Oh Happy Day!

Today, at 3:47pm, the grass just got a little greener, the sky a little blue-er, the breeze a little warmer, and the sun a little brighter.

I just received my state tax refund.

Some stress relieved for the time-being. Whew.

Bummer

Back to the drawing board, i suppose.

Addendum:
Fortunately - The way I created the template this time will leave it easier to redesign the site in the future.

Unfortunately - As I was very excited to have this design completed, but not "received" as well as I had hoped, I'm not very motivated to try anything right now.

Launch!

The new theme is finally here!! (yay!)

I need your help.
Play around on the site, tell me if anything isn't working, or if a particular thing looks really weird. Basically try to "break" the site.. test it out.

The only thing that isn't at full strength yet is the "gallery". It's basically customized, but I'm still tweaking it.

Roam around, try things out, and tell me what you think. The contact me and let me know what you think. What's wrong? What's good? Of course comments on this post are welcomed and encouraged, as always.

Thanks,
spg

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.

Overwhelmed

Are there ever days when you really get to thinking about life, and all the things you need to do or want to do, and you just get this overwhelmed feeling like you CAN'T do all of the things you want to do because of all the things you need to, should, or have to do? Overwhelmed to the point of paralysis?

Yeah, me too. Today is one of those days.

Congratulations

Congratulations, Geron and Lydia!

Geekery

One of my favorite TV channels to watch is the Discovery Channel. Some of my favorites are about modern engineering like tunnels, dams, bridges, etc. Well, today I was watching a program and it was really cool. And it was something that really hit me as being brilliant due to recent events.

This program was called Extreme Engineering, and it proposed to building a tunnel from New York to London in which a train would travel in only an hour. NEW YORK to LONDON in an HOUR!!!

The tunnel would be a floating tunnel tethered to the ocean floor, and the train would be propelled via magnets in a sealed vacuum type tunnel. The train would reach speeds up to 5000 miles an hour. This would be made safe to riders by the train gradually speeding up to top speed over the course of 18 minutes... then the train would travel at top speed for 20 minutes and then DEcellerate for 18 minutes until arriving at the opposite station.

Now the reason that this makes me all giddy is the fact that Stephanie will be living in London with Chris. Of course, the cost of this thing and the amount of resources required mean that it probably won't be built in my life-time. But it's still really cool. Better than a 14 hour flight. And people could actually live on one continent and work on the other.

Cool.

Relief

Well, one down, another one to go. Stephanie's surgery went okay. They saw what they needed to see, but couldn't do what they needed to do. So she'll have to go back in at some point for a more major surgery. Tuesday and today were spent hanging out w/ Steph and helping her with anything she needed. Mostly we just watched movies though.

Wednesday, I worked all day at church. As you may (or may not) know, our new lighting system at church has basically had the flu, and we've been on the phone so much with an ETC tech that they've given us a direct line (just kidding). So the regional manager came out and took a look at our system to see just what was going on. He found the major problem, and fixed a couple small problems along the way. Also, I got some official training from the guy. Up until that point, I was just learning on my own, figuring out what I needed when I needed it. Very productive day on Wednesday. Tuesday and Thursday... not so much.

Day 3

I'm getting ready to start Day 3 in Week 1 of my 12 week devotional. Thinking about it some yesterday, I decided (at least for now) not to go to LiveWire everyday. I'm going to pick two days a week to do that. It could get really expensive going there EVERY morning. The two days may be random each week, or if I figure out a good schedule they could be consistant.

So far it's going well. I'd also like to share something a friend sent me...

"'How does an apple ripen? It just sits in the sun.' A small green apple cannot ripen in one night by tightening all its muscles...to find itself the next morning miraculously large, red, ripe and juicy beside its small green counterparts...We must wait for God, we must be awake; we must trust in His hidden action within us."

On a parting note - Stephanie should be in the hospital right now undergoing a "procedure". Pray for her that all goes well, and for a quick, easy, and full recovery.

Tagged

... I'm it... you're next!

Jeff from Beyond the Pixels tagged me.

FOUR JOBS YOU'VE HAD IN YOUR LIFE:
| Lighting Designer
| Cashier @ K-mart
| Pharmacy Tech
| Bagger

FOUR MOVIES YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:
| Pirates of the Carribean
| Airplane!
| Anchorman
| Zoolander

FOUR TV SHOWS YOU LOVE TO WATCH:
| Friends
| Family Guy
| Stargate (SG-1 & Atlantis)
| My Name is Earl

FOUR CITIES YOU'VE LIVED IN:
| Somerset, KY
| Richmond, KY
| Lexington, KY
| Dayton, OH

FOUR PLACES YOU'VE BEEN ON VACATION:
| California
| Gatlinburg, TN
| New York, NY
| Valdosta, GA

FOUR PLACES YOU'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
| Nashville, TN
| Columbus, OH
| Someplace cold w/Snow to ski on.
| Someplace warm w/a beach.

FOUR OF YOUR FAVORITE FOODS:
| Kraft Mac & Cheese
| Sushi
| Mexican
| Italian

FOUR OF YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:
| Miyako's
| Dudley's
| Taco Bell
| Casa Cafe

FOUR SCHOOLS YOU'VE ATTENDED:
| Eastern Ky University
| Somerset Community College
| Southwestern Pulaski Co. High
| Southern Jr. High

FOUR WEBSITES YOU VISIT DAILY:
| anamericangirlinlondon.blogspot.com
| myspace.com
| patricklynndrury.blogspot.com
| blogger.com

FOUR TAGGED:
| Stephanie
| Dustin
| Patrick
| Geron

The Beginning

Wow. I feel great. I started my daily devotion today, and it's just simply amazing how starting my day off with God just leaves you feeling refreshed!

I can't wait to start tomorrow... but first... on with today.

Weekend Rewind

Pretty decent weekend. Friday, after grabbing some Taco Bell for the both of us, I hung out with Steph at her house for a while. Then I went and saw "Screamin' Heat" at The Paddy Wagon in Richmond. It was a blast. One of the members of the band is a friend of mine from good ole' Prestonsburg who lives in Richmond. It was good to catch up a bit.

