part)." I was taken by surprise at his comments. He then answered my question & we walked away. Jessica looked at me & said, "what did he just say?" I had a small laugh at the randomness of his comment, & then thought, "I don't think he likes mexicans." It was sad.

I will not title this post for it is not...

2007-07-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

So, yeah the sabbath is going pretty happy. I'm a couple days into it & have accomplished some of my goals...Coffee in the morning. Reading. Saw a movie. Went to Bully's & enjoyed Blue Monday's. Yesterday the brother & I began cleaning the church to get it ready to be shut down for a month. Vaccuuming, mopping, wiping (the toilets), throwing miscellaneous crap away. We also prepped the church for steam cleaning...spot treatments & a little scrubbing. The big clean happens today. I look forward to being done cleaning so I can better enjoy myself doing big boy things like...destruction of unwanted structures in my back yard. Preparing the ground for better soil & a sprinkler system. It would be oh so nice to have all the demo & prep done before Germany, which gives me exactly 6 days. We will see if I attempt to be great & bust it out or if I take shelter in my home with my special friend the xbox. It doesn't matter right now because I have more pressing matters...my coffee cup is empty & the Todd is about to head off to work.

The way you make me feel...

2007-07-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

Oh the small things in life... Yesterday, me & Louie carpooled to work after going to the gym. We were sitting on Mccarran with the windows up & heard some Micheal Jackson pumping, but the wierd part was that the singing was way off. We gave the guilty party the chance to pull up next to us & it was what looked like a 20 yr old white dude. He was rollin heavy in his green mustang convertible (soft top up of course), and was belting out, "The way you make me feel..." It was just what I needed before going into work.

Interesting conversation at church...

2007-06-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

Me & my wife were walking in the back after second service today & we were stopped by 2 couples. 1 we knew already & the other we met. We talked about the baby & all the normal hubub that usually gets said in that type of conversation. Then I was asked if I was going to film the birth. I quickly told them I was not & gave a stern look that they even asked. I will be staying away from the business end on the day of reckoning. The husbands gave me their nods of approval. Quickly the conversation took a turn for the interesting. One ladie began telling me about the birth of her first child & how relieved she was that she didn't poop on the table when she gave birth. I was like, "what?" She then informed me that after birthing her second, she said, "what's that smell?" Yep, she pooped on the table & was apologetic to the nurse who obviously didn't think it was a big deal. I thought it was a big deal.
It raised a question in my mind & also gave me a new phrase.
1. Would the nurse be bothered if the husband had sympathy poop? You've heard of sympathy weight, sympathy morning sickness, but why not sympathy poop? The husbands seemed to like this one. Just think the wife pops the baby out & the husband poops his pants...and it's all good. Thanks Helen for the stories...They were..interesting. My wife will be doing a sea salt cleanse the day before the birth. There's no way I'm pooping my pants again.

God told me to...

2007-06-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

We went to Chili's last night for dinner. Buffalo Chicken Salad, no pico, extra bleu cheese crumbles & a side of wing sauce=greatness. While waiting for the food, in between conversations, I was watching the College World Series for womens softball. Those girls throw pretty hard. Anyway, while watching I was reminded of someone I knew several years ago who played softball. She was receiving scholarship offers from good D1 schools who wanted her to play, & in return, they would pay for her education. She quit softball. I asked her why, & she informed me that "God told her to quit." It didn't make sense to me then & it still doesn't. I began to process the events from the past with what I believe to be true now. My thought process was something like this:

Why would God tell you to stop doing something: 1. that he's gifted you to do, 2. that you enjoy 3. that would effectively remove you from your interactions/being Jesus to people who don't know him.

To me, it doesn't add up & it's been done by several people I have known personally.

A little different situation- A guy I went to highschool with told me, "God told me to quit soccer." I think the actual situation was that this guy realize his chances of making the team were slim & if he did, he probably wouldn't play much. But what is easier to say? "God told me to quit," or "I'm really not that good & don't want to waste my time trying." It bothers me when people blame it on God.

This can be broadened to situations where people put a God stamp on a decision they're making, when they may actually have good reason for doing what they are. But instead, it's "God told me to do it."

How do you respond to that anyway? Someone who says that, probably isn't going to ask for your opinion. I've found that people will play the God card because it gives no place for input from anyone, it takes away having to talk/think through difficult issues/situations. Pisses me off because people will use the mask of doing something religious to justify their own dysfunctional behavior.

