Made me laugh

I decided I'm going to start posting things that I find funny. Hopefully you will find it funny too.

Click to see the clip from the tv show Community

http://www.hulu.com/watch/97892/community-la-biblioteca#s-p1-st-i1

Long Overdue Update

Many of you have been reminding me to update my blog, but I keep forgetting. Sorry! I know it has been months, so I will give a brief run down of the last few months.

Went hiking up Mailbox peak - hardest hike I've ever done.
Became an uncle for the second time.
Introduced my 3 year old niece to sparklers.
Brought my brother and sister in law on their first overnight hiking experience.
Went to Mexico with my family.
Joined a worship team at my church (Bethany in Seattle)
My truck was broken into - they stole my registration to my truck and insurance card
Bought a town house.

Instead of overwhelming everyone with one long blog explaining each thing, I'll say ask me and I'll give details.

As for my house, it's a 3 bedroom townhouse and I went to take a few pictures of it on Saturday. I have posted the pictures here. It should be finished being built mid October and I can move in hopefully the third weekend of October. I'm still in the process of looking for roommates to help out with the house payments. I haven't posted anything on facebook yet, so please leave comments here and not there for the time being. :-)

With all of this going on, I will do better keeping this up to date with things I'm looking for and when I will have the house warming party. I have lots to do!

Washed by the water

I'm not sure if I'm in the eye of the storm or if it is over, but either way, I am washed by the water.

The good the bad and the ugly

THE GOOD
Yesterday the weather was SO amazing i had to go outside and do something. My friend Kathryn is a member of the old wooden boat club (or something like that) on south lake union and a group of us were going to go sailing. The sailboats were all checked out for the entire day very early in the morning so we decided to go rowing on lake union instead. Now for some reason Kathryn decided to jump in her boat and take off, and me and Dave were there kinda scratching our heads. We didn't know if she had checked out one boat or two, and just then a guy who was working on a boat next to where we were standing asked if we were planning on using that one. "Sure" i said. He handed us the oars and without any other questions (or instructions) we left. 2 1/2 hours on the lake in the boat...it was great....besides the whole sorta taking it without checking it out or anything. We returned it in pristine shape, so all was well. That evening i joined half of seattle at Alki to watch the sunset. It was great.

THE BAD
Last week I was really sick and had an awful week. Couldn't concentrate, canceled all my plans besides sleep and work. At the end of the week my boss called me into her office and told me that my work isn't so hard that being sick should slow me down. She proceeded to insinuate that I'm not needed but she will give me a second chance. As a result I canceled my plans saturday and worked 11 hours and 3 hours sunday instead. Somehow i don't think it's going to be enough.

THE UGLY
It doesn't look like work will ever lighten up. I will continue to work to keep my job. However the future looks grim. I had to quit Young Life and I have more food in my cubicle than my cupboards at home. How I find these jobs, I don't know. I'm just happy I'm one of the few that still has a job....but the question lingers...."This is my life.....is this how I want to life it?"

San Juans

This last weekend a group of us went to shaw island as a sort of retreat or getaway. It was exactly what i needed. 2 days away from the computer, 2 days with my phone off, 2 days with some newer friends just chillin. I finally got to make my crepes that I've been wanting for so long and it was so nice just to eat a few meals with people. I really like this new group of people i've been hanging out with and I can't wait to do more trips with them. It was just the perfect balance of being playful and goofy yet having some time to be serious and talk about Jesus. Besides being sick it was basically an ideal weekend.

This week i've been fighting this cold and trying to stay caught up in the process. It's been rough. That's why i've not updated my blog. I'll try to keep up on it more. :-)

Camp

This weekend I went to Miracle Ranch for a 'Fusion' camp where there were (i think) 5 different small groups. Monday of last week my Young Life area director sent me an email asking if i would play guitar. I didn't know exactly what that entailed but i said yes. I have never played so much guitar in my life! My fingers are really sore, but it went well. My Young Life team had 7 kids and 3 other leaders, so I actually didn't have any responsibilities other than music, which was nice, but since they wanted songs 'the kids knew that were on the radio' or somethin, it also meant i had to find songs that were appropriate to sing and learn them. It was pretty crazy and now i'm prety tired. When i woke up this morning we had roughly 3 inches of snow so i was afraid i was going to be snowed in, however by the time we left it was melting, so that was nice.

