ramblings of a wannabe rockstar

I think I’ve finally been plucked out of the world of Internet Obscurity, if only for a short time. I’ve been called out on someone else’s blog. If that’s not notable, I’m not sure what is.

Well then, PJ, here you go.

It’s been a while. As evidenced by my last post, my world at work has kept me busy. Thankfully, it’s calmed down some…enough for me to take a breath. Or maybe, I slowed down long enough to breathe. Either way, I feel slightly more relaxed than I did when that post was made. I guess that’s a good thing.

By the way, since it’s been so long since I last blogged, I may be long winded today. The blogging may take breaks from time to time but my mind doesn’t. There’s a lot to catch up on.

I read a quote a minute ago on another blog that I thought was worthy of being shared here. I’m not sure what the source is, but it’s familiar to me. For some reason, it moved me.

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.

They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.

They invent. They imagine. They heal.

They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.

I wonder why I thought that was worthy of sharing. I’m not crazy enough to think that I can change the world. But I’m just crazy enough to change mine up a little.

~~~~~

I joined a softball team. I’ve not played an organized sport since I was in high school. And I’ve never played anything remotely related to bats, balls, gloves, and bases. Turns out that I’m pretty good at it though. I never would have thought it. Why did I do this?

My daily routine consists of this: I wake up, give my lovely bride a hug and a kiss good morning because she’s already up. Then I check my e-mail to see what my day at work might look like. I shower, dress, and off to work. I get my butt kicked at work, go pick up Raquel and head home. I wind down, normally by catching up on what I’ve missed on my favorite blogs and message boards or by watching the tube. We have dinner…always on TV trays watching our weekly lineup of 24, Scrubs, West Wing, or The Apprentice – depending on the day of the week – then clean the kitchen. The late news comes on and then it’s off to bed for another day. With the weekends, we catch up on some much needed sleep and some QT with each other.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m thoroughly happy. I’m a newlywed, head-over-heels in love with my wife, and she gives me more joy than any earthly goodness. I just felt like I needed a bit of a changeup. So I joined a co-ed softball league. My primary objective in doing so was to be able to meet some folks and to socialize a bit with someone other than the people we work with…not that there’s anything wrong with that. Secondly, I figure this can only help in my so called resolution to possibly slim down a bit.

So far it’s going well.

~~~~~

Now, those of you that have kept up with my blogging since my days at Xanga might remember that our “church search” has been less than entirely fruitful for the last several years. I’ve been searching for a church home ever since I moved to Plano/Frisco. Of course, when Raquel and I started becoming serious about our relationship, the necessity to plug into a local fellowship became doubly important if we were going to be serious about our spiritual life together. Without windbagging about my frustrations with congregations around here, I will just say that, in the very least, the search was very frustrating, and often deflating for both of us. I invite you to go check out the old blog and read about it.

Well, I am pleased to report that it appears that there may have been a positive turn. We are getting ever closer to the possibility of calling this fine place our church home. Of course (as eager as I am to pull the trigger), we’re still testing the water to make sure that this will in fact be the right place. But I must say, I am quite impressed with the way these folks do Church. I have a renewed hope that hasn’t been there for a long time about this whole church thing and I’m excited to see what happens.

I’m not sure what The Almighty has been trying to teach me during this trying time, but I’m anxious to know that the chapter might finally be over. I’m really enjoying getting to know these people.

~~~~~

Raquel and I run a site together, aside from this one. Raquel posted a beautiful entry today. Go read it and post a comment on it. Please.

~~~~~

My brother in law, Peter, flew his first mission in Iraq today. On the weekend of the Iraqi elections. Apparently it went well for him.

Say what you will about our current administration and whether or not our troops have any place being in that country right now. I’m not here to make a political statement. I will say this, though. As I watched the images on the various news outlets of people trudging through barbed wire fields, protected by heavily armed and armoured military men in an effort to cast their votes in a democratic election, it hit me as to how incredibly blessed (or lucky as the case may be) I am to live in this country. It speaks volumes as to the greatness of this country and the liberty we represent as an icon to the rest of this world that those folks over there were able to do that this weekend. I’m not speaking of the part that our country played in making that happen, but more the model of freedom we represent.

