Weary in the middle

This was one of those lunches I desperately wish I could do over again. Six wasted dollars. An Italian beef sandwich with mozzarella and hot peppers from the deli at work. The thinly sliced beef tasted very grainy, no juice or gravy to speak of. And I like the taste of hot giardinera as much as anyone, but these peppers were so hot, that I can still feel the flame filling up my stomach.

So it is now Friday night, around 10 pm and I had a great blackened salmon for dinner. I mention that because Mom brought this buffalo mac and cheese to go with it. I don't know, despite what Dave Delp told me about how good that dish is, I would not get it again. It was just so hot, like just plain hot cheddar cheese. Although some chicken might help it. On that note, I'm now gorging on pretzels and peanut butter. My favorite crave junk food combo going back to high school. Maybe not the best idea, considering I have to wake up on Saturday morning at 5:30 to do the Ride For Refugees. I hear I'll be an intersection coordinator. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I am looking forward to it.

Then in the afternoon, comes my first bachelor party ever. And I think this is the first time I have played Whirlyball in five years. That was with Wheaton Bible Church. I remember Geddes being there. And it was my one date with Taylor. She was kinda cool, but I guess dating someone from work brings on a lot of unnecessary complications. I know she started dating someone else within a month of that day. And with my history, she probably married the boy. But that's all well and good.

I have one week until I leave for Jasper County, Kentucky and I can't believe how fast this is approaching. I'm not too nervous, I am excited, I guess it doesn't seem like it is approaching so soon. Maybe I should start some packing this weekend. Meanwhile, I am watching Coal Miner's Daughter...

I feel pretty good about the New York Jets after three games. I'm pretty sure they will beat Buffalo on Sunday as long as they don't turn the ball over or take penalties. Play a solid fundamental game, and that should really be enough to win a third straight division game.

Omar, Jerry, goodbye. Don't let the door hit you in your rear ends on the way out.

Maranatha: Round 2-Days 2 & 3

I woke up around 7:45 to the sound of heavy rain beating on the roof. It was not expected to start falling until noon, so this was a very unwelcome surprise. Still feeling beat up, I played "Whipping Post" on the stereo. I headed over to the gym and since I could not access the weight room, I shot baskets. I think Jerome James has a higher shooting percentage than I do. I then spent a half hour reading my Kentucky trip journal before heading back to Cambodia for devotion time. Wax paper and honey. After about a half-hour of indecision, we all went to the gym, where we played volleyball and basketball for a while. For volleyball, Frank and Strait just would not pass. I think in three games, we had maybe one respectable volley where teamwork was involved. After trying some set passes, and realizing there would not be a lot of spiking, I realized hitting back and forth was the safest way to go. Matt, Carl, and I spent about 10 minutes trying to sink half-court shots, before I finally banked one in.

Strait and I became fans of the matching La-Z-Boys recliners in the living room. We spent a few hours on those chairs talking about everything from food to work to history. And we broke out into many random songs like "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and Lukenbach, Texas". Not sure anyone else in Cambodia knew what we were singing about. For lunch, we rain-grilled. Very good chicken breasts, along with the worst frozen burgers I have ever had. I think we talked about bacon for 10-15 minutes too. And it came up several more times that day. At the end of the day, almost every topic in the world could probably be traced back to bacon. Kinda like the six steps to Kevin Bacon.

J-Schu's 2 pm sun theory was absolutely dashed. Even though the rain had stopped by 1:30, it was gray clouds as far as we could see. I don't think any blue sky was spotted all day. Nevertheless, while the latecomers went touring, Chris, Carl, Strait, and I played mini-golf on a course that had not exactly drained. Eight of the nine holes were not holes, they were puddles. We sank a bunch of aces, including Strait who drained one on the long hole #7, following which he did this weird one-legged twirl hop-around. It was quite a cool moment. Chris won the first round and I won the second.

By 5 pm, we were not too hungry, so we headed straight to the prayer tower for some devotion town. It's almost like a treehouse; all wood, a few benches inside with some Bibles. No frills, just simple. The views were cool, I just wish we had some sunshine. Who knows how far into the distance we could have seen? Matt talked about re-charging. On the way back, Frank, Chris, Carl, and I took a different path. Somehow, we wound up back on the same path, so I guess we made a big semi-circle. Grabbed my only shower after getting back and it felt very refreshing. But with one bathroom for seven guys, I'm glad I brought my shower sandals. Meanwhile, the four ladies had two bathrooms. Dang, it's hard being a guy...

