Thanksgiving

This past weekend was thanksgiving. Steph and I had our work cut out for us on thanksgiving morning. We started our day in Visalia having breakfast with my dad, my two sisters, one brother, and their respective families. The food was really good. We had breakfast enchiladas (AMAZING), and all kinds of other breakfast foods. There were a total of 8 kids there (there were no rentals, no friends... This was strictly family). It was a good time of interaction.

I have just a few thoughts on this...

1) this was mine and stephs first holiday together... (I count four main holidays, thanksgiving, christmas, new years, and easter). I love having someone that is mine there. Before she gets ticked, ill explain. all of my previous holidays, I went stag. All of my brothers and sisters had someone that was there for them, and it has been that way for the past four or five years. It was much different. And it was wonderful

2) Kids transport all kinds of junk... a couple of my nieces and nephews were sick in the days leading up to thanksgiving... And to make a long story short, steph is currently, and has been sick since saturday morning.

3)Holidays can only be stressful when you let them. Steph and i had a plan. When we were done at one place, we moved on. It could be a combination of different things. Maybe we were tired, maybe we wanted to leave, maybe we had another lunch to eat (we only had two), or maybe we just wanted some "US" time. We were on our own schedule, and everyone knew that.

The next stop was to my moms house. Steph and I visited there for a couple of hours. There were many different stories that came up during conversation, and my mom took the time to explain to steph who everyone was. I didnt realize how much that meant to steph until on the way home when she said it made her feel like she was part of the family.

The third stop was to her parents house back in fresno. I have a couple thoughts on that too

1) I love her family. There arent nearly as many kids in her family as there are mine, and it is a nice change. Dont get me wrong. I love every one of my nephews, but sometimes, its nice to have some time with the adults... Side note one starts now (When I was little, there was always a little kids table, and an adults table for all holidays. I always sat at the little kids table. As people got older, there was movement from one table to the other. I always wanted to be at the adult table. It was my goal in life. So, naturally, as the people moved from one table to the other, the adults table filled up. So... What was the kids table, became the kids, and adults table. I am not an exclusive person by any means, but It would have been nice to sit at the adults table just once before the exclusivity wore off... )

Back to reality..

Off of previous thought, it was so nice to hang out with her family. It was also nice to get my traditional afternoon nap in. God Bless thanksgiving (and all non-work

The Verdict is in!

Well, after a long night of counting all the votes (from two different people, eight votes total)... I determined that the results were too close to call. So, I had to recount... And what I found is that my original counting skills are sufficient enough. I should go work for florida or minnesota or something... That wasn't so hard was it...

So, Faux Hawks at logans won... It had double the votes that everything else had... So here goes nothing...

Alright, when I first moved to fresno, I didn't get out much... After circumstances changed, I started going to hang out with my friends, and we would occasionally go to logans for an adult beverage. The people there were funny. Basically, the people I saw at the gym were the same ones at the bar... Meat Heads (see below)

A term that is used to describe a male who is overenthusiastic about lifting weights and whose thoughts consist of athletics, blondes, and sports cars. Meat heads are unaware of the majority of the English language and often communicate with others by using phrases such as “bro”, “dude”, and “sweet”. The dead giveaway of a meathead is if their attire includes a sleeveless muscle shirt, athletic shorts, and a lanyard for their car keys. If you ever find yourself in a setting with multiple meat heads, be prepared for frequent high fives, chest bumps, and hand pounds.

So, this crowd of meat heads is what I came to expect...


So, the other night, Stephanie, Berger, Luke Mundy, Sarah Mundy, and myself went out to logans for a refreshing beverage... We walk in, and the place has an hour wait, according to luke. He and his wife are sitting outside, and its cold. I walk in and see six empty tables... They didn't have an hour wait, they were just trying to phase out a server (phase out is no longer sitting that section so that person could go home). So, I kindly asked the hostess if we could sit at one of the empty tables in that section. WE didnt want to be served anyways... Of course we couldn't.

So, the five of us are crammed around a high top table, and I see this guy... Now bear in mind that the people that frequent logans are the meat heads (as previously described) but this guy was totally different. This was the polar opposite. He was a bigger guy (probably tipping the scale at 250), wearing an extra small shirt (it was probably an XL, but it was about six sizes too small), with this.. Faux Hawk... it was like a girly man or something... Stephanie could have beat him up...

Apparently, he got his appletini or something from the bar, and went back to his table... I couldn't believe it... It was a swarm of them! It was like tower district moved to north fresno or something!

I just couldn't believe it. I thought that logans was always going to be the little bit of clovis in fresno... Little did I know that it was a little bit of san fransisco in fresno...

Next thing you know, Logans is going to go from serving road house teas to an oxygen bar...

The world will cease to exist as we know it.

2008 election

alright, for those of you who think I dont blog enough, here is your chance to vote. You know how there are millions of people who vote for president, and your voice feels like it gets drowned out? well, you will not have that problem here. I have so few readers that, in my case, every vote does count! For all I know, I may not have any votes.

So, Let me know what you think I should blog about next.

1) Faux Hawks at Logans
2) Engaged life and how that coincides with buying a house
3) work
4) enduring through our pains, and realizing that it happend for a reason, and then seeing that reason...
5) Stephanie
6) Family Holidays.


Now is the time to have your voice heard. If you dont speak up, you cant complain that I dont blog enough.

2008 In Review

I know I know... this is a little premature. But, I like to look at it this way. I am just a little ahead of my time.

So, I totally realize that I haven't blogged in a long time, and I am cool with that. Life has been hectic, But that is no excuse. I have very devoted (snicker snicker) readers. In fact, I have had two (I dont know if I have more than two) mention in the past week that its time for me to blog. (more to follow)

Now to the point of the blog. The following are things that I have learned, growth that I have experienced, and things I have done.


1) I have been to Hawaii... Twice. I honestly never thought I would go to Hawaii. I thought it was too expensive, too far away, and too hot. What I found out is that I dont know if I could live in Hawaii, but I would sure like to try. The weather was beautiful, although a little humid. The beaches were gorgeous, and the water was warm. What made it feasible is that My brother lives there. Thanks drew!

