A special thanks

Well, just wanted to say thanks for reading my blog in ‘06. I’m heading toward my third blogging year—we’ll see what ‘07 brings. I'm spending New Years eve tonight with a lot of other people from church, so no posts till much later tomorrow afternoon when I wake up :)

Travel skivvies

Saw these this morning while out doing some pre-ski trip shopping at a local store. There is so much I could say about this, but I won't.

Ok, yes. I will...

First of all, if you can afford to travel to 17 countries in 6 weeks, you sure as heck better be able to afford some space to carry around a few skivvies. I don't care how "breathable" they are! You wear those for that long, Malaria and Japanese Encephalitis will be the LAST of your worries! No shots to help with THAT!

Gag.

I'm done.

On my soapbox

When was the last time you told someone you would do something, and then not done it? Or you did it so poorly that you would both have been better off if you had said "no" to begin with?

If you don't care what people think of you, then maybe there's no reason to worry about it. After awhile, those who know you will just assume that you're not reliable, and they'll just stop asking you for commitments. Those who don't know you well enough to avoid asking you will find out soon enough, and they'll stop asking you too. After a while, the only people you'll need to worry about are the ones who either don't yet know you, or haven't yet asked you for anything.

If you have a great personality, or lots of money, or a wonderful spouse, you may not even notice the lack of esteem others have for you. They will continue to invite you to do things -- they just won't count on you. Whether you show up or not, no one will be inconvenienced anymore, because they're not expecting anything from you.

Even if you either don't care, or don't care enough to do something about it, if you are a Christian you have another problem. The Bible tells us to let our "yes be yes and our no be no". (Matt. 5:37). When we say yes and are consistently unreliable, we do more than damage our own reputation -- we damage God's reputation in the eyes of those who see Him through us. Not only do we discourage other Christians, but to those who do not know God, we provide a witness that they will likely have to overcome to even want to consider becoming Christians.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about the person who just occasionally doesn't live up to their commitments. We have all experienced that from time to time. No, I'm talking about the person who acquires a reputation for not being reliable.

I have two friends each of whom is unreliable. One is unreliable because they think they want the freedom of not being organized. The other friend is unreliable because they think they're better organized than they really are.

Both of my friends have the same problem: they both say yes when they should say no and vice-versa. The Bible tells us that our yes should be yes and our no should be no. It also tells us in Luke 16:20 that whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Although the context has to do with money, the principle is universal. If we cannot be trusted to do what we say we'll do, neither God nor man will trust us to do greater things.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now...thanks for indulging me...

Happy Belated Festivus!

How did December 23rd pass us by without us wishing one another a Happy Festivus?

I suppose this would serve as part of the "Airing of the grievances"... So Happy Festivus for the rest of us!

If you have no idea what I am talking about...then go here.

Un-used cell phone minutes

I remember my first cell phone. It was roughly the size of a cinder block, but less pleasing in appearance and function. I think my first cell contract was $30 for 30 minutes. I'm not kidding. And a portion of a minute rounded up. In other words, you could make fifteen 65 second calls and you were over your limit and getting jacked for about a buck a minute (or portion thereof).

Not so today. I have a cell phone plan that would allow me to call Buffalo NY for Time & Temperature as often as I wanted. I have more minutes than George Bush has backers right now. Nationwide. Plus free weekends, free evenings and free whenever minutes to T-mobile phones. All that to say, I never have an excuse to not make a call any more. Never...

In spite of easy access, I regularly wonder "What happened to..." and "Why haven't they called?"

It hit me the other day that if I really wanted to stay connected with people, I'd come home with a drained phone battery every day and use all my cell minutes. Instead, it's easier to not call. It's easier to not connect, easier to wonder why we disconnected, even though I have their number in my phone and could, at no cost, call them and find out.

I have moved all over the country. I've developed close relationships with people only to pack up and move on. Every time I've watched them grow small in the rearview mirror and told myself "but I'll stay connected to THEM. They're like family....". I must have eight or ten people like that, yet quickly, the calls stop (both ways) and we're both left wondering.

To be fair, relationship is anchored in two directions - a common history and a common future. That's what you do with friends. You reminisce and you scheme. You look back and you look forward. When you move away, you disconnect with the common future that you thought you might have had at one point...and conversations become a stilted rehash of the last time you got together. The only thing that's worse than not connecting is reconnecting and finding out that you don't have anything to say.

I have no resolve to this, except to say that I wonder what happened to you. Or me. I think of you often... with a bit of sadness in my heart because of the widening gap between my life and yours...and cell minutes left on my account at the end of the month.

How moronic is that??

Busy Christmas

It was a very long day.

