Jenetta's Party

Thanks so much to all of you who made the party for Jenetta such a fun evening! We had a great time and we really enjoyed the time visiting with so many of our friends.

Note to anyone wanting to surprise Jenetta - never use her name on the internet!
She knew about it immediately thanks to google alerts.

But she was a good sport and played along.

So many of you were so very instrumental in making this happen for us. I could not have pulled this off without all of your help. Thank you so much!

I only got a few photos. I was so busy all night! There were so many people there, I guess I should have gotten a professional photographer to cover it! :)

Greg and Tanya

It has been really great to have my cousin Greg and his wife Tanya here with us this weekend. They were able to make us part of their special vacation together.

Today Greg and I surfed in Del Mar. He got up a few times and made a good effort of it.

I caught probably the best wave I've gotten this year. It was a shoulder-high and glassy frontside that somehow I ended up in the perfect position to catch. That was so awesome! I caught it really far outside on the reef, so it was a good long ride!

Another highlight was sharing the last ride in together. It's fun to surf side-by-side with someone you know!

We've enjoyed the opportunity to get to know them better and hope to be able to spend time with them again soon. (Thanks, Tanya for the photos!)

My Soapbox

Please allow me the opportunity to rant for a bit…

One of the things that makes me the most turned off about our political system is the way we seem pigeonholed into the us vs. them mentality. If the other guy disagrees with me, then he is an idiot and I can say whatever horrible thing I want to about him, his family, his background, and his ideas. These horrible things are designed to make others see that my guy is the best choice. I’m not exaggerating here. I have met people that have said outrageous, gossipy, and hurtful things about a candidate because he or she was on the other side. These were things that in some cases were completely unsubstantiated. They may be true or they may be false. That doesn’t seem to matter. It was heard on _____ (whatever cable news channel supports their ideology) and will be gossiped and clucked about disapprovingly.

I don’t think you can pin this on just one side, either. The followers of both parties routinely engage in this kind of behavior. It makes me sick. It makes me not want to vote at all.

So I am confused. There are things I like about both candidates and things I dislike about both of them. I want to study their ideas and their plans and make an informed choice. I have been approached by supporters of both candidates who were incredulous over the thought that I could even CONSIDER the other candidate because of _____.

I think it is time for some positive, thoughtful, and respectful discussion in this country. Our problems are too great just to yell epithets at each other.

Here is one subject that I would love to see studied in depth. Under most economic conditions, which ideology has proven to be the most effective?

My understanding of the basic philosophical differences between Republican and Democratic economic strategy goes something like this:

Democratic – We need to tax higher-earning individuals and corporations at a higher rate so the middle and lower classes can get more programs and opportunities. They earn so much more than the rest of us; they need to give back to the country that allows them to create their wealth. This will level the playing field more and make the nation prosper on the whole. There is a lot of injustice in the world and a lot of corporate greed and excess. It is time someone did something about it.

Republican – We should give additional tax breaks to higher-earning individuals and corporations because they invest in our country and hire the rest of us. Higher taxes for them means they work harder to find loopholes (they can afford tax attorneys) and move their funds out of the country, so the Treasury gets less anyway. When rich guy “A” buys a yacht, all the yacht workers get work.

Which is the better approach? And how do varying economic conditions affect each strategy? It would be really great to read some in-depth studies on the subject.

I read something in our paper this morning. In the business section, they talk about the Mexican Immigrant population declining in San Diego County. There are not enough jobs in the construction industry, and Latino workers have the highest unemployment rate in our area. Here is a link to the article. It made me very sad because everyday I see the guys standing outside at the Home Depot hoping that someone will need handyman help of some kind. (It makes me very grateful for the temp job I was able to get.)

At least in this case, this would provide some evidence to support the Republican strategy. Although, it is not really tax-related, so maybe it is an unfair conclusion to draw. But it seems clear that one part of the population is spending a lot less and that directly impacts the economic opportunity of another segment of our population. It would be interesting to see this studied further by sociologists and economists.

See? Thoughtful, respectful, and productive discussion. Was that so hard?

Or do you just think I am an idiot because of my beliefs?

Photos of Taking Photos

When Jenetta shoots photo sessions down in the city or at the beach, I often accompany her to assist with holding stuff and shading the clients or lighting them. Toward the end of the session yesterday, the backdrop inspired me, so I clicked off a few photos on my phone.

We were at the Ferry Terminal in Coronado. I've probably been on Coronado 100 times since we've lived here, but I had never been to this end of the island. It has such a great view of the bay and the skyline!

