What's Going Through My Head

2007-03-27T10:44:00.000-05:00

I'm quite proud of my alma matter for deciding to take back spring break...

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/alternative_spring_break_devolves

2007-03-21T16:12:00.001-05:00

2007-03-20T18:06:00.000-05:00

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He! And the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?" "This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked. "Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."
The man gestured, and the gate began to open. "Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets." The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"
>Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump." They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.
The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," he answered.
"Well, that's confusing," the ! Traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

2007-03-11T09:47:00.000-05:00

It's selection Sunday!!

How close will bracketology be?

2006-09-24T21:08:00.000-05:00

Mark the date and time for me if you will....

I'm putting this in my neglected blog.

Life is tough. It's very much a contact sport. Sometimes you'll get some bruises and scars.

My suggestion...don't hold it against the people who scar you. I promise you this is a lot tougher than going after revenge.

But...I also think that when we take a minute to remember we're all broken in different ways...it becomes a little easier.

Keep forgiving...and when you're rebuffed...do it again.

2006-07-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

Mia's new cousin/playmate...

Ivy

06-02-06_1614.jpg

2006-06-29T10:44:00.000-05:00

06-02-06_1614.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Puppy puppy puppy

06-26-06_1235.jpg

2006-06-26T14:37:00.000-05:00

06-26-06_1235.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Boldly going where weve already gone before

06-25-06_2129.jpg

2006-06-25T23:30:00.000-05:00

06-25-06_2129.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Andy finds boobs

06-25-06_2014.jpg

2006-06-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

06-25-06_2014.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

The oompa band

06-25-06_1725.jpg

2006-06-25T19:28:00.000-05:00

06-25-06_1725.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Anyone want a souvenir?

06-25-06_1440.jpg

2006-06-25T16:41:00.000-05:00

06-25-06_1440.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Slightly phalic margarita

06-25-06_1412.jpg

2006-06-25T16:12:00.000-05:00

06-25-06_1412.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Dinner

06-25-06_1407.jpg

2006-06-25T16:09:00.000-05:00

06-25-06_1407.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Lunch

06-25-06_1353.jpg

2006-06-25T15:55:00.000-05:00

06-25-06_1353.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Chris shops at margaritaville

06-25-06_0946.jpg

2006-06-25T11:47:00.000-05:00

06-25-06_0946.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Breakfast

06-25-06_0732.jpg

2006-06-25T09:33:00.000-05:00

06-25-06_0732.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Of course i went to church

06-24-06_1129.jpg

2006-06-24T13:31:00.000-05:00

06-24-06_1129.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

And were at the pool

06-24-06_0923.jpg

2006-06-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

06-24-06_0923.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Breakfast again

My second home

2006-06-23T12:43:00.000-05:00

My second home
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Where i work

2006-06-09T14:37:00.000-05:00

Time to get back into the grove...

Let's be realistic...I'm probably the only person that reads this thing...but frankly, I enjoy looking back and seeing what I wrote a year or two ago.

So...with that being said...I'm picking up were I left off...

Welcome back to the blogosphere!

2005-09-21T08:17:00.000-05:00

So..not much being posted the last couple of months...that's what comes from a job transition and a variety of other things.

Once I get back to the big town at the end of this week...more posts will be forthcoming.

IMG_2605_EDIT1_0041

2005-09-20T19:13:00.000-05:00

IMG_2605_EDIT1_0041
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Hard to believe...but I'm one of 25 grandchildren on my mom's side of the family.

3 grandkids aren't in this picture (1 is deceased and 2 are ill)..but everyone else plus 1 great grandkid is there.

Retreat wrapping up

2005-08-25T10:38:00.000-05:00

Retreat wrapping up
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Almost done

Riding the pony

2005-08-24T18:37:00.000-05:00

Riding the pony
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Time honored tradition

Retreat continues

2005-08-24T12:49:00.000-05:00

Retreat continues
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Time to swim

08-23-05_2000.jpg

2005-08-23T20:01:00.000-05:00

08-23-05_2000.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Retreat time

07-14-05_1331.jpg

2005-07-14T13:33:00.000-05:00

07-14-05_1331.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Up on the roof

07-10-05_2102.jpg

2005-07-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

07-10-05_2102.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Mister hustle takes to the batting cages

2005-07-06T13:44:00.000-05:00

And if I die before I wake.....have my funeral home viewing be like this guys

2005-07-06T10:18:00.000-05:00

I agree.....Tom Cruise Is Nuts....

2005-07-05T12:10:00.001-05:00

You have to love a dog who can walk herself

2005-07-05T12:10:00.000-05:00

This is supposed to be playing...I'm not sure Mia agrees

2005-07-05T12:09:00.001-05:00

Just Coco...trying to navigate the couch

2005-07-05T12:09:00.000-05:00

Mia (my dog...17 months) and Coco (Joe the RD's dog...11 weeks)

2005-07-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

How I spent my 4th of July weekend....

2005-07-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

Some pretty cool highlights from Live 8 right here.....

