Well, that's all I got

Gotta post 2 days in a row...

2009-01-28T21:07:00.005-05:00

...one more day and it'll be a habit again. Or wait, is that 3 weeks to make a habit ... crap.

Ahhhhhhhh - rambling to myself is so soothing. I hope I never get tired of listening to myself. If that ever happens, I have a strong fear that I could lose my mind-body connection and ... well, that reminds me of Dilbert.

(click on it)

That, of course, was not the episode where Dilbert loses his mind-body connection, but I didn't want to build this thing up and not deliver. Rest assured I will find my favorite Dilbert - and post him.

But until then, for me it's early to bed, early to rise to make me more healthy, wealthy, and wise. :)

I'm baaaa-aaaaaaaack

2009-01-27T23:12:00.002-05:00

Heyooooooo!

Well... I think over the past 7 months of silence, I've lost any of you who ever checked my blog. My bad.

I'll say that once I had a guy at work tell me he found my blog, it was never the same after that ... and I tried to keep it going, but the illusion of anonymity had been shattered and I felt so... so exposed.

"...well you were posting everything on the INTERNET"

touche

Allllllllright ... so now that stuff in my life is getting interesting again, I figured it was worth giving it another stab. We'll see if my attention span can last as long this time. (One whole year's worth of blogging until June 2008! I'm quite proud of myself)

So... yeah - let's kick this thing off with a good night of sleep. Mmmmmhmmm. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Last night in the sack

2008-06-11T00:39:00.002-04:00

Well, Hackensack, it's been real. It's been fun. And it's been real fun - but now I sit in my lone chair in my bare-1,800 sq ft of wood floor apartment, watching an MTV2 rerun of Rob & Big ... for the last time :)

Allllllllrighty - I'm gonna go pack a little more

2008-06-09T20:28:00.002-04:00

Huaaaaa - last day in NJ tomorrow - sheesh - where'd all the time go?

Well ... I'm also looking for a new car since my poor baby is on her last leg. 183,000 miles strong. She deserves an honorable discharge

tru dat

2008-06-03T23:24:00.006-04:00

I GOT A PLACE!!!

2 bedroom... + attic for storing shtuff
Great Barrington, MA
2 blocks from the center of town (pretty touristy being in the Berkshires)
the Housatonic river runs through the back yard
10 minutes from 2 ski slopes
minutes from hiking trails
tons of cycling cuz all the highways are 45 mph and twisty-turney
can launch a kayak from my backyard
and only 15 minutes from work in Canaan, CT

...basically SWEET! praise the Lord!

So, me and Dennis Nelson (fellow UNL grad) are gonna be roomies for the next year and many adventures will be had.

This was the landlord's winter lodge for his family but he decided to rent it out this year... so he's leaving it furnished except for the bedrooms. cozy cozy.

View from the livingroom and from the kitchen too = river :)

kitchen

This isn't our deck... but if we get in good with the first floor folks, we may just get some deck time!

Kittle is moving out of our apartment tomorrow ... and all his stuff already got picked up by the movers yesterday so, I'm living the lonely in my 1800 ft2 of bare wood floors till next wednesday when i close things up here and move up to my outdoorsey paradise!

2008-05-14T11:38:00.002-04:00

So here's a fun update...

remember that lakehouse me and 2 of my BD friends were going to get in Connecticut? Yah - gone.

We had a signed lease with the owner of the condo, paid the sec deposity, rent, etc. - and the first roommate was supposed to move in THIS Saturday - and I just hear Monday night that the gated community "board" rejected us at the last minute because they didn't want tenants who were not related occupying a single residence. New news to the owners, the leasing agent, and to us.

snooty punks.

So, I'm running around all crazy-like trying to find a backup plan. I'm starting to look for a place in Great Barrington, MA - cuz i've heard good stuff about it ... so in the end it might look up for us.

Especially since there were so many headaches to deal with in the lakehouse situation = small rooms, long commute, community fees ...

blessing in disguise? maybe.
gotta hand it to 'em though - it's a pretty good disguise.

aallllllrrriiiiiight - cali's comin' to town

2008-05-08T00:50:00.004-04:00

that's right, the tan-man is hoppin the redeye from cali to jersey and i'm gonna wake up at the buttcrack o' dawn to pick him up.

oh wait -
just checked the flight status and looks like they're delayed an hour "awaiting inbound aircraft." well that means more sleep for me - that is, if i ever go to bed - dang-o allergies are kickin my tail! GAH! seriously ... never had allergies like this before. and i think it all started once i went back to the braska a couple weekends ago... man. totally worth it by the way - gotta spend alllll weekend with the fam - and it was AWESOME! but i got back to the dirty jers with red red eyes, incessant sneezies, and a nose that had broken from a light jog into a full run. buh. not my favorite.

oh good news on the camera-front though - i actually found a place that fixes digital cameras! i know ... i was surprised too. but the lady took one look at it, heard the noises it made as the lense extended and said "yep - you need a new lense - that's $150." ... sure beats buying a new one for $350! (and my boss being the standup guy he is offered to pay for the repair since he was the one who had an acute case of the dropsies and, well, y'know... dropped it)

so, check this video out - it's kinda cool. these guys are from nyc and i'm bummed i won't be able to make it to their show may 29th cuz i'll be outta town for work - but it's fun seein young bands starting to make it big. i get to live vicariously through them :) ...oh yah, they're called jupiter one

in the description of the video on youtube it says the band directed the entire video themselves ... not too shabby!

Even the Squad must come to an end

2008-04-22T23:49:00.005-04:00

today, i have two words to share that can inspire even the most stoic of manly manly men to scream like little nancies and wave their arms in the air like a pair of wind socks: Six Flags.

that's right. that's how we play hookie out here in the dirty jers. right in the middle of the week - me and the roomies are bouncing on outta here and taking the flags by storm.

it's the beginning of the last chapter of the MDP Squad = conor moves out to utah on sunday. boooo. so no more UFC fight nights at hooters, no more "rock of love" with bret michaels or "how i met your mother," no more squad hikes in the "mountains," no more running the tables at general poore's tavern, no more squad lunches at work, no more yelling at the mets for not pulling santana. it's all coming to a close, and i don't know if kittle and i have enough moxy to keep the squad mojo alive just the two of us. so, it's one last hurrah at Six Flags.

let it be told that the Squad rocked it hard and all the way to the end. i'm going out in a barrage of popcorn and motion-sick-upchucky.

2008-04-21T22:34:00.002-04:00

i feel like stuff has gotten pretty routine lately - and then today we had brown water. there was a sign posted and everything, right in the hallway as i was coming home. "when you turn on the hot water and it is brown, let it run for a while before using it." nevermind that it's brown - but why does it KEEP coming out brown... it'd be one thing if you flushed it and got the brown-town out of its system. but you leave the sink or shower alone for a while , come back and try it: brown. i was taking a shower and decided that feeling wet was the best i was going to do - cleanliness is a bit of a lofty goal today.

and then i got a facebook note from my good buddy and long-lost drummer joe heider and he told me his next band was going to be named "meatier shower." that, of course, or "sugar-tipped arrows never kill" (S.T.A.N.K. for short).

i miss that guy. now, i need to go take another meatier shower before i go to bed.

Well I'd say it's been long enough

2008-04-12T13:55:00.002-04:00

I'm gonna be honest, my break from blogging was somewhat intentional - mostly when I realized that the visibility was a bit higher than I was comfortable with... :) It's weird having people from work commenting on your latest adventures.

But it's okay - we're in the clear. I tracked em all down and locked them in the storage closet of my apartment and I'm keeping them alive with table scraps I squish through the mail slot.

Don't ask me how a mail slot made its way onto the storage closet door. You can never plan far enough ahead.

2008-03-10T23:23:00.002-04:00

Had a sweet time in Puerto Rico for the weekend ... just got back today. Now I need some rest from my vacation.

That's how I like it - go hard all the way through! ...but I'm flying out tomorrow morning for Miami so it's back on the road for me! Me and my new friend the sunburn. Splotchy, burny, red, nasty sunburn. He's not so much my friend so much as an acquaintance that follows me wherever I go. I'll chalk it up to the fact that I've never been to the beach in a tropical place before ... so I'm used to little-to-no spf in the Midwest and a little pink that'll turn to tan in a day or two.

Not so here. 45 minutes at 10:30 in the morning with no sunscreen and my back feels like a plastic sheet full of needles.

And the real bitch of it is - I can't get any aloe back there! I mean, me and the roomies are close - but not that close.

I'm gaining weight!!!

2008-02-28T08:45:00.002-05:00

WOOOOHOOOOO!

My diabolical plan to gain weight has finally come to fruition! At the end of January I was holding steady around 150 lb ... then, I changed my diet. I started buying lots of red meat, eating breakfast, mid-breakfast, lunch, afternoon lunch, and dinner along with a higher-quality whey protein supplement ... and BOOM - this week I'm holding steady at 159 lb!

It's like I stepped into a time-machine ... or, more like ... a weight machine and came out the other side 9 lb heavier!

But don't get too excited. No spare tire around me belly yet ... I think a bunch of it has been muscle gain - My bench max is by far higher than its ever been and I can actually do excercises like wide-grip pullups that I never could have done 3 months ago. So I'm gonna keep eatin'

All woodland creatures beware - GIT IN MAH BELLEH!

