Just a "thad" of this and that

2012

2012-01-10T12:38:00.001-07:00

2012. Man! Can't believe it's here already. Rumor has it the world is going to end this year so I guess I'd better make it a year to remember! (Note: sarcasm regarding the end of the world prognostication; I don't know when the world is going to end, but whenever it does end, I want to have lived my life fully). So, with that, here's some of my hopes for 2012:

1)Weight loss - Not super obsessed with it yet, but I'd be happy to lose 10 more lbs.

2)Exercise - My goal is to summit Pikes Peak (14,110') this year and maybe hit Elbert (14,440') with my dad!

3)Travel - Take a trip somewhere new for my birthday. Obtain Premier/Elite status with United/Continental again.

4)Community/Serving - Mission trip. I'm currently planning toward a short term trip this summer to Russia with my church.

5)Vocation - think through more specifically what I want to be when I grow up. I had a recent job interview last month (which overall is a good thing), but not sure it's really what I want to do (which overall is somewhat counter-productive if I get an offer and accept).

6)Dating - I think I need to get back on this horse. However, in the spirit of not rushing into it, how about at least 1 date this year?

7)Community/Relationships - I'm still on the fence a little with regard to my small group, but they're good people and I think overall, I want to have a heart that's more directed to investigating peoples' lives more.

That's it for now. Stay tuned! 2012! Bring it! C'mon!

2011 Recap

2012-01-10T12:25:00.005-07:00

Well, I was looking back on my 2011 post (which incidently happens to be 1 year ago to the day) to see how the year ended up in regards to those endeavors. I don't know that I exactly achieved each of them, but here's a rundown result of each one.

1) 37x37 - well 37 lbs didn't happen by age 37, but the year was marked by considerable diet and exercise changes resulting in some weight loss. Overall, from my high (or low point depending on how I look at it), I managed to drop somewhere in the vicinity of 25-30lbs from that point.

2) Lasik - Did it and couldn't be happier! If I had to make the choice over again, I'd choose it in a heartbeat! I love not having to wear glasses or mess with contacts! Highly recommend it!

3) Debt Reduction - well, I guess the biggest thing I can say about this is that I met all my obligations each month, and did manage to build in the one extra mortgage payment (against the principal) over the course of the year. I did eliminate all my revolving credit debt so hopefully I'm in a better position to make a decent dent into my car and small home equity loan.

4) Financial Giving - I wasn't able to take on a new child sponsorship in 2011, but we'll see about 2012. I always have more opportunities to give than I feel I can stretch myself to. I suppose that's typically the case, but there are a couple of opportunities that I'd like to branch out to this year.

5) Music lessons - Didn't happen. Not much else to say there.

6) MBA - Didn't happen. Again, not much else to say except I apparently am not all that motivated to go back to school.

7) Incline - Well, my hope was to get down to 45 minutes. The problem is I haven't climbed it in quite awhile. I opted for hiking nearby Waldo Canyon instead as it seemed less crowded. I need to try the incline again and see where my time is at. I'd be pleased if I was closer to the 50 minute mark.

8) Family time - I missed out on some of the prime summer month time due to being in Kuwait, but was happy that my dad and I made it out fishing on Black Friday . Christmas was good and it was good to be able to spend it with the whole family.

9) Travel - I was pretty happy to have made it out to Orlando for my birthday. It definitely made me want to try and hit somewhere new for my next birthday!

10) Building relationships - I made a start here by getting into a small group at church. So far, the group is still together and it's not been too bad. It still seems a little difficult at times for me to connect with those individuals, but I feel like I've seen more success here than previous small group attempts.

So, all in all, I think a fairly positive year. It was a year of some positive changes for which I'm very thankful for. I need to post some 2012 hopes next which, I suspect, will probably closely resemble the 2011 list and where I left off. So, here goes...

Cocoa Beach

2011-12-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

While I was out in Orlando earlier this month, one of the things that I thought might be fun to do was go to a nearby beach. Since my friend, Elizabeth was going to be working at least one of the weekdays that I was there, this seemed like something fun and leisurely that I could go look around myself.

As this day happened to be the day after my birthday, I was pretty wiped from Epcot the day before so I slept in that morning and finally got on the road around noon. The two closest beaches were Cocoa and Daytona. I opted for Cocoa Beach since it seemed a little shorter and more direct (and Cape Canaveral was nearby).

Before leaving, I had searched the web to try and find some info out about beaches or places to go while down there. The two spots that I landed on were a public park next to the Hilton (I think) and a Jetty Park that was near Port Canaveral. I suppose I should've planned for a trip to Ron Jon's surf shop, but didn't make it in there. It was pretty easy to find my way over there as it was a straight shot out of Orlando. Great drive and not too crowded. People drive fast on that road as well. By the time I got "out" of Orlando, it probably was only like 40 minutes to get there. Nice! Unbeknownst to me, that day turned out to be a really cold day back in the Springs so it made me feel even better to have the opportunity to enjoy some warmth and sunshine for another day before stepping in to winter back home!

I was really just looking for a coffee shop near the beach in order to do a little work and/or reading since my foot was not going to allow for walking on the sandy beaches in light of the removal of the mole and the healing process taking place there (side thought: the biopsy on the mole was "normal"). Anyway, coffee shops along the beach really don't exist there and come to think of it, I can't imagine a lot of people wanting to drink hot cups of coffee near the beach. So, after checking out the public park, I tried to find my way over to Jetty Park, which is where all my pictures were taken.

Part of the reason I wanted to go to Jetty was because I'd heard that one could see manatees and sea turtles possibly, as well as maybe a cruise ship and the launch site over at Cape Canaveral (would've been really cool if I could've seen a NASA launch!). So, I finally managed to find the Park and was kind of bummed to find out that rather than the $5 entrance fee, I was going to have to pay $10 since I wasn't a local resident. Well, I figured I was there so I might as well make the most of it. I paid my fee and drove in. Looking back, I wished I'd had some fishing gear as that cost would've covered fishing off the pier as well. I was primarily interested in the pier since it didn't require walking through a lot of sand. I'm still kicking myself for not waiting on that procedure until after vacation (live and learn).

So, here's a panoramic shot of the pier on the left and some of the rocks. You can see I got there fairly late in the afternoon as the sun was getting lower.

Another panoramic shot of the pier.

The wind was up that day so it was really creating some small waves against the shoreline. Enjoyed seeing that!

There was actually a couple of cruise ships while I was there. One came in and this one below was leaving. This boat seemed smaller than others I feel like I've seen, but it was still pretty stinkin big!

This is my one shot of Cape Canaveral. The white thin in the middle way off in the distance is where they do the launches (I think). Not too much activty on this day.

Since this was a fishing pier, there didn't seem to be any shortage of feathery friends looking for an easy meal or some leftover scraps. This particular guy seemed pretty tame. You can tell I've not been around water or the ocean all that much as I got pretty entertained just seeing them, but I thought it was pretty cool to watch them take off and skim the surface if they saw a fish.

So, how many pelicans can you find in this picture? :)

This picture struck me as funny. AllI could think of was "which of these is not like the others"?

Off the pier walkway, they had this nice little bridge over to a beach and some of the sand dunes out there. Seemed like something straight out of a movie to me!

I ended up enjoying some short time reading and working through some of the discussion questions in my small group booklet. I didn't get to spend as much time as I would've liked due to my late start and the sun starting to set, but in the end, I still achieved what I hoped for which was some nice quiet relaxing time at the beach! Once the sun starting to disappear, I packed up and headed back to Orlando to meet up with Elizabeth for some evening festivities.

Birthday at Epcot!

2011-12-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

So, for my birthday this year, I decided to branch out a little bit on my celebration by going to FL to visit my friend, Elizabeth (aka Libby). She is on staff with CRU (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ) and does Graphic Design for them. It so happens that the CRU national headquarters is located in Orlando. Since I've never been to Disney World, I thought this might be the perfect time and opportunity to go. Having a birthday around that time frame just made it all the more compelling to visit Disney!

I have some friends at work who are Disney fanatics! They graciously provided me a book of information which I perused ahead of time to try and maximize my day there. A side-note to all of this is that I decided to have a mole removed right before I left on my trip. The problem was that it was located on the bottom of my foot. Note to self: next time a mole needs to be removed, opt to wait until after vacation! A long day walking around Epcot was not kind to my foot or my leg for having to compensate for the discomfort by walking a little differently (and slightly limping).

Elizabeth met me bright and early at my hotel and we took the shuttle over to the Magic Kingdom, as that was the first shuttle out. We'd heard that the first week in December was a good time to go as it fell into the "Least Crowded" category and riding the monorail from Magic Kingdom over to Epcot seemed to prove that. I was very surprised at the minimum amount of cars that I saw (not to mention people). Here's a picture of the ticket booths (as you can see, there weren't a whole lot of crowds):

Of course, I did find out that the park was not officially open until 9am (something I failed to read in the book) and we had arrived around 8:30. So, we grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to wait until they opened the front gates! Once inside, we stopped a took a quick picture in front of the giant golf ball. Here's my adventurous companion ready to take on a long day at Epcot:

We had read that it was best to hightail over to the Soarin' ride. This was an IMAX type ride that took you up and made you feel like you were kind of hang-gliding over the California coast. They had a breeze blowing at you, and a big giant screen below you showing all sorts of footage (from an aerial perspective). The surprising thing was that in the midst of the ride you got to smell a couple of scenes (1 being a pine smell as you were "flying" over the Redwoods and the other being an citrusy smell or maybe it was grapes as you were "flying" over Napa wine country). Very cool!

We proceeded to check out a few of the other rides in that area. There were some pretty cool ones, like a Test Drive track (seemed the most roller coaster-ish) and there was a flight simulator ride that put you in space shuttle of sorts with a mission to mars. They had two lines (one for easier intensity and another for heavier intensity) and I tried the easier line first. After I conquered that, I went for the heavier one and surprisingly enough, I felt pretty woozy coming out of that one! I don't recommend it for those who easily get nauseous!

Since the global area in the back of Epcot didn't open up until 11, we did much of the front stuff early on in the morning. However, by the time lunch rolled around, we were ready to go find something tasty from one of the countries. Turns out we ended up at Morocco and had a nice little plate of some Mediterranean sliders which were delicious!

After a nice lunch break, we proceeded to check out the different countries they had there. I was wondering whether citizens from any of the countries on exhibit felt their country was adequately or correctly portrayed. Just a random side thought...

Anyway, I didn't think to take as many pictures as I probably should've, but here's what I've got.

Germany. Reminded me of going over on STINT my 3rd year and having a 12 hour layover in Frankfurt. The teams went into town and we stopped in at a plaza that seemed to mirror this little scene at Epcot. Elizabeth recalled the same.

Italy. A favorite of mine (mostly just because I really like all things Italian!

Morocco. Not a place I've been, but it did remind me a lot of when I lived in Jordan.

Japan was pretty cool. They had these drummers that played these big drums and from a distance it sounds a little redundant since all you can really experience is the deep base sound. However, when you watch the show, it's actually pretty cool and entertaining (at least I thought so). Wish I'd taken a picture of them. One of the other things they had there was a little pearl exhibit. So, one could pick out an oyster and they would pop it open and see how big of a pearl was inside. They also had people making pearl jewelry right there as well.

I did get a picture of the beautiful koi pond they had. Seemed clear to me that the koi must get fed from tourists, or at least this guy thought I was going to drop something in.

One of the more cool shows in the World Showcase were these Chinese acrobats. Now, I'm pretty sure they're strong, but I was pretty impressed with some of the acrobatics they exhibited (especially these Bobsey Twins). Made me think I needed to start working out a bit more...

Towards the end of the day, we started thinking birthday dinner and what ended up sounding good to me was Italian or Japanese. Since it was dinnertime, every place was going to have a bit of a wait so we proceeded to put our name in at the Japanese place. We were told it would be 50 minutes (well, honestly, we weren't really sure if she said 15 or 50) and given one of those light-em-up type signals that flash and vibrate when your name is up. So, we proceeded to go sit down and wait. I'm sure it didn't matter by this time whether I was sitting or standing as my foot was throbbing pretty good regardless...it sucks getting old). Much to our surpise and delight, the wait ended up only being about 15 minutes and we gladly came and got to our table. We ate at one of those places where they cook the meal in front of you. Reminded me of a birthday dinner I had in Lubbock at Shogun Japanese Steakhouse. So good! All the waitstaff was really nice and they all seemed so authentic, especially with names like Mariko and Suhiko (or something to that effect). It was a little non-Japanese when our chef turned out to be named Ken. I guess there's a famous Japanese actor named Ken Watanabe...anyway, here's Ken in action!

I received a birthday cake. Didn't really know it, but there were actually two other birthdays at our table. The people we sat next to were very nice (from upstate NY) and it was fun to share some conversation with them.

I guess I've left out probably a number of things.

- We took a little boat ride inside of the Mexico exhibit. If you go in the summertime, that little ride is a great place to be indoors and fairly cool on a hot, humid, crowd filled summer day. My recommendation is just to not go in the summer; that first week in December is like perfect (at least for Epcot, not sure how crowded it was at the Magic Kingdom).

- We sat in on this little history of America show that was pretty neat. There was an acapella group singing Christmas carols at the US exhibit.

- There was a pretty cool little history of the world ride inside of the golf ball.

- There was a educational show about energy by Ellen Degeneres and it featured a ride through this setup that had dinosaurs. There was a little child seated in front of me and he didn't take too well to that. If I'd been his age, I'd have probably freaked out as well. Those dinosaurs were pretty real looking!

- For dessert, Elizabeth bought me some gelato at the Italy exhibit!

- We watched fireworks at the end of the night. It was a pretty impressive show. It put most 4th of July shows I've seen to shame. Disney sure does know how to do it right!

- I wore this Happy Birthday pin on my shirt all day. Most every Disney employee (Cast Member) wished me a Happy Birthday...that was fun. I even had other park-goers wish me a Happy Birthday...that was even more entertaining.

- The longest line we stood in was the monorail line at the end of the night to get back over to the Magic Kingdom to catch our shuttle bus back to the hotel.

It was a great and memorable way to celebrate my birthday. Thanks E, for making the journey with me and being my companion for the day. Good night, Epcot!

Black Friday Fishing

2011-11-28T10:08:00.001-07:00

So, in celebration of Black Friday, my dad and I decided to go fishing instead of shopping (well, I actually did a little online window shopping earlier in the morning, but no purchases). He had fished a few of the lakes earlier in the summer and thought those might be the best opportunities for unfrozen waters. He had done some work before Thanksgiving to tie some flies and floaters together for some wet fly fishing.

We knew there would be a little weather blowing in, but wasn't sure how bad it would be, if at all. So, we headed down into town and picked up a day permit for me at a grand cost of $9. I figured if the cost was like $20, I was going to turn down the fishing expedition, but $9 sounded pretty good to me for the day.

We headed out of town up toward Leadville to a place called Twin Lakes. It's really one big lake, but kind of looks like an hourglass. The scenery was beautiful! Here's a pano shot of the lake:

We pulled up and unloaded stuff. Where we decided to fish was close to a power station so we were hoping to not get chased off from fishing nearby. We figured there probably wasn't anyone working and if there were, didn't think they would be too bothered by a couple of people casting a line.

The lines that my dad had prepped had a bobber on it that needed to be filled with water. That was a chore trying to fill that thing in 32 degree water, but we managed to do it and started fishing. Unfortunately, the line was too light for the weight of the bobber and my dad lost the whole fly setup on his first cast. I managed to cast a few more before my line fell prey to the same problem. After we lost both setups, we went back up the Jeep and created two more fly setups with a smaller bobber. This seemed to work a lot better and we managed a few bites. My dad struck first with about an 11-12 inch rainbow trout.

I finally managed to get one that we think was a cut-bow (cross between cutthroat trout and rainbow trout).

Here's a close-up!

We continued to fish for little while, braving the snow that started coming down and the wind that had picked up. We didn't end up catching anymore fish, but I was happy to have caught at least one. We finally decided stop after I ended up losing my second fly setup (I think it got caught on something since I lost the whole line off the snap swivel).

After that, we headed up the road towards the Mt. Elbert trailhead (tallest peak in CO; I'd like to hike that sometime) and stopped at another lake and had a turkey sandwich and visited for a little bit before heading down and back toward home. It was a fun outing and was glad to share the time with my dad. Hopefully next summer, I'll be able to get out and do a little more fly-fishing in warmer conditions!

Sales

2011-10-23T21:46:00.001-06:00

I love the feeling when I walk out of a store thinking I got a good deal. Whether I really did or not is probably up for debate, but I had some time to kill, so I popped in to a couple of clothing stores to browse over the weekend. I walked out of Banana Republic with a new pair of khakis for $12.97 (regularly $59.50) and I purchased a new pair of khaki shorts at Gap for $5.38 (regularly $39.95). They were both final sales, but I know both will come in handy at some point in the near future (well, okay, the khakis sooner than the shorts, but they'll still get used).

Project Backyard Phase II

2011-10-18T23:14:00.000-06:00

So this post has just been waiting in "Draft" mode forever. I think it's probably because I was so worn out after finishing these projects that I didn't even want to think about them. I know the title says Project Backyard, but really it's the entire lot. My house was a rental for a large number of years before I bought it and it's taken me awhile to start to get things more "attractive" or visually stimulating from what it was.
I wish I'd taken some before shots of the front and the overgrown juniper bushes that used to reside in front of the house. I had the junipers removed and it left a big area of the front of the house now clear for something else. I'm sure my neighbors just loved the fact that I had a few big dirt holes in the front from where the stumps were pulled. Anyway, I decided that the front should look a little more "natural" so I opted to build a retaining wall in the front comprised of moss rock. I bought a pallet of moss rock which got me about 1.5 tons of rock and here's the creation process.
It was going to be one big puzzle really so my friend, Mike (sooo thankful for Mike taking a day to come over and help me knock this out...big props to Mike for I would not have accomplished this w/o him!!) and I moved all the moss rock out around the front lawn to see what we had to work with

Then, worked on prepping and leveling to try and ensure an uniformity in wall height and level.

