So I've made jokes off and on over the last week and a half about our AC being out in our house. Turns out our 20 year old AC unit has finally given up its last cool breath. The good news is it is being replaced tomorrow. We (me and the most beautiful 5 month pregnant woman on earth) have had multiple conversations in the house over the last week about this predicament and every last one of them has gone as follows:

Her: "UGH why is it is so hot in here?"

Me: "Well the good news is it happened in March and not July."

Her: [death stare that says "get away from me or get hurt"]

It honestly has not been that bad over the last week. Afternoons are of course the worst because the house has been heating up all day. Over night and mornings are pleasant enough. Also the worst part of the experience really was last weekend when we were all home all day Friday and Saturday and didn't have anywhere we needed to be that would have had AC. This got me to thinking about modern conveniences and things we cannot live without. I would like to think that I could reverse adapt myself to be able to one day survive without AC if I were forced to but I doubt that's true. So without further ado (because apparently lists are all the rage today) here are some things I could not live without:

+Air Conditioning - I live with a beautiful woman who is 5 months pregnant I don't need to go back over this one do I? Also I'm like a furnace when I sleep and I believe without AC in the summer I would turn into the guy from Fantastic 4 who bursts into flames. 

+TiVo - How on earth could I possibly watch all the TV I don't really need anyhow if I had to be home for all of it. TiVo is an evil genius that has revolutionized the future mashed potato-like state of my brain. (We don't even use the "TiVo Suggests" function...I shudder to think of the implications of that).

+Dishwasher "ActionPacs" - So the new craze in cleaning are these little pre-packed servings of soap that you put in your dishwasher and magicaliciously it dissolves and you don't have to spend any more time using a the last portion of detergent from the bottle that isn't really enough for a full load. Nor do you have to leave the bottle upside down for a day to get that last maddening bit out. Also they make these for laundry now too. A lot of people are trying to have a 'paperless office' now...we are striving for a liquidless home. 

+Water Dispensing Refrigerators - Seriously what kind of low-level peasant is expected to drink water out of the tap? I hate drinking water and I especially don't like a glass of 'iced water' filled with cubes and coldness that just seeks to attack my teeth. Water out of the fridge is the exact right kind of cold for consumption. 

So that's it for now. I'm sure if I spent more my valuable time sitting here I could come up with other things but that's as good as it gets. What can't you live without?

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Yesterday my friend Chad Gibbs wrote "A Few Things About Me." I'm supposed to be writing something every day of Lent and clearly that's worked out so well that I thought I'd do something really easy like steal his idea. But as Sam Seaborn once said "good writers borrow from other writers, great writers steal from them outright" (yes I know that considering myself a "writer" much less attempting to equate myself to an actual writer like Chad is hilarious but hey this is my blog and you can humor me or go home...no wait come back I didn't mean that go home part). 

10 Things About Me

+If you could get in shape by being punched in the face I'd consider letting someone do that to me in exchange for going to a gym and working out I dislike it that much. 

+Brushing my teeth with warm water freaks me out and triggers my claustrophobia 

+When I put my shoes on in the morning they are on for the day. I don't take them on and off throughout (even when at home). When I get ready for bed that's when shoes come off. 

+I've seen every episode of The West Wing at least 20 times 

+When I was in college I was the intramural 3-Point Shootout Champion as well as the 3-on-3 Tournament winner.

+In 6th grade I won an essay writing contest and a free week at Spacecamp in Huntsville. I was very disappointed that I didn't get accidentally launched into space like in the movie. 

+I was once robbed at gunpoint in my apartment and they took my roommate's car and a sleeve of Otter Pops from our freezer

+I once lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for 3 months when I was in the 3rd grade

+If I could be on any reality TV show I would want to be on Top Chef (I would of course need to improve my cooking skills first).

+I also stole the above picture from Chad Gibbs (What do you mean you couldn't tell?)

So there you have it. 10 useless facts about me. What about you?

