Shaper of Metal

Thinking things through

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

So often I want to write, and yet nothing comes out. Consider this post a drain cleaner of sorts, to get things moving.

I'm enjoying my job. Second shift makes things interesting schedule wise; actually, it fills up my calendar Monday through Friday. I've decided to not work Saturdays, unless we are crazy busy and need to get the work out. It was too much to work five nights a week, and then give up 5 hours during the middle of my Saturday as well. Financially, we'll be ok; I made sure to run the numbers several times before I committed to that decision.

I've been able to some people who's face I had been missing lately: my friend John and his wife Jen at dinner Saturday night; the guys in my Men's group at church that meets Saturday mornings; my wife.

I'm finding that I've been something of a nomad for many years. I don't feel particularly connected to almost anyone in my high school class since I moved into town my freshman year. I have a few people I still keep in touch with, but by in large, it's the people I went to grade school and junior high that I feel closer to, and even then, I don't feel terribly close to many of them.

I find it ironic that as much of a social person as I am, I'm horrible at keeping in touch with people I consider friends. It's not really that hard to shoot off a quick email, Facebook message, text, carrier pigeon....whatever. I just don't do it for some reason. I have people I hold dear to my heart and I haven't tried to contact them.

Family's different. I'm generally in touch with my parents and my sister. With my Mom and sister, it's generally text tag or phone calls after a text that says "you busy?" With Dad, it's usually a phone call or text saying "hey, we're staying at your house, ok?" with many hands of Shanghai Rummy played.

I have my Drinking Right friends, but even that was a monthly "hey, how's it going" for most of them.

Do I simply gloss over people and assume friendship, or do I isolate and insulate myself without really intending to?

There was a time in my life, about 10 years ago, when we had a group of young adults at church, in a group call The Gathering. I seem to recall about 20 of us that generally hung out together outside of our Tuesday night meeting. Catching movies, grabbing coffee....just hanging out. I miss that time so much at times it aches.

of Tebow

2012-01-09T13:30:00.000-06:00

Had a chance to watch a good chunk of the AFC Wild Card game from Denver. I had a couple of thoughts cross my mind:

1. Tim Tebow is human. I don't think this necessarily a big revelation, but people have lost their minds this year regarding Tebow. To be honest, I find his story inspiring, but as a quarteback, he's been asked to resuscitate a weak Denver offense. Denver's coaches have played to Tebow's strengths and, teamed with a solid defense, Denver started to win games.

2. The National Media is making a big deal about Tim Tebow. It's not that Tebow is some extraordinary quarterback, it's his faith in Christ and how up front he is about it. I think that Tebow is a solid athlete, but at this point in his career, he's no Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady. I do think Tebow can improve in his throwing; he had to throw to beat Pittsburgh and he did just that. The Steeler's were stacking the line, daring Tebow to throw, and throw he did. However, is this had been Kyle Orton, who lost he job and roster spot to Tebow, or some other middling quarterback, the hype simply would not have been there.

3. The Tim Tebow coverage is polarizing. Tim Tebow, from all appearances, is a model citizen motivated by his faith in Christ. It's not that there aren't other Christians that have ever played football (Kurt Warner and Troy Polamalu come to mind), it's something about Tebow that makes people either love him or hate him. It's not any scathing comments or coarse opinions; it's he's outright vocal proclamation about his faith in Jesus Christ. People either love Tebow for it, or want him to shut up about it.

Lastly, I don't know how far the Broncos will go in the playoffs. Their next opponent is the New England Patriots, who are very rarely caught off guard by an opponent. I hope the Tebow's effort, win or lose, is a solid enough effort so that after the game, people can sit back, take a breath and applaud his effort, not criticize his faith.

The Transition

2011-12-21T12:18:00.002-06:00

My transition from unemployed to back to work hasn't been too bad. I think the harder transition has been working second shift.

The company I'm working for starts second shift at 3pm and we've been working ten hour days, getting done at 1am. The tougher part has been getting going the day after work. My knees, ankles and back are generally sore, making it harder to find the motivation to get out of bed. However, I promised Holly that I would not stay up all night, so I come home and go to bed, trying to be out of bed by 9am so I can enjoy something of my day before work.

For the most part, it's working. I'm not always out of bed by 9, but I have had a good chuck of daylight to enjoy before work.

If I could get my body to stop aching, I wouldn't mind so much :)

And Here. We. Go.

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

Tuesday afternoon, I accepted an offer of work. I start Wednesday at 2pm working 2nd shift in a machine shop running parts. The pay won't set the world on fire, but it's better than unemployment.

Holly and I talked about it, and I've set up a schedule for myself to stick to so I don't get too far out of whack with the rest of societal norms. My work schedule is 3p to 12am or 1am, so I'll be home shortly after that with bedtime at 2am. The alarm will go off at 8:30am with a "get out of bed you lazy bum" time of 9am.

The goal is to pay down our debt, send one or both of us back to school and generally improve our station in life.

I'm looking forward to getting back to work.

A Time to be Thankful.

2011-11-24T11:00:00.000-06:00

When this post hits, I will hopefully be on the runway at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston about to take off for Milwaukee.

I've spent the last week in Lake Charles, Louisiana, working on a contract job that was supposed to start in Milwaukee on October 10th but has been delayed. I was contacted by the staffing agency holding the contract on Wednesday, November 16th at 3:30 in the afternoon asking if I could fly out to fill in at another site.

I conferred with Holly and, with her blessing, said I could go. Travel plans were quickly made by the agency and at 1:30pm on Thursday the 17th, I was bound for Lake Charles via Houston.

Both flights went well; the connector from Houston to Lake Charles was delayed about an hour, but by 8 pm, I was in Lake Charles.

I had contacted the local lead for the project and was told that Friday would be a partial day due to travel by the company guys. I had flown in just in time to cut out early...