Then we started laying stone and that was probably the more backbreaking part of the front since we essentially had to spot a stone, bring it over, bend down to try and work it in; if it didn't work out, then we had to pick it back up and move it back out to the lawn and repeat the process until we found that worked.

This is a shot of essentially the finished product in the front. I think it turned out pretty nice and once I can get some backfill dirt, I'll hopefully plant some flowers or small ground covering in it. I still want to put a water feature on the left side cascading down along the stairs, but will have to wait until I can get an electrician over to put a power source off the front of the house somewhere close by.

Moving onto the backyard, I've been wanting to put an elevated flower bed for a couple of years now. I'm optimistic this will help in growing vegetables better so that I can get something earlier in the season. I thought the best place to start would be off the main back deck on the ground. So, we had to cut out some sod and start prepping the ground. Prep work is like the hardest part of building these walls and takes the most time, but if you do it right, it will turn out pretty nice. Mike has done a lot of these in his backyard so he was very key in making this one come together so well (as evidenced by the 2nd and 3rd pictures below.

One of the trickier parts of putting this wall up was that my yard is sloped so in the picture above, you can see that we laid the first level on the right side and started toward the left. In the middle, we had to effectively bury a layer as the first layer in order to make the original first layer on the right sit evenly across the entire width of the bed. Mike did all that technical work for me while I wheelbarrowed in all 70 some odd stones from the front. After a full day of lifting, those suckers get really heavy! So, after we had the first layers in and the landscape timbers nailed down in the back across the back deck posts, it was just a matter of laying the stones in and making sure it was going down level.
Here's the final product!

Things I learned while in Kuwait City

2011-08-18T11:10:00.004-06:00

This is a panoramic shot taken from the rooftop pool overlooking the Gulf.

Last month, I took a trip (for business) to Kuwait City. The last time I was there, I believe it was in September 2003 and only for a couple of days. I remembered that I didn't really care for the place all that much (especially if comparing to Amman, JO). We had a work requirement come up from one of our programs there and I happened to be the only person in our department with availability to go as I was in between proposals...so the lot fell to me to go.

Best perk(s) of the trip: Paid "vacation" with r/t business class, another year of elite status, and per diem at $113/day.

Low part(s) of the trip: Having to work in a tent and contracting a virus that was running through the camp.

Anyway, being there longer this time around (19 days) and having a few more years go by, I learned the following:

1) Kuwaitis are rich. I already knew that, but learned this go-round that the Government subsidy per person is around 1500 KWD/month. That translates into about $5500/person/month if you're a native born Kuwaiti. I don't know if that's true, but that's what I heard.

2) Kuwaitis don't work. At least from what I can see, they've effectively outsourced their entire working population. In fact, the country's population is comprised of only 40% Kuwaitis. The other 60% are all expatriates from all over the world. US has a large presence there (obviously), but many of the workers are either Indian or Filipino.

3) Kuwaitis drive fast and reckless. I can't determine whether I think they're better drivers or worse than other countries. One thing for sure is that I found it very easy to acclimate to the way they drive. Since the vehicles there don't have mph on their speedometers, I never really knew just how fast I was going on the highway to Camp Arifjan. As it turns out, on average, it was about 90 mph. I did get up to 160 kph one time, but seemed a little unsteady so I stayed in the 150 kph range. There are a fair number of wrecks that are typically left on the side of the road (that doesn't seem to slow anyone down though) and if the individual lives through that, they seem to just go out and buy another vehicle.

4) For as much of a stipend as the Kuwaitis receive, they still seem to enjoy American fast food. There was McDonalds, Burger King, Hardees, KFC, Cinnabon, Pizza Hut, Popeye's, and Krispy Kreme all in the area where I was staying. Starbucks too. Most of those places also deliver...can you imagine, McDonalds delivery? I did eat at a Chilis Too the first night, but realized how quickly the cost can go up when you're not accustomed to running the exchange through your mind. After my first week, I opted to do mostly grocery shopping at the local grocery store there.

5) They have really nice shopping malls there, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what you'd spend your money on after you bought from the stores. They seemed to be comprised of mostly, perfumes, shoes, some clothing, electronics, luggage and other jewelry. Since I don't buy a lot of any of that, I guess that's what drove my confusion. I have to admit that I thought it'd be interesting to go in and get a fitting for one of those white robes the men wear, but since I probably would not have purchased it, I thought it best to forego it.

6) According to law, no one can work when the temps are above 50C (122F). While I'm pretty sure it was over 50 at least a couple of times I was there, I never could find any thermometer that read over 50. I suspect if all the thermometers capped out at 50, everyone would have to continue working since it technically didn't exceed 50. Since I worked in a tent over there, there was about 3 hours every day that was just miserable. While the highest thermometer I saw in the tent was 91, the thermostats were all reading around 96. One thing for sure is that July is not the time to visit Kuwait.

7) When construction/remont (i.e. roadwork) is required, the job gets done very quickly. I'm not sure if it's because of limited worktime with the heat or just really industrious workers, but unlike here in the States, if there is roadwork that's going to happen, it's done in a matter of hours, not days or months...or years.

8) Couple of peculiar things that I noted on their highways...1) when a dust storm/sandstorm blows through, there are workers out the next day sweeping the dirt/dust off the left shoulder of the highway into the concrete median. Groups of what appeared to be Indians, sweeping/shoveling dirt from the road into the median dividing barrier. 2) For major highways, they have some overpasses, but they employ the use of u-turns. Never could figure this one out as you have to merge into the left lane (which is the fast lane) and slow down for the u-turn and hope you don't get rear-ended by someone going 100mph only to take the u-turn into the left lane (again the fast lane) and hope you don't get mashed by someone going 100mph the other way. It works though and I did it every day on my way home from the base.

9) While this isn't about Kuwait, this is a novelty service that I enjoyed while flying business class. I hadn't had this before, but whenever I woke up, there was always a full glass of water for me. I didn't ever see anyone moving about...ever, but without fail, I never had to ask for some water as it was always full whenever I woke up. I really liked that. It was like the water fairy or something. Since I usually dehydrated myself consuming wine during the meals, it really was nice.

10) Overall, it was just interesting for me to be overseas again. It made me realize how much I enjoy being in another culture and getting to experience other people's lives for a little bit. Since I was an extended guest at the hotel, I got to see many of the same service people (security guards, bellhops, and fitness center personnel). I bought a couple of items from Ibrahim in the local bazaar and my Syrian taxi driver got me around traffic at the airport as best he could, but not before we talked about country music and America. I found it particularly entertaining that he likes country music (and played the likes of Sammy Kershaw & George Strait on our ride to the airport) and hopes to obtain his green card soon so that he can come to America and live in Indiana. No offense to Indiana, just thought it was a little abstract.

11) One final observation was that in the shopping mall near me, they had a fish market, a meat market, a chicken market, and a vegetable market. While I never had the opportunity to observe it, supposedly they had a fish auction at the fish market. When I did my quick walk-through there, they had a lot of fish on ice. Reminded me of Russia days. Couple of other notes was that the chicken market really consisted of store space (such as what you'd see in a normal mall...think the size of sunglass hut or something small like that) with shelves containing cages of chickens. No free-range chicken here. If I could've taken a picture w/o coming across as an insensitive tourist, I would've as that was a funny picture to me. The other note was that the meat market was comprised of, again store space with, hanging cuts of meat. As I walked by one store, there was a woman there talking with the butcher as he was making a cut of meat off what I assume was a cow. Talk about fresh cuts of beef. I don't need the whole animal, just a little off the flank there will be fine...

Here are some pictures while I was there. All in all, it was a good trip, I got done what I needed to for the program and was happy to get back home.

This is a picture of sunrise over the Gulf from my hotel room.

This is the picture of the tent I was working in. Essentially a sun shade…

This is a quick snapshot inside the Fahaheel Bazaar.

This was a Subway out in the middle of nowhere, I always got a chuckle as I drove by thinking about some sandwich artist whom got their first assignment here…

This was a snapshot of the temperature inside the tent one day. Just for grins, at 12:26pm, it was reading 90.9F. Brutal…my house doesn’t have A/C and it never got that hot.

This was a nice picture at night from a nearby mall and looking back toward the hotel (the bldg with the blue lighting). They had these fountains here that reminded me of the ones I saw in Vegas at the Bellagio, but they didn’t have any music to it…and it was like 100 degrees outside if you wanted to sit and watch it…

The hotel where I was staying had this rooftop pool which was kind of nice. I always intended to try it out, but never got in.

Top 15 Countries that consume the most alcohol

2011-08-10T13:12:00.001-06:00

Random post...so, I came across subject list online and was surprised to see South Korea made the list at #11. See stats below. More surprising than their presence on the list was the Spirits stat which was, by far, the apparent drink of choice. I've long given up my days of single malt scotch (though I do enjoy a glass...or 3 maybe once a year) for the sake of my liver, but still enjoy microbrews and red wines somewhat regularly (i.e. once a week).

For inquiring minds, Moldova came in at #1 and for all my Russian friends, Russia came in at #4.

11. South Korea

Per capita alcohol consumption: 14.80 liters
Recorded consumption: 11.80 liters
Unrecorded consumption: 3.00 liters

Per capita consumption by type (recorded)
Beer: 2.14 liters
Wine: 0.06 liters
Spirits: 9.57 liters
Other: 0.04 liters

Happiness is...

2011-07-20T23:54:00.001-06:00

Happiness is making it to the gas station with the fuel tank on empty.

I'm in Kuwait and I'm driving my Mitsubishi Pajero to Arifjan when I noticed my fuel tank was lower than I thought. As I get closer to the base, the low fuel light comes on. When I got on base, I pulled out the owner's manual to see if there was any guidance on how many liters I had left in the car at that point. Nothing in the owner's manual to shed light on that topic. Bummer.

So, I look around on the internet to see if I can find any info. First thing I saw seemed to indicate I could expect to have about 10-11 liters left (basically a couple of gallons, same as my 4Runner, roughly) and mileage efficiency looked to be about 8km/liters. Based upon those numbers, I estimated about 80 km left in the tank which seemed to be sufficient to make it back to the gas station near my hotel (which I estimated to be about 50 km away). Aside from having to wait in a few lines and go a little slower on the highway (for "optimum efficiency"), I rolled into the gas station running on the -E- line of the fuel gauge and pulled up. I didn't particularly relish the thought of getting stranded on the side of the highway in 115 degree weather in a foreign country trying to get gas...

I'd heard that one could fill up their tank with 3KD so I figured I had enough currency on me to cover that. So, the guy that filled my tank knew enough English to say full and I said sure. So, with a sigh, I sat back, turned the engine off and watched the pump. Glorious moment!

As it turns out, gas is really cheap here. I think I filled up the tank with about 77 liters (about 20 gals) and it cost me 5 KD (or 18 USD). If only they could bring those prices to the States. I'll be sure and fill up when the fuel gauge reaches 1/2 next time.

Devil's Playground

2011-07-06T21:53:00.004-06:00

I've had a couple of friends now whom have stated on separate occasions the desire to climb Pikes Peak. Having lived so close to it now for almost 7 years, it seems inevitable that I'll give it a shot someday. That being said, I thought it best to at least try and find a high elevation hike that could test me and show me how I'll function up there.

So, this past weekend, I was looking around online for hikes and came across this one from the Crags campground up to Devil's Playground...and ultimately Pikes Peak. The hike was advertised as moderate difficulty, 6.8 miles round trip, 2800 ft elevation gain. I really wish I had had a altimeter on because the trailhead was supposed to be just over 10000 ft and Devil's Playground was right at 13000 ft. No idea, but the oxygen was a little thin up there.

It was a great hike, all in all. I started a little late since I'd gone to church that morning, but I got on the trail about 12:30. By the time I got back down, it was 6. Not too bad of a hike for the afternoon. It took about an hour to get back down and really took me about 3 hours to get up to Devil's Playground. The remaining time was due to hiking a little ways further toward Pikes Peak as well as stopping up at Devil's Playground to shoot a few pictures. The weather held up great and while I did get a little rain, that took place primarily when I was just starting out so I had the benefit of tree cover. Up on the peak, I'd heard it was raining and hailing a little bit. When I did get to the top, I was happy to have my jacket. One for the warmth since the temps were a bit cooler and the wind picked up and I didn't have any sunblock on so my arms were getting a little toasted.

When I got to the top of Devil's Playground, I could see Pikes Peak and was thinking it's just right over there, but the reality is that it was probably another 2 or 3 miles and more importantly another 1100 ft elevation gain with a lot of loose rock toward the top (meaning more work than the defined path I'd been on). My water and snack food was also running low so I wasn't too sure if I'd have enough energy or hydration to make it all the way and still get back down without passing out. I'll know for next time though!

It was a great workout, but I was wiped out by the time I got back down. My feet hurt, and my calves took a day or two to recover, but I think I learned that I can handle it and even thought through a couple of things to remember for next time!

Here's some pictures from the hike:

The trail was pretty well-defined the whole way-not always smooth and wide, but clearly defined.

Getting close to timberline!

Glad the weather held up...especially after reading the sign!

Here's a shot of Devil's Playground. It's a little strange to huff and puff your way to the top of a mountain, only to discover lots of tourists up there running around because they drove up on the Pikes Peak Highway...

Some pretty cool rock face formations.

This is a picture from just coming over the ridge toward Devil's Playground. As you can see, the trail runs through somewhat of a rock wall formation. The brown mound on the right is Pikes Peak.

Here's the rock wall again from the other side looking back toward the ridge that I just came up.

Amazing what grows up there and how it grows...

Nice scenery shot...

Coming up on Little Pike at 13363 (I think) on the right, Pikes Peak is straight ahead, but I opted to turn back at that point....missed it by that much! Gives me a reason to go again! :)

Pricey dating...

2011-06-27T11:39:00.001-06:00

According to an article I casually skimmed this morning, Denver men spend an average $221 on a first date, the highest of any of the 45 cities surveyed from an online dating site called Whats Your Price. Second was Seattle at $197 average and third was Dallas/Ft. Worth at $178.

In this same article, according to a survey by Match.com, half of women "say" (quotation marks added by me)they're okay with a date paying using a coupon.

Admittedly, I have paid a large sum of money on a first date (though not on par with the Denver average), but I have not tried using a coupon on a date unless we've been dating awhile. So, out of curiosity, my question to readers:

1) What's the highest amount (keeping generalities/ranges, i.e. upper 70's, $75-$100 range) that you have either paid on a first date or that your date paid (if you know) and what did that cover? Did you have a second date?

2) If you're a guy, have you ever used a coupon on a date or if you're a girl, has a guy ever used a coupon on a date with you? Reactions? Did it translate into another date?

Project Backyard Phase I

2011-06-26T11:35:00.004-06:00

I've long since thought I have too much lawn in my backyard. I become more painfully aware of this fact each summer month as evidenced by my water bill. I have also thought that I need to minimize the grass that requires watering while at the same time creating a space that is aesthetically pleasing.

Yesterday, I thought I might just put a couple of small changes in (still require water, but nothing beyond what I already expend) to the landscape by planting a couple of small plants that I picked up at Good Earth Garden Center.

As a side note, I developed a momentary small crush on one of the assistant managers at Good Earth as we were discussing tomatoes, peppers and rose bushes (really just all my questions being answered). Random, I know...

Anyway, I had a daily deal coupon that I'd bought that needed to be used up by the end of June so fortunately I was able to find a few items that I wanted which ended up being some compost, fertilizer, a tomato plant and a rose bush.

Last time I tried to dig up sod, it was a major pain, but taking up the sod in this different area of the yard proved to be much easier. I started with a small area that I knew would be covered by the existing sprinkler layout.

There has been a fair amount of robin activity in my backyard as of late and digging up dirt brought this little guy around, but I kept shooing him away. He'll get the worms eventually, I suppose...

I measured it out and removed the sod. Hardest part, I suppose...

Then I added the compost. Man, I don't know if it really was the compost or something else, but it was good stuff. I advertised as loosing clay soil and after I put that in and tilled it in with the existing stuff, it really softened the ground up. I highly recommend it!

Now we just need to put the rose bush in and I was told to bury it deep so that the crown of the root system was in the ground. This apparently helps it to weather the year round inconsistency of the hot/cold temperatures here in Colorado. Here's hoping it works.

The rose bush I purchased is called Tiddly Winks. They're miniature roses, but I feel like I have enough room in the bed to plant another rose bush with larger ones. At some point, maybe I can expand the bed if I feel like I need more space.

After I was done, my robin friend came back and started to peck around again to see what could be found. I have no doubt that I lost a worm or two to his industrious searching.

I'm pretty satisfied with how it came out and I just need to figure out how to keep it alive. It gets a lot of sun and I'll have to temper that with some hand watering on the weekends, maybe. As for the tomato plant, I just dug a quick small hole, threw some compost and fertilizer in with the soil, added some new soil and gave it a good watering to get started. The fruit on this tomato plant should be achieved in about 62 days (short growing season) so hopefully I'll see more fruit by end of summer! It's called a Sun Sugar tomato variety. Supposed to be pretty good!

Compare Me

2011-06-22T15:10:00.001-06:00

Because I've taken a little different route in life since graduating from college (at least a little variance from most of my friends), I've always wondered whether I was "on track" with saving, income, retirement, spending, etc. as other people. Obviously it's difficult to do direct comparisons since everyone has different circumstances and such, but I came across a nifty Internet tool in which you (anonymously) enter information about your household income, savings, mortgage payments and other financials, and find out how you're doing versus people with the same profile.

Some of the things I guess I learned:

-I've saved quite a bit more for retirement

-I also think I need quite a bit more than what others think they need for retirement.