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Dear My Wife,

It has come to my attention that you don't seem to understand exactly why it is that I like Star Wars as much as I do, or really for that matter why anyone loves it. Star Wars first came out in 1977 and I first came out in 1978 so right off the bat we've grown up together. Star Wars encompasses everything that a boy looks for in an adventure. It is the classic tale of good and evil, corruption and redemption, hi-tech super weapons and laser swords. It's filled with spaceships and battles, twists and turns, and ultimate victory (not to mention a woman in a gold bikini). 

Star Wars set the tone for my imagination to run wild. It allowed me to push the mattress halfway off my twin bed and pretend it was an X-Wing fighter making that final trench run at the Death Star, it inspired me to take a flashlight outside at night and use the beam particles in the night sky to pretend it was a lightsaber as I battled the fearsome Darth Vader. To this day I still use my limited powers of the force to open doors at places like the grocery store. Now in my "grown up life" Star Wars is an escape to an old familiar place that is full of fun memories and eternal adventure. It's a reminder that there is still child-like wonder in all of us and most of all its just good clean fun.  

My dearest love, I know this explanation probably doesn't really help you any and likely doesn't really change your opinion of my "silly little nerd movies" but I've done my best to express what on some levels is hard to fully put into words. The good news, for me, is that I know you love me no matter what. So just know that when you say "I love you" and I respond with what seems like a non-commital "I know" that is actually me telling you I love you right back in the way that only a rogue'ish "scruffy looking nerf-herder" can. 

May the force be with you!

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You remember that funny story I told you one time about how every day during Lent I was going to blog and write stuff? That was hilarious.

Here I am admitting that I've done a terrible job thus far on my "Lenten Blogging Commitment-O-Rama" but on the plus side I haven't had a soft drink in over 2 and a half week and really isn't that what Easter is all about Charlie Brown? If it helps any I've been thinking a lot about things I want to write. The funny thing is now that I've had a minute to sit down and compose something I can't think of ANY of those things. 

I found THIS ARTICLE the other day that talked about "5 Strategies for Becoming A Better Conversationalist" and it really resonated with me for several reasons. I spend the better part of my life both personally and professionally communicating with people. I encounter all types of people and personalities and the intricacies of human communication never cease to facinate me. I like to think I am a good listener but sometimes I know that I have the tendency to interrupt or want to get a thought in before it slips out of my head at that exact moment. Below are a brief summary of the 5 strategies and a couple of my thoughts about them:

1) Listen with Your Heart - Words are only a part of any conversation there are other factors that should be taken in such as eye contact, posture, etc... Tone of voice is very important, sarcasm doesn't play well on paper, which is why most of you don't find me as funny as I really am. 

2) Be Aware of How Much You Are Talking - We all know people that go on and on and on. We are supposed to try to not be like that. The suggestion is that we speak more in sound bites and give the person we are talking to a chance to interject. The other suggestion is to carry around your own "play off music" so when people go on too long you can give them the message in the same passive-aggressive way that the Oscars do. 

3) Hit the Ball Back Over the Net - You ever have a conversation with a person and you get out great points and say really neat and insightful stuff and the most you can wring out of that other person is "mmm hmm"? Yeah, don't be that guy. Also if you are playing tennis, seriously hit the ball back over the net or you will lose every time. 

4) Ask Follow Up Questions - The article talks about this in the context of peeling away the layers of an onion. That's a good one if you like smelling like onion all day. But seriously the more you ask the more you learn. I should know I've two three-year olds who do nothing BUT ask questions which can only lead me to believe Stanford here we come!! 

5) Provide Positive Feedback - Responding back to the person you are talking too is a helpful way of letting them know you were listening and not, you know, sleeping with your eyes open. 

So what are your strategies for being a better conversationalist? Anything different or unique like say maybe "calling people on the phone" instead of texting or emailing them? It could change the nature of who you are. 

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Here's to my beautiful Laura and wishes to her for years and years to come of more of the same great adventures that she has encountered in this first thirty. I love you!