Sometimes I'm slow

I have been working a lot lately. I definitely can not sustain this amount of work, but currently I am just happy to have a job. I'm being a little more conservative with my spending until i have a good couple months' bills covered before I do anything. I keep hearing more and more people losing their jobs. I think the national average is almost 8% now! So 2 out of every 25 people are jobless! I'm hoping to get everything under control here in the next month or so and cut down below 50 hours a week somehow. :-)

God has been trying to teach me something and I just have been getting frustrated. I feel like I'm trying to fit a square block in a circle hole and it's just not fitting. (thus the picture) I'm realizing that I'm just like the 3 year old who just keeps trying over and over to rediscover that it isn't fitting. Currently I'm giving my square block back to God. Either He needs to reshape the square block or the circle hole, because it doesn't matter how many more times I try, it isn't going to fit unless God reshapes one or the other....or Both.

Rested

I figured I'd counter my previous post. This last week was absolutely exhausting and these next few will not get any easier. Instead of coming up with huge plans this weekend I planned nothing. Friday night there was a worship night at my church which was exactly what i needed. Saturday morning I walked I'm guessing 5 miles or so on the Burke-Gillman trail while reading the book the Alchemist. I managed to finish it on that walk. It was quite an intriguing read. Then a few hours later i met up with some people to play volleyball/bocce ball/toss frisbees and it was just so nice to run around and play. A small group of us hung out for the rest of the day. I met most of them just a few weeks ago, but I had a really fun time just hanging out. Today I went to church and hung out with my friend Jill and got some stuff done. So it was quite a restful/enjoyable weekend.

I was supposed to work this weekend but my boss changed her mind around 7:30 friday night when she sent us home. I'm not sure how she knew how exhausted I was, but I hope that this will be enough rest to get me through all of this week. My 10:00 bedtime during the week has been really helpful thus far...when i've been able to keep it. (this is just a goofy pic from one of the 'parks' in seattle. it was just too cool not to take a picture).

Exhausted

After being in Seattle, I am finally feeling like this is home. Unfortunately I have over committed myself so much that I have had little time to take care of myself. Two weekends ago I went to a cabin in the woods and just hung out. It was really fun to get away. Last weekend I went to a retreat with my church (bethany) and met a lot of people my age and that was really fun also. This last weekend i was supposed to go to Young Life Camp, but there were 7 guy students so all 6 guy leaders didn't need to go. So i stayed home. I worked Saturday so it was good that I stayed home.

Due to all my commitments I haven't made time to spend with friends just hanging out, having fun. I'm working from about 7am-7pm and our company just started layoffs so it's not going to get easier. every weekday night i have something going on except thursdays, but then i book my thursdays out so i don't have any nights free. So soon I will need to cut something out. Unfortunately I know what needs to go, but I don't want to let it go yet.

Today i spent the better part of 10 hours cleaning my room. I got rid of some junk i had in boxes, but didn't get rid of it all. Although it's nice to get rid of a lot of junk, it was not a fun day. :-P I just hope i can keep it clean for a while now that it's clean.

The next few weeks are going to be really busy at work. I have to learn my new responsibilities with the person leaving, we have all our other work that is half a month behind and also we have an audit. So my hours will only increase.

So right now i'm feeling really overwhelmed. Even though i had a day off today...i need a day off! I guess what i really need is a sabbath. This just came to me right now, so i guess i'm going to do that next Saturday or sunday. Cancel my plans and sabbath it up.

25 Random things

A lot of my friends are sending out a message with 25 random things about themselves. I have been compiling my list all week. Here's what I came up with:

1.) Due to watching so many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tv shows, I always wanted to explore the sewers. This desire actually didn't go away until college when I finally realized how gross that would be.

2.) I typically shave at night.

3.) I hate cucumbers more than any other food.