-Surprisingly, I started saving for retirement a couple years earlier than others like me

-I also learned that I have quite a bit more in liquid savings than others like me.

-Those are all good things (I guess), but I learned that I owe more on my mortgage than others like me and that I pay quite a bit more each month on my mortgage than others like me (makes me feel like I need to move into a cheaper place).

Interesting little study though...check it out at www.ingcompareme.com

2011 Mid Year Update

2011-06-13T11:38:00.002-06:00

It's almost mid-June and I was reminded this past weekend of the summer solstice. It's hard to believe the longest day of the year is already upon us. I continue to be surprised at how quickly the years go by nowadays...

Anyway, I thought it might be nice to check back on my post at the beginning of this year to see how things have come along in terms of what I hoped to see this year.

1) 37x37. Well, I feel like I've embraced a much healthier lifestyle in terms of eating and exercising. Specifically for this item, I've managed to shed about 18 lbs. We'll see how the rest of the year goes, but I think in order to actually reach 37 lbs, I'm going to have to seriously ratchet up the exercise regime.

2) Lasik. I had it done back in January and couldn't be more pleased. Every now and then, I still reach for my glasses (that aren't there) and I do still have a touch of astigatism, but I love not having to mess with glasses/contacts on a daily basis. The only downside so far has been dry eyes, but it's manageable.

3) Debt reduction. Man, this is a tough one. I have definitely scaled way back on my restaurant spending, but with trying to do home improvement and having my Lasik cost deducted through Flex Spending, I seem to still spend as much as I have coming in. I need to figure out a better plan of attack on this one, short of selling my car...

4) Financial giving. With #3 being as tough as it is, it's been difficult to budget in an additional cost here, but I'm trying to make one time donations where I can each month. Hopefully this can move more as #3 falls more in line.

5) Music lessons. Well, I will be able to take a month of violin lessons (due to a Groupon type discount, but I can't see it moving forward beyond that for now).

6) MBA. It's on my mind, but I think job change has been weighing on me more. Looks like this one will slip another year.

7) Incline. I haven't been on the incline at all this year (as least, I can't recall that I have), but I have been hiking this trail called Waldo Canyon (In/Out, Loop hike). It's listed as about the same elevation gain as the Incline, but longer (6.2 mile total distance). I was pretty pleased to have hiked/jogged it last week at a time of 1 hr, 51 min. I think the Incline will have to wait until after summer season...too hot and too crowded.

8) Family time. Still hope to go fishing with my dad toward the end of summer. I just had my parents in town this past weekend and it was a great time getting to celebrate their 44th anniversary with them. I'll be headed out this next weekend for Father's Day at their place.

9) Travel. My friend, Thomas and I went to Vegas at the end of April. Looking back on it, it was a fun trip and I'd love to go with a small group sometime. I still think Mexico would be great too. I did come across an opportunity with a non-profit that sounded interesting, but am not sure I'll make it happen this year. I think the group was called Visiting Orphans and they had a service project trip in August/September timeframe. Maybe next year could be a possibility for that opportunity.

10) Building relationships. I think I've probably regressed in this area the most (or, rather not made much progress on this). I have a scattering of friends here in town, but the two mens' groups that I was participating in have either ended or on hiatus. I've not felt much motivation toward church, but have enjoyed the times that I've gone. I feel a little lost in this area and I wonder if it's because I'm trying to compare what my experience/involvement with church was (as a teenager) to what it is now (as an adult). I had intended to go to a small group meeting at the church I've been going to (when I go), but missed those meetings due to work. We'll see how the second half of the year goes.

Overall, I think it's been a good year so far. Probably feeling a little slammed at work for the past 2 months or so, but hopefully that will change in the second half of 2011!

Happy day

2011-05-26T12:06:00.001-06:00

I've been looking at trying to pick up a copy of MS office, but have just been too cheap to buy it. Earlier this week, our company sent out an email with some kind of corporate agreement with Microsoft where employees could purchase Office for home use at a highly discounted rate. So, I was quite pleased after holding out for a year or two that I was able to get a copy for home for $15! Ahhh, my patience won out this time...that or my stinginess (ahem, I mean, frugality).

confession

2011-05-25T21:24:00.001-06:00

I coveted someone's Audi S5 today. There. Nice to get that one off my chest...

Things I learned while in Vegas...

2011-04-29T11:52:00.005-06:00

Earlier this week, I took a quick trip to Vegas with my friend, Thomas. Neither of us had been there before (although I think I was there as a kid, but have no recollection of it whatsoever) and we'd talked about doing a trip together somewhere for quite some time. Since our paths will be diverging later this year, we thought it'd be the perfect time to try and squeeze it in. Since Thomas didn't have an updated passport, we had to eliminate Mexico as an option so we took on Vegas!

We left late Sunday evening (yeah, it was Easter Sunday), and caught a flight out of Denver and arrived about an our later (with the time change). The Strip was pretty cool all lit up at night and I didn't realize how close it was to the airport. We soon had checked into our room, offloaded the luggage and out walking around on the Strip!

Our visit lasted through Wednesday when we caught a late afternoon flight back home. It was a good trip and fun to get away. With that quick bit, I'd like to share what I learned while in Vegas (though I can't share everything since what happens there is supposed to stay there...)

1) Vacation packages typically have some sort of "hidden" charge that you won't find out about until you arrive. I didn't make the travel arrangements so I didn't really explore all the fine print, but our "hidden" charge was the resort fee that we had to pay upon hotel check-in. This consisted of $15/day, which isn't much, but it adds up. The charge gave us access to the pool, fitness center, a small coupon booklet, a daily newspaper, and internet access, amongst a few other small items.

2) If you're looking a hotel/casino that gives you a Vegas feel, it will not be the New York New York. It had the smallest casino (I don't even really recall seeing any tables, just slot machines) and the NY NY theme just seemed more busy than cool. I guess maybe that's what they were going for, but I found it kind of lame. If you're looking for a nice pool area, this would not be the place.

3) If you're looking to be the pedestrian, you will probably walk like 10 miles/day going up and down the Strip. Wear good walking shoes or figure out the bus system early on. There is a monorail behind the MGM that goes north, but I don't think it makes stops at every hotel. Some of the hotels have little trams that run between them. The NY NY, unfortunately, does not.

4) Closely related to #3 is the discovery that no matter how close that next hotel or casino looks, it's probably much further than you think because there's probably not a really direct way to get there. "It's just right there" became a common phrase...more in jest by day 2. Also, the hotels/casinos will probably have signs directing you to things, but the way they're directing you is probably not the shortest or most direct route to get there. Don't be afraid to zip in/out of some slot machines or run along the side of the casino floor.

5) Figure out which shows you want to go to before-hand and plan to either stay at one of those hotel/casinos if you can afford it or plan to get there a couple hours early and just grab dinner or something like that there. Don't pay full price for the tickets either. Get them in a package deal or they have several places on the Strip you can buy them for half off.

6) Any Cirque du Soleil show is essentially a guaranteed hit in my book. Blue Man Group was not.

7) The Fountains at The Bellagio are awesome! Grab a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses at night and find a spot to hang out with your significant other and watch the every 15 minute shows. For the record, Thomas and I did not share a bottle wine or linger for more than 1 or 2 shows there, but it could be quite romantic, especially with the Eiffel Tower across the street. I see quite a few couples enjoying the atmosphere there.

8) The Volcano eruption at The Mirage is lame. Don't waste time waiting around for that.

9) Don't be afraid to sit and pull a slot or two in favor of obtaining a free drink. You'll probably have to scope the casino floor to see where the drink servers are and try and get ahead of them and flag them down. Tipping them and pulling a slot is going to be a lot cheaper than buying a drink at a bar. Of course, if you don't drink at all, that's probably the cheapest option...and the healthiest...

10) Ride the roller coaster at the NY NY; it's fun!

11) Don't take things from people handing out flyers on the street. It's usually pornographic in nature. I was warned about this before I went and the warnings were put to good use.

12) Don't be afraid to wear what you want. Chances are there will be someone on the Strip dressed more up or more down than you.

13) Don't try to enter a hotel/casino through the employee's entrance. They won't let you in (so I'm told).

14) Unless you're staying off the Strip, don't be afraid to take a taxi back to the airport (probably even from the airport). It's probably going to be about a buck or two more than the shuttle, but without all the stops.

Here's a few snapshots of various things:

The NY NY - our hotel this time around...

The Venetian - the incredible thing about this is that the waterway canal was not on the ground floor, so the structural engineering seemed pretty massive to be able to support all the water from collapsing onto the casino floor underneath.

The Lion exhibit in the MGM Grand. Yes, they're just oversized kittens and their handlers just hang out with them in the habitat area. It's a $9M dollar habitat, but they all live on a wildlife conservation area near Vegas.

The Beatles show that Thomas and I saw at The Mirage. Just the sign here, but it was a cool show!

We found IN-N-OUT burger near out hotel. You can see the NY NY in the background. It was like 3/4 of a mile from the hotel across I-15, but very much worth it. We made it there twice!

Here's a couple shots of video from one of the fountain shows at the Bellagio. Wish we could've got a full showing...

Skiing at Copper

2011-04-20T22:04:00.004-06:00

I purchased a 4 pack last year for the 2010-2011 ski season at Copper Mountain. I only managed to make it up there twice, but that was enough to cover the cost of the 4 pack so I feel like I broke even.

Both days that I went this season were really nice! This last time I went, the temps were in the mid 50s and the sun was shining bright! The only downside was the gusts of wind that blew at the top of the mountain. I went with my friends Mike and Kris and their daughter and it was a great day! Kris and I were still faithfully on skis so we were able to get some good runs in. Since their daughter was still learning and Mike had recently turned from skis to boarding, they were able to get some good runs in together as well.

Here's a picture of the 3 of them on the lift:

Here's a picture of their daughter looking "out of control":

And, finally, here's a picture of Mike doing really well on the board at the end of the day:

I wish I had a condo up at Copper Mountain...it sure would make it easier to make a weekend of it going up there rather than the long single days of getting up at the crack of dawn to get up there when the slopes open and then drive back home at the end of the day. I'm getting too old for that nowadays, but I definitely enjoyed the days that I went this year whenever I did finally make it up there to ski!

Spring garden

2011-04-09T08:48:00.001-06:00

I was in Lowes yesterday looking for some grass seed and fertilizer to try and spruce up some thin areas of my lawn. I lingered by the gardening area to check out some of the vegetable seeds and this caught my eye! A little garden that I can start with tomatoes and banana peppers! Yum! The Veggie Tale packaging kind of makes me feel young again...

Afghanistan update

2011-04-01T17:20:00.001-06:00

I received word today of my medical disqualification for deployment and
consequently, withdrawal of the offer. While certainly disappointing at a
minimum, I'll be talking with my doctor to see if there's a way to speed up the
timeline of getting my lab numbers down to the deployment standard (which is
ridiculous).

On the positive side, the Finance Manager on the program did encourage me to
visit with my doctor to see if we can get some semblance of an estimate of time
it might take to get my lab numbers down to the requirement. In her words, she
felt the position is perfect for me and would hate to see me miss out on it for
something that could be resolved or cleared up in a month or so. It made me
feel like the Program is still interested in seeing me fill the position
vacancy vice just putting a body in it.

So, for the time being, I will remain in my current capacity and monitor my labs
and hope and pray that they drop faster to reach the deployment requirement.
Ugh! More thoughts to come on this...

TS Clearance

2011-03-31T22:47:00.002-06:00

I found out today that my Top Secret Clearance went final. I don't know that it means a whole lot, but it's a good addition to the old resume!

Thanks to everyone whom may have been contacted by OPM for your help in getting me through that process!

Skeeball w/ E

2011-03-31T22:32:00.002-06:00

I've been meaning to post this for awhile, but was lazy at trying to figure out
how to rotate the original video 90 degrees. I probably could've received a
quick and easy answer from you, Tim (video genius that you are), but I didn't
think about that until just now...

Anyway, this is a video of my niece at Itz when we went there for a birthday
celebration. I was very humored at how diligent she was at skeeball and how
creative she became in trying to get the balls up the ramp and into the holes!
Never mind the fact that we are encouraging her to essentially cheat the game,
but it times out anyway if you take too long to throw all the balls so you don't
get anymore tickets...

Afghanistan revisited

2011-02-17T15:02:00.001-07:00

I learned yesterday that the position in Afghanistan I had applied for last year
with my company came open again. Apparently, the person who filled the position
had decided to call it quits (most likely after securing a better offer
elsewhere). So, the Finance Manager immediately notified me to inquire of my
availability.

Needless to say, I was upbeat. This is a great opportunity in many ways (apart
from the obvious lucrative upside) within the company. It will move me out into
the field, expose me more to Operations, expand my skillset within the Finance
area, allow me to potentially be more upward mobile and move me on from what
I've been doing for the last 5 years.

In my most recent performance appraisal, my supervisor expressed that while he
would certainly hate for me to leave the department, he feels the company would
be doing me a great disservice if I was still working in the department in a
year or two. I took that as a compliment.

Despite my acceptance last year, I was disqualified due to health reasons that
were out of my control (at the time). Since that time, I've made some
adjustments and been put on some long-term medication (i.e. the rest of my life,
maybe...) which has allowed me to see improvement in the necessary areas
impacting my deployability. Last I saw, I was very close to the deployability
standard so I'm hopeful that I can get in to see the doc and be at the mark I
need to pass the medical requirements.

I've been told the job is essentially mine if I want it and the terms are
satisfactory. I'm really happy to see this come back around since I was fairly
bummed that I wasn't able to make it work last time. Internally, within the
company, we don't have too many field options that would allow me the same level
of benefits that I currently have working in the HQ. This position would
provide that (most notably, a matching 401K and continued pension eligibility)
as well as a raise.

The job certainly won't be without its downsides, but I think they'll be
manageable. Most notably, I learned that accommodations over there work on time
in country and not necessarily rank and position. So, I see myself living in a
tent with a very large number of other people for quite a bit of time
initially. The other large issue apparently is that there would be two people
working for me, one of which (so I'm told) has caused those around him to walk
on egg shells for fear of legal action. I like to think of myself as fairly
easy-going and one that can get along with most folks, so I wonder how much of
an issue this will be.

Anyway, I'm just glad for the opportunity to apply for this position again and
hopefully, my health is at a point that will allow me to move forward with it
this time. Stay tuned!

Volkswagen Commercial: The Force

2011-02-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

Of the various Super Bowl commercials this year, I found this one to be one of my favorites!

Healthy eating

2011-02-04T15:00:00.001-07:00

In trying to eat a little healthier, I've noticed (at least in the last couple
of days) that people are a little funny in their reactions to it.

Last night, I went to a BBQ place to meet up with some guys for a weekly meet.
I had already eaten something before I went so that I wouldn't order any of the
delicious food they had on the menu. Upon learning that I came to the BBQ and
wasn't going to order any BBQ, the reaction was one of surprise and shock.
Understandably, I can see how one could be a little surprised that I wouldn't
order anything, but it then I was teased about my manliness. Like not eating at
a BBQ somehow downplays my man-card. I can appreciate the comments, but it was
interesting to note the reaction was not one more like "Way to go, man!"

Today, I met up with a friend for lunch. We went to Texas Road House, which is
always good! It's hard to not get good food there and it's also difficult to
not eat healthy there. However, I was determined to eat healthier and not break
the bank either (since my friend was paying). Normaly, I would've gone for the
grilled salmon, but I opted for the Country Veg plate (which is essentially 4
side orders) which my choices resulted in a House Salad, Steamed Veggies, Green
Beans and Chili. Yeah, so the chili wasn't healthy, but it got some protein in
me. I actually ate it last and thought afterwards that I probably would've been
okay not eating that since I was feeling very full. Anyway, again, the response
was surprise. My friend ordered the Prime Rib and was expecting I would follow
suit. He did give me props for ordering the Veggie Plate, but he was like
"c'mon, really? You come to Texas Road House and order veggies? Let's go up to
Red Lobster instead...(j/k)" So, it's kind of like I'm the bad guy for not
ordering a steak or something else more hearty on the menu.

I'm inclined to think it's just better to not eat out while I'm trying to stay
on a "get healthy" kick. I can eat whatever healthiness I want to in the safety
of my own kitchen and dining room. It seems really hard to eat healthy at
restaurants, but I'm learning to try and steer towards better dining out options
or previewing the menu before I go so that I don't have to spend a lot of time
trying to not decide at the restaurant that I really don't want all the other
delicious unhealthiness that resides on the menus.

Ah well...I press on! I'm really hoping to get back to jogging here soon. This
past week has been so freakin cold that I haven't wanted to get outside and I'm
not to a point of joining a gym or purchasing a treadmill for my home yet. I've
noticed a difference though this week (I think) in just a more overall feeling
of lethargy. So, hopefully I can get some jogging in this weekend and start up
regular again next week!

Tech Basketball

2011-01-19T14:59:00.001-07:00

Now I know that Tech has never had a powerhouse basketball team, especially with
the likes of Kansas, UT, A&M, Missouri, K-State, Oklahoma, O-State...okay, well
maybe just about every other team in the Big 12.

Looking at the headlines from the Conference play for Tech so far was a little
dreary...Baylor even "hanging on" to beat Tech by a margin of 12 seems a little
overkill. The untold story here is that with Oklahoma's recent defeat of Tech,
it officially puts Tech alone in the cellar of the Big 12 for this season so
far.

Oh well...can't wait to cheer on the Big 12 during March Madness!

* Oklahoma defeats Texas Tech 83-74
* Samuels, No. 21 K-State pound Texas Tech, 94-60
* No. 12 Texas routs Texas Tech 83-52
* Baylor hangs on to beat Texas Tech 71-59

Garden Burger

2011-01-18T19:01:00.002-07:00

In my attempt to eat more healthy, I purchased some veggie burgers. I thought they might be better for me than say ground beef or even ground turkey. So, I tried one tonight for dinner and to my surprise, they were actually quite good! This makes me happy because now I don't feel like I have to sacrifice taste so much to actually get my daily intake of fruits and veggies.

