"Aagghh...my face is on fire..."

What a great Ralph Wiggum quote...

Actually, my throat is on fire. And no amount of ice, cough syrup, Mountain Dew, juice, water, or Hall's lozenge really seems to make it feel all that much better. Oh, the joy. I can't wait to hear what my singing voice sounds like... woohoo.

Because of being sick, today was incredibly unproductive, with the exception of making a few phone calls, working on some band stuff, and doing general computer maintenance. I've been backing up photos, documents, and downloads to DVD...and I just finished burning my 3rd one. 2 more to go. Yipee.

Stacey's sick, too, so Pam's going to sub-in for her singing tomorrow...heck, she may be taking the lead, since my voice may be kaput (sp?).

I'f I'm too sick, I'll have to skip out on the Super Bowl party. That would stink to miss that. But, I don't want it to be like "The Masque of the Red Death," where I quietly walk around the room, spreading the plague to everyone. But if I have no fever and feel better, I just won't breathe on anyone. LOL. Besides, I've got video to shoot for church.

Well, back to DVD-backups.

KEY PHRASES: "It's like nothing happened." "I thought all phlegm was bad...I didn't know some colors were worse than others." (ewwwww..sorry).

Doctor Doctor part 2

Ugh.

Sick...again. Sore throat...that nasty feeling when you feel a lump of...some concoction of "goo"...in your throat. Hurts every time I cough. Stacey's got the same thing, too. At least the epidemic seems to be momentarily confined to our household.

Maybe that was what the goofy "feeling" I had Thursday was prepping me for, in part. Friday turned out to be an INCREDIBLY LONG day. So, that was not much fun. Amidst all kinds of crises, a goofy "my bank messed up" issue, getting sick, and wasting a trip to a cancelled volleyball game, I was feeling a little overwhelmed. (Who, me?). I'm glad that much of the source of the negativity worked itself out, but some stuff - particularly with my bank - will have to wait until Monday before I know if that's resolved. And I'm still sick... And...

Okay, what good does whining about it do? I'll move on...

Some funny stuff: Kailyn walked in the room when The "Two Towers" was on TV the other night. Now, she's at an age where she calls EVERY single one of her stuffed toys "baby." So, when she walks in the room, she sees the scene where Gandalf is standing off on the stone bridge against the balrog (demon-looking thing). I was about to change the channel (so kailyn wouldn't get nightmares), when she looked at the TV, pointed at the balrog, and said, "Baby." I was laughing pretty hard, though I'm not sure what to make of that. "Oh, look...my kid thinks demon-looking things are babies. Is that healthy?" -Sigh- What kind of a dad have I become??

Helped J-mo this morning move a couple of pieces of "cutting edge" furniture out of his storage unit. J-mo, I really think that vinyl "floor rocker" would look great next to the black leather couches in your living room. But that's just me...hehe.

KEY PHRASES: "Good grief." "Is Dr. Phil in the house?" "I hate banks." "Is it possible for your trachea to 'detach' from your body when you cough too hard?" "Who's actually in the Super Bowl this year, anyway?"

Doctor Doctor

Okay, it's 11:00 a.m., and there's a bad vibe in the air. Why? 1. A couple of e-mails from friends indicating some "negativity." 2. Where's the Baer blog??? 3. Stacey had an 8:30 doctor's appointment...and she's STILL not home yet. 4. Kailyn's got a 2:30 doctor appointment (I love watching a kid get shots...ewwww). 5. I have a headache. 6. Other people's blogs refer to some pretty negative "happenings" in their lives. 7. Kyle's talking about moving away to Nashville. (I guess that's cool for him, but I hate watching friends move). 8. I have the feeling I've (once again) inadvertantly offended people lately. 9. On top of all this, there's this stinking feeling in my gut that something bad's happened...or about to.

I hate it when that happens. Fortunately, since I'm not a psychic or a prophet, that feeling's usually grounded more in something I ate than "premonition" ability. Still, it's a sucky feeling.

Okay, let me fight the "blah" with some good news:

- Band practice went very well last night...again. Kyle and Joel both had some guitar "errata," but nothing that wasn't moved past.

- Headed to Logan's afterwards for some grub.

- Found a tape of Kailyn in the hospital after she was born. I thought my old video camera had fried that tape ('cause the camera itself was fried)...fortunately, there is only some small digital "artifacts" on the tape...it was good to watch a video of such a good (yet tiring) time of our lives.

Seriously, the negativity of life gets to me sometimes. But I know that's reality. People face real difficulties and real change in their lives, and that's...er...reality. But what's discouraging is the focus the negative gets sometimes. As a Christian, I have much reason to celebrate. But instead, I often find MYSELF in negative mode and I vomit all the bad stuff out on everyone else. On the one hand, it's a cry for sympathy and prayer... On the other hand, it's sometimes just a romp through the pig sty of self-pity.

Well, maybe it's not that simple. But what I do know is that I'm loved, I'm saved, and I know that God's there no matter what happens. Now...do I actually live in a way that shows I really BELIEVE that?

KEY PHRASES: (in the spirit of being positive) "'Stood up' was only an expression." "Oh, you went somewhere AFTER the doctor's appointment. A-iiighht."