4.) My dream car is a 1952(or 1956) Ford Pickup(the only difference is the grill and the gas tank)

5.) The first mountain I climbed was Mt. Juneau and the whole way up I swore I'd never climb another mountain again. (I changed my mind once we reached the top).

6.) I have shared living quarters/sleeping quarters with 94 different people since I left my parents home for college. (Minimum 28 days each)....(aka I've had 94 roommates that I remember....it could be more)

7.) Growing up I never wanted to leave Puyallup. I turned down a number of opportunities to go on trips to cool places. I don't know why.

8.) I hate wearing dirty socks. Hate it.

9.) If I could live somewhere for a year it would most likely be New Zealand.

10.) I love climbing, but I'm afraid of heights.

11.) I can wiggle one ear at a time.

12.) The thing that makes me feel the most lonely is cooking a whole meal for one.

13.) I have been in an 8.0 earthquake

14.) I have driven I-5 from Skagway, AK to Tijuana, Mexico(2 separate round trips from Bellingham, WA).

15.) I've never seen the movie 'Titanic'.

16.) I think it's funny when people try to figure out my middle name.

17.) I misspell the words congratulations and guarantee almost every time. I tend not to use them in writing for this reason.

18.) I raised ostriches growing up. (Among other animals)

19.) I have an unusual fondness towards benches. I don't know why. I just like benches.

20.) I don't balance my checkbook. (I'm really good at keeping tabs in my head though).

21.) I really like it when people wave.

22.) I feel closest to God when I'm walking down the beach at night.

23.) Gelato Sorbet is my favorite desert.

24.) Every time there's an awkward silence I think about Abraham Lincoln. (Thanks Adam).

25.) I was on the chess team in Jr. High and our team won state.


So how well do you know me? Did anyone know more than 20/25?

9 Days....

So I realized at bible study tonight that I needed to write on my blog, as per the goal...Carlee you are too funny. As far as my goals are going, I have read half of "The Giver"...and so far it's awesome! I'm familiar with the first chapter of Philippians, but not memorized fully yet, and I'm playing my guitar more, but nothing written yet.

In the last 9 days, I have worked a lot...likely too much, I have community Group tuesdays and now I am going to a Men's group Wednesday nights, but it's been nice not to have young life while work is crazy. Saturday was an all day Young Life conference and I had breakfast with Carlee and Timothy up in Everett beforehand, and after I went to Jenn and Carlos' for the birthday party and house warming party and congrats to Amber and Isaac on their pregnancy party. It was fun.

This weekend I might join Matt for a fun little outing to a cabin then superbowl at Timothy and Carlee's. Next weekend is a retreat with the church I go to here. The retreat will be up near Mt. Baker, so that will be really fun. Lots to keep me busy.

Birthday stuff

I've been working a lot lately, and haven't had a lot of free time to just rest. So yesterday I just sat at home and did nothing. I played a little guitar, goofed around on the internet, watched a movie...just vegged and it was nice. This morning when I woke up, I had a random urge to go to my favorite benches in Seattle and play my guitar. There were a ton of people who apparently walk this strip so it took forever to take the pic above, but it was worth it in the end. :-) It was really cold though.

Wednesday I joined a men's group at Bethany(my church) and we're going to read the pastor's book called O2. I'm really excited because I've heard really good things about it, so I'll let you know how it is when i've read it. :-) The other two books I have decided are on my 9 books to read are The giver and the alchemist. Both have come with great recommendations. Let's see how much time i can fit in for reading.

The rest of the day I decided I didn't want to drive anywhere far. So it appears I'll just be hanging out in ballard or go to downtown Seattle and taking more pictures. I'm not sure. I just want to be outdoors and I don't want to have to drive far to get there. We'll see where I end up.

To 'Be' or to 'Do'

So something struck me at church tonight that i think is too profound for an accountant's mind. My pastor was talking about Acts 1:8 where it says "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth". He mentioned how this is what St Francis meant by "Preach the gospel on all occations and only when you have to use words." So BEING a witness and not going out to DO witness as an afternoon project.

