Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Because you demanded it!

I'm back. That's the fun part of the English language. "You" is plural, as in "All of you demanded that I update", but it can also be singular, like "None of you cared that I hadn't updated except for you, Joanna." Thanks for the kick in the butt, J.

It honestly wasn't that I was waiting for someone to comment on the Spring Break home (although the envy is nice), I have just been simultaneously busy beyond belief and bored beyond comprehension. In other words, tons has been going on, but nothing worth blogging about.

That all changed last night, as Jennifer and I got to enjoy what we entitled, "the date of juxtaposition!" As some of you know, I am at least a little but of a professional wrestling fan (although not as much of a wrestling fan as I am a comic book fan). Jennifer very sweetly found out that WWE's Monday Night RAW was coming to the American Airlines Center last night and bought tickets for us (yes, she even went herself). Before the opening bell, however, we decided to "grab some food". I put that in quotes, because the hope really was that we would find someplace quick, easy, and cheap, yet still "date-worthy", for food. However, we both really wanted to try someplace that we hadn't eaten at before. That led us to Pappa's Steak House, which was neither quick, nor easy, nor (and let me emphasize this) cheap. We were magically transported to a swanky 1940's era resturant where all the waitstaff wear tuxedo's and they look down on you for not wearing one as well. The food was good, but let me just say that I haven't spent this much at a resturant without having meat served to me on swords.

From the hoity-toity resturant, we made our way to the American Airlines center for RAW. The juxtaposition didn't really hit me until we finally found our spot in the parking garage. We were a little early, so Jennifer and I sat in the car making small talk, not noticing the truck that pulled up beside us. We did, however, notice when the driver got out and proceeded to relieve himself on his own front tire.

Attempting to erase that image from our minds, we made our way in to the AAC. The wrestling was good, although I'm getting too old to deal with hyperactive teenage girls screaming their undying love for disinterested WWE superstars and fat balding guys on their third jumbo cup of beer.

What was interesting to me at the event was a sequence involving, oddly enough, Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. Apparently they are trying to feign a feud in the vein of Donald and Rosie, and last night that manifested itself in Donald Trump dumping a bunch of money on the crowd. If you watched the show (and honestly, why would you have?) you would have seen excited fans showing their newly acquired $100's, $50's, and $20's. In one of my more philosophical moments of the night, I watched this crowd pushing and shoving each other, all dignity and self restraint lost in the hope of an unearned dollar. I saw how excited little kids were as they picked up these little green pieces of paper, and I wondered what the money would be spent on. Would what they bought bring them as much joy as this unearned gift? After it faded, or spoiled, or was consumed, would they reflect back on the person they had acted rudely towards to get it?

We've been given an unearned gift as well. Not money that brings momentary happiness and is then lost, but an eternal home purchased with the blood of Christ. We don't have to push and fight against others for this gift, because it is free to all. Why aren't we holding this gift up for all to see, smiling like an idiot because our good fortune?

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Spring Break Post Two

Nobody liked my deeply theological, although admittedly rushed, post, so how about more pictures of our rented vacation retreat?


Here is where we will eat while looking out on the sound.

Here is the kitchen, where we would make food if we weren't on vacation and planning on eating out every meal.


Another view of the living room, where I will fall asleep after eating big meals in the fancy home. Did I mention that we really like food?

Okay, I know I'm being really annoying about this, but we are beyond excited. To explain why I am so happy, here is a picture of the Sea Foam Motel where I usually stayed when my family came to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Lovely, isn't it?




Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The 5 minute post

I have kids coming literally in five minutes, but I need to update. LIfe has started to get in a routine for us lately, which I suppose is good if you like that sort of thing. The mornings seem to start earlier, and the nights end later, so I think I am sleep deprived. Ayway, I preached at Baker Blvd. this last Sunday in a sermon that could only be called "Meh." The idea was clear in my head, but the execution was not as crisp as I would have liked. The general point of it is the realization that once we emerge out of the waters of baptism we are a new creation, even though we still struggle with all the things we struggled with before baptism. In looking at this phenomenon, I felt it important to encourage all of us to be more loving to one another. For so many of us our native language is guilt, and when we see our brothers and sisters struggling with sin we try to "guilt" them out of it instead of encouraging them through the temptations of life. We judge too quickly and to0 easily. I'm a sinner, fallen and beyond hope other than the hope found in the sacrifice of Christ, who am I to look down my nose at you for the struggles you are going through? Take care, everybody.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

So, When does Spring Break Start?

Yeah, I changed my template again.

This post is about two months early, but I was just too excited to wait. Jennifer and I took advantage of our suddenly free Sunday morning today to book our Spring Break vacation. As we have told some of you, we are heading to the Outer Banks of North Carolina in March, home of the Wright Brothers first flight and most of my summer vacations growing up. The reason that we are so excited is because it will be our first trip together sans friends or family since our honeymoon six and a half years ago. Yeah, we would have enjoyed this even if we were going to lovely downtown Hoboken. Visiting the beach makes it all the sweeter. I may do some updates in the weeks and months to come as we prepare our itenerary, but today, would you settle for pictures of our (rented) vacation home?