So here are some photos of Jenetta hard at work last night: Check out her blog in a few days to see the results of her work. I was looking at some of the shots last night, and they should be really, really good!

Halloween 2008

A friend sent me this cartoon today. So true...

Sigur Ros

Jenetta and I went with our friends David and Courtney to see Sigur Ros in concert last night at the Copley Symphony Hall downtown. Despite warnings that no photography of any kind would be allowed, there were a number of people there with SLRs and even a guy with long lenses! I will never, ever, ever, not bring a good camera to a concert again! If they tell me I can't bring it in, I will just return it to the car. All night I was wishing I had some decent equipment because these cell phone photos just do not do it justice.

It was an amazing concert. They toured without the string section, and the songs that use a lot of orchestration were either skipped or simplified. I kind of missed the horns on some of their songs, but it was amazing how full a sound they generate with just four members. They had a really great balance between old and new songs.

Sigur Ros is the unquestioned master of dynamics! No one can play soft, use pauses, or gradually build the way they do. The build and build and build and build and build to complete sonic overload on Track 8 from the ( ) album is the perfect exclamation point - an awesome way to end the show. They leave EVERYTHING on the field (to borrow a sports cliche).

After the show, David said that he wanted to go to LA to see them again tonight. I know exactly how he feels!




I've also included a video clip of Hoppipolla. It is of poor quality and I debated whether or not to put it up at all. It sounds a little better when you turn the sound down lower. Sadly, cell phone video recorders are just not designed to handle the audio level of a concert.

Fun Date Night

We had a nice evening out yesterday. We decided to celebrate Jenetta's recent success with her blog by eating out and watching a movie outside at Stone Brewery. We had a really nice dinner - I had BBQ duck tacos and Jenetta had a buffalo burger. It was great to be able to take our time and really enjoy a meal and talking together. Dessert was a really thick chocolaty brownie, and then I ordered a black currant cider (which is really tasty) and we headed outside to the patio to watch the film.

Stone Brewery shows movies outdoors every Wednesday, and sadly, this was the last one of the year. We only found out about it last week. But at least now we know for next summer. The seating area was packed! We were glad we got there early and put out our beach chairs. Last night's movie was the RiffTrax version of Jurassic Park. We laughed a lot! Here is a clip of the film to give you a taste.

They also showed a few RiffTrax shorts. One was on not doing drugs, and it was so confusing and poorly done that I could imagine children who watched it would actually think doing drugs was a good thing! They had one about table manners and hygiene, and one about getting ready for a show and tell at school. These were from the 50's and 60's and they were absolutely terrible. It was great to laugh at them.

If you are looking for something silly to laugh at for a bit, I'd recommend downloading one of the video shorts from them. They are only 99 cents. You can get to them by clicking on the link on the right side of our blog. (Under the Good People Link).

Paying for it now...

I have had a really busy week. I already wrote about the crazy weekend. The week wasn't much better: I worked on a newsletter until 11:00 on Monday night. On Tuesday, we went for free Chipotle, went shoe shopping for me, I had snacks with Jeremy, and then played Cities & Knights with Ryan, David, and Shane. On Wednesday, I went swimming with Jeremy, had dinner with Geoff, and then Jenetta and I went with Courtney, David, and Ryan to see an outdoor showing of Almost Famous at Stone Brewery. Thursday night was our first home group, and I didn't want to to miss it. All of this was done on top of the full work week. But I was already feeling like I was getting sick by Thursday afternoon.

I left work early yesterday and rested all evening. I have a cold and I feel yucky.

I'm wondering if busy-ness is my addiction. I am finding it so hard to just sit and rest today. My mind races around a dozen things I could be doing around the house. I have to tell myself NO. I really enjoy being connected with so many awesome friends. Other than my relationship with God and with Jenetta, the friendships we have been blessed with over the past few years are the things that give me the most joy in my life. I think the greatest thing that could be said of me at the end of my life would be "he was a great friend."

But all this stuff comes at a price. Earlier in the week, Jenetta warned me that I should not do all these great and fun things at the expense of our relationship. That was sobering! I had a brief conversation with our pastor at church yesterday. I had forgotten my Bible there on Sunday and I went to go pick it up. We were trying to find it for Thursday night homegroup and realized we had left it there. He joked "it took you until Thursday to notice you were missing it?" He was only kidding, but there is a good point there. I've been having some great times of prayer and fellowship with my friends, but I spend almost no time just sitting and thinking and reading and praying by myself.