Huh?

I was reading this e-mail thing going around, and when someone was asked what color hair they had, they said "blue/green." When asked what color eyes they had, they said "blonde." Hmmm... Comments?

Another great quote from a different person..."Are you a daredevil?" Response: "Depends on what I'm drinking." Oh, the humor...

BTW...what is "canjun" food?

Oh, laugh, people...it's funny.

Blogging mojo...

Bloggin', baby, yeah...

I just finished parousing the circle of our blogs, and I realized - once again - that I'm a bored person a lot of the time. Bored enough to not want to read the "this week has been hectic" entry for the 5th time (today). Bored enough that I am beginning to question whether Chad is really lying to Al Franken. Bored enough that I've quit laughing at how many times the Baer posted his hand lotion entry.

No, this is not another rant where I razz the blog-slackers. We've been down the road that has proven that if you don't have time or passion to blog, you probably only have time or passion for the important things in life, and that really probably makes us bloggers look sad...LOL. But, for those of you who keep your blogs updated, I praise you. Not because there's something special about you or something about you that means you're a better person than blogging slackers...but because you're up-to-date blogging has added a bit of spice to my (cough) life AND has once again kept me up-to-date on what's going on the in the lives of my friends and acquaintances. You must really care.

So, if I had a glass, I would raise a toast to you. There's one of Kailyn's sippy cups near my desk, but that just won't do the job.

Oh...here's a brief snapshot of the past 2 days: Didn't meet J-mo and Kyle at Logan's, stayed home/saved money. Edited video of Kailyn's Christmas. Played Jedi Academy on the PC. Went to KFC today for lunch with J-mo. Now I'm here. See? Boredom is probalby contagious.

Anyway, back to various music/video/childcare/cleaning projects.

KEY PHRASES: "Do you have Eli's number? It's 5:00, and she's stood me up." (ROFL). "Yikes! At least that's an old photo."

Decatur unleashed...

Monday.

I could quit blogging right there and just let that word sink in. Maybe it's a good day for you. Maybe not. Either way, I'm sure elicits an emotional response...

The weekend was good. Spent Saturday over at Brian's house (the one he's trying to sell). Stacey and I went over there to help him paint. We got a lot done, though, the massive rainstorm Saturday night was a little disheartening, given all the work we put into it. Anyway, I hope the fresh paint helps increase the appeal of the house to potential buyers. I know Brian really wants to unload that house.

The music Sunday morning went very well again, I think. I really enjoy getting into a groove. It also - again - felt like a morning of true worship, where we really connected with God. That's always a good thing, since playing week after week can sometimes degenerate into "performing" instead of "worshipping."

Had a record crowd of 62 Sunday morning, too. Not that numbers are all that important. But still, knowing people are curious and want to see what we're all about is very encouraging.

Sunday afternoon, I met a while with Dave and talked about the future directions of the band. We got a lot of ideas that can be summed up in one word: Riverdance. (J/K). Really, it was a pretty productive meeting.

Sunday night, we hooked up with Amber, Brian, Eli, and J-mo again for food and fun and lots of laughs.

Well, it was fun to reminisce. But back to Monday... (insert Sideshow Bob moan here...)

KEY PHRASES: "I'm fixin' to get some." "I'm not letting Eli near my blender." "Dave's got sticky hands." "The police are here!!!!"

There were more, but I forget...

Tired again?

Apart from my vivid dreams, I slept like a rock...but I'm still really tired. Maybe I'm not getting enough iron...or too much sugar...or...I don't know...I wish In knew more about nutrition (that's obvious, given my recent culinary excursions).

KEY PHRASES: "Didn't he already had a gay club of america membership card?" (hehe..j/k).

Mushroom Fallout

Had a weird dream about a nuclear war last night. That was kinda creepy. I hadn't had one of those since I was a kid in the 80s (in the Cold War). But, it still creeped me out to see mushroom clouds in the distance...hear news reports about Washington and New York being destroyed and the president being killed.

The dream was so vivid, I half expected to turn on the news this morning to find out something similiar had happened in the real world. But, fortunately, the only thing making the news this morning was the presidential election crap.

Okay...that's it...no more fried mushrooms from Logan's. I blame it all on those little mushroom-cloud-shaped delicacies (they ARE mushrooms, after all) LOADED with grease...and I wonder where my weird dreams came from...

Mmmm...

Teriyaki steak...cooked medium...so tender it practically melts in your mouth. Fried mushrooms, french fries, brocolli and cheese soup...mmmmm....(insert Homer Simpson gurgle here). Yes, I had Logan's for lunch. Met J-mo up there. Good food.

Came home, did some chores throughout the afternoon, then headed to band practice. That went long again, but well. I think our days of short (i.e., "one hour") band practices are over. Whew! The next level is more work...hehe.

Afterwards, we headed to Cracker Barrel. More good food.

Tonight, I've been playing Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre. Kind of a letdown after messing with the Far Cry demo earlier, but still pretty good. Hectic, but good.

But, like you care? Right?

