a small peek inside my brain

Reminder...

2009-12-16T01:21:00.004-06:00

This World Is Not My Home...

As I lay in bed and ponder over the days events I am thankful that even in the midst of an event that seems like turmoil I am reminded that this world is not my home. Nor are the things that i own, mine. All of the things that we work so hard for and cherish too much are simply, things. Things that are entrusted to us for a time. I am truly thankful for the things I have but events like today are a reminder that nothing I have is truly mine, as much as the selfish little kid inside of me tells me otherwise. Everything can be taken from us in the blink of an eye.

I have more thoughts on the subject, but it is 2 a.m. and I need some sleep for work tomorrow. Hope this note finds you well. (by the way, thankfully no one was injured in this accident)

Wow!!

2009-12-03T22:55:00.002-06:00

Two things that I would have never put together have been very creatively and (in my mind) successfully pulled off...

Beatboxing and playing the flute..... at the same time.

"What?!", you say? check it out, I'm sure you'll be impressed...

Long Beach, CA

2009-08-11T20:15:00.002-05:00

Me in front of the Queen Mary...

(fighting the sun in my eyes) :)

Really?!!

2009-07-10T20:59:00.001-05:00

Really Napa? You couldn't spare six more minutes like the rest of us?

Mobile upload #1

2009-06-23T12:15:00.000-05:00

Waiting on my connecting flight in Philadelphia...

First Bike Tricks On Film...

2009-06-16T22:17:00.003-05:00

Check this out. Thomas Edison filmed some of the first bike tricks ever done on film.
It turns out that the new fixed gear craze is not as new as we thought.

Circa 1899.

If you think this is a fake, think again. it can be found in the Library of Congress HERE.

Sometimes...

2009-03-10T22:34:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I wish I was brave enough to make a fool of myself like this....

Once he realizes he's on the jumbotron he jumps straight into action.

- no hesitation.

No more words are needed.

Awesome!

I know, I know....

2009-02-18T14:16:00.004-06:00

I haven't felt up to blogging lately so I simply haven't - obviously.

What have I been up to lately?

- working, A LOT!

- watching Lost

- playing basketball (poorly, I might add - but still having fun)

- riding my new bike when the weather cooperates

- trying to read a book on the Puritans

- getting ready for my Colorado trip (I leave on Sunday!!)

- re-growing my beard for my Colorado trip

Hopefully you'll hear from me sooner than later.

-now I'm off to go for a short bike ride...

Winter citrus...

2008-12-17T23:29:00.005-06:00

tis true...

okay... :)

It's Winter... Why not?

2008-12-04T21:42:00.006-06:00

Random--I know, but if you've got ten minutes to waste, why not learn something.

I ran across this video the other day and thought it was pretty interesting. It was made in 1949 in northern Canada. Watching this feels so much like something that would have been shown to us in elementary school. I can almost feel the rough, itchy, horribly colored, all-weather carpet underneath me as we all settle down on the floor while the teacher rolls the TV in on an unusually tall cart. Then she struggles with the VCR trying to get the video to play. Once the video starts to play we have no sound and after watching the first minute or so she figures that part out, rewinds the tape and finally starts the video from the beginning with everything working.

OK class, settle down, the video is about to start...

Enjoy. :)

I'm back...

2008-11-22T14:34:00.003-06:00

Okay, once again, no excuses. I know it's been a while but I just haven't felt spurred on to blog lately. So what have I been up to since you last heard from me?

Well, first of all, I have completed yet another year of my life and moved on to the next one with nothing major to report. My birthday was low key but fun. I worked most of the day and then headed out to play ultimate frisbee with some friends who surprised me with a cookie cake (always a good choice) when we went out to dinner afterwards. Then a few weeks ago I got into some kind of poison ivy/oak or something of the like that invaded part of my face. It has mostly cleared up but it was pretty nasty at its peak. The worst part of it all was the fact that I had work with two new clients that week. I felt so bad for them having to look at me all day but I couldn't skip out on work and I wasn't contagious, it just didn't look too pretty.

That's about it. Not too much else has been going on. I've been trying to stay busy with work. Some weeks I've been successful at that. Lets hope for more of the up weeks in the future...

Hopefully you'll hear from me again soon.... (sooner than another month and a half)

Goodbye beard...

2008-10-14T23:45:00.005-05:00

Well, the time had to come. Today I said goodbye to the beard. I stopped shaving the first week in August and never really expected to last this long. It's funny how in such a short amount of time you can grow attached to something as simple as a beard. It was the first time that I ever really tried to grow a beard. A few years ago I did go for about 4 weeks without shaving but then gave up on it. I think this venture was much more successful. I had a lot of good feedback, so who knows, maybe my little facial friend will decide to make an appearance sometime again...

--I must say the girl that cut my hair today cut a little more than I initially wanted cut but, as always, I'll grow into it.

The Return of The Five...

2008-09-02T22:15:00.007-05:00

Five good things that is...

It's been about a year since I've posted a random set of "five good things". If this is new to you, here is my explanation of the idea: CLICK HERE.

So here goes...

Five good things:

1. Tuesday night Frisbee games

2. Going to the Ranger's game with my parents for Labor Day

3. Chips and Queso

4. Reconnecting with an old friend tonight

5. A busy week of work.

3 Weeks and counting...

2008-08-26T18:45:00.004-05:00

The beard continues to grow. We shall see how long this trend lasts.

Farmer's Market...

2008-08-17T11:57:00.009-05:00

You've got to love the local farmer's market. After church this morning I stopped by the market to pick up some fresh fruit.

I came home with:

9 plumbs

6 peaches

1 head of lettuce and

1 ear of freshly picked corn (which by no way can compare to the NH corn I had last week).

...all for under $7!

Not too shabby.

Post vacation "wanna-be" beard...

2008-08-13T16:38:00.009-05:00

Vacation was nice. There may have been rain almost every day but the weather was still much nicer than the heat in Texas. And as you can see, I didn't shave while on vacation. I thought about keeping it to see what I could grow but I figured that with this heat that might be something I could do in the winter... we'll see.

Edit- I know I kind of look like a thug in the picture below but I kind of liked the white background, it gave the shot a slightly different feel. That's the only reason I added it. The more I look at it, the more I think about deleting it, but I figured this little note would suffice.

Short Seattle video...

2008-07-27T20:42:00.002-05:00

I know It's been a while since I was in Seattle but every time I play this video it makes me smile. This was a quartet that was singing outside of the original Starbucks in Seattle. When I started recording the video I figured just a portion of it would be enough for me to remember it by, but now that I'm back, I wish I had recorded the whole song. The video ends a little abruptly, but even in this short little video you can tell how happy these guys were to be outside singing.

Hope you enjoy it...

Woo Hoo!!

2008-06-27T12:38:00.002-05:00

I reached my goal! But just barely. I scored 99 on the links today.

Since I generally only play golf about once a year I can't complain about that score. I had some really nice shots, but there was no consistency. One of the friends that I played with had seen my clubs before and took pity on me by bringing me an old driver he had sitting in his closet. Not only did he let me play with it, but he gave it to me! (Thanks Andy) It may not be some big name, expensive driver but it was definitely ten times better than the one in my bag. And I'm happy with it...

monthly update...

2008-06-26T19:37:00.003-05:00

I'm so bad at updating my blog...

I just noticed that I've been consistently updating only about once a month. I wish I did it more often, but I'm not going to make any promises that I won't keep. I know myself too well.

