Diggin' it...

Saw this via Marko's blog and I was impressed by this guy's (Matt Weddle) creativity and quality.

Fall is here...

I officially know that fall has arrived when the calendar has more pen marks on it than my high school math tests. Incidentally, I wasn't very good at math.

I'll spare the gory details...

• Fall kick off came and went...it amazes me how good some students are at DDR
• Supertour came and went...it was loud and I've never seen a bigger mess in a sanctuary
• Ministry Plan deadline came and went...I got mine done and need to present it at the board meeting next week
• Baptism 101 came and went...one student ready for next week!
• Saturday soccer came and went...a draw with Reading? Good grief!
• Sunday morning kick off came and went...absolute blast

In other news, I was awakened today with the news that a vehicle we had borrowed from friends had been stolen. It appeared as though someone tried to steal my in-laws vehicle (there were scissors in the ignition) but since they had no progress had decided to steal our borrowed truck.

We called the police and I went to work. I was at work when the police arrived to get my wife to fill out a police report. Then I got the phone call.

"Mike, didn't you drive the truck to church yesterday?"

Umm...yeah. I drove to church early in the truck and parked in the mall parking lot across the street. Erin and the kids came later, parked in a different spot and we all stayed around for our kick off BBQ after the service. When all was said and done we packed up and headed home. In the same vehicle! Being the master genius that I am, I completely forgot the truck in the mall parking lot.

When I stood up in my office and looked at the mall parking lot, I could see the truck that had prematurely been reported stolen. I'm feeling like the biggest idiot ever today! Enjoy a laugh or two at my expense. Everyone else is!

Renovations...

I decided to go for it and change my blog layout by trying a new version that Blogger has out right now. So now I'm slowly in the process of updating my links and maybe adding a few new things. I liked the old design, but I like some of the newer features like labels and customizing my templates. This should make for hours of fun.

Whatcha think?

What's in a song...

I started off watching MuchMoreMusic's "Back in...1995" and somehow I ended up in front of the computer with my guitar playing along with some of my favorite 90's tunes. But it got me to thinking about all the memories that I have wrapped up in songs. It doesn't matter where I hear some of these songs, but I'm always taken back to a specific moment.

The strange thing is that it happens mostly with stuff from the 90's. Is that normal?

Here's a sample of what found it's way onto my Itunes playlist tonight...

• Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth (Primitive Radio Gods)
• The Freshman (The Verve Pipe)
• Two Princes (Spin Doctors)
• 1979 (Smashing Pumpkins)
• Smooth (Santana & Rob Thomas)
• You Get What You Give (New Radicals)
• Stay (Lisa Loeb)
• Good (Better Than Ezra)
• Breakfast at Tiffany's (Deep Blue Something)
• Roll to Me (Del Amitri)
• Various Gin Blossoms tunes

Special day...

My wife not only celebrates a b-day today but she just...get ready for this...started her own blog! Ok, so she hasn't blogged as of yet, but I think she will fairly soon. So, be nice!

It's been a crazy week...and it will only get crazier...but I'll be back here one of these days. But now I've got a hot date watching "House".

Cane free...

Yesterday I returned my cane. Now, for the first time in over a month, I can hold myself up as I walk with my own two legs. But while it's great to have the freedom, it's also easy for me to forget that I'm still injured which sometimes means that I can do stupid things. Little things like getting out of the car wrong or doing the stairs too fast can put me back on the couch very quickly.

My physiotherapist tells me I'm a week ahead of schedule. Again, that would be a good thing except that I tend to think I'm in better condition than I really am. I'm still months away from even being able to run. But while that's still a tough spill to swallow, it's what's driving me. It's been so long since I could run on a soccer pitch and put a ball in the back of the net. I hope I can get there again.

Miracles do happen...

We actually got our car (a 2007 Nissan Versa) yesterday. I was beginning to wonder if we were going to have to find something else, but we finally got the phone call.

I called and talked to a manager on Thursday morning and he apologized and said he would look into things for me. While I was hoping for some "financial considerations" after the hassle we've been through I was unable to get any sort of deal. That's apparently what happens when the car you want is in high demand and low supply.

Oh well...at least we can get on with life now.

Searching for a butt kicking...

I just finished "Searching For God Knows What" by Donald Miller. He's one of the few authors that can evoke almost every possible emotion. There were times that I completely disagreed with him or was just annoyed by what he was talking about and I was tempted to put the book back on the shelf.

But I stuck it out. And I think it was worth it. Miller does a great job in reminding us that our faith is not based on formulas, but rather it is based on relationships. I felt like I got my butt kicked because I often times read the Bible looking for some sort of working formula that I can apply to my life for a quick fix. But, what I need to do is read it as part of a larger story of how God works in and through relationships.

I may not explain this very well. I can never seem to write good book reviews/reports. But I was left thinking, and that is a good thing.

What sticks with me the most is his "lifeboat" analogy. He tells of a teacher who once asked his class what they would do if they were stranded in a lifeboat with a group of different people and then they had to get rid of somebody. Miller talks at length about how we constantly seem to be comparing ourselves to everyone and trying to somehow prove that we are better than others. We try to convince ourselves that we have more of a right to be in the lifeboat than somebody else, when in reality God is not looking at any of us as more important than another.

It was just a really good reminder that I need to be aware of what I'm thinking about others.

Gone but not forgotten...

It's a sad day as the world says goodbye to Steve Irwin, the infamous "Crocodile Hunter". See here for the press release of the Australia Zoo.

I remembered the first time I saw Steve on TV, I was hooked. His antics were a little unusual at times, and maybe even a little crazy, but his way with animals was absolutely amazing to watch.

Sure, he probably shouldn't have made the movie "Collision Course", but hs other videos were (amd are) always a blast to watch.

The great car debacle (part 2)...

Obviously we were in need of another car, unless we want to use a bicycle as our main form of transportation. So we started looking the weekend they told us that the Optra was a "total loss". We've tried everything...and literally driven almost everything. We even had a guy from church who owns a dealership trying to help us out.

The problem is that either we're too picky or we're just too indecisive. Ok, it might actually be a bit of both.

We finally decided that we would try to buy something new and we then narrowed it down further to 2 different models, a Dodge Caliber and a Nissan Versa. Well, it just so happens that both vehicles are extremely difficult to find with manual transmission...go figure. But at long last we were told by one dealership that they had a Versa coming in. They assured us it would be in that week or early the next. We put a $500 deposit. Yeah...that was 3 weeks ago.

I've talked to the salesman about 6 or 7 times since then and he always has the same story. Apparently the car is at the dock and they can't seem to get them to release it. The dealership has said they've been told "you'll have the car in 24 hours", which is what they then tell us. But then there's still no call.

The latest call said we'd have it by yesterday. The manager of the dealership said that if they weren't able to get it for us they would rent us a car (as we our currently borrowing a vehicle from friends at church). But, do you think I got a call yesterday? Nope.

This is getting ridiculous. I'd take my money elsewhere, except that my wife really, really likes the car and we won't be able to find one anywhere else. So we're kind of stuck.

This can't be normal, can it?