Wedding Bells

As I get older, I see more and more of my friends "growing up", and either talking seriously about marriage or actually tying the knot. Also, I seem to be accumulating more friends who are married. I was noticing this the other day, then I commented it on a friend's blog last night. His reply was - "Yeah... so when are you getting married?"

My response was this:

That's step 7 in an 8 step process.
1) Find a girl
2) Date said girl
3) Figure out if said girl is "the one"
4) Ask the girl's father if it's ok to ask
5) Ask the girl to marry me
6) Be engaged
7) Get married
8) Live happily ever after

Maybe I'm dreaming a lot, but I look forward to the day I get to start on step 2. Will it happen? Who knows...

One Week Down

Thirteen to go!

After the first week at Jenny Wiley, everything is going very smoothly, and all the departments seem to be keeping ahead of the game - which in outdoor theatre is very important, since you never know when the weather will put all your best laid plans and good intentions on hiatus.

We have a really good crew this year, and my assistant is the best I've had. We've worked unoffically together before, and so I know what she's capable of and what her experince level is. It helps a lot to not have to explain and teach every single thing to someone. I don't mind imparting my knowledge, especially if someone is eager to learn - but there isn't always time for a lot of that.

So far, my assistant and I have had it pretty easy, our first two days were a lot of manual labor (good stuff, but man, was I sore later) and then a lot of sitting around cleaning lighting equipment. Next week is our 'turn and burn' week. We will run over 4000 feet of cable, hang over 150 light fixtures, drink over 30 cups of coffee, spend approximately 3500 dollars, and work more than a 90 hour week... but it will all payoff and be worth it in approximately two and a half weeks.

On a side note - tonight I also got a call from my wonderful friend, Stephanie. For those of you that DON'T know - or are just 'tuning in', she's in London, England for the summer on an internship. Anyway - it was really good to hear her voice, I wasn't expecting to get a phone call from her at all this summer, since it's very expensive to call internationally. It put a smile on my face immediately. My face was actually sore at the end of the conversation from smiling the whole time. Well, I've got to log off here for now - need my beauty rest and all that.

- Cheer-i-o <- That one's for you, Chris ;)

JWT - Day One

Just finished my first day of the 2005 Summer Season at Jenny Wiley Theatre. It was good to do some hard work again. Every once in a while, good old fashioned manual labor feels good.

All the tech crew arrived yesterday, and man, I'm really starting to feel old in this line of work. All the crew seems like a really good bunch of people. There are a couple of pseudo-annoying people this summer, but I think I'm learning to tune them out - er - I mean get along with them. But everyone seems ready to work and really has a lot to "bring to the table".

Well, I'm beat - Two more things before I to head off to a quick shower and then to bed. First, if anyone gets curious about when shows are and how much they cost - check out Jenny Wiley Theatre's website.

Lastly, I would love to send many warm wishes and a LOT of prayers to my best friend, Stephanie. She's heading off to London, England for the summer. I'm gonna miss her a lot. Love you, Steph!!!!

I'll buy that!

For a dollar eighty-nine, yeah, I'll buy that!

That's the cheapest I've bought gas for in several months! The Speedway at Exit 104 (off I-75) in Lexington is selling it for that right now. Go quick, hurry, fill up!!!

Focus

UPDATED updates in bold italics

It's really easy for us sometimes to lose focus. I fully believe that people mostly focus on the good in their lives (and in their friend's lives). Sometimes some people have what I'll call a "social hickup" which causes their focus to waiver and then they focus on different things, or the wrong side or notion of a particular thing. Sometimes people even become obsessed about certain things. Sometimes people feel that they have every right to know something that is really none of their business.

Now, even I have been guilty of having a social hickup. I don't think anyone can really say that they haven't, whether it was just for a brief moment, or if it's chronic for some people. The trick is to realize that you have the social hickups, and fix it. Or at least correct what you've done during the social hickup. I'll give you an example from my own life.

A very dear friend of mine (Stephanie) is going away to London (yes, England) for the summer. I had BIG social hickups when I found out about that. Instead of focusing on the good of the excitement on the trip to a foreign country, and how much fun she'll have, I hickuped and thought only about how it would affect me, how much I would miss her this summer. I eventually realized that I was being selfish in my thoughts, and that was my social hickup. Since I realized that, I've been much more supportive and excited for Steph and her trip. I'll still miss her a lot, but I know this experience is going to be awesome for her, especially since she's met a special someone over there... and she'll get to experience all of her joys with him. And I'm incredibly happy for her. And our friendship is stronger for it.

Unfortunately, focus is an easy thing to lose - and only when we realize we've lost it, can we do anything to fix it. I learned this lesson the hard way. I can only hope that everyone doesn't have to. Of course, there are SOME people out there, that just don't get it. Some of you will know who I'm talking about, the rest of you may not. But that's okay. Have a great day, and keep focus!