Began the morning at my friend Brian's house for breakfast and exchanged gifts, then made my way to my grandparent's for lunch and the annual lottery ticket scratch-0ff....jetted over and opened gifts at my parent's house for dinner...then moseyed over to my friend Darren's place and watched a little James Bond to wind down...now I've finally made it home. WHEW!

"And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight...'Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!' ".

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

Well, sort of.

It's raining outside, and it's cooooold. Not cold enough to freeze mind you (this is Texas ya know?) but just enough bite in the air to make you wanna sit by the fire with a nice caramel apple cider from Starbucks :)

Got Christmas Eve services tonight at church, then the eating shall commence tomorrow!

Stay warm and dry kiddos!!

Random thoughts at 10pm on a Saturday

Sometimes, when I’m driving and listening to the music of someone like Led Zepplin, The Doobie Brothers, U2, etc., I picture myself as a character in an independent film in one of those long driving scenes.
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When men over thirty wear shirts or sweatshirts with more than one Disney character on them, it creeps me out.
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When I go into a public restroom to wash my hands and someone rustles in the stall like they’re just about done and ready to reveal themselves, I frantically try and get out before they do. It’s kind of like a little contest, if I see them, I lose. I hate losing.
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If I don’t practice remembering the books of the Bible in order, I get them mixed up. And, for some reason, in my head, I always feel like I’m going to get caught and someone will say, “Wow, you’re a Christian and you don’t even know the books of the Bible,” to which my clever reply will be, “No, no I don’t.”
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My oldest neice is pumped for Christmas. She loves to count down the days. The only problem is that she won’t really be home on Christmas so it screws up the whole Santa deal. Now, we talk about the meaning of Christmas a lot–so the whole Santa thing is a sideshow, for sure. Last night she asked me again, “how’s this going to work with us not being at our house and Santa coming…” And, everything inside me wanted to free her from his boxed up Santa-prison and yell out, “It’s all a LIE... the reindeer, the elves, the whole sordid milk-and-cookies-chimney-sliding-fat-man-story…” but, instead, just another clever response–”Uhmm, how many days till Christmas?”

Can I sleep in or play Atari?

Times have changed for me.

I'm growing older and am becoming separated from my youth. Though these differences are prevalent on a daily basis, they come to the forefront around Christmas.

When I was younger all I wanted for Christmas was everything in the JC Penney's catalog. Now I can't come up with enough things I want to give each family member one suggestion.

When I was younger all I wanted was to get up and catch Santa climbing up the chimney. Now I want to sleep until around 9:30, shower, shave and eat breakfast before I think about gifts.

When I was younger, I could have cared less about the big meal and just wanted to play with my toys. Now that I'm older all I think about is how many calories are in those candied yams.

When I was younger I loved playing video games on my Atari 2600 or Commodore 64. I would pack my games up and take them to grandma's house and play until my eyes were bloodshot. Now that I'm older... wait, I still want to play video games.

In fact I'm going to the livingroom to finish my game of Frogger on PS2. At least somethings will never change.

G'nite!

Mission accomplished!

Well, some said it couldn't be done, but I proved all of the nay-sayers wrong!

I started and finished my Christmas shopping in less than 2 hours today!! WOO HOO!!

And all before lunch!

The Chipotle burrito today was definitely well earned :)

Waiting until the last possible moment!

First of all, I want to give a shout out to my brother Colby...thanks for reading my ramblings bro :)

I've learned that I am way behind in the modern marvel of Christmas shopping. I've discovered that "sensible" people have it all done by the 18th of December.

Why? Because there aren't any good sales this time of year.

But, I'm not in it for the sales. I'm in it for the holiday spirit and reviving the memories of being a kid and walking in the shopping mall with my mom and dad surrounded by people carrying shopping bags and listening to Christmas music being piped in every store you walk into.

Should I mention that I haven't even bought one single Christmas gift yet? So is it just a guy thing to wait this late??

What do you think?

Rain

This is what it looks like outside from my office window right now...

It's going to be a rainy commute home...

Hiccups

I had the worst case of hiccups I can remember in while for almost an hour tonight.

It got to the point to where they actually hurt. Finally, after holding my breath for what seemed like an eternity, they subsided.

On a lighter note, we went to Six Flags tonight for their Holiday thingy. The place was packed, but the kettle corn was worth it :)

Hi-Tech at the AAC

Went to see the Stars get beat by the NY Rangers last night at the American Airlines Center here in Dallas (or was we like to call it...the AAC).

Getting to see Jagr play for the first time was off the chain. The man has some serious skills...

On the walk up through the entrance pavilion, we came upon these GIGANTO screens. They were Hi-def, completely digital, and man-oh-man, could these things pop with color! They were also some kind of motor/pulley system, and slid the entire length of the pavilion (which was 100 yards) in all different directions. What's more, these split up into 4 separate screens while shifting. They had 8 in all...