I think my cold is not only slowing me down physically (no running with Robbie this morning or hiking with Geoff and his boys this afternoon) and socially (no games with the guys tonight) but most importantly, it is slowing me down mentally. It is good to have the time to think through my priorities. Even now, as I review what I've written for this post, I can see that I've been doing way too much. I need to be still more often. I need to rest and be thankful for what I have been given. I need to say "no, thanks..." a little more frequently.

So as crummy as I feel right now, I am thankful for my cold.

Young At Heart

Ok, I know my last post was about doing less....

But seriously, I am just sitting here on the couch thinking and goofing around on the laptop. Jenetta rented a movie we had wanted to see. It is called Young At Heart. I had wanted to see it because I thought it would be cute and maybe a bit funny to watch elderly people sing the Ramones. But quite frankly, I was convicted of that attitude very early on. It was a very moving film. It was really enlightening to be able to spend a few hours in their world. I had been moved by "Fix You" by Coldplay before (especially at their show in LA this summer) but I was brought to tears by what that song meant to these people. A definite recommendation from both of us!

Here are some links you could check out:

A promo for the film on the Today show.

The trailer for the movie.

Is this the vicious face of terror???

Miranda is getting old and deaf. She is almost 12 now. We have this pillow thing for her to sleep on at night, but when it is warmer, she prefers the cooler concrete floor. In a few more weeks, she will go back to sleeping on the dog bed like she always does. Unfortunately, she puts herself to bed before we do usually, and that means that falling asleep right in the path where we walk.

This wasn't a problem when she could hear us coming in. I think she is losing her hearing now, and she does not stir when we come in the bedroom. I have adopted the "shuffle-step" method when going to bed. This is the same technique I use in the water to insure that I don't step on a sting-ray. Early last week, I shuffled right into the dog, and she was surprised and snapped at me.

On Thursday night, I wasn't feeling well, so I went to bed much earlier than Jenetta. She didn't want to turn on the light to wake me up when she came in around 11:30. Unfortunately, she stepped right on the dog. Miranda responded by biting her in the ankle. She really sunk her teeth into her skin! Jenetta shouted with pain and actually had trouble standing up afterward. Two days later, her ankle is still swollen and sore!

Our new plan is to have her sleep in the bathroom. We always turn the lights on when we go in at night, so it shouldn't be a problem anymore. But wow!

something cool about my birthday

I research words and terms for part of a video library project at work. Sometimes I come across a phrase that is new to me and is actually interesting as well. Today I learned about Cake Day. It is on my birthday! Wow! So everyone celebrates with me! (JUNE 1st)

That got me really sidetracked. Did you know there are practically 365 days of food celebrations? You can get a day for pretty much any food. Here is a fun link to stuff about that.

Too bad we missed National Date-Nut Bread Day on the 8th, but at least we're only in the middle of National Honey Month. We have 15 more days to celebrate honey.

I should get back to work now...

Awesome weekend

I've had one of the busiest, craziest, amazing weekends ever, and I am really paying for it now at work! I am soooooooo tired!!!!

The weekend started with a really challenging wedding for Jenetta on Friday. The circumstances made for a stressful beginning for both of us!

On Friday night, we celebrated David's birthday by eating at Chipotle and then going to Stone Brewery to hang out for the evening. It was really great to hang with the guys and enjoy a "guys night out..." We capped off the night by eating donuts at Peterson's (which was a huge mistake in my opinion - greasy donuts at 11:30 do not make for a healthy tummy overnight).

The next morning, I got up early to go to Big Bear to mountain bike with David and Blake. After some great conversation in the car, we made it to the ski lift around 10:00. We took a really challenging run first that rubbed huge sores on both of my thumbs. I had gloves, but they were the fingerless kind, sadly. I made it down without crashing, but it was really hard. The second run was really great! We took a wider forest road and could go really fast. I was enjoying this ride a lot until near the bottom when the derailer on my bike decided to explode and collide with the spokes. My bike was ruined. People have advised me that it is not worth fixing, and that I should just get another one. (Jessica - any good bike prospects this year?) :)





I was able to coast the bike down the rest of the hill and only had to walk it up a few small sections. We took the lift up again for lunch at the lodge at the top. After lunch, Blake and David rode two more runs, and I spent about 90 minutes just hiking around the mountain and following my nose for a while. Even though I was not riding, I still enjoyed the experience. It gave me a little time to think about the things we had talked about and pray.