On Satruday, I went to church early to help debug our lighting system a bit before the regular weekend setup got underway. Matt and I grabbed some lunch and came back to install a few rack drawers and shelves behind the monitor console. After setup, I did a little house-keeping with the lighting gear. For the service, I ran the stage cam. It wasn't a roving stage cam, but I could still get some really good shots and sweeps.

Sunday morning came way too early, and I was back at church to operate a camera. I operated my usual camera all the way through rehearsal, and then one of the other ops back or neck was bothering them, so we switched cameras... RIGHT BEFORE THE SERVICE. Of course the camera was all setup for him, and I felt like I had to fight the thing the whole service. Finally by the last 5 minutes of the service, I had everything adjusted to my liking. Right after the service I headed to the house to pack up a couple of boxes. Then I headed home to watch the AFC Playoffs (Steelers vs. Broncos... Steelers won 34-17). And the rest of the evening is free to relax and enjoy....

ahhh....

Back to Basics

Well, I'm back in Richmond, finally. The past week has been a blast and there's been some growth, some work, and some fun.

I'm pretty excited about something that I've never really done before. See I grew up Catholic, and we were never really encouraged to read the bible... we weren't discouraged, mind you. So in my spiritual development, even though I've been a Christian all my life, I feel very young in knowing scripture. So, starting Monday, I'm going to start a devotional that Ben gave me.

Again, I'm pretty excited about this. I really needed to make more time for God in my life and study the Word and pray daily. I feel like I'm at a breaking point in my faith journey, and this is the only way I'll be able to grow further. I'll probably put some of my thoughts and things down on paper, and probably put some here, too. Until then, pray for me for commitment and perseverance. God Bless.

Rest Stop

Reporting LIVE from Nashville, TN.

We've arrived back in Nashville from the final EDGE conference till December. We're all pretty tired, and all the guys that live in the house I'm staying at are all just kind of chillin'.

I've decided to stay in Spring Hill for a couple days in order to visit with Ben and the guys a little without the stress and long hours of being smack-dab in the middle of a tightly-packed event.

... in other news: I signed up for a myspace account.

Arrived at the Edge

Reporting to you LIVE from Gatlinburg, TN.

Driving today was done primarily in rain - which kinda sucks. A fairly fun and uneventful trip. Tonight everyone involved in the conference (that's here) is going to Cherokee Grill for dinner before starting setup and getting ready for the 1200+ students that will arrive tomorrow evening.

The conference in Gatlinburg is a little different than the two in North Carolina. The students will be broken up into two (2) groups of approximately 600 each. Then we will have identical worship services for each, one right after the other. The concert for Sunday night will happen twice (once for each group). The other difference is that there's no available time for the bible studies that take place during the other two events. This time is replaced with free time to roam in Gatlinburg.

Everytime I come to this town, there's one thing I always make sure to do... get a donut from the Donut Friar. They make some AMAZING donuts. mmm...

Map Stats

Okay, here's a neat little trinket I discovered online. It's called mapstats. It takes the daily stats from the visitors of your page and puts them on a GoogleMaps map.

Check it out by clicking on this link.

July

Dustin got this email and forwarded it to me, you basically look at the month you were born and it gives a description of you. Here's what it said for July (my birth month)... let me know how accurately YOU think this describes me, or let me know which qualities miss the mark. Here goes:

Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people's feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional, temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved.

There it is... now comment!

AFC Playoffs

Well, the Bengals are out of the playoffs this season. Yesterday they fell to North Division rivals Pittsburg Steelers in the Wildcard Matchup as starting quarterback Carson Palmer fell from a torn ACL on only his second play of the game after a bad hit to the knee by a Steelers player. This brought in second string QB Kitna who rallied well during the first half, but seemed gun-shy after half-time. The Steelers would've had a better run for their money had Palmer not been taken out, especially so early.

Am I disappointed? Yes. But I'm very proud of the Bengals for their season. They proved that they are no longer a team to be thought of lightly. And as the case always is in sports - there's always next year. WHO DEY!!

Bengals Watch - over and out.

Revolution

Another reason I love my church home is their willing to be daring, different, to not grow stale, but keep The Word living and breathing for the changing culture.

Today, Glen Schneiders, our senior minister made his entrance onto the stage riding second seat on a Harley driven (and owned) by our music minister, Mary Beth Mankel, to illustrate a point.

The serene image many/most of us have in our minds of Christ is probably that of a pleasant, peaceful, soft-spoken man is probably an inacurate one. He was a rebel, a revolutionary. He hung out with sinners, the lame, the poor, and turned over tables in public places.

I love the picture that they showed on the screens today. It's one I remember being shown before of Jesus in a white muscle shirt and jeans, long stragly hair, and a tatoo (a heart with "Father" on it and a cross stuck in). If I'm able to find a copy of that image I'll post it here somewhere.

What a Crock

Okay, so the weather today done went and ticked me off. What happened to the warm "all I need is a light long sleeved shirt" weather that we had yesterday? I didn't wear a coat all day yesterday, and then today, I have to bumdle up in a heavy coat, gloves, scarf, ear-muffs, and hat just to function!

Weather, make up your mind.

Home and Christmas Review

Well, I am officially home from the first two edge conferences. And I mean HOME. I started my move back to Richmond last night... even slept here in my new bed.

I had a really great Christmas this year. I actually made it up North to see my mom, and despite having to travel to Nashville on Christmas Eve, got to see some family in the process, too. I raked in the loot, too.

>> Family Guy, vol 3
>> Blues Brothers
>> A cool handmade bookmark made out of copper (Katie's aunt made)
>> Stargate SG-1, season 4
>> Stargate Atlantis, season 1
>> Pirates of the Caribean
>> 1GB USB Flash Drive
>> Jeff Foxworthy's "Redneck Dictionary"
>> Two new pair of pants and a sweater
>> A new comforter, sheets, and pillow cases
>> New pillows and matress pads

It still would've been nice to be able to be with all my friends for New Years Eve, but I was part of something great this past week, and I did get to spend the time with a couple of friends, and a few new friends.

Podcast

Yep, the "buzzword" for 2005.

Podcast.

