In the Back

Funny..... but not really.

2010-03-13T10:59:00.002-05:00

The other day at work I walked into an apartment where one of the carpenters was working. He happened to be listening to the radio, and right when I came through the door an ad came on for a fund raising walk. It started with a woman saying, "I didn't know that depression could lead to suicide, until my husband died." The carpenter and I just looked at each other and almost burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it. Where did she think it was going to lead, bake sales and pep rallies? Not funny I know, but ridiculous and horrible, horrible advertising.

The second almost-but-not-quite happened during the evening the same day. I was hanging out with a friend at their college in the cafeteria . At one table were two monks (literal robe wearing Franciscan monks) talking, while three tables away were a couple of kids in ripped sweats swearing as much as they were talking. Maybe not necessarily funny but the contrast was certainly striking.

A Month Late

2010-02-27T11:01:00.003-05:00

My brother Derrick has been keeping track of his reading list for many years, and for many years I have been both admiring and jealous it him. This last year I finally found a way to make it work for me, so for the first time since grade school I can look back and see how I've spent my reading time.

I meant to post this back in January but after I had written the list and before I had posted it, I accidentally deleted it. Not wanting to sit down and write it all out again, I waited until now to try again. So here for your interest (and my ego) is my 2009 reading list.

Hero of Ages Brandon Sanderson 556
Sky of Swords Dave Duncan 450
The Galactic Gourmet James White 238
Mairelon the Magician Patricia Wrede 210
Magician’s Ward Patricia Wrede 209
The Last Guru Daniel Pinkwater 112

January Books 6 Pages 1775

The Three Musketeers Alexander Dumas 655
Blood Rites Jim Butcher 342
Dead Beat Jim Butcher 395
Catch 22 Joseph Heller 238 (D.N.F.)
Fanuilh Daniel Hood 216
Wizard’s Heir Daniel Hood 226

February Books 5.334 Pages 2072

Beggar’s Banquet Daniel Hood 237
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte 407
Bridge to Terabithia Katherine Paterson 128

March Books 3 Pages 772

The Colour of Magic Terry Pratchett 173
The Light Fantastic Terry Pratchett 172
Proven Guilty Jim Butcher 404
The Gypsy Morph Terry Brooks 402
Trading in Danger Elizabeth Moon 294
A War of Gifts Orson S. Card 126

April Books 6 Pages 1571

Marque and Reprisal Elizabeth Moon 324
Lord Valentine’s Castle Robert Silverberg 444
The Wings of Pegasus Anne McCaffery 446
Final Diagnosis James White 236
Engaging the Enemy Elizabeth Moon 401
Pegasus in Space Anne McCaffery 350
Sackett’s Land Louis L’Amour 134
To the Far Blue Mountains Louis L’Amour 242

May Books 8 Pages 2577

The Shining Steven King 505
Small Favor Jim Butcher 420
To the Last Man Jeff Shaara 636
The Adventures of Dr.Who Terrance Dicks 307
Tuck Stephen Lawhead 443
Lords and Ladies Terry Pratchett 314
Enders Shadow Orson S. Card 382

June Books 7 Pages 3007

Taggerung Brian Jacques 403
White Night Jim Butcher 404
The Rowan Anne McCaffery 235

July Books 3 Pages 1042

Seventh Son Orson Scott Card 241
The Silent Blade R.A. Salvatore 394
Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand 1168
Hoka!Hoka!Hoka! Poul Anderson 201
Storm Front Jim Butcher 322
The Gilded Chain Dave Duncan 396
The Warriors Path Louis L’Amour 175
Red Prophet Orson Scott Card 311

August Books 8 Pages 3208

Damia Anne McCaffery 336
Slaves of Spiegel Daniel Pinkwater 76
Pawn Steven James 427
End of the Beginning Harry Turtledove 440
Fool Moon Jim Butcher 342
Skin Ted Dekker 395
The Book of Three Lloyd Alexander 130
Command Decision Elizabeth Moon 384
The Black Cauldron Lloyd Alexander 132
The Castle of Llyre Lloyd Alexander 122
Taran Wanderer Lloyd Alexander 148
Grave Peril Jim Butcher 378

September Books 12 Pages 3310

The Courtship of Princess Leia Dave Wolverton 327
The Book of Q Jonathan Rabb 375
Haroun and the Sea of Stories Salman Rushdie 216
Victory Conditions Elizabeth Moon 398
The High King Lloyd Alexander 170
The Last Continent Terry Pratchett 292
The Men Who Stare at Goats Jon Ronson 259
Prentice Alvin Orson Scott Card 342
Tinker Wen Spencer 315
The Spine of the World R.A. Salvatore 381

October Books 10 Pages 3075

Executive Orders Tom Clancy 874
Damia’s Children Anne McCaffery 272
Lyon’s Pride Anne McCaffery 272
The Rook Steven James 488
Deathworld Harry Harrison 456

November Books 5 Pages 2362

The Late Great Planet Earth Hal Lindsey 188
The Knight Steven James 492
New Spring:The Novel Robert Jordan 334
Hokas Pokas! Poul Anderson 196
Summer Knight Jim Butcher 371
Travels With Charley John Steinbeck 246
I Kissed Dating Goodbye Joshua Harris 228
The Ishbane Conspiracy Randy Alcorn 296

December Books 8 Pages 2351

Yearly Books 81 Pages 27122

You Know You're a Good Driver When.....

2009-09-04T17:16:00.002-05:00

Your passengers look like this at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

2009-06-01T08:41:00.002-05:00

This is something that I was tagged on on Facebook, and since I am sitting at home watching the plumber replace my hot water heater, I decided why not. Amazing what you will do when you are bored.

1. What color is your toothbrush?
White with blue striping.

2. Name one person who made you smile today:
Phil the Plumber

3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
Eating breakfast

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
Wasting time on the computer

5. What is your favorite candy bar?
Reese' Fast Break

6. Have you ever met a famous person?
Don't think so, though I have been to political rallies for famous people.

7. What is the last thing you said aloud
Thanks

8. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Edy's Girl Scout Cookies Samoa

9. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Water

10. Do you like your wallet?
Other than being to full of useless cards, yes.

11. What was the last thing you ate?
Omelette with horseradish cheese and turkey ham

12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
No. Not even in the last two

13,.The last sporting event you watched?
Fishercats Game

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
Extra Butter

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to?
Lindsay

16. Ever go camping?
Yes, a couple of times even.

17. Do you take vitamins daily?
Not even close

18. Do you go to church every Sunday?
95% of the time. And sometimes I go twice, just to make up for the weeks I miss.

Someone else deleted #19; not me.

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?
NO!

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?
Only at restaraunts.

22. What did your last text message say?
I think I was asking for prayer support

23. What are you doing tomorrow?
Work.

25. Look to your left, what do you see?
Entertainment center. Lots of black electronics!

26. What color is your watch?
Why do people still wear those things?

27. What do you think of when you hear Australia?
Desert

29. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
Usually go in for take out

30. What is your favorite number?
6

31. Who's the last person you talked to on the phone?
A rep. from city side management

32. Any plans today?
Get my hot water heater fixed

34. Biggest annoyance right now?
Bills

35. Last song listened to?
Sound track from Eureka 7

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards?
With a lot of stop and time

37. Do you have a maid service clean your house?
Hahahaha. Yes. Wesley's Unlimited.

38. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
Not favorite, but I wear my Dr. Scholl's sneakers more than anything else

39. Are you jealous of anyone?
I would have to say I'm jealous of what I see, though if I really knew, probably not.

40. Is anyone jealous of you?
No one has ever said anything

41. Do you love anyone?
Lots of 'em, even.

42. Do any of your friends have children?
Some of them.

43. What do you usually do during the day?
Zone out :)

44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
Not that I can think of.

45. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
I usually go with hi.

46. What color is your car?
Green, though it usually looks blue because it is dirty

47. Do you like cats?
Yes

And again with the deleting.. and it is still not my fault.

49. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Several times in several places.

50. How did you get your worst scar?
Smacking my head on a coffee table. Or falling through it, or something like that. I don't really remember, since I was about three.

I'm curious.

2009-02-28T18:03:00.002-05:00

I already I know I don't have a life, but I'm curious to see just how much of one I don't have.

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own account, paste this as a note. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun.

() Rocky Horror Picture Show
() Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
() Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
() Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total: 6

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Anchorman (on tv)
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x)Labyrinth
() Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
() Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates (on tv)
(x) The Princess Diaries (on tv)
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 12

() Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
(x) Scary Movie 4 (tv version)
(x) American Pie (tv version)
(x) American Pie 2 (tv version)
(x) American Wedding (tv version)
() American Pie Band Camp
Total so far:16

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
() The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
(x) The Village
() Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 23

(x) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
() The Grinch
()Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
Total so far: 26

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (tv version)
() Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
() KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed (tv version)
(x) Meet The Parents (tv version)
() Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG
Total so far: 31

(x) A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
() Halloween
(x) The Ring
() The Ring 2
(x) Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber
Total so far: 35

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (tv version)
() Practical Magic
() Chicago
()Ghost Shixp
() From Hell
(x) Hellboy
() Secret Window
() I Am Sam
() The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 37

() The Day After Tomorrow
() Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You (tv version, can't remember if I watched it all or not)
() Just Married
() Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
() Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
(x) The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 41

() Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
(x) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
() Predator II
() The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 50

(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) ET
() Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
() Rush Hour
() Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 54

() Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
() She's All That
() Calendar Girls
() Sideways
() Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
() Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
() Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 60

(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Spider-Man 3
(x) Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
() Freaky Friday (the original, not Lindsey Lohan)
(x) Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions (tv version)
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 73

() Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
() Old School
() The Notebook
() K-Pax
() Krippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
() The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 75

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 81

() Baseketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
() Elf
(x) Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
() American History X
(x) Three
Total so Far: 83

() The Jacket
() Kung Fu Hustle
() Shaolin Soccer
() Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
() Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard
Total so far: 86

() High Tension
() Club Dread
(x) Hulk
() Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
() 28 days later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
() Waterworld
Total so far: 89

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
() the Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness
Total so far: 91

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 97

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
() Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs (tv version)
() Hannibal
total: 101

Things of Import

2008-12-21T17:24:00.005-05:00

Earlier today I took a walk in the snow. I was using the excuse of returning a rented movie to ascertain whether the roads were drivable or not. Or at the very least to see if I wanted to make them drivable. See I had been invited to dinner at my cousins house with not just him and his family but also Aunts, Uncles, other cousins, brothers, sister-in-laws, and friends. All that versus the stress of driving on snow laden streets, the possibility of getting stuck behind a plow going twenty five, or heaven forbid losing control and crashing my car on the side of a cold, dark, wet road.

Unfortunately since I totaled my car two years ago I avoid driving in snow whenever I can. So eventually I came to the decision to play it safe and not go anywhere this evening. As a consolation indulgence I decided to make a quick stop at my local Dunkin' Donuts and enjoy my favorite; a half hazelnut-half hot chocolate mix. Truly a drink of the gods. As I walked home, I had to laugh at how truly New England I have become. Walking on the side of the road in the middle of a snow storm with a DD's coffee cup in my hand. Feeling slightly better I started thinking about changing my Facebook status to reflect my feelings about hot drinks at that moment. Then I got home. And made the call to say I wasn't going to brave the roads.

Suddenly that drink seemed a paltry consolation. All this to say, I like my family, immediate, extended, and even honorary. And coffee, no matter how good it may be is never even a close comparison.

Skydiving ! (Sort of)

2008-04-01T20:28:00.003-05:00

Into the Tunnel of wind dove the five brave ones.
Instructor to the right of them,
Instructor to the left of them,
Instructor dancing a ballet,
Keeping us afloat.

Whirring fans, howling winds,
Plastic walls enclosing,
With helmets sitting on their heads
Into the Tunnel of Wind dove the five brave ones.

I'd try and write more but I've found when I try to force inspiration, it comes across as exactly that, forced. Unfortunately I've already used up this day so any further description will have to once more wait for another time.

Flying High!

2008-03-30T20:28:00.004-05:00

So I just got back from air surfing with a couple of friends just a few minutes ago. It was a total blast! Even though we weren't allowed to take camera's in with us, the company took them and so we got a couple. I won't give a long detailed report now, but here are two pictures to give an idea.

Even though I'm still not sure about actual skydiving, I will without a doubt be going back here.

Happy Things

2008-02-18T20:26:00.004-05:00

Things That Make Me Smile.

Seeing wild turkeys roosting in trees.

Seeing signs starting with 'Ye Olde'...

Seeing work I've done featured online (workplace)

Getting my taxes done for half the price of other years.

People leaving messages asking for pot and getting answered

(In case you can't see it, the message reads, "I need pot please leave name and number and good time to call!") [George can be reached anytime, if you want his number let me know] :)

People still checking my blogs even after two months of silence.

Nightmares & Dreamscapes

2007-12-23T20:30:00.000-05:00

As many of you know for several years (at least that I've known about) I have had on occasion extreme nightmares that often spill out of just my sleep and sometimes wake other people up. I just figured that all they were was nightmares. Then a month or so ago I was re-introduced (through facebook) to a person that I had known in my childhood. One day I noticed that she had joined a group about a sleeping disorder known as sleeping paralysis. I was curious, ended up looking at the group to see what it was about and then went on to explore other sleep disorders. One of which was something called Night Terrors. Most of the symptoms fit what happens to me, so on self-diagnosis I would say that this is something that I have.

One of the symptoms is that the dreamer usually doesn't remember what happened the night before in the morning. USUALLY.Sometimes though if woken up in the middle of the night because of the terror, they can remember small portions or impressions. A few nights ago, this was exactly the case.

Even though I wasn't fully conscious I knew I was out of bed and fighting for my life. As soon I was free from those trying to entangle me, I bolted out of my bedroom into the hallway only to spin around and face my bedroom when I reached the end of the hall. Bending at the knees and curling my hands into fists, I waited for the enemy to come boiling out of my bedroom door towards me! I was ready and waiting for them. My heart was pounding and I was sweating freely. As I waited, the fog started to lift and I realized that I was crouched in the hallway waiting for a completely imaginary foe. There was nothing in my room trying to kill me and there was certainly nothing that would be coming out after me. Even though I was now fully awake my heart was still pounding and I was breathing as hard as if I had just fought a real battle. Because of the reality of my feelings I grabbed a flashlight off of my desk and went back into my room to make absolutely certain it had all just been a dream. As I flashed the light around I saw that everything had been stripped off my bed and was lying tangled on the floor; sheets, blankets, pillows, all of it was strewn across the room. I remade my bed but was honestly to scared to get back in right away. So I tried to remember what I had been fighting.

I knew from past experience that if I didn't try and remember right then what I had been dreaming I would forget all about it in the morning. First was the overwhelming sense of evil and harmful intent, second was that they were soft and fuzzy. The more I thought about it the more I could piece together until I was able to mostly remember. The enemy I had been fighting were evil leech-like washcloths with tongues like frogs that they would shoot out, attach to me, (then using that pull themselves in) latch on to me and start drinking my blood. Needless to say a fearsome foe.

Finally after a few minutes I got back into bed and fell back asleep only to wake up a few hours later to my alarm going off and telling me I had to start another day.

A Deep Question

2007-11-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that people still check here to see if I've come back. Kudo's to you.

Earlier tonight some guys and I were sitting around talking about deep things and the subject came up about what we deserve. We went over the customary stuff about naturally deserving hell, but as Christians deserving to go to Heaven because of what Christ did on our behalf. Also included in that, that we deserve to be loved by God because of the covering of Christ's blood over us. This led us to onward to discuss whether or not we deserve to be loved by other people. We ended up spending most of our time together talking about aspects of this question. So out of a continued curiousity let me pass the question on to you.

Do we deserve to be wanted and/or needed by other people?

If so why. If not, why not.

Looking forward to your answers,
Wesley

The Real Story

2007-09-23T19:14:00.000-05:00

All right, I admit it, I'm not a secret genius geneticist. I just happened to take a picture of myself the day after I had my top wisdom teeth taken out. That's all. Yes, last Tuesday I at last (after two previous attempts) had the operation. And it went swimmingly. What is it about going to the dentist that makes other people pull out all of their horrors stories, whether it happened to them or someone they knew. Is all of America dentaphobic? Well maybe I can do my bit to counteract all the bad stories and try to reassure people in the future. So that is it, no blood gushing- teeth wrenching- writhing in the chair story for all you fans out there. The swelling has even gone pretty much away, so I should look normal the next time any of you see me. Hey-- no smart comments!

Never Mess With Nature

2007-09-19T20:14:00.000-05:00

The other day I, Professor Camerousky, was in my super secret genius lab when I had an amazing revelation. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing to cross-breed chipmunks and humans! Think of all the possibilities. We wouldn't need luggage (just stuff your cheeks full) we could save water because we could just groom ourselves instead of taking showers. People might even finally learn how to store up and save! I went to work immediately. Unfortunately thus far, up to date, I haven't been very successful. The cheeks seem to be coming along nicely but nothing else so far.

Well that's it for today. Perhaps tomorrow I'll start working on the tail .

Alack and Alas!

2007-09-09T19:27:00.000-05:00

Well this weekend has been a bit of a mixed bag. Unfortunately the sailing trip did not happen, due to bad weather, but because of that I ended up going shopping and buying two movies that I have been wanting to get for some time. The flip side to that was that I ended up staying up till midnight watching them. Which never helps make the next day a happy one.