2) I went dancing, in public for the first time ever. I went to school dances, but never out in public. It was interesting, and a great time. I can definetly see how fun it is with the right person.

3) I have gone to Washington DC. Another thing I never thought I would do. I have, more recently, become somewhat of a history buff. I knew there was a lot of history in DC, but I never knew how much. the best thing about it is that most of it was free. All the smithsonians were free, the capital was free. The only thing that costed was parking. You cant park anywhere for free. that sucked... I think I got one, or two, tickets... I dont remember. But what I do remember is that if you dont pay your tickets, the car rental company will charge you for them months later.

4) I went to disneyland. The best part of that was the lack of crowd. for a saturday in the middle of summer, there was almost no one there. It was awesome.

Now, for the more important ones.

1) I have started dating and got engaged to an amazing girl. for those of you who dont know, her name is steph. I fully acknowledge that everyone who reads my blog should know, because I stated it in a previous post. Steph is an amazing girl who has a wonderful heart for God. She challenges me in so many ways. Some of our best times together are praying or doing devotionals. I cant wait to experience life with her.

2) Steph and I are buying a house together. I have had a realtor for the past couple years (Judy Nazaroff, if you are looking for one). I just never had a house that worked out. I put a couple of offers in, but nothing ever came of them. Steph and I ended up getting into a brand new house (still in construction). the original owner fell through, and steph and i came through with a great offer, and they accepted. We got accepted for the loan, and just finished picking out all the interior stuff. Ill tell you what, picking out things for the inside of your house is frustrating. Two people, two styles.... All I wanted was everything grey... Everything goes with grey =)

3) Most importantly, I have decided that my relationship with God comes first. The year started out hard. I remember having a conversation with God, and telling him that if He wanted me to do something, he needed to tell me, because I was tired of doing things on my own. I have prayed that before, but i think it was different because I completely meant it. I was just tired of life. Life with God is not a marathon, as it has previously been described to me, it is an all out sprint. In hebrews, it talks of how the author strips off everything that holds him back, to run the race he needs to run. Its not just a statement, there are so many actions that need to follow it up.


All in all, this has been a pretty good year. I have an inckling that next year will be even better...

Date Nights Are Great Nights!

So, Steph and I were supposed to make dinner at my house last night. But, I forgot to pull the salmon out of the freezer to thaw. This means that dinner would have been late, and freezer burned. So I sent her an e mail asking if I could just take her out instead. She seemed excited about it. I decided that I would surprise her.

So, I hopped on the internet expressway to try and find restaurants in Bass Lake or Oakhurst area. I worked up at a camp up there years ago, and ate at a really nice restaurant that had a wine bar in it. It was a really cool atmosphere.

So, I showed up to her house late, but I had flowers. Those flowers were going to help me later, which, at the time, didn't know.

So, we started driving up to bass lake. We got up there, just to find out that my nice restaurant was now a Diciccos... Crap!

So, then we started driving, and driving, and driving. We ended up at a place called the pine lakes resort, or something like that. There is a restaurant there called Duceys. So, we went to put our name in, at eight. We then found out that the wait time would be an hour... Double Crap!

We ended up walking across the street to get something to drink. She was not happy, but holding her frustration inside well. Good play champ!!

We sat out on the porch enjoying a blue moon, and just talked.

After that, we went to dinner, and just had an amazing time.

Overall, our date started out rocky, but we both ended up being blessed by it. I got a chance to connect with Steph on a deeper level than normal, and it was fantastic.

Date nights are truly great nights.

Let the poo roll...

So, I have been out at this poop plant for two or three weeks now... Overall, it has been a good experience so far. There are a few thing s that I am learning...


1) Even though you may not have a whole lot to do now, if you slowly work your way through what you have to get done later, it will make for a much easier life. I have been trying to work through drawings and figure out exactly how I want to do what needs to be done. By figuring out all my issues now, it should make life that much easier when crews come on site. The nice thing is, I wont have crews for probably a month and a half.


2) The unknown can be good. I have met some really cool guys down here. The rumors that go from one company to another are ridiculous sometimes.

3) and most importantly, I still have a lot to learn. God has been working on my pride down here. I am working in a part of the company that is very unfamiliar. So, pray that I can keep my head down and working, and this should make my life a heck of a lot easier.


One more thought...

I am dating the best girl ever. If you haven't met her, you should. She is something else (in a good way) =)

A return to my roots

So, I have been working in Tulare for the past three days. I will be working in Tulare for the next year and a half... With that being said, I have had a return to roots, on two fronts...

First, I grew up in Visalia (woot woot!). Visalia is about ten minutes from Tulare, and I feel like I am in my old stomping grounds. I can remember late nights getting stuck in farmers ponds, cruising Mooney, and eating at Mearls drive in. Well, It is now illigeal (as it was then) to cruise Mooney, Mearls drive in closed, and the farmers pond is still there. Ah, the memories! It has been alright being here, but it sucks to drive an hour each way to go to work. At least I can come home though.

When I first started at Lyles, I was working in Madera at the ethanol plant. My first day, I was given five stacks of plans, each about four inches thick. On these five sets of plans were miles (literally) of pipe. My job was to highlight them. I had to use different colors, distinguishing paint or insulated, and how thick of insulation. I worked forty hours a week for three weeks to accomplish this. Needless to say, I was going nuts.

Now, for number two... Part of my job here in Tulare is to define the scope (what work we will be doing) that My company is going to be doing for our sister company. So, you guessed, the Coloring is back!!! This shouldn't be nearly as bad though, because I have one set of plans, and it is only about a half inch thick. But, I am having flash backs, and this isn't a whole lot of fun. So, I will color for a while, then take a break and check espn.com. Then, I will color some more, and go and get a drink... I am just trying to find ways to break up the monotony. I almost got a stapler to put next to me, just so I could hit it a bunch to release a little tension.