I've heard a lot about podcasting over the past few months, thought it was an interesting notion, but never really investigated it any further. Recently, a friend of mine, Mike Tuttle, started his own podcast called Skypieces Radio. So, with open ears, an open mind, and iTunes open... I checked it out.

Now podcasts can be about anything from practically anyone with a computer, a microphone, and something to say. One of Mike's loves is music. He loves all kinds of music. He uses his weekly podcast as a platform for spreading the word about all the great independant music he finds.

I've been a subscriber of Skypieces Radio since it's first episode (just launched it's fifth as of Dec 30, 2005). One of the things I like about it is hearing the new music. Mike weeds through the crap for you, and gets the good stuff to your ears. Another thing that I like about his show, is that I really enjoy having something to look forward to, and every week, when iTunes starts downloading the next episode of Skypieces Radio, I start to get excited, and usually try to listen to it right away.

Today, for the first time, I finally loaded the podcast onto my iPod and listened to all five episodes in a row travelling from Nashville, TN, to Lexington, KY. It kept me awake, entertained, hands drumming, and humming for two and a half (out of four) hours.

Home Soon

Well, we're back in Nashville, TN from the EDGE Conferences. It's been really fun, and while we were there, the weather was MUCH nicer than last year.

There was an awesome illusionist, Brock Gill, and Christian group The Swift gave a concert at both NC locations. Carl Cartee and Wayne Kerr led worship at Ridgecrest and Caswell, respectively. I got a chance to talk to all of these guys at some point, and they're all really cool people.

Luckily there were no other big problems getting to North Carolina, nor any major hickups travelling the rest of the week (Praise God). I'm very excited to be getting home to the Lexington/Richmond area this week. Most of all I'm looking forward to moving back to Richmond. Of course, I'll only be in town for a week or two-ish and then I'll be back in Tennessee for the third installment of this season's EDGE in Gatlinburg.

To all my "house boyz & girlz" back home - see you soon!

2006

!! HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Busted Photos

Reporting to you LIVE from beautiful Oak Island, NC!

Here's a few photos from the accident mentioned in the previous post. We really were very fortunate that the van and trailer didn't start rolling. Also, in retrospect, I remember standing outside after the accident thinking with the rest of the guys that it was one awesome ride!

As you can see in a couple of the photos, one of the passenger side tires of the trailer was flat busted, and the other one wound up completely missing. We later found it after the trailer had been towed back to the house UNDERNEATH the trailer!

Delayed...

Reporting LIVE from Nashville, TN...

As many of you know, between Christmas and New Year's, I travel to Nashville and to various parts of North Carolina for The Edge Conference. This year, our start has been a bit delayed due to an accident.

[12:00 pm] We loaded up a big 16x7 trailer with sound equipment and merch, etc... hitched it up to the van, and headed out. [1:15 pm] About five to ten miles down the road, the van began to swerve a bit. Our driver did the best he could, but the trailer we were towing seemed to want to take over. The swerving turned into 180 degree spin, and for a few seconds, the trailer was actually towing us. The trailer seemed bored with that, and spun the van another 180 degrees back into the lead. At this point, the van was being forced into the soft median, and the trailer wanted to continue on, and jack-knifed the van.

When everything stopped, the trailer and the van made an 'L' shape. No one inside the van was hurt - thank God - and no one else was really on the road. When we all piled out of the van, we surveyed the situation and noticed that on one side of the trailer, one of the tires were shredded, and the other one was completely missing! - Rim, hub, and all!

A state trooper, a sheriff, many awesome people stopping to ask if we're okay or need assistance, and a couple hours standing in the cold later - and we're back at the house where we left from... plans are in motion to get trailers in order to get equipment and people to N.Carolina tonight.

... Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Not too sure when the next time I'll be able to post is, so I figured I'd go ahead and wish everyone safe travels, warm family gatherings, and lots of good cheer.

Between now, and New Years, I'll be in Columbus, OH; Lexington, KY; Nashville, TN; and Ridgecrest & Caswell, NC. A lot of traveling, and a lot of fun, growth, work, learning, and excitement!

Starting...

It's starting to feel a little more like Christmas to me. Tonight - Stephanie, Dustin, Katie, and I got together at Steph's to make Christmas Cookies and Sweets. Dustin and Katie made a bunch of different cookies, and I taught Steph how to make Oreo Balls. Oreo Balls have 3 ingredients: Oreo's, Cream Cheese, and White Chocolate... and they taste A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I discovered them around last Thanksgiving, made some myself, and everyone who has tried them has absolutely loved them! Anyway, while making cookies and stuff, we listened to lots of Christmas music. Two things that always put me in a Christmas mood are Trans Siberian Orchestra, and the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Also, I received my first present of the season - Volume 3 of the Family Guy DVD sets. (Thanks, Steph!) I love Family Guy and only own the first Volume of the DVDs... incredibly funny!

Another thing that helped me get a little more in the spirit was a Christmas Concert that I went to on Sunday night with Steph. We went to see Mercy Me & Steven Curtis Chapman at Rupp. It was a lot of fun. The music was awesome - Steph has a huge heart for Chapman's values on adoption. And at the beginning, both MM & SCC was on stage at the same time doing a "Songs We're Not Going to Play" set where they played quick excerpts from some of their more popular songs. Being a lighting technician and designer, I really took in the fantastic and wonderful design. Around 75 - 100 intelligent fixtures painting the air and adding another dimension to the music. I'll post a few pictures from the concert when I get a chance.

NFL Playoffs

Here's what the playoff bracket would look like if the regular season ended today:

FOOTBALL!!!

A great day (so far) in the game of football...

>> Whoo HOO! Indianapolis has been knocked off their high horse! San Diego whomped 'em a few hours ago with a score of 26 - 17.

>> Cinci is leading the Detroit Lions 24 - 7 at half-time!!
. . . .update: CINCI WON 41 - 17!!!

>> Steelers easily defeated the Vikings, 18 - 3. Good for Dustin, okay for me.

Kong

Went to see KING KONG last night with Dustin, Katie, Jarred, Kelly, and Katie/Jarred's Dad. It was great - really long, though, and I had to pee through 2/3 of the movie... thanks Peter Jackson.

