what the heck!?

So, something is wrong with my blog today. it's not showing all my links to the left and it is only showing 2 posts. As soon as I have some time, I am switching to typepad. I'm done with blogger.

What a great weekend!

This last weekend, Jacinda and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a trip down to the OC. It was great, we had a fondue dinner at the melting pot in thousand oaks, went to costa mesa for some shopping, had lobster at the ocean house right across the street from the santa monica beach, breakfast on the sand in paradise cove, looked at old stuff at the getty center and strolled along the shops of montana ave in santa monica. it was there that we saw the "biggest loser" first season winner, gary. I am always the one that spots the "famous" people. We were just checking out all the shops and i spot gary as he says, "hey, i'm going to go grab a banana". I'm not a really big starstruck kind of guy. I do enjoy knowing what other peoples lives are, but in the end, we are all just humans. we all go to the bathroom. they just use much more expensive toilet paper. anyways, I don't like to interrupt their lives too much either, unless it was someone huge that i would really want to meet like chris martin, bono, matt redman, keifer sutherland... some of the "big" people in my mind. so, i just follow this guy into a supermarket until i can tell jacinda who he is. then, we check out his wife and friends (he's still trim by the way) and go on about our day. little victory for us. i don't know, we're just big geeks that get excited about little things. last year for our anniversary i rented a black convertible bmw 330ci and we bought a star map and drove around hollywood/bel air/brentwood for hours looking at all these enormous homes. back to the story, we were walking the 3rd street promenade after grubbing on some seafood goodness and we, i mean i...spot josh groban. jacinda kind of freaked on that one, but again, we left him alone. it must be nice for them to go out somewhere where people don't really bug them. i mean, i'm sure celebrities walk those streets all the time. so, that was it for "lifestyles of the rich and famous". although i did see a convertible rolls royce cornisch. those are super expensive, but ugly. I'll post some pics and more about the weekend when i get my pics all imported. plus, i hate really long posts.

Taylor Hicks won, but someone else stole the show!

and, no, it wasn't clay aiken. it was the guy that they pulled up on stage from winning some stupid idol award. this guy couldn't sing a lick, but he obviously idolized aiken. so, they bring him out to sing one of aiken's songs and 20 seconds into it, clay comes out and the guys jumps 4 feet off the ground. seriously, if you guys didn't see that, you better find someone with a tivo because jacinda and i almost fell off the couch. the "guy" responded like a 9-year old girl would've reacted to last season's bruding constantine. no worse. it was like watching those old videos of when michael jackson would come into a town and all the girls are just screaming and jumping and fainting. you gotta love the way idol exploits people!

Upcoming Weekend

I am ready! this weekend is me and jacinda's 5 year anniversary and we are taking off friday morning for a long weekend in santa monica. i have been working like a dog and she has been doing so much around the house that we are in great need of a little vacation. we are going to chill, drive, enjoy the weather, the beach, the food. we're going to try some different things this time, drive down to laguna beach and see if we can spot kristen , lc, and talan. just kidding! if any of you know who i am talking about you are just as teenie bopper as we are! So, 2 more days of work. then it's off to the beach.

D-Day for 24

Tonight is the night for the season finale of 24 and my heart's already pumping. we are going over to another family's house to have a full-on potluck, season finale party. coolest thing about it...it's our associate pastor's house. 24 transcends all cultural barriers. or should i say jack bauer. there hasn't been a character this loved in TV since Gilligan; or for me DJ Tanner on Full House. man i had a crush on her! i just know that tonight they are going to throw some new character into the mix. you can't ever figure the show out because they are always throwing in new loops and conspiracies. gotta love it. so, to all my other 24 fans...don't worry i won't be calling you tonight. but i will be watching with some of you, so until then... "there's no time"

guys night out

last night me and a bunch of guys from the college group i work with went to yosemite fitness. they have a big indoor rock climbing wall and a freestyle boulder. blake was all into it and even had his own belt. a couple of the guys were really good at it. it's all about weight to strength ratio. the tall, skinny guys could fly up the wall. on my first attempt up, i got where if i fell from the height i was at, it would probably hurt. i wanted to test the ropes ability to save my life. now, it wasn't a rope that someone was spotting me on, it's this rope attached to the ceiling with this measuring tape kind of kick back. so, as you go up, it retracts and when you fall down, it slows you down. see, the problem is that before i went there were a bunch of little 50 pound kids doing this. would you think that the same little rope thing that held them would work for me? i didn't so, i jumped. it didn't go nice and slow and i landed on my back! i tried the wall one more official time, but when i got to that certain height, i got nervous again. it was fun watching some of the other guys though. the guys who worked there were really good and so we all just watched them do their little tricks.