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I know, I know, I KNOW. Those of you that employ Google Reader or some other blog following service that suddenly had a 'new post' pop up under my name are shocked, SHOCKED I SAY. Well yes the unthinkable has happened. 

(But how did we get here?)

Great question blog voice. Let me try to answer that for you. Well it's Lent that great time of the Christian year when we remember Jesus by giving up drinking soda and watching TV the same way it says Jesus did for those 40 days in the Bible. I mean that must have been tough right? How would he have known whether Ben picked the right desparate woman on The Bachelor or whether or not John Gotti's daughter's wig will fall off on Celebrity Apprentice? I mean he wouldn't invent the Tivo for another 2000 years.

(You've kind of strayed from the question at hand by trying to be funnier than you are.)

Sorry, well I did give something up this year but I also decided that I wanted to take something on as well. I decided I want to write something every day in hopes of exercising my brain a little more, sparking a little creativity, and maybe crystallizing various banal thoughts I may have along the way. 

(Didn't Lent start on Wednesday?)

Yeah it did and I'm nothing if not a late bloomer sometimes so here I am ready to shine. I'll try to squeeze in a couple extra posts to make up for the ones that I missed. Sorry. 

(What can I expect to find here?)

That's the real question now isn't it? Clearly as indicated by what I've written thus far you can expect LOADS of grade A quality humor [a phone rings in the distance "Hello? No I'm sorry I can't accept the Mark Twain prize for humor right now I'm busy performing for an audience of none. Thanks maybe you could give it to Tina Fey again she's pretty hilarious."] Okay...where was I? I'll probably write about faith, I'll probably write about Star Wars, I'll probably write about my kids (both the two I have and the one that is hurtling my way in the next few months), and I'll probably write about sports. Oh yeah and I guarantee I'll write about how Star Wars relates to my faith (it does trust me on this). Other than that I make no guarantees. This place is a mixed bag and it could change drastically from one day to the next. Ultimately my goal is to be consistent and hopefully in that I'll develop a habit. I've always thought I've been 'okay' at writing...no one has asked me to write a book yet but I keep waiting, but I'm also not expecting that. I just like to have conversations with people and if this is one of the ways I get to do that then blammo I win. 

(Are you done yet?)

Yes, I do believe I'll keep it brief today because I mean really how many lame jokes can you use to drag out a "Reintroductory" blog post right? Gotta leave a little something on the table for next time. 

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So this conversation comes up more regularly than it probably should in my life but thanks to things like Twitter, Facebook, sports talk radio, and a few token friends from that other school (not to mention being married to a graduate of UA) that's just the way it goes. Over the weekend a Twiend (Twitter Friend...No?) posted that he thought it was "sad" that I felt that if Auburn only won a single game next season I would want it to be against Alabama and that I would be satisfied with that. Now granted I think its makes perfect common sense that I don't want Auburn to win ONLY one measly game next but I can honestly say if we were going to have a middle of the road year and lose to Alabama or lose every game except the Iron Bowl I would prefer the latter. 

The reason for these feelings is very simple. I am a die-hard fan of Auburn University. I have been such since I was in about the 4th grade. The natural and hated rival of Auburn University is the University of Alabama. Plain and simple these two schools don't get along and don't pull for one another. We always want the other to lose  and here's where I seem to part ways with various folks...I am okay with that. We are supposed to want the other team to lose. Now to be fair this isn't exclusive to Auburn and Alabama, this is something that has been common in sports for as long as they have been around (Lakers vs. Celtics, Yankees vs. Red Sox, Bears vs. Packers, Duke vs. UNC, etc...). 

We live in a part of the country that worships college football its all you hear about most everywhere you turn. Coach Gene Stallings (UA) said the following:

"They talk about the Alabama-Auburn game on Thanksgiving. They talk about it on Christmas. They talk about it on New Year's Day. They talk about it on the Fourth of July. The people of Alabama talk about it 365 days a year. And unless you have lived in the state you could not possibly understand."