This great remake of a classic film was just that; great! Everything one remembers and loves and thinks about when they think about King Kong is in this movie. With the technology available to the movie industry now, it was finally time for this movie to be reincarnated. And Peter Jackson did right by this movie.

I really enjoyed the acting in this movie, as well. I never really thought anything about Namoi Watts, or to that fact, think I've seen anything she's ever been in... but I enjoyed and was pleased by her performance as Ann Darrow. Jack Black even amazed me in his role of the filmmaker, Carl Denham. The screenwriter/love interest of Jack Driscol was well portrayed by Adrien Brody.

Definitely see this movie in the theatre! But don't sit too close... you might get sea-sick.

Quote

"... and it was a happy place; filled with love and laughter."

Chandler M. Bing
Friends - The Last One

Chronicles of Narnia

So as I said on Tuesday - I went to see Chronicles of Narnia with Dustin, Katie, Jason and Kathryn. And usually a movie like this I make sure to include Steph in, but she and Chris decided to hold off until he makes it back to the States to see it together.

The first of (hopefully) many movie adaptations of C.S. Lewis' children's books, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was incredible. I have been a fan of Chronicles since I first read them in 4th grade. I'm not a huge reader, but when I get hooked on a book, it's just about all I do in my spare time. I have owned three sets of these books, and worn out the first two via reading them so much.

At one point during the movie, I thought that this must've been what fans of Lord of the Rings went through in anticipation and during those movies.

When asked what I thought of the movie, I've responded with, "it was like they reached into my imagination and put it on the screen."

Bengals Watch

Okay, the Bengals are pretty set in the playoffs. Right now, they're seeded third in the AFC right behind the Denver Broncos. I've researched all the scenarios for playoffs and really want Denver to lose any or all of their remaining division games, the Steelers need to lose in order for Cincy to be North Division Champs (sorry, Dustin), and needs Kansas City and San Diego losses (sorry, SFB).

Right now, as it stands, Cincy will be facing the Steelers in the first round of the playoffs with a home field advantage.

To be honest... all this stuff is quite confusing to me, I just know what I read, I don't exactly know how it all works. As long as my team is going the distance, that's cool with me. :)

Rapid Fire

No long stories... just the facts...

>> Sunday, operated roaming stage cam. Had a blast! Not as good as Patrick, though. :)

>> Still working Sudoku puzzles.

>> Half-way through reading WICKED. It's getting really good.

>> Saw Chronicles of Narnia last night with Dustin, Katie, Jason, and Kathryn. It was AWESOME. More on that later.

>> Saw Aeon Flux on Sunday evening. Translated well from MTV animation to Big Screen live action. No oscar performances, but an entertaining movie. I enjoyed it.

Cheesy Post

While shopping at the grocery store for snacks the other day, I was in the cracker aisle (where I belong), and passed by - as I had many times before - the Easy Cheese. It seemed to call out to me this time though. I reached out and grabbed it and put it in the basket.

When I got home, it was like an old friend long forgotten. I remember when I was younger, I used to go through cans of easy cheese like they were nothing. I remember loving to make designs on the crackers. Those were simpler times.

Why do things have to change?

Chocolate Drops of Heaven

I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Before I ever tasted a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, I was dipping Hershey's candy bar into a jar of JIF.

Growing up, I also loved Snicker's candy bars... but when I got braces in Jr. High, I wasn't allowed to have caramel any more. Around that time, they came out with Peanut Butter Snickers... and my taste buds were saved. Later, even TWIX came out with a peanut butter version, which I also fell in love with. I actually like the peanut butter versions of most candybars better than the caramel versions.

So when at Steph's house one day, I was introduced to Peanut Butter Kisses!!! Fantastic!!! Then just the other day, I was shopping and saw them... I immediatly bought two bags. They are so tasty!

News of Note

News from around the net...

- iPod underwear

- Superman's Lunchbox?

- Snake vs. Cow

Bengals 10 - 3

The Bengals defeated the Browns this afternoon in another step toward the playoffs...

"How long can it last?

No one is talking Super Bowl yet - well, except for receiver Chad Johnson. But with the no-huddle offense on a roll, the defense getting turnovers at a remarkable rate and the breaks falling their way, these Bengals are a team that no one would like to face in the playoffs.

Not even Indianapolis."

Rapid Fire

No long stories (stop cheering), just the facts:

-> At Church - old console froze up, a replacement came in while ours is being fixed.

-> Christmas time - mixed feelings. Love giving, love receiving, love my savior Jesus Christ. Don't mind shopping. Hate trying to figure out what to get people.

-> Get to operate the "roaming cam" for church tomorrow morning.

-> Got hooked on Sudoku. A number based crossword puzzle type game.

-> Finished reading DARK LORD: The Rise of Darth Vader. Takes place shortly after SW: Episode III and about 18 or so years before the events of the original trilogy (when Luke and Leia were just babies).

-> Started reading WICKED: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

A New Day - Gear

Here's the sweet new setup we have at church for the lighting system. What's been added is the two monitors on the right, the keyboard, mouse, and the server (CPU). The new system turns our old lighting console (the big grey thing with lots of buttons and sliders) into a big giant keyboard. It's really awesome. It has CAD and 3D visualization software built in. So, I can see what the lights will look like, without actually turning them on. I can see what people will look like on stage, as well as placing risers and musical instruments. I love it.

Now, the new board is just part of what's cool about the new building. The control booth is not a loft way in the back of the building... it's now a rolling cart... well not so much cart as platform... a 2 1/2 ton, high tech, monster of a platform - affectionately known as, "the barge".

The Barge. A funny story about the first weekend of services was that due to the incredible high quality of the sound system, the subwoofers actually made the booth rattle... kind of like when you're driving down the road and a car with WAY too much bass pulls up next to you at a red light and you think that their car is going to fall apart from all the rattling.

The next day, our TD found a "To Do" list in the booth, it read:
- Install HEMI in the booth.
- Install hydraulics lifts.
- Install Neon lights underneath.

There are now efforts underway to dampen the sound of the barge. :)

Hear Ye, Here Ye

I am proud to announce (with permission) the return to the blogging scene, a dear friend of mine. Ladies and Gentlemen. Run, don't walk. To
an American Girl in London.