I had the weekend in Lake Charles. I watched alot of TV, and Sunday made it a point to hit the local BW3s to catch the Packer game, and then returned to my hotel room to finish watching the Nascar race.

Monday night I was able to sample some local cuisine with the company guys at Steamboat Bill's. Shrimp never tasted to good! Fresh from the Gulf, breaded and fried.

Most evenings, Holly and I have either played text tag or Skyped to keep in touch. When Skyping, Holly would show her phone to Lumos and he would cock his head to one side, then the other trying to figure out why Daddy was in the phone.

I'm thankful I took this opportunity to travel and not only earn a paycheck, but also see a part of the world I had never before visited. I was able to spend Saturday in Houston catching up with a dear friend as well.

My friends, never take anything for granted, and be thankful for what you have, even if you don't think it's much.

bleah

2011-11-15T14:00:00.000-06:00

I haven't felt much like writing these days, either here or on my ranting blog, but I figured I may as well sit down and get some thoughts out that I have.

I had to restart the job search. The contract I was supposed to be on was delayed due to a parts shortage. I gave it six weeks of waiting past the original start date before saying screw it. I've been in touch with my recruiter the whole time and she understands my frustration.

At this point, I'll do just about anything for work. I have IT skills, but no formal education, so IT seems like a longshot to me. I have warehouse skills, but I've been out of that game for five years now. A staffing agency called me yesterday about a resume I sent regarding a warehouse job and the recruiter asked me what my dream job was. I jokingly said centerfielder for the Brewers, but I was past my prime, so just about anything at this point.

Anymore, my days go something like this; Wake up, make Holly her lunch and see her off to work, walk the dog, shower, watch the Price is Right, catch the noon news, walk the dog, eat lunch, listen to Belling, start dinner, welcome Holly home, hang out for the evening. Now I've added "look for a job" to that list as well.

My days bleed together and I constantly look at my phone to remind me which day it is. I'm doing my best to maintain a daily schedule of some sort so I can fall asleep at night.

I know it will get better, but when?

It's not supposed to end this way.

2011-10-16T23:18:00.000-05:00

Today was a bit of a jumble for me.

I should be happy that the Packers won, but I'm not.

I should be happy that the Brewers went deep into the post season, but I'm not.

I'm terribly saddened by the death of Dan Wheldon, a racecar driver in the Indycar series. Why? To be honest, no idea really, other than my love of auto racing in any form, and the Wheldon seemed to be a truly good man by all accounts.

Today started out like any other Sunday with church this morning and football at noon. I had dozed off on the couch, dog on my chest, during the game, and awoke shortly after 3. I flipped the TV over to ABC to catch the Indycar race, only to see it had gone to caution. I noticed a large amount of debris on the track and waited for a replay.

Fifteen cars were collected in an accident coming through turn 2, with at least three going airborne. Wheldon's car took flight and made tremendous impact in the catch fence above the outer wall, crashing cockpit first.

I've been watching racing for over 25 years, and when they covered Wheldon's car with a tarp, I said to my wife "that's never a good sign."

Almost two hours later, Wheldon's death was announced publicly, and I was so overcome with emotion, I started to cry. My wife was startled by this, and seemed a bit stunned as she came over to console me.

I'm not sure why I was so overcome; I'm so much more of a Nascar fan, and only casually follow Indycar these days. The only explanation I can come up with is that racing is a community, no matter what series or car.

Dan Wheldon, you were taken from us too soon.

Dateline: San Jose

2011-09-27T01:36:00.000-05:00

I've been a little lax about keeping everyone in the loop on my job hunt. Time to fix that.

As most of you may know, I was laid off February 2010 and since been looking for something long term. I've had a couple of short term contracts and a failed attempt at full time employment this spring, but kept digging and digging.

About two weeks ago, I get an email from a staffing agency asking for a copy of my resume in Word format. Reply to the email with a copy of my resume in Word format and make a mental note to follow up one day later.

One day later:I call the staffing agency and leave a voicemail with the recruiter who had requested my resume. Recruiter calls me back and begins a phone interview with me regarding the position I had applied for. After about 20 minutes or so of questions, I was asked to come in and fill out paperwork for employment.

I fill out my paperwork, and schedule a drug test screening and tuberculosis screening and consent to a background check. A few days later, everything is groovy and I am given the go ahead to make travel plans for training.Plans are made and Monday the 26th comes. I fly out of Milwaukee, change planes in Dallas and get to San Jose, California.

The flights in went well; we were delayed in Dallas but about 90 minutes, but otherwise, travel was pleasantly uneventful.Catch a shuttle from the airport to the hotel, where I meet my new coworker, also from Milwaukee. We grab dinner and basically discover that we are the same person in different bodies. Scary, I know.It's now 11:35 PM PST, which means it's 1:30 AM CST, so I should go to bed. Goodnight everyone :)

somebody wake the rooster

2011-09-14T05:59:00.001-05:00

Since I'm up early today, I may as well write, right?Lately my sleep patterns have been all over the map. Most nights I don't fall asleep until after midnight, and then don't want to get up the next day. Monday night, I took a sleeping pill and crashed by 10:30. I still didn't get up until 10:30 Tuesday Morning. Last night, I was in bed by 11, laid in bed for a while, and eventually fell asleep. I woke up at 5am without an alarm. You know that feeling of knowing you won't fall back asleep right away? Yeah, I had that, so I got out of bed, headed for the living room, turned on the morning news and had a bowl of cereal.The worst part of the wacky sleep schedule is that it knocks everything else out of order as well; my metabolism is goofed up from the irregular schedule and I've got no motivation.All that being said, I'm still looking for work. I've contact four different recruiters about various jobs, and posted countless resumes to online job boards. It enough to make me crazy...I JUST WANT A JOB!

2011-08-05T22:31:00.000-05:00

Tonight, I took some time to sit out on my patio, bug candle lit, to just enjoy the break in the weather. Since we all complained that it was too cold in May and into June, Summer showed up and gave us the finger and turned the heat up to 11.