KEY PHRASES: "Does this woman actually know that she's HIS woman?" "Of course not." "If someone tells me they're 'intervening,' then...well, see J-mo's comments about Birkenstocks." "That's so funny, I forgot how to blog." "That's Kailyn's 'Emma' impersonation." "Somebody needs a nap. Heavy E's getting fussy."

On boredom, on busy-ness, and "keep that guy away from children"

Good morning to the circle of 5 or 6 people who read my blog.

Got my monitor replaced. While I was at it I upgrade my graphics card AND replaced Stacey's ailing monitor as well. -Sigh- At least everything was on sale. At least Christmas is all paid for by now and Stacey is VERY happy that she, too, has a new monitor.

So, that pretty much took up the time yesterday...traveling to Huntsville to get the stuff, driving back (I know, like I have to do it everyday like most of you guys), unpacking it, installing it, re-arranging the bonus room...at least J-mo offered some help getting the card installed.

Last night it was just me and Kailyn. I left her with JoJo for a brief bit while I ran to Steak and Shake. I was the ONLY car in the drive-thru, and it took me 15 minutes to get my food. Is that normal for them? It was frustrating, either way. Got home, ate, talked to Stacey a bit on the phone, played various PC games, then went to sleep.

It's weird knowing that Stacey's in Houston. It reminds me of the 3+ years we dated long-distance when we were both in school. That was kind of a scary time, that I STILL can't believe we made it through. At least this time, I know that when she comes back she doesn't have to leave again at the end of the weekend.

Anyway, today I hope to get some of that "stuff" done around the house that yesterday hosed up on me. If all goes well, I can start stripping the stain and paint off my kitchen table and knock that out of the way so I can start staining it on Friday.

KEY PHRASES: "What's that sucking noise? Oh, it's just my bank account." "Brian, why don't you tell people what's actually in the mulch first." "Heavy E desperately needs a beer, a beach, and nothing to do."

Bluesday

Man, I'm sleepy this morning. I don't know why. I slept good. I went to bed on time (for once). But everything's just dragging. I'm only blogging because I'm too tired (lazy?) to get up from the PC, and I got tired of just surfing the 'net.

On top of this, my PC monitor is starting to fry itself -sigh-. Last night, it completely "faded" out on me. I turned it back on, and it worked fine for the rest of the night. But this morning, it's still flickering - light/dark, light/dark... Woohoo, another expense is appearing on the horizon...

Other than these minor, irritating woes, I think today will be a good day. Kailyn wasn't a handful yesterday, which is a good thing, since her mom won't be back until Friday. I'm hoping for more of the same today.

Our weekly Guad excursion was canned last night. First off, it was a pretty busy weekend, so I didn't mind the break. On top of this, Kailyn was still asleep come "Guad-time" and I had a pretty good stomach-ache going on after eating Rooster's hot wings for lunch. So...I just chilled at the hizzouse. Brian came over and hung out a brief bit. Did nothing, but shared boredom is better than solitary confinement. Still, he had to run after Amber called after work. She said something about having a long day, and - bam - Brian was gone. Hehe. Anyway, thank God he'd rather hang out with her than me.

Kyle's recent foray into retro-gaming is kinda funny. I found my old Nintendo (acquired 3 years ago at a garage sale - LOL), and almost hooked it up to play some Ninja Gaiden (Now THAT was the best, most addictive game I can remember on the original NES, okay, Chad? - though, I never could beat the end boss...if I had my own NES at the time, maybe, when I could've played and played and played and...). Somehow, though, I decided that would be an even greater way of wasting time than my normal gaming habits.

Anyway, back to Tuesday...Dang it's cold.

KEY PHRASES: "No, I didn't buy anything...I just hit 'add to cart' so I could check out the shipping cost ;-)." "Mom, can I have $3.50 for a margarita?" "You know how it is...I went to Wal-mart to buy diapers and wound up spending $87."

Woohoo! A week of the single life!

Woohoo...a full week of having the house all to myself!

Um...yeah...woohoo...

A full week of taking care of Kailyn...by myself. A full week of missing Stacey's company. Oh, joy...maybe it's more like "boohoo" than "woohoo."

She's in Houston this week for this pharmacy "training" thingamajig. So, this will be a weird week. I can only hope that I can get a project or two done around the house while she's gone. I also hope that Kailyn doesn't start missing her too much, 'cause she won't understand what's going on. -sigh- Oh, well...

This weekend was a good one. We had a surprise birthday party for Amber at our house Saturday night. Had a good turnout of people, and Amber was effectively surprised. Eli pretty much planned the whole thing...I pretty much cleaned up for the whole thing...and Stacey, well...she was pretty much making money so we could pay for the house to have the whole thing at (LOL).

Church Sunday went very well. Had a FULL band sound with Amber and Eli on vocals, me on keys for several songs, Kyle AND Joel on guitar, and...as always...Heavy E on bass on J-mo on drums. Had our usual fill of techno-glitches, but resolved the mystery "delay" effect we were getting (see J-mo's blog for a relevant rant). But in spite of that...as I heard from several people, there was a great energy in the room Sunday. It was more than the well-rounded sound we had. It was more than Amber and Eli's great vocal work and stage presence (though that was a contributing factor). It was more than the fact that we had our biggest crowd ever. It was more than the fact that Dave's messages right now stem from his greatest passion: reaching people. I think God "visited" us on Sunday morning. Yes, he's always there, but I think he made his presence known in the lives of several people who needed to feel it. All I can say is "wow!"