Even though I didn't go sailing I suppose I can still say a bit about work. Most apartment complexes have a clubhouse of one sort or another. A place to hang with friends, work out, or swim in the pool. The clubhouse at the current job site is (I believe) a converted garage. Exposed forty foot ceiling, tons of open floor space, and a handy basement filled up with exercise equipment, and the owners are sparing no expense in making it look nice. I just heard this week that the material cost (no labor involved) for the lights alone is just under $100,000! Somehow the PTB decided that they wanted me to help install some of these lights during the last few weeks. A lot of dropped can lights, many chandeliers, and all sorts of accent lighting. The most fun have been all the ceiling lights because they require the use of a lift to install them all.
(The view looking down)

It hasn't just been all fun and games though. These lights are Expensive! The chandeliers alone cost $4700 apiece, and we still had to assemble them ourselves. It just seems like a person should get more for their money.

I will admit though that the finished product does look rather nice.

It must be nice to have money to burn. And in other news, I start school again tomorrow. Even though it is my last year, I am sorry to say goodbye to my carefree summer evenings. No more of those for quite a while I'm afraid. I think that about covers it for now. Hope you all have a great week.

No, I'm not Dead

2007-09-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately the title pretty much says it all. I've been feeling less than 100% this week, less than 50% actually so that has helped squash any sort of desire to get outside of myself and communicate. I am amazed every time I get sick how easily our bodies are taken down. Strong and incredibly versatile yet can be prey to invisible THINGS that we can't stop. Also even though I feel odd about putting this down in a public forum where others can read this, I am constantly reminded that at heart I am a selfish person who struggles to not interact with people just to get things out of them. Unfortunately I don't always come out ahead in that particular war. However I hope to be going sailing this afternoon with some friends, so that should give me something to write about, as well as some interesting stuff at work lately too. More than anything I think I just needed to sit down and get back into the habit of writing. Maybe I'll even get around to checking out some of your sites :)

" 'Nuff Said!"

2007-08-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

Real quick before the busyness of another week starts here are a few pics of what I did this last weekend. In the last post I mentioned I was renting a bike and taking a trip around NH. I also put in a file photo of the type of bike. The one I ended up with turned out to be slightly different.

As for the plans I ended up deciding to go to the White Mountains in Northern NH. I had been there several years ago for a hiking trip and thought it would be fun to see the scenery and connect with God through His creation. So off I went.

And even though things turned out a little different than I had thought (i.e. no climbing of Mt. Washington) I had a great time of biking and seeing several other sites including The Flume and Cathedral Ledge. And I saw some incredible sights ranging from having an old train pass right in front of me, to majestic mountains to beautiful lakes.

From Thursday night to Sunday afternoon I ended up riding just about five hundred seventy five mile all in perfect safety. So I praise God for a wonderful weekend and safety through the entire time.

Hog Heaven!

2007-08-13T16:43:00.000-05:00

Wooh, I'm so excited right about now. Earlier this year I was surfing online looking for places in New Hampshire that rent motorcycles. Lo and behold, right in Manchester was a shop that rented Harley Davidson's. Now they were big, and expensive, but it doesn't cost to dream. The dream stuck in my head for the next month or so and then last saturday I took my brother's bike out for a good long ride. It was a beautiful day, perfect for biking. The only downsize was, his bike is too small for me. I can (and do) ride it, but I look kind of silly. I dropped it off at his place feeling so contented that I knew I had to do it again before the end of the summer. With that thought and the knowledge that I hadn't taken any vacation during the summer yet, a daring plan was hatched. Why not take a three day motorcycling trip around NH?! So today I went to the shop and placed a reservation on a Harley Sportster! Needless to say, I'm wicked excited even with the short amount of time to plan out the weekend.

Just Call Me Darth Skillet

2007-08-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

To start off, a question. One of my co-workers at my current site, probably late forties and from California, has many odd expressions that he likes to pull out on occasion. For example the other day I was working busily and he comes up to me and says, 'Hey HomeSkillet, I need you to go get this thing from over there.' Homeskillet?! What's up with that? At the time I just thought he was being a typical Cali. wacko. But then the very next day I was walking around a nearby park when I overheard a girl call her friend the very same thing, Homeskillet! So my question is this, Have you ever called anyone Homeskillet, or heard anyone called that? Please let me know because I'm curious if this is something new in the schools or a west coast expression or what. Your input would be welcome.

In other news I'm planning on joining the dark side and getting a facebook account before the end of the week. I've simply seen too many acquaintances fall prey and had too much pressure brought against me to stand strong against the dark forces any longer. I think my Dark Side name will be Darth Weak-Willed.

And finally a story about how the mighty have fallen. As I've mentioned on different occasions I enjoy cooking and have made several (in my opinion) impressive dishes. Well the other week I went out grocery shopping, but instead of shopping for what I needed I shopped for the sales alone. I ended up saving about twenty dollars, but I also ended up with practically nothing to eat for breakfast. Unfortunately I didn't realize this until five minutes before I had to leave the house Monday morning. Looking desperately through the cupboards I spotted a box of instant oatmeal packets. With the clock ticking I knew I didn't have enough time to add water, cook it, cool it down, add milk, and stand around eating it. So I did what any rushed twenty-something bachelor would do. I ate it dry. Yes that's right, one packet of apple cinnamon flavored instant oatmeal down the hatch. Thankfully I had my water bottle with me to help wash it down, but amazingly enough it actually wasn't that bad! I have to admit that not only wasn't it that bad, but it was acceptable enough that I have done it again several times (mornings aren't my best time). So if you ever find yourself eating cereal for lunch or yogurt and hotdogs for dinner, just remember it could be worse. You could be eating packets of dry oatmeal.

Big News!

2007-07-14T13:19:00.000-05:00

No, don't get excited, it isn't that news. :) However it is exciting, potentially life changing, and brings a good bit of responsibility with it. I finally finished with my research and took the plunge and bought a new gun! I had been planning on just putting a link to an album with a bunch of pictures but my filter is acting up so here are just a few to give you a good idea of what it looks like. I haven't shot this one yet, but I have shot its bigger brother the XD .45 cal. I think it will probably be a few days before I actually do shoot it as I want to get to know it better. How to disassemble and clean it, the feel of the trigger pull and such.

So without further ado,

Really, Really Quick

2007-07-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

I guess it is true that hope never dies. More than three weeks have passed and yet people still come here hoping for something new. Far be it from me to crush that hope, so here is a quick update.

First, the other week on the way home from work we had a bunch of people pulling up beside us, honking and waving. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but when we looked back a bucket of string had fallen over and we had a nice little tail coming off the end of the truck. We weren't going to pull over just for some string, so we kept on going to the park and ride. I have no idea how long the string had been slowly stretching out, but by the time we got to the parking lot we had several hundred feet on string trailing out behind us. Needless to say we were all laughing pretty hard as we gathered it all in.

Next I've been having some more fun with shooting. Mostly just researching online and looking things up, but also stopping by here and trying out a couple of different 9MM's. (Check out some of the pictures, their collection is pretty impressive)

I've also gone sailing with some friends from church. I think it was the best sailing trip I've been on to date. The weather was perfect, the wind was fairly kind to us, and I even got to pilot for a while. (You'll have to take my word for that as the pictures don't show the wheel.

Last weekend I had an incredible time with a couple of friends going to a concert at the Verizon Center in Manchester. I like country music and Martina Mcbride is probably one of my top three favorite country artists. To make it even better, apparently the show didn't sell very well, so we got a free seat upgrade! The weren't spectacular seats but still better than what we originally bought. It was my first big concert and I had a great time yelling, cheering, and being part of the crowd.

And finally I just got back a couple of hours ago from hiking up the infamous Mt. Monadnock with a couple of friends. It was hot and humid, and we even got rained on a little bit but it was still a great time of being with friends. It was especially good since two of them were up visiting from Pennsylvania and I hadn't seen them since last December.

And of course there has been work, and life, and cooking, and such. Just as a reminder to myself in years to come, I made strawberry rhubarb pie for the first time last weekend, and mmm-mmm was it good. So there you have it. Thanks for your patience and your comments. Hopefully soon I can return the favor on your site.

Boys Having Fun!

2007-06-12T20:16:00.000-05:00

So this is what I got to do this evening!

Even though there are only three in the picture, we fired four. A Glock 9mm, two Glock .40's (different sizes barrels, magazines, and handgrip) and a Springfield .45(1911 style body). I think right now I would have to say I liked the full sized .40 the best.

Myself and two of my coworkers went to a range in Hillsborough (where the two of them live) and ended up shooting over three hundred rounds between the three of us. We started with a nine millimeter, moved up to a forty cal. and then finished off with a forty-five caliber. It was great fun. Tomorrow if I'm in any shape I'll try to put up a couple more pictures, or even the short video I took.

I'm Tired

2007-06-07T20:00:00.000-05:00

I just got home from a Twelve Hour Work Day! Not to mention I had to travel an hour there and then back. Since I also had errands to run I just got back at roughly eight thirty; fifteen hours after I left this morning. I think I'll go to bed now.

Agent 999 Reporting

2007-06-02T14:59:00.000-05:00

Agent Triplenine's mission report from Mission 743981 on May 26, 2007, the scouting and reconnaissance of the area known as Derryfield Park. As I was briefed beforehand, the government issued map of the area was not agreeing with the actual topography. Even though there was an area marked as a reservoir, (the road going around the area is even marked 'Reservoir Ave.') there seemed to be nothing there. I was sent to find out why.

Thankfully the planners had done their job and decided to send me in on a holiday weekend when there would be extra civilians around thus making it easier for me to blend in and not be noticed. Playing the part of a curious citizen, I first drove around the area to get a basic overview of what I would be facing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I saw the barriers across the road, blocking out entrance. Apparently there was indeed more than met the eye. Going back to the park (of which there was nothing unusual) I parked my vehicle and set off on foot. Not wanting to be spotted, I decided not to take the main road but instead chose one of the several paths leading back to the "Reservoir". Sneaking through the woods I bypassed the gates and made it into the target area. Keeping a sharp eye out for enemy agents (or anyone who might get in my way) I started investigating. To the untrained eye there was nothing wrong. The government did indeed have a water supply for the city up on a hill

and it was protected from ne'er do wells for the public protection.

To those who knew what to look for however, there were too many things that just didn't click. Barbed wire, sure that's normal, but rolls of razor wire? Guard posts with emergency radio towers?

Not being satisfied with what I was seeing I continued on. And then I hit the jackpot. What reservoir needed Bombproof Bunkers with Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Personal guns? This "Reservoir" was actually an outpost for the secret organization known as S.P.E.W.!(Scary People Enslaving the World)!

Having encounter S.P.E.W. before I immediately knew that this wasn't a simple water reservoir cover-up. That was just too small for them. Something far bigger and more sinister was going on. Having a better idea what I was facing I doubled my vigilance and moved on to find out the truth. Moving as a shadow along game trails I circled around the area to higher ground and there the awful truth was laid bare. There was no reservoir. Instead that was just a cover for a refinery of mind altering drugs! More specifically Zombitalis, one of the most insidious and powerful black market drugs on the planet! An airborne powder, Zombitalis has the ability to turn the strongest minded person into a gibbering zombie capable of no more than sitting on their couch and drinking beer! They had everything there. The storage and processing facilities,

as well as the drying fields.

The only thing that was missing was the instrument that they would use to spread this evil across the city. I knew that for this mission to be a success I HAD to find that diffuser so it could be destroyed. Unfortunately I also knew that with this kind of setup there would be more than ordinary security and I would be lucky to get out alive. This being a scouting mission however I was armed with nothing more than my wits so I wouldn't be compromised should I be caught. Never had I felt my life in so much danger.

Rounding the shoulder of the hill I saw it! S.P.E.W. had cleverly disguised it as an old disused ski lift. With the city spread out beneath it, and the ground cleared around it, the diffuser was in the perfect location to infect the entire city and turn all the inhabitants thereof into beer swizzling zombies.

Unfortunately at the same time I spotted the diffuser, my luck ran out. This area was so important to S.P.E.W. that they had dispensed with the usual human guards and instead turned an all automated system. Without knowing it, when I had come round the side of the hill I had walked right through a 'Radiation Amplified Light' barrier and set off the intruder alarms. Unfortunately this not only activated the alarms it also activated the Robotic Guard Attack Snakes that were stationed around the area. Armed not only with the usual heat seeking guidance system and poison spitting sacs these models also had the laser eyes and crushing muscles options!

Running, dodging, juking, dipping, jumping, and sprinting I raced for my life back along the paths that I had just traversed. Knowing that no one had every before evaded the R-GAS's only lent extra speed to my flight. Diving the last several feet through a barrier of laurel bushes, I rolled to my feet and dashed across the pavement to the safety of my car. Not wanting to blow their cover to the public, the Scary People recalled the Snakes and I was able to leave.

It is my belief that now that S.P.E.W. knows that we know what they are up to they will either accelerate their program or leave and try to take over another city. It is my recommendation that we send in Special Agent TacCom to destroy their base and equipment before either of these can happen.

Agent 999

Tagged

2007-05-25T21:24:00.000-05:00

I feel like one of those animals that you see on nature shows that is tranquilized, ID'ed, tagged, and then let go. So since someone is watching and maybe even taking notes, let me put on a good performance.

1. I have a new digital camera! Admittedly nothing great, but now at least I can put up a few more pics online.

2. I have a scar over my right eye that I received when I was two. I wish it was more pronounced.

3. I just started running and am enjoying it. It's good exercise, gets me out of the house, and makes me feel good about myself.

4. Even though I have been to two foreign countries (three if you count sleeping at the airport in Germany) I have never been west of the Mississippi.

5. I'm terrible at matching artist's to their songs. I can hear a beautiful song that I really like on the radio several times and have absolutely no idea who it is performed by, and most of the time never remember what it is called either.

6. I really enjoy melancholy songs. There is a new country/pop song that is a great example but unfortunately I have no idea what it is called or who sings it.

7. And for the last one. I got an email from a girl yesterday and ended up having a rather sleepless night because I couldn't let go of what it said. Even still I have all sorts of thoughts swirling around in my head because of it. Not that that is a bad thing :)

So there you go. I think I'll go tag my brother :)

Two Weeks Worth

2007-05-19T13:29:00.000-05:00

Even though I haven't written anything in the last two weeks, doesn't mean that nothing has happened to me. As a matter of fact, several things have come my way. To start off with a story of what could be called incredible coincidence by many, but since I'm a believer in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I'm going to have to go with Just another example of God watching over us.

Last Monday(or sometime around then) after getting dropped off at my car I went to the nearest Walmart to pick up a couple of things that I needed. After finding them in the store (plus some extras) I started walking towards the cash registers. Not wanting to wait, I skipped the regular ones and went over to the self checkout registers. Who should I see but Aaron standing in line checking out items. Since he looked like he was mostly finished, I decided to say hi and stand next in line behind him. After finishing scanning his items he whipped out a credit (or maybe debit, I'm not actually sure) card and swiped it to pay. After signing the card reader, sirens and horns and light instantly went off scaring the bejabbers out of me! Well okay maybe not. But the light above that checkout did start blinking and someone came over to investigate what the problem was. Turns out he was using his mom's card to pay and when he signed for it, the reader saw that his signature was different and raised an alarm. After explaining the problem the employee said that she would talk to her supervisor and see if she could let it go. She came back and informed him that they couldn't accept him using that card. All this time I'm grinning my head off behind him, trying not to laugh out loud. I stopped laughing though when he mentioned that he didn't really have any other way of paying. I let him know that if necessary I would pay for it then and he could pay me back when ever. The employee, still being nearby, heard this and after verifying that I knew Aaron and that I could vouch he wasn't a smooth talking identity thief (though what kind of ID thief would steal a name of the opposite gender? I mean come on, a guy named Allison? ) she relented and let it go through. After saying so long and farewell, we parted ways and went on with our lives. It did however get me thinking and reminded me that the God we serve is interested and involved, rather than being distant and detached. Thank God for His Holy Spirit which He has given to us.

Another odd thing that has happened to me occurred on Wednesday. After work I had a couple of errands to run including getting my hair cut. I had gotten several comments that my hair was looking more grey than blue so I decided to was time to start eliminating some of it. I decided to try a new place, since where I usually go had gone up in price. It started out fine and normally but then near the end something very unusual happened. The hairdresser put her comb over my eyebrows and then trimmed off whatever hair poked through the teeth. I was shocked! Never in my whole life had anyone ever trimmed my eyebrows, I had never even considered it as something that was done! And then as I started to think about the idea grew a little bit more attractive in a very weird sort of way. She (the hairdresser) didn't say anything, acted normal, and kept on going like she hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. I'll admit that I've trimmed my eyelashes, and in between my eyebrows but never the eyebrows themselves. It got me thinking, however. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them? Or even done it to themselves? And do you think this is weird, or pretty normal? Let me know what you think.

One Hundred and Eleventieth First Post

2007-05-02T20:53:00.000-05:00

And that's a fact. Actually I'm just stopping by real quick to say that I'm afraid no reading or comments from me this week, as it is already quite full, with more to come. Sunday I had lunch with friends, Monday I had a pastoral meeting with my... pastor, Tuesday was my free day. Tonight I worked late and had only enough time to clean up before going out to a dinner honoring platelet donors. Tomorrow I'm planning on a prayer time in a nearby town, and Friday starts a three day convention at my former church which I will be attending. So as VeggieTales put it so nicely,

'I'm busy, busy, dreadfully busy.
You've no idea what I have to do.
Busy, Busy, shockingly busy,
Much, Much to busy for you.'

I love that song. So warm and caring, and empathetic. :)
Hope you all enjoy your week.

Answered Prayers?

2007-04-24T17:44:00.000-05:00

It is nice to have knowledge of a situation before you are in the middle of that situation, instead of finding it out as events unfold around you. For example, today I was supposed to have all four of my wisdom teeth removed. So I left work early, with plans of taking tomorrow off to recover, came home to clean up and left again for the dentist's office. When I got there I signed in and waited. A few minutes later I was called up to the desk to read and sign a release form. Now I did have a bit of warning before-hand of what to expect. I knew not to eat for eight hours before hand, and also that they required someone to take me home. They wouldn't release me without someone there to make sure I didn't try to drive myself. This I knew and had prepared for.

