Man, am I tired. Haven't slept in 33 hours and counting (unless you count about a 15-minute nap just a minute ago). The one conclusion I can immediately draw is I am no longer a young puppy. My body just doesn't work like it did when I was in high school and college. I'm still a night owl, but I'm paying for it right now.
Here's the story. Got off work Friday night about 11:30. Headed home to change clothes and arrived at the church about midnight -- just in time for the youth to have returned for their scavenger hunt across Alexandria and Pineville, and just in time for some hoops. We play basketball (and my legs are letting me know they are happy), as well as other games, for about 6 hours. More importantly, I got to spend some quality time with many of the youth, and start developing relationships with them. While my body isn't happy with me right now, it was a very rewarding experience.
Believe it or not, I was up the whole time. Didn't even get a catnap. And I had a blast. I am, however, definitely looking forward to my bed tonight.
Elizabeth and I got our furniture today. Gorgeous. We did a nice job, if I may say so myself. And my wife is very happy with her new china cabinet. Very happy. Our backyard is also looking much nicer thanks to some help from the in-laws today. Yes, I came home from my lock-in at 7:30 this morning only to have to work around the house and in the yard until I had to leave for work at 2:30.
In the end, it will all be worth it. Small price to pay.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
bummer
hope is essential, yet be mindful not to become too hopeful. had recently convinced myself something was going to happen, but it fell through. disappointing. instead of just being cautiously optimistic, i convinced myself it would happen. had started to dream, fantasize. big mistake. oh well, i know i'm making the right decision. that's all that matters. there will be other times to travel.
looking forward to tomorrow night. high school lock-in. granted, i'm not in high school anymore. nor in college, for that matter. far, far removed. but friday night, from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., is the high school lock-in at the church. although i won't arrive on time due to work obligations, i will get to the church just in time for a praise and worship session, followed by an all-night basketball session. i'm looking forward to showing these kids my moves on the court. haha. actually, i'm looking forward to reaching out to some of the youth and starting to develop relationships. i've started doing this somewhat on wednesday nights, but this will give me a better chance to bond with some of the youth on their level. it's going to be a blast!
was looking forward to testing my ps2 skills in an ncaa tourney on saturday at babbage's here in alexandria. winner gets a free copy of the new game that comes out on tuesday. only problem -- tourney starts at 2 p.m. i have to be at work at 3. bummer.
nothing major, but it's a byline. will have one in tomorrow's paper. doing a story on the weather. it's getting hot. highs next week expected to be 98. it's 100 in shreveport today! meteorologist tells me august will be "above normal" ... aka, it's getting hot in here!
looking forward to tomorrow night. high school lock-in. granted, i'm not in high school anymore. nor in college, for that matter. far, far removed. but friday night, from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., is the high school lock-in at the church. although i won't arrive on time due to work obligations, i will get to the church just in time for a praise and worship session, followed by an all-night basketball session. i'm looking forward to showing these kids my moves on the court. haha. actually, i'm looking forward to reaching out to some of the youth and starting to develop relationships. i've started doing this somewhat on wednesday nights, but this will give me a better chance to bond with some of the youth on their level. it's going to be a blast!
was looking forward to testing my ps2 skills in an ncaa tourney on saturday at babbage's here in alexandria. winner gets a free copy of the new game that comes out on tuesday. only problem -- tourney starts at 2 p.m. i have to be at work at 3. bummer.
nothing major, but it's a byline. will have one in tomorrow's paper. doing a story on the weather. it's getting hot. highs next week expected to be 98. it's 100 in shreveport today! meteorologist tells me august will be "above normal" ... aka, it's getting hot in here!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Entering rehab
Yesterday, I started my first day of rehab. No, not the kind of rehab that Hollywood starlets and sports superstars enter because they can't stay clean of their drug and alcohol habits. My rehab is because I can't keep my body shape clean. I'm not fit -- not in the least bit. As I've touched on before, the scale (if it isn't lying to me) doesn't say I've gained weight. It's just shifted a good bit. My arms are flabby, my gut is protuding a good bit more than it used to, and my legs are thicker (and not because I've gained muscle). So I've recomitted to working out, for about the 50th time in my life. But I'm serious this time. I just don't feel good. Sluggish. Lethargic. I don't want to feel like that. I'm only 24 years old. If I'm a pro athlete (which I'm certainly not), I haven't even hit my prime yet. It's not supposed to start going downhill till after I cross the big 3-0. Right now, a gym membership is out of the question. So I'll be walking and jogging to start off with, as well as doing crunches and pushups. Hopefully, that will slowly help me redefine my body shape.