Anyway, I'm playing golf tomorrow! It will be my first round in a year. I'm hoping to stay under 100. We'll just have to see... It's kind of sad knowing that when I was in high school I could easily shoot about 85 and now I'm just hoping to keep it under 100.

Random thought:

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups taste better after sitting in the fridge for a little while...

Find a dollar, pick it up...

2008-05-28T21:57:00.003-05:00

Well, life without speed bumps has been pretty nice. Not that I've been around too much to enjoy it. Since my last post I have had a couple week long jobs out of town with some down time in between. It's been pretty cool, I was able to visit two places I've never been before; Seattle, Washington and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Seattle was cool. We booked an extra day in town after the job was finished so that we could go do a little sightseeing in the city. We had time to go to the Pike Place Market for a few hours, drive around the city and see a few things, then we loaded a ferry to cross Puget Sound for Bainbridge Island. The sun was setting as we rode towards the island and we had a pretty nice view of Mt. Rainier along the way. Once we were on the island we had enough time to drive around a little before we ate dinner at a nice little diner at the marina. Shortly after, we had to jet back over to the ferry so that we weren't stuck on the island for several more hours with nothing else to do. Overall, I enjoyed Seattle.

Next we had a job in Green Bay. I was definitely surprised by this city. It was much smaller than I thought. I was expecting a small city but not this small. It's amazing that they have a NFL team in a town that small. It was nice though. Once you got out of "downtown" there were loads of little individually owned farms and some quaint little houses. I enjoyed my trip to Green Bay but I'm not going to be making any plans to visit again in the near future.

That's what I've been up to lately. It was nice to go north for a couple of weeks before the summer officially sets in. Tonight the air was pretty nice so I took a long walk to enjoy it before the temps push just shy of 100 next week. And when I was almost home I looked down and found a dollar on the street. It was pretty random, and for some reason I felt guilty picking it up. I don't know why, but it felt like I was stealing. I wouldn't feel funny picking up a quarter but once you start finding actual paper money it feels different for some reason. (even though it was in the street and no one else was around to claim that they dropped it) I don't know why but I just thought I'd share that...

No More Speed Bumps!

2008-04-29T15:08:00.004-05:00

One thing I quickly found out about my "new" apartment is that when they built this place someone got really excited about laying down speed bumps. In fact if you want to drive into my parking garage and come visit my apartment you will have to pass over 14 individual speed bumps. And that is only one direction. For a complete round trip in and out of my apartment you have to cross over 28 speed bumps! It's a little insaine, I know... Not to mention the fact that these are not your little run of the mill average sized speed bumps either. Whoever constructed these suckers was serious about the 5mph speed limit within the parking garage. If you go much faster over these little mountains you are liable to be knocked out of the driver's seat, or at least spill your drink all over your car.

If you can't tell, it has been a small source of frustration with me since I moved in. I don't really mind the slow leisurely pace that the speed bumps require you to drive within our parking garage, but it can get quite annoying to be jostled around your car every time you have to enter or exit your apartment building.

Well, I'm happy to say, relief is on the way!!!

Last night when I came home from work I noticed that two of the speed bumps were completely gone. I was wondering to myself if they were merely replacing them with some more tame ones or if they were getting rid of them completely. When I left my house today I noticed a couple guys working on them so I decided to stop and ask. They informed me that they were removing all the speed bumps within the parking garage for good! There are a few bumps that are at the entrance of the parking garage that might stay, but I have to admit I'm pretty excited about not being thrown from my car anymore whenever I want to come and go...

Old friends and music...

2008-03-31T23:06:00.007-05:00

Last weekend I had the joy of playing music with an old friend. He called me at the very last minute, but luckily enough I was free that night and I was able to make it to Fort Worth just in time for the concert. He has a new album out and I had not yet purchased it, but when I got home from work I had just enough time to download it and burn it to a disk so that I could run through a couple of the songs on the drive over. If you are wondering why the "concert" looks like it is in someones living room, that's because it is. With his new CD he is doing something a little different but its very cool. He is doing "house concerts". He will come to town for the weekend and have several concerts throughout town in different peoples homes that have offered to host a concert. It's a pretty cool idea. It's more laid back but it's also more of an intimate setting. In the end you feel much more connected to Ross and his songs because he explains a little about each song and what the inspiration was behind it when he wrote it. Check out his website (linked below) for more info if you are interested in attending a house concert in your area. Or look at his blog (which is updated more regularly) linked in the right sidebar of my blog.

www.rosskingmusic.com

It was so good to see Ross and Staci again. It's been a few years since I've seen them but we traveled and played together so much in the past that it pretty easy for me to get back in a little groove with him during the concert. He's a great songwriter and if you've never heard of him or his music this is my little plug for you to check out his music.

Mmmm....

2008-02-25T19:49:00.004-06:00

It's that time of year again! One of my favorite seasonal treats. One year I got so excited I think I bought four boxes. Needless to say, I went a little overboard that year. I had almost forgotten that they were on the way but when I got back form Colorado I ran to the store for a few necessities and there they were.....taunting me...

...of course, I went home with some.

Trip update...

2008-02-09T20:04:00.000-06:00

Well after a 13.5 hour drive on Wednesday I made it to Denver safely. Thursday looked pretty bad at the mountain so I decided to wait until Friday for my first day. When I woke up on Friday I checked the road conditions and I-70 was shut down due to poor road conditions and 70-80 mph winds. Needless to say Friday was out of the question. Knowing that it was the weekend, we decided to wake up early (5 am) and beat the traffic. Success! The snow conditions were some of the best I've had in a few years. (8-10 inches of fresh powder!) I took my last two runs with Lanny and Ethan. I was very impressed how well Ethan did. He's not quite 5 years old and he was like a little rocket down the mountain. He went all the way from the top of the mountain to the bottom without stopping. Look for him at the end of this short little video in a full out tuck.

It's been too long...

2008-02-06T00:17:00.000-06:00

I know, it's been almost 2 months since I've posted anything and while I could come up with excuses as to why I've been so absent, this time I won't do that. The new apartment is treating me well and any complaints I have are just me being petty. After the first few weeks of living without a couch I was very happy to get that remedied. I never realized how much sitting around I do on my days off until all I had was a folding chair. Luckily I was really busy for the first 3-4 weeks that I lived in my new place.

The end of January and the beginning of February have been a little slower for me, so I decided what better time to go snowboarding than the slow times. (not that I wasn't already planning it anyway) So tomorrow (..er....um....today), early this morning I head off to Colorado for my annual snowboarding trip. While I should have been in bed several hours ago, here I am posting this for you guys. And to make up for all of my absence, I decided to make a short little video. Just a little something fun that I threw together this afternoon while I was prepping for my trip tomorrow.

Enjoy!

...and pray for my safety while I'm gone...

The Move...

2007-12-10T23:31:00.000-06:00

So, tomorrow I move. I'm leaving north Dallas (Frisco) and moving considerably closer to downtown (which means a much shorter daily commute). I'm looking forward to it, but I must admit it will be a little weird. It will be my first time to live alone....ever. In all my 31 years of life, I've yet to live by myself. It should be an adventure. There will definitely be advantages and disadvantages to living alone. I will miss having people around the house all the time, but at the same time it will be nice to have a place all to myself to call "home". Another thing that will be a little weird is getting used to apartment life again. I haven't lived in an apartment since my sophomore year in college (96-97). It's been a good run but it was bound to come to an end at some point.