What I didn't know was that I wasn't supposed to have any water either. Or that the 'responsible adult' had to be in the office before they would take me in and start operating. Not the kind of thing you want to learn when you are waiting in the office. When the receptionist told the doctor how much I had had to drink (less than 20 oz.) the doctor immediately said, 'That's not going to work, we are going to have to reschedule for another time.' However, the learning didn't stop there. The surgeon still wanted to check me out and come to find out, my lower teeth (the completely impacted ones) are sitting on top of my nerve which made him very nervous about taking them out. So nervous in fact that he said it would be better to just leave them in.

So now I have another appointment in June to pull out just the uppers. I'm ticked that I have to arrange rides all over again and upset my schedule, but on the other hand, I just saved close to a grand. So I guess that makes up for it. And yes, this means I'll be working tomorrow, so I probably won't get to all of your blogs. Just the important ones :)

Not Really Sure

2007-04-22T19:01:00.000-05:00

The problem with rants is that if you don't get them out quick enough, they tend to fizzle up. So let me just say, 'Stop whining and take some responsibility for your actions, you lazy, greedy, spineless slug!!!'

Next, motorcycles are awesome! I got to ride today for the first time this year, and though it probably wasn't more than twenty minutes, what a great twenty minutes it was.

And finally, I like steak, a lot. Mmmm.....

Oh yeah, hopefully I'll have time to actually write something worthwhile on Wednesday, as I'm taking it off to recover from my tooth removal surgery Tueday. So have some good posts for me to comment on.

April's Fool! : Part 2

2007-04-10T19:09:00.000-05:00

In the previous post (thank you for all your comments) I showed what I decided to do for April fools. These last two post have been titled the way they were because I was pranking myself rather than anyone else. I was planning on doing everything in one day, but then thought better of it when I realized that it was first Lord's Supper Sunday and then Easter Sunday, so it had to be split. You saw last week the shave and a haircut, unfortunately a good bit more than five cents, and now this week something a bit more extreme, and a lot more fun.

I've been wanting to do this for quite a while, but either never had enough nerve or enough desire. Then I started to realize that I want to have a girlfriend (or start courting or whatever) before to long (I realize that sounds rather cavalier, but try not to focus on that here. You can write me if you're offended) and my life would probably change drastically once that happens. One of those changes being that I would have to let her have a say in my life, and she might not like some things that I would want to do. Ride a motorcycle, play video games all weekend, play with guns, etc...
With that realization came the determination to do what I could, while I could, and so was born April's Fool!: Part 2!

Yes, it is permanent, no I'm not joining a rock band and wearing nothing but black clothing and metal. And no, the above mentioned reason was really just one more on the list to do it, not the sole reason.

April's Fool! a.k.a. To Be(ard) or Not to Be(ard)

2007-04-01T16:24:00.000-05:00

I think the best place to start this post would be with a Woohoo! I've finished Year Three with my Electrical schooling and now all my evenings are once again gloriously open for me to squander as I see fit! :) I must say it sure does feel good to know that I only have one more year to go. Now all I have to do is see what my average for the year ends up being. After finding out my score on the final, I'm not worried, just curious.

Also I think I'll say here that even though I don't really like where I'm working right now, or really want to be there, there are some good things about it. 1) I only have to drive about six miles to the park and ride where I then get picked up and get to ride in a company vehicle for the rest of fifty miles! Also I like starting at six-thirty so I get to see the sun rise every morning, way better than any sunset. Also this schedule keeps us from getting stuck in any rush hour traffic, so that is a plus as well.

Now, on to the real subject for this post! Last September I decided that I would take on one of the challenges that separates a man from a boy and see where I stood. This test, growing a beard! I'm proud to say that in this respect I am a man. Even though it took many weeks to fill in properly, it has graced my face steadily since that time. I actually became rather attached to it. It kept my face warm in the winter, it made me look older, and it filled out my face a bit more so I didn't look like a crack-addict model. :) (That is to say, to skinny for my own good). However as some wise man once said, 'All good things must come to an end' so also my beard was destined to meet its shaver, er...maker. This very morning I walked into the bathroom looking very bearded and manly, and stepped out looking young and boyish.
Looking at myself, I can't help but feel that I am setting myself up to be mocked tomorrow at work, as several of the newer guys have never seen me unbearded. On the other hand this morning at church I got a thumbs up from one of the ladies, so maybe it isn't so bad after all. What do you think is better, beard or no beard?

Try not to let the different angles or quality sway your vote. Next week, the joke continues....

What Was I Thinking?

2007-03-25T14:20:00.000-05:00

As many of you know I am sometimes given to vocalizing in my sleep. Sometimes coherent words, sometimes not. Well this last Tuesday night, something happened that made me wonder even more about what is going on in my head when I'm asleep.

Tuesday night I got home from class, got things together for the next morning and drifted off to sleep. Before I knew it, I snapped awake glanced at the clock and saw numbers that I shouldn't have. I missed the alarm when it went off and now I was running late! I ran into the bathroom, still half asleep, and jumped into the shower. As the hot water slowly started to wake me up I realized that I hadn't turned off my alarm and the radio was still playing. Normally not a problem except that my condo buddy sleeps right next door and I didn't want to wake him up. Then as I started to think about it, I couldn't remember if my alarm had actually gone off at all.

As I dried off, becoming more awake and alert by the moment, I became more and more distressed that indeed I had not actually heard my alarm go off. I couldn't be sure though, because I am definitely not a morning person. I was listening intently as I opened the bathroom door. No sound yet, but that didn't mean to much. Then my bedroom door, still no sound. Either I had shut it off and couldn't remember it, or... Then I was far enough into my room to see the clock. 12:42! I couldn't believe it. Once more my mind was making my dreams waaayy to real. Silver lining to the cloud, I had extra time in the morning to read my bible since my shower was already all taken of.

Vacation For the Soul

2007-03-20T20:30:00.000-05:00

I just got back from four days of spending time at the house of God at Fairwood. I feel like I've just got back from a vacation. I'm re-energized, re-focused, inspired, and filled with wonderful blessings of God. It makes me wish (in a way) that I was once again living there surrounded by the things of God where my vision is so much clearer and unclouded. David had it right when he said, 'I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.' (Psa. 84.10) I wish you all could have been there. I'de love to tell more of what happened but I have to get up way to early tomorrow to stay up any later tonight.

Just Grin and Bear It

2007-03-12T16:06:00.000-05:00

I was going to post last week but it ended up being a really busy and tiring, so I'm doing it now before this week turns into the same thing. Several things have been going on, but the biggest one involves the title.

It had been a long time since the last time I saw the dentist and with my eating and brushing habits I was rather worried about the condition of my teeth. Also my lower jaw hadn't been feeling 100% so I wondered if something was up with my wisdom teeth. After looking around for a cheap dentist I called one up and got an appointment fairly quickly. The best part was, I didn't even have to miss any work. I went in, filled out some paperwork, waited and then was called into the back.

Thankfully I'm not a dentaphobe (do I really need to define?) so that made things very easy, especially where they were sticking all sorts of different things into my mouth and then taking them out and putting new different things in. The best part was the full set of x-rays. They stuck my head in an x-ray machine and then it twirled around shooting me full of radiation while making very electronic boops and beeps.

(Edit: I just spent half an hour reading stories that dentaphobes have written about their fears, and all I can say is, 'Wow.' I'm even more thankful now that I don't have dentaphobia.)

It was all very easy, painless and simple. After the x-rays, I saw one of the dentists and she gave me an examination while waiting for the developments. Low and behold I only needed one filling! I was expecting at least three, so this was very welcome news. Then came the bad news. My bottom wisdom teeth were/are impacted and my top ones, while not fully impacted weren't/aren't straight and are not growing out so at the end of April I will be having all four extracted. Since I don't have dental insurance this will be quite expensive. More than either one of my cars has cost. Still I would rather be poorer than have my teeth rot, or break, or split, or any of the other nasty things I've just been reading about.

That was Tuesday. Thursday I went in for the filling. Having half my mouth and tongue numb was really disconcerting but also rather fun. The best part was the numbness didn't wear off for several hours so I had something to occupy me during class. If only there was a way I could get my hands on some novacaine so I could do it when ever I wanted, heheheh...

Out With the Old....

2007-02-28T18:33:00.001-05:00

This last weekend I, among other things, finally got off my behind and replaced the very old speakers in my car. I had been wanting to do this for quite some time but just didn't want to spend the money. Then I had a review at work (i.e. raise) so I decided to have some fun and buy some electronic toys. Among these new speakers. Now I know that my car is a twelve year old car but that isn't something that I think about often. However when I took out the factory speakers, I was reminded just how much technology has changed in that period of time.

For example this is what those twelve year old speakers looked like.

Yeah, that's right, paper! Practically the same as what you would have your groceries bagged in at the store. On the other hand these are what the new ones look like.
A factory airbrushed picture I know. However even in hand these are a far cry from the old ones. The one downside is that they are installed in the back of my car (which is rather noisy) so the audible improvement isn't quite what I was hoping for. Next up, the front pair of speakers!

Things That Start With 'S'.

2007-02-16T17:10:00.000-05:00

Seeing as how I'm going away for the first part of this weekend, I thought I would write up a quick post so you junkies can get your blogging fix. :) Actually a lot happened and I want to get it written down before more happens. Oddly enough, I can make almost all of start with the same letter. Try and see if you can tell what it is :)

Skating. Last Saturday I was invited over to a fellow church goers house (unfortunately I don't have the time or patience to insert the links to show you who) where there was a large skating party happening. I got there about 30 seconds before the rest of the party-ers and then spent the next two and a half hours having a great time remembering how to balance myself on two tiny pieces of metal. There was also hockey, races, lots of fun, and food in there too. I along with a couple of other hard core skaters stayed out well after sunset.

Unfortunately this led very directly to my next subject. Sickness. Yes that's right I woke up the next morning with all the symptoms of a cold. However true to my young, rash, impulsive nature I completely ignored it as long as I could, which ended up being Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. By the end of Tuesday I was feeling quite blah.

However I was saved. No, not by the bell but by the Snow. Wednesday the Northeast had a large snow storm pass over and between that and my cold I decided to call in and not go to work. (I found out the next day that only two people out of the ten at our job came in). I made full use of this snow day sleeping, reading, cooking, watching tv, and generally taking it very easy. I also drank over two hundred ounces of water, thanks in no small part to this big monster.

52 ounces of insulated goodness! :)

As I mentioned I cooked while relaxing. It's kind of interesting how pressure and desire can totally change how cooking is either stressful or relaxing. This time I made Scrumptious treats. The pastor's sister at my church is hosting a game night this weekend and in her e-vite she put in a very large hint that I should bring good eats. Since I didn't have anything else to do I pulled out the cookbook and ended up making Peanut-butter Chocolate Fudge and White Chocolate Cheesecake Bites. Both of which I've never made but turned out great if I may say so myself. I also made a Key-Lime Chiffon Pie for some friends of mine that just had a baby yesterday. ( No, I didn't know it would be for them when I made it, I'm not a pyschic) I'm not really sure why it is a chiffon pie but that is what the recipie called it, so who am I to argue. Not to mention it sounds way more impressive that way. :)

Finally am I just Screwed up or does anyone else check the mailing list on emails to see where they are placed? I just got an email this afternoon from a woman in my church and my name was on the very top. Needless to say it made me feel quite proud. I wonder if it is something like having a high place on speed dial. A denotation of importance :)

And that is about it for this week. Have a great Sabbath all.

God's Timing is Impeccable

2007-02-10T21:23:00.000-05:00

I just got home from talking with a friend of mine and came away with the renewed realization, that God as the creator of time, has complete Mastery over it.
When he invited me over, I didn't know exactly what he was going to say, though I had a general idea. After talking a bit about the general subjects he started bringing up some very hard (but needed) challenges that he felt God wanted him to talk to me about. Now the timing part comes in because for the last several weeks, the pastor at my church has been doing a series on Hebrews and the subject of 'Better'. It has been a very well done, encouraging, and uplifting series [he occasionally reads this, so I want to be nice to him :)] I haven't felt much of a personal challenge coming away from the services. And frankly I missed it. When I mentioned this to my friend he sort of laughed and said,'Well I guess you got it with both barrels tonight.' God knew it and tonight answered that need in a way beyond anything I could have thought of or expected. That's example one of God's control and timing.

EDIT: I talked with my pastor today and told him about the lack of challenge. He smiled and said he was glad to hear that, as he wasn't aiming for that in the current series of sermons. He went on to tell me what he was thinking and it made sense, so it is all cool now.

Example two also happened tonight. There has been a relationship in my life that I haven't been able to do anything about to move it forward for a long time. Then back in December things got switched, so instead of me waiting on them, they were now waiting on me. I thought this was a great thing and was all excited to get things moving, but instead I just seemed to spin my wheels and continue to go nowhere.Even though I wanted to move things along. Now my friend knows all this and the subject also happened to come up tonight when we were talking. Even though he has encouraged me in the past, tonight he told me that if anyone asked, he wouldn't recommend things go forward right now. That sort of opened my eyes and made me see/wonder if it wasn't God Himself delaying things until it matched His timing. He saw and knew that there were more pressing needs that needed to be dealt with first before what I thought was important was gotten to. So though tonight was hard, and I came away a little ashamed and saddened, I also came away renewed at the wonder and loving-kindness of the God I serve.

The Leprechaun's Gold

2007-02-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

One of the foremen at the company where I work has the nickname of 'The Leprechaun'. As far as I know he is actually the only current foreman who has a nickname. Even though he's not short, he isn't Irish, and he certainly doesn't wear only suits of green there is a good reason for this nickname. He guards the tools and supplies on his job as jealously as a leprechaun guards his gold. If you've been using a tool it absolutely-no questions-asked goes back into the office trailer at night. If you need some piece of stock, you check every place it might possibly be before he gives you a new piece.

Normally this isn't a problem; you just know things are done a little differently when you are on one of his jobs. However the one area where this is a problem is in regard to the locks and keys for our storage trailers. Currently we have three storage trailers on our job and they all have the same lock. Since I've been working on this job (week after thanksgiving) there have only been three keys to the locks. This maid it so whenever I needed something out of one of the trailers, I would have to hunt down one of the key holders, ask to borrow his key, and then make sure I returned it to him afterward. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but when this happens practically every day, it gets old quick. Not to mention whenever the foreman wanted me to do something, I would have to remind him that I didn't have a key and would need to borrow his.

After two months of reminding him that I still didn't have a key, he finally seemed to get the idea. A few weeks ago after reminding him again, he paused for a minute, and then said, 'I might have an extra key in my truck. I'll have to look for it and get it to you.' Even though this did make me perk up my ears, I figured after two months of nothing happening, what were the chances? Apparently better than I thought, as two days later, as I was getting ready to leave for the day he called me over and handed me a key. I had caught the leprechaun and made him show me the pot of gold.

Little did I know just how well his name fit. I got the gold but I also got the price that came along with it. Now that he knows I have a key, I have become the go to guy for anything concerning the trailers, loading or unloading stock, and taking care of the storage truck at the end of the day. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

Song Lyrics

2007-01-29T20:59:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately the title is an apt description of what this post is going to be about. I can't force myself to make something up and I'm not inspired enough to either rant or uplift, so passing on someone else's words will have to do for now I'm afraid.

Heart of Gold by Stephanie Chapman

When the fire burns out and you're left as an ember,
You will always remember you were told,
He will weigh you down, though your body burn to ashes,
He will weigh you down with a heart of gold.

Like a leaf, like a feather, you cannot be tethered
You are taken with the wind and then it sets you down again.
He will build you up, he will overflow your cup,
He will weigh you down with a heart of gold.

When your body is hollow and your skin is just bones,
He will take you from the orphanage and take you to a home.
When you mean nothing, not to me, not to neighbors, friends, or family,
He will weigh you down with a heart of gold.

And it's so heavy finding love,
But you will not blow away with the dust.
When the fire burns out and you're left as an ember,
You will always remember you were told,
He will weigh you down, though you turn to ashes,
He will weigh you down with a heart of gold.

I really enjoy all aspects of this song. Melody, voice, and words. Something to aspire to, I guess. Having a heart that is, not setting myself on fire and burning to ashes.

Yum, Yum..

2007-01-21T16:15:00.000-05:00

I think if U.S. Cellular only knew the market they were missing, they would have thought of this long ago.

Fight ! Fight !

2007-01-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

If I weren't so picky about what I write about I would write a lot more. Profound I know :) Actually it's true, I don't like writing unless there is something to tell, and let me tell you, and something that fits that category certainly happened on Thursday.

Twice a week I meet with a very varied group of people. Mostly men, though there is one woman, aged from early 20's to late 40's (if not early 50's) with every kind of background imaginable, bound only by the common goal of wanting to become electricians. These are my classmates. In particular there are two guys who stand out this year. One, a late thirties fellow who is pretty much the class clown. Always making jokes, smart comments or stupid remarks he usually is the guy who keeps the majority of the class from falling asleep, and as an aside note most everyone likes him.