After a hiatus of unimaginable proportions, she's back with a new style, a new outlook on life, and as quirky and as (so she thinks ;)) humorous as ever!

To the right is a screen shot of her page. Just a sneak peek at what's in store. Go check it out. And when you come back tell me what you think of it. I have a special interest in it because I designed the look and layout of her new template!

I'm sure I speak for her as well when I say, we both hope you like it.

Some of you may recall about a month or so ago (around october) when I was talking about the secret project I was working on... as well as how to build a british flag from scratch

A New Day ... Rewind

Whew... the past week has been a whirlwind. I, along with many others, moved my church into the new building, and prepared for the first weekend of services in the new main room.

I figured it up, and I worked around 80 or 85 hours this week (Sunday - Sunday). Many people commented on seeing me there so much, asked me where my bed was, and if I was spending the night on the catwalks or in the booth, or if I slept at all. It was actually a lot of hard work. I remember coming home most nights, sitting down on my couch, turning on the TV, and the next thing I knew - waking up in the morning.

The first weekend services were awesome. The new sound system is incredible - installed by FORD A/V. The video system which was designed/installed by Mankin Media, was a treat for the eyes. Not only were these guys awesome intallers, but they are great people to be around and hang with. In Lighting World... our upgrades consisted of an Emphasis Control Server by ETC, and 6 Martin MAC 500's (intelligent/moving lights), which we only had four of for the first weekend.

For the actual services themselves, I had the time of my life. The music was awesome. There was a huge choir with a full band including brass and string instruments which sounded incredible. I could totally cut loose with the lights. There was a decent drama, and a great message. There was a video that got me all choked up. And we had four cameras for iMag (image magnification) two in the house, and two onstage cameras (one roaming).

The end product was worth all the restless and sleepless nights; all the stress and worry; and all the time and energy.

It was an awesome experience to be a part of something really huge and impacting like that.

Who Dey???

Welcome to the Jungle

The Cincinnati Bengals are closer than ever to their first division title in 15 years (sixth overall), as well as closing in on a home-field advantage for the playoffs.

Along with battling the Pittsburg Steelers for the AFC North Division Championship, there's also a chance at second seed in the AFC playoffs. A lot of things need to go their way in order to beat out the Denver Broncos for that slot. A second seed would mean a week off for the bengals plus home-field advantage.

Meet Hero

Let me introduce you to "Hero". I created him on a fun little website where you can customize a "Sonic The Hedgehog-like" character.

In other news... my life is once again non-hectic - at least for a week... maybe two. A full report on what I've been up to will come later. Probably tomorrow. It's been exciting, frustrating, tiring, fun, amazing, fulfilling past week or two.

Until then go create one of your own.

Three Words

Worried. Stressed. Tired.

Update: 12.02.05 | I'm not worried anymore... not as much stressed... still tired.

Tired

Man will I be glad when this week is over!

Well, back to work.

RENT

I had the opportunity to see the new movie RENT this weekend. It's a movie adaptation of the Broadway musical. It was fantastic. Most of the original Broadway actors reprised their roles. Only two did not... and they were as terrific as the rest of the cast. The translation to the big screen was made well by director Chris Columbus.

A lot of the shorter songs that were sung in the stage version were changed to dialogue for the screen version. The first couple of times this occured, it took my by surprise and I was mildly disappointed, but I soon adjusted to it, and was able to enjoy the rest of the film... and did I ever!

I thoroughly enjoyed myself the entire length of the movie. I never looked at my watch, and I was very engaged in what was going on. One of the best things for me was that I could see facial expressions of the actors, as well as getting to see most of the original actors playing the parts that I fell in love with when I first heard the music.

An excellent made film, wonderfully acted, and beautifully directed... definitely a must-buy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I'm shutting down my computer and heading North to visit the family. I hope everyone has a very safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. Whether it being a simple meal with your immediate family, or a huge brew-ha-ha with cousins, grandparents, aunts & uncles, and relatives you hardly ever see, or didn't know about!

Done

11:00pm. We finished strike for A Christmas Story. It only took us an hour and a half to fully break down the set and load it into the truck. I got an interesting taste of tour life. I really think it'd be fun to be either cast or crew on a truck and bus tour. At least for a while.

As I sort of mentioned in a previous post, we performed in Somerset, KY tonight. Somerset is the town I grew up in, and I was really surprised to see so many people I knew after the show. Some of my mom's friends who would always come to see me in shows when I still lived in Somerset came to see the show.

A friend of mine that I knew in High School actually came to see the show. I kind of give her a little bit of credit for getting me into acting. Her name (at the time) was Krista Brown... not sure if she's married or not, now.

One of the most awesome people I knew from growing up in Somerset was a girl by the name of Katie Gregory (now Wood). She was a lifeguard at the pool I grew up near. Now she's a judge. It was so awesome to see her, as well as all the people that came to see the show that I knew!

Almost Home

One more performance, load-out, and a night at Hampton Inn, and I'm home free. I've really enjoyed my time here, but it'll be good to get back home. A lot of things in the works, and I need to get working on them.

A Christmas Story

Y'know... the story about Ralphie and his Official Red Ryder 200 Shot Carbine Action Range Model Air Rifle (BB Gun)?

The Show opens tonight for public audiences in Prestonsburg, KY.

Showtimes:
- Friday, November 18, @ 7:30pm at the MAC
- Saturday, November 19, @ 7:30pm at the MAC
- Tuesday, November 22, @ 7:00 at The Center in Somerset, KY

I play a few roles in the show. The main one is SCUT FARKAS, the yellow-eyed bully. I also play Black Bart and a random Santa's Elf. Come out and see the show, it's a great one to take the family to!

Check out either www.macarts.com or www.centertech.com for ticket information and to double check showtimes.

Batch of Firsts

The past few days have been pretty packed here in Prestonsburg. I've been busy helping to get the set finished on time. Over the past days, I've done a few interesting things that I've never done before.

- Wallpapered a room
- Layed down linoleum
- Installed a door
- helped build a staircase

I found most of it to be a lot easier than I had anticipated, which is great.