I was also shopping for some frozen veggies at the store and came across some single portion veggies. Finally! Someone at Green Giant figured out that single portion servings do benefit some of the general populace apart from those that buy just the bags of frozen green beans...

I don't intend on turning into a vegetarian, but it sure helps my healthy eating cause when they make things that can be cooked up for just one person and quickly (i.e. microwave)!

2011

2011-01-10T12:39:00.001-07:00

While I've never been much for resolutions and goals and such, I thought it
might be a good idea to post a few things that I'm hoping for in 2011 that I
might be able to look back on at the end of the year.

1) 37 by 37 - I'll be 37 this year. While I don't think I necessarily need to
lose 37 lbs, it's more catchy this way. More than anything, this items embodies
the desire to live and eat in a more healthy manner. So, while I certainly
wouldn't mind shedding a few extra pounds, I hope that I can embrace and
practice a healthier lifestyle.

2) Lasik - actually, I already saw this one happen, but I'm going to include it
anyway. It's something that I've been thinking about for quite awhile, but this
year seemed to be the one to make it happen. I'm very satisfied with the
results so far and would highly recommend it to anyone that would actually need
it.

3) Debt reduction - this, by default, will happen anyway since I aim to pay my
bills. However, I would like to build into my budget the ability to start
putting extra funds against the principle balance on my auto loan in an effort
to pay that off quicker so that really translates into eating out less and
minimizing impulse purchases (yes, I do make impulse purchases at times).

4) Financial giving - I hope to be able to increase in my giving by sponsoring
another child through one of the many child sponsorship organizations. Along
that same line, I hope to be more diligent about corresponding with the children
that I currently sponsor on a more regular basis.

5) Music lessons - A couple of years ago, I had started up violin lessons. I'd
like to see those start up again.

6) MBA - yes, I've been putting it off for years now, but I'm hoping to start
that this fall.

7) Incline - My current time is 56 minutes up from the parking lot. I'm hoping
to trim that down to 45 minutes.

8) Family time - I hope to be able to spend some more recreational time with my
parents. Fly-fishing with my dad this summer is top of the list.

9) Travel - I want to either take a mission/vision trip somewhere or just a
vacation spot. Currently, the idea is Russia with Children's Hope Chest, but
I'm open to taking a trip somewhere in the States or down to one of the resorts
in Mexico.

10) Building relationships - I find that I've been particularly finicky with
relationships. That has become a bit of an issue with me in regard to going to
church and just being out with people. I want to continue to be open to walking
down the road of life with people and learning to love well (especially within
the body of the church).

Regardless of how the year turns out, I believe God has great plans for me and I
hope that I can embrace them with courage and faith and trust!

Lasik

2011-01-06T15:15:00.001-07:00

Well, the day is almost here. I go in tomorrow to have my Lasik procedure
done. I went ahead and opted into the flex spending plan at work so as to be
able to cover my costs with pre-tax dollars. I think I'm going to like the
whole flex plan idea; I've never taken advantage of it before, but what a great
way to lower my tax liability and still pay for costs that I will incur anyway!

I'm a little nervous about the procedure tomorrow since after all, it is my
eyesight on the line here. I believe they will give me a mild sedative to help
me relax. I'm hoping that this will enable me to get some good sleep when I get
home to give the healing process a good start.

My parents have graciously opted to make the drive into town to take me to the
doctor and pick me up to transport me back home. Thanks Dad and Mom!

I'm really ready for this change though. I've been wearing glasses since I was
in 7th grade and I feel like that's been a long time though talking with other
people around my office who have had the procedure done, some have been wearing
corrective eyewear since they were much younger and they do have a few years on
me currently. So, I guess I can't use that as a complaint too much.

So, I'll have to update again after the procedure and share how much my world
has changed (honestly, won't be that much, but it'll be a nice change, I think).

Wood pile organizing

2011-01-02T16:24:00.003-07:00

So, as my holiday break nears to a close, I thought one of the things that I could do to be productive over the break was to re-stack the firewood that I had in my garage. You probably can't see it very well, but there were like 3 different stacks of firewood and I'd have to go and try to dig through each stack in order to try and find what I wanted.

So, I thought it'd be better to go ahead and try to re-stack. This way, I'd hopefully have it all off the main garage floor area and tucked into this shelf area off to the side of the garage. Secondly, I'd hoped that I'd be able to organize the firewood to be able to more readily be able to pull the pieces of wood that I wanted/needed for building my fires. This post kind of makes me sound OCD...and maybe, there's just a small part of me that is.

Anyway, here's a picture of the finished product. Medium sized logs on the left, followed by split wood, followed by small logs/kindling, concluded by everything else that I have. The white trash bag contains pine cones as fire-starter, generously gathered by my parents (thanks Dad and Mom!).

Atypical mole?

2010-12-23T15:01:00.001-07:00

So, the lab report came back on my recently removed moles and apparently they're
atypical. When I spoke to the PA, she said that the lab tends to be
ultra-conservative in their findings...I wonder if they've been sued
before...multiple times? Anyway, she didn't feel it necessary to take anymore
pieces of me at this time for further investigation, but she did urge me to be
aware of any changes in the various moles that are present. I guess I'll
probably be getting more removed as the years go on.

She also felt that I needed to be pretty vigilant about protecting my skin while
I'm outside and to stay out of the sun (even with the olive complexion that I
have) if possible (i.e. wearing long sleeves and hats, etc.).

So, I guess I don't need to worry about melanoma too much for another year, but
I'll be keeping an eye on those moles. Sheesh...I feel like turning another
year older this time really has taken a toll!

Sutures...aka stitches

2010-12-17T12:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I received stitches. As the doctor was stitching me, I realized that
I'd never had stitches before (at least that I could recall). It wasn't
anything serious, in fact, there were only 3 stitches put in.

In my last visit to the doctor for my annual physical, he decided there were a
couple of moles that he wanted to have removed and checked out. Having already
heard from my dad about some moles he had had removed at one point, it didn't
sound like too big of an ordeal.

So, I came in yesterday and they proceeded to administer some anesthetic locally
and took a couple of tools and cut and carved them out. It was very interesting
for me to watch the whole process especially in the light of the fact that I
could see it all happening, but couldn't feel anything in the areas they were
cutting.

I had two moles removed and they'll be sent to the lab for testing to determine
if they are benign or not. We're all assuming they will be...and I'll get my 3
stitches removed next week.

MENSA Invitational

2010-12-16T09:33:00.001-07:00

MENSA Invitational
The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any
word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one
letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners:

1. Cashtration(n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject
financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3. Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you
realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright
ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of
breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting
laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who
doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad
vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious
bummer.

12.Decafalon(n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only
things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they
come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic Fit(n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've
accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug(n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your
bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the
fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly
contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common
words.

And the winners are:

1. Coffee, n: The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a
nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run
over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto
the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men/

A year ago...

2010-11-22T22:44:00.004-07:00

It was early November, about a year ago, when I happened to roll the Passat off the road and into the ditch. I've been remembering back on it this month and thankful for being alive and walking away from that with essentially a scratch on the knee and a bruised shoulder.

Here are a few pics that I happened to find in my phone from that day:

This is some of the carnage and "stuff" that came out of the car while rolling.

The side curtain airbag was the only one to deploy. Must've hit harder on that side. Somewhere in the rolling, the car apparently bounced.

This was one parking place that I wasn't getting out of by myself...

Thankful to have walked away from this one and that no one else was hurt! Also, very thankful to have been able to get a new car that I've been enjoying! Here's a very similar picture of it:

Traffic cams

2010-11-17T17:28:00.001-07:00

So the Springs have put up a few traffic cameras around town (about 5 different
intersections) that will snap a picture of your car speeding through the
intersection of a red light. A couple of these intersections happen to be on my
route home from work (because I have a different route home than I do going to
work). As I was pulling up to one on my way home, the light turned yellow and
even though I was making a right turn, I wondered if I would cited or if making
the turn during a red light would trigger the cameras. I opted not to test it,
but wait at the intersection until after the red light to turn. There was a car
in the lane next to me that either didn't know about the cameras or didn't care
and proceeded to gun it to get through the intersection. Sure enough, the light
turned red and the camera and flash went off as this car sped through the
intersection.

I guess the cameras are to deter drivers from running red lights, but it didn't
seem to work in this particular instance. I wonder how effective they really
are or have been since the time they were installed....

Grace Perspective

2010-11-15T21:26:00.002-07:00

I was invited this past weekend to a small group gathering of men by a friend of mine. There was a group being "assembled" to come together and take a look at the Word and specifically grace through a different lens than maybe we typically see it at first glance. It was a small gathering, maybe about 7-8 guys. I was definitely a new person to the group as it seemed most of the other guys already knew each other, but that passed quickly as we set about sharing a small glimpse of our "stories" (life) to each other. It seems like this group and this gathering is timely as I continue to look at my life and my relationship with God and desiring more change.

For the past decade, I have continued to struggle with my relationship with God moving from solely a head knowledge to heart knowledge. For much of my life, Christianity and my "relationship" with God has been defined more by what I know and what I've been taught than what I'm, for lack of better words, feeling and experiencing with God. Christianity and God has been more of a checklist and duty than real life and love.

So, in light of that, I'm excited to see what will come of this group and what I can glean and how my heart can be changed.

Small glimpse from this past weekend comes from John 14:21:

"Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

My obedience to His commands does not create my love. It's not a prescription, but rather an identity. I'm a lover of God and as such, I desire to obey His commands. On top of that, it's not really about me. Yes, I am a lover of God, but according to the Word, we love Him because He first loved us. It's really all about Him. I really enjoyed just hearing that and thinking through that a bit, but I became distracted as I tried to think through the ways I would really say that I experience the love of God and found it difficult to articulate.

So, out of curiosity, how do you experience the love of God in your life?

Pocket Protector Sighting

2010-11-08T16:14:00.001-07:00

I really didn't think they existed outside of being included in possibly a
"nerd" costume prop, but there it was in all it's pocket glory serving its
purpose to this individual with no shame. As I sat down in this waiting room
today, I casually glanced over at the person sitting next to me and what first
caught my eye was his casual attire. When I took a closer look though, I noted
that in the left front pocket of his polo shirt, there was a pocket protector in
there and, I swear, there had to have been about 10 writing instruments jammed
in there from pens to pencils to highliters...

Not to be judgmental, but it was rather interesting to note his polo shirt was
buttoned all the way to include even the top button. I also noted that he had
his cell phone in its case that was attached via his belt. I think the only
thing that would've topped this outfit off would've been a band-aid on the
middle part of his glasses or his pants hiked up so high that you'd be afraid a
major flood was coming. Now, honestly, I can't say I've got much more fashion
sense than this individual (after all, I used to have one of those cell phone
holders on my belt before my old boss came and told me "Dude, you look gay with
that phone holder on your belt."), but the outfit looked like it was something
straight out of the movies.

I would've taken a picture with my phone to post here, but I would've drawn more
attention to the whole scenario than I felt was necessary for the waiting area
to observe. Besides, this individual probably had like a 3rd degree black belt
or something crazy like that and could've proceeded to inflict great harm to me
or my phone...and to top it all off, his IQ is probably through the roof crazy
genius. He'd probably insult me with words that I'd have to go look up and then
be further insulted as I discovered what they meant...

New Furnace

2010-10-20T11:45:00.001-06:00

One of the efficiency upgrades this year that I decided on was to replace my
furnace. I hadn't really thought about doing it, but when I had to remove the
humidifier off my furnace because of leaking, I noticed a lot of corrosion and
just plain ugliness all over the old furnace. It's the original one from back
in '85 when the house was built so I'm pretty happy that it's lasted as long as
it has.

Since the Government is offering the tax credit for efficiency upgrades this
year, I thought this would be a good excuse to pull the trigger and replace this
guy.

After scheduling and talking with like 6 different contractor/companies, I
finally decided to go with a Lennox furnace. Apparently when it comes to higher
end or reliability, Lennox falls into this category along with Trane and
Carrier. I had a quote for a Goodman furnace and I've heard mixed reviews on
it. All reviews did happen to note that regardless of the brand, it's more
important that you have a reliable contractor for the installation. I guess one
could have the world's best furnace purchased, but if the installation is
shoddy, one will be hard-pressed to realize the efficiency of it.

There are apparently nicer furnaces out in the market these days compared to
what I currently have in the house. It was kind of a pain to get through all
these appointments and listen to them all and try and figure out what was the
best option for the money. It's times like these where I wish I was married and
had another voice that I trusted to give feedback or opinions or suggestions of
alternatives, etc. What I opted for was a 95% efficient two stage furnace (will
be a step up from the current 65% efficient that I currently have) with single
speed (continuous) blower. With the federal tax credit and the state rebate, I
shouldn't have too much more to offset through cheaper utility bills. I'll be
interested to see how much reduction there will be in my gas bills this winter!

Manitou Incline

2010-10-18T22:21:00.002-06:00

One of the lil' outdoorsy local things to do here in the Springs is a hike called the Manitou Incline. It's actually an old unused incline railway up the side of the mountain just outside of Manitou Springs. It is also private property with signs posted as such, but no one really pays any mind to that. It's a very well traveled path that is roughly one mile long and over 2000 ft in elevation gain.

I believe I heard the record time up is 18 minutes which is something I don't plan to really ever try and achieve, but my goal is to make it up in under 45 minutes someday. My first ascent took me 71 minutes up and I went this past weekend again and it only took me 54 minutes this time, but I was feeling it pretty good. Makes me realize how out of shape I am with each passing person. It's a great workout though and a nice lil achievement when you make it to the top.

Here's a picture starting out at the bottom looking up:

Here's a picture finally at the top looking back down:

One night in Moline...

2010-10-06T22:32:00.001-06:00

So, I'm here as a pack mule in Moline IL and it's not too bad of a place. I'm
assisting in the delivery of a proposal and sitting in on a debrief of a
proposal that my company just won not long ago. I'm here with my boss, the
Director of Pricing and Estimating and our VP of Business Development and one
other VP. For all intensive purposes, I really didn't need to be here, but it's
nice to tag along sometimes.

I just got back from dinner and drinks with the three folks and it went much
better than I expected. I felt like I had a great conversation with the other
members of my party and one of the most encouraging things that came out of
dinner was the fact that one of the VPs had mentioned that he'd like to talk
with me come Monday about future possibilities within the company. In short, he
feels that the position I'm currently in is a dead-end job (which is something
that I've concluded long ago). He is in a position that could provide me
exposure to other areas of the company and potentially put me on the road to
bigger and better things. He asked me to come by next week and talk with him to
see what fit I might possibly have in his newly tasked area of responsibility
which would be the transitioning of the new $1.4B contract we just won. This
would be something I would think is highly visible and worth checking into for
possible progression in the company.

This is something that I've been wondering about for awhile now as I've known
that my current job is not something that I can stay with forever. It's
comfortable where I'm at, but not sustaining long-term. So, I'm thankful for
something like this to have crossed my path. There's always a little fear and
hesitation in stepping into something new, but I think this is definitely
something to consider and see where it may go.

So, in short, I'm thankful for the opportunity to be apart of something that
really serves no purpose to me, but has enabled me to rub shoulders with the
right people to potentially place me into something that could take my career to
the next level!

Music

2010-10-05T15:05:00.001-06:00

For the most part, I think I missed most of the 80's and 90s when it came to any
kind of music apart from Contemporary Christian. Not to say that contemporary
Christian is bad, but that's about all I was allowed to listen to growing up.

Nowadays I have a little more freedom though I can't say that I stray too far
from what I was raised on. I still like a lot of contemporary Christian music,
but I do enjoy a lot of pop rock and a little bit of country. I've grown to
really enjoy classical music more too, but I don't make a huge habit of it.

I wouldn't consider myself super picky when it comes to listening to music, but
I do find that I enjoy having it on much more than I used to realize. Not only
having it on, but listening to songs that I really enjoy! I can play the heck
out of song if I'm "on" it at the time. It may come and go, but I'll still play
it and listen to it and be very happy much longer than I probably should.
People who ride in my car probably hear my music and think, wow, that song is
way overplayed on the radio these days and now I get to hear it for the
umpteenth time. My response..."So?" Well, not really, but I'm my point is that
if I like a song, I'll play it over and over and over and well, you get the
picture.

Anyway, this is all another random post to comment on the fact that I was
watching movie previews the other day and heard the song "Beautiful Girl" by
INXS used in one of the soundtracks. I really liked that song and I remember
hearing it, much later than when it actually was released, of course, but I've
been on this kick to listen to it and maybe even download it. It's crazy that I
find I latch on to a song so quickly and then proceed to want to hear it all the
time.

Another example of this was today as I was coming in to work and they were
playing a Lady Gaga song. For some reason, she has done quite well with the
songs she's released and I find them quite catchy. I'm not sure about her as a
person, but as a musician/artist, I really enjoy listening to her songs. So
much that in fact, I was out today at lunch and heard another one of her songs
and contemplated driving around a bit longer even though I was close to my
destination just to hear the song and enjoy it. I didn't, but only to not waste
gas and keep my friends waiting, but man...me and music...weird.

Happiness is...

2010-09-27T10:05:00.001-06:00

pulling up to the gas station nearly empty and discovering you have a $.10 cent
discount ready to be applied to your fill-up. Mid-grade for the price of
regular! Oh Happy Day!

Dentist appts.

2010-09-23T10:43:00.001-06:00

I went to the dentist this morning because I had to get a filling. It's
hopefully a long-term temporary fix to a tooth issue that I've had for a number
of years now. The dentist said I was brushing that area of my tooth too hard
apparently. Imagine that...going to the dentist for a filling because I was
brushing my teeth..