That's exactly right. People wear ties to church on Sunday for their team, they plaster their cars with flags, paint, stickers (guilty) and more, you can't walk in a store anywhere in this state and not see a person wearing their team colors (doesn't matter if it is early May or the crux of the season in late October). We as a culture are absolutely consumed with it and most of the time I am fine with that. Some people go a little more nutso than others. 

Here's where I get, the rest of the way, to my point. Just because I always want Alabama to lose doesn't make me a terrible, mean, rude, obnoxious, bitter, sad, classless person (the list of descriptors could go on and on). It means that I have a team that I cheer for with all my heart and there is another team in the same state that is their rival and I want that rival to lose. Its not a personal attack against fans of that other school, its not a wish for physical harm or injury to the players (leg cramps that keep the good players out of the game are fine though...I'm kidding...sort of) or anything like that. I simply wish them to lose. And here's the other thing...I want UA fans to feel EXACTLY the same way towards my Auburn Tigers. I expect that from them and actually PREFER it. A good friend of mine who doesn't blog anymore had an exchange with someone on FB who was an Alabama fan who said she would be pulling AU against Oregon and doesn't know why he didn't pull for UA against Texas last year...his response was "really I would prefer that you didn't pull for us". He wasn't being rude though, he was being a fan of his team.

Here are some of the arguments or thoughts that I hear from people all the time on this:

-You should always pull for the SEC because it makes us look like a stronger conference (to which I reply YES unless of course the SEC team is your bitter rival). This bowl season I've pulled for every SEC school except one (and clearly that didn't stop them). 

-You should always pull for a team from your home state because its good for both schools (guess what it wasn't "good" for Auburn last year when UA won the National Championship. no 5 star high school recruits woke up the morning after and said "you know, Alabama won the National Championship so I should try to go play for Auburn because they are in the same state". in reality its bad for the other school when one wins because athletes want to play for a winning team)

-"I pull for both teams except when they play each other" (no you are not a real fan of either team sorry that holds no weight...you can't decide which one is more popular or you just don't care that much)

-"I want both teams to win all their games until they play each other then I want my team to win that makes it more exciting" (no its lame when that happens. its better when your rival loses as many games as possible then you beat them to rub their face in their loserdom.)

Bottom line. I am an Auburn fan and I always always ALWAYS want the University of Alabama to LOSE. I am  never rude about it (although my wife thinks my general desire to see them lose is rude in and of itself) and I again wish no one physical harm or trauma. Last year the day of the National Championship game I changed my FB profile pic to the logo of the Texas Longhorns and I caught a little flak for it, but you know what that's okay too. I didn't insult anyone I chose to pull for a team that I wanted to see beat my team's arch nemesis. Simple as that. I hope that next Monday night the majority of my UA friends (I do have a few and I like them all just not their taste in college sports teams) will change their pics to Oregon logos. I also hope that it will sting that much more when they have to change them back Tuesday morning knowing that the Auburn Tigers are the 2011 National Champions. 

WAR EAGLE!!

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As many of you are likely aware, yesterday marked Laura and my fifth wedding anniversary. Words cannot describe how much I love my wife and how thankful I am that we found each other and have the life together that we do. As I typically do I attempted to express just a little bit of my feelings into a video of some kind and I saved it to show her first but now I thought I'd pass it along to the rest of you so that you might know a little bit about how I feel about this amazing woman. Here's to 95 more!!

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As if there hasn't been enough shoddy "journalism" (emphasis on the quotation marks here) I thought I would throw my own hat into the ring. Rest easy though dear reader, I am not not here to make allegations of supposed mattress tag tearing or removal of bars of soap at hotels during road games. I just want to make a few observations and ask some questions (to which you are free to post responses in the comments). 