Dinner was mostacciolli with salad and garlic bread. I still don't know the difference between the mostaccioli noodle and the penne noodle. The former probably costs more because it's a much longer word. Anyway, I played Blokus for the first time and was not happy with my initial performance though I did do better the second time around. I think I went from 29 squares left down to 12. I bet I could have won with one or two more games. Moreso, I think Dad would have really liked playing that game. Then came a wild session of Catchphrase, which our group had not played in quite a few months. We played three rounds and now that I have watched the videos back, I realize Frank and I would just burst out laughing, sometimes for no reason. And Carl was sitting right between us, very stoic and poised. It was so cool. I could have stayed up for hours, but instead a few of us remained awake, and watched videos we'd shot and examined a few photos. I think it was myself, Strait, Dec, Christine, and A-Wall.

I woke up on Sunday around 8:20, giving me about 90 minutes before we were leaving for Unity Reformed Church. Thankfully, we woke up to sun, a moderate breeze, and a temperature around 65 degrees. Without time to hit the gym, I walked across the road, over the bridge, and down the hill to the bank of the river. I sat there and basically prayed for about 20 minutes.

We arrived at church and were reminded just how welcoming that group is. It's not too small, certainly not large, but there are events going on, and everyone seems to know everyone. I think I shook hands with 20 people, it really was very good. I wish more non-believers would somehow find their way into a church like this one. The pastor, who is originally from the Hinsdale, IL area, spoke about different kinds of pride. And the cookies tasted excellent too.

Then we headed to Logan's, where I took over the free jukebox. Played some Fogerty, some Croce, some Allman Brothers Band, some Marshall Tucker, some Kenny Rogers. Somehow, I found myself talking music with Danny Boy. Admittedly, I ribbed him a little bit during the weekend and he had snapped at me the previous night, but our common interest in older music did get us talking. The fact that he knew the story of the genesis of the Buffalo Springfield With Stephen Stills spotting Neil Young's hearse in LA really impressed me. I enjoyed my 16 oz ribeye, mashed potatoes, and broccoli quite a bit. Logan's does serve some good food, though the nearest one to me is located about 3 hours away.

We got back and Carl and I snuck in 10 quick minutes of tennis in our church clothes. It was a little silly, but we enjoyed it. I guess we left the site around 2:30. Though I was Matt's co-pilot, I yawned at least eight times and fell asleep for about 45 minutes or so. I guess I was pretty anxious to get home. I had left my car in Glendale Heights, so I drove Jenny and A-Wall back before finally heading home. I guess I got back in the door around 6 p.m., counting the hour we gained going back to CST.

One week later, it seems like a pretty distant memory. I guess life still tries to remain hectic even when I determine to slow down for a few hours or a few days.

A few late night thoughts

1) To uncletomthall, thank you for putting one of the best collections of country music I have ever seen up on Youtube. Pirates of the Mississippi, The Remingtons, Clinton Gregory, Lee Roy Parnell, George Ducas, Dean Dillon, Davis Daniel, Ken Mellons, the names go on and on.

2) Two/three more weeks of insanity at work. Then all this FFELP madness should be behind me. When it's over, they should owe me a lunch.

3) Night of Champions is this Sunday and I get to go. My dream scenario: Jets beat Patriots, Danielson and Sheamus win their matches.

4) The Bible teaches me to be content with what I have and I think that's a warning against greed. I recognize my gifts, but inside, I really do want more. My own place to live, a job that pays more cash, maybe a girl. But with all that stuff comes its own set of hassles. Funny, the irony of this world. It really is making more sense that when my priority is attaining the things of this world, I can never attain enough to keep me satisfied.

5) Mets have won three straight. But now Mejia has a strain in his pitching shoulder! These incompetent bastards!

6) God, please bless us in this house tonight. We need it so much. Amen.

Song pick: "I'm Holding My Own" Lee Roy Parnell

And the life you left behind has to led to lives I've never known.

Maranatha: Round 2-Day 1

Well, I am back in the dungeon. I started writing this Tuesday and five days later, I'm going to try to write this. It has been a hard week for me, physically and definitely mentally. I'd like to think the pain had produced some spiritual seeds, to use an analogy, that will make me stronger and sounder in my faith. But I don't think it's for me to judge. I hope people can see it and I hope the Lord thinks so too. I just wish it didn't take such cataclysmic events for it to take place.

Anyway, let's recap this year's Come Thirsty retreat. I arrived at J-Schu's house around 8:30 and was very surprised to see A-Wall there. Thought she was going to Florida with Candy, but I guess plans fell through. So after loading a ton of luggage in my Accord, we headed for Dec's house. Little did he know the jokes already started. In J-Schu's house, she referred to Matt Strait, who was also going with his gf. Jen, at one point, when trying to differentiate between the Matt's said "He's straight". I looked at her in disbelief before figuring out the last name pun. I was thinking if this Matt is straight, what does that make the other one?