I dont have a whole lot more to do, but I still have some. I am finding out that my job is going to be, at least for a while, the same thing, over and over. I get to try a process, become good at it, and then repeat it many times over.

Let the repitition continue

The Update to end all Updates

Well, by popular request, I have decided to sit down and pen another blog. Sometimes, I lay in bed at night thinking that maybe I should update my blog for all my fans (and stockers), but heck, she already knows all of this, so why bother. (You aren't really a stocker steph, partly because if anything, it is the other way around)

Work has changed for me, I am now, as of today, stationed on a poop plant in tulare. It smells like poop, it looks like poop, and it will probably be home for the next year and a half. I sat down this morning, and am only beginning to see how much I need to catch up on. Hopefully my mind will prevail, and wont make this too hard.

If you have read steph's blog, you will find that we have been to DC (which was incredible), and to the coast a couple of times. My life has been amazing since she has been a part of it. She has been someone that has fit so seamlessly into my life, that I honestly dont know what life without her was like. She is always making me laugh. I have been truly blessed by her being in my life.

All except one thing...

Well, as of today, she put her family and I on diets. This is completely understandable. We have all eaten poorly for the past couple of months, and it is starting to show. She says that she isn't making me do it, and she isn't, but it sounds so much cooler for me to say that my girlfriend put me on a diet. In fact, I find it kind of funny.

Speaking of funny...

The other night, we went to a ball game, and steph almost got hit by a ball, again. See her previous blog for details on the first time. Well, a foul ball was hit, and I saw it curving toward us, I told her to move, and then I moved. She was able to duck out of the way, and it hit an elderly lady behind us, but dont worry! No grandparents were hurt during the writing of this blog... So, in order to make this story more interesting, I am saying that Steph threw herself in front of the ball to protect me... That was awfully sweet of her. Like I said, she is amazing.

There is the readers digest version, I will try to update with another post later this week.

peace out.

Last Weekend

Alright, for those of you who dont know, I work for a local-based contractor in Lyles Mechanical Company. This last weekend, The company took all of the management team (from all of the companies, including american paving, kaweah construction, and wm lyles company) over to the coast for a company retreat. We stayed at a place called Fess Parkers double tree resort. It is right across the street. IT WAS PIMP!

We ended up having bonding time on the beach by way of beach olympics. Now, my company consists of much more, how shall I say, Experienced employees. I am the youngest at 25, and the next is 27. AFter us, we go to the late thirties, and then to the mid fifties...

So, I ended up competing in every event, kind of a beach decathalon, except, there were only five events, so I guess it was a pentathalon. Well, the last event was a water balloon catch. My team would launch water balloons at me, and I was supposed to catch them in this basket. See below.



I even left the competition on awe



I am quite the athlete, if I do say so myself

Blake German's Log Star date 050708

Alright, that was dumb, I admit, but its me, so get over it. Here is what my life is doing right now...

First off, God has been blessing me in so many ways.

1) I have been blessed by Him giving me an amazing girlfriend. It may sound cheesy, but there are times I will think, "Man, it should would be nice to date Steph..." Then, I remember... I am dating steph. She has a truly beautiful heart, and it has been amazing to get to know her.

2) God has been showing me a lot through readings I am doing right now. From a book "Devotional Classics" to my daily scripture reading. Its funny. I have started reading the bible in a year program... 3 years ago. I keep telling myself that it is important to read all the way through before I start a new project, and I am slowly getting there.

3) I have picked up a room mate. I am moving on may 24. If anyone wants to help, please let me know. Andrew Ellenberger is moving back from London, and needs a place to live, which is great, because I need to lower my bills. Living with him will save me so much money, yet another way God has been faithful.

Here is what is amazing about all of this: I moved out to be alone, and to learn to be ok with being alone. I am more than happy to sit with myself on a night, even a friday night. I think that is what God wanted from me, being ok in silence and being alone. Now, I will be living with a guy (in separate rooms) who can be a little bit loud, and lets be frank, my girlfriend isn't exactly the quiet type (I AM NOT COMPLAINING!!!) (You know its true steph, dont you even get mad) =)

God has given me gifts that I cannot even begin to repay Him for. I am truly blessed.

Update on trying to score points...

Here is tip number two when trying to score points, for all of those out there who still feel the need to keep track...

When your date admits she (or he, as the case may apply) has no patience, don't make whipped cream with a drill...

Thats right, yours truly decided that it would be fun to make whipped cream. So I got out my drill (it was clean...) and put the beater attachment on the end. I then proceeded to mix

and mix and mix and mix.

Right about minute five, steph pulls out her camera phone, and takes a picture, and posts to facebook...

meanwhile, the mix goes on...

four minutes later, I tell her its almosts done...

and the mixing goes on..

Two minutes later, I break down, and get out the actual mixer...

it was done a minute later...

It tasted really good, and I think thats all that matters... Sometimes quality takes time...


Good luck getting the redneck out of me. =)

When trying to score points...

I have learned something that will better my life. So, as a good natured person, I feel the need to share it.

Crisco goes bad.

You read it right. Apparently, crisco goes bad. Think about it. Crisco is 100% fat. I didn't know that fat could go bad. Does that mean that all the fat on your body will eventually melt, as long as you dont add to it?

So, because Crisco goes bad, I feel the need to share this next. When trying to score points with your girlfriend (or boyfriend for you females out there), do not try to make cookies with old crisco.

Old is a relative term, but I have found out that the shelf life is somewhere under 4 years...

I guess its time

Well, in the world of myspace and facebook, there are details about you.. Your birthday, your race, your sexual preference (dont blame me, my head just popped out with that one)...

So, I guess its time for my blog world (all six of you that read this) to know..

I have found a girl to put up with me... Not only does she put up with, I rather think she enjoys my company (go figure!!)

I have caught stephanie ridgeway in my sails, and am now enjoying the trip that it is taking us on...

This is my notice that my "profile" on blogger has changed...

And the bad puns go on...