Now I should clarify before my Mom is reduced to tears ... my new diet consists of large quantities of "colorful" fruits and veggies in addition to the flesh of animals ... so it's not really the twinky-spandex diet that I threatened a month ago :)

Off to Beantown

2008-02-16T10:01:00.002-05:00

Had a great night last night ... saw Army of Me and Kris Roe of the Ataris in an unplugged set in Hoboken. Army of Me was weeeeeaaaaak sauce - sounded like bad Bob Dylan covers the whole time. But Kris Roe brought all his teenage-rage punk attitude and took it out on his Guild acoustic. Pretty good way to end the night :)

I think I'll go to Boston today. Conor's family is having a bday party today for his mom and then we're gonna spend the rest of the time with his college friends. Last time I went to an old-people party with Conor's family it was in NYC and we had a blast - flirted with the old ladies, danced in the living room, and engorged myself from the catered cuisine. I'm expecting more of the same :)

2008-02-12T00:20:00.000-05:00

it's coooooo-ooo-ooo--ooold outside ... like 8F and windy. i just feel like cozyin' up with a cup o hot chocolate and a will ferrell film-marathon. i'm flying to miami tomorrow morning - some respite from the cold - and hopefully i'll get some work done too :)

i've been reading cs lewis a lot lately - and i'll take him with me too ... maybe read 'miracles' or 'the abolition of man' . my boss says i need to start reading for enjoyment. but i don't think i'll ever quite understand the phrase 'easy reading.' i feel like i should be accomplishing something with everything i'm doing.

The Biggest Winner

2008-02-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a few days ... and I made it back from PR just fine. But I picked a bad day to blog - I don't have much to say. I did laundry, worked out quick, and ate some pork.

Yes, that's right - I "grilled" some pork on my Foreman the other night... despite the fact that it is a conduction-cooking process ... so, it'll cook the stuff that's touching the burner but not the other stuff. So, it makes for some interesting pork. A little rare - a little "piggy" flavored ... but nutritious. Sure gives the ol' stomach a workout.

Speaking of a workout - my roommate Andy and I are competing to see who can gain the most weight.

My approach has been to increase my diet and workouts:
So far, I've have restricted myself to a strict diet of pork rhinds, marshmallow fluff, Little Debbie snack cakes, and Burger King 1/3 lb. Angus burgers. The workouts primarily involve sleep - at least 2 naps before bedtime - and a heavy dose of reality TV. To really get into the experience, I DVR daytime talkshows and try to keep up with at least 2 of my soaps and have been known to slip into a nice pair of stretch pants from time to time. I'm also trying to avoid shaving and other unnecessary forms of personal hygiene as they only cut into my dieting and workout times.

The winner is the first person to have someone say to them, "WOW [insert name], you've really let yourself go"

Before and after pictures to follow shortly. I'm gonna win that fool ribbon -

... OK ... so the weight competition part is true.

2008-02-02T10:46:00.000-05:00

I'm Baaaa-aaaaaack from Puerto Rico...

And something interesting happened while I was there. I found out that I was rather famous -

We had some design meetings with the members of our contracted Architectural Engineering firm based in San Juan and one of their engineers told me that he googled the name of our mfg. site in Cayey and the 3rd result on his list was MY BLOG from July 2007 when I took a couple pictures and posted them up!

So, I guess I underestimated the power of this here inter-net ... much respect. And I'm guessing some friends from Puerto Rico might be reading-in from time to time!

New Years Resolutions

2008-01-26T01:17:00.001-05:00

I wanted to make some reasonable New Years Resolutions for 2008 - so I did.
1 - Wear tighter pants
2 - Go see some live bands in NYC for goodness sakes - it's NEW YORK!

Well, you'll all be pleased to know that I hit a sale at Express for Men last Saturday - and bought 3 pairs of tight dress pants for work. (So, not THAT tight - but tight enough to make progress on the resolution)

And tonight I hit my first local show - at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Sure - it's not NYC - but I wanted to wade slowly into the crazy world of indie-rock at the center of the artistic universe. A couple of friends from BD lived in Hoboken for a while and said this would be a good start.

There couldn't have been more than 25 people there for "Makout Party" ... but these guys were pretty dang good. I'd YouTube a bootleg video for you, but I'm afraid of the search results I'll get if I query their name. Oh well - you'll just have to imagine.

The lyrics are pretty weak - like you'd expect from a just-out-of-highschool band... but they had a pretty developed emo-indie-punk sound that melodic layering that reminded me of Jimmy Eat World, hollering vocals that sounded like every punk band (but reminded me of the Almost), and delay-heavy guitar riffs like Explosions in the Sky (More like Mr. 1986 for you Joe Heider fans out there!). Melancholy and intense. I like it!

So - I'm really doin it! I'm hoping to get at least another half-dozen shows in before my rotation here ends in June. BooooYAHAHAHAaaaaaaaa ...

And this is how hardcore I am = I bought a set of "Hearos" to accompany me on my adventure. Earplugs - good for still being able to hear when you're 50, not for street cred.

Cruise Control

2008-01-21T22:29:00.000-05:00

I realized this morning that I race to and from work every day ... that I have this urgent need to pass everyone who is in front of me. And I'm getting really bad gas mileage.

So, on my way to work, I kept it at 60'ish on the freeway and found that I arrived at work about the same time I always do, but not quite as tense.

I knew my life-changing breakthrough was already getting noticed when one of my coworkers at lunch said he passed a Honda with a Nebraska license plate on the way to work. That would have never happened last week :)

An Inconvenient Truth

2008-01-19T10:15:00.000-05:00

I've been sculpting my eating habits around the wrong premise this whole time...

Thanks Nissa for the info -
For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you

This made me think of my little sis

2008-01-17T23:58:00.000-05:00

My little sis is awesome - and she's dropped Imogen Heap, Frou Frou, and Regina Spektor into my music palette over the last couple years... creating an affinity for frail, melancholy female vocalists.

So, one of the guys in the MDP program is in to techno - and I always give him hard time about it. I'm like, "Hey Gregg - who am I? 'N-suh N-suh N-suh N-suh'" and I flail my arms around with pretend glow sticks.

But then he sent me this track by Sia called "Breathe Me" and it reminded me of my little sis --> enjoy!

(Check out the sweet storm trooper helmet she sports in some of the pics)

Federal Hill

2008-01-15T23:40:00.000-05:00

I'm in Baltimore this week for training on Planning and Leading Projects! After the first day, I'm pretty happy with it - they chose one of my projects to be one of the case studies for the rest of the time, so I'll get a chance to walk through the project planning and execution steps right away!

The other cool thing about being here this week is that a handful of other MDP's (other engineers in my program) are located here - so, we went down to the inner harbor, grabbed some food and then stopped by a bar at Federal Hill for $2 pints of Blue Moon!!! Yeah - for a minute I thought I was in Nebraska! ...then I remembered it was a Tuesday night - and I didn't feel cool anymore...

Canaan, CT

2008-01-12T22:39:00.000-05:00

The Annual Meeting for the MDP (Mfg. Development Program) of which I am a member, concluded this week - and I was officially placed in a manufacturing engineer role in Canaan, CT for my 3rd and final rotation. I'll move to Canaan in June and have a year to finish the program.

After that, I'll probably apply to a number of BD positions as well as looking into other medical device companies for a permanent engineering position.

I'm excited that I'll be able to do more 6 Sigma work and may have a large role in purchasing, installing, and validating a new production area.

Anyha - wanted to give everyone the update - hope you're all doing well!

Insomnia

2008-01-06T03:14:00.000-05:00

Well - it seems to happen periodically - and might I say, more often than I would wish... insomnia strikes again. And usually on the night before I have to get up early for something. I lay awake wishing the next day were here and I feel like I don't need to sleep.

I don't even want to look at the time, cuz it just gets me frustrated - past 3am and I have to be up at 5:50 am to get to church on time to set up for music.

I just wish I were tired - at least then I could convince myself to fall asleep.

Oh well - I'm up - not much else to do but YouTube some Colbert Report and Will Ferrell sketches...

Marching Bands of Manhattan

2008-01-03T23:53:00.001-05:00

So the church I go to is really cool - they're having me play "Marching Bands of Manhattan" by Death Cab for Cutie at church on Sunday. We just practiced tonight - and since it's one of my most favoritest songs, the sound we produced paled in comparison to the quality of the original track... but I was still stoked that the first song they're having me take total lead on is such a sweet one.

Well - let's see if I can fall asleep by midnight. That'd be nice. G'night :)

Back to the Dirty Jers(ey)

2008-01-02T22:01:00.000-05:00

Thanks everybody for an AWESOME time back home in the braska! I have so much to be thankful for and you all are the biggest piece of that.

Well, I'm wearing my new long-coat to fit in with the other corporates tomorrow, just downloaded the latest "Future of Forestry" album with my iTunes gift money, hacked a pesky lock with my Gerber handy-tool, sipped some quenching water from my Camelbak, kept warm with my new scarves, and checked what day it was with my new Nebraska calendar!

It's been a busy day - and I've got band practice for church in NYC tomorrow after work tomorrow - so I better roll to bed and sleep on my new memory-foam pillow.

Merry New Year to all - and good night :)

Almost in the Braska!

2007-12-20T23:33:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow at this time I will be back in the Braska!!! (Lord willing)

So, interestingly enough, it only cost $20 more to get a limo service to-and-from the airport as opposed to off-site parking in Newark. Yah - that's what I said. Duh - park in Newark and risk my car winding up in Georgia in a ditch or pay $20 and arrive in style?

You know I'm goin' in style :)

...if only I could chuck those air fresheners out of their cars.