Anyway, I showed up at 8am for my appt and it was a little weird seeing two of
the hygienists and the dentist coming into the office after me. That aside, the
dentist was yawning as she was coming in and my first thought was whether or not
she was awake enough to perform this procedure. I'm sure she was, but that was
the first thing I thought of when I saw her.

It's always a little weird for me to go to the dentist because they're sitting
over me looking into my mouth and so it's very natural to just look at them. I
wonder if they ever think that's weird or creepy. Usually when I'm getting my
teeth cleaned, they allow me to watch a movie so my gaze is pre-occupied. I
didn't have that option this morning so I was left with trying to not look at
the dentist and her hygienist assistant. Inevitably though, I would glance at
them and I think the thing I found most intriguing was the amount of eye makeup
both of them had on and the coloring. I don't typically notice that on girls
(unless it's caked on pretty heavily), but when you're sitting in the dentist
chair and they're looking over you, there's not much else to look at. I think
it was interesting to see the eye shadow colors (multiple colors and lines) and
as I think about it, I'm wondering how long that took them to do that.

So, another random post and as I sit here in the office now with the numbing
drugs wearing off, my tooth and mouth both aching quite a bit, I'm curious to
know what you all look at when you're in the dental chair and if you've ever
noticed the eye makeup on your dentist (presumably if she's a female)?

Lasik!

2010-09-08T22:04:00.001-06:00

I went to an eye doctor today to consult about the possibility of Lasik. I've
been thinking about it for the last year or so and I finally just decided that I
need to go and check it out. So, I scheduled one of the consultation visits and
it looks like I'm a candidate, or Lasik is an option for me (I can't really
imagine anyone not being a candidate for it...except for all you people who
already have perfect eyesight). Though quite spendy, it was within the amount
that I anticipated and it looks like there's enough time to plan for getting
enrolled in my company's flex spending so that I can pay for it with pre-tax
dollars! The surgery will take place after the new year, but I'll have to get
it scheduled. The only hindrance at this point is that I have to double check
with a Retina specialist to check on some scarring on my retinas to make sure
they can withstand the Lasik procedure without tearing. If so, I think it's a
go!

I'm already wondering what life will be like without glasses or contacts.
Technology is amazing!

fish out of water...

2010-09-03T13:43:00.001-06:00

That's about how I felt as I walked into Jo-Ann's. I decided that one of my
projects this weekend was to go through a big box of photos and try to pare them
down to what can be thrown away, what's already on CD and what to do with the
negatives (yes, I still shoot film).

So, I decided I needed to get a couple of photo boxes that I can just put the
pictures in after they're somewhat organized and since I was over near Jo-Ann's,
I figured they would for sure carry those and I could pop in and get them
there. Thus, I find myself walking into the store and was immediately greeted
by racks of cloth and material. I instantly became uncertain that I would find
what I was looking for. I did a quick scan over the racks to see if any
sections of the store were named and saw something along the lines of framing
and figured that was a good place to start.

I got over in that area and looked around and saw a lot of photo frames, but not
really any photo boxes. After a few minutes of browsing the aisles, I happened
upon a pallet of what I'd been looking for...Photo and Video Boxes! They were
even on sale! So, I grabbed a couple and headed out of there as fast as I
could. Mission accomplished!

I do feel like I left a small piece of my man-card there though....

Sidewalk ads

2010-08-31T09:46:00.001-06:00

The other day I was waiting at an intersection in my car and was intrigued to
watch a few different people who happened to be standing on the street corner
with various ads for different things.

There was one guy standing right at the corner advertising for Cricket and it
seemed pretty clear that this was not his passion to be standing on a corner
holding a sign. He was lucky enough to have two signs on one wooden pole which
enabled him to effectively "hide" behind the signs while still being able to
show the advertisements. To his credit, it appeared that he was texting or
playing a game on his phone. I wonder if that was part of the advertising by
Cricket for one of their phones...

A little further up the street, there was an African-American individual holding
a sign for something that I can't seem to remember at this point. What I did
remember was how this individual was just dancing and waving at cars and
listening to music through headphones. This individual seemed genuinely happy,
or made a good show of it, to be entertained by what they were doing. I don't
know if they really believed in what they were advertising for, but they seemed
to be having a time of it...much more so than the gentleman holding the Cricket
sign.

I have to admit there were a fair number of people working this particular
corner and so a little further up the street were a couple of what appeared to
be high-schoolers. One was hesitantly waving a car wash sign while the other
was trying to be motivated to at least make the same show of enthusiasm as the
cohort. It was less than impressive and I was inclined to believe they were
both just a little embarrassed to be out there.

Driving past all of these people and looking at their signs, I was not inclined
to check out any of their products, but then again, sign ads by the street don't
typically catch my eye much and certainly not to investigate any of their
products...which makes me wonder if anyone has been drawn in to purchasing a
product or service as a result of a street ad being held or waved by an
individual. I wonder how effective it really is.

The bigger question in my mind is how much they are paid and whether it would be
something that I could ever consider doing at any point in my life. This
inevitably leads me to start thinking about how I would operate were I ever to
be employed to hold a sign on the street advertising something. Would I hide
behind the sign, would I be wild and try to dance around, would I just wave it
back and forth?

I remember back to a couple of street advertisers that did quite well at their
job and probably enjoyed what they did. You've probably seen them, but every
year around tax time, there's usually a statute of liberty outfit dancing around
on the street holding a sign for tax prep assistance. I'm sure that probably
pulls in a few clients...especially towards 15 April when someone's driving and
sees the statute of liberty dancing on the side of the road and pulls over
because they've just remembered they have forgotten to file and may need that
extra help in getting it done or at a minimum, filing for an extension. The
other one that comes to mind is this girl with loud outfits and colored hair who
actually made the papers due to her dancing on the street corner advertising for
Little Caesar's pizza. She was right at the corner of my subdivision so I would
see her quite often. She was so engaging she would usually wave at people and
twirl her sign and dance around with her IPod on and even got people to usually
honk as they drove by. Kind of an uplift to your day to see someone that happy
and upbeat. I tended to think it was a better advertisement for IPod, than
pizza, but regardless, she sure did exhibit a lot of enthusiasm in that job.

In the end, I'm glad that I have a job that allows me to not have to stand on a
street corner advertising for something that I don't really believe in or would
ever use, but if I ever had to, I hope that I would have the motivation and
desire to be faithful in doing the best job I can in that small role as with any
other job or larger role, and maybe in the end, someone will honk and encourage
me that I'm doing a good job. So, next time you happen to see a street
advertiser and they seem a bit timid or hesitantly trying to wave a sign or
dance around, give 'em a honk and brighten their otherwise potentially long 8
hour sign shift!

grocery shopping

2010-08-22T21:52:00.001-06:00

I just returned from grocery shopping. What started out as a trip for 3 things
that probably would only run me about $15 ended up with multiple items (and a
few "I'm not sure why I'm getting this, but it looks good" purchases) totaling
about $50 instead. I can't really say I picked up any "hunger purchases" since
I'd already eaten and it was a pretty good meal (ribeye steak and salad), but
for some reason, I still ended up with things in my basket because it was either
a good deal (NY Strip steak - almost half off in larger qty - aka 4 steaks) or
it just looked appetizing (Hot Pockets - Mexican style).

I realized (or was probably reminded) a couple of things tonight at the store.
1) I like going shopping at night because there's less people which really
means you don't have to park a gazillion miles away (though these days, that
probably wouldn't to have to walk a little more), and you don't have a wait
forever in the self service lanes for an open checkout (though more patience
never hurts). It also allows me the opportunity to open all the different
deodorants that I might be interested in purchasing to check out the scent
without shame (yes, I sniffed quite a few tonight). 2) I still buy way more
than I really ever need and I don't know that it'd matter if I had a list or not
since I'd just probably still pick up a "few more items"

I really don't mind grocery shopping, but I tend to buy much more than I can
really use which makes me feel very wasteful. I'm trying to not eat out as much
for lunch and buying more lunch items at the store is supposed to help temper
that, but inevitably, I get invites for lunch and I end up just going out. I'm
open to suggestions for learning to increase my self-discipline to say no...

Sonic

2010-08-21T15:42:00.000-06:00

I have strong feelings for Sonic drinks and it's pretty positive. I have a particular affinity towards the Vanilla Dr. Pepper...

Random, I know.

ecstatic (not really)...

2010-08-11T16:54:00.001-06:00

So, I knew that I had a deliverable at work for a proposal due on Thursday
(tomorrow). I also knew that I would need some "normalized" data in order to
create something meaningful. What I didn't know was that I was going to receive
the data today at 4pm after sitting and waiting for it last Friday. Sheesh!
Now, I can't really blame the accountants that put the data together since they
were really waiting on it from another source. I'd like to personally vent to
our primary contractor for the deadline they imposed as well upper management
for not hiring the necessary personnel to run the program the way it should be
run to avoid these situations.

I guess I'll be looking at a late night so I'm going to run home and change into
something more comfortable and get a bite to eat before coming back and working
on something that may take a couple of hours or may take all night. We'll just
see...

Patio stones revisited...

2010-08-07T10:48:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I know I said last month that I was going to post pictures of the my little patio stone walkway project, but time just gets away I guess. So, here it was, good, bad and ugly.

The before shot:

The bush on the left had to have some serious trimming and hacking to get some room to work. I'm not been really good at keeping that trimmed back and I'm almost tempted to just have it yanked out and so something different there, but for now it stays...

First step was to excavate and get the sod and dirt up:

That was probably the most labor intensive portion. I managed to find where the sprinkler lines were and also managed to find where a couple of large tree roots were. There was also this underground ant hill that I disturbed which was quite interesting to me. Fortunately they aren't fire ants so it didn't slow me down too much.

Next up, I opted to try and put the borders in, but in retrospect, I wish I had just used 2x4s and put the plastic border in afterwards:

I felt like I needed the borders in so as to be able to level off the sand and have a mark to level from. In theory it worked, but only for the width of the walkway. Consequently, the length of the walkway was uneven and so I'll have to eventually go back and re-level each stone to the next since by the end of the project, I was ready to just have the stones in.

Next up was putting the sand base in and trying to level it off. This was probably the most time consuming and I still obviously didn't do that well (as you'll see in the final picture), but it was a good learning experience:

Finally, I put the stones in and tried to get them as level as I could. I still need to cut stone for the ends and I'm still debating as to whether I want to try and take this all the way through the fence line and continue the walkway into the backyard. Ultimately, I think I do, but I need to save up some more money for more materials:

All in all, I don't think it turned out too bad, but it was my first time and I think I learned a few things for next time. I've still got a bit of sod I need to throw away and I'm hoping to transfer that dirt pile into the back yard eventually. I need to get a wheelbarrow!

Note to self...

2010-08-04T20:17:00.001-06:00

...when purchasing a used vehicle, it might be good to check the spare tire.
After seeing the low pressure light illuminate on my dash not long after I
purchased my car, I figured it might be the spare tire since a co-worker of mine
experienced the same issue. I finally got around to lowering the spare and was
preparing to inflate the tire a bit when I noticed this big ol' nail in the
tire. I thought it might be repairable, but after taking it to Discount Tires,
learned that it was actually not repairable. So, almost $200 later (for one
tire), I've learned that it might be valuable to ask about the condition of the
spare tire before purchasing a used vehicle...

Wal-Mart

2010-07-20T18:51:00.001-06:00

So I'm in Wal-Mart today picking up some cleaning supplies since I'm moving at
work from a cubicle to an office. I thought it might be nice to clean up my
area before leaving and cleaning up the new office furniture before i started
putting all my junk away. I got my supplies and headed to the check-out
counter. I saw an open cashier so I made a beeline for it. I almost got there
when another cashier intercepted me and said "I can help you here".

Well, far be it from me to bypass an opportunity to satisfy my instant
gratification tendencies by opting to wait at another cashier so I took my items
to this lady. She was very nice and got my items all rang up and I paid for them
and was about to collect my stuff when one of co-workers stepped in front of me
and hastily handed her this canister of cleanser or disinfectant of some sort.
My cashier lady looked at her co-worker with a puzzled expression and her
co-worker proceeded to tel lher to use this stuff and spray down her entire
area.

Apparently there were some customers earlier with kids whom went home due to
some intestinal infection. It wasn't clear to me whether these were children of
co-workers or customers or just what, but it was less than comforting to know
that I had just touched this lady's counter area, the little debit card machine,
the little pen associated with it and who knows what else. I would've stopped
to ask her to spray me down in her cleansing process save for the fact that I
really just wanted to grab my supplies and get the heck out of dodge before I
contracted some intestinal issue.

Apart from the fact that I hardly thought it was necessary for this co-worker to
come up and pass off a bottle of disinfectant in front of me, but even more so
unnecessary for her to share the reason why right in front of me, the customer.
This, coming on the heels of receipt of one of the many "People of Wal-Mart"
emails, I began to think that maybe I need to be a little more vigilant about
distancing myself from Wal-Mart and it's normal customers.

patio stones

2010-07-02T23:04:00.002-06:00

So, I've been wanting to create a little walkway on the side of my house with some patio stones. I think they are really cool and I typically pick up a Pavestone brochure every time I see a new one at Home Depot. I would really like to make a paver patio in my backyard, but that's going to be quite a bit of work that I'm not really ready to do just yet.

I'm hoping that this first foray into backyard design will be a success such that I'll be able to create other paver projects in the backyard. Today was spent primarily digging up sod and trying to excavate the walkway area so as to be able to start leveling the ground out once the area is dug out. I'm not gonna lie, it was a pain in the butt! I got a good start on it today and will hopefully have finished up that part up by tomorrow to where I can start leveling out the ground and putting in the edge support. We'll see how it goes.

Since my camera batteries are actually charged now, I'm trying to remember to take some pictures so that I can post the project once it's finished (hopefully the appearance will be worth posting)! More to come....

Being a regular

2010-07-02T23:00:00.003-06:00

I went to Taco Express this morning as it is my favorite little mexican joint for fast food. I've only ordered breakfast burritos there, but they are good! It dawned on me this morning when I pulled up that maybe I've been coming here a little too often and thus, maybe classified as a "regular".

What tipped me off was the cashier making the observation that I've got a different car. She even went so far as to say something to the effect of every time I come here, I'm in a different car. I didn't know I came there often enough to be noticed much less to be noticed in different cars. She was nice enough to remark that she liked this current car the best. Thanks Taco Express!

Woodpecker repair...finally

2010-05-10T21:45:00.003-06:00

So, I've been having this perpetual issue with woodpeckers in that they've been coming around my house for the last 2-3 years and drilling holes into the front of my house. I've often been tormented on weekends when I'm wholeheartedly expecting to sleep in and I hear the incessant tapping of the woodpecker on the house and need to get out of bed to shoo the pesky bird away.

My parents had some leftover Hardiplank that they sent down to me and while they were in town this weekend, my dad and I got out and tried to put up the new siding in order to do away with the unsightly holes on the house, but also hopefully to deter the woodpecker from doing anymore damage to that portion of the house. It's weird that this particular location was the ONLY place that the woodpecker wanted to drill.

I've attached a few pictures of the process:

1)This is the before.

2) This is a close up of the before with the temporary "patches" that I put up to try and keep them from pecking through.

3) This is in process after removing the rotted wood from the house.

4) This is the after shot when we have the new hardiplank up. The red thing out the window was the compressor connection. We were able to attach the siding using my 16 gauge nail gun and that saved us a LOT of time and headache of trying to use just regular nails or screws.

5) This is the finished product after having replaced the old stuff and getting the new stuff up and repainted. I just need to go back and recaulk the edges and paint over that, but this is pretty much it!

The joys of home ownership. I look forward to the next time Woody Woodpecker attempts to drill another hole into the front of my house!

These days...

2010-03-04T23:17:00.003-07:00

My life is not my own. My plans are not His plans. My ways are not His ways. These are some of the lines that run through my head as of late.

First of all, it's difficult for me to realize that it's already March. Where has the first two months of 2010 gone? They aren't kidding when they say life seems to move faster the older we get. When I first started working at ITT, I thought the first half of the year was so long. That's still true to some extent because we don't take any holidays from New Years to Memorial Day, but the last couple of years, the first 5 months of the year seem to just fly by. After that, the rest of the year seems to move exponentially faster.

I devoted a good portion of my life during the 1st quarter of last year to a proposal providing logistical support to troops in Afghanistan. Our company ended up being a part of the winning team for a contract worth about $1.25B just to our company. As a result of it, I started thinking about trying to jump on to that contract for a year and move on from what I've been doing for the other 3.5 years that I've been working at my company. Things seemed to be falling into place and everyone was very supportive of me taking this supervisory finance position in Afghanistan. The timeline kept slipping to the right for various reasons, but I finally was able to get an offer letter and intended to sign and accept. One of the caveats of getting the job was to pass a medical and dental physical. By all counts, I assumed this was a mere formality since I'd already been deployed to Afghanistan back in 2002. As it would turn out, I did not pass the medical part of it and was declared ineligible. Major shock, major bummer. When I received clarification on the issue holding me up, it seemed more bureaucratic Government bs than legitimate medical issue that would impact my work were I to go over. You can't really argue with the Government so until they relax their stance on some of the policies they have in place, I can't really deploy, which may or may not be a blessing. I'm fine, I'm healthy, but there are things in my medical history that just don't cut the mustard at least according to the Government's deployability standards.

This has been difficult in many ways. Financially, it's a huge hit. It's hard to just up and walk away from a quarter mil, but beyond that, this was an opportunity to advance in my career and the company and move beyond what I've been doing into something more operational in nature and provide me greater exposure to another side of the company. I certainly don't intend to stay with the company for my entire working career, though building up a pension does promote loyalty, but this was hopefully an opportunity to build up my resume for more international operational work. I have to trust that this was the way it was meant to be, or that it is what/how God intended for it to play out. Knowing that or believing that allows me to more readily focus on what's beyond and the next steps in light of not going down this path.

