i didn't know until just now that i missspelled 'championship vinyl' when i was creating the web address. i guess chapmionship vinyl works just as well.
on to bigger and maybe better things...
my sides are killing me. and it's not just the pilates. yesterday was one of a few days in a row where things have really been going pretty cool in the youth ministry. the kiddos had the day off of school and some of the girls invited me out to play miniature golf with them. you gotta love a job that includes mini golf as work. oh yeah, we did the bumperboats too. the biggest thing was that they had me laughing pretty much all day long. the comical highlight was when one of the girls turned a simple act of trying to open the door to in and out into an acrobatic act complicated by having two sodas in hand. it's a you-had-to-be-there kind of thing, but it def ranks up there with rockstar putting lime juice in his eyes because his brother told him it would feel good.
this past weekend i went to the l.a. auto show with a few of my kids. i'm not really into cars all that much but this was really impressive. the biggest thing that i noticed was how many cars a) look alike and b) seem to resemble legos that i played with back in the day. there were def some sweet rides in there, inc a maybach that had a full size recliner in the back seat. the kids were most impressed by the car that had a working fridge inside. the coolest thing was the fact that i cold afford some of the cars there. weird feeling. anyways, i'm in car shopping mode now. i went and test drove some stuff last night, and everything you have heard about car salesmen is so true. i laughed last night when one salesmen actually started banging on the inside of the car to show me how sturdy it was. another lady couldn't seem to grasp that i wasn't willing to test drive a jeep liberty when i wanted to take a wrangler out. evidently she wasn't willing to move the other cars out of the way so i could do so. seriously, do you want to make a sale or not? anyways... it was frustrating, and i actually let myself get suckered in to talking with one of the guys about going through with buying the car. no worries, i didn't buy anything yet. i think i'm going to wait a few weeks and do some more research. esp since my top pick is out of the mix now. the 3 finalists now are the nissan xterra, mitsubishi outlander and for some odd reason the volkwagen golf. we'll see.
what else... i started listening to christian hardcore music a little while back, and i think i'm getting past the initial 'can't understand what these guys are screaming' phase to really enjoy the energy that they put out. clarity aside, i've got to give props to any guy that can proclaim their faith at the top of their lungs.
well, i've got a lot on the calendar that i've got to get to.
one love, one heart
d.j.
1.18.2005
1.13.2005
don't get me right, i'm just asking -yogi berra
so, i officially a calfornian now. i knew there was something missing in my life. i found out a few days ago that you are supposed to get a ca license within ten days of you moving here. so i was little off... there should be a packet provided for you when you move to a new state telling you all of these kinds of details, esp if your state has a smog check involved in the registering your vehicle process. i'd complain, but it's too nice outside to think about any negativity.
so the dmv yesterday was actually a pretty decent experience. i think i may be the first person that actually has a good story coming out of the dmv. the lady that helped me out let me skip the whole 'grab a number' process when i had to go home and get my passport for my new id. then, she let me skip in line to take my driver's test. couple of interesting observations: i was planning on studying for the test while i waited, so i was caught a little off guard when i was immediately given the test. i passed, barely, but i was really embarrassed that i had no clue on half of the questions. this is the first test i've taken for a grade in 18 months and i was a little out of practice. salgoode, i still got my license. so i go to hand my test back to the first lady, and she says i have to go over to this other desk. i walk over and there is this unreal hottie working behind the desk. i must have had my jaw on the floor, because the girl next to her started to chuckle. then i realized that the girl i was staring at was asking me for my test. i think my exact words were.' oh... i'm sorry, i was distracted'. smooth, real smooth. so we start up with the small talk, she asked me why i moved to simi etc... then somehow i blurt out something to the effect of i wish i had a reason to come back to the dmv. she smiles, blushes, then hands me my temporary id. then out of nowhere comes the line, "well, you know where i live, where i work and my phone number, if it's not against company policy it'd be cool if you took a look at that."
needless to say that probably qualifies as the cheesiest thing i've ever said to a girl. i'm not holding my breath for the phone to ring.