And so, as I bid adieu to my former home, I must say thanks to the Carruths. You guys have been great housemates, it has been fun and I'll miss seeing you guys day in and day out. But I do look forward to meeting the new little Carruth who is on the way. You guys are going to make GREAT parents.

One of those mornings...

2007-12-03T22:48:00.000-06:00

Overall, it was a good day, but on my way to work this morning I had a realization...

After I had already eaten my breakfast (an apple and a granola bar), after I had already stopped for some cheap wannabe coffee (no Starbucks this morning), and after I had already made it more than halfway down the road on my morning commute I realized that I had just done something for the first time in my life! I woke up, got ready, and left the house for work an hour earlier than I needed for absolutely no reason. I don't know what I was thinking! I even set my clock wrong when I went to bed last night. I didn't think twice this morning when I rolled out of bed. And I certainly didn't think anything about it when I walked out the door.

I was a little perturbed at myself. I could have had another hour of sleep! But what was I going to do now? I couldn't turn back around and go home, I couldn't stop at some cool diner for breakfast I had already eaten. So I did the next best thing, I drove around listening to a couple sermon podcasts. It's not a bad way to spend an extra hour in the morning but I don't think I'll be making a habit of it since my mental lapse required me to wake up at 5:30 this morning...

needless to say, I'm off to bed...

Fall has fallen!

2007-10-22T22:15:00.000-05:00

I woke up today to the sound of rain and was totally oblivious to what was going on with the weather. Thinking it would pass and the sun would come out to make everything hot and humid like normal, I left home without a jacket. I quickly learned that it was a cold front. It became progressively cooler as the day went on and I began to question my sanity for choosing to leave my jacket at home. Not that it was super cold but something to break the wind would have been nice.

I got my first whiff of someone firing up their fireplace this year. Fall has officially reached Dallas.... not too shabby.

On a side note...
I have a program on my laptop that lets me use the built-in webcam to record time-lapse video. It's a pretty fun program, but it's one of those programs that's fun to play with but you never really use it. Well, I decided to use it the other day during a half-day fashion shoot. I set up my laptop in the corner of the room and told it to record 1 frame every 10 seconds. It recorded for about 5 hours and compiled everything into a 1 minute video. My friend added some music to it and loaded it on You Tube.

So if you have ever been curious as to what goes on during a photoshoot you might enjoy this.

-sorry for the video suggestions that pop up after the video ends. I tried to keep it from doing that but it didn't want to work...

Just a hint of autumn...

2007-10-02T20:37:00.000-05:00

Well, even though it's still hot here in Texas I experienced my first little taste of fall today. On my way home from work I drove past a church that had a large pumpkin patch out front. I guess they were getting ready for a "fall festival" or something. I know it doesn't sound like much but I found it to be a nice little hint of the season to come. (I guess it's technically already here, but...) With fall pretty much being my favorite season I'm always looking for the signs of it's approach. And once it comes, I have to soak it all up because it's probably the shortest season down here.

What is it that I love about fall? The crisp morning air, throwing on a light jacket before you leave the house, the smell of someones fireplace burning, the changing leaves, the overcast skies, not feeling bad about spending $4 on a latte because it warms you up on the inside, the sound of fallen leaves blowing in the wind, sleeping under a nice warm blanket, a warm cup of soup on a chilly day, planning my ski trip for the coming winter....the list could go on...

And, of course, with the approach of every fall I feel a call to the mountains. Colorado to be specific. As most of you know, both times I moved there it was in the fall. So every time fall comes around there is something deep inside me that yearns for the mountains again.

That being said, I'm happy where I am. I just like to take a lot of mental vacations soaking in what I can of this season and fondly remembering my time in the mountains...

Tall Corn...

2007-08-18T20:32:00.000-05:00

On a drive along the Connecticut River, which runs down the New Hampshire/Vermont border, we came across some of the tallest corn I have ever seen in my entire life. The stalks had to be at least 12-15 feet tall. I jumped out of the car so I could get a picture next to it. It's crazy... It's twice my height! I don't know if it is just really fertile ground or if it is a different kind of corn from what we have here in TX, but I thought it was interesting...

It's time to vacate again...

2007-08-05T00:07:00.000-05:00

Vacate meaning vacation!!!

I leave in the morning for a week of relaxation and family fun up in the Appalachian mountains. New Hampshire to be specific.
...see my Aug. 15th 2006 entry to see a picture and be oh so jealous :)
I hope to come back relaxed and full of all types of new pictures to play with...

Till next time...

New routines...

2007-07-22T22:57:00.000-05:00

So I'm finishing my last week as a full-time assistant this week. (by my choice) It's funny, I sustained myself as a freelance assistant for two years, yet it still makes me nervous. I have plenty faith in God's provision and my abilities, but it's still scary. Why is that? (rhetorical) God has shown me time and time again the he will take care of me, yet my flesh still doubts and I am scared sometimes. Anyway, I just thought I'd share that...

Lately I've been trying to get out of a routine that I've grown accustomed to. I'm trying to read as I go to bed instead of letting the TV "entertain" me as I drift off to sleep. When, I let the TV put me to sleep, I've found that I'll stay up later than I should and I don't sleep as well as when I read. Not to mention, that when I read I generally wake up with a better attitude about my day. Another part of my routine that is changing a little is my morning commute. I used to listen to my music or sometimes talk radio (I must admit that sometimes I can be a talk radio junkie, but the people I really like to listen to are either on in the middle of the day or after I get home from work), but lately I downloaded a bunch of podcasts of the church I attended in Colorado and have been trying to enrich my mind a little before I start my work day. Yet another thing that has helped my attitude throughout the day.

I've been reading "Searching for God Knows What" by Donald Miller, I enjoyed "Blue Like Jazz" so I figured I'd give his newer one a try. It's pretty good so far, a fairly easy read. I'm not sure what I should tackle next. Maybe some John Piper. We'll see...

Five good things:
1. My new MacBook Pro.
2. Going back to freelance.
3. New friends from Pennsylvania.
4. I heard from an old friend today.
5. Dinner at Pei Wei.

Man Chow and The Poconos

2007-07-06T20:46:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I'm a little late on posting about my trip from two weeks ago but I still wanted to share a little. It was a great weekend! A much needed break from the crazy schedule I had been running. (Not that it slowed down any when I got back)

My weekend worked like clockwork without a hitch, that is until the flight home (I'll get to that later). I flew in to Philly on Thursday night and met the Bride-to-be and her family. Then I hung out till the wee hours of the night with Alex's (the groom) family. Friday we took care of a little business for the wedding before we met up with all the guys to spend the day in the Poconos.

Here is where my photos begin for you:

We arrived at the lake about 2:00 in the afternoon and made ourselves familiar with the place a little before we started to collect our firewood. A much needed part of a guys weekend. FIRE!

After building the fire pit, cutting logs and making a quick run to the local store everyone was very ready to hit the lake. This is where I learned a new game. I don't know the name of it, but basically you get a watermelon, coat it in Crisco and throw it in the lake. Everyone lines up on the shore and races after the watermelon. The first man back to the shore with the watermelon is the winner...

The race...

The struggle...

There were several games played with the watermelon...that is until it broke. We then hung out in the lake a little more playing some games made up on the spot with a tennis ball. Quite fun actually...

