Meet You There

Mr. Lloyd Cox passed away on Monday, February 27, 2006. He was the grandfather of my Big Brother (Kelly). He was a very kind and sweet man. He loved and was very much loved. I remember Thanksgivings and Christmases after my father passed away, Kelly's family always welcomed my mom and I with huge amounts of love and compassion, their family is very special to me. I am fortunate to have known Mr. Cox. And the Cox family is in my prayers and has my sympathies. Oh, and Mr. Cox...I'll meet you there.

...
You're gone away, I'm left alone,
A part of me is gone, And I'm not moving on,
So wait for me, I know the day will come..

I'll meet you there,
No matter where life takes me to,
I'll meet you there,
And even if I need you here,
I'll meet you there.
...
And where I go you'll be there with me,
Forever you'll be right here with me..
...
I'll meet you there...
I'll meet you there..
- Meet You There by Simple Plan

Breakthrough!!

VICTORY!

I finally broke the code to the final piece of the puzzle on my latest project! It's only a matter of punching the CSS and HTML in the throat until I get it to submit to my will!

Like New

I went to pick up my car yesterday, probably almost as excited as I was to pick it up when I first bought it '98 (but recieved it in early '99)

Well, apparently there were a few more things wrong with it that I realized. More than just the battery problem and the brake warning indicators.

The battery problem was that my old battery had leaked battery acid on the cables that corroded and melted them. And my brake pads were apparently worn all the way down - metal to metal.

Here's the rest of the list:

Fuel Filter needed replaced
Third Brake Light bulb replaced
License Plate bulbs replaced
Brake Pads replaced
Oil Valve Cover Gasket replaced (there was an oil leak)
Front Axle Seal fixed (seal was leaking)

Rotated Tires
Oil Change
and the price I paid included the towing from my house to the service department.

PLUS! They did a free recall service that I wasn't aware about.

I know that there are less expensive places (labor-wise) I could take my car besides a dealership, but there's a peace of mind going with someone you know and you've taken the car to before. Plus going with a Chevy dealer, if there's a part that's needed, the likelyhood of them having the part on-hand is very likely and minimizes the time my car isn't in my possession... and I HATE being without my car.

Theological World View

Well, since all my friends are jumping off bridges, I may as well join them. Not to be out-done by Patrick, Chris, or Stephanie, I took the quiz, too. I'm not sure of the results, or if I even understood a lot of the questions. I figured given my Catholic upbringing, that score would be high. I feel a lot more Emergent/Postmodern, though. To be very honest, not exactly sure what any of this means.

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan.

You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan - 89%
Emergent/Postmodern - 79%
Neo orthodox - 64%
Roman Catholic - 64%
Charismatic/Pentecostal - 54%
Fundamentalist - 50%
Classical Liberal - 46%
Modern Liberal - 39%
Reformed Evangelical - 32%

Mapstats: Covering Ground

Canadians, Chinese, and French... oh my!

I just took a look at my mapstats, and I'm covering more ground these days. The approximate total countries is now up from 3 to 8.

Whoo hoo!

In other news... South Americans apparently are still protesting my blog.

UPDATE: Total Countries: 9

United States, Canada, France, Denmark, Poland, Saudi Arabia, China, Korea, and New Zealand.

Stale

Once again, I've grown weary of the look of my site. Working on a new look. Sorry 'bout the mess.

Plans Change: REVENGE!

Have you ever had a plan for something you were worried about going well? Me too. Isn't it great when the part of the plan you're worried about goes MORE smoothly than you imagined? Yep. Now doesn't it suck incredibly when the part that you knew would be the easiest and simplest part turns around and bites in the behind? Indeed.

The Good News. This morning, my friend Jason and I successfully moved the remainder of my things from Lexington to Richmond. I grabbed a Uhaul truck at 9:30am, picked Jason up by 10, and we were at the old house by 10:30am. Loaded up the truck, and we were back in Richmond and unloaded the truck, returned it, and had some lunch by 1:00pm. I arrived back home at around 1:45pm.

The Bad News. The second part of my day was to travel back to Louisville to pick Stephanie up from the airport. At 3:25pm, I got in my car and started down the road. Almost immediately, I noticed that my brake warning indicator light glowing red on my dash as well as the ABS light. I stopped and looked at my owners manual as I had never seen that light before. Some warning indicators you can still drive with on, and some you can't. This one basically says, "DON'T DRIVE ME ANY MORE". So I turned around and parked the car back at the driveway at home. Now, thinking that the light may have just malfunctioned, I tried to restart my car (kinda like you do with Microsoft Windows)...

...Nothing.

Apparently, I'm having MORE battery issues. Seems to me (with no "mechanic skills" in me) that there's something wrong in the battery cable. Reason 1: Power Door Locks don't work. Reason 2: When set the key to the "Run Accessory" position, the stereo blinks on and off intermittently.