anyways, it feels good to be legal and all that stuff. and as my first official act as a californian, i propose that we divide the state in two. anything north of santa barbara county should be called southern oregon. i thought about northern and california as names, but i really don't want that whole jealousy thing like west virginia has for virginia. and northern california and southern california sounds like the two states might as well still be one, like north and south dakota. oh yeah, that's part of my proposal too, that north and south dakota become one state. all eight people that live there probably wouldn't mind, and we wouldn't have to change our flag again. or, if the flag thing is a big deal, we should let puerto rico to be state too. i think they actually have a vote in the house of reps already, and they have a lot of baseball players there too. that, and i'm sick of hawaii being the only island state in the union. they're getting pretentious about being the only island. i think we people of the continuous 48 states deserve another island vacation alternative than hawaii. this proposal makes the randy johnson trade to the yankees seem easy. i think it's worth it though. i'm tired of being from the same state that claims san francisco and berkeley home. i think it's good for them too. when people say they are going to visit california, they always come down here to disneyland, magic mountain, the beach, san diego, hollywood, or some other place that is always warm. if you say you are going to visit northern california, people kind of grunt and say that's cool, but secretly wonder why you wouldn't go to socal instead. if they were their own state, they could advertise their own attractions without having people disappointed by comparison. it's kind of like if you are going to visit texas, people kind of assume you are going to the dallas area. if you say no, i'm going to west texas, then people politely ask how far that is from dallas, because they know you would rather go there. sorry houston, it's true.
just a thought. if this blogging thing is actually as big as all of the magazines are saying it is, then maybe we can get a grassroots campaign going.
in other news, i've started the task of loading all of my cds on to my computer. this is taking forever. i'm at 3000+ songs so far, and that's just mostly christian music. yeah, they're going to have to a special ipod just for me. it's a lot of music i know, but i can turn on my random mixer and it's like hearing new music. i have my own radio station with mostly great taste.
this leads me to the other thing thats been on my mind. anyone who has ever been frustrated with a computer breaking down, having to restart when a program locks up, having to install printer stuff... needs to buy a mac. everything works. right out of the box. you plug in a printer, it works. wireless card, it works. i think i'm going to film my own switch commercial, edit it on my mac, and send it in to apple.
this time of year is always tough for me. we are still a couple months from baseball starting up, all of my teams are out of the nfl playoffs (seriously chargers, not going for it with three downs inside the 20 in overtime and then putting your fate in the foot of a rookie kicker...?) and i really could care less about basketball until march. espn is pointless right now. so while i sit in my sports drought for this time of year, i reflect on my teams that i'm passionate about.
houston astros: choked in the playoffs after adding clemens and beltran. beltran got sucked into the scott boras agency thing and went to the mets, clemens prob won't come back now, and biggio and bagwell are getting pretty up there in years. excitement level for next season C-
new york yankees: were a few outs away from annihilating the red sox to go to the series, then lose four in a row. heartbreaking. they made some sweet acquisitions this off season, most notably the big unit. unfortunately they've tapped out any farm potential for years down the road. so while the distant future is bleak the excitement level for next season B+
san diego chargers: went from worst to first with drew brees in the pocket. the new school marty ball even has me as a believer in the 3-4 defense. they even have a good team for years down the road with a bunch of no names that get the job done with 3 or 4 superstars to take the lead. too bad they choked in overtime against the jets. excitement for next season A-
usc trojans: not only did they win the championship outright this year, they dominated in every aspect of the game. and, they embarrassed ou in the championship to prove that the pac 10 does know how to play football. weakness of schedule nothing... NEXT! oh yeah, they're also picking up the top recruits from socal high schools including the number one high school qb in the nation. and, still haven't seen one of those unnecessary car flags with a trojan logo on it. excitement level for next year A+
well, it's back to planning stuff for the kiddos and rocking out while doing so.
one love, one heart.
so the dmv yesterday was actually a pretty decent experience. i think i may be the first person that actually has a good story coming out of the dmv. the lady that helped me out let me skip the whole 'grab a number' process when i had to go home and get my passport for my new id. then, she let me skip in line to take my driver's test. couple of interesting observations: i was planning on studying for the test while i waited, so i was caught a little off guard when i was immediately given the test. i passed, barely, but i was really embarrassed that i had no clue on half of the questions. this is the first test i've taken for a grade in 18 months and i was a little out of practice. salgoode, i still got my license. so i go to hand my test back to the first lady, and she says i have to go over to this other desk. i walk over and there is this unreal hottie working behind the desk. i must have had my jaw on the floor, because the girl next to her started to chuckle. then i realized that the girl i was staring at was asking me for my test. i think my exact words were.' oh... i'm sorry, i was distracted'. smooth, real smooth. so we start up with the small talk, she asked me why i moved to simi etc... then somehow i blurt out something to the effect of i wish i had a reason to come back to the dmv. she smiles, blushes, then hands me my temporary id. then out of nowhere comes the line, "well, you know where i live, where i work and my phone number, if it's not against company policy it'd be cool if you took a look at that."