After church, we came home and I helped Stacey get packed up and ready to leave. She was a bit stressed, but we got it all done, and she left around 3:15. J-mo, Eli, Amber, and Brian came over around 7:00 to "hang" with us. J-mo and I savored some king crab legs while the others watched (LOL...we're not mean...they'd already eaten). Overall, a fun and relaxing way to end the weekend.

I really like the group of friends we have that meets over here (or wherever). I really hope the friendships deepen and we can do more of what we already do: Hang out, support each other, pray for each other (and together), etc., etc. As long as we don't become a "clique," that is.

Anyhoo...peace.

KEY PHRASES: "But, alas..." "Okay, no more redneck stage monitoring." "Kyle's out next week. I know because he blogged about it." (-sigh-, followed by me shaking my head). "I bet when she has gas, it whistles." "Anyone need any eggs?"

Friday...again?

It's Friday...another week gone...already? Yikes. But I didn't do HALF of what I wanted to this week...

Okay, so maybe I was able to organize band practice. Maybe I can "pat myself on the back" (pmtb) for that going smooth, if not a bit long. Or maybe I can "pmtb" for selecting the music... Still, there were things I wish were different...like I'd taken more time to sort out monitor issues OUTSIDE of band practice. Or...maybe have met with pastor-dude to see how the music would fit into the flow. Maybe...

Maybe I can pmtb for getting stuff cleaned up around the house. Got dishes done (again). Picked up a MOUNTAIN of Kailyn's toys...again. Maybe...I dunno...it seems that I didn't get as much done here as I wanted to, either... Maybe...

Other things? I ordered a keyboard case...got it. Ordered a stand...got it. I needed these things, but it "ordering" them an accomplishment? After all, it's just "stuff." I paid a lot of bills this morning so that everything's on time...is THAT an accomplishment? On top of all this, I've kept my blog updated. A big sarcastic "pmtb" right there...

Are these the things I want to remember my week for? Staying busy? Doing the "routine"?

I guess I'm sitting here wondering whether or not I've really done anything more than just the busy stuff of life. And there's merit in that, I know. Getting the music ready for band practice and leading rehearsal is both something I'm passionate about AND it's my job. Cleaning around the house is being a good steward of my home. Same for paying bills, etc.

Here's the real question: "Was I a blessing to anyone this week?" Did I connect with anyone I didn't know? No. Did I get a chance to invite someone to church? No. (Or did I and just miss it?). Did I help someone through a difficult time? Maybe...I don't know. In other words, have I moved out of my routine enough for my life to make an impact in other ways than just checking off the things on my weekly to-do list?

And I don't mean just socializing. I've got that down pat. I did the weekly Guad thing. I even caught a trip to Ruby Tuesday's after band practice. And even though I LOVE hanging with the same 'ol group, were these activities open to others? Well, yes, they are...but do THEY know that? Were THEY invited? Was there someone who could've benefitted from just some time spent with friends who did NOT get to do that this week?

Maybe this is why so many weeks fly by and feel so...empty. We just go through the grind, but when it's all said and done...nothing's really happened that's all that significant. Case in point: Go back and read blog archives. It's the same stuff...over and over and over again. And though a lot of it IS, in fact, fun and worth noting...(well, most of it...hehe)...very few things have happened that demonstrate anything out of the ordinary (extraordinary). Well, the church's rally around Donny was a high point. Dave has several entries in his previous blogs on how he's built bridges with people. And there are more...but these seem to be exceptions to the rule.

Am I dissin' anyone? Absolutely not. But, I'm finding that I no longer want weeks to just fly by and feel so...empty. Is it wrong to want more from life than that? Is it wrong to expect more from MYSELF than that?

I want life, and I want it more abundantly. I want something extraordinary...

Pong

Chad, forget Sega...forget Nintendo...go old school Atari 2600. Everything started there, when $50 bought you the latest in cutting-edge 16 color graphics...when our only gripe is that games didn't look like their arcade counterparts (you had to splurge on the 5200 to get that quality)...when games were no more complex than a joystick and ONE button (except for the "Star Raiders" game which came with it's own special controller - or the "E.T." game - did ANYONE figure that game out?????). No keymapping (like PC's) needed...no multi-function controllers with dual thumb-sticks and ump-teen buttons. No "ESRB" ratings. Video gaming at its purest, almost "virgin" form. Space Invaders...Demon Attack...Kangaroo...Jungle Hunt...Pitfall...

Case in point: For Christmas, my parents got me one of those Atari joysticks they sell nowadays with 10 built-in games. Not only was it amazing to know all those games were packed in the joystick...not only did it have the look and feel of the best game controller ever made...but we spent more time playing rounds of Pong, Missile Comand, and Yar's Revenge this Christmas than we spent TOTAL playing games on the GameCube or Playstation 2 in the past 2 Christmases. Even Stacey - yes, the anti-gamer - spent a good hour or 2 playing Adventure...and actually demonstrated a good degree of skill in playing it. I've never wanted her so much... (hehehehehehe).