God told me to break up with you?
God told me to move?
God told me to quit?
God told me...are you saying He's wrong?

Sorry Shontell...

2007-06-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

Shontell, I'm sorry I've been neglecting my blog over the past 2 weeks. We've been moving in to our new casa & have pushed the blogger aside. I will make a better effort to provide a homework distraction for you & yours.

Thoughts from the Mattress...

2007-05-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

Last night, like most nights, after all the pre-bedtime rituals were completed, we went to bed. I was laying there on my back, quietly staring up at the ceiling so Jessica could fall asleep. When I'm laying in bed, I generally process/think through my day & anything else that happens to be running through my head at the time. Jessica must have heard the retarded hamster stumbling around on the wheel located in my frontal lobe. She asked what I was thinking about. I informed her of the things & one particular thought that I was wrestling with. I was thinking about myself & God. I told her I was wondering about how God feel about me? I didn't want to sound callus, but I told her I knew the "generic" stuff that the Bible says, ie, He loves me, has a plan for me, & all that good stuff, but I was thinking more along the lines of like, not love. What does God like about me? What does God not like about me? Is there stuff about me that God doesn't like or am I placing human charecteristics/thought processes on God? Jessica said, "That's interesting Benny." It's nice when my wife thinks my thoughts are interesting. After discussing for a few minutes, I didn't come up with answers to my questions, but I let my wife know what I like about her. I realized that I haven't really told her that stuff in a while. I say I love you, but I think it was good for both of us that I verbalized why I like her.

Bathtubs & Memories

2007-04-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, I was relaxing in my bathtub. I wasn't reading, watching tv, or making bubbles. I was just laying there. It was nice. I closed my eyes & memories began rushing through my mind. All the thoughts were from roughly the same time period in my life. My older brother Johnny was sick with cancer, which took him & my mom to San Francisco for extended periods of time. The church office seemed like it was a second home to me, as I was usually there or at home alone, or maybe my older brother Joel was there. I can't really remember. So I was having flashes of me & my brother Joel at 430 Janelle St. in Carson riding our bikes in the parking lot. Usually we would go to the 711 down the street & I was faced with my biggest choice of the day...Strawberry or Grape Welches soda. I don't think I could handle either of those now due to the sugar content. On this particular day that flashed in my mind, we got slurpees instead of welches. It was great. Coca-Cola slurpees on a hot day. I remember riding around in the parking lot pretending that we were Ponch & Jon from Chips. I ran into my brother and spilled his slurpee but held onto mine. I felt horrible then & I was just as crushed as I was laying in the bathtub. I thought "why is this memory so fresh, so painful that I got the lower lip quiver." I still don't know. I didn't receive any beating or any verbal lashing for the accident. Nevertheless, it left me feeling like a failure.

My mind quickly jumped memories to my favorite pastime at the church office. There was a soundproof room off one of the rooms. (I often checked the quality of the soundproofing like only an 8 year old Ben could). I had a tv where I could watch movies. This closet also doubled as a storage room for miscellaneous stuff. Everyday I would watch the same movie over and over, and over and over. It was Joseph and His Brothers by Hannah Barbara. It told the OT story of Joseph from his dreams to his reuniting with his slavetrading brothers. It has always been my favorite.

Jumping memories again, I would often go through what was in storage. I found boxes that said cereal. Inside these big boxes were at least 10 boxes of cereal. This was great. Even better was that each box had a hot wheel inside it...And my mom always wondered where I got all my sweet hot wheels.
I just wanted to take a bath. I got a lot more that I expected.