K - must get some sleep cuz I'm gettin' picked up at 5:30am! Talk to ya on the other side -

2007-12-10T22:04:00.000-05:00

Our apartment reeks of Raid now. Makes me wonder what they put in that stuff... It literally kills on contact and they say it continues to kill for 6 months.

Hmmm... maybe we should spray it on our food.

I guess that means that if I die in the next 6 months, that the secret will be out. But everyone will be really impressed that I kept my roachness a secret for so long. That kind of makes me a secret-agent.

Cool.

Hotel Roach: You can check in, but you can never check out

2007-12-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

Well I've tried to maintain some optimism, but it's going on 2 weeks of having this stupid chest cold and I still can't fall asleep at night b/c when I take a semi-deep breath I start coughing uncontrollably. Uggghhhhh.

But at least I have a nice, calm weekend planned so I can hopefully catch up on some R&R. As I was leaving work, I was talking with another project manager who ski's and he said that a relatively nicely-sized ski resort in NY state (about 2 hr drive away) has most of its runs open with about a 40" base of snow. I know - it's no Colorado, but I convinced myself for about 15 minutes that I was going to wake up at 6am this morning and head up there to get some solid slope time. Needless to say, that didn't happen. Actually, I'm still laying in bed. And this is much better. :)

Oohhh - my roommates and I exterminated our apartment last night. Or, at least I should say that they provided me with the Raid and I exterminated our apartment.

See it all started about 3 weeks ago when I discovered a few roaches near our sink and I promptly squished them with a paper towel. Now, I've been out on the road for much of the last few weeks and I told my roommates of my discovery, but Conor in particular didn't see any more until yesterday - and apparently he transforms into a little squealing girl when he sees bugs. And he made said transformation when I returned home from work and found him high-stepping through the living room hollering some mean smack-talk to the roaches in the kitchen. So, of course, I made fun of him. But he followed through with his threats to the roachies and bought some Raid... and he gave it to me to handle the situation.

What followed was a slaughter of almost-Armageddon proportions. Conor stayed in the livingroom for most of it, shouting words of encouragement followed by more menacing words to the roaches writhing on the floor. Andy stepped in and helped me move more stuff out of the kitchen so I could continue mowing down the roaches... and he helped me plant the Roach traps all about the kitchen.

So, stage 1 of the attack has been executed successfully. I think we're going to call for backup and have the apartment fumigated properly. Conor said he couldn't sleep last night.

South BEEEEACH!

2007-12-05T23:04:00.000-05:00

OH yeah! So, I finally convinced all the guys at work to go to South Beach for dinner tonight and it was sweet! Sheesh - Friday I was at the Pacific at Bodega Bay in California, and today I stood too close to the encroaching tide and found myself ankle-deep in the Atlantic! Sounds fun - but not so much in my work-dress clothes. But that didn't dampen my spirits enough to stop collecting sea shells n' stuff. I must say, South Beach is much better for shell-collecting and whatnot. First of all, it's 75 degrees as opposed to the 50 degrees I felt at the Pacific... and then there is the absence of sea kelp here too - which not only helps the appearance, but also the general scent of the beach. That is of course - not to knock the Pacific... it has its own charm... but not its own salt water taffy.

OOOOH - and I'm finally tasting the sweet fruit of my frequent flier miles: I finally got a free upgrade to first class on my 8am flight back to NJ tomorrow - so, I'm going to try really hard to act like I've been there before... Turn my nose up a bit, avoid direct eye contact with passengers who sit back there in filthy "coach" class, sip my free wine, talk Wall Street Journal stock updates with the other 1st classers, and laugh with big, heaving gusto. King for 2-1/2 hours.

Stuck in Air Traffic

2007-12-02T19:35:00.000-05:00

So... my NWA flight was supposed to connect in Minneapolis to my flight to Newark - but that was 4 hours and 3 bottles of water ago. Thanks to the blessing of BD Travel support, I've been rebooked on a red eye Continental flight that leaves in 5 hours. Sooooo - I've got nuthin but time to kill!

One HUUUUGE blessing was that as I was getting into the airport, I bumped into Ben Coleman - a friend from college who was traveling with the manager of Casting Pearls (Brandon) and they were scheduled on the same flight as me. So, we've been hanging out in the terminal, watching YouTube videos and trading cold medicine to get us through this thing. Praise the Lord for the blessings He provides in the middle of frustrating circumstances!

I also discovered the wonderful world of "InMotion" video rentals --> where I just rented "You, Me and Dupree" for $5 - and I'll just drop it of in Newark when I get there. Not too shabby!

So, that's the plan anyway. I think I'm getting hungry again - so I'm gonna run and grab some grub. It'll be a nice, short night (arrive at 5:40 am) - but I've got one more dose of Nyquil to help me through it!

The Pacific!

2007-12-01T02:08:00.000-05:00

I got to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time today! Tanner had to work, so I just drove 45 minutes from Santa Rosa to Bodega Bay and hung out on the cold, windy black sand of Northern California -

I looked for seashells and such but found mostly ginormous seaweed that looked like 3" diameter spaghetti and a lot of seagulls. Then I went into the hippie town of Bodega and chilled in a coffee shop with some locals and ate some fresh fish tacos... I came this close to buying a tie-dyed shirt with Jerry Garcia's face on it. And then I was going to buy some saltwater taffy from one of the local shops - but I figured I'd inquire as to its origin prior to purchase. The store clerk's anser: "It's made in Salt Lake City, Utah." I said "thanks," pretended to find interest in some other trinkets, and then walked out the door. You can't tell me that being that close to the Pacific no one makes their own saltwater taffy?!! C'mon. Weak sauce.

All in all a pretty rewarding experience!

Under the Weather

2007-11-29T12:01:00.000-05:00

So we flew into San Jose last night - strait into 180mph head-winds ... so it took an extra hour - making the flight about 6.5 hrs in length - sheesh, I may has well have just flown to Europe! And my chest/head congestion made the ascent/descent pretty harrowing!

Ah well - I stopped by a gas station on the way to the hotel last night, got some Nyquil and dozed pretty good - so, I'm rested and ready for action! Well, more that I'm embracing the fact that I'm sick and lowering my expectations to meet my condition... which is actually quite relieving.

CamelBak

2007-11-27T20:08:00.001-05:00

Going to Cali tomorrow! It should be a quick and dirty business trip - but the cool part will be that I get to stay the weekend and hang out with my good bud Tanner in Sacramento and Santa Rosa. Not too shabby!

I bought a CamelBak hydration daypack from the one and only Campmor today on the way home from work - cuz it was accidently marked $30 lower than its $70 tag! Then... I got it home, tried it on without a coat - and I have never worn such an uncomfortable backpack! The straps dig right into your neck... and the "bonus" feature of having the water line run through the arm strap makes that strap stiff and even more uncomfortable. So... I'm taking it back. Dango impulse buys have been leaving me hanging as of late. That is, of course not to say that I haven't been on the market for a good day-hiking pack, it's just that when I put on my stingy hat and buy for cost before quality I usually wind up like this... with a buyers-remorse upset stomach.

Giving Thanks

2007-11-25T16:15:00.000-05:00

The Christmas season can make me ungrateful pretty quickly - so many sales, so much dwelling on what I want ... and what I don't have. I find that the spiritual warfare can really get ugly during the holiday season: taking Christ out of Christmas, taking "thanks" out of Thanksgiving and lowering it to "Turkey Day", and trying to focus on other people, but getting so focused on seeing the latest sale item in my own hands.

The truth is - God has given me so much! I have a job that has taught me a lot about life and has challenged me to rise above some challenging circumstances - and all the while, a backbone of support from family and friends that has made weathering the storms even enjoyable! He has taken care of all my needs and even given to me in abundance - allowing me to hike, run, play music, experience NYC, DC, Miami, Puerto Rico, California, and even buy a new computer, new clothes ... and all the while to be well-fed, healthy, and safe.

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and his abundant Grace! I deserve nothing - but He delights in giving even more than I need! Lord - thank You for Your love and forgiveness. Be alive in my life - and keep me near. Speak to me that I might obey quickly, and be glorified in my praise - because You deserve it so much!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T23:22:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful - got to spend it with my boss and his family - and they were so welcoming and hospitable it almost felt like being home! Of course, there's was a New Jersey Italian family Thanksgiving, so there were some differences from my Midwestern German-English-Irish-French family experiences :)

But all in all - it was a tremendous blessing to be with his family and feel welcome. I arrived at 2:30 and didn't leave till 11:00! We just talked the whole time - and played a game that was a version of bingo played with a deck of cards... got the kids involved and deteriorated into a random-noise-match pretty quickly.

Oh - and I almost forgot to mention that I went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with Dave and his girlfriend and her parents! One of those lifetime experiences - and even had great weather to boot (60 F and sunny)!

Then today was all about football - and seeing my beloved 'Skers put together a great first half... and then take a squat in the second and give it up in the end. Ahh well - my friends and I stayed at the Husker Alumni bar for the A&M game and cheered the Aggies on to victory over the Horns with some friendly Aggie fans. At the same time, we watched Arkansas steal LSU's BCS Championship dreams - that makes how many top 1o teams who have lost to unranked opponents? Sheesh - upset city this season - I tellya what! (A fun year to have a bad home team - so's we can laugh at the other team's misfortune.)