Reliance on God

You know, God has an interesting way of coming through in the clutch for you. I have been praying for this situation for over a year. Finally, within the past month, I end up hitting what I thought was a single (a small victory in a long game)

Well, as time passes, I look back on that single, and think, "maybe this is actually a double."

Well, in the past week, since things have progressed so well, "maybe I have hit a triple or a home run". You see, when I was playing baseball as a kid, I never hit a home run. I was always a single-stretched-to-a-double kind of guy. or I could stretch a double into a triple. I never hit a home run. I was never a power hitter. I was consistent.

Well, now that I am looking at this, maybe this is what a home run feels like. If it is, I have struck gold.

I guess where the title comes into consideration is I dont know. I just dont know. All I can do is pray that Gods will be done. Mine hasn't worked out well, but since I have given this over to God, things have been amazing.

relying on God is very easy to say, but its very hard to do. I think its easier to rely on God when your life sucks. You have nothing else. But when life is good, I find that relying on God is awfully hard. "Things seem to be going so well, why do I need God?" But, this is a common mistake.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight".

See my interpretation above...


I tend to give God my little things, or my sadness. Not until the past couple of years, have I learned (I am still learning) how to give God the joy in my life.

Jeff Loven prayed something really cool last night. He thanked God for loaning us our talents. How cool is that. I have never heard that prayer before. But still, my talent (or happiness) is on loan from God. If everything, including our happiness, is Gods (our monies, our relationships, our hearts) why on earth wouldnt we give him our joy, and thank Him for what we have.


All this to say, I am getting on my soap box. Life is awesome, but some major decisions lay ahead, and I need to trust God for those decisions. He has nothing but the best for me, and I know that in my head, but I need to learn to give it up with my heart.

And that's the way the cookie crumbles

Soulja Boy

So, I went to a baseball game on Wednesday night. It was the grizzlies/giants game...

Go figure, the grizzlies beat their major league affiliate. Looks to be another high quality year for giants fans... Good thing Im a dodger boy..

Anyways, the gounds team was raking the infield between innings at one point, and soulja boy came on... They all did this cute little organized dance... I say cute, because I honestly dont know how else to describe. Apparently soulja boy has its own dance..

That got me thinking. Maybe I want to learn the soulja boy dance (not really, but I felt I should say something like that). So, off to You tube!!!

And go figure, here is what I found...



I think I like this idea... It is like the village people, in mass. I mean, a bunch of prisoners, doing organized dancing.. This is frickin' awesome.

Perks

You know.. There are some major perks to being in construction. For instance, I was going home yesterday, and got a call from one of my vendors.. Apparently he acquired some tickets for the grizzlies/giants game tonight, and he wanted to give them to me. No cost.. I mean, I do give him a lot of business, but still. Free tickets? Im all over that!

But there are also down sides. I went to bed at 8:30 on sunday night. I was exhausted. Im up around 4:30, and to work by 5:30. The only way I seem to get done what I need to is to get in before the crews go to work.

I have been working on perfecting the art of putting out fires. I dont catch up, I just take care of the hottest items first. I dont think it is the right way to work, but at least I always have something to do.

I guess overall, work has its ups and downs, but what really makes it alright is outside of work. It is nice to have something else going on besides the gym and work.

I think I have a problem..

So, for those of you who dont know, I have satellite radio, which is AMAZING! There is a channel on it called super shuffle. This channel plays anything and everything.

So im coming back to my office from a jobsite, listening to this channel. I have the window rolled down, and my sunglasses on (and I look really cool). So, this Michael Jackson song comes on, Black or white. For those of you who dont know, it goes like this.

"It dont matter if your black or white!" (I sang it really good, I hope you heard)

Well, It came on, and I turned my radio up... Now picture this; there is this white guy, in a white truck, with his sunglasses on and window rolled down, listening, and singing along to michael jackson..

I dont think it matters if he was black when he sang that song, it still wasn't right.

I guess the only salvation I have is that once I realized what I was doing, I rolled my window up, and turned the music down...

Order has been restored.

The art of being busy

There are times in my life when I loathe things to do. I just want to sit and relax. This enables me to think, to ponder, and to get back to where I feel I need to be.
But There are other times when being busy is what I need the most. What this does it enable me to not think, or over think. I have a tendency to turn things over way too much. For instance, I can sit at work thinking about a job, and I think and think about an issue until I feel I have a solution. I have complicated the problem so much that my solution makes no sense.
I am trying to learn to live, instead of thinking. I dont want to miss the big things in life.

Three steps to Happiness.

I am in the middle of reading a book by Donald Miller titled, "Searching for God knows what". I have read this book before, but recently found it while cleaning my truck out yesterday.

In it, he talks about self help books and how we as a people looks for simple steps to making our lives better: AA with their twelve steps, three steps to better prayer... so on and so forth. He goes on to talk about how we react when these steps dont work out. I know that more than once I look at God, and tell Him, "I did A, B, and C, so you should at least do D for me." But it doesn't work that way.

All too often I look at God as a wish list.

As an example: I ran into (not literally) an old girlfriend today. It wasn't awkward at all. I was simply singing in my truck with the windows rolled down, and she was staring at me like I was crazy. At first I didn't recognize her, I mean, after all, I usually get girls staring at me (like Im crazy), but then it hit. Not only did I know this girl, but we used to be really close (obviously).

I remember when we broke up. It was really hard for me. To go from something that seemed so right six months before to no longer talking was a tough pill to swallow. I remember bargaining with God, telling him that I would be a better son if He would bring her back. I tried reading my bible, I tried praying, heck, I even joined a small group. I may have done all of this for the wrong reasons, but God knew that. I had tried my three or four step process to get what I wanted, and it didn't work.

Even now, I sometimes have problems with the, "God, you do this for me, and ill do this for you." statement. Loving God for God is not always easy for me. I will lay in bed and pray at night that God will show me what he wants from me, so I can be a better son. He usually listens, but rarely responds to that statement. I know I have seen God as a means to get what I want in the past, and am trying to see it differently now.