My fieldtrip to the OBGYN

2007-04-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

So the word is mostly out. Jessica is pregnant & is enjoying almost every minute of it. I think the puking part is slightly overrated but I hear it's a good sign & should only last another week or two. Yesterday was her first official appointment with the good doctor. The good doctor is actually someone that I've known for a long time. The funny thing is that through my interactions with him when I was younger, he was inspired to have kids of his own. He now has 4. I could make this into a post all about "the good doctor" but I'll attempt to stay on topic.
Anyway, I'd never been to the jiny doctor before so I was a little apprehensive with what was about to happen. It was all normal until the nurse came into the room and told Jessica that she had to get naked & put on this gown that leaves the caboose uncovered. (I actually wanted to take one or two home). The nurse left & Jessica started to "get ready." This was weird because I had several different thoughts going through my mind & I had to remind myself that the clothes were coming off for a reason that didn't include me. Once I got over it, the doctor finally came in. This was the scenario that had gone through my mind several times & every time it ended awkwardly. So anyway, the "checkup" ensued & it was way less awkward than I thought, however, I was just waiting for the doctor to look at me & give a dirty smile, at which point I would attack to defend the honor of my woman. It didn't happen, but I was ready. He couldn't find a heartbeat which was a little unsettling, but he said that we'd do a ultrasound to we could see what was going on. The whole time I was thinking, "God, a little help here." We got into the room & the procedure began. Soon I saw the image. It was moving. This brought different feelings ranging from relief, that baby was alive, to surprise that the baby was real & not just something that we talked about. It looks like the baby is either a week older than we thought or is just big, which would make sense. It looks like an alien which took me straight to the X-Files. I can't remember my wife being abducted, but I asked if she had any flashing memories of bright lights and wierd experiments. No luck. It's still weird to say the least. Everything is good & I left feeling good about the visit & I even shook the docs hand when we left. I'm ok, until the next visit...

Just another reason...

2007-03-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

I've been married for over 2 years now. My wife & I both played sports from young ages through highschool. After getting married, I quickly learned that Jessica doesn't like to watch sports on tv very much. If a sporting event magically appears on the tv, a loud resounding, "BORING" will ring out followed with a big smile that says, "Im so cute." In the last two years, I've had the opportunity to slowly teach her some of the rules/strategies/nuiances of some sports that at times magically appear on the tv. So last night, me & Jessica were watching American Idol (don't judge) & the 3 judges were talking. After they were done with their criticism, Jessica turned & asked, "is Paula's last name Abdul-Jabbar?" After I got regained my composure, I filled her in on the details. She just wanted to know what Paula had done to get her celebrity status. I told her she was a singer who was once with Emilio Estevez, but I couldn't name one song that she ever sang. Interactions like this are just another reason I love my wife.

Battlecry for this generation...

2007-03-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Did you know only 4% of this generation will come to know Jesus? Are you angry yet? If you've heard these words, you've probably been listening to Ron Luce, master and champion of Battlecry. I was reading an article today about a recent Battlecry event in San Francisco this past weekend & the weekend included Jesus loving students holding signs in SF stating: "Homosexuality is a Sin." I can feel the love even as I sit here in my comfy chair. A self proclaimed "activist" wrote an article quoting Luce: “This is war. And Jesus invites us to get into the action, telling us that the violent—the ‘forceful’ ones—will lay hold of the kingdom.” Let's get violent for Jesus!
I had the wonderful, joyful, bless-ed, opportunity to hear Ron speak last year at a 4square youth conference. I think the guy wants to do good, but I think his methods are a bit off. He throws around plenty of alarming statistics, & wants people to get angry about what's going on in America. Is this productive? Moses, are you planning a battlecry trip? You could make your own signs are go down to UNR and...oh, somebody's already claimed UNR as their spot for their spreading of the "good news." You can check out battle cry & teen mania if it interests you. Are you angry yet?

I have an itch, but I ain't got nothing to scratch...

2007-03-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

So, I'm settling into my new job @ Hillside. Things are going pretty good from my perspective. I am learning new stuff & attempting to take a load off the boss man. The week flies by and I enjoy what I'm doing. There is only one thing that is lacking. A new guitar. I have an itch for a new acoustic guitar...preferrably a dreadnought...Larrivee, Taylor, Lowden, Avalon... One problem is that guitars are expensive, actually, nice guitars are expensive. Another problem is that the wife & I are saving money for the upcoming Germany trip that will run us $4000. Not much room for guitar budget. This doesn't stop me from my daily stroll through ebay to look at all of my possible future stringed friends. I guess I could sell a current guitar that I have to pay for a new one, but that would be counter productive and sin. I think the desire for a new guitar is just one of those things that never really goes away. It could be worse. Much, much worse.

Why wasn't church cancelled today?

2007-02-25T20:25:00.000-08:00

So I was wondering why church wasn't canceled today. I read that Jesus' tomb was found & they have confirmed that they found Jesus' body along with Mary, Mary Magdalene & some others. I guess I'll have to find a new job...again.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/02/25/tomb_arc.html?category=archaeology&guid=20070225073000

Because Georgia said so...