Anyway, I rode with Dec and A-Wall while J-Shu rode with Matt and Christine into Michigan. Plenty of bonding time...We ate lunch at the same Panera as two years ago in Benton Harbor. Outside, they have this Family Style sculpture which looks like a terrified guy diving into a pack of dolphins. Not sure where the name come from, but we took a few snapshots anyway. The other Matt climbed into our car for the remaining ride. We quickly noticed the billboard for this creepy, cryptic-looking lawyer, Peter J. Johnson. He is balding slightly with medium0length dark blonde hair and a barely-visible thin mustache that is trying to decide if it wants to crawl back in his face and hide. About 20 minutes later, we saw a bumper sticker on an SUV that said
k2tog. Being the curious guy I am, I googled it on my Blackberry. It led me to an environmentally-conscious knitting shop in California. This was the mission statement:

"We believe in the power of knitting to create community and help others. Again and again, we have seen how knitting together, we can transform a frustration with the world into something useful, even beautiful."

After 15 minutes of non-stop laughing, we went through Grand Haven, which was filled with these wooden shoe shops. That reminded Dec of Teutopolis, IL, where their high school mascot is called the wooden shoes. They also have a great girls basketball town so I went to their wikipedia page and learned Teutopolis is 99.6% white and five state titles between 1986 and 2005. Amazing stuff. Matt played plenty of Casting Crowns and other Christian bands I cannot tell apart. It was pretty decent music, I must say. There was that one MercyMe song I heard the other day, I liked that. As we drove up the coast of Michigan on 31, we started getting squealing alerts from the other car. Except these went on for 10 minutes before we even arrived!

As we pulled up, I didn't notice anything too different. Same buildings, fields, colors, etc. After we checked in, we drove to Cambodia, our home building for the second straight time. Same uneven, rocky steps from the car to the door. I took the downstairs solo room once again, away from everyone else. As I was unloading luggage, I noticed M&C brought half a dozen tennis rackets. They agreed to play Amanda and I. Now I had not played tennis in 15 years maybe. And I know better than to ever get close to another tennis player. College memories. Although I did look sexy in that tennis halter top that night in Fenway Park... Took a while to get my feel back, but it didn't take me long to get my Sharapova grunt down. I did eventually knock down a few big serves. That came after knocking one or two over the fence and crashing left jaw first into the crossbar of the courts. I felt pain for several days afterwards, though I could still chew just fine. We eventually played a set and they took us in a close one 6-4. But I have to say, I enjoyed it.

After that, we took our tour. I weaseled my way into the mini-chapel and the group took some photos. We threw tennis balls around as we headed towards the beach. We weren't shocked to see the pool was locked, I guess they heard we were coming. The staff re-did the boardwalk while the firepit, playgrounds, rocking chairs, and volleyball court were all still in place. We walked up the stairs through the boardwalk the led through the woods. The bunny in the cage was gone, which was a shame. But wen went to the zip line and climbing wall before heading back towards the main part of the grounds. After Dec and I got back, we walked across the street to the bridge that ran over the river. Not many boats out, but a few cars whizzed by. We both noticed these huge spiderwebs on the bridges, about the size of dinner plates.

J-Schu prepared the chicken/potato casserole as Carl, Chris, and Frank pulled in, giving us 9 people in the house. We played "Would you rather?..." before dinner. I still can't remember how, but after dinner, a mixture of juggling/drumming broke out. Matt and J-Schu juggled tennis balls while I banged these ceramic salt and pepper shakers like they were maracas. Just one of those random moments that you know happened, but have no reason as to how or why.

The came a 4-hour marathon game of Qwelf. We had just started when Steph and Danny Boy showed up. Amazingly, no one faced any serious traffic during the 4-5 hour commute. Many classic moments, such as Chris saying "Excuse me, I feel a question coming on" about 30 times. But Strait stole the show. Irish jig dancing, beatboxing on his stomach, singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in the style of a mad scientist. He is such a strait guy, pardon the pun, and to see him go along with the game, was really a fun moment. Daniel broke out into a black preacher/Fat Albert voice, J-Schu used Carl as her ventriloquist dummy and Frank stuffed ice down his pants.

By 12 am, I was done. I crashed and silently snuck downstairs and put on some music. Everything below my knees was aching. It didn't help that there was no window in my room, making breathing brutally hard. I guess a few people stayed up until 2 am and I have no idea how they did it.