So, I guess there is no real debate. For the best, you have to get nostalgic.

Anyway, back to real life...

Band practice went long, but good last night. I set up my new keyboard stand at the church, and it is the bomb-diggy. Holds 2 keyboards with no wobble. It's pretty easy to break down and transport, too. It's all good... We had Eli and Amber on vocals, and a full stage of instruments. We also got to listen to a new woman sing who is interested in helping us out. If we can get her good monitoring and find the best way to mesh her "style" with ours, then that will be great.

Afterwards, we headed out to Ruby Tuesday's - Stacey, Kailyn, J-mo, and I. Oh, wait...Eli was there, too. I forgot about that...she said she'd be there before we got our food...she "meant" I'll be there after you've paid." So, maybe she really wasn't "there"...um...
(Eli, just pokin' fun at you...).

As I type right now, I can hear - through the baby monitor - Stacey brushing Kailyn's teeth with an electric toothbrush. Ewww. The whirr of an electric motor, a screaming baby...man, based on this "dentist visit" preview, I've just determined I'm never going with her... Stacey, it's all you...

KEY PHRASES: "Oh, I didn't know you didn't want people to know that...um...sorry." "We have the market cornered on 'redneck stage monitoring' installations." "Come on, E, smile..."

Check it out

Wow, Kyle headed to the church for band practice LAST night. Well, look at it this way...it's the first time in a while he's been early to band practice.

Wooooooo (as he would say).

(just razzin'...peace)

Over the hump, eh?

Being over the mid-week hump can be a good thing, but I guess it depends which end of the camel you're facing...

Chad, thank you for reading my game reviews. But, I'm a little worried about you now... I played the heck out of Super Mario, and I don't know what the heck you're talking about. But, then again...I never had my own NES (we had the Sega Master System instead). So, we can talk about Quartet or Afterburner (ridiculously hard/long game) or Astro Warrior... But what I remember most was playing 'Top Gun' on a friend's NES in college. I remember thinking "this is just like flying a real plane." Um...no...not by any means, now that I think about it. But yes, I'd wake up "in game" in the middle of the night...and the theme music to Quartet or something so stuck in my head I thought I was going insane. Even now I can remember it. (doo doo da doo-doo-diddy-doo...)

Ah, geekdom...why is it that now that we're all grown up, it's okay to be a geek, but it wasn't back then? Wait...or is it? Well, it better be, since 90% of the people I know are also geeks...

Anyway...

Though yesterday morning was productive, last night turned out to be the opposite. Even after Stacey came home, we did...nothing. Absolutely zilch. Well, we played with Kailyn for a while, but that was it. Stacey was reeling from a very bad headache (which she STILL has this morning), so she went to bed around 10 p.m. (which is very early for her). I played Deus Ex 2 some more then went to bed early myself (around 11:30).

Stacey had to get up - headache and all - and head to Hunstville to work at Walgreen's today. I'm sure the much-lamented traffic I read about in Dave's blog didn't help. -sigh- All this - headaches, a UTI, and her prepping to leave for Houston for a week :-( has me a bit down, too.

Well, back to some happy stuff...

Band practice is tonight. I hope my new keyboard stand arrives in time for me to take it (and know how to use it). Unfortunately, it looks like my new case won't be here until tomorrow. Still, I look forward to rehearsal. We have a full-stage tonight, which is good to keep the sound "varied." And I think/hope I fixed my "disappearing monitor" issue.

KEY PHRASES: "Red fruit punch does not match ANY new furniture." "I'm selling an engineering degree if anyone wants it. I know someone who's not using his, and I bet it'd go cheap."

Spelling correction...

Since "cue" is Kyle's new favorite word lately, I think it's supposed to be "queue." Wait...that takes to long to type. Stick with "cue."

D'oh.

Random Game Reviews

Well, since I've played more games than watched movies lately, I'll throw my own "reviews" into the mix - only of games, not movies.

Chrome: It's like a "B" movie of first-person shooters. Lousy story, lousier voice-acting. Graphics are a mixed bag - the outdoor environments are spectacular, but the indoor environments and the characters seem dated. Weapons are cool, but lame explosion effects. You can drive vehicles on a lot of levels, but that's downplayed in the single player. Worth a play-through as the price drops, but not at full price ($40). OVERALL SCOREl: I give it a 69 out of 100.

Max Payne 2: A masterpiece of a PC game (first-person shooter). Excellent story, voice acting. It's like playing through a top-notch Hollywood movie. Spectacular graphics and bullet-time effect (think "The Matrix."). Can be difficult in places, but that adds to the tension of the game. Great weapon selection. A step-up from the first Max Payne in every way. OVERALL SCORE: I give it a 95 out of 100.

Lock-On: Modern Air Combat: Most graphically detailed flight sim to date. Great graphics, decent flight model, modest selection of aircraft. There were some quirks in the original release when it came to flying a few planes slow and low (you'd lose lift unrealistically), but that was fixed in a patch. A lot of fun, but not a casual game by any means. It takes a while just to learn how to select a weapon, target an enemy (correctly), and fire. You also need a pretty good joystick setup to really get the most out of it. Plus, there's still some graphics quirks that need patching (promised by the developer). OVERALL SCORE: 83.