Last night, Holly asked if we could turn the air off, and after checking the forecast, I did so. The apartment is a bit warm, but with a fan in the living room it's not too bad.

I got to spend Wednesday at the ballpark with my mom, my sister and my nieces and nephew. They drove up from Western Illinois to support their Cardinals, and I was left to defend my Brewers in my own ballpark. It was a bit warm, but we made the most of it and had fun anyway. Too bad they had to drive home having witnessed a 10-5 Brewers clubbing of the Redbirds.

Holly and I celebrated 2 years of marriage on Monday and went out to dinner with her parents. We had a great time chatting and just spending time together. That's one of the things I love the most about my wife; just spending time with her. Her folks have something planned for us on the 14th, but won't tell us what, just have a light lunch and dress business casual and then get in the car and go for ride......um, ok. :)

Work continues to go well. I've got at least another week at the temporary gig I'm at, and I've basically applied for a permanent position there in another capacity. We'll see where that goes.

My wife indulges me a bit much, not that I mind at all. She bought me a four lap ride along at the Milwaukee Mile as an anniversary gift, and most nights this past week we've listened to the Brewer games on the radio instead of watching TV.

2011-07-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

Lately, it seems like I have post brewing in my head, only to sit down to type and have nothing come out, or at least, nothing that I think anyone else wants to read.

I need to get past that and just write.

I ordered a book on Amazon the other day, an A+ certification study guide, in the hopes that I can do my homework and then take the test to get certified with my A+.

why not actually go to school? Honestly, I can't put my finger on it; I took the placement tests at Waukesha County Technical College, but never felt quite right about registering. Maybe apathy, laziness, fear...Holly has asked me what's holding me back, and I really don't know what is...

I've been looking more online for jobs, and the staffing agency I'm with for my current gig also wants to find me something.

Here's to hope...will I be able to put forth the effort I need to and I will I recognize opportunity when I see it?

catching my breath...

2011-07-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

I feel like I've been busy busy busy lately...

July 5th saw me start a short temp gig ordering small diesel engine parts, filling in for a guy on medical leave. A former work colleague mentioned my name to his boss and contacted me to gauge my interest. Two weeks in and I've got the hang of things pretty well and have fit in with the group in my area.

Holly and I went to a midnight showing of the last Harry Potter. Oh. My. WORD! Amazing finale to the series, and this time, the crowd wasn't a bunch of nitwits.

I slept about 3 hours after the movie, went to work and survived. I really didn't caffeinate as much as I thought I was going to need to. Holly had taken the day off, and then we met up with some of her co-workers for Mexican in Oconomowoc. After dinner, a few of us headed over to a bar to shoot pool, drink beer and make fun of people from Watertown.

I was up by 8 on Saturday and felt rested. A quick run to the auto parts store and then home to do some maintenance on my car.

Holly and I ran to Goodwill to drop off some clothes, then back home to veg out. I watched the truck race from Iowa, and I'll catch up on the Brewer game soon.

This was just the kind of day I needed to recharge.

Human Resources

2011-06-14T18:30:00.000-05:00

I was having dinner with an acquaintance recently, and he said something that made me think.

"You'd think with something as finite a resource, we'd be more likely to take care of it"

Now, he was actually talking about silverware, as the establishment we were at had given us plasticware, instead of silverware, for our eat in meal.

However, I mulled over his statement for a while, and even commented back to him about how right he was on an even bigger scale.

We tend to take other people for granted. We used to them being there, either because, as in the case of family, they've always been there, or in the case of friends, it seems that despite our faults, they stick by us.

But what happens when we use up that human resource, when we push the limits of grace, love and patience? Should we be surprised when the person we've used gets fed up and wants no more? Is it simply a matter of "hey, dummy, you need to stop" or is it a case of someone who will leave us because we've abused the resource, much like rubbing the lamp too many times and hoping the genie will fix it.

I know that I can be a difficult person to deal with; I'm loud, outspoken, often obnoxious, opinionated, and sometimes brash and bullheaded. Have I taken inventory on the stores of grace, love and patience with those in my life? What have I done to replenish those stores, so that in some future event, I may need extra grace, love and patience dealt my way?

it was a dark and stormy night...

2011-06-09T00:10:00.001-05:00

So, Tuesday I get a call saying my name had been drawn in a contest and that I've won a chance to win a car.

ok......

So, Holly and I figure why not go Wednesday night after she gets off work and see what this is about.

Turns out, it was a chance to buy into a vacation club, and while the offer was tempting, we passed. We did win a free vacation, well, free accommodations at least. Airfare, taxes and whatnot would be on us.

The presentation had started at 8pm and we didn't get out until 10pm to a pouring rainstorm in Gurnee. I fetch the car and we start making our way back to Milwaukee.

Lots of lightning on the drive home, and a couple of semi truck blown over on the southbound lanes. Holly was fighting a bad headache, so she laid down and closed her eyes while I got us home.

I'll take the couch tonight so she can sleep undisturbed; I'll be in the living room with the dog, watching the light show.

so, here we are....

2011-06-06T16:00:00.000-05:00

Alright, time to bring everyone up to speed on what's going on with Chad.

I was laid off again this past weekend. The employer I was with is having some cash problems on the receivable side, so the payable side is suffering, therefore I was laid off. Honestly, I saw the writing on the wall and had already begun looking. Now, I can formally collect unemployment while looking.

Our Florida trip is cancelled. No sense in spending money we don't have. I listed the tickets on Stubhub, so hopefully they sell. The only thing we may eat is the airfare.

I'm back to canvassing the jobs boards, so we'll see what comes up. The fun part is when Holly says "hey, do you know how to do X?", and when I say yes, emails me a link to a job.

At the very least, I'm sure the dog enjoys not being in his crate all day.

so much that I want to say...