2005-06-29T08:42:00.000-05:00

Text of Commencement address by Steve Jobs

This is the prepared text of the address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, who spoke at Commencement on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my patents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that your are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

2005-06-27T14:33:00.000-05:00

This is a highly interesting theory.....

2005-06-25T08:50:00.001-05:00

Katie and Kyra

2005-06-25T08:50:00.000-05:00

Kim, Kyra, and Riley

2005-06-25T08:49:00.000-05:00

John and Kyra

2005-06-25T08:48:00.000-05:00

That's me and Kyra Lynn Kopec....one of the happiest babies you might ever meet.

2005-06-22T17:32:00.000-05:00

Go cubbies

2005-06-14T19:15:00.000-05:00

Go cubbies
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

First pitch forthcoming

Cubs vs marlins

2005-06-14T18:40:00.000-05:00

Cubs vs marlins
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

At another cubs game

2005-06-14T08:30:00.000-05:00

Head here for a self-esteem boost.

2005-06-13T16:34:00.000-05:00

Want some virtual bubble wrap?

2005-06-13T15:58:00.000-05:00

Can someone tell me why I'm on my couch actually caring about this Michael Jackson verdict?

I think we can all agree that he's kind of a freak....anyone who thinks they can justify sharing a bed with 12 year olds....well.....

So now, Wolf Blitzer is telling me the jury is here....and the judge is heading into the courtroom.

10 counts to be read through and figured out....

You look at the goofiness of all these people standing outside a courtroom....give me a freakin break....we are talking about child molestation here....

2005-06-13T12:50:00.000-05:00

Are there any scientoligists who aren't famous? I know a fair number of people belonging to a fair number of religions....none are scientologists.

So again I ask....are there any scientolists who aren't famous?

2005-06-12T21:31:00.000-05:00

So.....here's the rundown of my day....

9am - St Teresa of Avila

12pm - St Luke the Evangelist

5pm - St Vincent DePaul

10pm - St Jack Sullivans

I have an interesting life when I can say I consumed alcohol at all 4 places.

2005-06-11T20:10:00.000-05:00

It's been a long week....again

I had a chance to go back into Michigan for the second time in 3 weeks. This time it was for a family wedding, which is always a good chance to catch up with people. The only unorthodox thing about this wedding was that it started at 8am and I didn't leave until 8pm.

The students of DePaul have moved out, officially ending my 4th year as a member of the staff here. This means that the students who came here in 2001 when I started, have now graduated.

Summer is a great time.....I hope to update the blog with some good stuff....more pictures of Mia at the beach, maybe a Cubs game, a Sox game....who knows. Keep checking in.

Cake cutting

2005-06-10T18:26:00.000-05:00

Cake cutting
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Cousin judy

2005-06-10T16:29:00.000-05:00

Cousin judy
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Trapped in a pew

2005-06-10T16:22:00.000-05:00

Trapped in a pew
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

And the journey continues

2005-06-10T15:25:00.000-05:00

And the journey continues
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

Wonder if mom is regretting the outfit

2005-06-10T09:19:00.000-05:00

Wonder if mom is regretting the outfit
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

I think thats the wedding party

2005-06-10T09:16:00.000-05:00

I think thats the wedding party
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

I believe this is the kasi

2005-06-10T07:37:00.000-05:00

I believe this is the kasi
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

I have no idea what is going on

2005-06-10T07:18:00.000-05:00

I have no idea what is going on
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

And the wedding begins

2005-06-10T07:08:00.000-05:00

And the wedding begins
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

06-09-05_2023.jpg

2005-06-09T19:24:00.000-05:00

06-09-05_2023.jpg
Originally uploaded by spartan99demon01.

2005-06-08T12:02:00.000-05:00

Time for Star Wars Episode 3.5

2005-06-08T08:29:00.000-05:00

This is something that simply makes me smile whenever I hear the song....particularly after a couple margaritas

2005-06-08T08:14:00.000-05:00

Pshew......glad this debate is finally settled....I wonder if Mel Gibson will do a "Passion of the Christ Special Edition"

2005-06-07T19:10:00.000-05:00

Here I am....at a wedding....figured i should put the picture here...because god knows everyone else will see it eventually.

2005-06-07T13:07:00.000-05:00

Has anyone ever been this tired?

2005-06-07T10:32:00.000-05:00

Some fun video of my dog from yesterday.....

2005-06-07T08:03:00.000-05:00

Interesting day for spartan alums in sports......

Scott Skiles appears to be out as Chicago Bulls coach....

and

Jeff Smoker had to change his football number....for what can only be described as purely insane reason.

2005-06-03T09:05:00.000-05:00

Have you seen me?

Back on Kyle Farnsworth watch.....according the Detroit Free Press, apparently his name is now "Jeff"

Together with current closer Ugueth Urbina (eight saves in eight chances since Percival was injured) and set-up man Jeff Farnsworth, they've made the late innings less of an adventure than in years past.