I guess the greatest thing about it is that God knows what is best for me. He knows what ultimate happiness is. I honestly dont think that while Jesus was on this earth, he was sharing three steps to happiness. If he was, what a way to end; allow the Romans to torture and crucify you.. Then you will be ultimately happy. But, isn't that what it is all about. don't we live our lives to give them up for the glory of God?

When life is hard for me, I find that worship songs help me. I can lay in bed and sing to myself, or I can scream them at the top of my lungs in the truck. This morning in church, we sang, "Not to us, but to YOUR name be the glory". It really isn't about me, but it is about God. There are times when I get ticked at him, but I find my best times are in fellowship with Him or His followers.

I know this may have been some rambling, but I hope you see the point, and ultimately are challenged to look at God for God instead of a list of what you want.

Peace out Napoleon...

Shake hands with the devil..

Men cry, but real men are not afraid to let others know when they cry.. Last night, I cried.

I went to Rwanda the end of last August and September. It literally changed my life. Rwanda went through a genocide in 1994. I got back, and immediately bought the book, "Shake hands with the devil." This book was written by the U.N. General stationed in Rwanda during the time, Romeo Dallaire.

I have had the hardest time reading it, because it moves so slow. Well, last night I was channel surfing after the gym, and I came across the documentary of the book. I couldn't move to it quick enough.

Watching what the people of Rwanda went through was heart breaking. The footage didn't show the people being killed, but it did show the machete's being lowered, and the bodies after. It was terrible to see what people do to each other.

So, all this to say that it is going to be on again. On March 20th, at nine thirty, it is going to be one again. I will be watching it. Nine thirty is late for me, but I dont care, I will be watching. Please call me if you want to see this too. It will give you a much larger appreciation of what they went through.

Problems Paying attention

Well, I have been diagnosed!!

I now have HGTV

I cant pay attention...

Stickin' it to the man.

I hate bureaucracies.

Un-Bake times 10...

For those of you who don't know, I have nieces and nephews. The first niece I had (I wasn't the father, but hopefully you know what I mean) has the name of Jaedyn. When Jaedyn was first able to start talking, I was her favorite uncle (maybe because we happen to have the same maturity?). She would always call me Un-Bake. Basically, she couldn't say uncle or Blake, so I happen to be un-bake. It didn't bother me at all.

Well, as of 11:37-ish yesterday, I am now an uncle again. My steph brother josh and his wife trina had their child. A little boy named seth. So, if My count is correct, I now have 10 nieces and nephews..

Jaedyn, Samantha, Nathaniel, Kylie, Brooklyn, Tristian, Bethany, Ethan, Aubrey, and Seth...

What is so sad, is that while I love all of them dearly, I wouldn't bet my life that I got all their names right.. Heck, when nathaniel was first born, I could have sworn that his name started with a W. So, needless to say, my small group of the time called him Wathaniel. Funny people they are..

Playing with kids makes me incredibly happy. I guess one of the things I enjoy most is them laughing. And since un-bake is the coolest uncle, he makes them laugh often. Something about pure joy, I guess.

That got me thinking. Lately, I have been incredibly happy, or even joyful. When I notice something, I like to look at the happenings behind the new realization. Here is what I have discovered.

1) I love the sun. I think one of the best things about the valley is the fact that the sun shines almost all year. I love light, I love the warmth of the sun. I just enjoy being out there.
2) When God works on your heart, it sucks. He changes who you are in your core, and its hard to change, but the end result is pure, and more centered on Christ.
3) Along with God working on your heart, another result is confidence in where you are. For instance, I know God ultimately has everything in my life under control. Whether it be work or personal, He has only the best for me, and that is a relief.
4) I feed off of other people, and lately, the people I have been dealing with at work have been happy. So when they see my bright and smiling face, they can't help but smile, which makes me smile... so on and so forth.

I am still a work in progress, and always will be. But there is something very comforting about knowing that you are headed in the right direction. It is contagious..

inundate the update

inundate may not have a major place in this blog, but at the same point, I get tired of the title, "update". So there ya go!

Today is the first day where I start running sound again for church. I will run third service today, next week, and every other week thereafter. I got volunteered to run a WOW JAM thingy at the end of the month, but it doesn't bother me. I enjoy sound, and I enjoy helping my friends, so its a win win situation.

I also sent an e mail out to the person in charge of life groups. If you remember from a previous post, I had signed up to be a leader. Well, nothing has happened with that (just as much my fault as others). I got challenged last night, and sent the letter this morning.

I have been dragging my feet. I dont know if it is because as soon as it starts, I wont have time, or because of inadequacy. I really feel like satan is trying to jack with my life right now. The last two weeks have been hectic (see hecticizm), and they dont seem like they are going to slow down.

But on the bright side, I will soon have a new mind to "mold". I was talking to my boss on friday, and letting him know how I am just drowning at work. I asked if I could have an intern to help me out, and he gave me the heads up. I had one that I talked to at the Fresno State Recruiting fair on thursday, and will bring him in for an interview. Hopefully it works out.

I honestly dont know why they (Lyles) lets me out in public. I know Im a kick in the shorts, but I may not be the best person for recruiting. But it was at least fun. I couldn't believe myself... By the end of the fair, I didn't want to talk. I just wanted to sit in silence. And I did.

this next week continues the business... I am going to try and set up a couple dinner dates with some buddies, but we will see. Hopefully it works out.

One thing to think about: I was perusing the yellow pages last week, and came across the bridge contact information... As Im sure you may know, the Bridge has a deaf church, which is awesome. But what I dont understand is that the advertisement had a phone number with it... How on earth are deaf people supposed to use the phone?

Let the Hecticizm Continue...

I honestly dont think that is a word.. Hecticizm, but if it did exist, it would be the process of continuing hectic. I think thats a good definition..

So, Monday was crazy, both with work (which somehow consumed something like 17 hours) and with life (you fill in the blank). I got to bed about midnight-thirty (thats right before midnight-thirty five), but got very little sleep. Tuesday was a blur, because of monday, but tuesday night was awesome.