2007-11-20T19:51:00.001-05:00

Today was a bummer - cuz I talked with the sponsors from the Durham, NC position that I've really wanted ... and I didn't get that great of a vibe back. Basically, they can't promise me anything because even if I'm their top choice, the Steering Committee makes the ultimate decision. Really, not anyone's fault - more a consequence of a program that doesn't lean on connections or qualifications, but determines placement based on what "they" decide is "best" for your professional development.

SSSSSNOW!

2007-11-19T08:47:00.000-05:00

Well I spoke too soon! It was snowing this morning big flakes and when I got to work, it had accumulated to like 3"!!! Yesssss!

2007-11-18T22:43:00.000-05:00

It's one of those days where normally I wouldn't blog cuz I don't have much to say... But it's a habit I don't want to break :)

And I'm listening to the latest album by Angels & Airwaves. I'm a bit let down - not as incredible as "we don't need to whisper" - but it would be hard to follow up any album that rocked as much as that on (thanks Bethy for the cd!) ... but I have to admit I have a soft spot for the heavy delay on the guitars, the busy drums (and over-use of toms), the deep synth behind everything, and the stadium-reverb for the lead vocals. Pretty cool. Perfect running music - like a soundtrack. No kidding.

It was supposed to snow 1-3" here this weekend - but the most we saw of precipitation was a little bit of rain... kind of a letdown. I hope it drops some snow up North so we'll have something to slide down come January when me, Dave, Katrina, and some other Journey peeps hit the slopes for some much-anticipated boarding time.

Okay - I'm gonna go sleep now - g'night!

2007-11-16T20:00:00.001-05:00

New Music

2007-11-16T19:45:00.000-05:00

Ahh - the week's over and with no roommies in the house, I figured I'd treat myself to a brand new album from iTunes ... and Jimmy Eat World has done it again! Here's some background music for ya's whilst you read me blog -

Ahem ... yes - it's just album art. But that's so you can keep reading my blog. See - I knew you were gonna forget about me.

Today was pretty simple - did the work thing... some dishes... and now I'm avoiding cleaning my room. But tomorrow is gonna rock! Me, Mike, and my friend Lyle (drummer at the Journey) are going mobbin' through the forest tomorrow and we'll cap the day off with a pay-per-view of UFC - Fight Night made possible by my roommate Andy. So - basically, we're gonna man-it up tomorrow and we're not looking back.

But the downside to all this boisterous activity and the travel for work has been that I haven't been able to play music in what feels like ages! It's been almost 2 months since I played at church and almost that long since I've sat down with my guitar and just strummed a while. Shoot - you know what - that's what I'm gonna do with my evening. Gonna listen to some "Let it Happen" (that you're listening to right now), clean my room, go for a chilly run, and cozy up with my guit-box and make some tunes.

Thinner-shears

2007-11-13T23:32:00.000-05:00

Quick followup to the haircut... Not as traumatic as the SuperCuts debacle, but I must say, for $40 I did not get proportionally better results.

Suffice to say, she hit me with the thinning shears from the word "go" - and never stopped. So, the "stringy-ness" that Martha was always afraid of creating... yah. It's here. And I'm trying desperately to do something cool with it - but the best I can manage is a lame comb-t0-the-side with no pizazz, no fo-hawk, no spikey. It's like it's not even my hair.

Oh well - it suits me and my corporate job: drab and devoid of volume or life.

...but she left extra hair in the back so it kinda looks like a mullet from certain angles. May be business in the front, but there's a party in the back.

DC and back in a flash

2007-11-11T22:49:00.000-05:00

Gotta get to bed - but wanted to note that we had an AWESOME time in DC this weekend - me, Michael (from New Zealand), and Nate (from UNL). Gotta see all the sites - and we didn't even realize going into this weekend that it would be Veterans Day today - so that made the sites even more powerful. In fact, when we were in Arlington Nat'l Cemetery, VP Dick Cheney was visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and they did a 21-shot salute with canons. Big canons.

We also introduced Michael to his first 64 oz. slurpee from 7-eleven ... and with that his first major brain freeze. Soooooo funny - he's slurpin down on it talking about how awesome it is to see all this American stuff (like slurpees) and then silence... me and Nate look over and he's squinting in pain, hand on his forehead and me and Nate just start bustin' up laughing. Ahhhh - what's America without its 64-ounces of brainfreeze...

Travel Scrabble

2007-11-09T12:26:00.000-05:00

What a great name - I don't have anything to say about it... it's just that my Travel Scrabble game is still sitting in the back seat of my car from when Amber and I roadtripped out here in June. Travel Scrabble - it sounds like something Animal from the Muppets would say "AAA-AAAA-AAAA - WO-MAN - TRAVEL SCRABBLE - AAAAAA - AAAAAAA - DRUMS - SCRABBLE TRAVEL"

So - had an early flight this morning from Miami back up to Joysey. Really cold here. So cold in fact, that my luggage tag (which is made of a high-quality, supple plastic) snapped in two when I pulled my carryon out of the trunk of my limo. Or maybe it isn't just the cold - and more that it was sooooooooo nice in Miami that my luggage tag committed hari-kuri in protest to the abrupt change in climate. Either way, he is no more - and I miss him already.

Haircut

2007-11-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

I'm sittin' here in my hotel room in Miami looking at myself in the mirror in front of me behind the desk and realized that I need a haircut. The hair right above my sideburns has gotten to that so-long-it's-starting-to-curl stage. So now I'm tucking my curls behind my ears and... viola - great - now I look like Corky from "Waiting for Guffman." I can't win.

So I'm feelin a SuperCuts coming on in the near future... what's sad is that it's not a last resort - it's my only resort. Martha - if you're out there - you need to know that I appreciate your shears more than ever! No one does it like the Mert - no one!

Good Night and Good Luck

2007-11-04T22:31:00.000-05:00

What a great weekend! Got to hang with my New Zealand brutha Michael Pearce and my roommate Conor all weekend - hiked, scaled the highest mountain in the area, explored the Caribbean cuisine of NJ, ate fish and chips, and went to church. Superheros, you ask? Yes. Yes we are. And we're planning next week's trip to DC!

2007-11-03T00:17:00.000-04:00

Diversity training took up my last 2 whole days. I thought it was going to be a total waste of time, but I ended up learning some stuff! Like, if you're in a dominant group (white, male) - that incidents of discrimination against less-dominant groups can go largely unnoticed. In other words, it's tough to see discrimination when you're not the one receiving it.

Cooling Down

2007-11-01T21:38:00.000-04:00

So, didn't have much of an eventful Halloween... just realized today that we're already in November when I found trace amounts of frost on my windshield this morning. And that's cool I guess - things have to get cold, just to spite me. It's the way the world works. But it's okay - don't worry about me. I'll stick it to the man someday and move down to Puerto Rico or Honduras or something and live in no-season paradise.

Penn State

2007-10-31T23:24:00.000-04:00

My roommate and fellow BD MDP'er (Andy) and I just got back from recruiting for new engineers at Penn State. Just so all you Nebraska folk can rest easy, Beaver Stadium is not NEAR as good looking as Memorial stadium - just looks like scaffolding and concrete. So, we definitely win in the "monument" category... but as noted by Amber - "Ours doesn't produce the same result" - that result of course being winning.

But Penn State showed good form and brought some great engineering candidates - so, interviews were pretty fun today. I'd like to pretend that I'm all "tough cop" in interviews, but really, I like to see the candidates do well -- it's just such a relief when you get someone in there who has experience and actually knows what they're talking about. Otherwise, it's like... well, you know when someone is talking and they have some phlegm in their throat but they don't notice it and they just keep on talking and you start clearing your throat for them? Interviewing a bad candidate feels like that... except instead of trying to clear phlegm out of their throats, you're trying to will them into having some good answers. It hasn't worked yet - so I'll just invite good candidates to the interviews from here on out.

Worky work

2007-10-29T21:20:00.000-04:00

Well now that my boss granted my wish of more work and more responsibility, I'm steadily falling behind. Ahhh shucks - all the travel blocks out time that could be used to get work done... so I'm in for some more time management classes from the school of hard knocks.

Late day at work... and come to think of it, starting two weeks ago, I started a streak of 5 weeks in a row of travel. Baltimore - Puerto Rico - State College, PA (this week for recruiting and interviewing)- Miami - Baltimore. Sheesh - a Baltimore sandwich.

Okay - I'm not going to go on like I actually have something to say today... just complaining a bit :)

Rainy Bummer

2007-10-27T11:03:00.000-04:00

Shoot - I was hoping to test out my tender kneecap out in the Appalachians this morning - but it's raining cats and dogs. Oh well, guess I get another day of rest... though, honestly, it's probably the best thing - cuz I tried running last night and only lasted about a mile before my knee tightened up so bad I had to stop. Man - I would have sucked at football - you can't tell me you don't get your kneecaps smashed at least once a game... and here I am debilitated. I guess that and my melon-head. I would have looked like a scampering match-stick.

New Stuff

2007-10-26T20:14:00.001-04:00

Wow - it sure is good to be back on the continent.

Hmmm - now I'll just settle myself down on this cold, rainy night and share a good, simple blog with my homeland buddies. Really, if that's all I accomplish on this Friday night, I'll be more than happy.

So, I have to be honest - I love new things, new people, new places... but this week I've just really run dry. There's just nothing like the tried and true relationships with family and friends who have walked through tough times and deep pizzle with you. I mean it's cool exploring - but at a point, I've begun to realize that when I meet new people and see new places, they're just normal people and normal places. The difference is, they're not my people and my places. They have their own families, concerns, aspirations...