The other, also a guy, early twenties, is arrogant, full of himself, always putting other people down, and generally being a jerk that no one likes. These two happened to be in the same class as me last year as well and nothing was different. Guy two (lets call him Mike) made fun of guy one (we'll call him Todd), annoyed him and everyone else, postured outrageously, and generally made himself disliked by all. Tuesday night Mike spent the better part of class entertaining himself by throwing things at Todd such as small erasers, jelly beans, whatever he could get his hands on. Nothing harmful just his usual annoying self. Finally Todd got sick of it, told Mike to wait for him after class and he would kick his butt all over the parking lot.
Needless to say Mike decided to to take any chances and found a reason to leave class a few minutes early. Right after the class ended, before every one took off Todd asked the teacher what the punishment was for fighting in class. The teacher told him, and everyone who was still there that the punishment was instant expulsion from school, not just for that day but for the whole year! That certainly subdued Todd though it didn't completely deter him. As we were walking out to our cars I happened to hear him and another student who worked with Mike talking. The other student was telling Todd how Mike used to bother him until he stood up and let him know in no uncertain physical terms that he wasn't going to take any more. After that Mike had left him alone.

Wednesday passed, most of Thursday and then it was time for class again. I arrived a few minutes early and was talking with some of the others at my table. Todd was at another table next to me talking and Mike's name was mentioned. Mike hearing just his name decided that he was being trash talked, got up started walking towards Todd's table and once again started to run his mouth and put on a show. What came next I didn't actually see because I didn't realize what was happening and it took place behind me. Todd got up out of his seat, met Mike in the middle of the room and started taking off his sweatshirt. The next thing anyone realizes, Todd grabs Mike whirls him around and sends him crashing into a metal desk nearby! Thankfully Mike was smart enough not to take it any farther and after making a smart remark to try and save face, went back to his seat. Even though it was over in a matter of seconds everyone was shocked into silence, which the teacher was alert enough to take firm control of the class and things went on as normal from there. A little later during our break Todd went up to the teacher and apologized for disrupting the class. When the teacher asked how things happened (he had been looking down at some papers), Todd explained that after taking off his sweatshirt he became off balance and if he had backed down he probably would have fallen on his butt and looked like a fool. Not wanting to give Mike any ammo he did the only thing he could think of to get himself back on balance by grabbing Mike. Unfortunately (for Mike) this put him off balance which just escalated into him being crashed into the desk.

The teacher thanked him for his explanation and then said that since there wasn't really malicious intent behind it, it wasn't quite a fight so Todd didn't have to worry about any repercussions. And then in a conspiratorial whisper added that in his opinion Mike had had it coming for quite a while, not just at school but at work as well (the teacher is a foreman at the same company that Mike works at)so if anybody asked nobody saw anything.Every one who was there nodded there heads and gave their agreement. Now, which is a rarity this year, I'm actually looking forward to class this Tuesday. :)

I Want To, Trust Me

2007-01-08T22:16:00.000-05:00

Yes, I realize that I haven't posted anything new for several weeks. I do plan on doing something about this, shortly I'm just not giving this priority status right now. As a side note, that last post was more about school than the actual day so that is over and done with, at least for now. I have enjoyed reading some of your blogs, even if I haven't left any comments. Thank you for continuing to stop by and see if anything is happening here.

Aarrggh!!

2007-01-04T21:16:00.000-05:00

There are some days when I could just start screaming. Thankfully they come scheduled, so I can prepare myself for them, and try to lessen the impact. Even still I wonder why I put myself through the pain. I'm so glad sugar is a legal, accepted, drug to help dull the pain.

A Few Decent Shots

2006-12-21T20:54:00.000-05:00

It is amazing what digitizing a picture will show up. I looked at the film first and some of them looked pretty good. Then I looked at the same picture on the cd and wow, what a difference. Grainy, blurry, red-eyed people, out of focus and generally disappointing. Oh well, guess I'll just have to practice more. So here a few shots to give you all an idea. I may put a few more up later but that won't be until at least next year. So here you all go.

The Bride and Groom

A Bit of an idea of the setting. An indoor botanical garden.

Three of the Bridesmaids. The one on the left is the Bride's sister and the one in the middle was my partner. Anne I believe.

The Flower Girl. She insisted (strongly) on picking up all the petals after the ceremony. Quite amusing.

And the cake. Not to much to say about that.

And finally just for fun a picture of one of the guests. Personally I think this one came out really well (except for the head turned away that is ;) )

Quick Update

2006-12-20T21:49:00.000-05:00

Just letting ya'll know that I'm back from my trip south. Ahh boy was it a good one! Incredible weather, wonderful georgia accents, seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and of course the wedding.

What pictures I took are currently being developed and will be coming with a picture cd, so hopefully before I leave for home on friday I'll put a few up for you'all to see. I wish I could have stayed down there in georgia longer so I could have seen several people I know down there, but with traveling with two others and having almost all my transportation taken care of, it was to good to pass up. So alas I'll just have to go down again sometime :)

Fascinating thing about the Christmas season: There is much, much more communication with people. I didn't check my email for five days and when I finally did, I had forty seven emails waiting for me! A personal record for me. Hope you're all having a great week getting ready for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ!

Just A Reminder...

2006-12-06T21:17:00.000-05:00

...that God really does, "watch over My Word to perform it." (Jer. 1:12)

Specifically the part about, "Bring the tithe into the storehouse...and I will open to you the windows of Heaven." (Mal. 3:10). How have I been reminded of this recently, you may ask. Well, this last Sunday I wrote a tithe check for the first time in three months. Yes I know, that is shocking but it wasn't because I was being a heathen and not giving them. There were legitimate reasons it was so long. However, needless to say it was a very large check and not one simply given away with no thought. One of the thoughts, as I put it into the tithes and offerings box, was 'Well God, you've made promises about giving and tithing and I put my trust in you and your promises.'

That was about 10am. Seven hours later I was on the phone with my boss finding out where I was working the next day. As we were wrapping the conversation, he brought up the subject of having a review (usually code for raise) within the next week. Not only that but he also mentioned my school reimbursement which I had sent in the paperwork for four months earlier. Coincidence? Maybe, but I think more likely God reminding me that He is involved personally in my (and our) life.

On a much sadder note, I admitted today that winter has pretty much begun. I've seen snow flurries, it has dropped below the freezing mark several times, I've had to scrape my windows in the morning, I've pulled out (and worn) my winter coat, the sun is going down at four; but today was the crowning event. I wore two pair of pants. Yes this morning I got up, went outside to start my car warming up and realized that my pair of jeans wasn't going to be good enough by themselves, I had to put on another pair underneath them. Sigh...the beginning of the end.
At least until April anyway.

Thanksgiving

2006-11-27T16:15:00.000-05:00

No, this isn't a report about my trip home for the holiday, rather it is my opportunity to publicly thank God for His blessings to me. I was realizing yesterday that I hadn't had any chance to publicly thank God, (thinking specifically meeting wise) because of traveling, but right on the heels of that thought was, 'Blogger is very public. Not to mention that you need to put up a new post.' So here I am killing two birds with one stone and being thankful to be able to do it that way.

I'm Thankful for... "

A family that I love and get along and enjoy spending time with.

Safety and protection for me in my car accident last January.
The fact that no one else was involved.

I had a new car within three weeks.

Two good friends of mine that are now happily married.
The great excuse their wedding made to take a vacation in Florida.

The opportunity to go sailing on several occasions during the summer.

Motorcycles classes that enabled me to obtain my motorcycle license.
A brother who let me borrow his motorcycle and ride it all over.

Work all spring and summer long, even when my employer had to subcontract me out.
A boss who is also a dedicated Christian, cousin, and friend.

The relationship that I have with my pastor.
The way God has blessed changing churches.

The wonderful place where I'm living. It is situated nicely, the price is right, and the landlord is very agreeable.

Friendships both new and old, as well as evolving ones.
IM'ing with friends.

My blog on which I can stay in touch, write down things so I don't forget them, and just have fun.

My music and Internet Radio.

Being introduced to Glenn Beck and doubling over in laughter during 'Mor-on Trivia'.

My camera, which even though I might not use much, still brings me joy through reliving memories.

Going to Six Flags Amusement Park with friends.

An Aunt and Uncle with an open invitation to their camp on a lake.
Doing a 18o and a couple of wicked jumps on a kneeboard with my dad watching.

Good health including not being grossly overweight.

Parents who raised me with common sense, and the ability to make good choices.

And to wrap things up: friends who can make me laugh and feel all warm and fuzzy at the same time. "

There are many other things that I could put down but I need to go to bed and that is a good general overall list so until later, Good night and God Bless.

At Last!

2006-11-18T22:20:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, the biggest reason for my lack of posts lately has not been laziness, business, or distractions. It has been simple lack of material. I'm not the type of guy who is going to tell you all about what I made for dinner, or how the other students in my class are twisted perverts, and I'm certainly not going to share all my thoughts and feelings about my love life (doesn't that make you wonder :-) ). However just a few minutes ago I finished doing something that is blogworthy enough for me.

For several years I've heard about how scary 'The Ring' is and for years I've wondered what it was like. Yesterday I picked it up at Blockbuster and just finished watching it tonight. Watching along, watching along, in my room, alone because my landlord (i.e. condo mate) is out, expecting jump scenes or really scary build-up's; but nothing happened. Sure there were some tense, expectant moments but nothing that stretched my nerves taut till they hummed like harp strings. It was just another drama. AND THEN, BOOM!! They hit you with a great surprise twist! It was enough to make me have to pause it, get up, open my door, turn on a couple of extra lights and start thinking about when my condo buddy would be coming back. I continued to watch, saw how they wrapped it up nice and neatly and then checked out some of the extras where they threw in a great alternate ending.

Now I'm not usually a fan of scary movies (I think many of you probably know why) but this was quite a treat. I'm not sure I would recommend watching alone at night, but don't be afraid to give it a try either, simply because of what you have heard. Not knowing who all reads this, I should give the caveat that it is rated PG-13 and does deserve this rating, so it isn't for everybody. However, I liked it; it fulfilled a long term desire of mine, so I blogged about it. If I can remember whether or not it bothers me tonight, I'll let you all know.

Lots of Fun

2006-11-08T15:35:00.000-05:00

The other day I was helping a buddy (i.e. co-worker) blow strings through pipes. We weren't doing this just for fun, there was actually a reason for it. Later in the year (who knows when) we would come back and use the strings to pull wire which we would hook all up to light up the road. Unfortunately when the pipe is initially installed it isn't always taken very good care of and all sorts of junk and debris get in. Such as the picture below.

Apparently either the end of the pipe wasn't sealed, or the joints were loose, or there was just a low spot where all the water collected in the ground. Whatever it was it made big problems for us. A minimum of eight gallons of water came pouring out of the top of the pipe and continued to pour for several seconds. Thankfully I could hear it travelling up so I wasn't near enough to get soaked (that time) Just another day at Electricians Inc.

Quick Clip From Work

2006-10-31T21:06:00.000-05:00

I'm realizing that I need to seriously reconsider my priorities. Staying in touch for example has slid to far down the list and needs to be re-prioritized. So in the name of staying in touch, a quick story from work.

Friday afternoon was a beautiful day. Sunny, warm, and dry with the weekend only moments away. And then opportunity came knocking. The job I'm currently at is almost completely all underground pipe work. To help us with this our company has rented to vehicles. An excavator, and a front-end loader. Now the guy who usually runs the front-end loader (FEL) had to leave and get some business done with the state before they all closed up. Unfortunately this left the rest of us with nothing to do. That is until the foreman asked if any of us had any experience with large equipment. I answered in the negative, but then added that I would love to learn. And the foreman agreed! So the next ten minutes was a lesson on how to operate the FEL and which levers did what. Then he sent me off on my own to start filling up a ditch with sand.

What a thrill! Even though I wasn't doing anything glamourous, sitting on top of so much power and being above all the people and vehicles was more than worth it. Back and forth, back and forth I went for the next two and a half hours filling up the ditch and doing my best not to hit anything or anyone. Today I found myself hoping that the normal operator would have to go and do something else so that I could drive the FEL again. So for those of you who wonder, operating big machines truly is as much fun as just watching them work.

Because I'm Lazy

2006-10-24T20:42:00.000-05:00

Even though I do have a post brewing in the back of my mind, too much time has gone by already to continue waiting for it to formulate. So as a desperation stop-gap measure here is something you may not have known about me.

You Communicate With Your Ears

You love conversations, both as a listener and a talker.
What people say is important to you, and you're often most affected by words, not actions.
You love to hear complements from others. And when you're upset, you often talk to yourself.
Music is very important to you. It's difficult to find you without your iPod.

How Do You Communicate?

Actually I don't have an Ipod, but I certainly do like to have music on wherever or whatever I'm doing.

Your Dosha is Kapha

Calm and grounded, you are not prone to mood swings or anger.
However, once you do get angry, it takes a lot to cool you down.
You tend to think a little slower than most people, but your logic is astounding.
Overall, you very loyal and trustworthy. You're not scared of being who you really are.

With friends: You enjoy their company, but often listen more than talk

In love: You crave connection and affection. It's hard for you to be single.

To achieve more balance: Exercise vigorously (especially in the sun) and let go of attachments.

What's Your Dosha?

bah humbug

2006-10-16T19:11:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for your birthday wishes and greetings. They made my day (and week). I want to write, so I sat down and started because I knew that there would be no other way that I could put up a new post. Unfortunately I don't actually have a subject or topic to write about. Last week, I was going to write about job worries, because my employer was seemingly putting all his eggs into one basket, and the future of that basket was very uncertain. But then before I actually put my thoughts into words, I heard the news that he had actually gotten the job, so now that is a moot subject. If I had sat down earlier today and written I would have put down many dark and depressing thoughts and emotions. But I didn't want to send out dark and depressing posts that others would read and maybe have it rub off on them. Also I knew that it was due in a large part of simply a lack of sleep, and I didn't want to give weight to things that didn't deserve it. So now I'm at an impass.

However, being who I am, I shall muster what courage I can, offer up a NEVERTHELESS and keep going. As much fun as riding a motorcycle is, there comes a point where you have to accept that seasons change and hang up your gear for the winter. That day for me was Sunday. After church on Sunday I went to my pastors house for lunch and a playdate with his kids, and then walked down to my brothers and took off on his bike. Helmet, jacket, jeans, and boots, but I forgot to grab my gloves. It was less than ten minutes later that I turned around and headed back to put them on. It was just to cold without them. Even with them, I didn't stay out much longer as it simply wasn't comfortable enough to make it worth it. It will just have to wait for next year, I guess. Maybe then I'll have my own. I'll admit to wanting one more and more.

Does anyone have a scanner that they want to sell me? I have a bunch of pics that I want to put on my computer, with no way to do it at present. Last several times I've looked in office stores all they have had are multi funtion machines which I don't want. So if you have one you're looking to get rid of, let me know and we can talk.
Hey, what do you know? I just finished writing a post. I knew if I got started something would happen. :)

RollerCoastering

2006-10-03T20:27:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was very eventful and lest I forget too much, herein lies a record. Though only an abbreviated record because I'm far to private to reveal all.

My mom has a very dear friend. So dear, that growing up I and my siblings called her Aunt, though she was no blood relation. A sort of Godmother I guess you could say. She had a testimony once, after going through some hard times about some of her closest friends. Deep water friends she called them. Based on Psalm 69:15 I believe. Even though I'm young and haven't gone through much of life yet, last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing that I have many deep water friends that I can count on in both the present and the future. Whether relational deep waters, or spiritual, or simply natural things that come along, I know that I am blessed in the friends that I have.

I know that I have said similar things to this before, but through different meetings, get togethers, and one on one talks with friends I have been reminded of what I have, that so many of my peers don't; or at least have in a different way.

I'de like to go on and write more but there just isn't enough that I could say to write about in this setting. Times like this I almost wish that I kept a journal, but considering how well I do at updating here, I only laugh at the idea.

Busy, Busy, Dreadfully Busy

2006-09-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

Normally I would have posted sooner than this, but my life has once again decided to pick up the pace and devour my free time. I am now working full time (thank God), school has started up which brings not only classes but homework as well, and this week is also when my church's tri-annual (three times a year, not every third year) convention is held, so I'm going over there when I can. So even though there are several things I could blog about, such as observing weddings in a park, or the experience of having my hair highlighted, or ruining a pot of pea soup, I'm not going to do any of that. I'm just going to make excuses instead. :)

The Final Results!

2006-09-16T08:06:00.000-05:00

Another warning to those slightly squeamish. Pictures from the last post are on here, so if you don't like snakes. Don't read past the poll results.

After two weeks the hair poll is now closed. After several minutes of intense of vote counting, recounting, and checking for hanging chads the results are all in. Using both the poll results and the many comments I give you now the top three results.

In third place, four votes for bleaching. (I'm not really sure why people voted this way, being a blond I don't think it would actually do anything).

In second place with seven votes, natural red.

And in first place with nine votes, leaving it blond!

Since the race was so close, and the results were for information only-not the actual action. I've decided that the final dye should be natural red highlights. I have the name of a reputable establishment, so with any luck this next week the deed will be done. And yes I will post pictures showing before and afters. Thanks to you all for your co-operating and opinions.

Since blogger wouldn't cooperate earlier here are some pictures that should have gone with the last post.
The group at the fair.

A picture or two of the snake.

And finally a picture of my new helmet.

A Killer Weekend

2006-09-13T15:36:00.000-05:00

As a commenter so aptly pointed out, Monday's tomorrow has come and gone with no new post. However yesterday's tomorrow IS here so here is a new post. And as a warning to those who are slightly squeamish, the killer part comes into play half way through Sunday.

This last whole weekend was an absolute delight. Friday I stayed up past midnight reading (something I haven't done in ages) and then early Saturday (after a refreshing nights sleep) I got up, went into the kitchen and starting cooking. Normally cooking is as much work as it is fun, but this time I was making two recipes that I had been putting off for several weeks, so I was greatly looking forward to them. First I whipped together a banana bread recipe (thanks to kadida, who put it in the kcm cookbook) put it safely in the oven and started in on an Orange Creme Cheesecake. An hour later that was setting in the fridge and I got cleaned up to go out with friends. I had to cut the time close however because of the baking bread, so as soon as that was done, I grabbed it and headed out the door to meet up with my brother and cousins to go to the county fair.