2011-05-29T23:46:00.000-05:00

I have so much that I want to say, but I cannot, for fear that I will say things that will do entirely too much damage.

I *hate* that I have to change plans because something didn't work out.

I *hate* that I feel unfulfilled at this very moment.

I *hate* that I have not worked for a better position for myself.

blah

2011-05-23T19:25:00.000-05:00

It's Monday night and I'm sitting at home, enjoying my nightly bowl of popcorn.

I've tucked Holly into bed because of a bad headache. I had to wake her up to feed her dinner, then I marched her to bed.

I'm feeling blah, in spite of the weather, and I don't care for that one bit. I'd like to snap out of the funk I'm in, but that may be a while.

Spinning wheel got to go 'round

2011-05-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

With declining revenues in the gas tax due to people driving more fuel efficient cars, it appears the Obama administration is considering a mileage tax for cars to recoup the "missing" revenue.

So, let me get this straight: liberals want those of us who choose to own a car to have a fuel efficient car, then bitch about the fact that gas tax revenue goes down when people *do* buy fuel efficient cars?

Really??

I moved to a more fuel efficient car 3 years ago because I simply couldn't afford to fill my 1999 Explorer twice a week at $55 a crack. My Focus gets almost twice the mileage my Explorer did, and it's a nice car. I made the choice, based on my budget, to move to a smaller vehicle that still suited my driving needs.

But because I *chose* to live within my means and not sell my soul to pay for gas, I might *still* have to pay more for the privilege of driving, based on my mileage. My wife and I generally take my car when we go out, whether we go to the movies or to visit my family in Illinois. I already pay more for the privilege of driving due to the fact that I use more gas in my car to drive those miles; I don't feel I should be taxed *again* based on mileage driven, as I've already paid to use the roads I drive on with my gas taxes.

I'm tired of the government on all levels telling me they need more money all the time; I have to live within my income, government can learn to live within it's income as well.

Love Song

2011-03-20T09:46:00.001-05:00

I've heard it said that a man would climb a mountain
Just to be with the one he loves.
How many times has he broken that promise
It has never been done.
I've never climbed the highest mountain,
But I walked the hill of Calvary.

Just to be with you, I will do anything
There's no price I would not pay no
Just to be with you, I would give everything
I would give my life away.

I've heard it said that a man would swim the ocean
Just to be with the one he loves
All of those dreams are an empty motion.
It can never be done.
I've never swam the deepest ocean,
But I walked upon the raging sea.

Just to be with you, I will do anything
There's no price I would not pay no
Just to be with you, I would give everything
I would give my life away.

I know that you don't understand
the fullness of My love.
How I died upon the cross for your sins.
And I know that you don't realize
how much that I give you
But I promise, I would do it all again.

Just to be with you, I've done everything
There's no price I did not pay no
Just to be with you, I gave everything
Yes, I gave my life away.
Just to be with you.

Dick Taters

2011-02-26T09:00:00.000-06:00

Wisconsin State Senator Tim Carpenter has called Governor Scott Walker's actions dictator-like, refering to the budget repair bill that Walker has proposed.

Stated here, Carpenter refers to Walker's treatment as "The Governor won't return calls, isn't talking to us, being very dictatorial...."

Senator Carpenter, the Governor won't beg you to do your damn job, he simply expects you to show up at the Capitol, as you were voted to do by your constituents, and partake in the democratic process that you accuse the Governor of circumventing.

In 2008, I voted, and although I didn't like the outcome, I didn't throw a hissy fit because I didn't get my way. When National Health Care was passed in Congress, I didn't throw a hissy fit. I'll admit, I was upset, but I didn't withdraw from the process; I went to the polls in 2010 and voted again. My vote contributed to the pendulum swinging to the right. That's how the democratic process works. We the people tell our elected officials what we would like by voting and voicing our opinion to them by phone, email, and letter. In Wisconsin, the majority elected Scott Walker to the office of Governor to correct the budget shenanigans from the previous administration.

Senator Carpenter, you and your Democrat Party allies are holding up the democratic process. Yes, you are in the minority now, but you still get to make your voice heard during the debate over legislation, and your arguments may sway someone to change his or her vote to your side. However, comparing Governor Walker to a dictator like Hitler, Hussein or Gadhafi is completely inaccurate.

Senator Carpenter, I ask you, along with the other Democratic senators, to come back to Wisconsin, so that you may continue your work as you were elected to do.

Shenanigans

2011-02-17T21:14:00.003-06:00

My thoughts on the news in Madison, WI:

1. I support the overall objective of Governor Walker's budget repair bill. I voted for him in November because I wanted him to cut through the bullshit and balance the state budget. Former Governor Jim Doyle was too busy kissing the ass of special interest groups, making sweetheart deals and the like to actually do his damn job. The pendulum has swung the other way.

2. I do think the timing of this bill is a bit aggressive, but again, this is why I voted for Walker.

3. I have several friends who are teachers. During the school year, many of them worked more than 40 hours on just the teaching portion, and some coached extra curricular activities, which took more time. Yes, they had three months off in the summer, but I would think that at the end of the tax year, they worked similar hours to someone who worked a "9-5" job.

4. I don't think teachers should be tenured. I can't think of one private sector job that locks someone in for "lifetime" employment. My job is based on my performance; if I can't do my job, I don't have one. I don't think that test scores alone are a basis for rating teacher performance, but I think a bad teacher should be able to be removed.

5. I don't have a pension, or even a 401(k). I have the freedom to choose what to do with my paycheck. Once Holly and I build up our savings, I'm setting up an IRA and making sure *I* take care of my retirement, because no one else is going to do it for me.

6. I want to see the public unions pay more toward health care coverage. We have insurance through my wife's employer and she pays almost 13% of her gross pay for that insurance. Would it kill public sector employess to pay something a little closer to that??

7. Dear people protesting: your rights are not being trampled. Please read this first. I don't see the right to collective bargaining, the right to health care or the right to "insert bullshit thing" here.