needless to say that probably qualifies as the cheesiest thing i've ever said to a girl. i'm not holding my breath for the phone to ring.
anyways, it feels good to be legal and all that stuff. and as my first official act as a californian, i propose that we divide the state in two. anything north of santa barbara county should be called southern oregon. i thought about northern and california as names, but i really don't want that whole jealousy thing like west virginia has for virginia. and northern california and southern california sounds like the two states might as well still be one, like north and south dakota. oh yeah, that's part of my proposal too, that north and south dakota become one state. all eight people that live there probably wouldn't mind, and we wouldn't have to change our flag again. or, if the flag thing is a big deal, we should let puerto rico to be state too. i think they actually have a vote in the house of reps already, and they have a lot of baseball players there too. that, and i'm sick of hawaii being the only island state in the union. they're getting pretentious about being the only island. i think we people of the continuous 48 states deserve another island vacation alternative than hawaii. this proposal makes the randy johnson trade to the yankees seem easy. i think it's worth it though. i'm tired of being from the same state that claims san francisco and berkeley home. i think it's good for them too. when people say they are going to visit california, they always come down here to disneyland, magic mountain, the beach, san diego, hollywood, or some other place that is always warm. if you say you are going to visit northern california, people kind of grunt and say that's cool, but secretly wonder why you wouldn't go to socal instead. if they were their own state, they could advertise their own attractions without having people disappointed by comparison. it's kind of like if you are going to visit texas, people kind of assume you are going to the dallas area. if you say no, i'm going to west texas, then people politely ask how far that is from dallas, because they know you would rather go there. sorry houston, it's true.
just a thought. if this blogging thing is actually as big as all of the magazines are saying it is, then maybe we can get a grassroots campaign going.
in other news, i've started the task of loading all of my cds on to my computer. this is taking forever. i'm at 3000+ songs so far, and that's just mostly christian music. yeah, they're going to have to a special ipod just for me. it's a lot of music i know, but i can turn on my random mixer and it's like hearing new music. i have my own radio station with mostly great taste.
this leads me to the other thing thats been on my mind. anyone who has ever been frustrated with a computer breaking down, having to restart when a program locks up, having to install printer stuff... needs to buy a mac. everything works. right out of the box. you plug in a printer, it works. wireless card, it works. i think i'm going to film my own switch commercial, edit it on my mac, and send it in to apple.
this time of year is always tough for me. we are still a couple months from baseball starting up, all of my teams are out of the nfl playoffs (seriously chargers, not going for it with three downs inside the 20 in overtime and then putting your fate in the foot of a rookie kicker...?) and i really could care less about basketball until march. espn is pointless right now. so while i sit in my sports drought for this time of year, i reflect on my teams that i'm passionate about.
houston astros: choked in the playoffs after adding clemens and beltran. beltran got sucked into the scott boras agency thing and went to the mets, clemens prob won't come back now, and biggio and bagwell are getting pretty up there in years. excitement level for next season C-
new york yankees: were a few outs away from annihilating the red sox to go to the series, then lose four in a row. heartbreaking. they made some sweet acquisitions this off season, most notably the big unit. unfortunately they've tapped out any farm potential for years down the road. so while the distant future is bleak the excitement level for next season B+
san diego chargers: went from worst to first with drew brees in the pocket. the new school marty ball even has me as a believer in the 3-4 defense. they even have a good team for years down the road with a bunch of no names that get the job done with 3 or 4 superstars to take the lead. too bad they choked in overtime against the jets. excitement for next season A-
usc trojans: not only did they win the championship outright this year, they dominated in every aspect of the game. and, they embarrassed ou in the championship to prove that the pac 10 does know how to play football. weakness of schedule nothing... NEXT! oh yeah, they're also picking up the top recruits from socal high schools including the number one high school qb in the nation. and, still haven't seen one of those unnecessary car flags with a trojan logo on it. excitement level for next year A+
well, it's back to planning stuff for the kiddos and rocking out while doing so.
one love, one heart.