The Silver Lining. At the time, worried more about how Stephanie was going to get home, I called a friend to come pick me up to take me to a rental place. I tried calling Stephanie, and moments later she called me back. Luckily, her flight into Louisville had been overbooked and she volunteered to take a later flight... into Lexington. With that later flight, her mom would be able to pick her up from the airport. I then called the friend back and told him I didn't need him to get me anymore.

The Results. I'm gonna have to pay a lot for my car (1998 Chevy Cavalier) and Stephanie gets bonus money for taking later flights.

Plans Change

Originally, I was going to be in Louisville all weekend (Thursday - Sunday). I was going to visit with my big brother (Kelly.. aka Bub) and his wife (Jamie... aka... uh, Jamie), but his grand-dad got sick, like really bad ill, and the family was getting together to help him out. Since I was going to Louisville anyway, I was going to take Stephanie to the airport for her trip out to Salt Lake City.

So my plan changed, I still took Steph to the airport, but I met up with a bunch of friends that I know in town, some people I hadn't seen in about 5 years, and others I had worked with just last summer. That group of people (who all work together at Actors Theatre of Louisville) have a poker night every Thursday, and invited me along. So we sat around shooting the bull, playing good ole' Texas Hold 'Em, and drinking a few beers. I ended up crashing on a couch at my friends' apartment.

Now, my car failed to start at one point on Thursday, but I got it jumped and it was fine. Go to get in my car on Friday morning, and I turn it on just to make sure it was still workin before running in to say bye to the gang. After saying my fare-wells, I get in the car, and nothing. Dead. So I get my car jumped again, and head straight for the nearest Auto Zone to buy a battery.

Behind the counter, I met the love of my life.

...

Just kidding... wouldn't that have been cool, though?

Now, it's Saturday, and another plan changed. After Kelly had told me they weren't going to be home this weekend, I decided to make today the day I finally get all my furniture out of the house in Lexington... well, it snowed big last night. So, I'm staying at home and working on a project most of the day, lounging around, and relaxing.

I think the big thing about changing plans, is to be flexible, and not let it get to you. Just make the best out of a bad situation, even if it doesn't look like there is a "better" to the bad.

Map Stats: Update

Someone in Saudi Arabia has checked out my blog... cool.

3 Countries and counting.

The Worst "Holiday"

St. Valentine's Day

I've always hated this holiday (for various reasons at various times). But as I grew up (or at least older), I realized the deep down reason - b/c of the very reason that Chris stated.

Now, I'm not saying that when the time comes and I have a girlfriend, I won't buy her a rose (or her favorite flower) and take her to dinner on (or near) that night, but I will do that MORE than just that night. I'll do that for ANY occasion... meaning on, "I love my girlfriend day" which could and would be any day of the week. It could be a Tuesday. My "special lady" won't need to wait for February 14th to hear, "I Love You". And that day won't be a "get out of jail free" card.

My significant other will know that I care every day of her life. It's in the small things. Not the big empty gestures.

Road Trip

Friday around noon, Stephanie and I hopped in her car and headed for Oberlin, OH. We decided it would be fun to surprise Chris who was perfoming there on Friday night with The King's Singers.

After the approximately 5 hour trip, we arrived in Oberlin and Chris was definitely surprised! He was actually pretty befuddled for a while after we got there, couldn't really say much, but was very pleased to see us (especially Stephanie, of course).

Stephanie and I had an incredible time in the car on the trip up, laughing and joking, singing along to the iPod, etc. We also had a great time on the way home. Steph had to sing at church, but we got back to Lexington with enough time to eat a leisurly meal at Gold Star and had some really awesome conversation.

After church we went back to her house and rented Wedding Crashers and laughed and had more good times. I really enjoyed her company the past two days.

I find more and more that as August approaches and her eventual move to London looms ever closer, that I'm dealing with it really well... or at least better than I've dealt with people leaving before. Instead of trying to "phase" the person out... I try to enjoy and cherish the time I have with them.

But there is one thing for certain... I'm gonna miss her a lot.

Oh the places you'll go.

Virginity: Lost - volume 2

Volume 2 consists of places (that I can remember) that I wouldn't have normally gone to had it not been for Steph.

One of the great things about Stephanie is that she likes to travel. I really enjoy traveling, but rarely get the fire lit to go anywhere that's not a relatives house or a job site. Thankfully Stephanie is a traveling fire.

Places I'd never been before Steph:

San Francisco, California
- Went to visit Steph for Spring Break when she worked out there.

Asheville, North Carolina
- Steph was on tour, visited her.

Charlotte, North Carolina
- SouthEastern Theatre Conference.