This really put a deep impression on my heart in regard to Christianity in general. How some people "do" christianity vs. "BEing" christian. For example, it's easy to 'do' good things, it's altogether different for one to 'be' good. Similarly, it's easy to go to church and do things in the name of Christ, but it is altogether different to 'BE' Christ.

Thoughts?

9 Goals for 2009

I don't normally do 'new year's resolutions' so instead I decided to make some goals for 2009 instead. A resolution seems so concrete, whereas a goal is something you reach for and it's okay to come close. I've been thinking pretty hard about what to do for my new year's goals. I've decided to go with 9's this year.

1) Blog every 9 days(so Carlee, this gives you full permission to scold me if i forget)
2) Climb 9 mountains(Mom, I'll call you when I leave and when I get back)
3) Read 9 books i've never read before. (I'm open to suggestions)
4) Write 9 songs(I don't intend on them all being good, so don't expect me to play all of them for you)
5) Spend 9 hours a month doing something for my community here in Ballard(feeding the hungry, prayer walks, cleaning up garbage on the street, etc)
6) Memorize 9 chapters of the bible. (Starting with Phillipians)
7) Write a rough draft of the first 9 chapters of a book(I've been talking about this for long enough that i should be able to start something i'm sure)
8) Run 9 miles(6 years ago i ran a 10k. Now i'd be lucky to run 1 mile)
9) Go to 9 places i've never been to before for a day(Each. Not all in the same day.)

These are highly ambitious goals for me, but we'll see how I fared in 12 months.

Entering the fall

Work has been keeping me busy, but i have had a chance to actually do some things. Last weekend I went to the aquarium with Isaac and Amber and it was such a nice way to spend a rainy day. We took some fun pictures of random things and just talked about life. Just being around people who know you is soothing to the soul.

This last weekend I went to the Faraca wedding in Tacoma and saw some other really good old friends, and i was just smiling all day just from being around such good people. I had to leave pretty early though to get up to Arlington(ish) to get to the Young Life Leader's retreat. I arrived (after getting turned around a few times) at almost 11pm so we were up a little late, so the morning was just cooking cleaning and planning then leaving. Pretty quick trip, but it was nice to be able to spend time with the leaders that i'll be around with Young Life.

Tonight we attempted to have young life, but since there is no school for them tomorrow (veterans day) only 3 kids showed up. We invited the 3 kids to join the leaders for ice cream sundaes/rootbeer floats and we just played games all night. Unfortunately I was supposed to do some work from home, so i have to get up early now...oh well, it's been SO long since I've played 4 on the couch that it was worth it! I have dusted off my camera and i've decided that i'm going to start taking pictures again. So expect at least one picture a week now. (fingers crossed)

Sometimes you get what you ask for...

I have been wanting an adventure lately. Although I have been able to see some friends and play a few games, I really needed an adventure. To simplify a long story, I joined my roomate Charles for a hike up Mount Pilchuck. It was about a 3 1/2 mile hike and we slept in the fire lookout tower at the top of the mountain. There were 3 older guys who stayed there as well and they were like kids on vacation. They had amazing cooking supplies and had steak, wine and all sorts of things you wouldn't think about bringing hiking. They were really nice guys and it wasn't a problem sharing the little space with 8 people over night (although we had a few snorers).

All in all i'm tired, i have tons to do, but when i had prayed about if i should still go, God told me "you asked for an adventure"...and he gave me one....the banner at the top of my blog is from the sunrise over the mountains. It was an amazing sunrise...one of the best i have ever seen. A picture doesn't do justice, but here's one shot:

Weekend and such

So my roomate (Charles)is starting to get better. We're all happy about that. My plans for the weekend got a bit skewed. I had a great time hanging out with Timothy and Carlee playing one of my new games "Power Grid". I think it would be more fun with more players though. After that Timothy and I went to Smoketober fest at the Parson's. It was a delicious festivity in a garage full of food, people, and beer. (My brother said the Pumpkin beer was the best.) The evening was spent watching Die Hard with Charles since he hadn't seen it before while working on a project from work.