In other news... sort of... A Christmas Story opened this morning to hundreds of anxious kids in our first of many school matinee performances. We're all pretty proud of this show, especially since many of the actors put a lot of blood and sweat into the set, too.

A new bit for me this year is at the top of ACT II. I'm one of Santa's "elves" that help the kids see Santa, and keep the line of kids flowing. It's one of my favorite on-stage moments of the show!

I'm slightly dreading tomorrow's performances, though... and yes, I did say performances (plural). Tomorrow we have 3 (count 'em) shows. Two school matinee shows, and one evening public performance. It should prove interesting. I just hope the kids (and some of the adults) don't expend all their energy in the first two shows, so that the general public audience gets their money's worth.

OUCH!

Still in Prestonsburg... week two. This weekend the scenic designer for the show came in to work on the set a bit. The set had been built (mostly) off-site at Morehead University's Theatre Department. There was still a LOT to do. I went in to help on Saturday, thinking that I would be painting... ended up building. Worked about eight hours on Saturday (after rehearsal and posting here).

As I was leaving work, I turned my ankle. It was by far the most pain I can remember being in. Luckily, I was still able to walk on it. I woke up Sunday morning and was barely able to stand.

I knew how much work needed to be done on the set, so I went in around 11:00am to help out more, hobbling around on my one good leg. We worked for a few hours then loaded the set into the budget truck to take it to the actual performace space. We made sure everything was labeled properly in order to put it back together correctly.

At the MAC we unloaded the truck, put the set back together... and kept working. We finally finished for the evening around 10:00pm. A full 11 hours of work... yikes! It felt like the hours I'm used to putting in during the JWT's summer season.

Today, my ankle feels a little better, not quite as stiff... but still pretty painful to walk on. Hopefully, it'll start feeling better in the next day or two.

Take a Hike, eh?

I did just that. Thursday, a couple friends and I hiked all over Jenny Wiley State Park. There are several hiking trails setup through the mountains and along the lake. The total trek was around 6 miles... and there were a lot of steep uphill legs. It was great. The weather was perfect, the trees were beautiful, and the exercise was invigorating! Just another reason why I love coming back to Prestonsburg year after year.

That night a few of us went after rehearsal to the Holiday Inn which hosts a comedy club every Thursday night (for the last 17 years). They get some great comedians, none I've ever heard of, but my face and stomach always ends up sore at the end of the sets from laughing so hard. After the comedians are done, it turns into kind of a "club scene", which is cool. It's really fun to watch the "mating-rituals" happen on the dance floor.

On a last note... welcome Mikey back to the blogging scene!

How Cool am I?

The fun never stops here in grand ole' Prestonsburg. Last night to stave off the boredom after rehearsal, I trekked to Wal-mart and bought a puzzle. Not just any puzzle, mind you, but a Puzz-3D. Y'know, the puzzle where you put together a building or something like that.

Last night I bought the Notre Dame (pronounced Nohtra Dahm, not Noter Dayme) set. Started building it around 10:00pm, went to bed around 2:30 with it only half-finished... woke up this morning around 11:00am and finished it by about 1:30pm. It's pretty neat. I was hoping it would take me a bit longer, though... as now I'm back to not having anything to do in my off hours. Sigh.

It Begins

Reporting to you Live from Prestonsburg, KY.

Well, I'm all settled in here at Jenny Wiley again. The place looks pretty much like I left it. I'm actually amazed that the leaves are still on most of the trees, yet. The past couple of falls I've worked here, it's been very dead. But actually, right now it's very beautiful. Lots of Autumn-y colors, and the temperature outside during the day is very pleasant.

Friday I arrived, stopped by the office to visit for a few minutes, then went to the house, unpacked and grabbed a few groceries.

On Saturday, we had our first read through of the show. Most of the people are the same as last year, and it was kind of like a family reunion. That night a few of us went to Reno's for a drink and some food.

Sunday, Beth, Heather, and myself went to see a matinee movie... Chicken Little. It was REALLY good. Far better than I expected. It was one of those movies where I thought I would enjoy it and be entertained, but didn't expect much else. That night we had our second read through of A Christmas Story.

Right now, I'm just hanging out at the Floyd County Public Library and moochin' their high-speed internet access. I feel kinda technologically naked without my computer and all my bookmaks, etc.

Heading Out

Well gang, I figured I'd post one more time before I shut my computer down to head out to Prestonsburg. If I have the opportunity, I'll post a couple times in the next couple weeks. I won't have readily available internet access for that time, though... so who knows? And maybe I'll be too busy to post anyway... we'll see.

Until then... take care and God Bless.

Trendy... Me?

Still reporting on location at LiveWire Cafe.

I'm feeling very trendy right now. I just got up from my table to goto the restroom, and when I returned, I noticed several people (other than myself) sitting around the room with laptop computers open and working on them. Very internet-cafe' cliche'.

IM

maxx7736: You have got to read this! Link
Scott: uhm...
maxx7736: yep
Scott: ... wow...
maxx7736: yep
Scott: ... i need to bathe.

Ahh... Home

Reporting to you, on location from LiveWire Cafe in beautiful downtown Richmond, KY.

Ah... I love LiveWire. Friendly people, nice environment, wonderful beverages, and free wireless internet. Just stopping in for a bit after running some final last minute errands around Richmond.

Tomorrow, I leave for two and a half weeks for beautiful Prestonsburg, KY! *cough* Actually, in the fall and winter it's really dead and depressing there, at least scenic-ly speaking. I'll be working at good ole' JWT again this season for their production of "A CHRISTMAS STORY". Most of the cast is the same as last year, so I'll get to see some familiar friends and faces. I'll be reprising my role of SCUT FARKAS, the yellow-eyed bully.

What's really cool this year, is that we're doing three shows in Somerset (my hometown) at the Center Theatre (Center for Rural Developement). It's where I first got my start in theatre and I haven't performed on that stage in over 7 years. It should be a real treat.

Photo of the Moment

This is either totally awesome, or extremely frightening.

Sent to me by Bub.

Two Eleven

I saw gas priced at $2.11 at a BP on Winchester Road today. ROCK!