1.05.2005
i'm listening to bob dylan wondering what all the hype is about
this is one of those days wehre i'm listening to cds that i never listen to. there's a reason i forgot i had 'blonde on blonde'. i think the only reason i burned it in the first place was the fact that it's mentioned on every classic album list, it has the high fidelity connection, and a friend of mine had it available to burn. on to more pressing matters...
so in my effort to get back to as organized as i was a month or so ago, i guess it's time to start blogging again. i guess getting a routine is more helpful than i first imagined. ever since i went back home for thanksgiving i've been a little off in my ministry. enough so that me and lawdog talked yesterday about it some. i guess being around the family shuts me down a little bit. i knew something was not working right in the ministry the past few weeks or so, i'm just glad we identified the problem before it got out of hand.
so that's the good news for today. i feel like i'm back on track. sort of. when the youth calendar is chalk full of events i think i'll feel a lot better. but as for now today is pretty much a good day. i finally figured out how to get my computer up and going so that i'm connected online 24/7 which is always nice. i can get back to downloading concerts and stuff. that, and it won't take 45 minutes to check espn in the mornings.
that good news comes along the heels of an orange bowl that was unreal. after five years of putting up with noise from my big 12 amigos it was nice to call people back in oklahoma last night and talk a little noise. that, and after a few well placed bets i have a couple of my meals payed for the next time i go to visit. man, that wasn't even a game. i think my favorite part of this mess is how all of the sports analysts are backpeddling like madmen today. well, there goes the debate about the pac-10 not being as tough as the big 12.
the best part of the game was that i made the trek down to murietta to dantheman's apt for the game. nothing like watching bowl games on a big screen with surround sound, steaks on the grill and the company of a few good friends. seriously it was straight out of a commercial. you gotta love being stereotypical. the other good thing, was no grief for being the only bachelor there. you gotta lvoe being able to hang out with the married friends without feeling out of place. last night came pretty close to actually being at the holiday bowl last week, and def beat out saturday's 3-tv viewing extravaganza at the apt.
other stuff... i got pulled over last night, and the police officer said he felt bad enough for me driving my bronco around he wasn't going to give me a ticket for rolling through a stop sign. i think it was the fact that i have to hotwire my truck to turn it on and off that actually made him laugh.
trying to start a long distance relationship is lame. i'm clueless as to how people make them work.
--------insert about 4 hours here---------
what a difference a few hours can make.
so a couple of kids came by to work on the church bulletin and we got talking. next thing i knew it was time to grab some dinner before our jr high roots meeting. anyways, it was awesome tonite interacting with the kiddos. i feel like i started all over again. i also talked to m old youth minister for a while and he has a way of always putting things in perspective. i think i lost focus of what my type of ministry is, and was not playing to my strengths. i see myself as a relationship minister more than an activities minister, and i've been trying to become one while ignoring the other. man, things are so much easier to handle when you can put them into words. so the goal tonite was to approach things from my gut feeling and focus on building the relationships in our group. i have been feeling so worn out after our small groups recently, but right now i seriously think i could stay up all night and paint or something.
as i mentioned earlier i talked to my old youth minister this afternoon. i seriously can't think of anyone outside of my family that i admire more. the guy has put his own personal gain aside for so long for the sake of ministry. just because it's the right thing to do. there's a lot to be said for allowing God's goal for you to supercede your own. if we could all be so lucky. i can't wait for friday mrning to see him again before he moves up to portland. it's going to be tough knowing that he's not just down the road to talk to, but there are going to be a lot of college students blessed by his presence in portland.
i also got to talk to my friend dainty, who i haven't really got to talk to much since i've moved up to simi. daitny is one of the few guys i know where we can end our conversations with an 'i love you brother' and really mean it. i know a lot of ministry guys who sa that, and it's good that we are able to care for each other, but it's different when it's a friend you've grown up with. the fact that he's not the consistent church going type makes it mean that much more. i love the fact that i do have friends without walls between us. i think of all these 'reality' shows where people are so suprised by how one person can go out of thier way for another, or how special these relationships are... we all have that capability if we like. i think it's a lot more comfortable to not invest though. no danger of a bust. man, i need to read wild at heart again.