So, do you care yet?

Mexican food and "leaky plumbing"

I just checked out the footage from Kyle's show (well, Einstein's show) from this past weekend. Sounded like they really had their act together, and made me wish we'd actually trekked out there so Kyle could've had some support from his "other" band. Due to the low resolution of the video, It was hard to make out which one Kyle was in the video though, until I just decided to look for the person whose head never swayed one inch the whole time. Then it was easy. Just kidding, Kyle...I know you were parked behind the keys...not a lot you can do there.

We took Kailyn to get her second ear re-pierced yesterday. Oh, wow...that was just GOBS of fun...especially since she remembered the last time and started screaming her head off before they even started. So, she was a complete fussbucket for the next hour or so after that event. On top of that, Stacey came down with a lovely urinary tract infection yesterday afternoon while at work. Supwifdat? She's NEVER had one before last year, and she's had 2 in the past year. Is there something wrong with Decatur water or something?

So, the Guad was a much-needed break last night, though Stacey wound up not going. Dana watched Kailyn for me, so I went up there and hooked up with the crowd...er, um...I mean...Jonathan. Our "crowd" needs redefinition. Still, Eli and her bro, Matthew, showed up eventually. So we all still had fun hanging out - talking about music, church, and gross stuff (what a combination). It's always good to get the group together to snap us out of the monotony of the week.

Came home last night and played a little Deus Ex: Invisible War. Not too shabby, but it's a "thinking man's" shooter, so it's hard to play without playing a while to figure out all the puzzles, etc.

KEY PHRASES: "I can never look at cottage cheese again." "That's the grossest thing you have EVER said." "Yeah, we're STILL here." "Pitstop!" "My kid's going to have this unexplainable fear of party jewelry shops, and we know why." "Oh, man...now I need to wipe my glasses." "Sorry, just thinking out loud." (what?)

Randomania...

Now that we're upgrading to Crosspoint 2.0, I've been thinking about how to update the code for Blind Bart (the band). I've already got a schedule worked up for the vocalists, and I'm trying to establish better lines of communication for the rest of the band members. But how do we really evolve into Blind Bart 2.0?

The challenge: Making a band that is (1) good, (2) a place for people to connect and share their talents, and (3) a group of individuals doing what we do to connect with the mission of Crosspoint. Aiiight... Over the past few months there has been some incredible dialogue about the band - our purpose and and structure, and how that relates to the overall mission of Crosspoint. And some great things have happened and/or been discussed. What's too much? How can we function week to week if not ALL band members share the same passion or schedule? Etc., etc.

And as I sit here thinking about all this, my primary thought is the mission, 'cause everything we do comes back to it: "Our mission is to reach people, help them mature, and equip them to magnify Christ." (condensed) How does the band connect with all 3 aspects of the mission?

Reach people: Does our worship connect with people on Sunday morning? Do our attitudes convey that we love what we do? Do we have a passion for this dimension of what we do, or do we just show up to "play?" Even more than this...are we going beyond church walls and engaging our community? (this dimension is sorely lacking, and may take some brainstorming to find new ideas to make this work). Also, are we connecting with people personally, or are we wrongly content to just keep our social-church circle the same? Can we back off and let new people into our "niche," or are we too worried about the fact that it is our "niche," and no one else's? In this light, is the band a safe and effective place for new people to get connected...in other words, is the band an effective 'back door' to the church? Additionally, are we willing to take risks for the sake of the gospel - do we love the unlovable? Do we move past comfort zones? Do we show people that they're welcome here if no one else will welcome them? Do we ostracize people to avoid controversy or just to keep things "practical?"

Mature: Again, does our worship connect with people on Sunday morning? When in the auditorium on Sundays, have we effectively led the people in worship (helping them mature by drawing closer to God)? Again, is the band a safe place for people to volunteer and get connected? Is it a place where people can exercise and develop their spiritual gifts? Are we willing to grow as a band and equip others to serve and grow? Are we willing to grow spiritually ourselves, or do we resist? Are we willing to accept varying degrees of passion and spiritual maturity and still call ourselves a "team"?

Magnify: In the end, why do we do this? Is it for us? Is it because we love music? Is it because we love being onstage? Or do we do this for the glory of God? Do we "perform" or do we "worship?" Even the secular stuff we've wanted to do is not just to perform, but to give god glory by using a song that helps us better communicate with the world around us - whether we play that song in church to arouse thoughts/images as part of the program "flow" or we play it out in the community as means of building a bridge. Are we willing to put our own personal life frustrations and "issues" aside so that God is glorified? In the end, isn't this what's it's all about for each of us (even though our journeys may be notably different)?

As creative people (all musicians are, I believe, inherently creative one way or another), we have a unique perspective to "create" new ways of building bridges with people and helping them to meet Christ - or deepen their relationships with him. I do not EVER want to be (or remain) "just another church band." I want to explore all the amazing possibilities...I want to revisit the mission and figure out the best way WE can carry it out as a group of musicians, partners in ministry, and -above all- friends.