I guess I might just be making the jump from college to real life. Y'know in college, everyone is up for making a new friend. But now, people are getting settled - they like the way things are and they aren't so keen on having someone new come in and change stuff.

And that's fine, I guess - I can't blame 'em. It's just become more difficult to navigate, especially when people find out that I'm hear for a year and then gone again in June.

And having Amber go back home on Tuesday was a pretty big shock to my system. It's a pretty big jump from phone-relationship to face-to-face... then back to phone again.

Okay - mopey mope mopester is going to go take a shower and get ready to go to Outback steakhouse with my roomies. Nothing like the down under to pick up one's spirits!

Bamma Ramma

2007-10-23T23:47:00.000-04:00

Man - I wish I could keep Amber here forever - and that's not just cuz she looks great and says nice things to me. She's just a blessing to have around - I wish she didn't have to leave today!

So, I'm off tomorrow with a 7 a.m. flight to Puerto Rico - suit-and-tie-and all! I'll be cutting it pretty close... grabbing a rental car from the airport, picking up a coworker and then driving for the first time down to Cayey - just in time to catch the Grand Opening! Should be some big wigs there too - like the Governor of Puerto Rico and the CEO of our company! So I'm wearing my paisley tie to impress them... hope it works.

Okay - gotta be up in 5 hrs so I'm off!

Survivors

2007-10-22T00:09:00.000-04:00

Well, a couple bloody feet, a bruised kneecap and some sore feet later, Bamma and I made it back to Hackensack! Phew - NYC is fast and furious, but we stayed in long enough for a sweet cruise on a yacht, good times with friends, and another trip to Central Park to laugh at all the free spirits. (I'll never get tired of the roller skate dancers club)

Next: It's the great outdoors and some hiking stories to come!

The Balt

2007-10-17T21:13:00.000-04:00

So, just chillin in Baltimore - got one more day of meetings and then AMBER COMES HERE!!! I'm so excited! She flies in like 30 minutes after my train arrives in Newark, so I'm having my driver take me to the airport to pick her up and then we'll go back to the ol' apartment in style! (Well, when I say "my" driver, I mean the limo service that picks me up, and when I say "limo" I mean A Lincoln Towncar)

So - before then, I'm gonna go hit the Hunt Valley Marriott gym and get my HUGENESS on!

TTFN

Another day another dollar

2007-10-15T19:30:00.001-04:00

Today was pretty slow at work - but it was pretty nice...

Went runnin - and... well, that's about it.

Talk to ya later! :)

Music and New Zealand

2007-10-14T20:03:00.000-04:00

Wow - so today was a rush! It started off with a long drive to Long Island to lead worship for a new church. Real small = 20 people. But boy did we get hoppin! The pastor is real cool too, so I might play again in a couple months. Another cool twist was that I met a couple high school fellas who really seemed to be on the right track. I talked with them a while and they wanted me to come to their high school and play Christian music for them - He said to me, "Yah man - that was ill." Which, I've heard, means that I was really good.

Dang - am I that old that I don't know the cool slang anymore? What happened to "tubular" and "bodacious?" Where are you my sweet "radical" and "fly?" What has this world come to that terms that once described your degree of infirmity have now lost all meaning and descended to the level of SLANG. C'mon - like we needed another word for "cool."

Anyway - tangent. These kids were killer - so, I told him to check it out with his school administration and if it works, then STELLAR - if not, then that's just a bummer. Ahhhh, but I digress.

THEN I went to the Journey (my church) for a worship arts team meeting - and I met Michael from New Zealand. He just moved here to play rugby and he gets to stay for like another 9 weeks. So, a few of us bandies (that's a member of a band) took him to get some wings at a nearby sports bar, talked football, and he unpacked the wonder of rugby to all us American-folk. I really hope we get to hang out another one of these weekends - really cool chap!

Hikin' it!

2007-10-13T18:39:00.000-04:00

So, turns out my roommate Conor likes hiking too! So we got up early this morning, hit the trails and romped through the woods all morning long. Got some great pics, fresh air, and we castled. That's right, I said castled. It's a new past-time of mine where we go on hikes, minding our own business and then suddenly happen upon the ruins of a castle! Boy oh boy is it fun!

Today's castling adventure was in the Ramapo forest area, and we literally saw three stone buildings that had to have been at least a couple hundred years old (welcome to Aaron's world of archeology). One thing I didn't know about castles was that they have no roofs, they're filled with litter, and they are painted (rather poorly) with what appeared to be graffiti. We derived from the hieroglyphics that "Tony" hearted "Nina" and that "Jimmy" had been there. So, I plan on castling again sometime soon!

Oooh Friday

2007-10-12T22:48:00.001-04:00

Oh yah - so on Friday's at BD, we go on hikes. Real hikes. In the mountains. It was a wonderful discovery - maybe the coolest one yet about living near the mountains is that you can make a 4 minute drive to the nearest hiking trail and take the sweetest lunch break ever!

I joined the BD fitness program - and that's who put it on - and for many Fridays to come. And the guy who leads it is an ultra-marathoner (100 mile races - yah, I know - it takes "nuts" to a whole new level). So he convinced me to join his running team and now I getta go on Wednesday runs (5-6 milers) and do Friday hikes over my lunch breaks! Wooohooo!

...well, we'll see how long my boss lets this go on.

Anyha - I got all amped about being outdoorsey and promptly went to Trader Joes to buy healthy food and followed it up with a trip to CAMPMOR - and got trail maps, running shorts, hiking shorts, an emergency blanket, and some winter headgear. That's right - Aaron's learning to impulse buy.

And Amber's in for quite a hiking trip when she gets here! Booya!

Lame Lamity Lam-o

2007-10-10T17:15:00.000-04:00

Alright - so I'm calling off my blogfast. Too long is too long.
That would be sweet if I had deliberately fasted from blogging for some spiritual-humanitarian reason, but I must confess - this is not how I do.

That is right, spaz-o that I am, I lost interest in blogging just as I lose interest in most things 4 months from beginning. So, consider this my second wind. Endorphins... kicking... in... BOOOYAH! I'm back!

So - My Amber is coming to town very soon - next Thursday - 8 days and counting! We are gonna hit the town, catch the 'skers game with UNL friends in NYC, bounce off all the buildings, hit the woods and hike it up, all in one weekend! So, needless to say, I am VERY excited to have my little Amber here!

On the work side of things, I met my very first man-bear today. My co-worker and I drove 2 hrs. down to Swedesboro, NJ to plan an expansion to their DC (distribution center) and in walks a man-bear. At least, I think it was a bear... I mean man, I mean man-bear. I kid you not, big dude, lots of hair and the most deep-set eyes and high cheekbones. I think he said his name was Bill but that he preferred to be called "Buddy" - and so he is... Buddy the Bear. And as is customary with the man-bear species, you generally don't let them know that you have given them nicknames, because the other perk of being a man-bear is that they can rip you limb from limb at the slightest whim. (That would be limb-from-limb-at-whim ... it's a UFC cage fighting term - I'm not sure if you all know, but I've decided to become a cage fighter recently and I plan on retiring from my illustrious career a whopping 4 months into it.)

Ooh, speaking of cage-fighting, I've been training a lot on what will become my "staple" move. I'll dance around the Octagon a bunch, leave my guard down and brutally punish the opponent's fists with a barrage of face-butts. Of course, I run the risk of concussion and brain hemorrhages, but how well will those guys be able to punch after I break their fists? Hm? Yah - And what would a UFC fighter be without a nickname --> I'll be "Aaaaaaaaaaaron 'butt-face' Daaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyvissssssss!" Wa - wait a second! Wait a second!!!- that's 'Face-Butt' Davis - FACE-BUTT DAVIS!!! GAAHHHHHHHHH! The perils of having the word "butt" in your title.

It's alright, I'll change my title every 4 months.

San Fran Golden Gate

2007-08-26T09:29:00.000-04:00

San Fran is is apparently very windy and foggy. This is a view looking North then turning East into the Bay. You may wonder why I didn't turn West to see the Pacific or South so I could see the Golden Gate Bridge... but it's because even though this is the best vantage point in all SF to see both, it was so foggy all I could see was "white!" (Tanner felt bad - but it's tough to control the weather, even when you're an Augustin)

Here's what we COULD see of the Golden Gate... :)

Even when you're ON the Golden Gate, it's hard to see the Golden Gate!

Arighty - so I have yet to send sweet pics from the Napa Valley and from the San Fran downtown/wharf. I know these pics are a lot of fog, and no, Tanner, I didn't put these on to spite you :) ... I must confess that I just wanted to use the NEW Blogger feature that allows you to post your own vids! So here I am, jumping on the technological bandwagon only 3 years after YouTube!

Californ-I-A

2007-08-23T08:13:00.000-04:00

Whew - so I didn't think the 3 hour jet lag would be that big of a deal... but a person gets used to waking up at 7 PST after a day or two and it takes longer than that to wake up at 6:30 EST!

But I had a great time! Work-wise, we were able to answer some big questions that had been holding us back on the Puerto Rico project, but the coolest part was hangin' with Tanner Saturday and Sunday.

First, on Saturday we drove to Napa Valley and hit up a couple wineries for some ultra-classy wine-tasting. The coolest one was Sterling Winery because it had a gondola that took you to all the way up to the Sterling winery on top of a hill overlooking much of the valley area. Pretty sweet view!