As per Steph's suggestion - check out Mike's recent post "Pardon Me While..." to see what the "instigation" of this post is all about.

Eulogy for CommentThis

As many of you who read my blog regularly know - I recently switched to blogger's comments system due to a server problem with my old comment host, CommentThis! I originally found out about this service from Patrick Drury. This was the "goto" service before blogger introduced their own commenting system.

After the server problem, I scoured the "how-to" archives at blogger and found a way to preserve the old comments on the old posts while implementing the newer blogger comments on all of the new posts. I also helped a friend to do the same with her blog.

Just a few minutes ago, I went to check on the status of the old comment host, and found the following message.

It looks like the Comment This! service is no more.
It's been a good run, but the hard drive that the Comment This! data resided on died, and is not recoverable. I only received about $160 in donations, and that doesn't even cover my bandwidth for two months, much less replacement hardware. Blogger's comments system works well enough, maybe you should try it.
Regards,
The CommentThis! admin.

P.S. If you want to contact me to praise or complain, you can reach me at:
comments@commentthis.com

Good-bye CommentThis. You've given me a lot of memories over the past year and a half. Thanks.

What's in a Name?

Actual horse's name.

Hoof Hearted

Say that one out loud a couple times.

I was watching one of those "blooper shows" last night on TV, and that was an actual horse's name. And the announcer was like, "Hoof Hearted" in the back!

Hilarious.

Victory is Mine!

Stewie

Which Family Guy Character Are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


Which Family Guy character are you?

All Things New

The new design that I've been keeping mostly under wraps is finished. Right now just the blog and bio pages have made the transition. Next will be the design pages, followed by my online photo album, and then the guestbook. Oh, and I've updated the bio page - enjoy. Tell me what you think.

Last Chance

This weekend went amazingly well! This is truly the most fun I've had in a LONG time. I haven't had an actual good vacation in several years. The guys I hung out with this weekend are some of the best. An amazing group of people to go on a trip with. The group was almost TOO laid back - it was tough to get them to make a decision! But it made for a very stress/drama-free weekend.

In attendance were: Dustin McClain (the doomed), Me (the best man), Jarred Winebarger (groomsman), Eric Whitson, Jason Bowles, and Brian Ink.

Here's what we did:
rented:
cabin - (click to see)
van - Chrystler: Town & Country (we rode in style, automatic everything - power sliding doors, windows, etc.)

played:
poker
Halo2
putt-putt
lazertag
ping pong
pool (billiards)
air hockey
raced gocarts

soaked in hot-tub:
combined total - 12 hours

watched:
Shaun of the Dead
Hellboy

bought (at China Bazaar):
soft pellet guns (3)
"samurai" sword

ate:
burgers and dogs, chips, potato salad
steak, baked potatoes, cornbread
ribs, shrimp, chicken, potatoes, fries, onion loaf, bread
bacon, sausage, eggs, waffles

drank:
pepsi, coke, sprite, O.J., milk, water, ginger ale, and other various juices
corona, bicardi O3, Smirnoff Ice, and other various beers/wine-coolers

slept - very little

For Your Eyes Only

I'm really excited. I'm working on a new look for my website. It's going to look a lot nicer and more professional than this one. Basically I'm trimming a lot of the fat off of the old one. It just felt too bulky to me at times. I love this design, but each design for me is just a stepping stone to the next - honing and sharpening my skills and craft.

Be excited... VERY excited.

Roll with the Punches

This is definitely something I need to learn how to do.

The past few weeks, I haven't really been myself. To some, I may've covered it up well - then again, maybe not. And to others, well, there's just no fooling some people, they'll always know when your not yourself (and thank goodness for those people).

So, to anyone that's noticed - worry no more, I'm on the quick road to getting back to me. To those that I've weighed heavily on... I apologize greatly. To everyone else - no sweat, I'm here and as good as ever.

" Life as it happens is rarely the way that you planned
Roll with the punches or you'll end up a mad, little man "
- "Six String Rocketeer" by Daily Planet

Dark Side of the Blog

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

Did you realize that the dark lord of the sith himself kept a blog? Neither did I until I stumbled upon it.

It's pretty humorous... and a little scary. Check it out.

Posts Revisited

// Quotes from Real People

"It's like butter and chocolate syrup."
- Greg Chandler (describing how performances were good, just not good together)
Originally Posted on: 11/30/2003

// Two Words

Huggies Thong
Originally Posted on: 02/08/2004

// Past Weeks:: Barenaked Ladies Concert

click to view post
Originally Posted on: 03/15/2004

// Video

Japanese Commercial - too weird... and too funny.
Originally Posted on: 04/13/2004

Video

Ever get bored sitting in front of your computer? Me too. Oh, and not to mention this guy.

Discuss. And feel free to post links to other videos you think are funny, stupid, crazy, cool.

Time's Ebb and Flow

Whoever said, "The more things change, the more things stay the same" should be drug out into the street and shot.

Too much? - Nah.