8. All of this being said, I really would like to see people come together and discuss these kinds of political matters in a civil manner; however, I fear that time has passed in America.

Sometimes a nut is just a nut

2011-01-11T08:28:00.002-06:00

"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." ~Ronald Reagan

I wanted to take some time to think about what to say and let the rawness of the news from Tucson on Saturday settle down a bit.

Holly and I were watching TV when the breaking news about the shooting came on. I had a bad feeling when I saw the breaking news logo, knowing it wasn't something like an oil spill or other item like that.

We were both a bit stunned and shocked by it. I immediately went to the 'net to see what was being said. The less rational, on both sides, were already pointing fingers, even though there wasn't much known about the shooter or his motives.

Those more rational people cut through the noise and chastened those pointing fingers and implored readers to simply pray for those injured.

Do I think everyone needs to step back from the ledge of the political landscape and calm the f**k down? Yes! I'm all for being passionate about a political stance, but there comes a point when passion turns into irrational behavior.

This thought keeps coming back to me: sometimes a nut is just a nut. There is no political motivation, just insanity.

looking back, looking ahead...

2011-01-03T13:30:00.003-06:00

I'm sitting at the Mcdonald's on Moorland across from Brookfield Square. Holly's car is at the mechanic doing the work I couldn't get done, namely the fuel filler neck.

I summed up my thoughts on 2010 by saying these words: "get bent". I meant it. 2010 felt like such a crap year that I don't ever want to go through again. It was the first year I worked less than I was off, 4 1/2 months working vs. 7 1/2 months off. Money got tight. I stopped sleeping regularly because I was worried about making ends meet. Wondering if I would find a job at some point. Doubting my self worth.

There were, of course, so great thing about 2010: Holly took me to Vegas for my birthday, and we got to see our first Sprint Cup race together, and then she took me to Indy for another race. Vegas was bought and paid for before I was laid off, for Indy we pinched pennies and made things work.

We got a dog and named him Lumos. White Miniature Schnauzer. Cute little guy who won me over rather quickly, despite my doubts I would take to him. Holly badgered me about getting a dog, and wore me down to the point where when we signed the lease on our new place, she started looking. We brought him home the day we moved in. the first week or so was rough, since we have to housebreak him, and Holly was sick, so that was left to me. He's a great companion during the day and has more than once reminded me that we all need someone to lean on, usually when he's leaning on me while I sit on the couch.

Holly and I celebrated our first annivesary of marriage. When folks ask me what I've learned in that year, I tell them I've learned how to hit curveballs very well, as life threw alot of curveballs at us.

I'm eager to see what 2011 brings for us, and I hope it's a good year for you too.

How Deep the Father's Love For Us

2010-12-06T23:00:00.000-06:00

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

and the wait continues...

2010-12-01T14:01:00.003-06:00

For me, the most frustrating part of getting laid off has been trying to find another job.

I'm sure I could get something in fast food, but I'd like to think I'm worth a little more than that.

My resume is a mixed bag, with retail, factory and technical jobs; jack of all trades, master of nothing if you will.

I've been unemployed long enough that I've received an extension on my benefit after exhausting my initial claim.

2010-11-23T21:44:00.005-06:00

After laying low for a while, I've decided to start writing again. After all, I still have plenty of time on my hands as I haven't been able to find work in a field I want to stick with. I'm sure I could go to work at a fast food restaurant, but that won't pay as much as the unemployment benefit I'm receiving.

So what do I want to do? I'd prefer to do something with computers and networking, but everything I see on the job sites basically requires a two year degree, or a thousand years of experience. I've also considered going back to school; I've already applied to WCTC with the interest in a degree in computer networking. The other fun part of that would be paying for it.

There's a part of me that just want's to say "screw it", and find a job in a warehouse driving a fork truck, but there's this small, loud part that says hang in there, don't give up just yet.

In other news, Holly and I went to a midnight showing of Harry Potter 7.1 on opening night. To me, HP7 has a very "Empire Strikes Back" feel; the bad guys are winning and all seems lost.

While waiting for the movie to start, we were in line outside the theater for about and hour and a half, and in the theater a full two hours before the movie started. What I observed of high school and college kids is worth sharing. The young ladies we were next to in line were quite nice, and polite as well, making conversation with us as we were all very excited. Once we were in the theater, however, the crowd was rather bratty. Holly and I checked our Facebook with our phones and played cribbage to kill the time. Seated to my right were three young "ladies" who had rather foul mouths. If you know me at all, you know I can cuss up a blue streak, but to hear some of the language coming from these three surprised even me.

Once the previews started, the crowd settled in. Interestingly, the second preview was for "Sarah Palin's Alaska." Almost immediately, the whole theater started booing and yelling less than pleasant things, all because they disagree with Sarah Palin. I'll admit, I had to fight the urge to yell "2012!" at the end of the preview, just to see what would happen, but I didn't yell it.

The movie itself was pretty good, as was the crowd. Holly and I waited to see if there might be a sneak peak at Harry Potter 7.2, but there wasn't, so we headed for the car. Now, The Ridge in New Berlin had 7 showing of HP7.1 at midnight, and we waited to leave, so there was a pretty good line waiting to get out of the parking lot. Once we got in the car and got into a line, I had another "you damn kid" moment.

I'm pretty sure most adults know "The Parking Lot" game, ya now, the game you play at any major event that has a large crowd; if you are in a main line to leave a parking lot, you let someone in front of you, just like someone let's you in, so traffic keeps moving along.

I make it to the main line, and I'm stymied not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES by nitwits. The young woman driving the third car, a green Hyundai Sonata, looked right at me as she stopped, and I saw her face. She looked absolutely terrified, and I have no idea why. I did manage to get in line behind her, and then proceeded to let someone else in who had been waiting.