Here is the front view. It has three levels, and they are all ours for seven days!


Here is the private pool. To the left of the picture you can see the hot tub, and to the right is the "Tiki Bar".

Here is one of the four bedrooms, and the prettiest that I can see from the pictures. It comes with a flat screen TV, because even though we are vacation, Jennifer and I don't ever miss our shows.


On the top level is the "great room", which really looks great if you ask me. It also comes with a beautiful view of the Sound, so we will make sure to get pictures for you. Since there is complementary Hi Speed Internet service, you may get some on site blog entries.

If you can't tell, I'm a little excited about this. BTW, Joanna taught me how to move pictures around in a blog, so this post is dedicated to her.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A Very Brief Post


As you can see, I took care of the big space at the top of my blog by changing my template, although it appears that the real culprit was the oversized picture of Superman I had on here. I unfortunately had to delete the "Jennifer has Super Powers" entry, which was one of my favorites.

If you hadn't noticed, Joanna has been kicking my butt on the updating of the blog. Stop by her site if you get a chance.

I'm on my way to pick up comics in a few minutes (Justice Society of America, Thunderbolts, and Welcome to Tranquility are eagerly anticipated this week). I have had to make some tough cuts, but I think that I will make my budget this month.

What I am about to say has to be understood in context. Most of you know that I can be a somewhat extravagant person. I'm like most of us in the fact that I like getting what I want, but there is also something in me that is kind of digging the restraint aspect of my life under the budget. When I figured out that I could live in my comic book budget, I got a tremendous sense of accomplishment. It is interesting to consciously choose to live beneath your means, to look at your life and divide the essentials from the superfluous things that clog up our lives. So, my question to you is what are your essentials? What could you live without if you really had to? In the picture above, you see a couple of my essentials.

Have a great day!

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Randomosity

I've got several post ideas running through my head right now, so this might be a potpurri.

First of all, does anyone know why I've got this ginormous space at the top of my blog? It bugs me to no end, appeared out of nowhere, and I would dearly like it to go away. Any suggestions?

Secondly, have you come to confession lately? Bryan Wilhite and I are teaching about confession on Sunday mornings in a class that I'm really enjoying. Currently there are 8 of us showing up with any frequency, so there are still spots available.

Thirdly, Jennifer and I had an interesting, albeit brief, conversation about our favorite movie of 2006. I learned that it is very difficult to remember all the movies you see in a year without some sort of visual aid, so I'm going to try to save my ticket stubs this year so I can look back with a clearer perspective on great movies of 2007. As for 2006, I voted for Pulse, which was scary, entertaining, thought provoking, and stars Veronica Mars' protagonist Kristen Bell. What is your vote?

Finally, I guess I ought to talk about New Years resolutions in much the same way as Kelly and Wade did. Generally speaking, I'm not someone who does resolutions, but I do have a couple this year.

  1. Enforce the school dress code more effectively- I have often complained that I spend more time fixing problems then teaching class. I have also often complained that kids dress in wildly inappropriate ways. What can I say, I'm getting old and I don't want to have to see 12 year olds' boxer shorts anymore, so I'm going to give up 30 seconds of class time a day to teach those kids where their waist is.
  2. Be More Organized- I am not, by nature, an organized person. As a result, I find myself constantly reinventing the wheel every year. Beri gave me some excellent suggestions about how to plan in such a way that I can teach effectively and still experience less stress.
  3. Stick to a budget- A few scant years ago, I was making almost $12,000 a year at the UPS store, and now I make somewhere closer to $40,000. Yay, me. Unfortunately, I've completely forgotten what it was like to have to make due on that little sum. We are making a conscious effort to eat out less (except on Sunday's when we really let loose), and I am sadly having to cut my comic book expenses down significantly. I have already decided to stop collecting 16 series, so I may be losing my status as the consumate comic book geek.
  4. Be Happier- Okay, I may offend here. Have you ever noticed that there are never Islamic terrorists at an amusement park? I caught the tail end of a documentary the other day wherein a group of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian kids were put together and forced to sight see in Israel and Spain. The conversation among these groups was very tense in Israel, as they were surrounded by solemn religious iconography and symbols of ageless, endless battle. In Spain, however, they went to an amusement park and a nightclub. The conversation relaxed, all three groups began to smile and be happy. They still were able to talk about their differences, but the tone of the conversation became one of inquiry and not judgment. It occured to me that you never see Islamic terrorists in amusement parks, because who would want to become a suicide bomber once they've gone down a log flume or had a funnel cake? Once we see how much happiness there can be in the world, perspective sort of takes care of itself. I'm going to strive to see the beauty and happiness that God has placed in this world for me, because I think it will help me overcome the little things that take me off course.

    Well, there you go. Do you have any resolutions you would like to share?