Looks Like Somebodies Got A Case Of The Mondays...

The Nutcracker, Bad Sweaters and Bad Boys

Friday my parents took me and Liv to see the Nutcracker Ballet. It was ok but it definitely was designed for kids. The annoying thing was there were these 4 15-17 year old girls sitting in the row behind us who acted like 4 year olds. Actually, there were a couple of small kids in the row in front of us and they acted 10 times more mature than these young ladies. They talked, giggled and kicked the back of our chairs the whole performance. I love it when white trash get dolled up to go out to the Ballet's equivalent to "It's A Wonderful Life." I can say that because, I am white trash too! LOL. Best thing was, during some of their conversation, one of them asked, "where is this from" to which one of the others quickly responded, "I think it's French." Because we all know, anything fancy is French....right?

Saturday night we had our Bad Christmas Sweater Christmas Party. It was great. Liv and I found some really bad print sweaters at the savers thrift store and it was hilarious. Liv also got some Santa earrings and a broach. We both wore big Santa hats. We all ate dinner, kicked back and had fun. Josh was kind enough to share a couple of cigars with me and Anthony so we went outside and had a stoggie.

Last night Liv's work (Blondies) had their office Christmas party. It was a "girls night out" kinda thing so no spouses were allowed. So Scott and I hung out at his house and watched the Broncos game, Along Came Polly and Bad Boys. It was a cool night. Scott is cooped up in the house because he had surgery on his foot on Thursday. He seemed to be recovering nicely though so that was good to see. I had never seen Bad Boys so that was fun.

The Way We Were....

Josh and I have been singing old DC Talk songs from way back in the day. "I Luv Rap Music," "That Kinda Girl" so many great raps.

Is it my imagination, or is that a FANNY PACK!! And why is Emilio Estevez in the back ground??

Very sorry. That last hand... nearly killed me.

Last night Liv and I went out to dinner (Red Robin) and then saw the new James Bond flick. Ordinarily I go to James Bond movies for the comedy more than anything...but this one kicks butt!!

It's cool because they actually take the story and the character seriously. Normally Bond just sleeps with every woman in the movie and spouts silly one liners. This Bond has depth and, unlike any Bond for a long time (maybe ever), feels real. He bleeds, he makes mistakes, he falls in love..... You really get wrapped up in him and a huge part of that is the gravity that is brought to the part by Daniel Craig. He was the perfect choice for this movie.

Hold'em poker plays a big part of the story line and climax which put me in the mood for another card game. Need to get the guys together again and play.

It's was so fun to go on a date with my wife. Since we haven't seen each other much over the last couple of days, it's great to be together all evening. Once I get out of work today I've got all weekend to be with her.....I can't wait.

I Found Him!!!!!

Moving My Friends...

Spent last night moving my friends Anthony and Megan to their new apartment. It's cool. Their old house was all the way down in the Springs and now they are going to only be 10 minutes away so it will be a lot easier to hang out.

The down side was we got a late start and they lived on the third story, at the end of the hall, the farthest you could possibly be from the elevator. But at least they had an elevator, right?

I haven't been seeing my wife enough lately. She has been working late the last couple of days and while this means more hours and more money, I only get to see her an hour and a half at night. It's just a temporary thing so it's no big deal, but I still miss her when I don't see her. Today she gets off at four so we get to hang out all night, it's going to be great.

4, 13 HOUR WORK DAYS - DAY 4

thank God it's over

4, 13 HOUR WORK DAYS - DAY 3

I’m almost there. Tomorrow is the last day of this nonsense. I told my bosses here at the newspaper that tomorrow would be my last day here. I can't wait to just have one job.

I really do love my new job. The people are great and I actually feel like a professional at this job. They treat you with respect and they are a lot of fun. I can't wait for my first check. ha ha.

Liv was sick again today. It’s so hard for me when she is sick. I wish I could just stay home and take care of her. She’s been on my mind all day though. She’s tough. She came out and brought me dinner tonight before my second job. I know she didn’t feel like it, but she was so strong and so supportive of me during this time. You could tell she felt awful but she brought me a whole little dinner, a Starbucks and she just sat there and smiled at me. What a great woman.

I actually got training on my new job today. I think I will probably be “shadowing” tomorrow. It’s fun.

Friday night I am going out on a date with Liv. I just keep thinking about 4 o’clock on Friday. It’s gonna be sweet. Just one more long day and I’m done. Just thinking about it gives me a burst of energy.

4, 13 HOUR WORK DAYS - DAY 2

Actually not as tired today. After I came home from work last night I just crashed into bed and I think I got about 7 hours of sleep.

Liv called me 3 minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off. She had been sick most of the night and she wanted me to pray. I knew something was wrong because she normally wouldn't call me and wake me. Thankfully she got feeling better as the day went on.

The sunrise was amazing this morning. Yesterday was great too. The sky was filled with those light wispy clouds that the sun reflects off of and paints the sky pink and orange. Massive.

Still haven't begun training at my job yet. They have me just re-naming files and doing busy work because they don't have time to train me yet. Hopefully they will start training me tomorrow.

Had lunch with Josh again today. He's a cool guy.

Ross talked about "Bringing Back The Biff" on sunday. I guess a "biff" is a fight in Australian football. He said we need to have some fight in us if we're going to be anything in this life. It was the perfect message for me this week. I feel like I'm fighting my way through each day.