Hi-tech has definitely arrived at the AAC.

Thanks Adam!!!

When I got home this afternoon, I found a package on my doorstep.

I rarely ever receive packages at home, so I was a little curious as to what it was.

Turns out it was a 1999 Dallas Stars Stanley Cup t-shirt, sent to me from someone in Buffalo. That someone happens to be my best friend Adam.

Adam and I have known each other since we were 12 year-old punk kids in Jr High.

We reconnected after 17 years apart back in 2002. Seeing him at the airport in Buffalo 4 years ago for the first time, was one of the single greatest moments in my life...period.

Thanks for the gift Adam, you know me well :)

Let's go skiing!

Oakley stylin'

I have a friend from church who is able get these for me at cost. These are the same exact pair worn by Cyclops in X-Men III (well... not the exact one's he wore, but the same model...you know what I mean).

Is that cool, or what?

That's about a $300 savings!!!

So this upcoming ski season I will be sporting these bad boys. Not on the slopes of course. I'll have the goggles on for that. Knowing me, if I was to wear the glasses on the slopes, I'd break 'em quicker than you could say snow-plow.

Birdie birdie, in the sky....

Yes, I got nailed as I was walking out of Target at lunch today.

Crazy pigeons roosting in the Target sign right over the exit door.

Luckily it only hit my jacket...I guess this means it's been a crappy day? :)

34 days until 24

I'm already counting.

I never actually watched the show before until mid-way through last season. I was immediately hooked.

Time to get the TiVo programmed.

Last Night

My Stars lost last night to the Oilers. Could've been because Modano, Lindross, and Morrow were all on the DL, but who knows?

Our seats were pretty good. Lower lever, about 15 or so rows back. Any closer to the glass, you can't see the action at the other end of the ice very well. That didn't seem to matter since the score was 2-ZIP.

I realized one thing though, they are definitely keeping the arena a lot colder these days!! Must be prepping for the All-Star game here.

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable evening with an awesome friend. Here's a couple pics...

When is enough, enough?

I spent a couple hours today at a local coffee shop... pretty normal Thursday afternoon. Except that across the coffee shop parking lot, a man walked with a young boy.

As I watched, the boy dropped a package he had obviously been entrusted to carry - right in a big puddle of mud. The man exploded in a tirade at this 10-12 year old boy... yelling at him in what was, from my vantage point, the ugliest silent-move I have ever seen. Then he slapped this kid upside the head.

I watched, from about 100 feet away, as several men walked by this scene...watching but doing nothing. The boy started to cry and something inside me snapped. I got up, closed my laptop, and walked across the parking lot. I walked up to the bully and told him to step away, that he was not to touch this kid again, and then I called the police. I stood there between the man and the boy until the police came and handled the situation. Then I returned inside. I heard from several men as I retook my seat, "I was going to go out there...", and "I am glad you went, because I was about to...". Yeah, right.

I am not a hero. I am not even particularly brave. But I have to ask - why are most people afraid to interact?

The guys in the parking lot were all at least as big as the bully. Why did all those men walk by a young boy who was obviously being victimized? Because they didn't want to get involved... fear of lawsuit, fear of confrontation, fear, who knows...

Are we are so afraid of being accused of doing wrong, of "getting involved" or confrontation, that we don't DO anything? Maybe we all need to get a little less civilized, and a little more righteously indignant.

I agree with Edmund Burke - "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good [people] to do nothing."

Seeing Stars

I got an early birthday present yesterday (it's tomorrow BTW), but I don't actually go to the game until Friday.

Many thanks to you-know-who for the tickets. You knew just what to get me, and I didn't even have to drop any hints :)

Riddle me this

Why is it that every time I go to get ice from my freezer dispenser, I can never seem to get any into my glass without at least dropping one ice cube onto my kitchen counter or floor?

Relational math

A friend of mine sent this to me...

of course it works with both genders (only girls are mentioned). I think this is the perfect math equation to teach teenagers before they go out on a date!

I want to ride my bicycle

Today I scored big. I was able to get this $500 dollar, never used, mountain bike for free...nada...el zippo...zilch!!!

Can you say KA-CHING?!?!?!?!?!

I haven't ridden a bike since I was 14. That is a very long time ago. Now I guess I'll see if I can prove the old saying about never forgetting how to ride one.

Hope I don't break anything :)

If the question

If the question is "Can a guy use a bottle of White Out to hammer a nail into the wall far enough to hang a picture?"...

then the answer is "Yes! Yes, he can!"

Dorito Beach

A cargo container that apparently fell from a ship washed up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Thursday and spilled thousands of bags of Doritos brand tortilla chips on the beach.

People collected the chips, which were apparently still fresh due to their airtight packaging. It was unknown which ship had lost the cargo or to what port it was bound.