Questions of Context

One of the latest things to break in the allegations against Cameron Newton and his father are that some recruiters from Mississippi State University say that Cam and his dad both said that money was the factor in the decision of where he would attend school. I've learned over the years that you can take most anything out of context and make it mean it most anything you want to. The two quotes that are being passed around (as well as my thoughts on them) are:

1) Cam's dad said "it will take more than a scholarship to get his commitment". Of course everyone thinks that means "more" = $. I like to consider the idea that maybe it means that Cam ran into some trouble while attending the University of Florida and maybe the "more" that his dad was looking for was a nurturing environment where his son could be mentored and watched over as he attempts to be a better person than he was before. Maybe Cecil Newton needed "more" of an assurance that Cam would be taken care of by someone other than Dan Mullen (MSU head coach) who just happened to be his coach at the University of Florida. 

2) Cam is reported to have said his dad decided he was going to Auburn because "the money is just too much". Now of course the sharks smelling the chum in the water take this to mean that the reported $180,000 offer to go to MSU paled in comparison to what Auburn offered (allegedly). But what about the idea that Cam, knowing he's been in trouble before and is looking for a clean start, is saying "you know that's just over the line, taking that money would be too much and not a good idea". Perhaps Cam learned his lessons at UF and realized that "too much" = bad idea. 

All the News That Fits (And I Mean ALL the News)

Another tremendous problem in this whole fiasco is the age that we live in of the 24 hour news cycle, the instant gratification/instant access nature of media. Between tweeting and blogging there's not the ability to actually research and write a thought out article anymore for a newspaper or magazine. In the span of 20 minutes this morning stories and rumors circulated saying that the "NCAA was going to announce that it will suspend Cam Newton" to the reported source of that line saying that he didn't say that. Journalism (if you can even call it that anymore) has gone from the days of Woodward and Bernstein to shoot now and ask questions later. 

Unnamed Sources

Abigail Bartlett once said "don't ever come to me again with unnamed sources...you don't get to have cider". That's pretty much how I feel about it. I am sick to death of unnamed sources. Why can't we have a name. If they are willing to throw around allegations that directly affect the reputation of a 21 year old young man can't they have the balls to say "yeah I said it"?

Who is In Charge Here?

We've heard from Cam and his dad (to the degree that their attorney advised them), we've heard from Coach Chizik and the Athletic Director at Auburn, we've even heard a little bit from other coaches implicated (UF and MSU). The bigger question is where is Mike Slive (SEC Commisioner) or the Chairman of the NCAA? Where is someone that can step up and say "Hey we've known about this since January and we are looking into it, in the meantime we have not advised the Auburn Tigers that Cam Newton is ineligible to play and if people don't stop just randomly throwing out accusations we are going to start dropping the hammer.

Showing Some Class

I talk ALL THE TIME about the nature of rivalry and how teams that have a true rival don't ever want their opponent to win a game. I am never hateful in these feelings but I can honestly say as an Auburn Tigers fan I always ALWAYS want Alabama to lose every game they play. Its just the nature of the beast (I didn't pull for UA against Texas in the National Championship game last year) and I understand those that feel that way about my team...its a two way street. What I don't abide or understand is the venomous hatred and celebrating the misfortune of a 21 year old college student. I can honestly say as much as I will ALWAYS want Alabama to lose every game it plays I would never NEVER "pull for" or be happy that something of the nature that is happening to Cam Newton would happen to one of its players. It shows a real lack of class (and some of these people are the crazies that you hear on the radio that should be trusted with a drivers license or sharp weapons, but some of the people I've heard these comments from are people that I know in real life and that is what is most disappointing). 

Honestly this whole thing is a mess and I hope with all my heart that the allegations are not true and that Cameron Newton has the chance to continue to be what he has demonstrated to be in his time at Auburn, a remarkably talented young man who is polite, respectful, and cares about his community by volunteering his time with young men who need guidance. I hope that Auburn wins out (and lays the wood to Alabama on Black Friday) and has a chance to play Oregon for the National Championship in a game that will have a final score reminiscent of an NBA game. And most of all I hope that people will realize that at the heart of all of this are people's lives. Young men with dreams, preachers with congregations to serve, coaches with careers and others to mentor and lead all are going to be affected by every allegation and accusation. 