I'll admit, I'm getting old, but courtesy and manners never goes out of style. Holly commented she thought the behavior we witnessed was part of the "me" generation that seems to be so prevalent these days. I was inclined to agree, and it saddened me.

Roller coaster moments

2010-09-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

As I get older, I find that I don't enjoy some of the things that I did when I was younger.

Yesterday, Holly and I had the pleasure of joining our friends Ben and Sarah at Six Flags. I enjoy roller coasters, but I didn't always. When I was six, my family was in Texas for my Uncle Gary's wedding and I rode some of the big coasters with my Dad at Six Flags over Texas. I just made minimum height for the Screamin' Eagle; believe me, I screamed through the entire ride. Somehow, after that, my Dad talked me into riding a "smaller" coaster, the Mine Car Ride, which wasn't too bad until the last drop into a "mine shaft."

I didn't ride a coaster again until I was 18. I decided to get over my fear and just ride a coaster. It worked. I found a love for coasters born out of fear.

When Holly and I started dating, I found out the she loved coasters too, despite having a fear of heights.

Fast forward to yesterday. The four of us get to Six Flags, ready to ride. I don't usually eat breakfast on roller coaster days, for fear of vomiting, and yesterday was no exception. First ride was the Superman, then off to Vertical Velocity followed by Batman. The lines were pretty short, so we were able to hit all three in less than 90 minutes.

I think that's what did me in; I didn't have my usual long wait to recover between rides. After Vertical Velocity, I grabbed a Coke to settle my stomach, only to have that Coke churn away while we were on Batman.

I walked away from Batman feeling queasy, and Holly was concerned. We took a break, as Ben was feeling a bit out of sorts as well, and had a bite to eat to calm our stomachs. I took the next couple coasters, Viper and Raging Bull, off and just took pictures of the other three as they left the station.

After walking around for a bit, I found my legs again and I *had* to ride the American Eagle. Once we got settled into the car and it took off, I felt both better and worse, but everything went fine, and we headed back to the Viper and Raging Bull to ride those.

After Raging Bull,, the girls were up for another ride, but Ben and I had reached our limit. Ben was grumbling something about getting old, and I just laughed it off with him while we waited for the girls to finish the Demon.

Even though I wasn't at 100% all day, I still had alot of fun, because I was with people dear to me. That takes the roller coaster feeling out of life, and makes for a smoother ride.

525,600 minutes

2010-08-08T11:22:00.002-05:00

Holly and I celebrated 1 year of marriage last weekend. We reserved a room at the Pfister, just like we did for our wedding night, and made other plans as well.

We dropped our dog, Lumos, off at Holly's folks house and spent some time with them and also Holly's sister and brother-in-law before checking in at the Pfister.

We arrived at the Pfister and valeted the car; it always cracks me up to see my Focus lined up with Escalades and other more expensive vehicles, but the doorman always treats us like royalty.

Upon checking in, we are informed the room is quite ready yet. The hostess makes a phone call and asks for a hurry up on our room, and then gives us $20 in credit to the bar for drinks. Holly and I thanked her and went to the bar: Diet Coke for her, Ginger Ale and Jameson for me.

The hostess let us know our room was ready and we proceeded to our room. I had reserved a King Suite and it was fabulous! the front room had a counch and cushy chair, and the bedroom was as large!

We took a nap and then headed out to dnner at Saz's, one of our favorite restaurants, and then headed to the Marcus for Wicked. Holly loves muscal theater, especially Broadway shows, so I made sure we had tickets.

Wicked was amazing, and I think Holly is turning me into a fan of the theater as well.

We made a Leon's custard run after dinner and then back to the hotel to crash.

Up in the morning and breakfast in the Cafe at the Pfister, a ham and cheese omelet for Holly, biscuits and gravy for me. After breakfast, we went back to the room to pack and then to check out.

We went to hang out at Holly's folks some more, as well as pick up Lumos. We had lunch and just chilled for most of the afternoon.

Ater one year of marriage, I love my wife even more than the day I married her. We've been through alot: job changes, job losses, promotions, a move, difference of opinion, celebrating each other strengths, picking each other up during times of weakness.

I love you Holly ;)

Stop trying to hit me and hit me!

2010-07-05T09:31:00.002-05:00

Hello friends,

I've been grappling with the idea lately of just doing. Not thinking, doing.

I have a tendency, ok, more like habit, ok, disease where I over think and over analyze things when I have time to think. When it comes to snap decisions, I'm a rock star, but when there is time for the thought or idea to marinate in my brain, I let doubt creep in take root.

Since I was laid off in February, I wondered what would be next on my job path. Sure, I have a small business, but I'm not seeing enough clients to make that a full time deal, yet.

I sent out several resumes to tech postings looking for IT work, be it setting up computers in an office or doing lower level networking. I had a couple of interviews, but nothing materialized.

My friend Curtis mention to me that the company he works for was looking for "data monkeys." Basically, learn the web-based software they use to display their products online for quotation purposes.

I was skeptical; I'm not a web guy, I'm a hardware guy. Curtis told me to throw my name in the hat and just try it.

We, that being two other guys and myself, were given a week's training in Downtown Milwaukee at the software company's headquarters, and after that we are at the New Berlin location of the company I am temping for. We were provided with laptops and a room of our own to work in.

Initially, it was very tense, as we were trying to learn the software AND learn the products we were going to be modeling. After the second week, I had serious doubts about my ability to do the job.

I let doubt creep in and poison my thought process: the cycle wasn't "How can I accomplish this", it was "can I do this".

One day, Ben, one of the other two guys, was working on his product line and was a bit stumped. I asked him to flesh out his process to me so I could help him see any gaps. When we finished, he says "OH! That's it!!".

To which I replied "Stop trying to hit me and hit me", refering to the fight scene in The Matrix where Neo is fighting Morpheus, and Morpheus is trying to convince Neo that Neo can indeed, hit Morpheus.