If you can't have a mac, at least go big

it's christmas at morgan stanley! yesterday we got brand new Dell 19" LCD's. honestly, i can't believe it. has anyone worked in a corporate setting where they get something new and it is actually the new thing? when i was at bank of america, they upgraded our screens to lcd but they were like 1st generation screens that looked terrible and were bulky. finally, i got the newest thing. this screen is awesome, so even though i have to use the pc, at least it looks pretty!

yawn

another lond day yesterday. woke up early, or should i say, on time, did my thing, ate breakfast, went to work, gym, and home again. jacinda and i were both beat, but kiara...bouncing off the walls. we kept expecting her to just crash because of the amount of energy she had expended all day. nope. we were watching american idol from the night before and she just danced to every song. but, she went to bed relatively easy and jacinda and i tried to stay awake to watch the idol "kick-off" show. to fill our time, we watched alias. jacinda fell asleep and by 9:15, we were in bed. so, we didn't see who got kicked off and now i'm scared to go read everyone else's blogs, because i know there will be stuff out there about it. maybe tonight we can watch and find out for ourselves. but, for how popular that show is around my office, i doubt i'll make it.

Someone Else's Words

I have a devotional entitled "reflections for ragamuffins" by brennan manning. if you ever thought you were anything, then you need to start reading this guy. his love for people and brokenness of heart aka a ragamuffin, is amazing. although i don't believe he represents the entire spectrum of what a christian should be, he will definitely be a great aid in knocking you off your high horse and teach you to rest in the Lord. check out this quote from today's reading. "legalistic christianity" this is the God of the gospel of grace. a God who, out of love for us, sent the only Son he ever had wrapped in our skin. He learned how to walk, stumbled and fell, cried for His milk, sweated blood in the night, was lashed with a whip and showered with spit, was fixed to a cross, and died whispering forgiveness on us all. the God of the legalistic Christian, on the other hand, is often unpredictable, erratic, and capable of all manner of prejudices. when we view God this way, we feel compelled to engage in some sort of magic to appease Him. Sunday worship becomes a superstitious insurance policy against His whims. this God expects people to be perfect and to be in perpetual control of their feelings and thoughts. when broken people with this concept of God fail--as inevitably they must--they usually expect punishment. so, they persevere in religious practices as they struggle to maintain a hollow image of a perfect self. the struggle itself is exhausting. the legalists can never live up to the expectations they project on God. He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: 'these people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. they worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" Mark 7:6-7

another night out

jacinda and i went out last night on our weekly monday night date. we caught an early movie, "just my luck". let me preface this by saying, jacinda and i are complete teeny-boppers. we love stupid, cheesy movies like this one, we love justin timberlake, we love really shallow shows like, "america's next top model" and "laguna beach". i don't know why, but we are just entertained by these things. so, just my luck, wasn't half bad. i really didn't expect much after lindsay lohan's "herbie" movie, which was terrible. she still seems kind of young to pull off the whole, working adult, thing, but the movie was entertaining. afterwards, jacinda and i took 15 minutes to decide where to go to dinner and ended up at logan's steakhouse. this is relatively new to fresno, maybe a couple years, but jacinda had never been there. the coolest part about the place is that they give you a bowl of peanuts, you crack them, and throw the shells on the floor. so, by the end of the night it starts looking like barnum and bailey's circus tent. when we got home, kiara was still awake, and she said in her really cute little voice, "come lay by me daddy". can't say no. so, i laid down next to her in bed until she relaxed. it was one of those special dad/daughter moments where you're just looking into each other's eyes and talking. i asked her, "do you want to go to the beach this weekend?" she got excited and said, "we go to the park daddy?" yes, kiara. "push me on the swing daddy?" yes, baby. now close your eyes. oh, man, she is so cute. thank you Lord for the blessing of a daughter.

i don't know if i should laugh or be scared

okay, if you've grown up in church, this is going to be awesome. felt boards and all. I know a lot of you have seen this video, but it's always good for a laugh. go check out the white dj and "baby got book". We showed this in the college group about a year ago and didn't tell them we were joking. it was great to watch their expressions as they watched "sir read-a-lot".

who can break this streak?

yesterday we had our annual Morgan Stanley office golf tournament. we play it as a scramble, or best ball game. it was really fun, but every year, they have it on a thursday and that is when we have college group. i was thinking of ditching the church service, but as i said in my previous post, we had a new bass player and drummer, so i couldn't let them down. last year, same thing happenned. i had to leave after 13 holes, but my team went on to win. supposedly some of the guys went out for drinks after and one of my teammates admitted to some guys that once i left, they started cheating, so needless to say, i've been razzed about this whole thing for a year now. my team yesterday...won! oh yeah, all 4 of us played pretty darn good. i got to play for 9 holes and made the break home. out of those 9, they used 4 of my drives, i sunk one killer putt, and i ate a sandwich. i know the sandwich thing isn't very cool, but i didn't do anything else better. we finished 14 under and killed the competition (i think the closest was 9 under). so, i paid $50 to play, but won $40 of it back. nice.

the day has finally come!

no, i'm not going to see weezer again, but i thought it was a cool picture of a band, why? because tonight at college group, we will have a full band. acoustic, electric, bass, drums, and 2 vocals. kickin'! it has been quite sometime since we have led worship with a full band...probably around last september. we consider worship to be one of the cornestones of our college ministry. the group has been amazing and patient while just jacinda and i sang and nick and i played our acoustics. despite the lack of sound, our group's worship has kicked it up a notch. you wouldn't think it with just two acoustic guitars, but these guys get excited to worship because it's not about me or the music...it's about the God they worship. even though the music fades, i'm really amped about tonight and trying out a new drummer. we've played with the bass player many times, so i know he's going to hold it down. it's just been a battle at finding a drummer who is good and who is devoted to our church and to our cause.