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p57.mov Watch on Posterous

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See the full gallery on Posterous

Hi. Remember me? I'm the guy who said he was going to "blog more because I can do it on the go with my fancy pants phone and all that nonsense". Well here I am and its been WAY too long but I'm here none-the-less so let's just go with that for now. 

As many of you know I recently had the good fortune to travel with my boss as well as my great friend JMG to Portland, Oregon to attend the Storyline Conference hosted by Donald Miller. Many of you know Donald Miller through his various works (Blue Like Jazz, Searching for God Knows What, etc...). His most recent book "A Million Miles in A Thousand Years" takes a look at the idea of story and how our lives (both spiritual and otherwise) can be painted as a narrative in order to help us realize the potential inside of us and to achieve in greater respects what God has created us to do. The conference was an expansion of the ideas and the book and was especially helpful for me on a personal level for sure but also on a professional level as I aim to use these ideas and structures not only with my youth group but also in the new Sunday night coffee house worship service we have started. 

I can't begin to tell you on this blog everything I learned at the conference so I am going to hit you with a few of the bullet points that really spoke to me and if you would like to discuss further or go more in depth about any of it I offer you an unconditional "backporch beer and chat" at my house to go deeper. Seriously its a whole month full of conversational nights that could be had and I'll gladly share it with any of you, just holler. 

-A good story has a character who wants something and overcomes something to achieve it. As humans we are pulled towards stories of people who overcome (Rocky, Rudy, the Dillon Panthers...okay so I'm getting sports heavy here but you know of tons of others) and the reason we are is because we have to overcome things in our lives all the time. The difference is there isn't someone here to film it and make a movie about it, because 1) George Clooney doesn't have time to star as all of us in our personal movie stories, and 2) a movie about getting out of debt and making sure your children have everything they need to succeed in life, while utterly admirable, isn't going to be selling out the theaters when "Sexy Exploding Vampire Bieber's from Mars" is showing next door. 

-"Man fully alive is the Glory of God" - this quote by St. Irenaeus really struck me because how many times do we see people that we know who are "walking zombies" through their lives just being worn down, and never at home because of a job and a pursuit of bigger and better and the Jones' (no actual Jones' were harmed in the creation of this post). We are called to live not be shackled by earthly things, and that's tough because we still need things (clothes, cars, etc...) but when do we choose what we want and what we need because there is more life to live?

-Joseph (of the many colored coat) was transformed by the negative turns in his life. The things that drove him forward and allowed him to have the ups that he had were because he chose to be faithful to who God created him to be (which just happened to be young, handsome, smart, and likeable) and that brought him through his dark times. Many times we decide to give up at the hard parts and "try again later" after we weather our storms. We weren't created for that. 

-Sometimes we have to embrace a negative turn in our story. It's going to happen. On any number of levels we are going to face difficulties and hard times. When you boil it down "conflict is the heart of any good story." Choosing to accept our hard times and seek out how to turn them into learning and growing moments makes us better characters in our stories. 

Seriously I've literally only scratched the surface of this, but I've got to go now (writing this post while at work while my youth are in their small groups right now). Come porch it up with me and we'll talk more I promise. I did attach some pictures from my trip (mostly Hipstamatics) for you to enjoy. JMG and me were pleased that we got to eat at two establishments featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives while we were there (hence the pics of food). Enjoy and I'll try not to be a blogging stranger.

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I mean really does it get any better? 

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Or: Why "couponers" are ruining the grocery store for me. 

One of the best things that ever happened to my mother was my turning 16 and being able to drive without adult supervision in the car. Now most parents dread and fear this day because they are turning their teenagers loose on the world behind the wheels of a 1500 pound projectile. My mom was excited because it meant that she no longer had to go to the grocery basically ever again. At my house growing up we usually were at the grocery every day for something or another. As a result of all these mandated trips to the grocery I have grown to really love going there (even to this day). I enjoy cruising the aisles, checking out the produce, and thinking about possibilities of things that I can cook. I've discovered lately that there is one thing that can bring the joy of the grocery to a grinding halt...COUPONERS. 