2007-02-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

So I have to post again, because Georgia said so. I guess this would be an addendum to my last addendum. So the past couple days have been exciting. I got a job offer from Hillside to do some classified work. I've been working at a dealership for the past couple months & it's been informative and a good experience for me. Both me & my wife have learned what it means to have a big boy job & work big boy hours in the real world. I talked to my bosses & they were both excited for me & told me they would give me a good reference if I ever wanted to come back. This was nice because Lithia has a no hire back policy. So anyway, life has been exciting & I can see how God has provided for me & my familia. If you have any questions, let my new secretary know. Her email address is Georgia@georgiaisdabomb.com.

Addendum to my excitment...

2007-01-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

So I got a call from my wife last night while I was at work. She was sad and crying, which usually doesn't mean something good just happened. Appearantly, the ladie who bought my house had a husband who died & he forgot to put his pension in her name, leaving her with no cash. Doesn't quite make sense to me because you would think this would be taken care of before she was prequalified. So, in all, the house is not sold and my agony of defeat is causing my lower regions to contract...God bless Baby Jesus for baby wipes.

Going once, going twice...

2007-01-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

Last night (saturday), me and my wife signed the papers to sell our house. We listed it about 60 days ago, which is a pretty fast sell I'm told. We received the offer last week and we quickly counter their ridiculous offer. They countered back & it was good enough to sell. We are very excited that pending all inspections, our house is sold and we get to finally move up to reno. We've looked in a lot of different areas, sparks, spanish springs, north west reno, and the north valleys. Not sure where we'll end up, but we have to be out by February 13th.
I've been confronted with lots of things popping up in my mind the past day or so, thinking about selling the house & moving to reno. While it's great & exciting, there's also some feelings of sadness. I've been thinking about all the good things that have happened to me over the past 4 years that I've lived in carson. I was able to buy my first house & have a true roommate for about over a year. Then I traded him in for my permanant roommate. I found my wife, or she found me, I'm not sure which one it was. We did some remodeling, purchased our dogs, and made the 408 our home. Not to mention the job I had, which opened lots of doors for me & gave me more life experience than I probably know. I am excited to see what's in store for us in the near future.

Ramblings...

2007-01-01T19:46:00.002-08:00

Today is new years day. Growing up, new years had some interesting significance. Usually, my family would wake up at an ungodly hour & trek off the JA's Nugget. All this for apple pancake... Not your standard apple pancake, more like a circular pile of sugar, apples, and other things put together by baby Jesus. There were other things that went on during the day, but that's not too important.
Today I had to go to work. It sucked. It was the first time I had to work on new years day. It's not that my job is horrible, but we don't see too much traffic over in sparks, appearently because of a couple reasons:
1- when people think of buying a car, I guess they think of Kietzke lane because that's where most of the dealerships are
2- we don't advertise...why? People who make the decisions are morons.
Anyway, after talking on sunday about God's will, I've been thinking about what I'm doing for a job. Due to the lack of foot traffic today, I had plenty of time to think about it. Do I like what I'm doing? Yes I do. Would I quit? Yes I would. It's pretty nice place to be. I would describe it as being content. I can see myself selling cars for an extending time, but I can also see myself quitting & being happy. A job is a job. One bad thing about my job that will suck is that I won't be able to play soccer on sunday afternoons or softball on tuesday nites. I think Jesus wants me to play.

Day off...

2006-12-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

Days off.. Ahhh. I love them and they seem to like me too. Today, for my day off I went to Reno with Jessica. I drank coffee, & began to do some interesting quickbooks stuff as volunteer work. Easier than I expected, but just the first day. I went into the preschool today & got to play guitar with the chillins & taught them a little trick that I'm hoping they take home with them. We came home I went to kick the soccer ball with a couple guys that I play with on sunday afternoons. One of them, the goalie, is flying up to Toronto this weekend to tryout with an MLS soccer team (professional soccer for you lamos...and yes there is professional soccer in america...well kinda professional). It was pretty cool to get together & help the guy (as best as we could) get ready for his tryout. Tomorrow, I look forward to going to the gym, cleaning my house, & ironing my shirts for the next week. Loads of fun. If I sell 2 cars before saturday, I get a $$$ bonus.