It was a great surprise to find not just my brother and cousins waiting for me but also three of my friends as well who I didn't know would be there. Off we went to the fair. Several hours were joyously spent walking around seeing the sights, smelling the scents and enjoying the different activities; which included supporting another of our friends as she ran for state office. And there was of course the food! Since I was feeling so ebullient that I decided to try a couple of new things. A buffalo hot dog (very tasty, made me want to try more buffalo products) and fried dough. Good, though over hyped in my opinion. After several hours some of us finished up the time by square dancing. I however sat it out as I had to watch my three year old cousin. Not that I would have gone up even if I didn't have a cousin to watch.

Once we got back to Lindsay's place we decided to start playing some games. However before we could begin, I got a phone call inviting me to go sailing. Not wanting to leave my friends, I at first declined then things happened so that everybody got invited. We all excitedly accepted [admittedly some more excitedly than others :)] Off we sent, six friends, one captain, and the helmsman, a neighbor friend of the captain. It was a beautiful sailing conditions (at least in this landlubbers opinion). Partly sunny, breezy, and calm seas. Out we sailed, (not making use of the motor except at the very beginning to get us out of the marina) enjoying the day, each others company and the banana bread. We had been out just a little over an hour, before we saw a dark line of storm clouds approaching with rain and lighting in their midst. Deciding that we didn't want to go on and be killed on the high seas we turned around and started to go back under full sail. However it wasn't to be an easy trip. Part way back, the rain started falling, the wind starting blowing hard and the lightning started flashing right nearby. I won't bother going into the details of our struggles to pull in the sails, get them under wraps, and switch over to motor power. Motoring in with the rain pelting me in the face, lightning flashing all about me, and the wind whistling in my ears I felt like a true sailor laughing in the face of danger as I sailed my ship fearlessly on. Not that I was actually doing any of the sailing, it just felt that way. We got back to the marina a bit after sundown and by the time we got home we all went our separate ways.

Sunday the winning streak continued. A good service at church, a great church lunch afterward, seeing a cousin and his family who I hadn't seen for quite some time, and some lazy afternoon activites when I got home. Then I recieved a call that made the day so much better. A week or so ago Ryan wrote a post about some snake that he was thinking about catching. I volunteered to give him a hand if he ever wanted help. Thus the call. Over I rushed, for what makes for a better day that hunting and killing that which we are biblically told is our enemy. Off we went weilding our weapons of doom (a croquet mallet for Ryan and a hoe for me), however the snake wasn't were it usually was. After a few minutes of beating the grass to try and scare it into the open, we decided to broaden our area of hunting. And minutes of fruitless hunting, I happened to glance over and there not more than four feet away was The Snake! Calling Ryan over we approached carefully, then struck. Whack went the hoe, smack-smack went the mallet and the enemy was conquered.

Donning gloves just to be carefull, we gathered up our prey and took it back to the house for measuring, showing off and bragging, and pictures. The monster measured in at 46 inches long and 5&1/2 inches around! Needless to say, we both were very proud and many pictures were taken. Some of which are shown below. I then had dinner and went home feeling very proud of myself. I found out later that the snake wasn't actually dead. (The whole time we were handling it and moving it, it was alive simply stunned or something. It had to be re-killed the next day by Ryan and his siblings.)

Finally to wrap up the whole shower of blessings, Monday I recieved the motorcycle helmet that I had ordered, and I got the news that I would start working full time again. Truly, I don't think that the weekend could have been any better.

Hurrah for lots of Stuff!

2006-09-10T19:26:00.000-05:00

I believe somewhere out there in the music world there is a piece of a song with these words, "Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love you tomorrow." That's about all that I can remember of it, but it is quite fitting for the way I feel right now. Not to mention I'm also loving today as well as yesterday.

Why, you ask. Well tomorrow holds the promise of a new blog, pictures of adventures from today, and the near end of part time work. Hurrah for wonderful weekends!

Change Is In the (h)Air

2006-09-02T12:35:00.000-05:00

This is a post that I have been thinking about for several months and have only just gotten up the nerve to put up. My life has gotten very predictable and ruttish, so much so that I feel a great need to do something about it. So short of quitting my job, buying a motorcycle and touring the nation, this was the next best thing I thought of. For 22&1/2 years I have been a blond. (Not valley girl blond, just hair color). Only once have I changed my hair and that was to deep, dark, solid black. It was a pretty big change; but one that I enjoyed. So I have decided to once again dye my hair. Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure yet what color so I'm asking for your help. For the next two weeks the poll on the right will be open for anyone to vote. The results are anonymous so don't worry about consequences :) Vote what you'de really like to see. Once the deed is done I'll post a couple of pictures showing the new color and what it looks like. Happy sabbath to you all.

Here are some pics to give you an idea of what I look like, both as a blond and darkie.

(With thanks to Kristi) I'm the blond in the blue shirt

2006-08-27T14:32:00.000-05:00

In answer to your many questions, I give you these

Answers.

I Sail, I Sail

2006-08-23T17:22:00.000-05:00

Please excuse the delay, my "borrowed" internet connection was temporarily unavailable so I had to wait. Though I must say, it has been very revealing. I had no idea you all were so desperate for entertainment that you have sunk to the level of clamoring for me to post. :) However I digress.

Sunday started just like any other Sunday with me rushing around mismanaging the time before I had to leave for church. The grey, overcast, and chilly morning was not a favorable portent to the coming day. However my expectations were all thrown head over heels in the space of just a few seconds. While waiting for the main meeting to start, my brother's boss walked up to me and asked, "If the weather clears up, would you be interested in going sailing this afternoon?" I simply laughed it off right then because there seemed no way the weather was going to break. However, as I sat through the meeting helping watch over my cousins, the idea grew and soon filled my thoughts with promises of new and exciting adventure!
Afterward, before we went our separate ways, I approached (let's just call him E.) E. and told him that if he were serious, and if the skies cleared, I would be more than happy to join him on his vessel. Before I even arrived home, I received the call telling me plans were proceeding full steam ahead.

The sailing party ending up being composed of four men. E- the captain, Steve- the steersman, Frank- the fisherman, and myself- the navigator. Yes, I was given the awefull (please don't think I misspelled that) task of making sure that we didn't sail into any rocks hidden below the murky depths of the ocean water. As well as try to keep us roughly pointing toward our goal. From the moment we started out I knew it was going to be a great trip. Motoring out of the harbour, into the bay, wasn't too much different from trips I'd taken with others, but then we reached the sea and unfurled the sails. I probably should say here that that was the first I've ever been on a boat of that size, and pretty much the first being out on the ocean in a boat. What a thrill! Up and down, riding up a crest, slipping down into the trough, and then crashing through the next oncoming swell. As long as we were going against the waves all was fine, but then the trip took a slight turn for the worse. The captain decided to make for a known shoal where the fisherman could employ his skills. However we had to make a course adjustment to get there and that adjustment put us parallel to the waves. Now instead of going up and down, we were going up, down, and side to side. As I was trying desperately to let the pilot know where he needed to go (much easier said than done, as the G.P.S. varied every time we were rolled by a wave) I had to repeatedly look up and gulp in lungfulls of air to keep from getting too queasy. After fighting bravely against the wind and the waves Captain E. decided in the interest of time that we should turn back and choose another destination.

Once we turned around things went much smoother. Even though my stomach was knotted up pretty tight, I thought it would be fine since it wasn't queasy. Unfortunately I was wrong. After offering my lunch to Poseidon I felt much better. Lest you all think me weak, let me hasten to inform you that a) there was a small vessel advisory on warning people not to go out, and b) it wasn't smooth calm waters. Listening to the coast guard report we heard them say 6-7 foot swells. Seeing the sea meet the sky for more than 180 degrees of the horizon made me wonder about the people who sailed across the Atlantic and what they had to go through back in the day. I regetted that I had never had the opportunity to go on the Coronet when she still went out on trips. On the way back I had the pleasure of experiencing 'tacking'. There wasn't much to set it apart from sailing in a straight line, but following our trail on the G.P.S. and seeing the boat actually making the manuevers brought the theoretical to reality. Finally we made it back into protected waters where we motored to a quiet, shallow spot and had a spot of dinner. The day was finished off with fishing, napping, and relaxing on board. At last with night fast overtaking evening we motored back to the marina, battened down the hatches, and generally made the boat ship-shape before heading home. A little chilled, but none the worse for wear thankfull for the experience.

Now I realize that this may not have been the great news you all were hoping for, but I have had a very slow last couple of weeks, so you'll excuse me if I used hooks to large for the bait, but every now and then I enjoy seeing what, or who, I can catch. To make up for it though here is some news I recieved while in the middle of writing this. I was just invited to be a groomsman. There, if one of these two events doesn't warrant the build up not much else will.

At Long Last

2006-08-21T19:34:00.000-05:00

As the title suggests something finally happened that was even remotely blog worthy. Yes, I could have filled the ether with lines about reading in the park, or getting sunburned, but the boring everyday humdrum isn't intriguing enough for me to get excited about writing. However yesterday a grand event came along and inspired me to heights of publication rarely seen before on this page! However, I'm tired, out of practice, and need to go to bed so it will just have to wait for another day. Maybe tomorrow:)

Water Boy

2006-08-04T13:24:00.000-05:00

Well I know that I said the last one was only temporary, so I'de better hurry and get the real one posted.

Once again I have realized that summer for me isn't ice cream, watermelon, or fireworks. It is simply water. Whether it is lying on a sunny sandy beach next to the ocean, or riding in a boat on top of a placid lake, or even simply floating in a pool with friends, my summer isn't complete without it.

Two weeks ago I was in Maine enjoying my Uncle and Aunt's all year camp on a lake. Ten minutes after arriving I hopped into one of their kayaks and started paddling around. Even though it was just a short ride (maybe ten minutes) it immediately started the tension, stress, and ill feeling flowing away. An hour or so later my uncle, dad, and I went out in the power boat to do a little riding and sporting.

Regardless of being out of shape and very out of practice, it was just about the best part of the summer ever (only the trip to florida topped it). We started off with tubing which is always a classic and when you have a clear lake and a good driver it is one of the greatest watersports ever. After several harrowing runs, impressive wipeout, and courageous triumphs, we took a break and just did some cruising.
Then I was introduced to a most incredible new (to me) sport. Kneeboarding! Similar to a bodyboard it has a padded section in the middle on which you sit with your legs underneath you. It definitely takes some effort to get established, but once you're on, hang on because you're in for a ride. Riding out to the sides, jumping the wake, and even spinning 180's and 360's! I can't say I was perfect, but I did a couple of impressive tricks, and got some serious air on a couple of jumps. We were out for several hours and when we got back I told my uncle, 'Now my summer is complete.'
(The only drawback was the next day, when I was sore all day long and felt totally beat up).

This last week (where it has been so hot) I, my brother, and my cousin have been able to spend some quality bonding time in a friend's pool. Sometimes nothing more than floating motionless, cooling off, hits exactly the right spot. And then every now and then it needs some spicing up with dives, cannonballs, or noodle wars.Not to mention silly pranks like throwing someone else's clothes in the water while they aren't looking.

So even though it is said that the way to a mans heart is through his stomach, I say just toss me in a lake and I'll be a happy man. Uummm, that doesn't sound quite right. Just buy me a kayak and that will be good. :-)

A Temporary Fill In

2006-07-30T20:47:00.000-05:00

It has been a pretty slow week which as with all things in life has its own list of pros and cons. However I get depressed whenever I look at that last post so until I give myself time to think about putting a new one together, here is a good cop out. Even though Cyclops is cool, I have to admit that unlike me he (at least in the movie) is a bit of a wuss. I guess nobody's perfect, even super human mutants.

You Are Cyclops

Dedicated and responsible, you will always remain loyal to your cause.
You are a commanding leader - after all, you can kill someone just by looking at them.

Power: force beams from your eyes

Which of the X-Men Are You?

Sure Signs of a Bad Day

2006-07-21T19:48:00.000-05:00

You know you're having a bad day when...

1. Your boss yells at you to call 911, without you knowing where he is, what is going on, or why you are dialing in an emergency.

2. You screw up a buildings electrical service badly enough to potentially start a major electrical fire.

3. You find out that while you were trying to burn down the building you fried many expensive electronic machines, including tv's, stoves, computers, and the like. Exact damage unknown but likely in the thousands.

4. You are so shaken/upset/angry at yourself that the thought of retying a ladder to the top of a van starts you crying.

5. And (for some people) having your boss say nothing at all, good or bad, so you have no idea what is going through his mind.

Ways that same day could have been worse...

1. It could have been raining.

2. You could have been shocked seriously, or hurt someone inside.

3. You could have started an actual electrical fire.

4. You could have been fired on the spot.

5. You would have had to replace everything out of pocket instead of being covered by your employers insurance.

May none of you ever have a day like that. Oy vei!

An Uninterested Update

2006-07-16T20:09:00.000-05:00

There is a reason why I'm updating, but it has nothing to do with comments or wanting to tell news. I just happen to be tired of looking at the same three lines at the top of the page. So to take their place here is something new.

Since last week, I have been working for my cousin. Now I still have the same employer, he just doesn't have enough work to keep me busy so I'm being rented out. Now this is the same cousin who got me started as an electrician two year ago, so we know each other fairly well and get along very well. He is also a pastor and as such doesn't work a typical forty hour work week, thus a very big change of pace as the last four month have been an almost constant march of overtime work weeks. I for one have been enjoying it.

Also to mix things up a little bit, my condo buddy has moved south for the month so I have the place all to myself. It certainly has its perks, but at the same time there are certain things I miss being all by myself.

And to wrap things up, I actually got to ride my brothers motorcycle this weekend! I can finally say that I have actually ridden a bike, not just toodled around a parking lot. Not much, but enough to get a taste for it. Maybe next summer I'll be writing about buying my own. We'll see.

A Dim Path

2006-07-08T21:59:00.000-05:00

EYES FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE.

UNABLE TO FULLY ENJOY THE PRESENT.

WAITING FOR THE UNKNOWN.

Welcome Back to Me

2006-06-25T19:52:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for participating in my scientific experiment. I decided to wait and see how long I could not write before I got a new comment. Unfortunately for the experiment, I've gotten bored of waiting so here is a new post anyway.

Last weekend I participated in some exciting classes. These had nothing to do with electricity; rather, they were motorcycle riding classes! Starting friday night and going through Sunday afternoon we covered all the basics. Rules of the road, how to operate a bike, basic riding: turning, swerving, riding over animals, and the like.
Even though it was a lot of fun it was also slightly nerve wracking. Mostly thinking about the whole crashing on pavement part. However everyone who stuck with the entire weekend graduated. Unfortunately there was one woman who wasn't comfortable enough, and left partway through saturday. That evening I went out and bought ice cream and a trunkful of soda to celebrate.

Then today I got out of work a little early so I went to the DMV and had my licence marked with a motorcycle endorsement. Now according to the great state of New Hampshire I can legally operate a motorcycle on the roads. What a great country we live in :-)

Now all I have to do is find a bike I can borrow from someone else.

Groovy No More

2006-06-15T19:08:00.000-05:00

I'm struggling to find a balance between just writing to garner sympathy and putting down events so they don't get forgotten. This last week has been very expensive for me. Last Friday some of my power tools were stolen. I was hoping that they had just been moved, but after looking for over twenty minutes, asking several others to keep their eyes open, and not having anyone hand them in, I went ahead and replaced it all. One hundred and forty, and counting, to buy a new battery and charger for my drill. I haven't replaced the drill bits yet, so that will be even more when I do. Needless to say I was very angry at people in general for being capable of such low-down dirty nonsensical selfishness.

Then last night my car broke down, and had to get towed to a garage to be fixed. Thankfully I have AAA (I would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have it. More than worth the membership cost). It was fixed today for over four hundred, but with any luck will keep running for some time without any problems. Hopefully. And because of this I had to miss work today, so that just pours salt into the wound.

Thank God though that He has been providing for all these needs so everything is taken care of. And I have this coming weekend to look forward to. Friends always make things better. Plus the weather has been absolutely wonderful which is always a huge plus. Sometimes it just isn't worth being angry over some things. You can't change anything by it, and it only makes the day worse, or at least that's what I've found. Besides I don't want ulcers by the time I'm thirty. So cheer up, relax, and believe that God is in control taking care of it all.

Feeling Groovy

2006-06-11T20:48:00.000-05:00

Today I got lost. It was sunny for the first time in quite a while, so I decided to go take a bike ride. Nothing to long, just a chance to stretch my legs. So I got out my map, planned my route and took off. Unfortunately I missed one of my turns and ended up going way out of my way. No big deal in a car, but when you're on a bicycle it turns into quite a larger problem. I had only been planning on about a thirty minute ride, but by the time I got home, just over an hour had passed. I'm lucky I happened upon a convenient gas station, otherwise who know where I would have ended up. Now that I'm back, I feel great. I highly recommend getting lost and spending extra time exercising out of doors. Close to the best thing that happened this weekend.

I'm not sure if I will get any wedding photos up, since I don't have a scanner, but I will continue to try and find a way. However, it will probably be a while.

W.C. out!

Tidbits

2006-06-04T17:32:00.000-05:00

If you are reading this you most likely know that Memorial Day Weekend a wedding happened in florida. Yes I know, lots of weddings probably took place under those circumstances, but just one in particular is of any import to me. Because I was invited to attend this wedding I ended up spending a week down in sunny Tampa Florida. Now I could just give you all a boring report of what activity happened on what day, but instead I thought that I would tell bits and pieces of interesting happenings.