Elizabeth and I went to see Cars last night. Very funny stuff. Love Owen Wilson. He's stupid, but he makes me laugh. And Larry the Cable Guy is a classic. The movie was a great parody of Nascar. But what's best about Pixar movies is they are funny, very well-written, but they also touch on family values, and do it in a way that children and adults are both interested. Over the Hedge was good. Cars was even better. As Elizabeth said as we left the theater, "That one is a buy."
I enjoy the summer for many reasons, one of which is the fact that many of the year's blockbusters are coming out in theaters. After not going to see a movie in months, Elizabeth and I have seen three very good movies in the past couple of weeks. First Over the Hedge, followed by Superman Returns, and now Cars. And we haven't even checked out Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest yet. We'll probably wait to rent The Devil Wears Prada, The Lake House and The Break-up. Upcoming movies that I'm looking forward to are You, Me and Dupree, Clerks II (though I'll probably wait until video and try to rent both the original and the new one), Miami Vice, and Talladega Nights: The Leged of Ricky Bobby.
Elizabeth and I went to see Cars last night. Very funny stuff. Love Owen Wilson. He's stupid, but he makes me laugh. And Larry the Cable Guy is a classic. The movie was a great parody of Nascar. But what's best about Pixar movies is they are funny, very well-written, but they also touch on family values, and do it in a way that children and adults are both interested. Over the Hedge was good. Cars was even better. As Elizabeth said as we left the theater, "That one is a buy."
I enjoy the summer for many reasons, one of which is the fact that many of the year's blockbusters are coming out in theaters. After not going to see a movie in months, Elizabeth and I have seen three very good movies in the past couple of weeks. First Over the Hedge, followed by Superman Returns, and now Cars. And we haven't even checked out Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest yet. We'll probably wait to rent The Devil Wears Prada, The Lake House and The Break-up. Upcoming movies that I'm looking forward to are You, Me and Dupree, Clerks II (though I'll probably wait until video and try to rent both the original and the new one), Miami Vice, and Talladega Nights: The Leged of Ricky Bobby.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Lunch Time
Sitting at my desk, eating a little lunch, deciding to give my blog a little love.
Got a call from my lovely wife this morning. She said I had two choices tonight -- a) stay at home, help her paint and do other choices around the house; or b) go to the movies. I took that as a hint that she wanted to go to the movies.
My options -- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest or The Lake House. We also want to see Cars and The Devil Wears Prada; however, both of those will most likely be rentals. Pirates in the sequel to the blockbuster hit with the same name, and it did an astonishing $135 million in its opening weekend. Can you say runaway hit? The Lake House is an intriguing possiblity that stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as a couple who falls in love via letters from two years apart. The concept is unique, which means it could either be fascinating or a flop. Haven't decided which one we want to watch yet tonight, but we're going on a date!
I know this means my afternoon will drag by slowly since I will be looking forward to the movies!
Got a call from my lovely wife this morning. She said I had two choices tonight -- a) stay at home, help her paint and do other choices around the house; or b) go to the movies. I took that as a hint that she wanted to go to the movies.
My options -- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest or The Lake House. We also want to see Cars and The Devil Wears Prada; however, both of those will most likely be rentals. Pirates in the sequel to the blockbuster hit with the same name, and it did an astonishing $135 million in its opening weekend. Can you say runaway hit? The Lake House is an intriguing possiblity that stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as a couple who falls in love via letters from two years apart. The concept is unique, which means it could either be fascinating or a flop. Haven't decided which one we want to watch yet tonight, but we're going on a date!
I know this means my afternoon will drag by slowly since I will be looking forward to the movies!
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Crying out
Oh praise Him
Oh praise Him
He is holy
He is holy
It was good to get back to church this morning. Very good. Sometimes I am just starving for corporate worship. Today was one of those days. And I certainly got refreshed. Elizabeth and I spent 6 hours at church today. And now we're officially members of Donahue Family Church.
For those of you who don't know the story, which is most likely almost all of you, one of Elizabeth's best friends from high school, Michelle Neal, is the youth minister at Donahue along with her husband, Jeremy. So, naturally, when we moved down to Alexandria, we plugged into the Pineville church immediately. We've been helping out with the youth on Wednesday nights and attending nearly every Sunday. We're trying to find a LIFE group (aka Sunday School class) that works for us. I've found one I like, but we're still trying to find out where we're going to be serving on Sunday mornings starting next month.