Then on Saturday we went to San Francisco, visited the foggy golden-gate bridge and then hung out down by the wharf and ate a crab right out of its shell. Yah - pretty cool if you ask me. It made me realize that sea-crustaceans are really just big bugs. Sure, maybe not insects, but bugs. They have the creepy crawly legs, the tentacles, and the shifty eyes. I mean, I bet if you found a ginormouse grasshopper the size of a lobster, he'd have some pretty darn tasty legs. Sure, there's the exoskeleton to deal, but I bet the meat would look the exact same inside. So, eating sea food is really like eating a bunch of big bugs. I know you'll think of me next time you have a tasty lobster-tail. Oh, and you know that brown line on the shrimp? Yah, that's poop.

Ahhh... yum.

Parade in the Park

2007-08-12T22:30:00.000-04:00

So church was great again today! It really makes the drive into Manhattan worth it (even the traffic). Afterwards, me, Katrina, and Nate went to this sweet park on the side of the NYC Library to have lunch and chat. When we got there, we found ourselves right smack dab in the middle of the Dominican Republic parade! It's really an eye opener to see how ethnically diverse NYC is - lotsa whistles, flags, and hollering - made me wish I was Dominican!

Next exciting thing in the life and times of Aaron Davis...

2007-08-06T23:39:00.000-04:00

I really didn't have anything exciting to say, so I figured I'd jazz up the title a bit to keep hopes high.

Sunday Recap - I had a great time at church all day yesterday! I'm not gonna lie - 7am - 8:30pm is a long day of church (services 10:00, 11:30, 1:00, and 6:30) - but there are just some awesome people there! And it's cool, the band between each worship set gets to go back stage to the "green room" and hang out till the next set. It's like we're totally a band - snacks and all!

So, it looks like I'll be doing this about once a month - a great pace to start off.

I was just thinking about complaining about how much of my "free time" this could take up, but then I remembered what it felt like during the work-week in Columbus last year. I would get so down because it seemed like all I was doing was living just to work and working to live. Any money I saved up couldn't be used to enrich my life enough to make up for the hours that work was taking away. Basically, I got the chance to live relatively worry-free ... but without significant investment outside of myself, it wasn't going anywhere.

I'm starting to see that real investment (and its close relative "fulfillment) requires sacrifice. And I'm excited that the Lord has opened this door for me to sacrifice my free time for something that brings Him glory and satisfies my soul.

San Jose Here I Come!

2007-08-03T15:39:00.000-04:00

I just booked my flight to San Jose - and it just so turns out that I get to go out early (for no extra cost) and get to hang out with my good bud Tanner all weekend in Sacramento! Oh yeah! Y'know - it was kinda emotional at Tate's wedding, getting to see all my good good friends again, only to know that it was probably one of the last times we'd see each other in a long time... But praise the Lord for opportunities like these, where I couldn't have planned a better opportunity!

Journey Worship

2007-08-01T16:23:00.000-04:00

Well after all that talk of not being able to join the worship team... here's the update:

I aired all of my concerns to the worship director (not having enough time, not being able to make the Bible study, work travel plans at the last minute...) and he said, "no problem - we'll work with ya!"

So... I guess I can't say no to trying it out! He even asked me to play THIS week already. So, I'm heading to practice tomorrow night, and THIS time I am NOT taking the Lincoln tunnel. Man-0-man was that a pain last week.

And an update to the work situation - I'm finally getting in the middle of the design planning for the expansion in Puerto Rico! For a while there, I was feeling about as worthless as a pinkie toe - but now I've been labeled the "point man!" Yes, that's right, if you wanna send designs around the table they've gotta go through me now.

Alrighty - back to work... :)

Skype

2007-07-29T00:26:00.000-04:00

So just when I get to thinking that Pandora is tha shizzle - Skype goes and BLOWS IT AWAY ~ yes, another transmission from late-to-the-technological-party-Aaron, but I just got to have a WHOLE conversation with my sweet sweet Amber and got to sing Happy Birthday to Johnny Lund and his whole party from here in New Jersey - and it was like I was really there!

Wooooohooooooo ~ seriously a blessing!

It was such an awesome experience I had to capture it on film - so here is the sweetness herself:

NOTE to the Davis fam - I believe some Skype is in order - video conferencing is where it's at. We'll be in touch!

Pandora's Music Box

2007-07-27T19:18:00.000-04:00

It's a shame it's taken so long - but I'm just now catching the "Pandora" bug... and I LOVE it!

It all started when my boss last week told me it was okay to listen to music while at work. So I started slow, ripped a couple cd's and then reflected back to my days working for the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility when I listened to Yahoo Launchcast like there was no tomorrow. And it sure paid off! Through Launchcast I learned of Guster, Dispatch, O.A.R., Howie Day, and most important of all: Cool Hand Luke (my melancholy Christian band favorite of all time!).

So I figured I'd look into what was the latest online radio smash and I bumped into Pandora.com and remembered how many people told me I should check it out over a year ago... So, here's me late on the uptake again - but I've got some band recommendations already!

Thanks to my little sis, I have the album "Sun and the Moon" from "the Bravery" (which I love by the by) - so I inputed the Bravery as my "influence band" for my personalized radio station and I found the following sa-WEEEET bands!

- MuteMath
- Radio 4 (Even though I categorically hate bands who put numbers in their band-names: how uncreative)
- Rock Kills Kid
- Ringside
- Flickerstick

and soon to be many many more! So, my recommendation is to cake some gel in your hair, tear some holes in those crisp blue jeans, don some chuck taylors, go to Pandora.com, put "the Bravery" as your influence band, and prepare to have your socks quite literally rocked right off. Yes. No better way to spend a Friday night :)

I'm In!

2007-07-27T07:59:00.000-04:00

Well - I left work at 4:45 and arrived at the studio in Manhattan at 6:40 for the audition - and it went real well! I was supposed to memorize two songs and play them for the music directors, but I ended up only making it through two verses of "Solid Rock" before he stopped me and said "okay, you're definitely good enough." HAHA - looks like Nebraska can get it done in the big city!

Anway - but before I get too far ahead of myself, I'm already thinking of not joining the band. I know, I know ... quitting before I start - but the $115 parking ticket I found on my car after having a 3 hr. band practice (ended at 10PM) kinda got me thinking that I don't have the time/energy to get involved like this. Not to mention that I will have to be AT the church (it's a hotel ballroom on 34th street and 7th avenue) by 7AM on Sundays that I play... Very very early for Sundays when it's a 45 minute drive from my apartment - and then I would have to be able to play at any 3 of their locations on any given Sunday (downtown, midtown, or jersey city).

All in all - these guys were great musicians and great people... but I'm feeling like I could burn myself out right quick if I'm not careful.

Little Blog

2007-07-25T23:00:00.001-04:00

Well - I apologize for neglecting my blog. I think I got so caught up in making each post an epic-photo-filled story that I hit a plateau, couldn't one-up it, and stopped blogging altogether. So this is me coming back to the basics. No big trips, no fun stories, no pics (...yet) - just me :)

But I did want to let you know that I'm auditioning for the "Journey" church band in Manhattan tomorrow after work! I'm pretty excited to get to connect with some other mid-20's musicians... and from what I've seen over the past few Sundays, they rock pretty hard. Really hard.

Really, I didn't even ask to audition, I just asked the music leader where I could go to connect with some Christian musicians and he recommended auditioning as the best way to do that... So, here it goes

Oh yah - and they're making me memorize two songs to do it: The Solid Rock (which has a few more verses to it than I remembered) and Only a God Like You (which I'd never heard before)

He sent me the mp3's and sheet music on Monday, but tomorrow I hafta do 'em without lyric or chord prompts! Booyah. Let's get to it!

Alrighty I need some sleep - I'll be in touch!

Pics from Puerto Rico

2007-07-12T10:49:00.000-04:00

Here's the pool on the roof of the Sheraton overlooking the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean on the northern part of the island. It was so humid I had to wipe my lense and immediately snap the shot because 3 seconds later it was fogged over again!

A view to the North from the roof of the Biosciences facility in Cayey

A view to the South East from the roof of the same facility in Cayey.

I found out that I'll actually be in charge of "Phase 2" of the Cayey facility completion - so I'll be back here often. I asked one of the locals what the coldest temp he'd ever seen there and he said 65, maybe 64 degrees in the middle of the coldest winter night all year. I... just, well... yah can't comprehend that :)

Oh - you may wonder what "phase 2" means: I'll be modifying the existing spaces to accommodate more production than what was originally planned and wrapping up incomplete items like the leaking roof and some insulation damage.

(check out my post below too - it's a newbie)

Short Nights and Free Flights

2007-07-12T10:29:00.000-04:00

Well, I have to apologize for not updating for over a week... I tried uploading a bunch of 4th of July pics last week, but got fed up with Blogger and started looking into alternative methods of publishing pics. More on that to come...

But in the meantime, I found wireless connection here at the San Juan airport and figured I'd send a big "HEY-O" from out in the Caribbean! Actually, when I say that I'm in the airport, I should really clarify that I'm in the "Continental President's Club" with walls of rich mahogany, supple leather furniture, and free wireless BOOYAH! How did I get here? Yah, I'm not so sure either - but praise the Lord for such an unexpected treat!

Bill (my boss) and I got up at 4:30 this morning to catch our 7AM flight back to NJ. They offered to give a $300 voucher to anyone who was willing to take a later flight and Bill nudges me and says, "Hey, that's Amber's free flight right there!" - so I go to accept the later flight and find out that I get a $350 voucher, a first class upgrade on the 2PM flight to NJ, and access to the "exclusive" President's Club for the day! Yeehaww! So, what's a Nebraska boy to do from 7:30 - 1:00 but eat free food, read the paper, take a nap, and update his blog! What a treat - I tell ya what, God sure knows the little things that make a huge difference! (And I was really floored that Bill let me miss the second half of the day of work - but I'm really grateful that he did!)