For example, Wednesday morning when I was standing in line waiting to check my bags at the airport an older gentleman looked over at me and said, "I like your shirt, I have six or seven of the same one at home." At the time I was wearing my 'Be a hero Give Blood' t'shirt. We started talking and come to find out he started giving blood in the 1950's and has been doing it regularly ever since. He told me that he had been honored recently as the largest donor in New England; I believe he said twenty eight gallons! He encouraged me to keep at it and we went on our different ways. A week later at the Tampa airport I saw another man wearing the exact same shirt. He had several small children with him so I didn't talk with him, but it was interesting non the less.

Saturday (the day of the wedding) a rather unusual thing happened. I was threatened with something akin to bodily harm. What made it unusual was that it was the bride who was doing the threatening! I was wearing a pair of pajama pants underneath my khakis and she wanted the khakis off and the pj's completely exposed. If I didn't, well what she was threatening to do was to awful to describe here. Unfortunately I wasn't man enough to stand up to her and make her go through with her threat. I guess I'll never know now if she was woman enough to do what she said she would.

Monday I went on a kayaking trip down the Hillsborough river that runs through Tampa. I saw a couple of alligators, lots of birds, and even a wildcat. The most interesting part however was when I thought that I was about to get stuck in quicksand like mud and not make it out alive. As I was paddling down the river I began to quickly run out of water to stay afloat in, so naturally I got out and started to pull the boat behind me through the shallows. Unnaturally after two steps I started to sink in the mud and muck up to my knees, and the more effort I put into getting out of that step would only propel my next step deeper. I hate to admit it, but I came as close to panicing as I've been in a very long time. I only made it out by wrapping my upper body around the kayak while scooching along on my shins. (More surface area so less sinking action). It didn't help that I had just passed a flock of about eighty buzzards or saw a dead fish floating along either. Neither of those things tend to lend themselves to a stable frame of mind. The rest of the trip was incredible though.

The next day I went to Busch Gardens and totally scrambled my mind riding roller coasters. It was probably a good thing I was alone because then nobody I knew could hear me scream :) And scream I did! I haven't been on a roller coaster in at least six years and I did my best to make up for lost time. I didn't take very good care of myself though, and got dehydrated part way through the day, leading to an empty stomach and nasty headache. However I persevered, went on, and overcame, going on another two rides before I left.

The last day I was there I went to the beach and tried to relax. That was harder than I could have imagined though. Between friends texting me, telling me that they were bored at work, and a older woman telling me to make sure I put on enough sunscreen. She was worried because she had seen people just like me have to be Carried off the beach looking just like lobsters!

Hopefully the next post will have a few pictures of these different things, but until then let me just say that it was wonderful seeing you all again, hanging out with you and just basking in the warm southern sun.

*EDIT*

I almost forgot one of the coolest bits. Right after landing in Tampa on the way down as I was walking towards the baggage claim who should I run into but my cousins the Knowles family! Their flight had just happened to arrive at the same time with neither of us having any idea that the other was there. We exchanged hugs and hellos and then talked while waiting to pick up our luggage. Coincidence or Providence? You be the judge of that.

Short and Sweet

2006-05-31T19:25:00.000-05:00

Hey Everybody,

Just a quick note to let you all know that I made it home safely, mostly none the worse for wear. I may have a slight case of sunburn, and I totally didn't get enough sleep, and I have to work tomorrow, but that is a-ok because I just spent a week in sunny florida with a bunch of my friends having gobs of fun. I will certainly be doing a write up probably this weekend but right now, I'm just going to clean up and go to bed! :)

Double Deuce!

2006-05-20T12:04:00.000-05:00

I really don't feel like writing right now, well technically for the last four days, but because I know that you my loyal fan base are waiting for my next words I will overcome my apathy and fight manfully towards the goal of an exceedingly wonderful post; or at least a mediocre one.

As usually happens on a job where the same people are there for the majority of the time a sense of comradiere springs up. Unfortunately (at least for me) part of this comradiere includes the assigning of nicknames. I told you about the last job where I was ponyboy, whitey, and drink boy. Well now that I'm at a new job I have a new nickname. One of my foremen is Blackhawk, some of my co-workers are Red Hawk, Black Bear, and Brown Eagle. And then there is me... White Rabbit. Surrounded by fierce carnivores, the White Rabbit comes hippity-hopping down the bunny trail, sigh. I'm not entirely sure how I received the honor of this name, though I've tried to get it changed to White Tiger. Unfortunately to no avail, it has been used enough now that it has stuck. Thankfully most of these nicknames are like temporary tattoos. They don't normally last more than a couple of weeks, and practically never go beyond a certain job site. Here's hoping.

Now the main reason that I don't like this nickname is because it will totally destroy my credibility when I realize my lifelong dream of joining a motorcycle gang. That's right, I am now on my way to becoming a certifiable member of some punk-ugly, inner city, thugish 'cycle gang. At the end of June I will be taking classes to learn how to operate a motorcycle and hopefully earn my license to drive one. It will be approximately a twenty hour course of both classwork and driving practice. Even though I'm not planning on getting my own motorcycle I am really looking forward to knowing how and being able to drive one. So look out world 'cause here I come!

What are the Odds?

2006-05-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was working inside of a large electrical panel (large enough that I could have stood inside it if it were empty) stripping wires and connecting them. The insulation around the wires was quite thick and hard to strip so I was pressing real hard on the knife to make it go through. Thankfully when my hand slipped I didn't cut myself, but I did severely whack my fingertip on a circuit breaker. I apparently broke a blood vessel because there is now a discolored spot under my nail and my finger is very sensitive. Now I'm wondering if there will be any affect to the nail. I'm pretty sure it isn't severe enough to make it fall off, but who know, maybe I'll get really unlucky. Don't worry, you'll all be the first to know if it does. You may even get a picture out of it :)

Other than that, all I have to say is that I miss the sun. Two days of clouds is more than enough for me.

Bragging Rights

2006-05-03T20:22:00.000-05:00

This is going to stay a short post. Partly because I need to be in bed, and also partly to balance out the last one.

I just want to say that after 11 months of slogging through it, I have finally finished reading 'War and Peace'!!! It was truly a struggle of titanic proportions, but I have conquered the unconquerable and joined the ranks of the priviledged few. If it weren't for the spreading out or my odd inability to put down a book once I've started it, I don't know if I could have done it, but with time and the encouragement of others it was completed. I think it will be quite a while before I attempt anything close to that long again. :)

And as a postscript here is a fullfillment of a bargain. I let curiousity get the better of me so here is a little game. Leave your name or id yourself somehow in a comment and...
1. I'll respond with something I like about you.
2. I'll tell you what song or movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll ask you a question.
4. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
5. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
6. I'll describe our final fight to the death.
7. If I do this for you, you must post this on your blog.

Goings On

2006-04-29T17:24:00.000-05:00

It is pretty amazing how fast time can fly by when you are busy, distracted, lazy, and unimaginitive. However today being my day off (i.e. the Sabbath) with no distractions or obligations I thought that perhaps I should update my blog.

The last several weeks though busy haven't been overly exciting. No big events to exclaim over and write about have happened, so mostly this post will be filled with odd little anecdotes.

Two Sunday ago was an interesting day. The Saturday night before I had stayed up till midnight baking for the coming Easter preparations, first of which was a sunrise service. Because of this I only got less than five hours of sleep. Even though the first service was at a strange church the connection with fellow believers was very encouraging. Because of where I work and the size of my church I have a tendency to feel alone as a christian and it is good for me (and all of us) to be reminded that that isn't true. A few hours later at my regular church we had a great breakfast together and then the usual worship service. Unfortunately my lack of sleep decided to kick in right then and to my great embarresment I have no recollection of the meeting because I was otherwise engaged :) Oh yes, I should also mention here that I also threw a raw egg at my sister that morning. If it had been hard boiled, as I supposed it was, she would have caught it rather handily. As it was, she simply shattered the shell and sent egg guts flying everywhere. Thankfully the day ended on a much higher note with an Easter dinner at my cousin's house.

I also found out that people still like me. Within the last several weeks I have recieved three different invitations to various events. A wedding, a dinner, and a volunteer opportunity. Needless to say I was honored to accept them all. Isn't it affirming to recieve that sort of thing in the mail? In these days of near-instant communication when something comes in the mail it almost lends it more weight because more time and expense have been taken to let you know that you are thought of.

I'm finding also that however hard I try to live spartanly my possesions just seem to keep growing. I just joined up with a dvd club and recieved my intial shipment of eight. Sometimes entertainment can be such a burden.

Last weekend I helped out at my church which was hosting a youth weekend. Overall it went extremely well. There were about 15 girls and 4 boys. I felt rather bad for the boys being outnumbered so badly, but they all seemed to have great time anyway. :)
I was one of the team leaders during the time and I have to say that we pretty much cleaned up due to having a very skills balanced team. I also got to watch 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' again. I would highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

That weekend was also a big first for me. It was my first side job as an electrian! Even though I was simply taking down some old florescent lights and putting up some paddle fans in a slightly different location it was a pretty big deal. I now know that these last two years haven't been a complete waste and I have actually learned a little bit of electrical theory and practical application.

Another area of firsts for me has been in preparing to travel to my friend's wedding. All of my previous travel experience has been arranged by others, and now I am having to do it for both myself and my brother. Even though it is rather stressfull and challenging it is also enjoyable at the same time. I know that I need the experience and that I won't get it any other way except by doing it. Also this way, once it is over I will have that much more confidence to do even more on my own. I made it to Nova Scotia, I'm (hopefully :) ) going to make it to florida, and who knows what after that!

And that is more than enough about me. So I will finish by saying that I now have a new carpooling buddy. He is very quiet and usually keeps to himself. The only thing that I have learned about him so far is that his name is Oscar and that he is exceedingly generous. Everytime I get into the car he greets me with a present. I think he might have low self esteem issues, not that I can hardly blame him. To put it nicely he won't be winning any beauty contests soon, if ever. I think he gets car sick real easily as well because he is almost always green looking. He has a great sense of rythm though, and is always making noise whenever I play music. I say making noise because he has this odd way of banging his legs together and making a tinking sound. In case your wondering just what kind of fellow he is, he agreed to let me take his picture so here is Oscar.

'Nough said. And as a great way to end this post, here is a quote from Jane Austen's novel, 'Northanger Abbey'. "A woman, especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can." Aren't the classics great? :-)

Coming Soon

2006-04-24T20:19:00.000-05:00

*BEEP*

Please excuse the delay. The last three days I have been disconnected from web access, so that is one of my excuses :) Another one is that although I have a half formed idea in my head it hasn't coalesced enough to become a post. Hopefully within the next couple of days one will be forth coming. Thank you for your patience. To leave a message click on the link below.

*BEEP*

Hope of New Life

2006-04-15T16:48:00.000-05:00

I realize that it is Easter and that most people will be doing some sort of Thanks to God post or Happy Easter post of one knd or another. It is definitely a good idea and one which can be done just about any possible way. I've decided to combine my Easter post with another post idea that has been going around in my head for quite a while.

One of my friend's friend enjoys taking pictures of sunsets, and does a great job at it. The only problem I have with sunsets is that they end in darkness. The black night wins out and only the dim cold light of the stars is left. Sunrises on the other hand, start with the blossoming beauty of the rising sun and then it gets continually brighter and cheerier. The darkness of night is finished and conquered. One of the best benifits of my job is that I am priviledged to see many of these sunrises as I travel to work. Lately with my cell phone I have been able to capture a few of them however badly. This Easter I would like to share a few of them as we think about Jesus rising from the dead early in the morning.

What must have the glory of that morning been like? Surely all of creation was rejoicing over the triumph of the King over the grave.

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory" (1 Cor. 15:55)

Wishing you all a Happy Easter as we remember the new life that Jesus gives freely to all.

Of Hands and Heartattacks

2006-04-07T17:08:00.000-05:00

Several days ago I was surfing the world of internet posting and I stumbled across a site where a man said that he had had a troubling dream the night before. Being a victim of troubling dreams myself, I left a comment saying that if he told it I would describe my latest and we could compare. Well he has, and so to keep my word, not to mention I have nothing else to post about, here is the latest adventure from the mind of W.C.

Many moons ago, while sleeping peacefully in my bed, I was visited by three spirits. Wait, that's not the right story. Here's the right one.

During the night I found myself in that half awake state, where you are aware of your surroundings but as soon as you turn over, you fall right back asleep. This happens occasionally and usually I just turn over and go back to sleep. This time though something was different. Even though I was half asleep I could feel a hand gripping my arm! In case you don't know me I am single, sleep alone, and don't share my bed with anyone, so this was completely out of the ordinary. As soon as I became aware of the hand I had the instant knowledge that this was a dead, disembodied hand that was clasping my arm! In a split second I was wide awake, and perched at the foot of my bed, having jumped there screaming before I even realized what I was doing. As I crouched there looking frantically for the unattached arm in the dim moonlight, it slowly sank in after several seconds that there was no way an arm could be in my bed and it must have been a dream. Even after that it took me a while to convince myself that it was safe to lie back down.

Thankfully I have had enough night time terrors like this to be able to go back to sleep fairly easily. However the memory of the certainty that I had continues to haunt me, making me wonder if it wasn't more than just a simple dream. Thank God that whatever it be whether dreams or giants we can have prefect peace in the blood of Jesus.

Flying High

2006-03-31T20:54:00.000-05:00

This should have been posted last night, but I was to busy celebrating so tonight will have to do.

Several happy things have happened to me within the last several days so there was good cause to celebrate heartily. First, several weeks ago I had bought a stereo deck for my car. It was a big upgrade from the factory installed radio. Being the electrician wannabe that I am, I decided to test my wiring skills and try to put it in my myself. On my first try I forgot several wires and it didn't work at all. However, Wednesday, after being inspired by my brother to work on it, I grabbed my flashlight and started wiring madly in the dark. Forty minutes later, I reconnected the battery and was greeted by the sound of the stereo powering up. It totally made my night. Not only had I been validated as an electrian but also as a car mechanic. You guys will probably understand this, but it was one of those times when you feel all grown up and manly.

Secondly, with working ten hour days I have the option of either working overtime fridays, or taking them off. This week I decided right at the very beginning to take it off. It ended up being the perfect day to take off, too. Sunny, just breaking the seventies (hard to imagine I know, but New England isn't always cold) and no pressing issues to weigh me down. Even though I had a list of things I wanted to get done none of them were high priority so it didn't matter much if they got done or not. It was a great day of relaxing. That was a big boost all through the week looking forward to today.

Thirdly and most happily of all, last night was my last day of school for the year!! Part of the electrical training up here in N.H. is 144 hours of school a year for four years. Last night I successfully completed 147 hours for my second year, which means that I am half way done my entire schooling! I was/am so psyched!No more having to carefully schedule my life around my school, no more racing home and deciding if dinner or a shower was more important (usually the shower won out), one less deadline to be constantly meeting. These two years have sped by and give me hope and courage for the coming ones that they can't be any worse. Of course now I have to see if I can gather up the willpower to study on my own over the summer. But even if I don't, I'm still halfway done, WOOOHOOOO!!!

On top of that I'm full of caffeine and sugar, I just cooked something in my crockpot, I have plans to cook more tomorrow, and I deposited my federal tax refund today. It is tough to beat that. Truly my cup is overflowing.

Nationality Jokes

2006-03-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

Even though it is no longer supposed to be funny to make fun of other nationalities, we all know that those are some of the best kinds of jokes. The other day in class somehow people got started on telling jokes and the teacher came up with two jems. Since he himself is Polish (his last name is Sazlejeski) I feel more than free to pass these on.

Why do all the Polish names end in 'ski?

Because toboggan is too hard to spell.

What is the longest road in Poland?

The rotary. It just keeps going and going and going...

Just thought I would pass those on while I could still remember them, since my joke retention brain cells are all broken. Hope you all are having a great weekend.

An Odd, but no End

2006-03-21T21:48:00.000-05:00

Once again it has been longer than I would have liked but that is what happens when you leave to go to the barrens for the weekend. Unfortunately I have to get up in the morning which means I have to go to bed soon. (I've tried getting up without going to bed, take my word for it, it doesn't work very well at all) All that to say this is going to be a quick one.

In the condo building where I stay, there is an elder lady living up on the third floor. I'm sure she is a very nice old lady, but there is one little odd thing about her. A couple of times a week she will come to her patio door (another odd thing, on this building all the condos have patio doors but no patios) and call out, 'Sir, Sir, can you tell me the time, Sir?' Very nicely, politely, and it is no trouble at all to shout the time up to her. She then thanks me, closes her door, and shuffles off into the depths of her condo. It really has me wondering though, why is it that this woman has no time keeping piece?

There are several theories ongoing at this point. She could be really poor and not afford to buy one; but I threw that one out as being too boring. She could be paranoid that her enemies will try to sneak a bomb in disguised as a clock and try to kill her; that got thrown out as being far to cool to be likely. My mom suggested that she was simply lonely and trying to get human contact; but that didn't seem to fit well enough for me, so I threw that one out as well. And now I'm out of theories. Feel free to leave your thoughts about the Mystery of the Watchless Woman.
If any of you come up with some good ideas, maybe I'll steal them and write a best selling book. I already have a great title, now all I need is a story to go with it.

Adventures at Work

2006-03-12T16:36:00.000-05:00

It seems as if the last three weeks or so have been a very dry time for writable adventures but that has all been made up for within the last five days. I have at least four stories, but that would take far to long so today you'll be getting just two, both from work.