Couponers are those people who ravenously search sites for coupons from all manner of places and then use them at the stores (many times not at the stores they actually come from but play upon the policies many stores employ of "accepting competitors coupons"). These are the same people who will spend $10 in gas to drive to 4 different places to get things they have coupons for (not realizing its a wash when they factor in the money spent on gas) and these are also the people that "coupon clubs" and gatherings dedicated to helping one another find all these values. I kid you not that last spring at my church they had a Wednesday night "coupon class" to teach people how to do this. 

Now let me be clear on something. I have no problems with the principal of saving money. When we shop we try to buy things on sale and try to use store brands when possible. Publix store brands are usually outstanding but there are times when store brand just doesn't cut it (dishwasher detergent being near the top of the list). We are not growing money trees out behind our house and using them to start our fires in the winter time so believe me when I say I recognize the value of saving money. 

The problems I have with "couponers" are things like carrying their entire giant filing cabinets of every coupon they've ever laid eyes upon while aimlessly wandering the aisles of the store like crazed nomads searching a map for a destination that isn't to be found. These people show up at the store without a plan that goes any further than "hey I've got a bunch of coupons now let's go buy some stuff." They wander the aisles and just stop in the middle of them as they leaf through their coupon trapper keepers in search of .05 cents off of something they wouldn't normally buy anyhow but by golly they've got a coupon so they are going for it. These are the same people who when it comes time to check out they wait until the very end of the cashier scanning all the items and then just hand them a stack...a STACK I say (stack = unorganized, slightly wadded up) of coupons, many printed on home computers that ran out of ink two weeks ago. The best part of all of this is the split second the poor little casier (usually a painfully shy high school student whose parents have forced them to get a job) says anything remotely resembling "this coupon isn't accepted" that is the time that all hell breaks loose. These people get so mad and take it so personally and then start causing a stink and making the line and everyone waiting in it completely miserable.

So in summary:

I have no problems with saving money, I try to do it as much as possible. I don't think its too much to ask for a little pre-planning and organization on the behalf of the coupon folks to not gum up the works for the rest of us that just need to pick up a box of diapers, a gallon of milk, and a pint of Publix Moosetracks Frozen Yogurt (SO GOOD!!). And finally and probably MOST OF ALL...please don't be rude to the people who work at the store, and please be aware of the people around you and ask yourself is it really worth fifteen cents to make the 5 people in line behind you wait 10 minutes while you force the cashier to scan the coupon, scan it again, berate them for not trying to take, tell them (not ask politely) to put it in manually, then pout and demand to see a manager. A little common courtesy goes a long way. Alright I'm done now.

PS - If its past the date on the coupon its NO LONGER GOOD, please don't try to use it and then bully the cashier into taking it. That's just not nice.

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That is the question I put before you this morning. My good friend (whom I'm considering duct taping to the hood of my car later today) Lukesha and I have been debating (via the Tweetaphone) the merits involved in the Dez Bryant/Roy Williams situation in Dallas. The short article/blog summing it all up can be found HERE (editor's note: the link is to the "Shut Down Corner" blog so it does have editorial commentary but the facts of the situation are there also). 

Mr. Sha is of the opinion that Dez Bryant is right and should have turned down the request to carry RW's shoulder pads. I am of the mind that he should have to carry the pads. Its a time honored tradition in professional sports, in particular, that rookies have to do silly things (shave their heads, carry equipment, buy meals, etc...). For a long time it was the tradition of the New York Yankees that on road trips the rookies had to dress like ladies (Derek Jeter did it). Its just a part of the fun and "earning your keep". 

Now I will agree that hazing has its limits. My position about this is that Dez Bryant was asked to carry shoulder pads. He wasn't asked to shave his genitals in the town square, or compromise his integrity with a farm animal, or anything remotely dangerous. I agree that there are limits to hazing and we have seen over the years some problematic situations at colleges in relation to fraternities and sororities but what is being done on these professional sports teams is a far cry from that. 