Many people have expressed appreciation for the fact that I'll be sticking around which has been very helpful. I do admit that the community of friends and family has been a major upside to sticking around in the States and even co-workers in the office have mentioned how nice it is and how thankful they are that I'll be around for awhile longer. So, this has alleviated some of the sting of not going back overseas.

I often wonder how many times we plan for things in our life and God re-directs our paths or frustrates our efforts. It also makes me wonder how much (or rather, how little) I'm really trusting God for things in my life to take place or to happen in light of my desires and how much I'm toiling (probably in vain) to make my desires come about. At the very least, this plan seems to have taken a detour and has given me pause to consider the bigger picture and how my plans and desires fit into His plans and desires for me.

Confession

2010-01-20T18:13:00.001-07:00

I inadvertently threw a piece of plastic into the paper recycling bin this afternoon. However, I was not able to climb into the bin to retrieve the plastic so I left it...and drove away.

Sorry recycling world if that really screws things up!

Cloth and Christmas

2009-12-28T13:32:00.002-07:00

This year, I went up to my parents' place for Christmas. We received an invitation to join some people in their subdivision for Christmas dinner and it was a wonderful time over meal and fellowship.

One of the guests at the table was a man named Dr. Pentecost, a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. He was quite a wealth of knowledge on the Bible and I was struck by one of the items he shared with the group after dinner.

We were sitting around after the meal reading some Scriptures and sharing some thoughts about the Christmas story and one of the insights that I really found interesting was that the Hebrew word for "cloth" in swaddling cloths was the same word used in the cloth used the wrap Jesus' body in the tomb after he was crucified. This may have been common use for the cloths for babies as they were less expensive and maybe more commonplace, but the idea that Jesus came into the world and was wrapped in the same type of cloth that he would be wrapped in as a man in death was interesting to ponder. In light of the fact that Jesus came to the world as a sacrifice for mankind's sin, it seems fitting (telling) that the same type cloth used in His death would be used in His birth.

This year marked one of the more special Christmas dinners in my mind as we really seemed to be able to step back from the commercialism of the season and really focus on the true reason for the season. It was a blessed celebration!

Hobbies...and geeks

2009-12-28T13:16:00.003-07:00

I went to a store called Hobbytown USA the other day on a tip from a co-worker that it was a good place to find some games. I generally enjoy board games and when I can scrounge up enough friends to play, it's fun to gather and visit and be competitive and laugh.

One of the board games that I've enjoyed is called Ticket to Ride (thanks to Brad Hopp for the introduction to the game) and I've got the European board map. It's a pretty easy game to pick-up and enjoy in a small recreational group. I have often thought of breaking down to buy the Settlers of Catan game, but for whatever reason, I've just not wanted to spring for it.

I thought I might be able to find the game at this Hobbytown USA store at a good price which was the reason for outing. When I went, I finally found the store and wondered why I'd never seen the store from the road before. Anyway, I went in a looked around and found some pretty cool things in there. In addition to games, there were models, train sets, balsa wood, and larger motorized airplanes and all the little parts and supplies necessary for using/building all said items. I came to the realization that I, for the most part, really have no hobbies (at least not any in this store). It was interesting to hear the enthusiastic conversations taking place around me about different games, and finding airfields and tarmacs to fly motorized model airplanes. It was fascinating to see how excited these people were about their hobbies.

I don't generally place myself in the category of geeks, but for a few fleeting seconds, I found myself thinking maybe I am for being in a store like this. There was a stranger that came up to me in the store as I was perusing the games aisle and he was asking me if I liked a particular genre of games (a word I didn't know was even used to classify the type of games I was looking at). I told him that I was just looking at games and didn't really know what I was looking for. He went on to ask if there was a particular level I was looking for and how many players I could typically get for a game. I told him easy games and anything for 2-4 players. Though he was just a shopper, he was kind enough to share some of his knowledge of the various board games in front of us and suggestions for what I might want to buy. Seemed like a nice guy though there was definitely a knowledge of the whole genre of games that I was unaware of which made me think I was just stepping into a pool of geek knowledge on these games. It went over the top when he suggested I look at the website called boardgamegeek.com for more information on the games and reviews, etc. He also was kind enough to inform me of board game gatherings around town and times, etc. He explained that it's a bit geeky and that if most people can get around that, it's a lot of fun. I'm not sure if I can get around it since I'm not that heavily into games, but I may proclaim a touch of self-geekness in checking out the boardgamegeek.com website.

I think my hobbies tend more towards traveling, but since it takes more time and money than I'm usually willing to spend on a given weekend, I now realize that my life is quite boring!

Bittersweet day

2009-11-01T22:36:00.002-07:00

Today was such a bittersweet day. I just felt like I was on a roller coaster all day. It started off by waking up before my alarm because the sun was nice and bright outside due to Daylight Savings ending last night. I also must've slept on my back wrong since it seemed quite sore this morning which probably added to my waking up earlier than desired.

I got up and went to church this morning (the first in quite some time due to essentially working through each weekend at the office). It was such a sweet time of worship and hearing the Word. They played a few of my more favorite praise songs and I just felt challenged today by the message on deception. I loved the thought of pursuing love, faith, and peace and following what makes me want to do right. I was particularly challenged by the idea of always being quick to the truth about one's life and the thought that if I choose to argue/defend against my lack of character observed by others, then I will never gain more character. It's so in my nature to try and defend myself and exonerate from any wrong, but why argue about them if they are really true. Why can I not be quick to accept the truth and learn from it to change from inside out?

Coming home, I checked work email quickly to make sure nothing was pressing and then headed out to Buena Vista to visit my parents for the day. It was a beautiful day and perfect for a drive to the mountains. I had the sunroof open, Dr. Pepper in the car and the music going. The temperatures were warmer, the sun was shining, the sky was clear and so blue and the mountains had their snow caps on. It was great until I took a curve a little too quick and proceeded to hit some loose dirt/gravel with one of my way too bare back tires. This caused my beautiful afternoon drive to become quite depressing as I fishtailed and lost control of the car. I managed to swing it around 180 degrees to the oncoming lane, but ran out of road and shoulder and offered up a quick prayer to God as I went over the side of the road and rolled the car.

I am so thankful for God's protection on me, on others around me on the road, and for good weather. As I came to a halt, I just sat there making sure nothing else was going to happen before proceeding to get out of the car. Other cars up on the road see me and had pulled around to make sure any assistance that may be needed could be provided by them or by others. I am thankful that I was in a coverage area where my cell phone worked and was able to call 911, I am thankful my parents were home to answer when I called them as well. I am thankful for the public servants (fire, sheriff, state patrol) who were very gracious and kind to offer me water as well as a ride to meet my parents whom had opted to drive out and meet up with me halfway. I am thankful for only having sore muscles and sustaining a minor skinned knee.

After getting things resolved and getting a citation (of course, the state trooper seemed apologetic that he even had to give it to me, but it was warranted), my parents and I drove back to their place where I had an opportunity to just relax, calm my nerves and enjoy a visit and dinner before heading back home. I am thankful for their extra car and their willingness to let me use it for the time being and I am thankful for the full moon tonight which shined very brightly and reflected well off the large amount of snow still on the ground from the storm last week.

As I drove home, I was able to appreciate the beauty and stillness of the night with how bright everything was and seeing the snow caps on the mountains reflecting the moonlight. It seemed almost magical.

I am very sad that my car is wrecked and am wondering what the adjuster will say as to whether its repairable or not. I really did like that car and even more so now that it kept me safe in my first major accident.

The highs and lows have exhausted me today. That's way more than I want to experience on a typical weekend. I thank God for His protection over me, for the beauty of His creation that He allowed me to enjoy today, for the opportunity to be worshipping Him this morning, and the opportunity to visit my parents this afternoon.

Maybe the week will be less uneventful...

Stress and stress-free

2009-10-16T13:30:00.001-06:00

Stress - Undergoing audit by the Government on my most recent proposal submission.

Stress-Free - Going to see Where the Wild Things Are tonight!

Restless

2009-10-05T03:59:00.003-06:00

So, here I sit at 4am (MST) wondering why the heck I can't sleep. I just spent the last couple weeks of my life finishing up one of the most strenous proposals to date and losing a lot of sleep during that time, to include one all-nighter at the office. I managed to catch up on sleep over this weekend, but I didn't think I'd had that much sleep.

As I tossed and turned, I just decided it wasn't worth it to just lay in bed if I wasn't ready to fall asleep (I've already been up a few times prior to now). So, here I am just wondering about some thoughts as I suspect that's a large part of my restless state.

Some of the thoughts on my mind right now:

1)Impending audit on the proposal by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)

2)Future job opportunity in Afghanistan

3)Future job opportunities at Compassion

4)Future job opportunities with Samaritan's Purse

5)Finding my passport

6)What I need to say and what I really want to say in the upcoming After Action Review regarding process improvement for future proposals

7)Current state of my relationship with God

8)Current state of my relationships with people

9)Continued aging of my parents and wondering whether I'm taking their existing time for granted

10)Finishing up house projects

11)The future in general

The one thing that has been on my mind most this year has been my future occupational choices. Ever since I left Crusade, I think I've struggled with finding something that means something to me. I feel like I'm not cut out for climbing the corporate ladder all my life. I think that pursuit has been about average for me, but I also think I needed to know that for myself coming out of college and having only experienced Christian non-profit work.

My friend, Thomas, was kind enough to pass along a contact name at Compassion which I've been hoping to find some time to sit down and update my resume to pass along. Now that I've finished my proposal, I think I'll be able to complete that exercise. I feel that I need to be doing something that supports a greater picture than corporate wealth-building, though the current experience I'm gaining is undoubtedly valuable to building upon down the road.

For the next couple of years, I see that the path I'm on is the right one, but the overall desire for something greater continues to be out in front and I think it's good to be able to keep that in focus in light of where I'm at and the commitments I've currently made.

Confession:

2009-10-03T13:08:00.001-06:00

I like the sausage, egg and cheese breakfast burritos at Taco Express and buy them much more frequently than I should...

Ohnosecond

2009-09-23T22:38:00.001-06:00

Last night I had one of those ohnoseconds. I was working late and trying to meet a deadline. I got up from my cubicle area to use the restroom and get some water before resuming work. As I was filling my water bottle and began walking back toward the access door to the floor my cubicle is on, I realized I did not have my access card on me. Dangit! I was trapped. My mind started racing about what my options were before me. In the end, I called my boss whom was so gracious enough to come back up to the office and let me back in to my cubicle area to get my access card. The part I feel really bad about is the fact this took place at 2:00...in the am. Dangit!

Cold Front

2009-09-22T10:13:00.001-06:00

The upside: Love the snow dusting on the foot hills and Pikes Peak this morning.

The downside: Realization the furnace did NOT kick on last night creating a 54.5F temp this morning in the house.

Tired

2009-09-20T13:18:00.001-06:00

I'm tired of working through the weekend on salary...I might be working for less than minimum wage by now...

Huh?

2009-09-15T22:04:00.003-06:00

One of the fun things about hanging out at the Kriegs was getting to play with their kids. I was wrestling with their boy, B, and he's pretty strong. I think Mike has taught him some moves because he had strategy when he was trying to take me down.

I managed to pin his legs so that he was fairly immobile from the waist down. Then I went in for the kill and starting tickling him! Here's a recap of the event:

B: (laughing) stop tickling me!

Thad: What? Did you say "tickle me"? (as I continue to tickle him)

Kristen: B, I don't think Mr. Thad understands English.

I stop tickling him for a second to let him catch his breath, but then I start in on him again.

Realizing what his mom has said, B, amidst his laughing, tries a different approach in order to get me to stop tickling.

B: "nee how ma"

Huh.....where'd he learn Chinese?

Vandals!

2009-09-15T21:43:00.002-06:00

Over the Labor Day weekend, I took a spur of the moment trip down to Austin to visit some friends and just get out of town for a short bit of time. Overall it was a great time to catch up with folks I'd not seen in quite awhile as well as just connecting more with good folks!

I was staying with my friends, the Kriegs (Thank you Kriegs!) whom were gracious enough to open their home to me. We had great plans for Labor Day morning and it included BBQ at Rudys (mmmm!) which is already making me hungry thinking about it.

Anyway, our plans changed that morning due to some local mischief in the course of the night. The Labor Day started out something like this:

Mike: (in a quiet voice) Hey Thad....man, sorry to wake you up, but you probably need to come check out your car.

Thad: (in somewhat of a disoriented state), yeah, sure, okay, let me get a shirt one.

Mike: man, I didn't want to wake you, but I thought you should probably know about this sooner rather than later.

Thad: that's fine, what's up.

Mike: bro, I was out early this morning taking stuff out to the street for trash and junk pickup and had a made a couple of trips. I was looking over towards your car and noticed a rock piece laying on the ground. I didn't really pay much attention to it, but wondered where it came from.

When I came over to look at it, I didn't really notice the car at first, but when I looked up, I thought, "oh no".

Thad: (looking at the car)......oh my gosh! ...................

Are you kidding me??? Whatever happened to the days of just toilet-papering someone's house? I, of course, opted out of the insurance coverage by the rental company. Fortunately, my insurance covers the balance of the repair above my deductible, but it doesn't cover the cost of the time while the rental is not in service (essentially renting the car while it's being worked on). So, I'll need to double check and make sure there's no coverage by my credit card company, but it made for a rude awakening.

The rental company was pretty good about getting a new car out to me and hauling this one off since it was very much inoperable. There were two thoughts I had:

1) Why did they opt for my car when there was a perfectly good windshield on the car two houses down from me (not that I'm wishing that on someone else).

2) Crazy thing is, we discovered there were 6 other cars around the neighborhood that received the same treatment.

I don't know where kids get their ideas these days, but we figured there was a truck and alcohol involved in their "fun". I hope they get caught and I hope they don't get more destructive in their "fun".

Needless to say, the morning was zapped as far as our plans were concerned, but I'm really thankful that Mike broke the news to me rather calmly. Kind of funny, actually, as I think back on it. So, for those of you whom rent cars out there, look for the insurance that covers the cost of the time while a rental is out of service due to repair. It might be worthwhile or see if your insurance carrier provides coverage against that.

Rain

2009-08-26T14:54:00.001-06:00

Rain! It's currently raining quite hard outside. I love to see the rain. I also enjoy seeing my car get a wash from the rain. I just remembered I left my sunroof cracked open. I think the inside of my car might be getting a wash as well as the outside this time. I'm a little sad thinking about the rain right now...

Happy Day!

2009-08-24T12:36:00.001-06:00

In an effort to de-clutter my life, I occasionally remember that I don't need to keep every receipt I pick up in a day's business (especially if I have record of the purchase elsewhere).

That being said, I am in the process of replacing the interior doors in my house to try and lighten things up a bit and give it an overall more 90's look vice the 80's. When my parents were last in town, my dad was kind enough to make a run to Home Depot to pick up some new doors since I cannot fit them into my car. On the fly, we relied on my memory of the various door dimensions which I don't usually try to do, but we were short on time and I hadn't written them down anywhere yet. We picked up the doors and got them home, but upon measuring all of them again a few days later, I realized that we'd picked up one door size that was not needed.

This would not normally be a problem since I had a receipt to take the door back in and exchange for the size I needed. However, by this time, I no longer could find the receipt and feared I'd thrown in away already (reference first paragraph). Since such a large amount of traffic goes in/out of Home Depot in a day, I wasn't sure they'd take too kindly to someone rolling a door in and asking for a refund/exchange w/o a receipt. I, myself, would be skeptical that this person didn't just find a way to roll out the door with it and come back in requesting refund. Maybe not the case, but I know some stores can be real sticklers on their refund/exchange policies.

I was cleaning out my room yesterday and came across a small pile of receipts. As I started looking at them to determine whether they needed to be kept or not, I came across one for Home Depot! Could it...oh, please let it be...? Yes! It was my long lost receipt for interior doors of 3 various dimensions! Now I can exchange the one I don't need for the one I do! Happy Day!

Afghanistan

2009-08-13T22:56:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow, the company I work for will have its first (at least I think it's the first) win party of the year. It's been a pretty bleak year as far as winning new business has gone. Fortunately, we still have a number of outstanding decisions to be made before the end of the year.

The win party tomorrow, as it so happens, will be celebrating the successful capture of a proposal that I happened to devote the better part of my February and March life to earlier this year. I don't intend to spend that much of a my life on a proposal, but that's for another post, I suppose. The total contract value is estimated at $1.2B so this was a good win for the company! It's always nice when you put a lot of effort into something and the end result happens to match up with what you hoped!

So, there will be pats on the back, drinks, and little finger foods (couldn't spell the fancier SAT word for it) tomorrow.

Looking past that, one of the luxuries of my job is that I know what we bid so that when we win something, I can potentially choose to pursue a position on that contract or not. Up to this point, that has never happened, until now... For the first time in almost 5 years, an opportunity has arisen that has enticed me enough to approach my boss about putting my name in the hat for a position on the contract.

The position is in Afghanistan and the ironic thing, in my mind, is that I was slotted to go to Afghanistan back in 2002 when I worked for KBR. I don't know if this is the next step for me or not, but the timing seems to be good and the incentive is there to give it a shot.

While I realize that Afghanistan is probably not the most secure place on the earth at this point in history, I also realize that it really won't matter where I'm at if the good Lord finds it in His will to take me home. At that point, I don't think I'll really care.

I know that I desire to live overseas again and I've been sacrificing that desire the day I left Jordan back in 2004. So, I'm hopeful there will be an opportunity here that will open up subsequent opportunities down the road for other things (i.e. Master's degree, non-profit work, ministry, international travel, etc.).