We got to church this morning at 9:30 to go to worship (Donahue has 4 services). After the service, we both sat in on a youth LIFE group. I'm not quite sure what Elizabeth will be doing starting next month, but I'm pretty certain that I'll be teaching a LIFE group, most likely middle schoolers. I've never taught before, but I'm very excited. Please be in prayer that I can lead these young men in the right direction.
After LIFE groups, we went to the Next Step class, which basically is a rundown of what the church believes and the direction it is going for all incoming members. For those of you interested in where Donahue is heading in the near future, click here.
Random Musings
I've gotten several reviews from friends and what I've read online, and I just can't bring myself to drop $40 on the new NFL Head Coach game for the PS2. The reviews say the game is very, very complex, almost tedious at times. While I think it would be fun to run the day-to-day operations of an NFL team (this game is supposedly built for us fantasy sports people), it's just not worth the $40 for me. Maybe when the game goes down to $20, I'll spring for it.
What will be worth the $40 (or $50, or however much) will be NCAA '07, which comes out in just 9 days. Man, I'm pumped!!! This really is about the only game I play, and boy do I play it. Can't wait to pick it up at midnight!
Moving away from gaming, congrats to Italia for winning World Cup '06. The Azurri defeated France 5-3 in penalty kicks after the two teams played to a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes. It was fitting Italy won the tourney, because they were the best team throughout the 32-team event. France played some great football, but the Azurri played the game beautifully. On a sad note, Zinedine Zidane, France's captain and perhaps the greatest player in the country's history, was sent off with a red card in overtime after a headbutt. The game was the final one of his international career.
Is Roger Federer the best tennis player ever? Not yet. The best on grass? Quite possibly. Federer won his fourth straight Wimbledon crown Sunday, defeating heated rival Rafael Nadal in four sets. He became just the third player to win 4 in a row, joining an elite group with Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras. At age 24, Federer has won 8 grand slam titles. If he keeps up his current pace (which will be very tough to do), he'll go down as the greatest ever.
Oh praise Him
He is holy
He is holy
It was good to get back to church this morning. Very good. Sometimes I am just starving for corporate worship. Today was one of those days. And I certainly got refreshed. Elizabeth and I spent 6 hours at church today. And now we're officially members of Donahue Family Church.
For those of you who don't know the story, which is most likely almost all of you, one of Elizabeth's best friends from high school, Michelle Neal, is the youth minister at Donahue along with her husband, Jeremy. So, naturally, when we moved down to Alexandria, we plugged into the Pineville church immediately. We've been helping out with the youth on Wednesday nights and attending nearly every Sunday. We're trying to find a LIFE group (aka Sunday School class) that works for us. I've found one I like, but we're still trying to find out where we're going to be serving on Sunday mornings starting next month.
We got to church this morning at 9:30 to go to worship (Donahue has 4 services). After the service, we both sat in on a youth LIFE group. I'm not quite sure what Elizabeth will be doing starting next month, but I'm pretty certain that I'll be teaching a LIFE group, most likely middle schoolers. I've never taught before, but I'm very excited. Please be in prayer that I can lead these young men in the right direction.
After LIFE groups, we went to the Next Step class, which basically is a rundown of what the church believes and the direction it is going for all incoming members. For those of you interested in where Donahue is heading in the near future, click here.
Random Musings
I've gotten several reviews from friends and what I've read online, and I just can't bring myself to drop $40 on the new NFL Head Coach game for the PS2. The reviews say the game is very, very complex, almost tedious at times. While I think it would be fun to run the day-to-day operations of an NFL team (this game is supposedly built for us fantasy sports people), it's just not worth the $40 for me. Maybe when the game goes down to $20, I'll spring for it.
What will be worth the $40 (or $50, or however much) will be NCAA '07, which comes out in just 9 days. Man, I'm pumped!!! This really is about the only game I play, and boy do I play it. Can't wait to pick it up at midnight!
Moving away from gaming, congrats to Italia for winning World Cup '06. The Azurri defeated France 5-3 in penalty kicks after the two teams played to a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes. It was fitting Italy won the tourney, because they were the best team throughout the 32-team event. France played some great football, but the Azurri played the game beautifully. On a sad note, Zinedine Zidane, France's captain and perhaps the greatest player in the country's history, was sent off with a red card in overtime after a headbutt. The game was the final one of his international career.
Is Roger Federer the best tennis player ever? Not yet. The best on grass? Quite possibly. Federer won his fourth straight Wimbledon crown Sunday, defeating heated rival Rafael Nadal in four sets. He became just the third player to win 4 in a row, joining an elite group with Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras. At age 24, Federer has won 8 grand slam titles. If he keeps up his current pace (which will be very tough to do), he'll go down as the greatest ever.
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