Now it was time to clean up and start the fire so we could start preparing what was so aptly named "Man Chow". During the clean up a request was made by the groom that I cook us some queso . I happily obliged.

Now, back to the Man Chow. This was a new venture for me, but it sounded pretty good. Man chow could be adapted to suit your tastes, but ours consisted of: potatoes, bell peppers, onions, carrots, ground beef, and seasonings. You layer everything and put the ground beef on top, season it as you wish, wrap it up in foil at least twice and throw it directly on the coals of your campfire for about 45 minutes or so. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance...

The guys devour my queso as the man chow cooks.

The groom with queso residue on his shirt.

Me watching the Man Chow cook.

Man Chow ready for consumption. MMMM

One of my favorite pics from the weekend. Alex finished his Man Chow.

The rest of the night we hung out by the fire, talked, made smores, all the usual campfire stuff. The next morning we packed up and headed back to Allentown. We had a great time at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. After the rehearsal dinner we all went out for a little laser tag. Not something I normally think of doing, but it was a blast. Sunday we woke up, went to church, and ventured on over to the church where the wedding was. It was a great ceremony and the dinner reception was a lot of fun too. I even broke out of my shell and got on the dance floor for a little bit. I think it was the Chicken Dance that brought it out of me. After the reception, me and some of my new friends from the weekend had a nice time at a little diner till about 1:30am or so. It was a late night but it was worth it.

Monday I boarded my plane back to Dallas. After an extra five hours in the plane and an unplanned landing in Oklahoma City to refuel, I finally made it back to Dallas.

Overall it was a great weekend!

Update...

2007-06-20T23:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long. I could always give you excuses like work has been crazy lately (which it has) and when I get home at night the last thing I think of is updating my blog (also true), but I won't give you these excuses....oops, I guess I already did.

But I know it's time for me to update when within one day I recieved two different emails telling me that I need to update. To the two of you (you know who you are), thanks for the prodding. Sometimes I need it. And seeing as how it's been almost two months since my last update, I definitely needed a little poke in the side.

So what's going on with me these days? Well, I finally got my passport! I paid for expedited services and was told it would take 2-4 weeks. I was getting a little worried after six weeks had passed. I had one day where I freaked out a little, thinking that it had been lost in the mail, but the next day it showed up at home. It's now official, I can now legally travel the world!

And speaking of traveling, I'm headed to Pennsylvania tomorrow. I'm taking a long weekend and heading north for an old friend's wedding. It should be lot's of fun. Not to mention I"m excited to get out of Texas for a brief period of time. Over the weekend the guys are headed to a cabin up in the Poconos. I've always heard of people vacationing in the Poconos, but I've never been there, nor do I know what to expect. But I'm looking forward to it...

More updates coming soon....

Fun with passport photos...

2007-04-25T17:48:00.000-05:00

I applied for my passport today! I've been meaning to do it for years, but today I finally did it. Soon I will have the freedom to be a world traveler. We shot my photos at work the other day when we had some down time and I had a little fun with them today so I thought I'd share...

That's all.

Have a great day!

Take a swim...

2007-04-05T22:17:00.000-05:00

The guys at Google have a pretty good sense of humor. I caught wind of this and I wanted to see if it was real or not...and sure enough, here it is...

If you go to Google and get directions from anywhere in the US to anywhere in Europe (my test trip was from Dallas to Scotland), Google will give you directions that seem pretty normal until you get to the ocean. That's where Google tells you to take a swim. It just struck me as funny. Maybe Google thinks we are out of shape and need our exercise. But really....3,462 miles? Last time I went swimming at the gym I was out of breath after about 6 laps. I guess I should start training now.

click here to see it with your own eyes

check out step 26

It reminds me of a time a couple of years ago when I was going to play at a camp with an old friend. When I talked to his wife, who was giving me directions, we were dumbfounded when the directions told me to drive through a river. Seriously. The actual directions were:
-turn into the campground
-don't take any turns off the main road
-go straight until you see the river
-drive into the river and take a right...
...really! That's what the directions were, and so that's what I did. I was a little nervous, but it worked.

My current weakness...

2007-04-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

I can't help myself sometimes. I probably drive past 15 Starbucks on my way in to work every morning and at least twice a week I end up stopping to grab a drink. My drinks of choice currently are: Caramel Macchiato, Cinnamon Dolce Latte, or a Mocha Latte with a shot of vanilla. Something about a nice warm drink in my hand when I walk into work just tends to put me in a really laid back mood. Don't ask me why. Maybe a warm drink in my hand makes me think it's colder outside than it actually is and maybe that comes from my short stint of living in colder climates and I'm just trying to prolong the winter and spring. I'm not really ready for the crazy Texas summer. I don't know...

You never know...

2007-03-15T09:26:00.000-05:00

You never know when your midget (or to be politically correct "little person") is going to be just a little too big...

..another thing I can gather from the info on this box is: The smaller the midget, the better the radio.

OK, so I've been doing a BUNCH of spring cleaning at the studio lately. I found this box in the mix and I couldn't pass up taking a shot of it and sharing it. It still makes me chuckle a little.

On a side note, I've been back from my Colorado trip for just a little over two weeks now and if the opportunity arose it's little head, I'd go back tomorrow. For some reason the itch to be in the mountains just never seems to go away.

Post vacation life clarity

2007-02-26T23:54:00.000-06:00

Do you ever have one of those mornings where you have such clarity of thought that it makes you think "What would my life be like if I thought this clearly all day, everyday?" Well, that was my state of mind this morning. I don't know if it was the vacation that did it for me or if God just wanted to show me a little extra favor today, but I wish I could live life with that kind of clarity of thought.

I had a great time in Colorado this past week if you were wondering about my vacation...

Maybe you'll hear more later...

Happy Valentines day...

2007-02-14T09:28:00.000-06:00

Today made me think of a photo a friend of mine took last year and posted on his blog, so I figured I'd share it...

Genius in your midst...

2007-02-12T16:53:00.000-06:00

That's right folks....
I took a classic IQ test on the internet today and my score came out to 140. Since I am so very smart, I know that a score that high is above average. The good old World Wide Web tells me that I am right at the cusp of the "genius to near genius" category.

120-140: Very superior intelligence
140 and above: Genius or near genius

Trust everything you read and do on the internet. Never question it...
I have, at the very least, "very superior intelligence" so you know you can trust my judgments.

:)

Congratulations are in order...

2007-02-09T09:09:00.000-06:00

Well, The Rives have officially become parents. Kris and Jamie Rives gave birth to their son Asher Rives on Wednesday, February 7th. Little Asher must have been very anxious to see his parents since he came 6 weeks early. Pray that he continues to develop well. Kris told me that if all goes well, they should be able to take him home in a couple of weeks.

Miss me?

2007-01-29T22:23:00.000-06:00

I'm so bad at this blog thing....

Five good things:
1. A good day at work
2. Pigs in a blanket (I had one this morning)
3. Dark Chocolate M&M's
4. Getting closer to my Colorado trip for the year
5. I get Friday off this week!

Happy new year?

2007-01-01T15:34:00.000-06:00

click here for link to article

...ok...I know this is from a news source in the UK, but still.....

Here is my interpretation of this article:
"Happy new year...too bad you're going to hate it. Oh, and by the way.....you helped cause it."