Pray for me if you think of it that I will hear His voice and follow His will.

nearing the end

2009-07-19T23:06:00.005-06:00

Okay, since I've been saying for awhile now that I'll just post a few pics of the near finished projects, I finally found another memory card and was able to take a couple of pics to post online. You'll have to refer back to earlier posts to see the before since I wasn't able to retrieve my before photos to compare to the after photos. Here's a link to the original stairs post.

The kitchen is almost done except for some newer appliances, tiling the backsplash and putting in new lighting. I just put on baseboard trim today and still need to put on some more trim right under the counters where it meets the wall. The stairs are at a point where I'm trying decide if it will be worth the effort to cut side pieces for the stairs or just paint it white. The verdict is still out on that one.

Home ownership is fun, but it can be taxing when you have projects!

I need a vacation!

2009-07-16T21:53:00.002-06:00

I realize it more and more with each passing day. I have not taken a real day of vacation since sometime late last year. Sure I've taken some comp time bestowed upon me by my boss for the numerous additional hours I put in that probably whittles my effective hourly rate down to below minimum wage, but I don't know that I've taken real vacation time day off in quite awhile. Two reasons for this...1)It's been busy at work and 2)I'm a saver. Consequently, I am approaching dangerous territory where I will be in a position of needing to "use it or lose it". Sadly, I must admit that I have almost 6 weeks of vacation accrued on the books.

So, as I think about what I would want to do or where I would want to go, there's lots of ideas that pop into my head, but I seem to generally shoot them down. Being a saver, I also realize that not working means more free time which generally means, spending more money. I'm not super opposed to spending money, but I'm much more liable to spend it on others (i.e. gifts and such) than on myself. I usually dream of where I would want to travel, but I find it more and more difficult to travel alone. Simply put, it's just not as much fun experiencing those things by oneself.

However, for the sake of dreaming, I would like to:

1) Go down under...G'day mate! I would love to see a koala bear up close, find a halfling somewhere in NZ, learn to scuba dive and go near the Great Barrier Reef and why not stop and see the Sydney Opera House!

2) Seoul! After all, I'm told I was born in a small town (maybe village for all I know) near there. I hear South Korea is really cool, but I always wonder what kind of looks I would get. I'm sure I can fit in physically, but apart from my appearance, there's not much internally that's reflective of my Asian heritage...apart from my love of kim-chee!

3)Thailand, Seychelles, or Maldives. Anything with lots of clear blue water, warm sun, and just pure relaxation sounds pretty good right about now!

4) Costa Rica. It's so close and yet so far away! I was going to go on a mission trip back in May with my church to Costa Rica, but the trip fell through due to a lack of interest. Needless to say, I was very disappointed! I hear it's beautiful there though.

5) Peru - Macchu Picchu. The pictures of that city high up in the Andes seems almost ethereal. I would really need to whip myself into shape before attempting that hike. I wonder if they have Sherpas...

6) Ireland. Ahh, the luck of the Irish. My father's heritage is supposedly Irish, but when we went back to Ireland a few years ago, we did a little digging around and didn't come up with much success. In fact, most indications pointed to the probability that my last name is more Scottish. However, I would not be opposed to exploring the secrets of the Guiness brewery and Jameson Distillery in Dublin or dodging street violence in Belfast!

7) Anything Italy! I love Italy. I love the Italian food, love the wine, love the countryside, love the art. Ahhhh, Prego!

8) Russia. A country that I called home for 3 years still beckons to me deeply. Come back to the Rodina! Shashlik, plov, wild dog packs, MIS (men in speedos), Russian mafia...what's not to enjoy about all of that (partially joking, but I'll let you determine which ones were serious).

As it would turn out, most likely, my next vacation will just be a few days of rest at home, working on the house and taking my mind off work. I feel very short tempered and seem to get easily annoyed by people at work. This is a strong indicator that it's time to step away and drink deeply from other things that are certainly more satisfying.

If you all have any suggestions for vacation venues, let me know and if you have a spare bed and some time in your schedule, let me know. Trips to see friends and just spend time with them are the best trips of all!

Curses...

2009-07-03T13:08:00.003-06:00

One of the things I enjoy doing at my job is listening to sermons while I'm working on cost model spreadsheets. It's something that stimulates my thinking during the times that are more mundane while working with massive cost models.

I often listen to a guy named Mark Bates, whom currently serves in the capacity of Sr. Pastor at Village 7 Presbyterian Church here in the Springs. This year, he has been going through the book of Genesis and I was very interested in his take on the fall and how it has shaped men and women to this day.

I believe all people were created equally. I also like to think that things were different between men and women and between God and His creation prior to the fall. When God said to Eve that "Yet your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you", families and relationships between men and women went into chaos. Pastor Bates postures that this desire for their husband speaks to similarity in how "desire" is used in speaking of sin wanting to desire man. This "desire" is more of seeking to usurp, control or overpower. So, he seems to interpret that woman will now seek to control their men while men will rule over women in a controlling, domineering way vice the God-ordained way.

There are definitely differences in how men and women relate and what they were created to do. Eve was definitely created as a helper for Adam. How that looks in relationships is, I'm sure, very different depending on the people involved in the relationship. As a man, I see struggles for men in finding balance between being a overpowering, controlling, domineering, despot and a timid person who shys away from taking any responsibility for anything or anyone outside of himself. I speculate the struggles for women seem to be more in how to be a helper in their marriage when they want to dominate or when they want their husbands to be something more to step up to something.

I think women do desire to control their husbands and some do while others may try and refrain from that. I think men do rule over their wives, some in a domineering way and others in a very passive way. It seems like that's not the way it's intended to be and that its only true because of sin and the fall. Having said that, I wonder if wives are really intended to not control their husbands and I wonder if husbands are not really intended to rule over their wives. I don't really know, but I wonder how much we just resign ourselves to the curse and that's just the way it is until we are with Him in paradise or are we to strive to what may have been prior to the fall.

I think there is an aspect of mutual submission to each other out of love and respect and reverence for the Lord. I think woman was created to be man's helper and I think they were both created to work together to achieve the tasks God laid out for them. That's about all I know so far, which isn't much.

If you have any insights or opinions, I'd love to hear them.

Being single...and at weddings

2009-06-13T11:11:00.002-06:00

I'm going to a wedding today and I sent in my RSVP as only 1. I do not remember exactly when the last wedding was that I went to, but it was at least a couple of years ago. The last wedding I had gone to was with a larger group of friends that I knew from college which made for a lot of fun. I'm not trying to say that today won't be fun, but it's usually a stretch for me going to occasions such as these as a group of one. Fortunately there will be other people there I know whom are in the "one" camp as well, but I think the older I get, the more difficult it becomes to face my current reality.

Today should be a good time though as the group will be smaller, the reception more about fun and community and not a lot of the traditional reception activities (i.e. tossing of the bouquet and garter-both of which are occasionally dreaded by those of us in the crowd whom are singled out for being single).

I've been thinking a lot as of late (not sure why) on my status as a "Single - Never married" and wonder how I've come to this place. I realize that I took a route after college that was probably not as "traditional" as most other friends and subsequently, I see that many of those friends who took that same route with me are also not married or have married fairly later in life (some found their spouse because they took that different route). I tend to see that as either we haven't taken the time to find someone and settle down or our expectations maybe became higher as a result of life experiences.

I know that we are made for community and companionship, but as of late, I seem to be drawn more towards having someone I can call my best friend whom knows me inside and out and loves me for who I am. I've been around enough marriages, I think, to see the good and the bad. I don't believe I have a naive idea of being married, but in this stage of life that I find myself, it seems difficult to really enjoy being single still. Part of me does think that I just know am starting to feel ready whereas before, I don't think I was really ready for it. My parents were married at 21 and I just seemed like an immature, selfish, college kid at that time (maybe still am in some ways).

In my past relationships, I've dated someone that I thought I loved, someone that I could've loved if I'd have let myself, but was too selfish to see it, and someone that I did and do love. I continue to pray about these things and ask for patience and a little faith to truly believe God has a marriage plan for me and that involves the best person for me and that we'll both be ready for it and to see it when the time comes. In the meantime, I'll continue to wait and be sure and sample the 5 different cakes at the reception and enjoy the fellowship offered today!

Countertop repair

2009-06-08T08:24:00.002-06:00

So, I'm sitting here at home on a Monday morning awaiting the countertop company to send people out this morning for a quick (about an hour-hour and a half) repair job on my countertops. I've got nothing pressing at the office so I thought I'd pass the time and blog it down.

When the counters were initially installed, they were put on top of plywood that I had attached to the wall. However, the plywood wasn't level and the install guys had to shim it up in various parts in order to get the two granite slabs to lay flush and level on top of the plywood. As a result, some of the epoxy didn't hold and when I removed the 2x4 supports after the install was done and the epoxy had hardened, I heard a pop. Not a good sound. This is essentially on a bar top counter area and it must be able to hold weight of some amount and when I would slightly push down on the edge of the counter, I could see it moving towards the inside angles. When the company came out to inspect, they noted that the seam on the bar top counters had split and suggested using corbels to support the counter instead.

So, they are coming this morning and will remove the bar top counters and I guess pull the plywood from it and reset both pieces and redo the seam, but with corbels to support. I'm hoping this will resolve the issue. I'll still need to put some trim up where the granite lays on the framing, but with the corbels screwed into the studs, it should be a much stronger support for the countertops.

It's probably difficult to visualize all of this nonsense and unfortunately, I don't have my memory card for the camera to take pictures. However, if you're ever through town, drop on by and I can show you in person!

Mauritania

2009-06-01T21:05:00.002-06:00

So, maybe when you saw the title, you thought I had recently taken a trip to the Islamic Republic of said title and never mentioned it...or maybe you conjured up some other idea and I was just way off.

Anyway, I was actually reviewing my cell phone statement since I get it every month and try to file it away (though I'm not really quite sure why since it's on AutoPay, which even begs the question of why I look at the statement if its already been paid, but I digress). I was reviewing the sms charges as I've been too stubborn to embrace the 400 text msg offer for an additional $4.99. I, for one, do not send anywhere near 400 msgs, but I'm not consistent enough with sending 25 msgs each month to warrant paying an additional $4.99 to break even. So, I noted most of the numbers were familiar with the exception of one...that being 222.222.2909. It appears that I received 9 msgs from this number that apparently is serviced from Mauritania. I checked my phone to make sure I had not received any msgs from Abdul or whomever it was that was sending me msgs from this republic on the other side of the world. Having satisfied myself knowing that I did not receive those msgs, I proceeded to call customer service and inquire about this anomaly on my phone bill.

The customer service line picks up and a nice sounding frat boy fresh out of college proceeds to answer and ask with whom he has the pleasure of speaking with, to which I reply Thad Clardy. He asks if he can call me Thad and I say "Sure". He asks what he can help me with today and I respond that I apparently received a few text msgs that are not reflected on my phone, but they are reflected on my bill from a number I do not recognize nor from anyone I might know (since I really don't know any Abdul in Mauritania). Instead of acknowledging the issue I've just shared with him, the customer service agent (I realized later he never gave me his name; I felt cheated) proceeds to review the current statement as well as my last two statements prior and politely lets me know that according to what he's seeing, I've apparently been using text msgs more as of late and have I thought about getting their basic text package of 400 msgs for $4.99. I found that interesting that he completely dismissed what my issue was and opted to play salesman instead and try to upsell my service. Annoyance has now officially set in...

Well, I didn't want to be rude and tell him that of course, I'd thought about it and if I wanted it, I would already have it and we wouldn't be having this conversation, but I felt like he was trying to do his job and make a living for himself. So, I politely explained that it wasn't something that I was ready to commit to at this time, but wanted to know what he was going to be able to do about these msgs from this strange number that I never received, but was billed for anyway. He then explained that on occasion, there are customer service center numbers from which this company sends out msgs from time to time and that maybe this number could've been from one of those service centers. I had not mentioned to him that these numbers came from Mauritania as I assumed he already knew that from looking at his computer terminal. That could've been a bad assumption on my part. Nevertheless, he seemed sure that that was the issue and that those charges should not have occurred. He then explained that he wasn't going to process a credit back to my account for those charges (though they shouldn't have happened), but rather a credit would be posted to my account by the end of the June billing cycle. Nice deflection buddy. Then, he decides he needs to teach me something I don't know about already which is how to check my account from my phone to see how many msgs I've sent in the billing cycle to determine whether or not it makes sense for me to try and get this basic msg option added on to my account. I thanked him for the information and wanted to know why I had received so many msgs from this one number in such a short timeframe. I had essentially received 6 msgs in one minute on one day and 3 msgs in one minute on another day. If this was really a service center number sending out msgs to its subscribers, then I felt like 1) it's not very effective as I never got the msg and 2) it's a bit disruptive if one did happen to receive that many msgs in such a short time span. What could be that important to send out that many txts in such a short time? He couldn't really answer that one and even seemed to renege on his earlier explanation about the number being service center.

So, in summary, I apparently need to get a $4.99 add-on option to my monthly plan and my cell provider has at least one customer service agent whom doesn't really know what the heck he's talking about and we'll see if I really get that credit next month. Oh, and if anyone out there has been to Mauritania, let me know if it's worth a trip over there or not!

New Remont

2009-05-26T17:33:00.002-06:00

Being a homeowner that did not purchase a house with everything already done, I have undertaken more remont than I originally intended. It seems that in order to complete one project, one must tend to like 5 other projects first in order to be able to complete originally said project.

I have put flooring down on most of my stairs though I'm still trying to figure out how to negotiate the final stair and tie the stairnose into the rest of the flooring. I still need to post pictures for those interested in the final product.

The current kitchen remont, which has been like 2 years in the making took a final step closer to completion earlier this month. I finally chose some countertop material and replaced the kitchen sink and sink fixtures. I opted for granite, which I think will be a positive selling point in the future (hopefully) and now have some nicer countertops with a new stainless steel sink and I opted for a pull-out faucet with an oil-rubbed bronze finish. There were waaaaay too many choices for all of those things so I'm very happy that this is behind me. The downside to granite was that I was not able to install it myself thus having to pay a premium to have it done for me. I was able to forego bringing a plumber for the new hookups underneath, but will most likely have to bring an electrician in to run wiring for the lighting that I will need to do next. Hopefully I will be able to do the tiling of the backsplash myself as well. After those are completed, I think I'm done with the kitchen for awhile. (I'll hopefully post some pictures if I can find the memory card for my camera)

I expect the next projects will be more outdoor in nature (i.e. paver patio and some shrub removal). Ahhh, the joys of home ownership!

Prayer

2009-05-26T16:54:00.003-06:00

I took a day off today because I've not really taken an official (by that I mean, I've marked actual vacation time on my timecard) vacation day since the year started. Since I'm getting close to maxing out on my accrual, I thought today would be a good day to try and get that number down a bit.

Having the "extra" time, rather taking the time in the morning to sit down and read some meditative thoughts (as opposed to sleeping), I opened up good ol' Oswald Chambers. Today's reading was on prayer, something of which I've been a miserable failure at over the years. Prayer is one of those things, in my mind, that takes more and more faith the more you try and do it.

I've prayed for a lot of things over the years and somethings seemed to be quick and easy answers, others seemed to take a few years (as I look back on them) and still others have yet to change. I was challenged today to think about whether or not I really think God answers prayers. In my mind, I say "yes", of course He answers, but in my heart, I say "I honestly don't know sometimes". I would like to believe He does, but my perspective on how I view the world is so much different (probably) than His perspective and in my finite world, I see not everything is as I wish or hope that it would be.

I began to wonder what it would be like to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when I prayed, I knew God was going to answer that prayer and that His answer to that prayer was going to be "good" (in terms of my perception of "good"). That wonder brought forth both an excitement about what that would/could look like as well as a hesitation of whether I really would/could pray with that confidence.

Oswald states in his reading that "the danger we have in expecting God to answer prayer is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something that aligns with our common sense." I know that is true in my life and I want His answers to fit into the world as I see it in my mind. When that doesn't happen, I'm prone to doubt and embrace skepticism that He really does answer prayers and then my faith takes a hit.

I personally am glad that I have a God whom is greater than myself and my selfish desires and my "common sense." I want to continue praying, and praying for big things, and trusting and believing that He will answer according to His good will and stop trying to make His answers and my relationship with Him fit into this nice neat little framework box.

Who am I kidding...

2009-04-12T11:07:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I thought a new blog might be nice, but the reality of is I've not even blogged on the new one. So, I figured it'd be better if I came back to Blogger and tried to push through.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter!! It's snowing here in Colorado Springs and truly He has washed away our sins; we are "white as snow"!!

He is risen!

Trust

2009-01-25T20:49:00.003-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to trust God and what does it really look like. This seems to be a lesson that I continually have to learn because I just don't seem to get it or I quickly forget. Somehow I continue to think that I am the only one that knows what's best for my life and that God really isn't going to be the best manager of my life. So, I live my life in such a way that I'm in control (or rather I feel like I'm in control).

It seems to work in my mind for the most part except in the area of romantic relationships. This area of my life seems to be one that's the most chaotic for me and the area that I need the most trust in Him and the most help from Him. Each time I get into one of these relationships, I tend to somehow screw things up because of my lack of trust and my idea that I know what's best for my life. I just forge out on my own and somehow tend to put God and my relationship with Him on the back burner while I motor ahead to my own inevitable relational wreck.

The other element in romantic relationships is the everything is not entirely up to me so I really don't have complete control over the relationship the way I would like as in other areas of my life. This seems to cause a lot of frustration and heartache for me. Not to say that if I completely trusted God with the outcomes, I would be free of frustration and heartache, but I think I would be in a much better place to accept it.

Currently, I'm having to trust God with some very deep desires and where to go with them. I'm having to trust God with moving a very large mountain. So, whether I like it or not, God has again reminded me that He is in control and I am not. In the midst of this chaos in my life, I do take comfort in knowing that God is there, He is in control, and in the waiting, drawing me back to Himself in a very powerful way. Maybe next time, I can keep my focus on my relationship with God and allow Him to work from that relationship in pursuing the one I desire.