I had bought some of those foot detox thingies and I did day 1 last night. They turned some greenish color, so i guess it did something. I didn't notice anything though. I slept in and had a good wrestle with God about doing something. In my wrestling I realized that my prayers really have become repetitive and nothing is changing. I know that asking the same thing over and over doesnt' change God's mind, yet i was praying the same thing over and over. It appears that I have forgotten that we should be discussing these things instead of reading off a wish list.

In lieu of that convo, i finally went to the Bally's that is about 15 minutes north of where i live and just did a small workout. Luckly I'm not in as bad shape as i thought. I just need to do some cardio until i am able to get my heart stronger. i was impressed with myself for being able to run on one of the elliptical thingies for half an hour. I could have run longer, but i wanted to get some things done. I had other plans for the day, but instead, i went grocery shopping, did laundry, and worked on some more work files while watchign the hawks.

After church (I finally decided tonight that Bethany will be my church) i cooked italian and tonight likely another movie while working on my fun work file some more. It will be nice when we get all this work stuff straightened out....hopefully soon, but realistically.....not....

Work

Besides the normal abnormalities that occur while living in a house of guys, I've been mostly just working all week. Monday night was Young Life and I have unofficially been recruited as a leader. I am excited to give it a shot to see what Young Life is about and being plugged into something. My new roommate Charles was unable to make it due to his appendix inflating and after going to the hospital had it removed. He has had to wear a small diaper (Referred to by the guys as his willy warmer)since one of the nurses put his catheter in wrong. After a couple other trips to the hospital to get that fixed, we've all been trying to take care of him since that's gotta suck. He's been a good sport about it tho.

My boss has been overwhelmed at work due to the CEO giving a crunch on her....she basically said that 8 hour days are now a thing of the past. We've all got a lot more work to do. Luckily we have a new person (replacing a contractor) starting Monday and we hope she will be able to work faster than the contractor. We all have a lot of things to get done, and my responsibilities are constantly changing. I still am liking my job though. I'm happy about that.

I'm hoping to have some fun this weekend. I will let you all know sunday night.

Seattle-ing in

So I must start by saying sorry for not updating in a long time. It has been crazy settling in here. i have most of my things here in Ballard now and although most everything is still in boxes, I have done all my laundry and have most of my things i use regularly unpacked.

Since I last posted, I:

-Went for a brief hike up rattlesnake ridge(a cool short hike on a nice day)
-Played a pick up game of soccer
-Helped out at the missions' weekend at Lighthouse
-Got the best time at the obstacle course at the men's lunch at Lighthouse
-Made jam with my parents
-Started my "Bucket List" (Posted on Facebook)
-Cleaned out both of the fridges here(that was a gruesome task, let me tell you!)
-Finally tried playing the new games I bought like 2 months ago when i first got this job(and i like them!)
-I think I decided on a church (http://churchbcc.org/) I'm going to sign up for a small group through them soon.
-Tonight was the Young Life meeting for the Ballard area and I think I'm going to join the guys in the house and help lead Young Life in the area.

So that's basically the update with what has gone on. Mostly work and settling in, but now I feel like it's time for me to be able to do some things like actually living my life and doing things outside work/home. I will do the misc. unpacking/cleaning once a week and besides that, i want to start doing things.

Welp I decided that 11:00 is my new bedtime and it's 11:16, so i need to go to bed and try to finally finish the Shack.(2 chapters left) I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a fresh perspective on a conversation with God. More to come once I'm done. (I'm open to book ideas as well, let me know of books that changed your life and I'll add it to my queue).

Finally moved!

Today I finally had the ability to move in and I am mostly moved in to my house in Ballard. I also finally was able to move into my cubicle on Friday. So a lot of moving is going on and I finally am able to start settling in. I feel like my life has been on hold for the last who knows how long. It will be nice to have one home where i have my things and all. Just like every other time I move I plan on getting rid of all the stuff i haven't used in the last year...hopefully it's a lot because I'm tired of having all the crap to lug around every year.

I went to church with Matt tonight and I talked a little with my new roommates a bit. I still have a lot of settling in, but in the next few weeks I should be good to go.