I purchased gas for $2.14 at Speedway on Todds Road, Monday. It was the first time in several months that I didn't spend over $30 for a tank of gas. Whoo hoo!

News of Note

Puh-lease. -he says with disgust. An article on CNN's website about cartoon violence and the G rating for movies.

Now the Christians are offended thanks to Winter Lights.

Do you think they know what "that" means?

Okay, everyone in Italy didn't get the memo about Halloween.

Weekend Turn-around

This weekend took an unexpected, but welcomed turn from what I had planned. Originally I was going to head up north to visit my mom for the weekend, but I ended up staying in Lexington to help out at church. On Saturday morning, I got a phone call from my good friend Ben. He was in town from Nashville with his girlfriend Rebekah. So after the Sat. evening service, we met up at Starbucks to hang out and catch up. It was really great to connect with him again.

Sunday was spent at church til noon, and then I enjoyed the afternoon to myself watching Family Guy and Simpsons DVDs, as well as working on the "secret project".

I know Monday isn't really part of the weekend, but... well... who cares. Monday was spent at church getting our new intelligent fixtures (Martin MAC 500s) ready for the demonstration of our new lighting control system (happening later this morning), and then I met up with friends Dustin & Katie for a movie, some dinner, and to watch the Steelers vs. Ravens game on TV.

Project update

Okay so the "design" part is complete, and I've created all the necessary images to mesh with the code... and I'm probably about half-way finished writing the code. This is all pretty exciting. My part of this project should be done in the next few days. And then it's just a matter of time before the "secret project" is fully revealed.

Updated Update - Okay... I've hit a snag. :(

Updated - Updated Update - FIXED!!!!!

How To

Make a British Flag from Scratch

Below are illustrations to show the process I took to build the flag. By the way, I used Photoshop for this.

First I started out with a blue background [fig 1]. Next I created the red cross [fig 2] which are two rectangles, one vertical, one horizontal. Then I added the white borders to the red cross [fig 3]. Next, [fig 4] I added the thick white diagonal bars followed by [fig 5] layering the smaller red diagonals on top of the white diagonals, while making sure the white borders from fig 3 overlapped those (see fig 6). Finally, I added a wavy texture and some shadows to make it feel more 3-D [fig 7].


Fig 1 Fig 5
Fig 2 Fig 6
Fig 3 Fig 7
Fig 4

Made from Scratch

I'm too proud of this to NOT post it. Check out this awesome British flag I made from scratch!

New Project!

I'm very excited about a project that I started working on tonight. I'm working on designing a new blog template for someone. I can't release details right now, but even I'm impressed with this one. Unfortunately the easy part is done, and the difficult and bulk of the work is still to come.

I took a cue from someone I worked with on a show once [Alex] who is a graphic artist for a web design company with his wife [Heather] pounding the code into submission. He designs in graphical medium such as Photoshop, and then his wife takes the image and writes the code to make it all to what they want. [Check them out at HeatherandAlex.com]

Updates

I've just recently discovered that Music Box Girl may be down... but not out. Apparently some deal went bad and she's hiding out from the authorities until the time is right... and when it is... she'll be back, oh yes, she will be back. Possibly under an assumed name or an alias. Y'know, to throw the flat-foots off the trail.

The Random Photos on my sidebar is back up and running, with a few changes due to laziness and not liking the way a couple photos looked.

Dwindle

Sad days ahead in the blogging world. Two more of my old favorites bite the dust. The total number of blogs I've ever linked to is 13. Listed bellow:

Stephanie - Life of the Phoenix
Music Box Girl
Dustin McClain - Life of an Eternal Colonel
Patrick Drury
Jeff Baynham - Chicken Scratch
Geron Brown - Why Would We Care
Tommy Glascock - Tommy's Generic Blog
Mr. Hibbity Gibbity
Erin Adams - Life of a Drama Mama
Katie Winebarger (McClain)
Ben Stewart
Mike Tuttle
Jon Adams

And now, I only list 5. The reason? They are the only ones to update regularly, that link to me, or that still have a blog at all. The rest either just don't post, delete their blogs, or don't like me for reasons they think are true.

Folks in my circle like myself, Patrick, Jeff, Geron, and Dustin are left to carry the torch.

Sad days...

Week End Review

I had a pretty great weekend.

Friday night, Steph and myself went looking for Halloween costumes for a party we were going to. She came up with a fun idea to dress up together as some kind of theme. She came up with the great idea to go as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Suess' The Cat in the Hat. So we went to Walmart, grabbed a few things, and went back to her house to make the costumes (while watching Smallville, which I take the credit for getting her hooked on).

Saturday, I did lights at church and then drove down to Richmond to get ready with Steph and head to the party. We did makeup to look like "Whos" but mine came out looking like Lion-O from ThunderCats. At the party we ALMOST won the costume contest, we lost to Frankenstein and his Bride. The party was great, and I got to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in a while.

Sunday came way too early after a late night at the Halloween party. I ran lights for the three services at church, which this weekend were a preview of a new type of service for when the new building opens. It's really a great idea, and I think it'll work well. After the 11:40 service, there was a cookout and games - but I didn't get to stay, I was meeting some friends to watch the Steelers/Bengals game that afternoon. My friend Dustin is a Steelers fan, so we decided it would be fun to make an afternoon of it... y'know, chips, snacks, drinks, football, etc. Unfortunately, the Bengals lost (see sidebar "Bengals Watch"), but the company was great, and we had fun watching the game. That evening we had dinner, hung around the house a little while, and then I headed home.

Muddy Waters

Right now, there's so much going on in my head that it's very difficult to form any kind of cohesive thought.

Over the past couple of days, I have definitely realized and learned some things about myself. I have some regret, some bitterness, some newfound respect, some happiness, and so on. A little of everything in a way.

A couple things I know and CAN form in some sort of solid wording, is that I have amazing friends. As well as a realization of respect and appreciation for those closest to me, and many more friends.

I wish I could more specific, but right now, my head is murky with the plethora of information that is swirling in there. And as for the thoughts I WOULD be able to relay... now is not appropriate, nor via blog. Sorry.