Okay - I'll keep you posted on where I'm going to post my pics from here on out. Talk to ya soon!

3rd shiftin' it!

2007-06-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

The Columbus plant asked me to come back and do a validation for a new production line, and since we need to have it done by the end of the week... I volunteered to do 3rd shift production. So, the last 3 nights I've been going into work at midnight and working till 8 or 9 in the morning. Good news though! Finished the validation runs today so I'm back to day shifts! Alright, now it's a dose of Melatonin and some deep sleep for me.

But I was just reflecting again today at how fortunate I am that the Lord dropped this sweet trip back to NE right in my lap! It's amazing how He knows the things that might seem so small, but make such a difference. I gotta rental car so I could go back to Lincoln last night and spend the evening with Amber and hit the last Jazz in June for a while.

Today I'm back in Norfolk hangin with the fam, watching some Seinfeld, and enjoying the good life!

Oh yah, and I got a new phone that has GPS shtuff on it! YEAH! Now I won't get lost in NJ - cuz you know when that happens in NJ, you end up swimmin' with the fishes.

Yah, so the drugs are kickin in... and I'm fading fast...

Davis OUT

Settling In

2007-06-22T17:47:00.000-04:00

So this is how it's gonna be... I had one day at work and the next I was on an Amtrak to Baltimore for a couple days. Man - this is exciting!

Aaaaaand I got a call from the plant in Columbus asking me to come back and run a validation all week long - and so I will! Yessssss - a free trip back to NE!

So that's the quick update. And then there's the huge pile of dirty clothes that I can't wash because the money-card machine (that the washer and dryer operate with) is BROKEN! GAAAAHHHHHH~ Ah well... Just don't tell anyone that I'm wearing old, smelly clothes, and I'll just stand down-wind of whoever I talk to. So that's just a forewarning to anyone that I see this weekend - don't stand too close.

Arighty - I'm gonna go runnin quick - talk to ya later from the braskeeeeee!

The CITYn

2007-06-17T18:29:00.001-04:00

Wow - the last couple days have been a whirlwind. I just dropped Amber off at the airport, so forgive me if I'm a bit down in the mouth...

But did we have a blast before she headed out! Check out these pics

We found a parking spot right on Central Park West Ave! That meant that we spent 0$ instead of $20 for the first hour and $10 every hour after that.

NBC Studios

Rockefeller Center
Time Square
World Trade Center Ground Zero
Promenade Walkway on southern-most tip of Manhattan
Amber ;)
Amber with our friends Dave and Katrina
The "Comic Strip" where Seinfeld did his standup before all the "Seinfeld" episodes. And the comics sucked - real bad... oh well, it's NYC.

And then we hit the newest craze - spent almost 45 minutes in line waiting for "Pink Berry" ...which is a hyped up ice-cream that tastes like yogurt that you add breakfast cereal and fresh fruit to ...uh... make Pink Berry. Pretty tasty and pricey.

Sorry, I gotta run - but all-toll it was an incredible experience. I'll be in touch!

AT - That stands for Appalachian Trail :)

2007-06-14T21:15:00.001-04:00

Wow - I never thought I'd ever be that close to getting lost in a forest - but we didn't and we're back! Albeit sore and tired, but bettered by the experience.

See I don't think the folks here have ever heard of "switchbacks" before, so when they see an incline they just tumble some rocks down the hill and Ka-zam - you have your trail.

Well - I'm goin a bit far. The trail was very well marked for the most part, but with no trail map and no prior experience in the area, Amber and I spent 4 hours hiking into the Delaware Water Gap only to find trails that led to unmarked roads that led to other unmarked roads. And I got that eery feeling that if we kept looking for the next trail that would loop us back to the start that we might end up on the evening news.

So we doubled back - and man are we glad we did! It's now leftovers, popcorn, and hot chocolate for us!

Alrighty - here's some sweet pics from the day...

Blogger is stupid and wouldn't let me rotate this sweet pic of me snacking on the native fungiThis is how the "AT" marks its trails

So I took this one facing the sun...And then composed ourselves for another shot...

Made friends with the locals

And so we conquered the mountain
Arighty, I'll leave you with a last picture of the Buttermilk Falls - the beginning and end of our adventure

We're THERE

2007-06-12T00:04:00.000-04:00

Oh man! 11 hrs later and we're THERE!

Sa-WEET place too - just massive - I don't think the 3 of us combined will have enough stuff to fill it up!

But it's late, I'm tired, so I'll leave you all with one final pic of our destination - thanks so much for your prayers and thoughts! I'll be in touch!

Bamma and me - adventures with the Maize and Blue

2007-06-11T00:24:00.001-04:00

Before playing in the water digging canals, rock-hunting, and beach swing dancing, Bamma and I snapped some quick pics with the sleepy sun.

What a cutie pie ;)

Come Visit M!ch!gan

2007-06-10T22:54:00.000-04:00

And so concludes day 1 of the adventure to the coast! In order below are 1. Iowa, 2. Illinois, 3. Indiana...

Aaaaaaand that's the Midwest for ya!

And then there was M!ch!gan... Martha and Ryan live in St. Joseph and we've come here to trespass on their hospitality for a night en route to NJ. So, we drive in... and 200 ft away from there apartment I see this: Lake M!ch!gan!

Oh yah -

So, they took us to the Tabor Hill Vineyard/Restaurant - and I seriously had the most incredible Kobe Steak EVER! And then we took pictures - nice pictures!

It is just too beautiful to leave here as early as we were orignally planning, so we're gonna go play in Lake M!ch!gan tomorrow morning and head out around noon - catchya later!

Final transmission from the 'braskeeee!

2007-06-10T07:16:00.000-04:00

Well - it's here! I'm off to NJ today ... and if you think of me, please pray that Amber and I would have a safe trip to the coast, and that the Lord would watch over her flight back to NE.

I won't have internet at my apartment right away in Hackensack, but I did check online last night and found a coffee shop a few blocks from the apartment that has free internet!

We'll be in touch! God bless!

It's better in pink

2007-06-06T22:12:00.000-04:00

Well not really.

See, this is what I do when I multi-task. And while I'm complimenting myself for getting so many things done at one time, I promptly smack reality right in the face and turn all my whites pink. Yah, there was not a single pink piece of clothing in this load of laundry - but leave it to me and abra-ca-dabra - 20 minutes later it's ALL pink! #&**&#%%$!!* - wooohoooo.

Broken Bow and Holdrege

2007-06-06T18:41:00.000-04:00

Well isn't it just like work to send me off on a 2 day trip on my last week...

Well, praise the Lord I got back early this afternoon and have been able to spend my time going through the last painstaking details before the movers come tomorrow morning to take my life away. A bit dramatic, but when they give you a "2 to 19 day" dropoff period, it sorta feels that way. So, I'm bringin the old sleeping bag, my trusty pillow, a couple knives and forks, and a bottle of Tylenol.

But the silver lining to this cloud is my Bamma girl - she's going with me for the first week to help me move! I think it'll be the most consecutive days that we'll have seen each other since we started dating August 11th 2006. Yesssssssss!

Aighty - I'm gonna get back to work - lotsa papers to throw away yet, and I'll hopefully leave myself enough time to make one last trip to the beloved Columbus Y - mmhm.

Oh wait - have you ever wanted to see what 100,000 head of cattle looks like? I didn't think so, but y'know, "when in Broken Bow!"

Ciao Columbo

2007-06-04T20:06:00.000-04:00

Well - it's really here... my last week in Nebraska.

Whooo... ...I've never lived more than 2 hrs from home, much less 2 DAYS from home! But I know it's something that I have to do. Not even so much want to... but that I'm stepping into the inevitable. Things change. I change. And somewhere in all of the change, the Lord is directing the movements of the symphony. I've just been tuning for the last 23 years, but I think He's moving me into the first bar of the progression... and all I know is that it's different than the notes I've been playing up until this point.

But praise the Lord for His incredible foresight and planning. He's set me up with an amazing network of friends and family that I know I'm not alone out there.

And now I'm off to my last evening at the Rescue Mission. The Lord has blessed me so much through this ministry - and it always seems to work that way, that when I try to bless someone else, it returns in degrees of magnitude greater volumes back into my soul... praise the Lord.

Matthew Perryman Jones

2007-05-30T23:16:00.000-04:00

There's a place for baritone, hymn-singing artists. I remember the first time I heard Fernando Ortega... and something in my rib cage let out a deep sigh and I just let my tension go.

Ben Davy gave me a CD of Matthew Perryman Jones and this dude has got it. Trust me. As a hyper-rage-a-holic, I can attest to the soothing effect of a softly sung truth. I can claim it. I can rest on it.

And that's what I'm going to do.

"And may your dreams be sweet tonight
Dance the sky in sweet delight"

"And know I love you - I always will
It's my favorite story I have to tell"

I'm so sore

2007-05-28T10:21:00.000-04:00

Man alive - we played soccer Saturday night in Lincoln and I am still sore! And Bamma stuck me like 15 times before I wisened up and played the other side of the field... she may have been the only girl out there, but she steps it up just like one of the fellas!

And then there's Tanner - from his football, basketball, and any-other-sport days... who has mocked soccer as long as I've known him - hopped right in and threw some weight around. Shut a couple of cocky's right up a couple times... and then let me score a few goals just to be nice - what a pal.