Peter, if you read this, just know that I have an immense amount of respect and admiration for you and what you do. May the Lord Almighty, keep you and protect you and bring you back home safely. Keep up the good work.

Now there’s a man that’s changing the world.

~~~~~

In closing, I would like to give a word of encouragement to my dear friend, Lydia, who has decided put her blog on hold for a while. This world is in dire need of more people like you. You have a precious heart and are loved by a Big God. May his Grace, Mercy, Wisdom, and Peace rain and reign over you during your time of growth. I have come to enjoy keeping up with you through your mind-spillings and they will be missed. I will look forward to reading some updates later.

Godspeed.

~~~~~

Man, oh man! This past week kicked my ass. I absolutely love my job. I love the company I work for, working with five of the best men I’ve ever had the pleasure to know, in a line of work that I am blessed to be able to have a job. However, there are some weeks…and the last three or four have been fine examples thereof…where every day is one Mack truck rollover after another. I sit here on this Friday night in silence, with my lovely bride asleep on the couch, feeling like a rag doll that’s been drug through the mud. And this after having today off. I need a vacation…again.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, my friends, it is playoff season! The first half of the first game has ended…necessarily in my favor, but it could be worse. There’s still the second half. I entered five cards into the pool I’ve joined for a few years running. This is the first year I’ve entered more than one card. Last year my mother, of all people, entered five cards into the pool and walked away with almost $900 in winnings. On the card that won, she picked every game correctly. This is one fine example of why my mother rules. This year, though, I hope I kick her butt. In case you’re interested in seeing what I picked, I’ve posted the links to my cards in this entry. See below. Right click on the link and Save As.

Sheet 1
Sheet 2
Sheet 3
Sheet 4
Sheet 5

Take a look at the picks. Let me know what you think. This should be a good playoff season.

I’m not feeling particularly inspired to post anything deep and meaningful today, other than just to say, it’s a nice day today. I went out this morning and played a round of disc golf which is always a good time. There’s nothing like a game where you get to walk for an hour and a half through a beautiful park lined with tall pecan trees and a creek running through it. The air is brisk, the sun is shining, and I feel good. Tonight brings a date with my lovely wife. Mmm…Cheesecake Factory. Have a good day, y’all! Oh, by the way. Everyone needs to go make Dave Birch feel welcome at his new home.

So, I’ve been trying to avoid blogging about a list of “resolutions” as has been popular with some of my blogging friends. And, as the trend has gone, I too hate – okay, really dislike – resolutions. It seems so banal to me to create a list of things that I hope to achieve, only to know that I will not stick to them and probably break most of them before the first couple weeks of the year is up. This is not to say that those of you who have posted yours are somehow unoriginal. Actually it’s some of those items that have inspired me to consider why having resolutions is such a talked about thing this time of year.

My good friend, Stephen, had this to say about the subject:

The New Year seems to invoke a number of feelings. One of the more obvious is a sense of hope and renewal. I believe this is one of the primary reasons that we often make “New Years Resolutions”, a course of actions we determine or decide on.

It is with this line of thinking that I share my thoughts today. I don’t have a list. I don’t have goals. I don’t have anything charted out that I hope to have achieved by a certain time. I’m not going to do that. What I do have are some ideas about a few things that I would like to “address” for lack of a better term. I don’t feel like I really have a need to drastically improve myself or my lifestyle, but I feel like there are areas that use some refining.

My physical health needs some attention. I’ve become a bit hefty over the last few years. I guess that not having a very active lifestyle combined with a desk job and the appetite of a teenager would have something to do with that. But there comes a time where I guess you have to grow up, stop eating cheeseburgers, and sweat a little bit. Raquel and I are thinking about doing this.

I want to read. My expressive mind needs nourishment. I’ve got a pile of books that are longking to be cracked and or finished. I guess I’ve already kinda started on that with the book I’m reading right now, Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover (which is part of another improvement plan). I have difficulty with sitting down and being quiet, which explains why I don’t read much, but when I finally do, it’s nice.