Ben's a friend of mine and we were roommates for a year, so he looks at me and sticks his tongue out at me.

what I learned from that, in helping Ben, was that I needed to stop worrying about IF I could do it, and JUST DO IT.

Friday, before the holiday weekend, Ben and I met with the Product Manager for our product lines we are working on, to show him what the online configurator would look like. He was very pleased with what we showed him.

After that meeting, I felt so much better about my ability to learn what I'm doing in a new situation and carry on and do my best with what I've been given.

Life goes on...

2010-06-11T21:00:00.002-05:00

The move is complete. We now live in Brookfield, closer to everything we do, except Holly's job.

We're both fighting sickness: Holly has some sort of cough from hell that comes in fits and those fits last up to 10 minutes at a crack. I am suffering with my yearly bought of bronchitis, which brought a sore throat with it this time.

Our puppy, Lumos, is cute. Chewing on everything because he's teething, but cute. Whiny when he needs to pee, but that's better than peeing on the floor inside...and he's cute. Pics to come.

Life goes on....

An excellent weekend

2010-05-03T18:57:00.002-05:00

I had an excellent weekend...

Saturday was my wife's birthday, so we were up to get her to her hair appointment. Holly wanted to try something different with her hair, so she cut it short and very cute.

While Holly was getting her hair done, I was taking care of a computer client; seems the fan on the video card was failing and making a grinding sound. WD-40 didn't take care of it, so I headed to the local parts store to get a new card. The store opened 10 minutes late for whatever reason, but I had time to pass one of my business cards to someone else who was waiting in line to get in. ;)

Pick Holly up at the salon, compliment her new look, and head to Gurnee for lunch with her folks, sister and brother-in-law at the Olive Garden. We were early and had time to kill, so we drove around a bit.

After lunch, Holly's sister Katie wanted to take Holly shopping, so we headed off to the JC Penny in Vernon Hills. The girls went shopping, while Jon (brother-in-law) and I cruised the mall looking for power tools and flat screen TVs...hello Sears.

After Katie was done spending money on Holly, we headed home. Holly let me watch the Nascar race while she showed me the new tops she had gotten. After the race, it was bedtime.

Sunday we up early so we could be to church by 8:30...Holly to help lead worship and I to watch the kids of the one of the other worship leaders. After church, we had lunch with some friends, then made our way to Slinger Superspeedway for the season opener. Now, before you get mad at me for making Holly go to the races on her birthday weekend, SHE bought the tickets...I had asked if it would be ok if we went.

At Slinger, we sat with our friends Pete and Cindy down in turn 1. The racing was close and the weather was perfect...both Holly and I got a little too much sun.

We took the scenic route home, and just vegged out once we got in the door.

No rush, no hurry, just a relaxing weekend.

trying to remember ....

2010-04-25T20:49:00.003-05:00

The days have started to bleed together, and I had to ask Holly for some details.

Monday, Holly and I went down to Chicago to goof off, and Monday was the only day we didn't have something going on either of our calendars. We went to the Adler planetarium, took photos of Wrigley and Soldier Fields, and got to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, Leona's, and got to hang out with our friend Laura :)

Thursday, I had a Twitter social event in Milwaukee. I had the chance to meet up with some new folks I hadn't yet met face to face, as well as find new people to stalk on Twitter.

Friday, we had dinner at some friends' and played Wii til our arms fell off...I want a Wii...

Saturday, we headed up to Appleton for the semi-annual check on Holly's ring. Why Appleton? It's one of the two closest Helzberg Diamond stores; the other is in Gurnee, and we had been to that one already. We had lunch at the Fox River Mall, then came home. Holly drove home because I was having a hard time focusing; I fell asleep. We were home a couple of hours, then headed to catch "How To Catch a Dragon" in Delafield. Very cute, go see it. After the movie, we grabbed a bite to eat at George Webb's in Oconomowoc before heading home.

Holly didn't sleep so well Saturday night, so we stayed home from church and just vegged out. My race was on at noon, and we followed that up with a disc of Battlestar Galactica. We've pretty much morphed into our couch at this point.

Catching up on things

2010-04-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't been around much lately....seems like I have alot on my mind.

The job search continues; I've had a couple of interviews, but nothing yet. Business, however, has been good. I'm hoping the business takes off and I can stop looking for a job, but until then, we go with the two-pronged attack.

Holly's wrist surgery went well. She DOES NOT like being left handed while her right hand is all bandaged up. She's also not cleared to drive yet, so anywhere she goes, I go. The stitches come out on Friday, so we'll see what happens there.

My sister-in-law Katie is in the hospital. If you're on Facebook, you may already have an idea what's going on....that's all I'll offer from here.

Hand and Foot

2010-04-06T17:34:00.003-05:00

The job search continues; I've had a couple of nibbles, but nothing concrete yet. The business has been pretty good, and I'm hoping that trend continues.

Holly went in for carpal tunnel surgery this morning; we were up at 4:30 to be to the hospital at 5:30. She was wheeled off to surgery just after 7:30 and was home by 10:30. After a bite to eat, she took a nap. I fell asleep on the couch as well.

This afternoon has been all about movies and taking care of Holly.

One month later....

2010-03-15T22:16:00.002-05:00

It's been a month.

Funny how little time it takes my body to adjust from 5:30am wake up calls to 8 am sounding early. Holly's very good abut making sure I'm up before she leaves for work.

The trick has been keeping my time occupied during the day. Sure, I spend a decent chunk of time looking for work, but after a few days, the same jobs I've already applied for drift to the top.

I did have a staffing agency call me today for a short term project; I meet with them tomorrow to get to know each other...we'll see where it goes.

Holly and I have been looking at apartments closer to Milwaukee. The only thing we have here in Oconomowoc is her job, and all of our friends live in or near Milwaukee, so she's ok with driving. We've got a few places in mind to check out.