So - I'm definitely going to miss Nebraska... and it's hitting me again just like it's hit me before.

I really enjoy new things - going new places - performing the same tasks in different ways - surprising myself by hiding gift cards/$$$ in my dresser drawers... and so I can't help but anticipate the move to NJ. But I'm seeing that every decision has a cost - and it's not so much about selecting which paths have the least cost, but more about if the cost is worth it. And until I'm there, it's hard for me to justify the cost of leaving Bamma, my family, and my friends behind - cuz I know one of the biggest costs will be loneliness... And after a year in the lumbus by myself, I really don't want to walk into that again.

So, if you think of me, please be praying for a small, strong community of believers that I can connect with. I know that if I try to fly this one solo, I'll get picked off.

Speaking of which - I've heard a number of people tell me to check this church out in NYC - they say it's led by a "John Piper"-type pastor - and I'm getting excited about it! It's called Redeemer Presbyterian Church - and it's located in downtown Manhattan NYC - about 30 minutes from where I'll live. They've got city-outreach ministries and small groups even in NJ about 10 minutes away from me that could really be a cool connecting point! Check it out: http://www.redeemer.com/

Anyha - that's where I'm at - thanks for listening.

It's so wrong - but it feels so right

2007-05-24T19:41:00.000-04:00

Scientific proof that there is McDonald's in Africa.

Quickster I

2007-05-23T21:06:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm gonna do what I've been putting off for weeks and record this dang song like I promised! And you wanna know something funny... I'm always so critical of my recordings, and so I think that year after year I'll just keep refining my voice/writing, etc... and then today I pull out this CD I recorded in Phoenix 3 years ago - and I said to myself, "MAN, this is some good shtuff!"

I mean, I'm not bragging at all - I just thought it sounded like crap when I first made it. And it made me realize that I spend more time trying to "refine" my sound that just singing, writing, playing, and sharing the gift God so graciously gave me.

So that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna record some crap here real quick, store it away for 3 years and then listen to it so I can appreciate it for it's true inspiration.

When bored, make flag

2007-05-21T21:49:00.000-04:00

Not much goin' on upstairs... Just had a pretty neat time at the Rescue Mission - but I spaced out for most of the message so I could journal... just not about much.

Hmmmm... sounds like it's about time for some inspiration. I tellya what - I'm gonna listen to some Ravi Zacharias, and while I'm doing that, I'll heat up the oven and toast myself a tasty sandwich! MMmmmm.

And while I'm doing that, I've left some food for thought:

Work Blogging

2007-05-16T20:11:00.000-04:00

Heyyyy - it's me, work blogging again!

Thanks to Scott and Carissa, I found out how to keep from time traveling - so that's sweet... Aaaaaaand I found a spot in my settings page that will allow EVERYBODY (even people without gmail accounts) to post comments, etc.

So - I'm sure many of you were chompin' at the bit to take a few swings at me... here's your chance. Get to it!

The time on this thingy is wrong...

2007-05-16T00:03:00.000-04:00

Every time I post something, this blog thingy puts a timestamp on it that is like 2 hours late (real time) - (2 hours) = blog time.

Weird. Well - I guess it's kinda like time travel.

Hour 13

2007-05-15T20:57:00.000-04:00

Well - I'm heading into hour 13 at work here and figured I'd give myself a little break and do a work-blog. Highly illegal - and therefore dangerous... so it's right up my alley. I live for danger.

But then again, the last person in the front office left about an hour ago and now the cleaning people just keep walking by probably giving me dirty looks behind my back. But that's just fine with me - cuz I see myself as the keeper of the office. If it weren't for me, these cleaning-folk could just run amock and go stealing all sorts of things from people's desks! ...like candies and papers... and - oh my gosh! - you should see this! They're stealing this guy's trash right now! AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh...

Dirty cleaners.

Minnesota

2007-05-13T23:11:00.000-04:00

Well - just got back from visitin' my best buds up in Minneapolis... good good times! Gotta see the downtown, uptown, and toured St. Paul's own Summit brewery - even got to go running around the area and freaked out some noon-day corporate power walkers - a whole gaggle of them. By the looks on their faces, I'm guessing they weren't expecting a sweaty, shirtless runner to be coming around the corner... and after my 3rd lap of the man-made corporate island I figured out that I was going the wrong way, since I never caught up with anyone, I just kept passing them face-to-face. Which of course made it all the more awkward. But I just did what I usually do in those situations... I pretended to know what I was doing, averted eye-contact, and then ran off into the corner and bawled like a little girl. It's worked every time.

Ahhh - but it's good to be back in Nebraska.

Bar Stool Economics

2007-05-09T20:06:00.000-04:00

This is pretty cool...

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for
all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes,
it would go something like this

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with
the arrangement, until on day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you
are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of
your daily beer by $20."Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes
so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.
But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they
divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They
realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that
from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end
up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would
be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he
proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four
continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began
to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20,"declared the sixth man. He
pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a
dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10
back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't
get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine
sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill,
they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between
all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is
how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the
most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for
being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might
start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who
do not understand, no explanation is possible.

I love baseball

2007-05-08T14:24:00.000-04:00

Hehehe... hehe... ahahHAHAHAHAHAHA... aheh... ahehehehe... awwwww shucks.

Columbus Rescue Mission

2007-05-07T21:44:00.000-04:00

There's something special about rescue ministry. I think it's because Christ put so much emphasis on service the weak and poor... there's just something more real about it.

For one thing, you'll never find people who will lie to you more willingly about their plans to follow Christ and promptly run off into drugs and promiscuity. But on the other hand, when you see one of the rare ones - a heart that is changed by God, it's like a bursting firework over a dark sky - you just can't miss it. They radiate through the whole mission building. And with that evidence of their true faith comes a stinging conviction... is my life like that? Can people tell a difference in me?

For sure, God produces fruit in the lives of His children... and recently I've begun to wonder what I'm growing. It's more like moss or mildew... or something like that. Not as appealing, and certainly not as tasty.

I've been so fortunate

2007-05-07T00:29:00.000-04:00

I was just posting a couple extra pictures today and just became overwhelmed with how fortunate I am to have been blessed with a family that loves me and friends that care about me... I tell ya what - I couldn't go on enough trips or make enough money to get even close to matching the fulfillment that that brings. And to think that I didn't earn an ounce of it! Wow - I thank the Lord right now for His blessings in spite of my unworthiness. Seeing my chronic disobedience He would have been completely justified in wiping me off the face of this earth - and instead He blesses me. I just don't know words to describe that. Somehow "grace" just doesn't sum it up well enough. If I could make up a word, it'd be like extra-mundo-uber-spectacular-fantasmic-forgetting-of-
my-screwups-and-loving-me-anyway. Aaaaand... yah, that still doesn't do Him justice.

Well, praise the Lord anyway!

New Jersey Hiking!

2007-05-03T23:33:00.000-04:00

Well - even though I'll be spending most of the time traveling around n' such, it looks like NJ has a lot to offer in the great outdoors!

Here's the website I've been shopping around on for some SWEET hikes and stuff that Bamma and I are looking to take when she helps me move to NJ in June! Yesssssss for hiking - booo for moving.

http://www.localhikes.com/Default.asp

Check out the "Buttermilk Falls", anything with "Harriman Park", and "Ringwood Park" - it's kind of a toss-up between those 3 areas... which means that I'm not really even close to making a final decision. Ah well - indecision is half the adventure.

But, from where I'll be living, each of these should only be about 45 min - 1hour drive away... so not too shabby for a boy driving 9 hrs to get to the mountains every year!

Cheap pizzas

2007-05-03T14:00:00.000-04:00

I know my mom will kill me for this - but I'm crunched for time at lunch today and I put a Totino's $0.98 pizza in the oven and I'm sooooooo excited! There's nothing like the flavor of cheap saturated fat pasted over a saltine-cracker... ohyah - it's like the Twinkie-delight of lunches.

Obeying the rules, n' stuff

2007-05-02T23:25:00.000-04:00

So I'm pretty rotten at obeying rules.

Like, my registration expired in March and I got the new license plates in time and all... I just didn't put them on. So, now every time I drive to work or park in a parking lot, I hafta keep my eyes peeled for the law enforcement that could be lurking nearby to snipe me. It's really pretty exciting - and I'm not really much of a rebel otherwise, so don't expect to see any "10 county" Columbus license plates on my car anytime soon.

Or then there's the 3 miles of privately owned fields right behind my apartment. I mean, when I'm hankerin' for a real adventurous run (and don't feel like enduring the really clever slams that Columbus motorists throw my way like "run forest ruuuuuuun") I can't help but trounce off into the grass and frolic in the fields for a while. And the added bonus is that my imagination runs wild of scenarios where the owners of the fields discover my freedom romp and pepper me with shotgun blasts. Ooooh baby - that'll get the adrenaline flowin!

First day in the blogging world

2007-05-02T20:18:00.000-04:00

Hmmm - kinda wondering how this whole thingy-ma-jig works...

I feel old - cuz I think I just learned about 4 months ago what a blog was... and two months after that I realized why I would ever want one.

I guess the name just conjures up images of pete moss, damp trees and swamps... oh wait, that's a bog. Well, it's safe to say that a blog (at least from me) may often be a close relative to a bog - so if I get especially dreary at times, please just click the "back" button and save yourself the irritation.

HM! Well, that feels good to get that off my chest. First day of blogging is over and I'm off to the YMCA to get fit!