I am getting back into running sound for church during the third service (two weeks a month, one on, one off). I forgot how much I like running sound. I enjoy the music, and the worship so much more when I am in the booth. I have full control, and its awesome. I cant wait to go at it again.

Today has been actually a really good day at work. I started at one of my jobs in kingsburg. One of the many job descriptions I have is a problem solver. I actually got to solve some issues today. That is one of the things I enjoy most about my job. I like to look at a problem, diagnose, and fix. It is in my blood. I have spent most of the past two months in the office, trying to find more work, or bidding, etc. But being able to spend some time in the field, during a beautiful day was great.

But now I am stuck in the office working on my bids. I have one I finished, and one more to get out today. After that, I have two weeks to get one more out (its a bigger job though, 4.4 Million).

Life is getting busy, but I am enjoying it so much right. I have been truly blessed.

Welcome back to reality

Well, after a long week, I am able to reflect back. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning (of the week at least). So I got back to Fresno from Hawaii about four on monday morning.. I guess taking the 1 through Malibu, Oxnard, and Camarillo is not the quickest way home. In fact, it added about two hours to my time. Once I finally got up on monday morning (late morning), I ended up hanging out with a friend for most of the day. We went to Me'N'Eds, hung out at the park, and went to the batting cages. It was a lot of fun. You dont realize how much you miss someone until you spend some quality time with them.
After some great conversation, I was back home to prepare for tuesday. It was really hard going back to work. With the way that work is structured right now, I have so many responsibilities, and it is hard to keep up with them. But, I really think that it has helped me to start the day off correctly. I have the hardest time reading my Bible in the morning. But what I have started to do is try to get to work early, and get my reading done at work. It helps me focus, and keeps my life in check.
Tuesday night, I went to see definitely maybe. It was a pretty good movie. Of course, it was one of those movies that has a happy ending, where the boy gets the girl that he really wanted all along, but didn't know it. Good thing it was based on reality...
Wednesday night was spent at church getting "trained" to run sound for third service. The choir was there and all that fun stuff. I left there at about eight thirty, and went to dinner with a friend. I dont care what you say, Red Robin is a bad idea at nine at night. It was a night spent with my friend Harry Potter (my throne) that leaked over to the morning. I think I lost my small intestine...
Friday night was spent at Roger Roca's. There I watched 42nd street with a friend, and it was a pretty good play. I have never been there before, but would go again for sure.
Saturday was out at my brothers new office doing some demolition. Of course, there has to be action in everything I do, so when we went to the dump, I got stuck.. Mud at the dump stinks, and I brought it all the way back to Fresno with me for all of my friends to share with...
Church this morning was really cool. We talked about church planting, and how to glorify God. The major point that hit me was being fruitful. It isn't something I am good at. I try to be the best friend that I can be, but I have a hard time talking about Christ. I am very timid in a lot of my life, and sharing Christ is no exception.

All in all it was a good week spent with some great friends. To top it off, I was challenged at church to be more of what Christ wants me to be, and less of what the world wants from me. After all, life isn't about me, but about what I can do to glorify God...

Vicious Man eating turtles and docile sharks...

So, Yesterday, I went shark diving.. I know, "Blake, are you stupid?!?" well, yes, but this wasn't one of my stupid ideas. The idea sounds inherently dangerous, but its not.. Apparently the sharks that we see are the same as all the other tourists who do the same thing. These have been "Trained" to be at the spot we dive, so they can get a free meal. after we "chummed" (it was more like chum because they didn't put a lot in the water) we got in the cage to see these pansy sharks. They were long, some up to about 15-18 feet, but they weren't trying to attack the cage or anything.. So much for the element of danger.

All that being said, it was amazing. I was totally in their environment, and I just got to watch them. They were so graceful. it was awesome to be able to be in the water, and watch them eat the little bit that they did. 20 minutes went by way too quickly.

After that, we went down to one of the beaches, and watched the sea turtles come in. There was one on the beach when we got there, and probably about 50 tourists watching him. He looked at us the way turtles do (you know, all turtle-ly) turned around, and went back in the water. apparently we weren't as entertaining as we found him.

Then to lunch.. at world famous pizza bobs (I dont know that that means it is necessarily good, because no matter how good or bad it is, people are still going back to their mother lands, and talk about it). But all that being said, the food was pretty good.

The afternoon consisted of snorkeling in the same area as yesterday, only this time, I didn't go next to the rocks... We saw a little squid (really little, he was only about two inches long), angel fish, turtles, puffer fish, and lots of other fish that I dont know the name of. It was pretty cool, but stupid me didn't think about actually putting sunscreen on, you know because Im going to be in the water. But when you are snorkeling, your back is exposed, and my back has plenty of burn to show for it. But it was worth it.

The evening consisted of sitting on the beach, drinking a bottle of wine, and watching the sun set. That is when it hit me: Hawaii is truly beautiful, and just watching the sun set into the vast ocean was so pretty. It was one of those moments where I could see God's hand on creation.

What beauty. I am truly one lucky person right now.

Mexican traditions in a polynesian world.

So, Im here in Hawaii now.. It is pretty cool. I have learned quite a bit in the 12 hours I have been here...

For instance, Never go snorkeling in the same proximity as surfers... There are a few reasons for it. #1. If surfers are surfing where you are snorkeling, then it is probably a little rough.
#2. If surfers are surfing where you are snorkeling, then you may get run over.

So, I didn't get hit, but I did get pummeled into the rocks.. The left side (that is the drivers side) of my body is pretty beat up. I have a gash on my forearm about 8" long, and numerous scrapes and bruises on my leg and foot.

But, I totally have a cover. Don't tell anyone this, but I am going shark diving today, and I am going to tell all the girls that I got viciously attacked by sharks, and had to fend for my life. Luckily, I got away. The shark, not so much. He is sitting on my brothers wall right now with a picture of the victor next to it, (that would be me).

So, that story will not go over well, but I can try.

Im off to get into a cage! Peace out

I'm not your frickin' caddy!!!