Jobby Job #1

2006-12-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

My last day at my old church was October 15th, & since then my search for work was in overdrive. Before I get into that, I must say that I loved the time off. I was able to get a little life back into me & I wasn't feeling so drained of energy. I also found that I could really do the stay at home dad thing. I would wake up to coffee that I had set to brew, read my Bible, then take myself to the gym. Upon arriving home, I'd do my cleaning thing for about an hour, then shower & jump on the internet to look for job possibilities. Great times were had by all, & by all I mean by me.
Anyway, I was contacted by Lithia, America's car and truck store. Yes, I have memorized pretty much all the catch lines, mission statements & all the other jabba that goes along with it. I went through a week of training with a select bunch of "future car sales professionals." All of the sales training was brought to a close on friday & I went straight to work. I just finished my 9 days straight and am beginning my day off tonite at 8:30pm. I sold my first car to a ladie named Echo. She told me after the deal that she was really struggling with the whole car issue before she came to Lithia & her friend told her to leave it in God's hands. She thought is was amazing that God led her to a former youth pastor to sell her a car. Pretty cool stuff.
The people that I work with are a "dream team." If you've ever seen the movie, dream team, you'll know what I mean. First there is David, the GSM (general sales manager), who is your typical accountant type person. Next is Matt, the new car manager, who reminds me of Jake Busey ala Ace in Starship Troopers. His sole purpose is to get anyone to buy him Rockstars or lunch. Ronnie, the used car manager is a big jovial man who's sole purpose is to mess with people and eat sushi as much as possible. That brings us to the sales team. The first guy I met was John. John is about my age, and has been there about 6 months, and before that he was a gunner in Mosul Iraq on an apache helicopter. That boys seen action. Next is Homberto. He is a tall mexican dude who lives in Fallon. He already tried to monkey on to one of my deals. Bad news. Ray is the internet manager and they call him the hunchback of notre dame. This is because he has a nice healthy hunchback. He is a huge complainer & is rediculously lazy. Radicka is an island chick. I'm not sure about her yet. Romberto is the lot dude who cleans the cars up. His purpose is to stick tags and anything else he can on Ray's hunchback. Ray's solution is to say, "you stupid fat little guatamalan."
So far, the days have been either really fast or really slow. On slow days, like today, I research for cars that people tell me they are looking for. I have found pretty much everything people have asked for, just no buyers yet. It'll probably all happen within a week. So anyway, tomorrow is my first day off but I may have to go in. This guy walked on the lot today, wearing nothing that would indicate that he was independantly wealthy & I happen to "up" him. He asked for a corvette & said he'd pay cash. It turns out that my used car manager has sold the guy 8 cars & he always pays cash. I found him a Corvette at one of our dealerships & he is coming in tomorrow to look at the info on the internet. If he wants it, I will go in and work the deal. Yes, I will go in on my day off for money.
I will give a little inside information on what we just took in that will make for sweet deals. So if you're in the market, here you go.

2003 Mustang GT
V8 with upgraded pony package (upgraded tires, seats, and fog lights.
44,000 miles $16,900

2, 2006 Dodge Durangos
1 with 14,000 miles & 1 with 27,000
V8's with 4.7 liter for better milage
1 starts 2000 under wholesale & the other is very close to wholesale.
Now you all know before anyone else. So yes, if you know anyone, send em my way so I can pay my house payment.

The biggest adjustment is with the time. Jessica works mornings and I work afternoons & nights, except for weekends. That means that we don't see each other very much. Maybe an hour or two a day, which isn't so much. Prayers would be nice. That is my 1st 9 days, wrapped up by a faded & tired mind. I'll do my best to post often.

Ouch...

2006-09-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

I have a few guitars and 1 wife. Jessica plays guitar and on occasion she likes to play mine. I don't generally get freaked out when she plays them, but I make sure to let her know to treat them well. She was playing around & getting ready for rehearsal when the strap mysteriously jumped off the guitar. Now I wasn't in the room when this went down, but I was told the sound wasn't nice. Jessica brought me my guitar, crying of course. She said, "I did something real bad..." followed by more tears & a good sniffle. It's not beyond repair, so as you can imagine, I'm releaved. It's just one of those things that added to a questionable week. Thank God I have a good wife. If you're wondering how I responded to Jessica, you'll have to ask her.

