Barry: Rob, I'm telling you this for your own good, that's the worst sweater I've ever seen, that's a Cosby sweater.

never a dull day...
esp on weds and thurs when the kiddos are up here for our small groups. gotta love the randomness of teenagers. we had our youth ministers lunch today and i couldn't get over how awesome we have it. i was waiting for the restaurant to open, and for the other guys to show up, and there was a bit of a crowd waiting as well. most of he people were business class, armed to the teeth with cell phones, palm-pilots, briefcases, and dress shirts and ties on a perfect socal afternoon. i felt sorry for them. they were struggling to make conversation, and the conversation they had was so surface it just cracked me up. (sidenote, when listening in on someone else's conversations, don't laugh at their jokes. it's a dead giveaway) i recognize the need for small-talk, i was the master of the 30 second conversation about nothing when i worked various fast food jobs in high school. anyways, it was a great way to put into perspective the conversation that we were about to have as youth ministers. not that business stuff isn't important and we're all high and mighty (esp since we spend most of the time joking around... youth ministers... go figure) but there's something so special about having a conversation with a person you know cares. we have shop talk just like any other group of professionals (i still can't believe i use that term for myself) but we balance that out with genuine care and concern for other people. even when we're joking around (mostly at my expense) there's an element of care there that makes it all worth while. that being said, i can't wait for one of the other guys to say something goofy and me to get my turn with the cheap shots. still, i'd rather have the guys feel they can joke around w/ me than feel like they couldn't.
just something i've been thinking about lately, esp since my lunches have been during corporate hours. it kinda shows God's glory in a way i guess. not all of us are geared to be in an office. i'm glad there are people that are cool with that, if everyone were like me there'd be a whole lot of chillin, mostly during the daytime cuz a society of me prob wouldn't be able to get the power on to do anything at night. yeah, sometimes i don't really have a clue what i'm saying, but i have a thing about not erasing my mistakes on here. they can't all be golden nuggets...

other random stuff...
this whole blogging thing is tripping me out. i was laughing today because it seems that blogger and xanga are the new toys for the oc aim crew. i'll find one persons blog from somebody's i check, then find like four other people... and so on. i think' i'm up to 20 or so i've found. now i can read what's going on in their life w/o actually talking to them. isn't that convenient. i guess i'll go ahead and cancel my trip to the midwest since i can read all about it on people's pages. i keed, i keed. it's actually really cool to see the side of people that come out in their blogs. i printed out my whole blog the other day and read it from day one. yeah, there's def a bunch of humor missing, at least enough where reading my blog made me stop and comment, 'i know i have more fun than this'. oh well, i started this thing as a way i could look back and see what it was like to be jobless. kinda weird. i first wrote on my blog as a way to memorialize a weird day, joblessness and a date the previous night, now there's like a couple hundred views of my page every week, reading my thoughts on who knows what. our preacher, lawdog said i need to stop publishing this stuff and write a book for people to buy later. yeah right, i'm still getting over the fact that someone aside from my mom and sister read this, i can't imagine someone paying to read my thoughts. go read the bible. it's better for you.

in this is going to be awkward news...
nursegirl is back in the picture... sorta. we've kept in contact ever since breaking up last summer, and as of recently she's started calling more frequently. my old youth minister (godfather) is having a going away party this sunday, and nursegirl asked if she could ride down to san diego with me. that means she's going to come to church here on sunday. oh man, i can't wait for having to explain to my kids (and everyone else in the church) oh yeah, meet my ex-girlfriend. i may videotape this. anyways, things are going to get even more awkward in a few weeks, because she asked me to her sorority banquet. that's right kappa bros. i'm two years out of college and i'm going to banquet. i thought being invited to freshmen banquet as a fifth year senior was fun, this is going to be awesome (for awkward moments). oh well, i've got a pretty good standing policy of going out with any female that actually asks me out, esp banquets, so i might as well.

so this has me thinking about oc banquets, and how awkward those could get. like the one time i asked this girl to banquet, and in the time between when i asked her and the actual banquet she started seeing one of my friends. yeah, that one stung. what was worse was they decided they should go together, and i should ask someone else... who found out she was second pick when one of my friends blurted out... ' thought you were bringing girl #1?' yeah, that was a long ride home. quiet as i recall. then there was the banquet date who never said a word the whole night... then there was one where i never got a word in edgewise. then there were the times i was asked, 'will you take me to your kappa banquet, i want to get a new kappa shirt." is there a way to pluralize 'stung'? because that happened almost every semester. there were a few really fun banquets though, i remember one where i went with one of my best friends and we ended up hanging out till like 2 in the morning just talking. the best though was gamma banquet when i won rho beau of the year. not a whole that could top that.

random d.j. banquet facts...
out of 13 banquet dates i asked out in college:
2 i asked to 2 different banquets
7 are married/engaged
2 have kids
4 had boyfriends that they failed to mention when i asked them out
10 had full time jobs before i did
2 never talked to me again
1 is sommer billings
3 didn't know my last name
4 didn't/don't know what my initials stand for
3 have talked to me since i got a new job
2 were favors
1 i actually drove my car
4 i drove a borrowed car
4 i wore the same suit/tie

out of the 10 kappa banquets i went to:
2 were dinner at abuelo's and a hockey game
1 involved a monster truck rally
5 were formal
5 had me wearing a blue and gold tie
5 had me with the tie off within the first two hours
3 i would ask someone else if i could
4 i wouldn't trade a moment

as far as the banquets that i was invited to... i had fun. no comment after that.

hmmm... looking at those numbers, i realize this is one of those posts that really is misleading. i actually remember having fun at banquets, just not as good of stories on the fun ones i guess. oh well, most of the stuff i did at oc to have fun doesn't really translate well into writing about it years later. whatever, i know i had fun...

well, it's getting to be that time.
one love, one heart.