Nothing Compares

so, last night jacinda and i sat down and caught up on some alias. this used to be our favorite show. i own the first 2 seasons on dvd, we used to have sunday night parties at our house with a bunch of people, just to watch alias. if you talked while the show was on, you got an extremely quick reprimand from about a dozen people saying, "shut up!" it started going downhill about the 3rd season. it started really slow and ended up being pretty good at the season close. this season, season five, it's like they are just a bunch of mini-sagas where it always ends really clean. it used to be that you were on the edge of your seat by the end and that black screen saying, "alias" with just make everybody scream and moan that, "i can't believe it's over" or "dangit, i wonder if _____ will make it through". not anymore. now it's like, oh sydney's in trouble, oh there's still 20 minutes left, she'll get out of it. so, i'm glad this is the last season. oh, and it just kind of seems a little far fetched and hokey compared to...the man...Jack Bauer. Singing: "nothing compares, nothing compares...to you" seriously, i love this guy and this show. and no, eric, i don't want jack bauer to die and i would never wish that on him, i was just saying how extreme this show is and how it just wouldn't be exactly fitting if it ended with him walking off into the sunset with no more problems or worries. he is a tormented hero and that is why we love him. he's got issues like us, yet, he kicks the bad guys butt. we're a couple episodes behind right now, so jacinda and i are kinda chomping at the bit. last night after watching alias, we were both lying in bed, unfulfilled, and i said, i kinda wish we had spent our time a little more wisely and watched 24. we laughed and agreed. there's just nothing like it. it's got that "crack" quality, kind of like McDonalds for kids. what's the deal?

Was it ever really impossible?

last night jacinda and i went and saw mission impossible 3. it was pretty intense throughout the entire movie. i gotta say, i love movies and i love going to the movies. i am a huge movie buff, but i just like to be entertained. i'm not all into the angles and the directors and the producing and all the background. i don't even care if the british character has an irish accent. it doesn't bother me. so, mi3...very entertaining. but is there ever a point where you think the main character is going to die? i don't think so. the only show that i've ever seen blow away a "good guy" main character ("bad guys" get blown away all the time) is 24. there are just no limits to that show except for jack bauer and if they do it right, that's how they'll end the season, killing jack bauer...for good. that would be shocking. so in closing, i just love to escape and be made to laugh, cry (that's right, i cry at movies, even some commercials), get angry, anxious, or even made to think maybe i have special powers (there is no spoon). that's why i go to the movies. can't wait until summer. hopefully there will be some great flicks.

posting from the east bay

so, kiara was crying at church, so i just took her out of the service, but they got computers in the lobby, so what do i do...blog. So, I'm at my buddy's church, fully alive. Ray & Jen Wizbowski used to be our college pastors in fresno and ray was one of my groomsmen. so, now they live in foster city and so we're chilling in the bay this weekend. well, i better go back into church.

Church, the way it should be

I was reading mark driscoll's blog who is the pastor of mars hill church up in seattle. he calls it resurgence. anyway, he referenced a king of the hill episode where the family goes "shopping" for a new church. it's pretty funny because the whole episode the husband is trying to avoid going to the mega church where they have a coffee store and high def tv's. it's pretty funny. you can watch the highlights here. I don't normally watch king of the hill. i didn't find it all that funny, but this is a good premise. enjoy.

Get ready to laugh

okay, you need to go check out fellow blogger, Dustin Bryson's, site. He has some great stuff on there. But, what you really need to see is the video that he posted with today. I'll just say that it involves nose clippers. Check it out HERE.

Sorry for all those using PC's!

If you guys want a good laugh and you love mac, go check out their new ads about the difference between PC and Mac. These are really pretty good and the best part is how they made the mac guy all young, friendly, and casual and the pc guy looks like Milton from office space in a cheap suit. Enjoy.

Relaxing Weekend

This weekend was great. It started off kind of hectic. I led worship for this "city-wide" meeting at our church. It actually turned out to be more like 15 minutes of filler music for a crowd of maybe 60. The guy who spoke's main objective is to teach people how to witness on the golf course. It's always good to tell others about Jesus, but this was so niche market, the target audience was only like 3 guys. needless to say, i left right after i played. i apologize if anyone from the conference reads this and is offended, because there were people there who worshipped, but the majority could've cared less that someone was trying to lead them into worship. but i lead worship, so maybe it is just me that cares. led again saturday morning and again left right after worship, but this time to head to the coast and cayucos. our "sunday school" class, which we call the "yound married class" took a much needed vacation to the beach. there were 6 couples that went and the mix was perfect. everyone got along and had a great time. good food, too much food, wiffle ball with the guys...josh frese won, clam chowder, mclintock's bone in rib-eye steak, hanging with my girl, our good friends mignon and steve, and just chillin'. when can we go again?