Gone, like Frank Sinatra

2006-08-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

About a March of last year before I went to Germany with Louie to check things out for a future trip, I began contemplating what I was doing with life. I had a feeling that I would eventually be moving on from my current job as youth pastor & etc responsiblities. About 6 weeks ago, we (my most wise & excellent woman & myself) decided that the time to move on was now. I resigned to my father-pastor, which was difficult to say the least. This past weekend, we informed the youth group, which was probably one of the harder things I've done in my life. We also told the church & everyone else who needed to know. October 15th is my adios date.

I feel comfortable with the decision to leave, but slightly uncomfortable with the fact that I have no job. I've begun to look to see what's out there, & put feelers out to people I know who may have a lead. I'm looking forward to the changes that will be happening in our lives & do believe that God will take care of us. Knowing that & believing that are sometimes a bit different. We've talked about some of the things that Johannes spoke to us in Germany both in prayer & other conversations & have been encouraged that God will provide. I think God will honor the step of faith we're taking. If He doesn't, I can always go back to dancing.

Guitar Center...

2006-07-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

The thought of a real guitar store coming to the area makes me giddy. Ive been to Bizarre & I think it sucks. The workers are more concerned with looking at porno & they are pretty limited. Guitar Center has sections like a real store. Guitar, Bass, Drums, Pro Audio, etc... This will be great. I feel that much closer to my dream set up. Gibson les paul standard- Black of course and a Marshall halfstack, 100W JCM 2000 TSL 100. I can hear it now. I hope Guitar center can help fulfill not only my dreams, but yours too.

Fun in D.C

2006-06-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, I will give a new post so you don't have to look upon that monstrocity of a man. This last week I was in DC with my lady for our annual trekky convention. One morning our smoke detector went off so I went to try to turn it off. At that point, a voice came from the alarm & directed us to evacuate the building because of a reported fire. I went to brush my teeth. Jessica reminded me that if there was truely a fire, I probably shouldnt brush my teeth first...I agreed. Anyway, we walked out of our room & there was this dude 3 or 4 doors down standing there absolutely drenched with a look of shock on his face. I hear what sounded like a heavy downpour coming from his room. It was. This guy ended up to be either german or austrian & had been smoking in his room (this was a smoking floor). Something happened & the sprinkler system was triggered. I looked in & it was something that you would seen in a movie. Water was flowing down the hall, the room was completely saturated with water & this german dude was freaking out. He then proceeded to light up a new cig in the hallway. That was pretty funny. The funnier part was the cleaning woman who was laughing the whole time. Note to self & all others, don't smoke.

Fattest Man Ever!

2006-05-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is the fattest man in the world. 1200 pounds of tissue. There are so many questions that you could ask this guy? Take a shot and throw down a couple.

My Christian...

2006-04-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Someone at my church approached me yesterday & started telling me about this new website he had created & how cool it was. He told me the site address & I lost interest completely. It is called something along the lines of my christian space. It's not the first time I've heard of "christian alternatives" to myspace, but I still had the same thoughts going through my head...BORING! This guy is a good guy & I know that he & probably the rest of the freaked out people have good intentions with their christian spaces. But, and a big but, I think he & the others in the christian community are missing the point. Christians have been called to be in the world, which means hanging out & interacting with the "fire-breathing heathens." In an attempt to provide a christian alternative, all that is really being done is creating a christian bubble so we don't have to see or put up with "them." The sad this is that the creating of christian bubbles is happening in our world today in more places that the internet.

Fuzzy Math?

2006-03-19T21:12:00.000-08:00

Tonite at Bible study we were reading & discussing the book of Acts. The spot we were reading was talking about Paul being pissed that people were teaching gentiles that they had to be circumcised, instead of being saved by God's grace. So this guy, who is 16 years old asks, "what does circumsized mean?" Yes, that's right, he didnt know what circumcision was & he is 16. After the group had a good laugh I told him to ask his mom. His response...My mom wouldn't know, she doesn't even know times tables! Again the group had a good laugh. That's why I love Bible study.

Running Man

2006-02-13T16:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday me & my wife completed the longest run either of us had ever done. 9.1 miles in 1 hour 50 minutes. I was amazed to see how much more enjoyable it was to run a new track. I guess it's all the new scenery & really cool house that made it better. We got to run past the old part of carson by the governer's mansion, then up to the rich part of carson (Kingston Estates & Wellington Heights) on the way west side. I was fine until the last 1/2 mile when I realized I was almost home & my body decided to shut down. That sucked, but we made it. Rock on marathon runners. We look forward to running with you guys later on. Any sore legs out there?