Why put this in a blog entry? I dunno... 'Cause I know people in the band read it, and I wanted to break up the monotony of pseudo-humor-blogs with something challenging and dialogue-provoking. 'Cause I want people who don't know me from Adam or our church from any other to read it and know that our passion is real, yet different from so many groups claiming 'passion,' yet don't truly love anyone other than themselves. And mostly, because I want to people -anyone- to know where I'm coming from.

The 19th Day of Christmas...

Why is downtown Decatur still decked out for the holidays? No budget to hire crews to take it down?

Sorry...random thought there.

Last week wrapped up pretty good. Stacey was off Friday and Saturday, so that was a good thing. Friday night, Eli and her "unit" came over and hung out...we all wound up watching Bad Boys 2, while Emma watched some Piglet movie for the millionth time. One funny moment: Emma came downstairs during a scene where Will Smith's character found a severed finger in the kitchen of a drug lord's house. I pushed "pause" quickly, but I accidentally froze the frame with Will Smith holding the finger. Fortunately, it was kinda silhoutted, so if you hand't seen the scene, you couldn't really tell what he was holding. Still, I thought for a moment that we were going to give Emma some serious nightmares, thus, making Eli unhappy...and I get the impression you don't want to make Eli unhappy...LOL.

Saturday was a busy day...maybe because I slept too late. When your day starts at 11:00 a.m., then half of it feels gone. Got up, met J-mo and Hardee's for lunch, then went to Emiron to look at electric guitars. I need one that won't constantly go out of tune when I play. I found one I really like...um...oh, well...maybe... I hate it that it costs so much $$ to get quality music gear.

After Emiron, I went to Amber's for Abby's 1st birthday party. Stacey, Eli, Dave, Dana, Brian, Dale, Beckie, and one of Amber's sisters were already there. It was fun to hang out and see Amber's crib. But, after all her stories about being sick, maybe I should've worn a surgical mask while over there...LOL.

Church went exceptionally well Sunday morning. Dave's message was good, the crowd was large, and the music 'gelled' very well this week. Joel was there, which was nice, since he's been so sick the past week and had missed practice (again). But he was actually familiar with the songs we played except for one, so I felt comfortable letting him play. Everything had a good sound to it... Only glitch of the morning was a technical glitch with the amplifier causing an "echo" effect again. Weird. But that was resolved quickly.

Went to Applebee's after church with Jack, Pam, Eli, Meredith, and J-mo. A long wait, but the food was good.

Had a membership thing last night for Crosspoint at Dave's. A LOT of people were there (well, if you call 8 people a "lot"). Still, it was very exciting to see so many people want to get involved with what we are doing.

Today, I ordered a hardshell case and new stand for my keyboard. I definitely want to protect that investment, since certain equipment of mine has been literally destroyed in the past due to other people's negligence.

KEY PHRASES: "Whoevers..." (neat Dave-ism) from Sunday. "Who moved the lamp?" "Oh, look...a half-eaten cheesestick on the floor. Someone complain to Kyle."

Mittwoch

Aber nun es ist Donnerstag. Nein! Wo die Zeit gehen?

Really, all rusty German language skills aside, it seems that time hasn't slowed down yet, and we're already deep into January. Holy crap, I still have some decorations to take down inside. -sigh-

It's been a pretty uneventful week so far. Monday night, our dwindling crowd went to the Guad (J-mo, Stacey, Kailyn, and I), but nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Stacey was off Tuesday, so that was cool. Went to O'Charley's Tuesday night with J-mo...had a TERRIBLE experience with the kitchen. Our server was great, but the kitchen botched EVERY SINGLE item we ordered. Stacey's steak was undercooked, J-mo's order was wrong, Kailyn's shrimp were undercooked (still gray...eww), my chicken fingers were the wrong flavor (plain, instead of Chipotle). Once we got our food right, it was excellent. But sheesh! At least our waitress hacked our tickets. It only wound up costing me $10 to feed my family. W00t!

Band practice was tonight. It went well, all absences aside. But I lugged my 80-lb. keyboard up there for nothing. Good grief.

On another note...I've been keeping up with 2 of our friends who've been dealing with respective divorces. Apparently, one of the "ex's" involved is a raging drunk, who can, at times, be abusinve - and this dude threw some big "grown-up" tantrum monday night while drunk. I know it's tough on our friends...and the ironic part is that this "drunk" dude is actually a staffer of a church as a worship leader. What in the crap is up wif dat???????? That makes me too mad to even rant about it. No wonder the number one reason people turn to atheism is Christians...if some dude can claim to lead others in worship of God, then spend time drunk off his butt, harrassing an ex...then...I don't even need to finish this thought, do I? It's so wrong.... DUH!! I just pray that God heals that situation and makes himself known in the hearts of ALL involved...

KEY PHRASES: "Look...fried sushi...for...children?" "Hey, at least the rolls are good..." "When did we become the 'other' band?"

Back2theGrind...

Now it's the first week without a holiday "event" attached to it...I guess that means life goes back to normal. Whatever "normal" is...