2010 NFL predictions

AFC
East
1. Jets 11-5
2. Patriots 9-7
3. Dolphins 7-9
4. Bills 3-13

North
1. Ravens 12-4
2. Steelers 10-6
3. Bengals 8-8
4. Browns 4-12

South
1. Colts 12-4
2. Texans 10-6
3. Titans 6-10
4. Jaguars 3-13

West
1. Chargers 12-4
2. Raiders 8-8
3. Broncos 6-10
4. Chiefs 5-11

NFC
East
1. Cowboys 11-5
2. Giants 10-6
3. Eagles 8-8
4. Redskins 7-9

North
1. Packers 13-3
2. Vikings 10-6
3. Bears 7-9
4. Lions 4-12

South
1. Falcons 11-5
2. Saints 11-5
3. Panthers 5-11
4. Bucs 3-13

West
1. 49ers 10-6
2. Cardinals 8-8
3. Seahawks 6-10
4. Rams 4-12

AFC Divisional Playoffs
Ravens over Jets
Colts over Chargers

NFC Divisional Playoffs
Packers over Saints
Cowboys over Falcons

AFC Championship Game
Ravens over Colts

NFC Championship Game
Packers over Cowboys

Super Bowl
Packers over Ravens

Stunned and not stunned

By Sunday night, I finally reached the end of a very humbling situation. One that woke me up at 4:30 am on Sunday and required me to work and clean for a long time. Naturally, the Mets won the one game I did not attend in Chicago. And I was especially upset upon finding out around 8 p.m. that the Jets released fullback Tony Richardson, a 15-year veteran, who is one of their most noted and revered leaders. In fact, with the off-season releases of Thomas Jones and Alan Faneca, T-Rich may be considered their most notable leader on offense.

So Labor Day arrived and I was headed to work for a 6-hour shift. I woke up around 6:10, headed into the basement, sat at my desk, and flipped on the tube. Just my typical morning routine. I turn on ESPN Radio and I was absolutely dumbstruck at the caption on the bottom of my screen.

Jets and CB Darrelle Revis agree to 4-year contract.

With an empty house, I let out a huge tribal scream! The day prior, I had resigned myself that Revis would not suit up for at least the first two games of the season, if not longer. But the best defense in football has now added their best player and the best cover corner in the sport. The Super Bowl has now become a plausible goal again.

On the other hand, what I started to ponder about two weeks ago, then worry about a week ago, and then get aggravated about on Saturday, well, I guess it became official today. After all, it's on Facebook, so it's gospel truth. My typical horseshit luck in that department. What a waste.

Moving on, 5 quick hits.

1) I'm very excited for the CT retreat this weekend. Looking at the people going and comparing to what we had two years ago, I realize some things have to change over time.

2) At the same time, I have to miss a Kentucky meeting, Festival of the Vine, and the Ring of Honor PPV.

3) I am really in the mood for some Lucky Monk pizza. That spinach, San Marzano tomato, and goat cheese combo tastes so good...

4) I'm not much of a John Cena fan, but I thought he carried himself tremendously well in his interview with Boomer and Carton on the FAN today. He came across the airwaves as articulate, entertaining, and engaging. And his rap on Craig was priceless.

5) Itunes need to get with the program and get some Lee Roy Parnell music on there.

ABSOLUTE washout

Two more pathetic losses in that dump of a ballpark at the corner of Addison and Clark. Two more three-run homers. Mike Nickeas better haul his ass back to Buffalo. He can't hit and he can't hold on to the baseball. Luis Castillo still sucks. Ike Davis will be lucky to have a career on the level of Lyle Overbay. Mejia is just another hype on his way to failing, despite his "hellacious" curveball. Wright, Pagan, and Beltran hit the ball pretty well, so I will not get on them. But I was so miserable by Saturday, I took off in the sixth inning. I skipped out on meeting Dec's nephew as well as Cerrone and Berg from metsblog.com. And I really wanted to meet all of them. But after suffering this much, I could not bear to stay around. And this marks the first time I wanted to punch out a 7-year-old when I wasn't on an airplane. He would not stop yelling "Let's Go Cubbies!" My advice to him is simple. Learn the number 1908. You'll know it for decades on end. I did meet quite a few Mets fans from both in the city from the east. That was very cool. Always good to see Julie as well. Iowa football fans did not need to take over Merkle's though.

I know I should not care that much, I know this team is more dead than a 80-year-old milk. Yet I care. I seriously wish I could do my life over again so I could know zero about sports. Maybe I would be a man of the arts.

And Bernie officially takes the son of Ricky away... I shouldn't be shocked. She's so good with her stiletto...

I did score five goals at frisbee, including another trademark bomb from midfield. I mad sure to give Ricky's son a look after that one! Then again, I know the deal. It meant zero. That goal and a nickel gets me five cents.

So Glen Ellyn is also coming this weekend. The hits just keep on comin'!

Epilogue: Jim + Jeremiah + Corona + Sunset Wheat = A rough evening. Not doing that again.