Why do people have such a grim outlook on life? Why do we all have to expect the worst? Can't we all just say "Hey! It's a new year! It's time to put our past mistakes behind us and start fresh." I won't even get into the whole issue of global warming, but I don't have much faith in the scientists that predict the global weather and stuff. Wasn't 2006 supposed to be one of the worst hurricane seasons in US history? ....hmmm....let's see.... if I remember right, I don't think ONE major hurricane hit US soil this last season.

...and the media tries to claim that they are not guilty of fear mongering...

In this new year, let's all learn to think critically for ourselves, and not become the little "sheeple" that the media wants us to be.

Hope you have a great start to your new year!

Sorry for my slack...

2006-12-20T19:41:00.000-06:00

I know it can always be an excuse, but I've been slammed. I haven't even thought too much about this blog in the past month so. Almost two months...

So, once again, to the few of you out there who check this. Sorry.

I've been in a transition time lately. At the beginning of the year I officially begin working with a new photographer here in town. He does some different stuff so that's cool. A little less fashion and a little more advertising. I should be able to learn a lot in this new studio. And I will get to travel some too. However, I will miss the life of being freelance. Being bound to no one but myself and God is fun and scary at the same time. One thing I won't miss about being freelance is wondering how my next month will work out financially. Living off the busy months during a slow one.

There is a lot more I could say here, but it is time for me to leave work. So, if I have time, I will continue my thoughts later...

Change is good.

A chasing after the wind...

2006-10-29T18:16:00.000-06:00

"The sleep of the laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep."
--Ecclesiasties 5:12

Five good things:
1. Candy corn
2. Catching up with, and playing music with some old friends this weekend
3. An extra hour of sleep due to time change
4. Hang time with friends and family last Friday (my birthday)
5. A good meeting last Thursday

Reminder...

2006-10-18T10:36:00.000-05:00

Only 10 shopping days left till I enter the third decade of my life.
:)

-correction-
I will be completing my third decade and entering the fourth. For those of you that are a little slow on the math, this means I'm turning 30.

Great customer service...

2006-10-16T23:15:00.000-05:00

I must first tell you the back story before I get to what happened today.

Here is the quick version of the back story: Four or five months ago I was talking with my boss about random stuff and I happened to ask her about her "old" iPod. (it had died on her and instead of getting it fixed she just bought a new one) She told me that she never got around to getting it fixed and it was just sitting on a shelf in her house. Then she said that I could have it if I wanted. Thinking that it might (if I was lucky) still be under warranty, I took it home. When I charged it up, IT WORKED! I was pretty excited to say the least. The only down side was that she doesn't take very good care of her stuff so it was very scratched and had been dropped several times, so there was no promise as to how long this thing would last. Until recently it worked without a hitch. Lately it had been freezing up on me and doing a few other weird things. So I tried to reset it on my computer last weekend and it did something very odd. When I cleared it off, it told me that I basically had a 23 gig iPod , when in fact it was a 60 gig. I tried to restore it several times but to no avail...

Today, on my way home from work, I stopped by the trusty old Apple store. Since it was way out of warranty I thought there was nothing they could do, but I figured I might as well give it a shot. I walked right up to the help desk and was asked what kind of issues I was having. I told the guy, and he seemed perplexed. He took my iPod to the back to plug it in and see if there was anything he could do. About 10 minutes later he came back out. He told me that he had never seen this problem before and that he was going to replace my iPod for free. Yep, you read that right, FREE! I must remind you that it was at least 6 months out of warranty. I guess he was just having a good day, but in about 10 more minutes, he re-emerged from the back with a "new" (actually it was refurbished, but you would never know it wasn't new) iPod for me. No questions asked. All in all, I spent about 30 minutes in the Apple store, and all I did was tell them my problem and they fixed it without a single question.

Needless to say, I was pretty excited to get my new, scratch free, iPod. Just another reason I really like Mac, great customer service...

Palms and five...

2006-10-10T22:08:00.000-05:00

Palms of Santa Monica Beach, CA...

Five good things:
1. Purchased lift tickets for a snowboarding trip this season.
2. Migrating birds - another sign of the changing of the seasons.
3. Friends finding out they are having a baby boy in March.
4. Velveeta & Rotel
5. A much needed rain...

Five good things...

2006-09-27T22:35:00.000-05:00

First of all I must apologize to the few of you who frequent this site to see what is going on in my life. What I had planned on being a weekly habit has turned into a monthly habit. I've neglected my blog. Sorry. Hopefully that will change...

Next, I should explain where my inspiration for this post comes from. As an aspiring photographer, I visit several photoblogs daily. Sometimes I see cool stuff that inspires me and other times I see typical photos. I recently (within the last month) discovered a new photoblog of someone who inspires me more often than not. I noticed that underneath the picture each day was a little comment followed my a little section called "five good things". Everyday (or at least most days) she posts a picture she lists five good things in her life. I really liked that concept. They are just five little things to be thankful for. Sometimes as simple as a good snack or a letter she received in the mail. Anyway, I thought that would be something good for me to implement into my blog. Sometimes I might post a random photo and list five good things. Other times I might just log on and list five things and nothing else. I figured that even when life gets you down you should be able to come up with at least five things that are good in your life, otherwise you might need to change your outlook. We shall see where this concept takes us. Hopefully it will keep me inspired to post more often. So here goes list #1...

Five good things:
1. Patty Griffin's 1000 Kisses (2002) - I just recently discovered this album. Some people would call it folk, others might call it country. The simplicity and raw grittiness makes me want to pick up a guitar and sing my own stories. Great road trip music.
2. A change of seasons - I think Fall is my favorite season.
3. Dinner plans with some good friends tomorrow night.
4. A "later than normal" call time tomorrow.
5. Getting a phone call from a new photographer yesterday.

I'm off to sunny California!

2006-08-24T23:46:00.000-05:00

Through one of my good friends, I have met another new friend who lives out in LA. It just so happens that my new friend in LA is a commercial photographer. Our schedules worked out just right so that I get to go out to LA for a week and work with him. Not only will I get some work experience in a new market, but I also get to see my sister. Not to mention I, once again, get to step away from the Dallas heat! Work, friends, family, and the nice weather of sunny LA...Who could ask for more?

Life is good...

Where I laid dormant for the past week...

2006-08-15T23:01:00.000-05:00

Life slowed down (and cooled down) for me over the past week. It was a much needed break. After completing a very hectic schedule over the past 2-3 months, I timed my vacation perfectly. I sat back, hung out with family, enjoyed the cool weather and beautiful views of Newfound Lake and the surrounding New Hampshire mountains, and just plain relaxed.

Click on the picture above for a larger view of where I spent my last week relaxing. And to view my first attempt at using Canon's PhotoStitch program that came with my new camera. After I put this picture together, I learned a couple of things that I would have done differently while taking the picture(s). There are a few visible seams, but it definitely gets the idea across.

Enjoy. I know I did.

Please excuse the bad photography.

2006-07-16T16:58:00.000-05:00

I know it's not the best shot in the world but I wanted to post it anyway. As I was on my way to set up my drums at a local church early this morning I saw several hot air balloons in the distance. This one flew right over my car as I was driving under it. It was probably only 50 feet above my car. I actually rolled down my window to wave at the riders and they waved back. I came upon them so quick that I barely had a chance to fire off a shot.

Anyway, just a random occurrence that started off my Sunday morning and I thought I'd share it with you...

Mt. McKinley & Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska

2006-06-19T19:27:00.000-05:00

...as captured by the great Ansel Adams.