Church went well Sunday, in spite of 1.5 AWOL guitar players...(the Root showed up late). There was more energy in the crowd than normal, and our new mix was okay (even with the thundering sound of J-mo's drums, guitar "tunage" issues caused by varying temperatures, and a monitor going on/off). I'm glad it worked out, since we put so much time and energy into everything at Saturday's rehearsal.

Last night, Brian, Amber, Eli, J-mo, and all the young-uns came over for what appears to be a weekly gathering. That's cool with me. It was fun. Brian cooked Spaghetti Surprise (secret ingredient: Bubba Burgers). We all chilled after dinner and watched some TV.

However, I had to disappear for a bit because an old friend of mine called me from Texas. I hadn't heard from him in about 6 months, so it was good to talk to him. In my mind, I've always thought of this guy as someone who is godly and a man of integrity. Now, he is on his own personal road to spiritual "discovery," which can be a good thing...after all, we should NEVER just believe in anything blindly. However, it seems that while on this "road," he's crossed some boundaries that used to be vital parts of his integrity and morality...even as far as experimenting with some hardcore drugs and latching on to a woman who has tested his moral limits.

Okay, okay, I'm not trying to be "holier than thou" or preachy - 'cause it sure sounds like it. But that's not my intention. ALL OF US have probably done things that most people would deem immoral or questionable. But I STILL found his story heart-breaking. After all, this is someone whom I consider a good friend and a former partner in ministry. And it got me thinking about the fact that - lately - I've literally seemed to watch people start to turn AWAY from faith (calling it a spiritual "journey") than I've seen come TO faith.

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE it when people actually want to understand what they believe and why - not merely accepting truth-statements that have been indoctrinated into their heads. However, I believe a faith of integrity and authenticity can only result when the journey is genuine, and not just an "excuse" to test our boundaries. Martin Luther is a good example here. He very much doubted the "ecclesiastical" belief system and doctrine of grace common to the Catholic church in his era. He questioned the system. He questioned the theology. He faced his own overwhelming doubts about his own salvation. But instead of going on a worldy tirade of self-indulgence and doubt-induced "why nots?", he LOOKED FOR God in Scripture and DEEPENED his desire to find the truth buried in the system. And? His legacy is remembered today...he played a major role in the Reformation and helping people realize that God's grace is accessible to all.

My friend's call last night opened up an old wound. Because of the "mess" of the church life we used to be involved in, 2 of my closest friends have pretty much rejected a lot of things about their walk with God they used to deem valuable. The trail of the "wounded" left behind by that experience demonstrates -yet again- that too many churches don't ever look behind them to see what their REAL legacy is. However, thinking about this also makes me feel VERY grateful that - after all I went through as my spiritual world in Birmingham imploded - that I've emerged with my faith intact. I've been through depression... I've questioned why I even do what I do (being a worship leader, that is). But instead of losing my faith, it's been deepened by the experience.

KEY PHRASE: "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us - they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (Romans 5:3-5)

So it's 2004...

Where's the space travel? Where are all the robots that are supposed to do our chores for us? Where are all the electric vehicles (not just 1 or 2)? Where are the automobiles that can drive themselves?

Well, I guess "progress" in some areas just isn't what we expected when I was a teenager in the 80s. Back then, you envisioned 2000 and beyond as a pseudo-Jetsons environment. But, the reality is that it feels more like a souped up version of the 80s...Granted, hair styles are better, cars are sleeker, computers indicate some real technological progress, and there is this cool little robot-thing for sale that's supposed to automatically vacuum your carpet. However, -like the 80s - we still play video/PC games, Michael Jackson is STILL in the news (LOL), Schwarzenegger is still a big star, and 80s music is still "in" with some people. Scary, ain't it?

Well, enough digression... The party at Eli's house on New Year's Eve was fun, even though a LOT of our group didn't show. I know some people needed the rest and others had previous engagements...but still, we would've loved to have seen them there. We had a lot of good food to eat. We set off a lot of fireworks (though "blue with tail" was AWOL...LOL). We sat around and talked. J-mo surfed the internet with Stacey's Axim through Eli's wireless network (why was that fun? I dunno...just the idea of sitting wherever you want and surfing the web is cool). We stayed there until about 1:30 a.m.

Yesterday, Stacey was off, and -like Dave- we did a whole lot of NOTHING! I know she needed that...just time to rest and relax. Last night we did hook up with J-mo and eat some New China. Afterwards, Stacey was going to meet up with Eli to watch a movie or something, BUT...Eli bailed again, for reasons discussed in her previous blog entries. -sigh-

So, Stacey and I wound up just playing games at the PC for a while. She played some online...um, i don't know what the heck it was...and I beat Splinter Cell (again).

Today? Maybe I'll start taking down Christmas decorations. Maybe not. It feels like I just put them up, so maybe I'll just keep the house lit up until February (Why can they get away with that in Gatlinburg? When they decorate for Christmas, they STAY decorated that long...)

KEY PHRASES: "I LOVE last-minute changes!" "I love being all grown-up." "I love Chinese food and 2 Mountain Dews." "I love cancellations...wait, that's sarcasm." "I love it when Kailyn's sleep schedule gets all fouled up...who does she think she is? Kyle?" "I love being an optimist." "It's my fault, dang it....there...are you happy?"