So... I'm going to Hawaii on Thursday to see my brother... I know, "Hawaii... I am SOOO jealous..." (please someone say that so I dont feel like a moron)

But, to have things shipped from the mainland to Hawaii is incredibly expensive.. not only that, but they dont have a lot of the products that the mainland has to offer, such as CD cases (the cheap plastic ones) and beer...


So, To make a long story short, I am taking 500 (that is a five with two zeros to the right of the significant digit) CD cases, yes, five hundred, over to him. Luckily, I got luggage for Christmas. BUT THE CD CASES TAKE UP THE BIG BAG!!! FRICKIN' A!!!!

Then, I get the, "Blake, I want beer, can you find..."

Yea, I can find...

so I go to the local Bev Mo... I know, hard to find there, Beer mart here has it... and I find 75% of all requests.. Now I get to pack this beer in my luggage (please God, dont let it break or blow up) and take this to him so he can get his drink on...

So my question to you is:

Do I have on a golf cap?

Do I look like a caddy? (Ill answer that for you, no, caddies dont look this good)

Do I sport anybodies clubs but my own?

I'm not your caddy, I'm not your delivery man, Heck, I wont even do your stupid windows... Make someone else your #$(&$#%...

Timeline from now until...

This past month has been a whirlwind. I look back at the first month of 2008, and wonder if this is a precursor of what is to come. Life has changed so much. I have gone from looking to a house to not wanting to have a part in the market. When something doesn't feel right, I tend to push away hard at it. I become the little boy who crosses his arms and says, "no!". That's the way I feel about it right now.

Part of the reason is because I don't know where God has me going. I am not sure that construction is the end-all to my life. Partially, because I miss Rwanda. I miss the idea of simplicity and a people driven society. Instead of "who has the most stuff", it is much more about the idea of relationships, and people matter. When it all boils down, it is people that matter. What I have couldn't mean less to me.

I know that having things isn't bad, but when it becomes the basis of what you do, it becomes your new god. I see nothing wrong with having stuff, as long as it is used to reach people.

I am a pretty lucky person. God has given me the ability to fit into a world where many Christ-followers would either be intimidated, or would choose not to go. Construction could be my ministry. Granted, I don't always see it that way, but that is the ultimate point of being here on earth isn't it? We are here to worship, and show the love of Christ.

I guess it breaks down to I could either be in fresno in six months, or I could be far away. The interesting thing is, being away from here wouldn't bother me. Sure, I may miss some of my friends, but I would see them again.

One of my closest friends told me one time that she had no problem being one place over another because ultimately, Earth isn't her home town, she belongs in heaven. At first, I thought it was korny, but I think I see where she is coming from. Life isn't about being one place and making that home, it is about being where Christ wants you, and making that your nesting spot until he has something else for us.

Ultimately, I don't know where He wants me, or what exactly he wants from me. I can say that I am excited about the next six months, but It also freaks me out. I operate off of a calendar. I like to know where I am going and what I am doing. But God doesn't work on my calendar, and thats ok. It teaches me that life isn't about me, it's about Him. I have a part in what He does, but I'm not the focal point.

Another day in paradise..

You know, even though at times my day may be hectic, or im pulling my hair out, it could be a lot worse. When people ask me how I am, usually, I have two responses: "Just another day in paradise" or, "It could be worse". Well, it could be a lot worse. I have been enormously blessed recently. I have a great job, I have awesome friends and a stable family. I am able to wake up in the morning and get out of bed. I serve an awesome God who wants nothing but the best for me. Heck, I live a pretty darn good life.

This all gets put into prospective for me when I hear that someone I am close to is going through tough times. You may think you have it hard, but at least your brother didn't try to commit suicide. What do you say when you hear that? For some strange reason, "I'm sorry" just doesn't cut it. There is nothing you can do, nothing you can say, except that I care about you, and I'll be praying for you.
What I really have a hard time with though is that I like to fix things. I enjoy helping people out, and fixing problems. I can't do that in this situation. It is something that only God can take care of. For that, I am thankful. I know if it was me, I would probably screw it up. And that is ok, because as great as I may think I am, I am nothing compared to Jesus. Letting Him have control is the only thing I can do.

In a way, it is an enormous load off of my shoulders, but in another way, I am still here in this moment, waiting to see what is going to happen.

He knows what He needs to do, but I don't know what I need to do. Luckily, He has it all planned out. I will wait patiently.

My thinking spot...

So, I was standing at a urinal doing my thing this afternoon, and a thought hit me...

That to say that everyone should have a urinal.. I mean, your doing your thing, staring at the spot (you know what im talking about guys), and all of a sudden, a thought hit you... Brilliant!

Im looking for a house right now, and having a urinal would sure be a plus..

I know, I know... Three blogs in two days.. I must not have a life. Give me a break, I just got my wisdom teeth pulled, and I have slept most of the past two days. The blog-o-sphere has given me someone to share insight with.

So I went to Fresno Pacifist tonight (FPU) to a porno seminar. Craig Gross, one of the founders of this website (xxxchurch.com) was speaking of it. We watched a movie that basically narrated what they were about. It is a "Christian" organization (Ill explain the quotes later) that goes around the country, including schools, churches, and porno conventions to tell people that Jesus loves them. Kind of outside the box. I mean, who the hell would go to a porno convention to tell the porn stars that Jesus loves them, and he wants them for his own. Apparently this isn't your parents seminar.

Chris talked about how he has spent parts of the last few summers going on tour with Ron Jeremy (the biggest male porn star) to schools to debate porn. Ron and Chris have become friends through all of this, and they have had intense conversations. One thing that Ron said struck me. Chris is openly accepted in the porn community, even with what he does. If Ron walked into a church tomorrow, he would be rejected, based on his past. How heart breaking is that? Here we are, called to be Christ-followers, and on the off chance that a porn star, past or present, walks in wondering what we are all about, would possibly get turned away. Something isn't right.