I'm living vicariously through my parents and their retirement. They are currently in Alaska. They just spent a week doing some tours on land (including a couple days at Denali National Park) and are now on a cruise ship for the next week seeing the sights from the sea. Aaahhh...to be retired!

So much to see in this world, and so little time.

Keeping myself in check.

2006-06-12T22:13:00.000-05:00

I work in downtown often. In fact, the studio that I work at the most often is actually on Main Street. One of the things that goes along with working on main street is having to deal with the homeless people that roam around the area. I have been approached countless times by guys looking for a buck. There are a number of canned stories about why they need the money that you hear very often. My most often response is that I do not carry cash on me. And that is not a lie. It is not very often that I carry cash in my wallet. I do however carry a little stash of ones in my car since I have to pay for parking everyday, but my response is not a lie to the beggars since I am almost always approached while walking to or from work. Seldom will they will approach you in your vehicle. I generally get to work a little early since I believe in punctuality. Sometimes I have to sit in my car and wait until someone else shows up before I can get into the studio. Well that happened this morning. As I was sitting in my car, listening to the radio. I was playing with my phone when I saw someone out of the corner of my eye heading straight for my car. I glanced up and there was a homeless man approaching. After having this happen before, and being the cynic that I am, I generally just wave at the people in a manner to tell them to move on. This generally works and I go on with my life. I always feel bad about prejudging these people and assuming that they just want a buck, but everytime I talk to them it is the same story over and over. And in the back of my head, I am always thinking "this money is just going to buy more booze". That's me, the cynic. I don't like the fact that I always think this way, but it is almost always what I think.

This morning was no different. When I saw the man approaching, I waved him on without even looking him in the eye. He just stood there, I looked up and he mouthed the word "please". I shook my head in a "I'm sorry, but no" manner and went on with my business of messing around with some settings on my phone. Excuse my language but, I felt like a real ass (but not as bad as I was about to feel). Anyway, the man began to stumble around the parking lot (which is rather small by the way), I saw him looking at the ground, every now and then bending over to pick something up. I assumed he was finding change. He walked near my car again and reached down to pick something up again. As I looked over, I saw him eating half of a cracker that he had just picked up off the ground. My heart sank. Here I was, sitting in my nice car, playing with my cell phone, while this man outside my car was outside eating a cracker that he just found on the ground. Feeling very ashamed of how I acted toward him just a few moments earlier, I began looking for any food or snacks that I had in my car. I found a pack of peanut butter crackers and quickly rolled down my window and tried to get his attention. It took a second, but he came over to my car and I handed him the crackers. I could tell by the look on his face that he was VERY thankful. He, very sincerely, said "thank you and God bless you". I could tell that he was very happy to have something to temporarily fill his stomach. He stumbled away, leaving me with my thoughts. I just sat there for the next few minutes (before venturing into work) thinking about my actions and remembering how good I have it, no matter how tight the money might be sometimes. It definitely gave me a different outlook on life for the day.

Bye Bye Bumper-to-Bumper

2006-03-28T21:25:00.000-06:00

Let's all have a quick moment of silence for the passing of a dear friend that we all like to call a bumper to bumper warranty. Even though I never really had to use it, I was a little sad. I think I just liked the comfort of knowing that if anything happenned, I was covered. Just think, it only took me a year and a half to do what Toyota thought would take me three years. I wonder where the next 18 months will take me...

The Real March Madness

2006-03-27T21:40:00.000-06:00

I was already a little upset about all of the protests that have been going on around the country in the past several days, but when I saw it with my own eyes it really got to me. I work on Main Street in Dallas, and the day was going along just like any other normal day until I looked out the window around 12:30 and saw four police cars coming down Main Street and clearing the street for a protest march. Very close behind were literally thousands of high school kids, holding posters and waving Mexican flags. I literally saw 2-3 thousand kids driving in cars and walking in protest to the immigration bill that is on the Senate floor. Not only did I see thousands of kids marching, I saw how many police were required for this to happen safely. When all was aid and done, I probably saw 20 police in their cars and another 20-30 that were on foot following the route of the protest (and I probably only saw half of the students and police that were involved). Another great use of our tax dollars. I saw one student with a sign that read "We're not Criminals!". While the student holding that sign may not have been an illegal immigrant, the sign was supporting those who are here illegally. What part of the term "ILLEGAL Immigrant" don't these people understand?! Another thing that kills me is the fact that all of these illegal immigrants and their families are mad at the AMERICAN government for not representing them. But our government was not put in place to be the voice of those who are not even citizens of this country. If you want a voice in our society, come here legally and become a citizen, then and only then do you get a voice. (However, I don't know how well our government represents its own citizens anymore anyway, but that is a blog for another time)

I understand that this immigration problem is not an easy problem to fix, but there is a major change needed. The beginning stages of fixing this problem properly could be very ugly to many, but it is something that is needed for the health of our nation. If our Senators and Representantives cave to the cries to these protests, WHAT IS NEXT?! Terrorists protesting or filing a lawsuit against America because we won't allow them to effectively practice their religion on our soil by killing themselves and murdering others in the name of Islam. I mean we do have "freedom of religion" in this country, and we don't want to deny anyone the freedom to practice their religion in our country, right?!! You may think I'm joking, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone at the ACLU hasn't already thought of this scenario.

That's enough for tonight...

Yes, I'm still alive...

2006-03-21T21:43:00.000-06:00

I just have not found the time to post anything. I've got plenty of stuff to write on, but not too much time. Lately I've been getting home from work somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00. When I get home from work I generally spend about an hour to an hour and a half making something to eat (sometimes), eating, decompressing from a long day and trying to relax for a few minutes by watching a little TV. Then I generally head upstairs, get ready for bed, check my e-mail, and try to stay awake long enough to watch a little news while lying in bed fighting the weight of my eyelids. Every now and then I wake up around midnight or so and find myself with the TV still on and the remote, amazingly, still in my hand or somewhere close to it. Soon afterwards, I wake up, and the cycle begins again.

On the up-side of me not having the time or energy to post anything is the fact that I am working very consistently. (something that is a very good thing for someone who works freelance). I would much rather be tired every night than not have any work and struggling to make ends meet. It makes me think of a quote from the movie Bruce Almighty. While talking about manual labor, Morgan Freeman (God-in the movie) says to Jim Carey's character, "Some of the happiest people in the world go home smelling to high heaven.". While I may not "stink to high heaven" when I come home, my work could definitely be considered manual labor on most days. I think our society (America) fails to recognize what manual labor can do for your body and soul. We, as Americans, are too focused on making as much money as possible, as quickly as possible, with as little effort as possible. I hope our ignorance, our misdirected pride, and our greed does not become our downfall as a nation.

Sorry to get all philosophical on you for a second, sometimes it just comes out.

I'll talk to you all soon (hopefully).

Blog Funk...

2006-02-26T22:36:00.000-06:00

Sorry to all of you who like to check up on me via my blog. I have been in a blog funk lately. I think it's like a sickness that you can catch because another friend of mine is going through the same funk. It's not that I don't have anything to post on, the problem is more about me finding the motivation to spend the time to post. Anyway, I' thought I'd give everyone an update and let you know I'm still alive after my trip to Colorado.