The first one happened on Thursday and didn't directly involve me. We normally start the day at six, and then take a half hour break about nine-thirty. This day as I was walking to my car to get my snack (same thing as a lunch just eaten in the middle of the morning) when I noticed one of the other guys scanning the ground, looking for something. Pretty soon he went back into the building, still looking, with his carpool buddy close behind him. After several minutes he came out, walked over to the job trailer and asked us if any of us had seen his wallet. Sometime during the morning he had lost it somewhere and couldn't find it. None of us had seen it, but we all promised to keep our eyes open for. As we sat around we made some jokes about finding it and holding it until we got a nice reward. Soon after we went back to work, we found out that the guy had spread the word and was indeed offering a very nice reward. I overheard one guy saying that a two hundred dollar reward was being promised. It made me wonder about the guy until later on when I was talking with one of my bosses. Apparently he had been talking with the loser (I'm not calling him names, I'm simply stating he was the one who lost the wallet:-)) and he had told my boss that there was over a thousand dollars in the wallet! Needless to say I felt incredible sorry for the guy and did my best to look for the wallet. Unfortunately he never found it, and if anyone else did they never turned it in. I also never heard a reason why he was carrying so much. We were all hoping that he had just accidentilly left it at home, but he come back the next day and said that it wasn't at home. He still hasn't been able to find it anywhere and is probably going to have to try and replace everything that was in it.

Don't worry the second story is much cheerier. For the past week or so I've noticed some of the younger guys yelling at each other and trying to wack each other. Thursday I found out it was an ongoing game called 'Screaming Bo'. Those of you familiar with the Pink Panther movies may remember a similar version of this game. In the movie Inspector Cleausou hires a man named Kato to try and attack him anytime, anywhere with no warning whatsoever to keep Cleausou's reflexes in tiptop shape. At least that was the reasoning. As I remember it, Cleausou was an idiot who was always getting surprised by Kato and beaten upon until he could fend him off. Well, Screaming Bo is a lot like that. At anytime, anywhere, just about anyone can come screaming out of nowhere and try to smack you with their elbow, thus the name- Screaming 'Bo. Since we're not complete barbarians there are a few rules. (1)You have to jump off of something, (2) as soon as you are in the air you have to give some warning, usually in the form of yelling out 'Bwoooww'. (3) You have to do it when they aren't expecting it, and (4) you have to try to whack them with your elbow. Other than those basic ground rules, pretty much anything goes. You can team up and lure someone into a trap, as has happened to me on several occasions. You can do super secret sneaky ninja bo, or roaring bo, or even a twirling three-sixty bo. The better the leap, surprise, or smack the greater the admiration of your fellows. Unless of course you can dodge the attack and make the attacker look silly, then you get all the admiration points.

I've only been playing it for a few days so far, but it has been tons of fun leaping off lift gates, dodging elbows, and getting startled by screaming madmen jumping at me. It is also fun to just make the other guy flinch simply by twitching your foot towards a leaping off point. This game is ideal for twenty-something males, but I would suggest it to anyone who wants to liven up their day. Bored at the office? Get a secret 'Screaming 'Bo' club together and heighten your awarness of all that is going on around you. Is the day dragging by too slowly? Make the time fly by, by ramdomly jumping at people around you and trying to wack them with your elbow. Not to mention it is a great team building exercise too. Nothing brings people together like violence. I should know, I already can't wait for tomorrow to start so I can see my work buddies.

A Week's Worth of Work

2006-03-05T19:29:00.000-05:00

I think that my brother may have something with his pda. I know that several times this week I have thought, 'Oh, that would be good to mention in my blog' and now that I'm sitting here I have no idea what those things were. So instead I'll just brag about how busy I've been.:)

As you all know I've been working in Portsmouth lately, which for the most part has been great. The only real drawback (besides spending twice as much for gas) is the amount of time it takes. Lately my average day looks a lot like this.
4:30-get up and get ready for the day
5:00-leave the house and start driving to work
6:00-arrive at work, stay there ten hours, and hopefully have a good day
4pm-leave work and start travelling home
5pm-arrive home, get cleaned up, grab some dinner and if a school night get ready for school
5:30- if a school night leave for school
9:00- get home again and have about an hour of free time
10:00- go to bed and repeat the above.

This week however there has been no school which has made a huge difference. I feel like a normal person who can plan events on all the days of the week, instead of having to juggle things around. On top of having my evenings freed up, my housemate (who happens to be a public school teacher) went to his parents for the week so I had the place to myself.

With these two things combined, this last week has been a great one. Not only have I gotten lots done that I normally wouldn't be able to do, but I've also been able to relax more as well as simply enjoy life more fully. I won't bore you with the details but above working forty-eight hours I have been able to get my car inspected, give blood, have my taxes done, and a myriad of little things around the house have finally been accomplished. This week of break has really made me look forward to summer.

I also want to say, once again, that I'm really glad for the friends that I have. I had a great talk with one of them last sunday and then last night I went out and had a great time with a group of other friends. It is really good to get some balance to the people that I am around the rest of the week. While solitude is good, frinds are essential.

Thoughts from a sleep deprived brain

2006-02-28T22:06:00.000-05:00

If it weren't for the fact that it has already been a week since my last post, I'm not sure that this one would exist. See, I have this habit where once I get an idea for a post I like to chase that idea to the end, a well crafted blog that I feel is worthy of being posted. Unfortunately, every now and then an idea comes along that I will grab ahold of but then it refuses to be made into a post. No matter how hard I try it just comes out as a jumble of words rather than a well developed (notice I didn't say well written) entry. Sad to say, my latest post idea has turned out to be one of those obstinant jumble of words.

Saturday I was driving through snow and a couple of different times my car started to slip or slide just a little. This sort of freaked me out; I don't doubt mostly because of my accident last month. It also got me thinking about control and the way we deal with it, or the lack thereof. I had anecdotes about people not liking to be passengers in cars because they didn't have control, or others getting into self defense or becoming oddly aggresive when something they can't control takes them down for the count. Or those who just give up and just stop trying when they seem to have lost their own self control, instead of pressing on and taking it back.

I also wanted to tie in control with being a Christian, and how we ask God to take control of our lives; which is the exact opposite of what the world says. "I am the captain of my soul" vs. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done" Then I got to thinking about the difference between the things that we can control and the things that we can't and that's where things started to go jumbly for me. Now when I've stepped back for a few days I'm wondering, where does our power to control start and end? I can control my future by choosing who I want to marry, for example, but I can I control how happy we'll be?

I think maybe you can see why I wasn't really getting anywhere with this idea, so I guess I will have to just let this post take the place of the other half written one.
I realize that I'm better at storytelling than pontification or deep thinking, so let me just wrap it all up with this thought. Control is largely a matter of trust and everthing that I have seen in my short life so far, lets me know that I can trust God and give Him control of my life and my future.

The Inside Scoop

2006-02-21T20:54:00.000-05:00

Okay here's the follow up post to my last one. For those of you behind the times the last post I wrote was a piece of fiction cleverly disguised as the truth (sometimes referred to as a lie :-). There was a good bit of truth mixed in it however so here is exclusive inside look at the truth behind the fiction.

Truth: Several weeks ago I was down and really didn't like where I was working.
Truth: While in highschool I considered the armed forces as an option for my future.
Truth: I was transferred to another job site which was in Portsmouth.

Here is where the fiction started to insidiously weave itself into the story. I never in the last several years seriously considered joining any branch of the A.F. and have only talked to a recuiter once. (That once was outside of a Walmart and as soon as he found out I already had a car and job that was pretty much the end of the conversation).

Truth: Portsmouth does have a naval ship yard.
Truth: There is a decommisioned submarine named the Albacore also in Portsmouth.

I've heard that the best lie is often a half-truth. That's exactly what this next part was. I don't know if the shipyard is anything more than that or not, but from what I've heard and understood it isn't. No active navy personnel are stationed there, it is simply a shipyard for the navy. I highly doubt that there are any P.R. people there that would let Joe-off-the-Street come tour the facilities. And I certainly have never set foot on the premises. The Albacore isn't in the shipyard, it is actually it's own museum which is open to the public. I don't even know where in relation to the shipyard it is. Even though it is less than two miles from my current workplace, I haven't taken the time after work to go tour it, but I would really like to.

Truth: Everything I wrote about the Albacore. Before I wrote the blog I actually went online fact finding to find out what I was about to make fun of. It was very interesting to learn about the history of the sub, though I still think it is a silly name :)
Truth: All of the names have some connection to military vessels. Virginia is actually a class of subs, and (I believe) the Ronald Regan is a Air Craft Carrier. Other than that, all of the names I used are real, factual submarines.

The last paragraph takes a little explaining. I respect my government but I don't think I would really want to directly serve it; in the military or otherwise. I also greatly respect the military and those who serve in it. I also firmly believe that naming a ship after a fish is hardly the worst thing that our government has done to its military. It certainly wouldn't be the deciding factor in a decision that big for me. As for the pictures, I only said that they proved that there was a sub named Albacore, I never said they proved I almost joined the navy. When I wrote it, I made sure I was careful how I phrased what I said.

I think that pretty much covers it. The majority of the time I will stick with the truth and what is a really going on in my life. If I do wander off again, I will be sure to let you know a day or two after the orginal posting. :)

How I Almost Joined the Navy

2006-02-17T20:57:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my last comment, I've been rather busy with work this last week, thus the dearth of posts. Not only have I been working overtime, but my job site has changed once again, so I have an hour's commute on each end, thus making for twelve hour day. Leave at five in the morning, and returning around five in the evening. If I were out just a little longer, I'de be able to see both sunrise and sunset :-) But enough of the excuses, on to the blog!

A few weeks ago, I was feeling really low. Work stank, school seemed useless, and I just wanted to shake things up. Ever since highschool I've always considered joining up with the armed forces, and giving the military a try. With all the dis-satisfaction in my life I was once again looking at this option only much more seriously. I had gone to a recruiter's office, gotten info on all the different branches and decided that if I was actually going to join, it would be the navy.

The only thing I lacked was a clear leading from the Lord. Only a few days after going to the recruiter's, I was transferred to a job in Portsmouth, NH. Now Portsmouth is as the name suggests a port city with lots of trade as well as a navy base where subs are made and repaired. I couldn't help but think that maybe this was my sign. I had a letter from Tom (the recruiter), and so one day after work I went down to the navy base and asked to speak with their p.r. man. He gladly saw me, gave me a tour and told me everything I wanted to know. It all seemed so right until we came to an old decommissioned submarine. The U.S.S. Albacore was launched in 1953 as an experimental sub. It was the first hydrodynamic sub and most modern day subs are patterned after it. It set several speed records and greatly improved knowledge and understanding of underwater mobile warfare. It really has quite the story and is very interesting as a submarine. I just had one little problem with it. It's name.

The albacore is nothing more than a tuna fish. Something that gets canned, shipped around the world, and eaten by hungry little kids every day. It is considered nothing more than floating food, just waiting to be caught, masticated, and digested. I'm sorry but I just can't respect something (even if it is as impressive as a sub) called lunch. Why not just call it codfish, or milquetoast. Shouldn't subs, which are basically metal tubes of death, have impressive names; names like Greyback, Grenadier,Cutlass, or Seapoacher? Or if not a name that strikes fear into our enemies at least a name that inspires our own people? Maybe USS Texas, or Virginia, Cheyenne, perhaps Carter, or the Ronald Regan. Any of these would have been fine, but instead our government names it the USS Tuna Fish.

Any government that can do that to it's own military, isn't really one that I wanted to be serving in, so with a heavy heart I walked away. After getting a good night's sleep I realized that life wasn't so bad after all and maybe I should keep on being an electrian. I realize that this may sounds like a bad April fools joke, but here are two pictures to prove that there is indeed a sub called the Albacore sitting in Portsmouth. One is a file photo (the good looking one) and one is from my phone (the blurry one). You'll see the numbers match. Or just google USS Albacore.

Now that all this excitement is over, hopefully it won't be so long between posts. Thanks for sticking with me :)

Feeling Groovy

2006-02-06T20:46:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking lately that keyboards need to start coming with a music note symbol. That way people can easily signify when they are either singing or making music instead of just talking. Like the above title. When I wrote it, I was thinking about the Simon and Garfunkel song, but when you read it you would have had no idea how I was hoping it would come across. Oh well. Maybe in my next life, I'll invent that keyboard and become fabulously wealthy.

Actually right now, I'm feeling extrememly apathetic and I probably should just call it a day and go to bed. And I would, but I just don't care enough to go through the trouble right now. I'll likely stay up a while longer and watch tv, maybe part of 24 or something.

If any of you are looking for a good movie to watch, stay far away from 'Johnny Mnemonic'. It stars keanu reeves and it is terrible! The acting is on par with Star Wars: Episode Two and the sets are painfully fake.

Maybe within a day or two I will be able to do more than just ramble, but this is all for tonight. Cyanora.

A Good Day

2006-01-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

Today I went to a different church than my usual one and I am very thankful that I did. Not only did I hear an excellent talk from the director of the local P.R.C. but I also got to spend some time with my extended family and have a good time playing outside in the snow. Besides the above I also had the distinct pleasure of hearing three extremely funny lines throughout the afternoon.

The first came in between the prayer service and the worship service. I was sitting in a pew and the pastor and the guest speaker were walking down the center aisle talking. After the guest made a remark about sitting in a pew several rows in front of me, the pastor responded, 'In this church, if you want a back pew seat you have to come early.'
It was funny because it was true, yet I couldn't help but wonder if it would have been funnier if it wasn't so true of so many churches.

Second great line of the day. I had been invited to lunch with the pastor and his family, which we had just finished. I was telling him that I would like to get together and have a talk with him in his pastoral position. Just then his five year old son walked by and right as I said,'as a pastor' he let out a loud 'hahahah!'
We both (the pastor and I)immediately burst out laughing. When we got our breath I asked, 'Is there something I should know?' and he came back with, 'Just ignore the man behind the curtain.'

Later that day I was out playing in the snow with the pastors family, some of whom were trying to build a snowman. The same five year son had a plastic sword that he was waving around and chopping up imaginary bad guys. After a little bit he came up to his mom (who was working on the snowman) and asked if the snowman needed a hole. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) he is still young enough to not have all his ennunciation down, so what we heard was, "Mommy, does the snowman need a ho'?" The mom was quick to assure her son that the snowman did not in fact need a ho'. In my defense I was not the first one to start giggling at this but as soon as it sank in I joined right in.

And that is the way to start a week off right. With family, friends, and good christian fellowship.

ALLLLL RIGHTY THEN!!

2006-01-22T20:23:00.000-05:00

I just want you all to know that this is actually my second post of the day. I just finished another one which didn't get posted because I needed some time to think over whether or not it should actually be put up yet or not. Why did I just take the time to tell you all that? It was just to torture those with an over developed sense of curiousity :-)

I know that this will be hard to believe but part of the reason for my lack of posts is I've been having trouble thinking of either a topic or of making a topic interesting enough to take the time to write about. I still haven't though of a subject that I want to write about, but journaling is less about wanting to than it is putting events down for remembrance so here is a bit of memory material.

As described in the last post my car was totalled. While I have been waiting for a new one I have been driving my siblings cars. I first drove my brother's car, an Escort sedan, until last Sunday when after church I turned it on to start warming up when it was discovered that the heater fan no longer worked! So after scraping all the ice off, I drove it the thirty miles from my church to his house.
(A quick side note to all those living in the south. Thirty miles doesn't sound bad, until you realize the circumstances. It is about 15 degrees outside, there is absolutely no heat in the car so you are bundled up in coat, gloves, hats, and any other article of warm clothing that you can find. All of your breath instantly freezes on the windsheild, so the longer you drive the less you can see. I had to pull over twice and scrape the INSIDE of the windshield so I could see the road. Needless to say it wasn't an enjoyable experience.)

Once I got to my brother's apartment I switched his broken one for my sister's working one. She has an subaru outback legacy gt sedan, which I really enjoyed driving. At least until one of the brakes started sticking. I twas bad enough that I had to take Thursday off and take it to my garage to get it fixed, because I couldn't drive it on the highway the way it was. I ended up spending almost three hours reading there while waiting for them to try to fix it, fail, then order a new brake caliper, and install it. As bad as it is to have your own car break down, it is infinitely worse to have someone else's car break down while you are the one driving it. Oddly enough the different repair bills were all withing twenty dollars of each other. Not just my brother's and sister's but also my own. That's right, I am now the owner of a '95 ford escort wagon(automatic). I got a great deal on it, but before I could drive it I had to have the rear springs replaced because they were broken. However I now am driving my own car, which makes me very happy and relieved.

I think that that brings you all pretty much up to date on my life. Not edge of your seat exciting, but then you are reading W.C.'s blog and not Clark Kents' :)

I wish I knew of a Good Title

2006-01-11T18:51:00.000-05:00

Well something very big has just happened recently in my life, but I'm not really sure how to go about recording or telling about it. Simply put, Sunday morning on the way to church I was involved in an accident and ended up totalling my car. To clarify the word accident, nobody else was involved. It was simply me, my car, and the guard-rail separating traffic.

I wish that I could spin an exciting tale out of what happened, but the root cause prevents me from embellishing or expanding too much. Let me just start at the beginning and tell it as I remember.

Sunday morning started out, normally enough. Getting ready for church while watching tv. Unfortunately whenever the tv is turned on I often get sucked in and give it far too much time and attention. That morning was no exception. I was suppposed to meet my brother and we were going to carpool to church together. However, because of the tv I was running late and in a hurry. It was lightly snowing, and there was maybe a half inch of snow on the roads. (Can you see where this is going?) Feeling confident in my driving skills, off I started-ever aware of being behind schedule. As I entered on to the highway, I felt that I had things in control and started going faster to make up some of the lost time. Pretty soon I was going a few miles above the speed limit, normally no big deal, but when driving on snow very, very stupid. All was going well until I started going around a slight curve. As my front end started turning my back end just went straight on, starting a dangerous sliding spin. I knew enough to try and correct, but instead of helping it only made things worse.