Jacksonville, Florida
- SouthEastern Theatre Conference.

New York, New York
- I wasn't actually with Steph or saw her at any time during this trip... but originally we were supposed to go together for a wedding... Stephanie was unable to make it.

Oberlin, Ohio (30 min West of Cleveland)
- See post "Road Trip"

Bi-Continental

YAY! I've had my first visitor from another continent. and it's not stupid South America ;)

Thank you whoever you are, for visiting! Come back soon!

Virginity: Lost (part 1)

Stephanie Stole My Virginity!

Stephanie and I were at LiveWire the other night with Dustin & Katie. We were hanging out and playing board games and drinking coffees, when the conversation of firsts popped up, and Stephanie and I reminisced a bit over all the awesome things I've experienced in my life as a result of simply being her friend. They are simply too numerous to be contained in one post, so I'm creating a series on it. Starting... now.

Concerts

Steph took my concert virginity back in 2000. My first concert was Creed. Since then, I've pretty much been in a "monogamous concert relationship" with Steph. All the concerts I've seen have been with her (and usually a group of people, too).

Others: Billy Joel & Elton John, Barenaked Ladies, Five Iron Frenzy, and lastly Stephen Curtis Chapman & Mercy Me.

SuperBowl XL

Pittsburg Steelers 21 - Seattle Seahawks 10

It really ended up being a good game. Very close scoring until the 4th quarter when PIT grabbed their third TD of the game. But the highlights of the game (especially when your team isn't in the big game) are the commercials.

After a stale couple of years - commercial wise - the big game breaks lived up to expectations. My top picks for the commercials were:

Bud Light | Secret Fridge
Rating: Genius. Hilarious.
The payoff: the guys kneeling and bowing to await the return of the magic fridge.

Mastercard | MacGyver
Rating: Unexpected. Awesome. Genius.
The payoff: It's MacGyver!

Burger King | The Whopperettes
Rating: Funny. Entertaining.
The payoff: All the girls form a giant burger.

Budweiser | Clydesdale American Dream
Rating: Funny. Cute.
The payoff: Mom and Pop Clydesdale pushing the cart for the baby.
Reason: Clydesdales are my favorite type of horse since I was a young child.

LEAST FAVORITE COMMERCIAL(s):
Diet Pepsi
New Slogan: Brown and Bubbly.
Rating: Gross.

Goto http://video.google.com/superbowl.html to view all the commercials.

Update: Thanks to Geron for pointing this out to me. You can check out all the superbowl commercials also at iFilm.com

The Past: Revisited

Today I got something really cool in the mail. Not only was it really cool, but it actually came at a great time.

My mom not too long ago purchased one of those "all-in-one" printer/scanner/copier deals. She's really been enjoying it especially by scanning in a LOT of old pictures. Now, when I say "old" I don't mean of me as a baby.. I don't even mean my mom or dad as a baby... I mean my Grandparents' parents as babies! Of course, I don't know many of those people. I actually don't even remember one of my grandfathers... and only vaguely recall the other one and one of my grandmothers.

The photos that I really enjoyed were some that I didn't know existed of my life. There are pictures of me on a WaveRunner, there are pictures of me on horses, there are pictures of me snow-skiing, and there are pictures of me playing sports.

And there are pictures of my dad playing with me. Most of you probably know that my father passed away when I was about 12 years old... so having those pictures is very precious to me.

I guess after my little "quarter-life-crisis" I've been having the past couple days, it really cheered me up. It made me feel better... like I've actually experienced life... it hasn't all just gone to waste. Now I know that playing sports and skiing and all that isn't all that life has to offer, but it's a taste... and I've tasted it. It just took some photos to remind me of that.

And you know what... it tastes good.

Vague

Okay, I'm starting to get comments about the last couple of posts from people sounding worried and that sort of thing.

I'm okay.

The "Overwhelmed" post was just that I've got a lot of stuff on my plate to deal with, and at that moment I was having a tough time figuring where to start. The "Life" post was a very vague notion, I was trying to make a point without being "whiny". So here goes.

The purpose behind the Life post in particular was just me kind of looking at other people's lives and then looking at my own. Want a list? Here's a list...

- Not finished with school.
- Don't have a girlfriend, thusly no wife or kids.
- Don't have a steady job.
- Want to do things that I can't afford.

I was just going through a down couple of days, it is something that everyone does every once in a while, so it's not a big deal... especially since I've not had those kinds of days for a long time now. I appreciate people's concern... a lot, in fact... but I promise I'm okay (or at least I will be). God is challenging me... and I'll face this challenge and emerge stronger for it.

I love life and living! I love food and music! I love my friends and family, and I'm not planning on giving any of that up before my time comes.

There.

Life

I suck at this game.