A quick trip update for everyone:
Overall, the trip was very successful. The only mishaps were a broken wrist (my friend's wrist, not mine) and a cracked windshield. Yes, the broken wrist sounds like a pretty major ordeal, but my friend had a good attitude about it so it was not as bad as it could have been. It was early in the trip so the night it happened and the next day we were all a little sad. But we still had a lot to look forward to, so our spirits were up. On the up side of the trip we were able to visit Evan Hecox (one of my favorite artists) in his studio, and we all left there with at least a couple pieces of work. Now I have to buy frames so I can have a little more art to display in my very meager collection. We also were lucky enough to know about a special edition Nike shoe release that in the long run should turn me a small profit. These special edition shoes are on a limited run and only release in a few special stores nationwide. The store we bought them at was the only store in Denver to get any and they only received 18 pairs. Also on my trip I was able to see several of my old friends and work mates along the way. It was great to see them.

Hopefully this blog funk will pass soon. It is looking like I've got a VERY busy week this next week, so even if I am motivated to post, I may put it off till the next week out of sheer exhaustion. But who knows, this week may turn out fine and you may be hearing from me very very soon.

till next time...

Off to Colorado...

2006-02-10T17:19:00.000-06:00

Well, early tomorrow morning some of my friends and I leave for our trip to Colorado where once again I plan on conquering the mountain on my snowboard. Pray that we have safe travels on the road, and on the mountain.

A week in the mountains, on my board, and with friends. Who could ask for more?

Good things come in fours

2006-01-30T21:45:00.000-06:00

I was recently tagged on the four lists. Meaning it is my turn to fill out the list of topics to let you know just a little more about me. Hopefully you enjoy it.

Four jobs I’ve had,
1. Chick-fil-a: 2 1/2 years in high school
2. Flower Delivery man
3. Computer Manufacturer: as a friend likes to say, I put the “Q” key on the keyboard. Okay, it was a little more involved than that…
4. Gamma Phi Beta Sorority: I kept the ladies in line….well, um…ok, maybe not, but I did keep the building up and running. And hey, I got to live in Denver, CO for a little while.

Four movies I’d watch on repeat,
1. Bottle Rocket – enough said…
2. Garden State
3. Amelie – it’s a little quirky, but hey it is a foreign film. I don’t know if I could actually watch this one on repeat but I do enjoy it a lot.
4. Happy Gilmore – My friends and I practically did watch this on repeat while in high school. Happy’s best pick up line…” My girlfriend’s dead you know? She fell off a cliff and died on impact.”

Four TV shows I love,
1. The Office – it took me a little but to get used to the American version after seeing the brilliance of the British version, but now I am on board 100%.
2. Lost
3. My Name is Earl
4. Seinfeld – I know it’s not on TV anymore (other than reruns), but I still love it.

Four vacation spots I’d love to frequent,
1. Colorado, Colorado, Colorado
2. California – I love all of it, the south side, the north side, the national parks…
3. New England and New York. I know that New York is not technically part of New England, but I will include it in this section. I love it all, New York City, Boston, Cape Cod, the lakes and mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont, coastal Maine, all of it.
4. The northwest. I’ve never been there, but I’ve only heard good things about Portland, Seattle, the western part of Canada (specifically, the Rockies in Canada), and Alaska.

Four websites I visit daily,
1. eBay
2. blogs of friends
3. Wooster Collective – it’s all about street art. While I don’t always like the art or the politics, it is usually interesting
4. Drudge Report – I don’t dig into it quite as deep as some people, but there can be some interesting stuff on there.

Four radio talk shows I love (ok, I added this category. But I have to admit that I’m a radio talk show junkie. It keeps me up to date with the news and helps my critical thinking skills, something that is easy to lose once you graduate college. The one thing I miss the most about college is the active engagement of my brain.),
1. Michael Savage – Simply the best in talk radio. Sometimes he can be hard to listen to if you are not used to him, but I recommend giving him a chance over several days, I think you’ll soon see why I say he is the best.
2. Dennis Prager
3. Bill Bennett, I was a little disappointed when the local station cut two of the three hours off this national show to bring in a local morning guy. The local guy is growing on me a little, but I think I still like Bill better.
4. Matt Drudge – he is only on the radio on Sunday nights, so I don’t get to hear him too often, but I have really enjoyed the times I have been able to listen.

Four foods I lust for (I don’t know if I actually lust for these foods, but I do really enjoy them.),
1. IN-N-OUT Burger – it can’t be beat.
2. Mi Cocina, Bryan/College Station, TX – Not to be confused with the Mi Cocina that is invading all of the big cities around the country. The big corporate one is too trendy to have good Mexican food. Not that the food is bad, but it is nothing to write home about in my book. The little hole in the wall Mi Cocina in Bryan/College Station however, has some of the best, simple, Mexican food I’ve tasted, not to mention their queso and hot sauce is simple yet supreme.
3. Chick-fil-a – Okay, I may have worked there but that in and of itself should say something about the quality and cleanliness of their food. After working there for 2 1/2 years, I still crave it.
4. A homemade Filet Mignon Steak – While I may have had some good steaks at different restaurants, nothing beats a nice cut of meat, seasoned and prepared to perfection over a slow cooking fire with some woodchips added for a little smoked flavor. While I have overcooked some steaks in the past, the times that I get it right are oh so good!!

Four changes to my house,
I don’t have a “my house” so I must bow out of this category.

Four beers I like, (I have never grown to like the taste of beer or almost any alcohol for that matter. So I will list some alcoholic drinks that I like without the alcohol in them. Some of you may disagree but I think the flavor of these drinks are much more vibrant without the alcohol in them.)
1. Virgin strawberry daiquiri
2. Virgin margarita
3. Virgin Pina Colada
4. I will stretch the category a little more here, but I like things that have Kahlua in them. I have had several desserts and chocolates with Kahlua in them and have enjoyed the taste. So I might like a drink that has a touch of Kahlua in it.

Four (actually six) artists I like, (a category I added and it was hard enough to narrow it down to six)
1. Barry McGee
2. Margaret Kilgallen
3. Evan Hecox
4. Chuck Close
5. Richard Avedon (photographer)
6. Mary Emma Hawthorne

Four tags (i.e. tag you’re it, meaning this is where I list people that I would enjoy reading their four list.) I know that some of you that I will list don’t have blogs, but I wanted to list you because I thought you might have an interesting list.
1. Brad C.
2. Jon M.
3. Ross (I don’t know if you even read my blog or not but I figured I’d list you anyway. I'd love to read your list.)
4. Caleb

I hope you enjoyed my list.

Photo Show

2006-01-23T15:06:00.000-06:00

If you are in the Dallas area on Friday night and are looking for something to do, go check out my friend's show.

Where: Magnolia Theater
When: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Free Admission

If you can't make it to the opening, it will be up until March 9.
Support Matt. Buy a print.

See you there.

Kipling...

2006-01-17T21:35:00.000-06:00

I'm not normally a poem guy, but I heard a poem the other day and portions of it stuck with me so I thought I'd share it...

Don't rush over this one, try to soak it in.

"If"

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

By Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).

Who is Bozo Texino?

2006-01-11T14:51:00.000-06:00

A film project by Bill Daniel which began in 1984, and was finally completed late in 2005. The idea began with Bill's fascination of Hobo Freight Train Art, and one moniker in particular, Bozo Texino. He decided that he wanted to find out who Bozo Texino was and why he wanted to leave his markings on so many trains across the nation. This search led him to find so many well known Hobo artists and get their stories. A very interesting documentary on the Hobo subculture and the Hobo Freight Train/Graffiti Art movement.