Later that night, David and I went to the Padres game. We had free tickets and a parking pass, but due to car problems, we didn't make it until later in the game, but it was worth it to enjoy a little bit of the ballpark atmosphere. It was a special day - I spent 15 hours with David. For many reasons, I don't think I will ever forget that Saturday.

On Sunday, Jenetta and I helped with worship. It has been a while since she has sung with the team, so it was good to have her back with us. Doug has started a series on thinking about the nature of God. He started with "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." I have been thinking about the Shema Yisrael and what it means to declare that God is one. I think that is a very appropriate way to begin and end your day.

We left church to go to lunch together, and we had car troubles of our own. The key on the car wouldn't turn in the ignition. The steering wheel locking mechanism has frozen somehow. After jiggling for 20 minutes, we finally got it going. I drove it home and left the key in the on position, but disconnected the battery. I was able to start it this morning no problem and it is currently at our mechanic's place being repaired.

Don't get me started on the Charger's game after that! (Or the Padre's game, where they blew a 4 run lead to lose to San Francisco in 10 innings.)

That evening, Ryan Castillo and I went to the House of Blues to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I saw them last summer and enjoyed their stuff. When I got a two-for-one coupon for the show, I decided that I would like to check them out again. There were things that I really enjoyed about the show, but there were also some things that put a damper on it for me. They played a really long set - almost 2 1/2 hours! And the music got louder and louder and louder as the night went on. Near the end, the vocals were cranked so loud that you couldn't even understand what they were saying when they just talked to the audience. It was just a lot of noise. Good - bluesy, heavy guitar noise, but noise nonetheless. But the best part was just spending more time with Ryan and getting to know him more.

It's weird having a corporate job and living for the weekend. But this weekend, I think I did enough living to last me at least until the next one... I sure am tired!

Adoption meeting

We decided not to proceed with the meeting regarding the 5-year old boy. Again, there were many factors that indicated to us that this was not going to be a good match. We are not convinced he would be a permanent member of our family. We both feel that this is the right decision for us as neither of us had much peace about the whole thing. Thanks for praying for us.

Busy Saturday

I had one of those weekend days where I felt like I got a ton of stuff done. I started off by running Lake Miramar with Robbie. Finally, my foot feels normal when I run. I had really been missing it!

Then Jenetta and I went to band practice. It was really hot in Dan's garage, but it was nice to work on a new song. I also really enjoy playing with Doug, our new lead guitar player. I think we will work together nicely.

Then I came home and worked on laying the tile on the kitchen peninsula. I was thinking back - this kitchen project started in earnest again on Memorial Day weekend with the floor tile. Things sure go slowly when you have to wait to pay for them! It's not perfect, but not much about our kitchen is. I watched San Diego State lose to Notre Dame, and then I watch the Padres lose again in Milwaukee.

I cleaned up after dinner, and went to David's house to play a game of Cities and Knights with Ryan and David. David made some really smart moves and won convincingly.

Then I came home and did this. I felt like I did a lot today.

(Sorry Jessica, I know this isn't a very profound post...)

Oh, and we are planning on meeting with the social workers regarding that placement on Monday at 4:30. We'd appreciate prayers for wisdom. Right now, we don't think this would be a good placement for us, but we want to keep an open mind and inform our decision as much as possible.

One other thing. To the right, we've placed a link for RiffTrax. I used to be really into this show that was on Comedy Central called "Mystery Science Theater 3000" or MST3K. Later, it moved to the Sci-Fi Channel, and it was never really as good. I still probably have about 100 episodes on videotapes somewhere. Anyway, some of the guys from that show do the same thing to more popular movies. They are pretty funny. Check them out for a fun diversion!

Here's how the peninsula looks now:

Something to pray about

A lot of you frequently ask us for updates on the adoption situation. We got another call yesterday. Again this one is slightly outside of what we were considering (but for different reasons). Please pray for wisdom for us regarding this decision.

I can't give out a lot of the details, but a few things I can share are that it involves a 5 year old boy, and the reason why it is outside of our comfort zone is that he is on a different adoption track than we were interested in. Basically, his mother still has an opportunity to regain custody. There is a hearing with the judge in a few weeks. He could come to live with us and then be removed after only a few weeks. Or that hearing could go against the mother and she would appeal. After six months of living with us, if the appeal went through, he would return to his mother.

The uncertainty of this (based on what we've learned, 10% of these kids go back to the birth parents) makes us unsure as to whether or not this is right for us. We are praying for clear thought and direction on this. It could be very, very stressful if we went ahead. So we would greatly appreciate your prayers as well!