2005-06-03T08:55:00.000-05:00

Saw Dave Matthews Band last night....somewhat underwhelming....

One Sweet World
Grey Street
Louisiana Bayou
Too Much
Dream Girl
Hello Again
Time Of The Season
Die Trying
Lover Lay Down
American Baby
Smooth Rider
Warehouse
Hunger For The Great Light
Crash
Stand Up
All Along The Watchtower

Old Dirt Hill
Tripping Billies

More disturbing from where I sit.....two things....the first the group of high schoolers who said "I've heard every song I wanted to hear"....excuse me? Apparently they own no music by the band that was written before 2001. Also disturbing where the two couples having fully clothed carnal relations on the lawn next to me...perhaps I'm getting too old for outdoor concerts.

2005-06-02T08:51:00.000-05:00

The National Spelling Bee is today...

What if we held a fantasy draft?

2005-05-31T11:42:00.000-05:00

Finally....a weather forecasting system I can stand behind

2005-05-29T22:27:00.000-05:00

WHY would anyone think this is a good idea?

2005-05-29T22:13:00.000-05:00

I write this as I complete the last night of my sojourn to Bay City, Michigan. I've been here since Thursday and head back to Chicago in the morning....so people of Chicago rejoice....even if I really only hang out with about 5 people there...and at that...it's really 2...I just say 5 to make myself sound less pathetic.

The truth of the matter is that I'm looking forward to making it back, and so is the dog. Once I get back, it's time to get some things straightened out for good in a variety of areas. So if you really like me....say an extra prayer or two that this cloud that's been hanging over me for almost a month breaks.....and that the old maxim is true...if you hide from the rain you'll live in a desert.

2005-05-29T16:57:00.000-05:00

This is Kennedy Grace Hubbell....a new fake cousin of mine....she's only about two weeks old.

2005-05-29T13:43:00.000-05:00

My cousin's Charlie and Becky on Charlie's prom night. Charlie is bound for Grand Valley State University...Becky is bound for Michigan State University.

2005-05-29T11:52:00.000-05:00

A pretty good column by Mitch Albom about "war abuses" and the like....makes some points that are logical (imagine that)

2005-05-29T11:45:00.000-05:00

Interesting fact for this holiday weekend...

Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior now has more trips to the disabled list in his 3 year career.....than he has complete games to his credit.

There is no Cubs curse....this is the work of Satan herself.

2005-05-28T16:22:00.000-05:00

Let's briefly relive my week shall we?

Sunday

4 Catholic masses....3 in English....1 in Spanish

A trip to the Fieldhouse at 10pm

Monday

A perfectly enjoyable ResEd banquet

A trip to Kelly's, BW3, and Lincoln Station

Tuesday

Another day at work...including some training

A trip to Kelsey's

Wednesday

Fiesta Mexicana for lunch

A trip to Jack Sullivan's in the evening

Watched Star Wars Episode III AGAIN....sorry...but the entire sequence including the wiping out of the jedi and the transformation of anakin into darth vader makes it worth it...plus George Lucas needs the money

Thursday

Drove home

Had wine and pizza on my mom's patio

Friday

Shopped

Babysat

Met my sister at the Midland Street Pub

Saturday

Shopped

Met my sister at BW3

For some reason...whenever I'm facing a transition in my life...my life becomes similar to that of a vagabound.

Only in bay city

2005-05-28T13:01:00.000-05:00

Do u go to the bread outlet

For sebbys wedding

2005-05-28T12:48:00.000-05:00

John is a nature lover

2005-05-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

Ever have a brain freeze at 7-11?

2005-05-27T20:15:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend filling in your own captions for these pictures of Tom Cruise

2005-05-27T16:59:00.000-05:00

I forgot to add this picture last week after Nate and Leanne got married

2005-05-27T16:52:00.001-05:00

This is my almost 3 year old cousin Claire....we went down the slide quite a few times.

2005-05-27T16:52:00.000-05:00

I got to visit 6 month old cousin Luke today...he's getting really big

2005-05-27T16:51:00.000-05:00

Any exciting photo of just part of my grandfather's keychain collection

2005-05-27T16:50:00.000-05:00

Seriously....would you eat something from "Papa Chubby"?

Be the best ditch digger u can be

2005-05-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

Thatr my sister

At the bar again

2005-05-27T14:49:00.000-05:00

Ive been at a bar every day this week

My grandpas dog

2005-05-27T10:17:00.000-05:00

Im truly amazed he is still alive. (the dog i mean)

2005-05-27T07:38:00.000-05:00

ESPN NBA analyst Dee Brown says he and his wife Tammy are expecting a baby boy next month who'll they name Anakin Walker Brown, after the Star Wars character who becomes Darth Vader. Really.

2005-05-26T15:39:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Kim and Rich....and new baby Kiera!

2005-05-24T15:54:00.000-05:00

He he....funny star wars costumes.

2005-05-23T13:45:00.000-05:00

In case you're wondering....here's what I'll be saying tonight at our RA banquet...

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.