I heard about this documentary about 3-4 years ago and did not know it was incomplete at the time. I have been trying to see a viewing of it ever since. Well, yesterday I finally had my chance. And after years of anticipation, I was pleased with the documentary.

Thoughts for Christmas...

2005-12-23T15:27:00.000-06:00

As we celebrate Christmas we hear a lot about the birth of Jesus. We know the story all too well. Yet we don't ask questions about certain details very often. There is something that I learned a couple of years ago and I thought I'd share it with everyone.

What am I getting at?

The Virgin Birth. We have heard about it our whole lives and just accept it but we never ask "Why?". Why was it necessary? If we have ever heard a preacher/pastor/teacher talk on the subject, the normal response to the question of "Why?" is: the depravity of man and our sinful nature. We are told that since we are born with a sinful nature, Jesus needed to be born of a virgin so that he could be free of that sinful nature that is passed down. But there is more to it than that! And I think it paints a bigger picure of God.

If you read Matthew chapter 1, you will find the genealogy of Joseph, Jesus' father. Most people skip over the first 17 verses of Matthew if they want to read the Christmas story. But I suggest that you read the genealogy and see what the Bible has to say about people in Jesus' generational history. I want to expose one of those people to you right now. In verse 11 and 12 you see that Jeconiah is in that line of people. Notice that Jeconiah's name has a footnote? Well those are there for a reason. Let's look at it. By looking at this footnote I find that Jeconiah's name is also Jehoiachin. It is just a variation in the Hebrew language. So now, let's look at what the bible has to say about Jehoiachin. For the sake of time and my typing fingers, we won't look at his life but let's look at what God has to say about his life. Jeremiah 22:30 says: (about Jehoiachin)

This is what the LORD says:
"Record this man as if childless,
a man who will not prosper in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring will prosper,
none will sit on the throne of David
or rule anymore in Judah."

Wait a minute!! Did that just say that "none of his offspring will prosper", "none will sit on the throne of David"?! How could that be? He is in Jesus' genealogy. That must not be true. But wait......oh yeah. THE VIRGIN BIRTH!! This is why Jesus could not be born of Joseph's seed. A curse/prophecy passed down from generation to generation ever since Jeconiah (aka. Jehoiachin). The virgin birth made it possible for Jesus to break the curse that was in his genealogy. Jesus could not have been Christ had it not been for the virgin birth.

Maybe this will help you get an even bigger picture of God in this holiday season. And hopefully it might make you think twice about reading the footnotes in your Bible and doing just a little investigation. Learning to use footnotes and cross references has helped me gain an even bigger view of who God is. They are there for a reason, use them.

May everyone have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

What some people will do for money...

2005-12-15T16:40:00.000-06:00

A couple nights ago someone attempted to rob the ATM machine that I use most often. I've heard stories of this in the past and it doesn't surprise me too much. But this story was a little different. I've heard of people creating fake ATM cards. I've heard of people robbing Joe Schmo after he withdrew his money. I've even heard of people trying to steal the whole machine so they can try to break into it at home. But I've never heard of someone trying to break into a machine with an ax! It just struck me as strange. Strange enought that when I heard the news story it made me laugh. After his first attempt was unsuccessful he tried the same thing on to two more machines that are nearby. And when he was done playing "lumberjack", not only did he not receive any money, but now he has the joy of getting his face plastered all over the news stations in the Dallas area.

Smart kid.....real smart.

Why is blue raspberry invading all the candies?

2005-12-10T01:21:00.000-06:00

I got home late tonight and I wasn't tired so I figured I might as well post something. This evening, I had a free night to do whatever I pleased. Well, I decided to go to the movies. I don't make it a habit to go to the movies alone but sometimes it is nice to just do your own thing. Poke fun if you want, but I wanted to see Pride and Prejudice. It is a story I've heard about for such a long time and it is referenced in so many other movies, so I was curious. And I'm not afraid to admit that I sometimes like the so-called "chick-flick". Some of them are horribly cheesy, but there are some that are done quite well. Being such a well-loved book by so many poeple, I had to at least give it a shot. Plus the trailer looked intriguing. The Chronicles of Narnia is also in theaters now but seeing a movie on opening day can sometimes be a big hassle. I generally like to wait at least a week or two so that the lines and crowds aren't quite as crazy. Also, if a movie turns out to be bad you generally hear about it after the first week or two.

Anyway....back to my evening. As I generally do before going to the movies, I picked up a couple sweets at the store on the way. Tonight my choices were a Hershey's bar and some Sour Skittles. I bought my ticket and was on my way. Of course, I had to stop and get popcorn and a drink. That smell of freshly popped popcorn gets me every time. So $100 later (that's what it feels like at least), I was in the theater and ready for it to start. Things were going well, the movie was progressing, I was enjoying the story, and my treats. Popcorn first, then a little later my chocolate bar, and a little later the sour skittles. When I got to the skittles I struggled with opening them quietly. Not an easy task when you are in a quiet part of the movie. So I waited a little until the movie got a little louder. Success. I masked the rustling well. Here is where my story turns a little sour... no pun intended. The first skittle in my mouth was blue raspberry. YUCK!! It was very distracting. Here I was trying to enjoy my movie, and all I could think about was "Why is blue raspberry invading all the candies?". I don't think replacing one of your tried and true flavors with blue raspberry is an upgrade. And does it actually make more people buy your candy? Just because you introduce a new flavor? A flavor that has already invaded so many other candies? A flavor that I, and most of the people I ask, don't really care for?

Well, I got over it, and ate my Skittles. Not without a touch of bitterness towards blue raspberry though. Something that, as far as I know, doesn't even exist in nature. I could be wrong, but I don't think there are any blue raspberries that occur naturally. I enjoyed the rest of the movie. The last scene could have been a little less cheesy, but overall I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it. There wasn't even a sex scene in this movie (a rarity these days). It just goes to show you that you can have a good movie without all the crudeness that Hollywood feels like the have to show us.

That's all for now....

It's me...

2005-12-06T22:53:00.000-06:00

Welcome to a small peek inside of my brain. I have no idea where my adventures or thoughts will take you, but let's hope that it is somewhere fun or somewhere thought provoking. This picture is from a Polaroid that my friend Matt took of me after I finished yet another day of snowboarding at Copper Mountain last year. I've been watching the snow reports for this year and I can only hope the snow continues to drop this heavy all year. If it does, it looks like a wonderful year on the slopes. After having the mountains at such easy access for the past two winters I have become spoiled by having the ability to pick and choose my days of riding. Now that I am back in the Lone Star State I can only hope for good snow on my chosen week at the mountain this year.

I named this blog "dreaming of colorado" because that is often my state of mind. While I may live and work in the Dallas area my thoughts often go back to fond memories of my short stint as a Colorado resident. Don't get me wrong, I do not regret moving back to Texas one bit. I have never loved a job as much as I love my current job. But I do often think of Colorado. As I am writing this I am hearing on the news about a winter storm that is hitting Denver. Just the thought of it brings back so many memories of things that some people consider a hassle, but I always loved. Waking up early so you can warm up your car in single digit temperatures, while scraping 3-6 inches of fresh snow off your car. Leaving at least 15-20 minutes earlier than normal, turning on the 4-wheel drive and navigating the plowed and unplowed roads on your trek to work......Well, enough reminiscing for now. I'm sure you'll get a little more later....