9.26.2007

There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore looking like an idiot.

hola blogworld.

i decided to take a page out of juliacanyoumakesomephonecalls' intern handbook and move my office outside today. and by office i mean the book that i'm reading, my notes for class tonight and now my laptop. anyways, it's been a relatively quiet afternoon which is good because today has been a study day. which brings me to my first point...

studying.
i study now more than i ever did in high school or college. at least it's mostly stuff that i'm interested in. although i do have to say, i miss having pictures in my books.

sick.
i've been kind of sick for almost a month now. it's lame. what started out as a sore throat turned into a real bad cold, and then a sinus infection. now i just sound like i smoke two packs a day. the worst part is that the hassle of going to the doctor again outweighs my desire to try and tough this out. cough.

i wonder if those last two things are related?

raise.
i got one. after three years here. i don't know if it's good or bad, but i do know i would hide any video evidence of me in the process of asking the elders. i realized about a half hour before our meeting that i had never actually asked for a raise before. either one was offered, or i haven't worked at a place long enough to deserve one. either way, i plan on saving my extra 25 bucks a week. and by saving, i mean keeping up with rising rent costs and gas prices.

tv.
i'm not one to get super hyped up about new seasons of shows, especially now that we have a dvr, but i have to say i was on the edge of my seat for the new episode of heroes. i felt like a dork, but oh well. the show rules, hiro nakamura may be the coolest tv character ever, and the show had nothing to do with a hatch or finally getting to the other side of the island. oh yeah, i'm hyped up for the new season of the office. i was pretty collected until i saw the title of the 'fun run' where michael puts together: Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race For The Cure.

houston.
i got to take a week off and head to houston and stay at my grandparents house which was much needed. what did i do on my time off? i slept a bunch, hung out with mi familia (much love to mi madre and hermana for hanging out for the weekend), watched every episode of the office over the course of a week and went to astros games every night. oh yeah, and i played scrabble. just what i needed.

clean out.
so i've lost enough weight now that a pretty good portion of my clothes don't really fit anymore. i had a bunch of shirts that were drowning me and pants that were starting to fall off, so i decided to go get a bunch of new clothes. but first i started with going through all of my old stuff and getting rid of the stuff that didn't fit. by the time i was done i had chopped my closet in half. i really liked looking at that half empty closet so i decided to forget the new wardrobe, and just stick with the old stuff that fits. i know this may not seem like a big deal, but anything i can do to avoid trying on clothes is a good thing. i realized that i really had all that i needed (which meant i had twice as much as i needed to before) and all i really had to do was go pick up some new jeans so i had something nice for church, dates, etc... anyways, it was a good feeling getting rid of all that stuff that had accrued in my closet. now my biggest issue is whether or not i spend the money to tailor a target dress shirt, or i go and get a couple of new tailored dress shirts. maybe i should just skip that all together too.

running with it.
taking a cue on how good it felt to get rid of a bunch of old clothes, i went ahead and got rid of a bunch of old electronics, sports equipment, hats and cd cases too. i actually have too much storage in my room now. it's a good feeling.

back on the plan.
so ever since i've been back i've been trying to get back into the gym routine again. lame. that, and the cuz has me on a new workout plan that is kicking my butt. although, i went longboarding the other night and i was pretty stoked to see how much more balance i have now as opposed to last year.

the spiritual.
i've been back on a personal reading kick again, and i'm going back and re-reading some of the books i know i need to draw from more. the first up is 'a new kind of christian' and next is 'velvet elvis'. after that i'm not really sure. if anybody has any good suggestions i'm all ears. it's amazing how much reading can impact the rest of your spiritual walk. it's like having a conversation with yourself sometimes, one of those conversations where you know that you've been pushed to think. anyways, it's been a blessing.

the times they are a changing.
i've been talking to a lot of the socal youth ministry mafia, and it's interesting to see how much things are changing around here. without getting into specifics, (i hope you understand why) the shape of southern california youth ministry is in for a major adventure of the course of the next few years. people and programs come and go, but i've really been drawn to 1 Corinthians lately, where it basically says that we are not called to follow one man or another, but we are all called to follow Christ. This is one of those verses that i should have written right over my desk.

slump.
i've been in artistic slump lately. one of these days i'm just going to sit down and draw. if anyone has any ideas for inspiration feel free to chime in.

bedouin soundclash.
having a cool band name pays off. this is by far my favorite recent music discovery ( followed closely by flatfoot 56, yo-yo ma and culver city dub collective). anyways, i've been listening to nothing but their music for almost 4 days now, which is almost unheard of for me. i rarely if ever can handle listening to an album more than once in a day, much less listening to one over and over for several days. anyways, if you wondering what they sound like, they're a three piece folk/reggae group that probably could be best described as paul simon singing for the clash. check out hush, when the night feels my song, and until we burn in the sun.

all the rest.
i don't feel like going into details on the rest of what's on my mind. so i'm just going to go on the ultimate unrelated ramble. we hired a new preacher. i'm almost finished with the plans to overhaul the youth ministry. it rained for a couple of days here, and i got sit on the porch and jam. i may be helping direct teen camp next summer. i have two potential mission trips on the horizon to africa and honduras. i finally figured out how to use my dad's camera. i'm getting really stoked about heading to nyc again this time for a family christmas in manhattan. the chargers need to beg and plead to get martyball back in san diego. the astros need to unload a bunch of pinch hitters and invest in some pitching. the astros have the best crop of rookies in baseball, hands down. 3:10 to yuma was awesome, especially from a family perspective. i went through my baseball card collection and i think i can possibly retire in about five years. two very close friends of mine are both working on their first girlfriend ever, and i'm pretty stoked for both. the cuz re arranged our apt and i keep running into stuff. when you can't sleep, listen to yo-yo ma. when you need to study, also listen to yo-yo ma. when you are driving in the rain, do not listen to yo-yo ma. i don't like it when people don't return phone calls. i can't stand it even more when i forget to return a phone call. i'm never showering at the gym again, it's just weird, especially since i was the only one under 55 in the locker room.

steven wright.
one of my new favorite comics. he's the guy on the couch in half baked, and he has a billion one liners. so to leave you today here are:

TOP TEN STEVEN WRIGHT JOKES PICKED AT RANDOM:
10. I intend to live forever. so far, so good.
9. I'd kill for a nobel peace prize.
8. I have a rare picture of Houdini locking his keys in his car.
7. I know the guy that writes all those bumper stickers. He hates new york.
6. I like to go to art museums and name the untitled paintings... boy with pail...kitten on fire...
5. I plugged my phone in where the blender used to be. I called someone. they went AAAAHHHHHHH.
4. In my house i put fake brick wallpaper over a real brick wall. People come over and i say, touch it... it feels real.
3. I hooked the accelerator pedal in my car up to my brake lights. I hit the gas, people behind me stop, and i'm gone.
2. the judge asked, " what do you plead?" i said, "insanity your honor, who in their right mind would park in the passing lane?"
1. they say we're 98% water. we're this close to drowning. every time i take a drink of water i feel like i'm living on the edge.

and a bonus extra edition of quotes of the week:

officemanagerron qotw: "that guy is out there with his dog again. either that or he's training his kid how to fetch."
astros fan qotw: "hey blue, check your cell phone, you missed a call!"
personal qotw: "dude, stop pretending like you don't want a tattoo of hillary duff on your back."

one love, one heart.