I just want to go home and go to bed. Only two more days and I'll be home everynight, no later than 4:30. I can't wait.

4, 13 HOUR WORK DAYS - DAY 1

I'm typing this at 7:01 pm on Monday, the very begining of my 12th hour of work today. I'm tired. My hands are heavy and my eyes are too.

I couldn't get to sleep last night which makes me mad because I was exhausted. Too tired to sleep, too much on my mind.

I'm excited about my new job. It seems like a really great place to work and I like my co-workers so far.

It's really hard to be here at the newspaper job. I could have been home or with Liv all this time. Oh well. Everyone keeps telling me, "it's just four days," but on day one i'm already beat.

I think I will sleep better tonight cause I know what to expect in the morning. I will probably take breakfast with me also which means i can sleep 10 minutes more.

Found out today that I will be able to move in to my new apartment no later than March 18th and maybe even sooner. I can't wait. I've wanted to move for a long time.

My back hurts and so does my stomach. Liv and I went to Mimi's Cafe Last night. She got sick from it last night but I think I am sick from it tonight. I don't know why my back hurts. Exhaustion maybe.

13 hours working. 8 hours sleeping. 1 hour driving to/from work each day. That's 22 hours. The rest is filled with getting ready for work/bed and a 1 hour lunch. This is nuts. I miss my sweetheart.

I'll stop complaining now.

Bad Start...Ok Finish

Today did not start out so hot. My stomach was upset. Woke me up a couple times in the night and it woke me up this morning. Pain is not a good alarm clock. It got better though. After a couple of trips to the bathroom (yea it was brutal) I felt a whole lot better.

I spent the morning cleaning the house and then I finished up some praise & worship backing tracks for my mom. All in all it was a productive morning considering it had such a rotten start.

Liv got a totally new hair cut/color today. I like it. I call it a Cleopatra cut. It was wierd though because when I saw her I felt like I was seeing another woman. Cheater! lol.

Today is payday and boy can I use it. My part time paychecks don't go far enough. I'm looking forward to starting my new job on monday. I'll be working 14 hour days next week. WOOO!! It's only temporary during my transistion.

I heard some very sad news today. One of my very good pastor friends' church is in trouble. Looks like they might have to close the doors. It sad when good church's have to close. I will be praying that they can keep going.

Tomorrow is the end of my "secular" music fast. 30 days of nothing but christian music. Not many people thought I could do it and I had my doubts myself. But I honestly have not missed it for the past two weeks or so. God really rearranged my heart during this time. I'm sure I'll have to fast it again.

Australia, Sunrise, Christmas Day

We stayed up much too late on Christmas Eve, talking about where we had come from and where we wanted to go. But we knew that this was a moment we wanted to share. Even though it meant sleep deprivation, we were going to get up early and spend our first Christmas morning together, watching the sunrise over the ocean.

The alarm clock chirped out above my head. I had borrowed it from someone else so I wasn't used to the sound. It startled me. I realised what it was and reached up to silence it. My eyes were so heavy. I felt like going back to sleep. But I wouldn't let this opportunity pass. I got out of bed, put on my swimmers and headed downstairs to her room. I cracked open her door and saw her sleeping there. So silent, so still, so beautiful. It seemed wrong to disturb something so peaceful but we had decided that this was what we wanted.

I layed down next to her and gently put my arm on her shoulder. "Good morning Beautiful." "Good Morning." "Do you still want to go down to the beach?" "(huge yawn) Yea." "Well, the sun will be coming up soon so we'd better go." "Ok" "I love you sweetheart." "I love you too."

I step out of the room so she can change into her swimmers.

We walk out the front door of the house. So sleepy, but so excited. The air has a slight chill compared to the warmth of our beds. The whole street is asleep as we walk hand in hand down to the beach. We are quiet. In these moments, just being together is enough, you don't need to say anything.

We wrap ourselves in our towels because we didn't bring blankets. The air seems even colder, but we huddle close together and stay warm.

Anticipation. The sun seems to want to make a grand entrance. Finally it begins to rise. I look at her. "Merry Christmas baby." "Merry Christmas." We kiss. The day has begun so perfectly. Our first sunrise, our first Christmas, our new life waiting somewhere beyond the shore.

Gospel Music Will Save You

This is where it all started. Gospel music. There's nothing like the fire and passion found in it when it's done right. Rock & roll only immitates it. This is the real deal. A small church in the middle of nowhere. The deep south. No air conditioning. July hot as hell. People singing and fanning themselves with the service bulletin. A woman in a black dress grabs the microphone and belts out more soul in one note then Mick Jagger has in every song he's ever sang.

This is not the music of pure souls. This is not the music of uptight people who've never broken a rule in there life. These are songs from the pit. Right down in the mud. We've held the devils hand. We didn't just walk through the valley, we live our life in this here valley and this music is our prayer for salvation. Our attempt to get God's attention. We let out souls spill out all over the church floor. The choir shouts.

If you don't understand Gospel music, just quit thinking of it as religious. It's about SOUL. If any music can save your soul, it's Gospel. If it's not Gospel, it's the blues. This is what music is. These are examples of how it is supposed to be done. Stand up, plug in and bleed all over the stage. Can I get a witness?