(At this point I really can't remember how or in what order things happened, but I think things went roughly like the following.) I'm pretty sure that I overcorrected as well as hit the brakes to hard which stopped the spin one way but instantly threw me into one going the opposite direction. At some point I would have been perpendicular to the lanes of traffic and then I finished a 180 and crunched the passenger side my car up against the barrier separating the directional traffic. This spun me back around so I was facng the right direction where I coasted off to the side of the road, mostly out of the way of traffic. Needless to say I was badly shaken up but thank the Lord not hurt at all. Once I had enough of my wits together, I turned off the car, got out, called my brother to let him know what had just happened and then called AAA. After making the calls I looked at the car to see just how bad it was. The front passenger corner was demolished, with some apparent engine damage (I could tell this because the hood was jammed shut and anti-freeze was leaking out at a steady flow). Also the rear passenger corner was pretty much gone. The back passenger door was jammed shut, and the trunk gate was visibly out of alignment. Here are a couple of pictures taken with my camera phone a day or two later. You can get a pretty good idea of the damage though as usual, the real thing is much more impressive.

I just have to thank God for family in the area, both blood and church. I also have to thank Him for watching over me even when I definitely didn't deserve it. The day after when I stopped at the auto body shop they told that the car was definitely not worth even trying to repair. When I found a junk yard to take it away, I was surprised how much it made me sad. Even though it was just a piece of machinery I had become attached to it, and to see it just hauled away all smashed up knowing that I would never be able to drive it again filled my heart with a heaviness that I wasn't expecting. And now I am driving my brother's car (being much more careful) while I wait for something new to come along.

If there is a moral to this story I think it would probably be: Slow down when driving in snow and don't be stupid. And AAA is a really good thing to have.

Question and a Promise

2006-01-02T08:16:00.000-05:00

Question first.
The other day I was on Blogthings and took this test. When I got the results I was rather surprised becaused it was amazingly accurate for only the five or six questions that it asked. So I guess the question would be, 'does it work as accurately for any one else, or was it just a fluke?' So just try it and see, it only takes a minute.

How You Life Your Life

You seem to be straight forward, but you keep a lot inside.
You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think.
You prefer a variety of friends and tend to change friends quickly.
Some of your past dreams have disappointed you, but you don't let it get you down.

How Do You Live Your Life?

And here is the promise. Pictured below are several shots of THE HAIR from several different angles. The angles are a little off but you still get the general idea.

Not Much

2006-01-01T22:01:00.000-05:00

Well it has been well over a week and no new posts or comments so I guess I'de better put something up. Christmas went well, though my dad was sick most of the time that I was down there so that was a definite bummer. However I got to see my family again as well as many of my friends so it was definitely worth the eight hour trip both ways. What wasn't worth the eight hour trip however, was coming back to find my room vandalised. The first thing I noticed was a pink ribbon on my door. Then when I walked in, I was greeted by the sight of many pink ribbons strung across and around my room. My landlord's family had come over to spruce up the place and while they were there they had decided to do a little redecorating of my room as well. Pink ribbons on the ceiling, a pink ribbon sash around the window, the letters W.C. in pink ribbon on the wall and to top it all off a 'My Little Ponies' poster on the wall. I groaned, then laughed, then since it was one in the morning went to bed. Needless to say I took it all down the next day, except for the W.C., that is still up.

Tuesday, which I took off so I could recover, I ended up going into my local Red Cross Center and donating platelets. It is the second time that I've done it, and I certainly have plans to do it again. If you have never donated, either whole blood or platelets, please consider it. Not only are you doing a good deed and saving lives, but you also get rewarded for it. I came away with a really nice long sleeve t-shirt. I now have five blood donor shirts that I have recieved. My goal though is seven, one for each day of the week :-)

I know that this is going to excite you all terribly, but this last week at work I got to work in a transformer for the first time. Basically a transformer takes low amperage/high voltage electricity and turns it into useable high amperage/low voltage electricity. I'll admit that I didn't do anything other than help hook up wires but it was still an exciting first.

This weekend I had my first meeting in many many months. I can't prove this but it may have been my first since I have graduated F.B.I. over a year and a half ago. Over all it went fairly well, though I did a lousy job preparing for it. So lousy I was still writing notes ten minutes before I had to present it. No one stoned me though (of course that could just be because we were inside) so I have hope that it wasn't unbearable. And now I'm home again looking forward to taking tomorrow off, in which I plan to get some important things done but also enjoy myself as much as possible.

And yes I still have the hair pictures in mind. Fear not, they will be forth coming.

Merry Christ Mass

2005-12-22T16:35:00.000-05:00

Since I'm traveling home for Christmas the chances of me posting again before or during that time are very slim. May you all have a very blessed (that's two syllables) Christmas and a wonderful time with your families where possible.

With luck my brother will be bringing his digital camera down with him, so maybe I can post a pic when I come back next week. Until then, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Call Me Crazy

2005-12-18T21:18:00.000-05:00

Since people have been asking, here is a quick moving-in update. The majority of my stuff is unpacked, though there are still a good bit of kitchen items that need a home. Unfortunately I haven't gotten rid of the empty boxes yet so my room still looks cluttered and unorganized. As for sharing, meals or chores, not much of that has really happened. I offered him some fresh bread last time I made it, and that is about all, which is fine. We are both responsible adults who have had practice living on our own and there isn't any reason that should change simply because we are living under the same roof. The only conflict thus far in our schedules is that sometimes 'he who is named Chad' is in the shower before I leave so I haven't been able to brush my teeth in the morning but it is enough of a non issue that I haven't even brought it up to him. And we seem to be getting along, no fist fights or shouting matches yet. Of course I have only been here a week :-)

As many of you know I have a bit of a wild and crazy streak that I keep hidden deep down in the darkest caverns of my soul. Every now and then it escapes and causes me either much fun or embarresment. Things like wearing pajamas in broad daylight, permanently dying my hair its opposite color, or wearing flaming pants to my Bible School Graduation. Now most of the time I can control this streak and my life remains fairly average and boring. Today however it reared it's ugly head and made life just a little more interesting. The first instance was when I was driving to church. I had just turned onto lake road (the only snow covered road within miles) when without any warning I put in the clutch, stomped on the brake at the same time pulling on the emergency brake. Needless to say we (Ryusoma was in the car with me) went sliding down the road going into a slow spin. It was thrilling trying to correct the spin without over compensating and start spinning in the other direction. After a few heart stopping moments we straightened out and continued on our way to church.

Then later that afternoon while I was getting my hair cut the streak struck again. I have had my hair back for the last several months and it has simply getting longer and longer. Today the streak made me take a path that up till now I had only contemplated as theoretical. Instead of getting a whole hair cut, the words came out of my mouth asking for only the sides and back to be cut, leaving the top long enough to be pulled back into a warrior knot. For the uninformed a warrior knot looks a lot like a pony tail but instead of being down by the neck it is at the top of the head. Much like the picture below,

Mine however isn't quite so short on the sides, or so thick a tail. I could barely believe what I was doing! A guy with a pony tail, how heretical! Once I got home however I saw what a good job my stylist had done and have decided to keep the look at least into the new year. As for whether it will go past the new year or not, only time will tell ;-)

Huzzah!

2005-12-11T22:20:00.000-05:00

A really quick update because it's late and I'm tired. All my stuff is in my new place, and tonight is my first night here. I still have all the unpacking left to do as well as move some things into storage, but for all intents and purposes I've moved.

Also a great big thanks for all those who helped move all my stuff today. You made a big job disappear faster than imaginable, so kudo's to you all.

World Dominination & Big News

2005-12-03T10:43:00.000-05:00

To all my readers,

It has been said that "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." Even though this is very true, I've also found out that "All it takes for world domination to roll on is for great men to give in." What am I talking about? No, I haven't become a Starbucks drinker. I have finally given in and bought a cell phone! Yes it's true, I have become a phone carrying member of the Verizon Wireless Network. I did my best to hang on to my morals though, and got the simplest, cheapest plan that they had. A one year agreement, 450 minutes a month, no text or picture messaging, no web access or I.M. just a straight up call someone and talk with them kind of plan. Why after years of resisting have I given in? Can you handle more earth shattering, mind numbing news? All right...

I'M MOVING!!!

As of next Sunday I will be officially moving in with a friend named (on second thought-to protect his identity let's just call him) 'Chad'. For those of you who don't know 'Chad' recently bought a two bedroom condo about fifteen minutes from where I live and was hoping to get a roommate. Rather than try his luck with the man on the street, he decided to invited someone he knew. I, liking the idea of cheaper rent and living with someone of like precious morals, decided to accept his offer. So in less than to two weeks I need to completely pack up all my stuff, move over to his pad, and unpack my stuff. All the while working, going to school, and pretending that I am swamped with Christmas parties of various kinds that I ABSOLUTELY have to attend. I can't let my social status go down the drain after all.So with a ew home, new address, why not a new phone as well.

I will be sending out an e'mail to those who I know have my current number. If you don't get this and think you should feel free to e'mail me. Chances I won't remember who all I need to send it to. If you do currently have my home phone # you will need my cell as this will be my primary line after I move. Looking forward to staying in touch with you all,

Wesley

P.S. There is no reason I wrote this in letter form. I just felt like it :)

The Joys of Cooking

2005-11-30T18:11:00.000-05:00

Before I start, I just want you all to know that the Ford Fusion "Is at its best when driven." Believe it or not this car is meant to be driven and actually performs best when it is used for what it was designed to be used for. A car dealership actually uses this line in its radio advertisement and I can't help but laugh every time I hear it.

Okay, on to the good stuff. In my last post (see below) I said that I was thankful for the ability to read, which included recipes. A faithful (I hope :-) reader asked what sort of recipes I used and what I ate for dinner. Being the fan of food that I am, I leapt at the opportunity to pontificate upon one of my favorite subjects. I am currently a lazy,cheap 23 year old bachelor and the majority of the time my meals reflect that. Pasta (fancy name for Ramen and Mac & Cheese), frozen pizza as well as frozen chicken or fish, rice-a-roni, and instant meals such as stuffing, potatoes, soup, and hotdogs. Not to mention the oddball stuff like yogurt, cereal, and candy. The above list probably covers 75% of my monthly dinners. I do of course like variety so I try never to get into any kind of habit, say like pizza only on Thursdays every Thursday; that's just boring. Also to shake things up, I actually occasionally cook something.

My family knows that I enjoy cooking (I've been doing it on and off since highschool) and they have encouraged and helped me out enormously. The two biggest helps that they have given me are a crockpot (with accompanying cookbook), and a bread maker. I've had the breadmaker for about a year and have used it close to every week. Being the lazy bachelor that I am, I usually buy the premade kits in the store; all you do is add water, put it into the machine, and 'hey presto' instant loaf of bread. Finally for the first time last week, I made up the recipe from scratch and I probably won't go back.
I have decided that the crockpot, not the dog, is man's best friend. Ten minutes of preparing your food, and eight hours later you have a meal. I will admit that when I first got it, I hardly ever used it. Then for Christmas I received the 'Fix it and Forget it' crockpot/slowcooker cookbook. That changed everything. Hundreds of recipes for everything from soups, to salad, to main courses, to desserts. I started out easy with things like chili, pea soup, simple cooked chicken. But then I started getting more involved, potato cheese puff (one of my brother's favorites),roast beef, something called cowboy stew, and this week I plan to try a tuna noodle casserole. However, I almost feel like crockpots are cheating because you don't have to do anything to get a great meal.

I have to admit though that I enjoy cooking. Things like shepherds pie, apple crisp, calzones (that was a bibleschool meal done with Diane R.), pizza, and pies aren't just tasty when eaten, but they are fun to make. There are four things that keep me cooking. The need for variety, the enjoyment of making something, the pleasure of eating it, and the compliments of others afterwards. I know it would be considered rude to do so but I can't remember anyone telling me that something I had made was lousy. I know that sounds stuck up so let me tell you my secret to a great dish. READ THE RECIPE! That's it. I have never made an original dish in my life. Everything I have ever cooked has come from someone more experienced than I who knew what would taste good and what wouldn't. This last weekend (Thanksgiving) I made a pumpkin cheesecake for the first time ever. How? I chose a recipe that I thought I could follow and simply did what they said. And it turned out great. Same thing for the crust on the pumpkin pie. I had never made one before but just followed a simple recipe and ended up with a great pie crust. So just follow the printed directions and you too can cook like a Wesley,... I mean a pro.

Huzzah!

2005-11-27T19:11:00.000-05:00

All Righty Then! For the last week I haven't been able to connect to the internet at my house. That is why the lack of posting or commenting. Why didn't I have any web access you are asking yourselves? Well I had been using a free trial of AOL which ended so that was one part of it. The other part, which I just figured out today,was that my firewall was blocking Juno from sending any outgoing information so I couldn't connect using that. Now I have that problem fixed and am raring to go. I didn't realize how much I used the web until I couldn't. Amazing what a lack of something will do to you.

I'm afraid that today there will be no great post. Just let me say here that I had a great thanksgiving, am thankful to God and for God and for His many blessings, including my family both direct and spread out. I'm also thankfull for food and the joy of being able to read (including recipies). Hopefully tomorrow I will be thankfull for wireless hi-speed as well. I bought a card and router friday and can't wait to hook it up and get it working. Now that I have let you all know that I'm not in fact dead, simply cut off, I will go off to plan my next blog; hopefully to come within the next day or two.

Learning Something New...

2005-11-19T19:38:00.000-05:00

It's said that you learn something new every day. Friday was one of those days for me. It was a fairly normal work day and then break time came and all the guys grabbed their lunchs and we sat around eating and talking. Through one subject or another the subject turned to drugs (not pharaceuticals, but the illegal stuff). Now a lot of the guys are nice enough, I would even go do something with most of them; I respect a lot of them as electrictians, as well as several of them have served in the armed forces which I also respect. However my eyes were opened as to what is considered normally in the world and how sheltered I have been from it.Out of the eight other guys in the trailer (not counting myself) all of them admitted to using and/or trying drugs at one time or another in their lives. Every thing from mushrooms, to pot, to crack, to speed and acid. As they told different stories I was laughing so hard at times that I was starting to tear up. Stories of being in an empty room one minute, turning around and seeing a bunch of monkeys in the corner. One guy told of a time when he was standing in a city and he looked down. Under his feet were hot steaming biscuits, with butter melting on them, and as he looked around every surface he could see was covered in biscuits, as far as he could see. It was funny until one of the guys asked if anyone else ever had some drug memories, things like seeing shadows move, or hearing impossible noises. No one admitted to it, but it reminded me that drugs aren't just funny stories, they have consequences. A few of the guys also told stories of bad trips, where they would be terrified, or get sick, or lose control of some part of their body. Not good stuff.

I also learned ways to hide traces of it if you were getting urine tested. Things like vitamin C, cranberry juice, but not water because if the sample were too clear they would take other tests that could find out. If you've ever smoked pot, apparently it bonds to the molecules in your hair and stays there, so tests on your hair can show if you have ever smoked marijuna in your life. It was definitely a day chock full of learning.

Also for a while I have been getting advice on women, and offers to hook me up. It is known that I am single and apparently in the minds of many this is a disease that needs to be cured as soon as possible. Today I got a couple of great tips. Either I need to totally impress them, such as flying overseas to visit them when they are least expecting it, or (this one was my favorite) club them unconcious, take them home and then show them who's boss. Apparently they like men who do that. The source for this great advice, a twenty-two year guy who luck is not to be envied. I told him he should call himself doctor and get a show on tv. There's nothing like a little bit of entertainment to make the day go by faster.

Vignettes

2005-11-11T22:55:00.000-05:00

A couple of quickies and then on to the real thing.
Tonight, less than two hours ago I beat Halo 2! It was a great game and the multiplayer is definitely the best part about it. Though I'm usually excited and pumped when I beat a game, I was just a little disappointed by this one. It came to soon, ended with a lousy battle, and didn't resolve clearly (which could mean another one in the making-Woohoo!). However if anyone ever wanted to come over and play me in it, I would be more than happy to oblige.

The other is just a quote I overheard at work. Two guys were walking by and one of them was saying to the other, 'So, are you going to kill the fatted prodigal son?' Whaaatt?? I sure wish I could have heard the before and after to that.

Lastly, another quiz. I saw this the other day on Blogthings.com and it piqued my interest. Roughly 80% of my school work right now is math so I thought I would check out just what level I was learning at. No pen, paper, or calculator; just straight up gray matter. I have to say I was rather relieved at the end because a few of them I wasn't that sure about. I guess I am learning something in school after all.

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Friends

2005-11-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

I spent this past weekend with a group of my friends and I realized something. Even though my peers are my friends there is a difference between my friends and my peers. I was in the middle of one group of friends but I was missing another group of people; my peers. One of the people I was with was one of my peers and the best part of the weekend was a conversation we had Saturday night. It wasn't the conversation that made it the best part, it was the time spent with someone I had a history with. Someone that I had connections with, that I didn't have with the rest of the group.

Don't get me wrong, I love my friends and I would go hang out with them at a moments notice and be willing to help them out whenever I could. My peers though are almost a step closer to being family.It is hard to describe but there is a difference there.

Thank you both, be you friend, peer, or family, for your friendship, your fellowship in Christ, and your endurance in keeping on.

This isn't exactly what I meant to write tonight, and even though I have said similar things before, I'm still going to post it because it is true and encouragement should not be kept hidden.

On a side note I feel like quite the genius. I took my car in to be inspected the other day and it failed because of several broken wires going from the car to the tailgate. I decided to try to fix it myself instead of paying the mechanic $73 an hour to do it for me. Using my great electrical skills I spliced the wires and then, at the advice of the repairman, soldered the wires together. First time I had ever soldered anything. And everything works now! Tomorrow I take the car in again, show them that the problems were fixed and get my sticker for another year. I feel so smart when I can fix my car!