It's 7:26 on Wednesday evening and at this moment i am thinking....

that my friend told me to free-style a blog.
that the new show LOST sucks.
that my sister finally is on her way to England.
that packing gets old after 48 hours.
that there is a volcano erupting within 3 hours of where i am moving next week.
that this election is getting old.
that my nephews are the cutest little boys in the world.
that i will never ride the state fair of texas ferris wheel.
that rick is a good cook. especially tacos.
that i am tired of being overstimulated by TV and radio and noise. (Does anyone else EVER feel like that?)
that laundry is annoying.
but clothes are good to have.
that i remember why i stopped blogging for a while, i don't have anything to say lately.

katie

two nights of testosterone

Big thanks to my darling wife for letting me spend two nights downtown with some friends. My good college-buddies/groomsmen/all-around-great-guys, Jeff and Jay were in town (well, Jeff lives downtown and Jay was passing through)and Kate let me out of the house to have some fun. We pub-hopped, watched Bottle Rocket and hit a decent show last night (Blindside and mewithoutYou). The only downer was that mewithoutyou cancelled at the last minute. Dag!! Nevertheless, Blindside was certainly on their game and they even had a short techno-laced intermission (being from Sweden and all).

While I'm on the topic, my buddy Jay is officially going into full-time ministry and co-spearheading the IHOP (International House of Prayer) in Brazos County (i.e. Brian/College Station). If you're interested in supporting this type of ministry, let me know and I'll put you in touch with him. If you've ever had to raise your salary, you know how tricky it can be. That is all for now.

blog for the sake of blogging

Yep, only because I have nothing else to do at the moment. A Blink 182 video is on tv. It's the one where they spoof all of the boy-band videos from a year or two ago. I find myself thankful that those fifteen minutes are over, but I have to say that I'm almost as unimpressed with the current emo/post-whatever rock trend that's taken over the monopolized video-waves. Mainly because I kind of enjoy that type of music (most, not all) and now it's ruined. There was a study done once by I-can't-remember-who (sounds legitimate, right) that showed pretty convincingly that once a "new" trend or phenomena hits MTV, it has about two weeks before it's homogenized and reproduced in lesser forms. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the sort to bail on something just because it's getting notoriety or an ounce of popularity. That's as silly as liking something because it's popular to begin with. No, the problem I have is that as soon as you find something truly different, it's only a matter of time before it's ripped off. Most unfortunately, most of the pioneers of said trend never get their recognition because their lost in the sea of oportunists who jump on the band wagon. It's just sad to me that their are so many good, yet unknown bands who have been doing this thing for years and find themselves in the shadow of copy-cat upstarts just outside of fourteen days. The funeral is already over.

the funk

today is one of those days. i wake up and, for some reason, i can't convince myself that i'm not dreaming. it's hard to believe that i'm back in my childhood house instead of in our small, freezing flat on the edge of Prague. and then the realization hits me yet again. that pseudo-sentimental regret and mourning creep in for all of the little things i'll probably never do again. sit on the radiator with a cup of coffee (the only two things that can keep you warm) before work. enjoy the silence and absence of t.v., stereos, appliances, etc. take the subway to work. buy groceries using a language that, for me, is broken at best.

all this emotion for stupid habits.

sick at the most inopportune time

Two weeks from tommorrow we'll leave Texas in a moving truck headed toward the Pacific Northwest. With the clock ticking and the to-do list growing, you can imagine my frustration in coming down with a fever today. We were slated to paint someone's house tomorrow to make some extra cash, but it doesn't seem like that will happen. Oh well, we'll just have to be flexible and ride it out. We've gotten more and more used to dealing with the ambiguous and unexpected over the last year or two and we've actually come to thrive on it.

The only real bummer is the fact that I'm going to miss a pivotal meeting for a worship "gathering" we're having next Saturday night. My home church is wrestling with the whole "emerging" worship/church phenomena and, from what I've seen so far, I think they're handling things well. The desire and attempt to remain relevant to a demographic that wants change can sometimes be a tricky thing. Trying to bridge several generation gaps in a single bound could very well be, well, impossible. A noble attempt is being made, however, not to be simple "people pleasers" of all ages, but rather to keep God the focus whithout becoming stagnant and resistant to change. It's an interesting and exciting thing to see and I selfishly wish that it had happened more while I was still around so I could be a part of it. Just being a part of the maintenance/security team for the last couple of weeks has proven that I still have a heart for this church and its direction. I'll surely be watching from afar.

Nothing in particular

Okay, so it's been a while since I've sat down and had a good blog. No excuses, just a good mix of procrastination and a lack of anything significant to say. I wish I could write more about our jaunt to the Northwest, but it was such a whirlwind trip (6,700 miles in 9 days) that it's hard to find any one thing to write in any length about. So, in typical style of late, I'll give just a few tidbits:

• We've been lucky enough to get approved for the apartment we wanted while being unemployed. As I said before, it's in a bit of a wooded setting but only a few miles from downtown. Best of both worlds. Gotta love it.
• Imago Dei was in fact what we were hoping it would be. I could probably squeeze out a lengthy blog on this alone (to Brent's delight), but I'd rather wait until we have a few more visits under our belt. Brent, you'll just have to spring for another lunch to get me to talk.
• San Francisco is a fun town. We didn't have as much time as we would've liked to explore, but thanks to the Stanley's, our experience was memorable. I hope we'll be seeing them more often once we're on their side of the country.
• Seattle was sunny. I guess stereotypes have their inconsistencies (duh). They do have good coffee, though. Big thanks to Nicole for putting us up and playing tour guide.
• I listened to more talk radio than ever in my life. Why are there far more conservative political commentators than liberal ones? The cons would claim it's due to a lack of logic and anything significant to comment on in the left-wing camp. Agree or disagree?

Well, that's all for now. I'm coming down from a caffeine surge, so my synapses are firing a bit less frequently and I simply have nothing left to say. Make it a good one.

P.S. Has anyone else found the irony behind the word "blog" not being in blogger's spellcheck vocabulary?

on the road again

Man, this trip has been crazy! We've been moving through states at breakneck speed with pretty loaded schedules each day. We're in San Fran at the moment, staying with Katie's very hospitable aunt and uncle (who also have two very rad kids). Tomorrow morning will find us heading to Flagstaff and back towards the sauna that is Dallas. We should be home late Saturday night. Not much time to blog, so here's a few quick thoughts and events:

• Gas doesn't get cheaper as you head west.
• Trees are cool.
• Portland is cool. So is finding an affordable apartment that's surrounded by nature, yet three miles from the heart of downtown.
• Imago Dei lives up to the hype.
• Seattle is a great place to experience music.

Well, that's going to have to be it for now. We'll talk more upon our return. Ciao for now.