Family Visit Part 2

2008-12-14T15:04:00.002-07:00

One of the fun things about the family visit was seeing my nieces! My younger niece is almost a year old. The last time I actually saw her was back when she was 2 months old. Needless to say, she did a lot of sleeping at that time. Now she's obviously more active, but I wasn't able to hold her without a lot of crying involved (on her part, of course). She was pretty content to just stick with mom and look at everyone. Seemed a little safer that way...

We also celebrated both my birthday and my Mom's birthday as they are both in the early half of December. My brother, sister, and brother-in-law picked up a carrot cake while they were out shopping one day. This happens to be a favorite of mom's and we even managed to get some candles on there. A side note, we had some minor difficulties with the candles as part of it broke. We did some taping and melting of wax to get it back together and believe we successfully patched it to hold for a few seconds of being lit on the cake!

We gathered around and started singing "Happy Birthday" while keeping an eye on the candle to make sure it wouldn't fall over on the cake and dump melted wax on the top.

After successfully blowing out the candles, we were all ready to cut the cake and the pie and the ice cream...somehow the desserts kept multiplying! As you can see from the next picture, my older niece was more than ready to take her spot at assisting with the serving!

She's ready for her birthday now! It will be next month and hopefully we'll be able to have a party down in H-town!

Glad you all could make it up! It was great timing and though I had to work like crazy the latter half of the week, I'm glad it worked out to get some time away from work while you all were in town!

Family Visit

2008-12-13T13:44:00.005-07:00

So, after attending my company Christmas party this year, my sister and brother-in-law and kids came into town. Since both my mom and I have birthdays in December relatively close together, it was nice to have the whole family in town for an extended weekend.

The weather was really nice for the first couple of days, but then got pretty nasty as winter attempted to make it's presence known. I don't know that I was feeling ready for winter, but it came regardless of how I felt about it! Thanks Dad for picking up the oak for me! Sure came in handy.

One of the benefits of having family that live down in TX is that they don't get to play in snow very often, much less see it (though I hear it was snowing there when they returned earlier this week). Consequently, my brother-in-law took it upon himself to go out in the snow and labor to provide a snowman! Here are a few pics of his creation:

It was a little cold with the wind blowing out there, but we managed to get a few pictures and my niece really liked the snowman, but eventually decided she needed to go and get in the car and warm up!

My brother-in-law was so excited about getting to do all these things in the snow! He even shoveled my driveway! I told him he was more than welcome to come up and shovel my driveway anytime!

The snow is mostly gone now and the snowman, as friendly as he was, got into a pretty bad scuffle with some neighborhood riff-raff. Under the quiet cover of cold night, they came in numbers and punked him of his head and arms and rolled him down the slope of the yard. It was pretty tragic and we were all pretty shook up about it...for about 5 seconds...

Stairs transformation

2008-11-24T21:21:00.006-07:00

Okay, for those who actually visit the ol blog, here are a few pics of the stairs remont that I'm currently working on in my house.

Here's the original carpet:

Here are the stairs sans carpet:

Here are the stairs without the carpet on the side tracks:

Here are the stairs currently with the wooden stairnose pieces removed:

Next steps this weekend (hopefully) will be gluing the bamboo onto the risers and treads and hopefully the sides. I'll have some more pictures of the entryway landing as well. Any suggestions for putting the bamboo on the side tracks are greatly appreciated as well as any ideas on potential baluster replacements! :)

Flooring

2008-11-12T21:57:00.002-07:00

Last year, I was able to get my bamboo flooring installed on the upper floor. It was put in the kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway. However, being a home job, I've neglected to finish the baseboard trim and the stairs.

For reasons I'll refrain from mentioning here, it's taken quite some time to get trim pieces and stairnose trim, but I managed to get a hold of some that seem reasonably close in color and design. So, I will attempt to install some of the remaining flooring on the upper stairs and the main entryway landing over this next Thanksgiving time period. We'll see how it turns out...

Pictures to follow!

Absentee blogging

2008-09-29T18:20:00.003-06:00

I think I got caught up in life and being busy...or it could just be laziness...or the thought that nothing of consequence was in my life to blog about...

Anyway, regardless the reason, the fact still remains that it was been a long time since I've blogged. What have I been doing in that absence?

Well, a large part of it is work, sad to say. I've not had much of a September outside of the office and now the month is almost over.

I have had family through town (my brother as well as my parents).

I washed and stained my back deck (well, really my only deck).

I have spent some time up in Denver with my girlfriend (this past weekend, we saw a chamber choir and orchestra performance that was quite good).

I have done normal chores and cleaning around the house.

I have started cleaning out the other half of my garage in preparation of a borrowed car for the winter (thanks Dad and Mom for the AWD capability).

I have slept, eaten, watched a few movies, gone on a few walks, cooked a few meals.

I'm not really sure how I spend 168 hours each week, but it sure passes quickly. I am going to try and get back into blogging (though they may be random posts for a bit).

Anyway, I'm back and will resume my blogging with hopefully more interesting topics!

Smart Kits

2008-09-29T18:03:00.008-06:00

I've always thought the SMART cars were a little on the bland side. Definitely small! I was a bit humored by these Smart Kits that I came across. Anyone actually seen of these out on the road? :)

Go from this:

To one of these:

The Smorvette!

The Smaudi A3 AWD!

The Smamborghini!

The Smorsche!

The Smorsche GT!

And, last, but not least, the Smerrari!

Mean People Suck

2008-06-22T22:48:00.002-06:00

Yes, that was the title of the message this morning at church. The question asked this morning was "How do we deal with the people in our lives who have hurt us?"

-Refuse to judge people, to be judgmental towards them. How many times have we felt judged by others. I am just as guilty, if not more, of judging others in my own supposed self-righteousness, but in reality, my own hurt. Judgment brings hurt and I do think we judge others because we have been hurt ourselves. This was very convicting for me to hear and receive.

-Refuse to condemn or hate people. Our pastor suggested that Hate is the human attempt to protect oneself from hurt. Love and Hate at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Hate is such a strong word, but our pastor encouraged us to be honest about the hate in our hearts. If it is not dealt with, confronted, or confessed, it may have a tendency to eat away at us...self-destructive to our hearts and our lives. In that self-destruction, we become unable to forgive others, to allow them any action toward us. In recognizing this, can we stop and forgive them, and "take our hands off" them in order to let them love.

-Give. Give what people don't deserve. That's Christ in action! The love of God to give us what we don't deserve is such a powerful thought. What an incredible gift to be able to turn around and extend to others...especially those who have hurt us.

-Finally, we've probably all heard the idea of "hate the sin, love the sinner". Well, it was suggested this morning, "what about loving the sinner, hating your sin". Can we not worry about the speck in their eyes and focus on the logs in our own eyes? What can we give to others instead of trying to get everything for ourselves? Such a difficult thing to keep in mind, but so rewarding when we do.

The service this morning was marked by partaking of communion as a body! This was a first as communion has usually been held on Wednesday evenings as part of the model of this post-modern church. It was so refreshing to partake this morning with the body and to see the response from the church body. After finishing off the message, my thoughts ran through loving and hating and focusing on my own issues rather than picking at ones I see in others and just receiving what I don't deserve from God in His love for me. This seemed perfect for confession and praise prior to coming before the Lord's table.

It was a beautiful thing this morning to be in the Lord's presence and to feel Him speaking to my heart and calling me to Himself.

Dom Remont Demolition (cont.)

2008-06-22T22:17:00.006-06:00

After deciding to cut into the rest of the wall, it seemed a good idea to try and change the wall length to shorten the wall a few inches. When I was moving the refrigerator in, I literally had to take off the handle and it barely squeaked through the existing entryway into the kitchen. Widening both entries would give it a slight larger feel. So, we cut the rest of the drywall off and I chopped the 2x4s down to the desired height.

One of the other things I realized in changing the length of the walls was that I would need to cut into the subfloor to move some of the cables to fit into the new wall.

After quite some time with the kitchen like that, I enlisted some help from the father of my good friend, Barb. He came over and helped me firm up the wall and make the angle construction that I was hoping for as opposed to the 90 degree angle on the existing wall. Here's a couple of pictures of the after product (the cabinets are not attached yet. This was done for measurement purposes)...

Finally, we also went ahead and put the drywall on, but I was left on my own to mud and tape it, but here's a picture of the almost finished product.

I'll post final product pictures later (at least in the final stages). It's coming together though!

Dom Remont Demolition

2008-06-19T23:02:00.004-06:00

I was really non-committal when I first tore into the wall. I have a hard time visualizing things and so it's much easier for me to see the real thing. The problem with this is when I have to actually paint a room to visualize the color or tear down a wall to visualize the new look. If I don't end up liking it, it's a bit of a pain to restore it back to original condition.

I thought I could take like just the top half off and cap it from there, but after bringing it down a little, I decided I wanted to change from a 90 degree angle to a couple of 135 degree angles. I also discovered it was just going to be easier to rebuild if I went from the bottom up.

I definitely made a mess in the house. It's probably a good thing it's still a bachelor pad as I don't think many women would stand for the kitchen to be out of order for as long as it was.

Dom Remont

2008-06-18T22:23:00.003-06:00

When I first took a walk through my house (before I bought it), one of the things I knew immediately that I wanted to change was the kitchen wall. It was this 3/4 wall that had some funky decorate wood piece at the top. It made the kitchen feel so small and tight and closed in. It screamed tear me down.

This has been a project in the works forever...if you've been over to my house, you know it's like the eternal project. Much of that I have to admit is laziness as I'm not overly enticed to come home and work on it after a full day at the office. However, it's slowly coming along with the help of a number of people. I'm going to try and remember to post some pictures here of the before and process and current!

Here is the original wall taken from the living room view (taupe wall) and from the kitchen view (green wall).

Desire

2008-06-12T21:53:00.002-06:00

I was reminded tonight of how much we desire and how that desire is truly for God to fulfill us and restore us back to union with Him. Desires are a good thing and the things we desire are not always bad, but are they really what we want? Am I settling for things this world offers that will temporarily appease my desires and assuage my longings? My desires are in my heart and I'm prompted again to seek out what it means to live out of my heart.

When was the last time I made a decision that felt out of control? When was the last time I really wanted something so bad that nothing in this world felt like it could satisfy that longing? My point here is that I tend to live on the safe side of life in a world that I can control. This would include stifling desires so strong in my life that I dare not let them out because I know I would only find disappointment and frustration and sadness. You see in my mind, it feels safer and in control to know that my desires can be fulfilled by something that I can obtain or procure.

Desire is confusing. What is it that I really want? Why do I seem to think that most things in this life can fulfill those desires? The reality being that what I desire most is to be reunited with Christ and for my identity to be made complete in Him. It's not the money that so easily numbs me by paying for something that will bring temporary happiness (i.e. the countless Christmas gifts growing up), it's not my job that I feel brings me "security", its not my relationship with a really beautiful woman or a role as a parent or community with friends (though I feel those, of anything, are getting closer to it). Looking back at Creation, Adam had everything he could ever want in the Garden of Eden, but he especially had communion and daily presence with God Himself. Ever since that was taken away, we have tried to return to that paradise in things that will never satisfy us on this side of heaven.

I know I have many more thoughts about desires, selfishness, work, money, relationships, and community, but wanted to at least type these raw thoughts while they were fresh on my mind. In closing this post, I have to ask what it means for you to live out of your heart? What does that look like and how do you satisfy the desires that are housed there?

Gardening

2008-06-11T21:19:00.005-06:00

One of the delights of being a homeowner is planting things in your backyard. Last year, I made my first attempt at gardening by planting a tomato plant. After transplanting a couple of times, I managed to get some tomatoes out of the deal, but they were so late into the summer that I ended up losing quite a few almost ripe ones when the weather started turning colder in the fall.

Learning from my mistakes, I opted to put my vegetables directly into the ground this year so as to get them yielding fruit as soon as possible. This year, we have 2 types of tomatoes, some chives, and some basil. Maybe next year, I'll add cucumbers and have enough for a salad!

Motivational Posters

2008-06-05T18:05:00.002-06:00

Here's a Motivational poster that I'd not seen before. Who knew Vanilla Ice could be so motivational?

Gone Baby Gone

2008-05-31T10:08:00.002-06:00

I watched Gone Baby Gone last night and I am still running it over in my mind. I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone, but the gist of the movie is that a little girl goes missing and a private detective is hired to try and find her. Some of the things that come in the movie are interesting to mull over. What is right? How does each person define what's right in their own mind? What's bad or wrong? I think the things that trouble me most are the thoughts surrounding the disappearance of this little girl. Since I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone whom hasn't seen it, I will ask that for those who have and have thoughts to share, they would add as comments to this post. My question in particular that I'm curious to hear thoughts on is was the detective (Casey Affleck) right in his decisions and/or would you have made the same decision?

The Devil Came on Horseback

2008-05-30T21:36:00.002-06:00

Janjaweed, or "Devil on Horseback" was part of where the title of the name came from of the documentary movie I saw tonight. The Janjaweed are armed Arabic speaking partisans pursuing the conquest of land and pitted against the Darfur rebel groups. The Janjaweed attack and massacre, rape, and force displacement of black Africans in the Darfur region. The movie tonight outlined the story of one young man whom worked as a military observer in the Sudan for 6 months and witnessed firsthand (from a distance) many of the atrocities taking place at the hands of the Janjaweed in Darfur. The movie cites that since 2003, there have been at least 400,000 killed and 2.5 million Sudanese people displaced from their homes.

This is very tragic and sad when I stop and think about it. The problem, that I realized tonight, is the reality that I don't stop and think about it. I was talking with some friends about it and while Americans can get so worked up over it, over time, people forget. They become busy with their own lives, with their own issues and when something like this is happening half a world away, it's easy to let it slip out of our minds in favor of whatever the next big news story is or just our own drama.

When we're not directly affected by these tragedies, it seems difficult to really keep them on the forefront of our mind. I believe God has challenged/commanded us to care for widows and orphans and after watching this film tonight, I'm convicted to think through what small part I can play in caring for the powerless and those suffering at the hands of others. I was particularly touched by one part in the film where a Sudanese man was expressing his gratitude for America and their aid. He became very choked up as he expressed the lack of assistance from his Muslim brothers and sisters and how he felt forgotten and forsaken by them, but how thankful he was for the help of Americans and the non Muslim people and their remembrance to their plight. What an incredible example/witness we can play to others w/o even fully knowing the effect (physically or spiritually), but if we would just act.

One of the other hard thoughts in the film was how the Janjaweed use rape as an effective tool of war to dispirit their conquests. Women who are raped are shamed by the act and this not only affects them personally, but their husbands and families as well. It's a deep cut to many through one act against one person. The shame is such that the women who are raped cannot say this, but rather only that they were attacked. There is so much healing to take place from this and many other acts.

A couple of websites that I want to explore more are Save Darfur and Global Grassroots. It doesn't take much for us to forget, but our little actions here can do so much to help in redeeming people out there!

Albany!

2008-05-29T22:07:00.011-06:00

So, I just returned from an extended weekend in upstate NY visiting my friends, the Sheehans. They are such great hosts and it was such a relaxing and chill weekend.

While there, I had the opportunity to visit Thatcher State Park. It was so lush and green!

All the kids were out including their youngest, S.

The others managed to brave the cool stream water with Daddy!

We had a nice picnic out and enjoyed the weather. We also got to stop on the way home for some ice cream!

The next day they took me downtown and showed me around there. It's so cool to see older buildings and the variety in the old Dutch influence. There were also some cool random structures near Rockefeller Square which the girls enjoyed climbing on (with the help of Mommy and Daddy)!

And what's a trip near the museum without going in and riding the carousel. I have to admit, the little teacup is waaay better than the horses!

I also have to note that I did play Parcheesi with AK and I don't think I've ever been sent "home" so many times in that game. She had it out for me and took too much pleasure in my demise (I'm not competitive...)! It was fun to play, but I do warn you, AK knows her Parcheesi!

Thanks again to the Sheehans for a great time and the opportunity to come out and visit. I hope I can make it out again in the fall when the foliage starts changing!

Blog on!

2008-05-13T09:11:00.002-06:00

I realize that I've not been so diligent at posting. Much of this is probably just due to laziness since I couldn't necessarily access Blogspot at work and didn't have internet at home. Well, I finally broke down and purchased internet service for my house so that I could catch up with the rest of society living in the current century. This might mean there could be more posts coming, but I'm not making any promises...

Skiing!

2008-05-13T08:53:00.003-06:00

After living in Colorado for almost 4 years now, I still had not made it out to the ski slopes. Inside, I think I was trembling at the thought of trying to navigate down a hill on two planks over bumps and around people while not running into any trees or SLOW signs. I finally bucked up the courage to go (prompted by others whom had come up to Colorado for a weekend) and obtained the necessary ski clothes.

I skied the first day with my old roommate from college. We went to Winter Park and I think I agonized the whole day with poor ski boots, but surprisingly, I felt my ski legs come back fairly quickly. It prompted me to try and ski harder, but of course, by 3pm, I was laaaaaaaaaaagging down the run just dying to get into the lodge to sit and rest. It sure would've been nice to have a hot tub or some hot springs that evening! Took the Ski Train up that day as well which was a first for me. Very convenient. I'll have to check into that again next season.

The second day was out to Copper Mountain, one of my favorites (I say "favorites", but the reality is I haven't skied there since college, so "favorites" really needs to be put in context). It really threatened to snow for most of the morning and my two friends and I were trying to get a fair amount of runs in before it just became miserable. The winds were really starting to pick up and when we stopped for late lunch break around 2pm, after consultation, we thought it best to just go ahead and head down to the lodge, ultimately heading home lest we get stuck outside Denver somewhere on I-70. Here are the two powder hounds I skied with at Copper.