Cartoon Rage

2006-02-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

I have been hearing about more & more widespread muslim rage. This time it is over a cartoon made by some dutch dudes. Buildings, embassys & flags are burning, lives are being threatened, muslims are roiting calling for the deaths of those who made the cartoon and the list goes on. I saw one sign that said, "learn from 9/11." I thought to myself, all this over a cartoon? How many times has Jesus been dragged through the mud? The real question is, would the world reaction, or at least the US media reaction be different if it was Christians rioting & making death threats? Muslims get a free pass & it is bull crap.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060205/D8FJ59B02.html

MySpace

2006-01-31T09:12:00.000-08:00

Wow. I would have to say that the past day or so has been both interesting & enlightening. I've heard talk of myspace & how its a good communication tool & a way to stay in contact, etc... I asked the students to fill out a form with their email address & if they had a myspace page, so I could either send them stuff, keep in contact better, or whatever. I was shocked that out of about 60 people, at least 75% of them had myspace. I was surprised to see that so many are involved in it. I spent some time yesterday looking at myspace & the pages of the youth group & their 200 "closest friends." I was surprised, in a bad way, to what I saw. Pure tripe on most of the sites. Even better, some students have multiple sites, with different information & different content that mommy & daddy don't know about. I'm thinking to myself, where is the disconnect with these kids? These people say that are Christian on their site, then follow it with things you would expect to hear from a pissed off army D.I. I shake my head wondering if parents know, or even care what their kids are involved in. Or, maybe the kids watch how their parents live one way privately & another publically & just follow their example. Myspace can be very good, but from what I've seen, it's naughty. Parents, take a look at your kids myspace page...both of them.

Kinda hard to understand...

2006-01-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

Tonite was youth group and it was a good one. We were talking about the Holy Spirit & some evidences of being baptized. We talked about tongues & I asked if anyone had heard of tongues. A few raised their hands & one guy said, "it's weird." I asked what was weird & he said that tongues were difficult to understand. I got a good laugh as did the guy who said it.

Get Out of There Clapham

2006-01-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010301509_pf.html

The part that I enjoyed was the judges rational that included thongs at the beach. Matt, there is hope, but I'm not sure what the law is in Nevada. I was thinking of an appropriate picture to put with this, but after a minute of thinking, I decided I probably wouldn't find one. I wonder if I could attach something from my webcam...

King Kong a Racist?

2005-12-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

I recently saw the new version of King Kong with a couple friends. Leading up to seeing the movie, I'd seen & heard that the movie was getting poor reviews & was not going to do well. #1 at the box office isn't bad. The most interesting thing I read was that King Kong was a racist movie & always has been. I saw the original, & followed with the most recent. I neither saw nor heard racist content/material in the movie. So I'm thinking to myself, what's the deal? Is it truely racist & I just can't see it because I'm a white middle class man, or is it just another NAACP load of crap?

My New Toy

2005-12-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

I have a new toy. It is an isight, or better known as a webcam. I can have real time conversations with my friends in Vietnam, or even in Reno. Another cool thing I can do is send video emails so people can see my precious face instead of regular boring email. You gotta get one. When Im bored, I send video emails & it brightens my day. Anyone have one of these babies? Levant? Merry Christmas!

Not in time for Christmas

2005-12-22T11:06:00.000-08:00

Well it wont be done by Christmas, but it is coming along. When it's done, we'll have a party & some select people over. We are soooo exclusive. Maybe not. Merry Christmas. Hey, anyone having in-law issues this Christmas? They are fun.

Ripped Off

2005-12-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

I have loved buying & selling on Ebay for many years now. I have purchased pretty much all of the music equipment I've ever owned off of ebay. I've sold most of it there too. I finally mustered the courage & the $$$ to buy one of my dream guitars & to my surprise, I won an auction for a beautiful black Gibson les paul standard, at a pretty good price. The bad part is the seller, after recieving my certified USPS money order with delivery conformation, decided to no longer be a ebay member. I haven't heard from the demon in a week now & the outlook is not so good. Im doing what I can through ebay & other unnamed sources, but nothing has really happened yet. Surprisingly, I feel pretty ok after blowing more than a housepayment on a guitar that I may never get to touch. Whats that verse...if someone rips you off, track him down & hammer his knuckles? I have wished violent eruptions of diarrhea on them until they send the guitar. Join me...