I asked Chris where he gets more rejection from, the porn community, or the "Christian" (quotes again?) community. Without a doubt, he said, the Christian community. People apparently don't get the idea that we need to show the love of Christ to people. Apparently that means only the people who have their lives together. You know, the ones who love their wives, the ones that don't drink too much or swear, or kick their dogs for no good reason right? But it doesn't work that way.

Who did Jesus hang out with? He hung out with the prostitutes, the broken, the poor, the tax collectors... That was 2K years ago.. Allow me to translate to today... The poor, the politicians, the construction workers, and the porn stars (just to name a few).

Chris regularly attends these porn conventions to hand out bibles inside. "Christians" stand outside and picket these events telling people that they are burning in hell for doing these things.. I seem to remember reading in the Bible that no sin is better or worse than another. Porn must not be what was being talked about...

How cool is it that people think outside the box when it comes to Christ? That is something that I strive to do. It does me no good to sit in my pew on sunday and listen to the preacher talk about Christ and then do nothing about it during the week. I mean, if I love Christ, why don't I show it? Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all.

I sincerely hope that I never become a Bible beater. The church has a choice, the way I see it. We can choose to adapt to what the world needs, or we can stay in church, talk about how the world is going to hell in a hand basket, and do nothing about it.

But what do I do about it?

By the way, the quotations... I put Christian in quotes because I hate the word. Christians have been stereotyped as people who are bible beaters. I would much rather be called a Christ-follower. You can be a Christian without being a Christ-follower. You can't follow Christ without loving Him (after all, isn't it all about love?) Cue Cheesy music, but you got my point.

Novacaine

I have no idea what they give you when they pull your wisdom teeth, but it never seemed to be enough. I think the worst part of getting them pulled (during the process, because after sucks pretty bad too) is listening to the snapping and the cracking. When you hear the doctor say something along the lines of, "I think he's choking" it makes me a little nervouse as well. But alas (yes, I used alas in a blog.. yay me) My wisdom teeth are out, and I am moving on with my life. But, it all got me thinking.

#1 there are many good and bad ideas of food to eat when you have your wisdom teeth taken out.

Good ideas: ice cream (thanks steph), smoothies (with a spoon), and soup.

Bad ideas: Crackers and granola bars... (stupid me)

#2 One of the teeth being pulled was not completely numb. The doctor gave me a couple more squirts of the numb juice, and I was ready to go.

How often do I choose to be numb to people because it just hurts? I walk by people asking for money or work or something at least a couple times a day. I was talking about this to a friend of mine the other day, not necessarily the novacaine, but the homeless.

When we pray the Lords prayer, we ask for His kingdom to come, on earth as it is in heaven. What would do that look like? how would we treat others. Instead of ignoring them because they are a waste of time, or they have nothing to offer society, would we hold them in a different light?

I met a homeless guy a while back, and he seemed to have a wonderful heart. We had lunch together, talked about Jesus, and just had a good time. I couldn't believe how much scripture he knew. If we saw homeless people differently, how would we see this guy? He would have a great story. He started out with everything, lost it, and then got lifted back up again..

But as it is, once the homeless become homeless, it is nearly impossible to get back on their feet.

I really wish I knew more about programs or things to help people. Some deserve to be homeless, but at the same point, some have just had a run of bad luck. I dont know what could lead to that, but at the same point, it could happen.

I go home from work early yesterday, and the product of my mind produces something like this.. Welcome to my life people.

Update

Life has been great the past month.

It is amazing how life can change with the addition (or subtraction) of people you are always around. One of my bosses has been re stationed. While this makes my job more difficult in some ways, it helps tremendously with my stress level. No longer do I have the eight or ten interruptions per day from them, but now, I am able to do the work in the order I need to, and more quickly. It has greatly reduced my stress level. When you couple that with the gym (the ultimate stress reliever), life has been good.

Not only is work going well, but church has been great too. We are currently going through Jonah... I know I know. Everyone knows the story of Jonah. But I am trying to still get something out of it. When you have the same story presented by someone different, you get different opinions. As I get older, my opinions tend to change as well, I look at things differently. So, to keep the story short, it has been good.

The time has come for me to get involved at church again. I know it doesn't mean a whole lot me saying it, but im trying. I have called the worship leader about running sound. He hasn't returned my call yet, but I am hopeful. I love to run sound. I may not be vocally talented (those of you who I have serenaded can attest) but I can really help out with sound quality.

The problem for me comes when I get over-involved. Last summer, I was doing a lot of different things. I ran sound for the 4th service every week, as well as did all the set up and tear down. I got over stretched. There was no joy in what I was doing. So, I am going to do my best to keep that from happening.

That being said, I still have more I need to do, I talked with Charles smith last week and this week about getting into a guys small group. I know that the Bridge has many life groups, but what I really need are men around me. Mens accountability, and mens fellowship. A friend recently challenged me on this. I have been talking, for almost a year now, about getting into a small group. They were right in telling me that I need to be a man of my word. Well, it has been a long time coming, but I will soon be able to comply with my own wishes.

The last few weeks, prayer has been amazing. It seems that I can no longer sleep without having quality time with God. I'm not good at prayer, but I dont know anyone who really is. I tend to run out of things to say, and things to pray for. But I guess I have been listening to people with a different ear. while they may not have been specifically asking for prayer, they are still part of my prayer life.

Two of my closest friends are moving away this weekend. Andre and Carrie are moving to visalia, and taking Ezra (their kid) with them. I think the move is great for them, but it will obviously have an impact on our friendship.
I came to the Bridge a few years ago during a hard time in my life. I knew Carrie from the previous church I went to. She and Andre invited me to their small group, and the growing began there. Andre has helped me through so many situations, and I am immensely thankful for that.

With all that being said, I think it is a good move for them. Their lives are becoming more and more entrenched in the south valley. That, and they dont currently have a home church (long story). So, needless to say, it is a good move.

Well, Today I am off to the dentist to have a foot applied to my face, and have teeth pulled (wisdom teeth). It is an afternoon appointment, and I will be back at work tomorrow. People have told me that I wont be able to, but they don't know who I am... I am no mere mortal.

Stay tuned for updates.