I think harmless hazing/paying your dues/doing the grunt work is important and totally acceptable in things like sports and clubs. It creates a sense of bonding, good nature, and not placing oneself above those around them. At the same time I don't believe there is ever a time for hazing type activities that endanger someone. What are your thoughts? 

I think Dez Bryant should pick up those shoulder pads and while he's at it put on a tu-tu!

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So I have not blogged lately and its mostly due to convenience. I have been so busy that it has been convenient for me to do other more valuable things like spend time with my family than it has been to take the time to collect my thoughts into a bloggable place (editor's note: there is no promise that this post will be filled with collected thoughts, but hey I'm here aren't I?). 

I took a group of 12 people (rising high school seniors and college freshmen) on an 8 day mission trip to the Bahamas last week and we had a wonderful time. I mean hey let's not kid ourselves you would be hard pressed to not have a good time in the Bahamas especially when you are staying at a really nice hotel on the nicest beach in Nassau. For all the nice aspects of the trip though we did a lot of good work. Nassau like many tropical tourist locales is structured in such a way that the casual observer (tourist) only sees the "nice" part where they go to spend all their money and have all their fun. The reality is that on an island that is 7 miles wide and 21 miles long there are about 160,000 native residents and many of them are crammed into very small poor areas a lot of which resemble the poorer areas where many of us live (West Montgomery, etc...). We went to a local park one of the days to play with the kids that gather there and at the same time we wanted to help clean up the park. We collected over 50 (30 gallon size) bags of trash from things that were just strewn about the park. We also got to do VBS at a local church one of the days and we spent the rest of the week helping to repaint one of the local Jr. High schools. We definitely had plenty of chances to relax and soak up the sun but we also served others which is what our trip was all about so for that I am pleased. 

One of the things that I learned when I was gone, or maybe more accurately relearned, was about our "American excesses" and demands on things like time and schedule. Our running joke while we were gone was about how everyone in the Bahamas operated on "Island Time" and how for us it was a terrible inconvenience. An example of island time would be that on Tuesday our first day to paint at the Jr. High School we arrived at 9:30 a.m. Right as we showed up at the school someone from the school staff left to go get the paint we would need for our project. They did not return until just after 1:00 p.m. with said paint, so we were left spending those few hours waiting around and attempting to find small projects to do to pass the time. This happened everywhere we went (waiting on the buses to come get us, waiting on food to arrive, waiting on supplies, etc...) and I realize that to a pretty solid degree that it is very "American" of us to want things NOW and WHEN I WANT THEM. I for one am usually pretty tightly wound when it comes to times to do stuff. If I can't be early or on time (I much prefer early) I would almost rather not even go. The other "American'esque" thing we encountered was at the Burger King down the street from our hotel. We discovered that they 1) don't do free refills, 2) give each person 2 napkins on their tray when they get their food, and 3) give each person 2 packets of ketchup on their tray. Napkins and ketchup (or any other condiments) are not just out so people can take all they want usually wasting most of it. We overeat and waste so much in our daily lives and never think twice about it until we encounter the nice lady at Burger King in Nassau who gives you a quizzical look when you ask for a free refill because she's not entirely familiar with that concept. I'm in no way being preachy because I LOVE free refills of a good fountain Coca-Cola and while I don't use ketchup I am married to a rather saucy young lady who appreciates a generous amount of dips for her foods. 

I guess the above paragraph speaks to me to the nature of patience in my life. I consider myself a VERY patient person on almost all fronts (I mean I've chosen to work with teenagers as a career if you don't have patience you might as well quit now), but I do have my moments and being on "island time" helps me remember that I am not/do not have to be in control of every single second of every single day. Mrs. M has ended with questions lately so I'll take a page from her book and pose a question of the weekend:

What tests your patience on an every day basis?

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Sent from my TeleFax Machine

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