News of Note

This just in... from around the net.

This just takes the fun out of it.

High-tech cows.

You'll have the cake? Frustrated?

Ladies, keep up the good work. We appreciate it.

The "Down" Side

Among other things, a big bummer of being single and not living near any close friends or family is that there's no one to take care of you when you feel "yikky".

Quote of the Moment

"Guiness... I find it a refreshing substitute for... food."

Atlanta, GA - part II

Okay, the first Atlanta post event was really a cool side-note for my trip to Georgia. The real reason for being there was to design lights for a good friend of mine, Mark Smith. He and his wife (Bethany) have been good friends of mine since the summer of 2001.

This project was John Henry by a writer named John Hardy. This is the third of Hardy's plays that I've worked with Mark on (the first I performed in, the last two designed for) and the fifth overall project (see resume). Mark works for a Christian School near Atlanta called Landmark Christian School as their theatre teacher and director.

John Henry was a fairly easy project to work on. It's a small one-act show, actually only took 6 hours to complete from the time I stepped inside the building to the time the last cue was recorded. Small space + small show = easy setup.

Aside from the work, I actually got to visit with Mark and Bethany (and Biscuit!) some, which is always a blast.

Atlanta, GA

On Friday afternoon, I left my friends in Valdosta, and headed North to Atlanta to meet up with Stephanie and Chris. Chris is a member of the Kings Singers and was touring in Atlanta that day... Steph came down to visit with him on a couple of their American tour stops.

I arrived in Atlanta around 3 or 4 ish, and met up with them at their hotel. This hotel was pretty swank. In the lobby there was a bar, foosball table, pool tables, and a shuffle board table. We had the most fun with the shuffle board table. Now, I know, when I say shuffle board you think of older folks on vacation or on a cruise ship shoving pucks down a long concrete strip with a stick. Well, this was different... it was a table, the pucks were smaller, and there were no old people. After a couple games of shuffle board we went to hear Chris and the Kings Singers perform. They were REALLY tight, and really amazing.

Afterwards, the group that was hosting them had a reception for them back in the lobby of the hotel. The group was a bunch of chorale alumni of a college, and treated us to an acapella version of Circle of Life, which was really good. After that, the reception dwindled down, and Chris, Steph and I returned to play some more pool and shuffle board. About midnight they retired to their rooms, and I hit the road to try to find a hotel.

All-in-all, it was really a lot of fun... of course with the company I was with, it's difficult NOT to have fun.

The Realization

Okay, so here's the realization...

I figured it doesn't really matter if I tell people... especially in a very generic sort of way. So here goes:

Whilst down in Valdosta, I met a friend of a friend. After meeting said friend (need I say the friend was female?) I decided that she would be someone I would be interested in. So, later, I asked about her. The response was, "she has a boyfriend". Okay, so with that touch of back-story, here we go. My friend pointed out that I always seem to go for ones who are (for all intents and purposes) taken.

Later, I mentioned this phenomenon to another friend, and they totally agreed. Now here's the kicker, we realized that I do this even before finding out if she has a boyfriend.

Now... Committee... I present this to you. Why do I do this? What would cause me to do this? Also, any other comments or remarks will be eagerly received.

Valdosta, GA

Reporting to you on location in Atlanta, GA!

Part one of my week-long trip to the Peach State was awesome!! I went down I-75 as far south in Georgia as you can go without actually being in Florida. There in the town of Valdosta, I met up with three of my friends that I met at grand ole' JWT; Fiona Farrell, Sheanna Tobey, and John Hemphill. These people are some of the coolest and nicest people I know.

First off, I went to see the closing night of "NEVERMORE", a show Fiona Assistant Directed and Hemphill designed the lights for at VSU. It was a really great show. I'm quite proud of both of them. After the show we all went and did what we do best... we headed over to a really cool bar in town called O'Corley's. Got to meet a bunch of the gangs friends... most of whom were really cool and made me feel very welcome to be there.

The next day was spent sleeping in/recovering from the night before... but for dinner my friends and I went to Mori's, a really good Hibatchi/Sushi place. We STUFFED ourselves, tried going to O'Corley's again... but all the good food made us too groggy to enjoy.

Also, while in Valdosta, I came to a shocking realization about myself... one that's very puzzling. I've got some of the best minds on the issue right now. It should go to committee soon, and then hopefully in two or three years I'll have an answer.

Quick Vent

Something that always has bothered me is ignorance. Not just ignorance, but a seeming desire to remain ignorant. I learned about a particular piece of ignorance yesterday, and while it doesn't really "bother" me, it has been on my mind a lot since I learned of it. So, I'm engaging in a quick therapy session ala venting on my blog.

The particular bit and kind of ignorance I'm thinking of is EASILY remedied. "How?" you may ask... well, let me tell you. Ask questions. This method will accomplish finding the truth out about a topic, hands-down... especially if it envolves a person.

The kind of ignorance that I talk about is the kind that spreads rumors and gossip. "But, Scott... why do people want to do this?" Well, some people like to be the person that "knows everything"... some may call them a "know-it-all"... most of the time, in fact, they know very little. Often, if they disagree with something, instead of presenting information to a second party to show them how they came up with their opinion or their conclusion, they simply will degrade the other person or their statement with unintelligent remarks (for example: "that's just dumb", or "you're an idiot").

Ahh... thanks for listening.

News of Note

This just in... from around the web.

Mosquitos with glowing gonads

Missing Cow - Fowl Play Suspected

Snake vs. Cat

Artificial Replacement Dog Testicles

Snake vs. Cat (Snake Wins)

Bengals Win Streak Ends

With their best start since 1988, Cincinnati lost their first game this season after a 4 game winning streak. The Jacksonville Jaguars played a solid game against the Bengals, while Cincinnati showed that they are indeed a different team than years past. Previous Cincy teams would have collapsed under the pressure or given up at a 7 - 20 deficit in the 3rd quarter. But the Bengals rallied back with two field goals within 3 minutes in the 3rd quarter and a touchdown pass in the 4th. Unfortunately Cincinnati couldn't finish off the 2-minute drill with 2:42 remaining in the final quarter, barely losing to Jacksonville 20 - 23.