well, there's a lot on my mind now that i have my outlet back. it's gonna have to wait till tomorrow though, it's getting late and my office is freezing. i think i'm gonna go home and see what the cuz is up to. i may even get something done around the apt.
one love and one heart, esp to you sooner fans that need a hug.
so in my effort to get back to as organized as i was a month or so ago, i guess it's time to start blogging again. i guess getting a routine is more helpful than i first imagined. ever since i went back home for thanksgiving i've been a little off in my ministry. enough so that me and lawdog talked yesterday about it some. i guess being around the family shuts me down a little bit. i knew something was not working right in the ministry the past few weeks or so, i'm just glad we identified the problem before it got out of hand.
so that's the good news for today. i feel like i'm back on track. sort of. when the youth calendar is chalk full of events i think i'll feel a lot better. but as for now today is pretty much a good day. i finally figured out how to get my computer up and going so that i'm connected online 24/7 which is always nice. i can get back to downloading concerts and stuff. that, and it won't take 45 minutes to check espn in the mornings.
that good news comes along the heels of an orange bowl that was unreal. after five years of putting up with noise from my big 12 amigos it was nice to call people back in oklahoma last night and talk a little noise. that, and after a few well placed bets i have a couple of my meals payed for the next time i go to visit. man, that wasn't even a game. i think my favorite part of this mess is how all of the sports analysts are backpeddling like madmen today. well, there goes the debate about the pac-10 not being as tough as the big 12.
the best part of the game was that i made the trek down to murietta to dantheman's apt for the game. nothing like watching bowl games on a big screen with surround sound, steaks on the grill and the company of a few good friends. seriously it was straight out of a commercial. you gotta love being stereotypical. the other good thing, was no grief for being the only bachelor there. you gotta lvoe being able to hang out with the married friends without feeling out of place. last night came pretty close to actually being at the holiday bowl last week, and def beat out saturday's 3-tv viewing extravaganza at the apt.
other stuff... i got pulled over last night, and the police officer said he felt bad enough for me driving my bronco around he wasn't going to give me a ticket for rolling through a stop sign. i think it was the fact that i have to hotwire my truck to turn it on and off that actually made him laugh.
trying to start a long distance relationship is lame. i'm clueless as to how people make them work.
--------insert about 4 hours here---------
what a difference a few hours can make.
so a couple of kids came by to work on the church bulletin and we got talking. next thing i knew it was time to grab some dinner before our jr high roots meeting. anyways, it was awesome tonite interacting with the kiddos. i feel like i started all over again. i also talked to m old youth minister for a while and he has a way of always putting things in perspective. i think i lost focus of what my type of ministry is, and was not playing to my strengths. i see myself as a relationship minister more than an activities minister, and i've been trying to become one while ignoring the other. man, things are so much easier to handle when you can put them into words. so the goal tonite was to approach things from my gut feeling and focus on building the relationships in our group. i have been feeling so worn out after our small groups recently, but right now i seriously think i could stay up all night and paint or something.
as i mentioned earlier i talked to my old youth minister this afternoon. i seriously can't think of anyone outside of my family that i admire more. the guy has put his own personal gain aside for so long for the sake of ministry. just because it's the right thing to do. there's a lot to be said for allowing God's goal for you to supercede your own. if we could all be so lucky. i can't wait for friday mrning to see him again before he moves up to portland. it's going to be tough knowing that he's not just down the road to talk to, but there are going to be a lot of college students blessed by his presence in portland.
i also got to talk to my friend dainty, who i haven't really got to talk to much since i've moved up to simi. daitny is one of the few guys i know where we can end our conversations with an 'i love you brother' and really mean it. i know a lot of ministry guys who sa that, and it's good that we are able to care for each other, but it's different when it's a friend you've grown up with. the fact that he's not the consistent church going type makes it mean that much more. i love the fact that i do have friends without walls between us. i think of all these 'reality' shows where people are so suprised by how one person can go out of thier way for another, or how special these relationships are... we all have that capability if we like. i think it's a lot more comfortable to not invest though. no danger of a bust. man, i need to read wild at heart again.
well, there's a lot on my mind now that i have my outlet back. it's gonna have to wait till tomorrow though, it's getting late and my office is freezing. i think i'm gonna go home and see what the cuz is up to. i may even get something done around the apt.
one love and one heart, esp to you sooner fans that need a hug.
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