In a couple of weeks, Holly has wrist surgery, which means she be out of work for six weeks. I'm hoping to have found something before that time, since she goes on disability, which combined with my unemployment could make things very tight. We've been watching our money very carefully in the last month, and we're ahead of where we thought we'd be, which is great.

Waking up in Vegas

2010-03-01T15:55:00.003-06:00

FRIDAY

Friday arrived and Holly and I were both anxious to get on the plane to Vegas. Trouble is, she had to work; her job does not allow her to take off or get out of work early on the last day of the month and so we prepared for that.

However, things worked out just fine: she WAS able to get done early due to low volume of work. I picked her up at 3:50 and we made our way to the airport.

We both haven't flown under the increased security, so we wanted to make sure we gave ourselves plenty of time to get through security and make our flight. The security wasn't all that bad really and we were at the gate by 5:30 for our 6:50 flight. We checked in for our flight, only to find that Southwest overbooked the plane. I received my confirmation, but Holly didn't. Great.

As the time to board grew closer, we considered taking the offer of free one-way tickets the next morning and a voucher to volunteer to bump from the flight. Fortunately for us, we didn't have to as they called Holly's name for her confirmation while the "A" group was boarding. The flight was full; not an empty seat.

Holly boarded about 13 spots before I did, and as things go, we didn't get to sit together; at least we were on the plane!

The flight itself wasn't bad; at night it's tough to tell where you are, although the pilot pointed out Denver before we flew over the Rockies. We had some turbulence, but nothing too bad.

We deplaned and waited for our bag to come out on the conveyor, then went to grab a taxi back to the airport. The vistors and cabs both are slotted to allow for an efficient loading process and we were hotel bound in 15 minutes.

We got to the hotel, checked in and were headed to the room when we were offered a "free" show. Upon further review, we were getting slotted into a presentation for a time share here in Vegas...more on that later.

Get to the room, set the bags down and just get our bearings; it was almost midnight back home and we felt it. I was hungry, so we headed back downstairs to grab a bite to eat.

SATURDAY

Woke up Saturday with the agenda to walk around a bit and play some games in the casino. Had breakfast at McDonald's in the hotel, then walked from Excalibur down to Bellagio and back, taking pictures all the way down. We had hoped to see the fountains at Bellagio, but were an hour too early, so we made our way back to the Excalibur to relax in our room. Holly laid down for a nap and I headed downstairs to watch the Nationwide race and have a beer.

After Holly's nap, we took in the casino. We played the slots, Holly having better luck than I did. I wandered off and found the race in one of the bars while Holly headed back to the room when she was done gambling.

We vegged out in the room for a bit, then headed out to see the Strip at night. We went to the Hard Rock for a light dinner since it was my birthday :) Took pictures of the guitars and other memorabilia on display. After that, we came back to the hotel and crashed.

SUNDAY - RACEDAY

Up at 7:30 to walk over to Tropicana to get the shuttle bus passes to the racetrack. Came back and grabbed breakfast for Holly and I on the way up to the room.

Wait in line for the shuttle bus, then take a 45 minute ride from the Tropicana to the track. We were allowed to cut through Nellis Air Force Base and got to see some birds pretty close up. If I knew which ones I would tell you.

Get to the track and off the bus. First stop: scanner booth. Rented a scanner and then we made our way to our seats. We were dropped off behind turn 2 and we had to walk to turn 4...the long way...uphill to the front stretch...but we survived.

We had FANTASTIC seats and could see the whole track from where we were. The sun was bright and the weather was perfect! I fetched a couple sodas and other snacks for each of us. I love the pageantry before a race: the driver introductions, the prayer for a safe race and the command to start the engines...nothing's more fun than Holly and I sharing it with 140,000 of new friends :)

We saw the "major" incident of the race in front of us on lap 90, but otherwise it was a clean race.

After the race, we made our way back to the line for the shuttle bus. Someone didn't relay the message that the race was over, and we wait over 2 hours for a shuttle bus...kinda ridiculous, but made it back intact, making conversation with the Canucks in line behind us while waiting.

When we got back to the room, we were spent, sun burnt a bit and hungry. Neither one of us wanted to go anywhere, so we ordered room service for dinner. I ordered a chef salad and Holly a chicken quesadilla, with cheesecake for desert...we were told it would 90 minutes to 2 hours for the food...and we were fine with that.

Food arrived only an hour later and was wheeled in. The salad was in a 12 inch salad bowl and was huge. Holly's quesadilla was in a hot serving tray....everything tasted great!! I destroyed my salad and finish the quesadilla...Holly commented that she's never seen me eat so much in one sitting :P After that...bedtime

MONDAY

We slept in on Monday...didn't bother to set an alarm. We grabbed breakfast at the hotel buffet; stuffed ourselves silly on scrambled eggs, sasuage and biscuits and gravy.

Once we were done with breakfast, we took another stroll down the Strip. Holly wanted to re-visit the store she bought a purse at on Saturday night for some other accessories, so we headed there. She found a very nice necklace that she like more than the other half dozen things she wanted :P

We came back to the room to rest and I started writing this entry. We then hit the casino floor one more time, trying in vain to break even...yeah, like that was gonna happen.

After the casino, we returned to the room for a while before heading to In-N-Out for a burger..first time!!! Loved it!!

One more stop by the room, then we walked down to see the Bellagio fountain show; we stayed for 3 different shows and loved them all.

We returned to the hotel, stopped by the convenience store for some snacks, then retired to our room so that we could get up at 4:30am to catch our 7 am flight home.

We will be back!!

In case you didn't figured it out, the title of this entry is also a link to the Facebook page with the pictures from our trip :P

Week 1 of being unemployed

2010-02-19T20:35:00.002-06:00

So, I've now been unemployed for a week.

It still sucks.

I've applied for 14 jobs via job websites and thru references from friends.

I'm trying to be up and to "work" by 8am, that is, showered, dressed, fed and to my desk looking for a job. I have lunch around 11 or so.

I can't shake the weird feeling of being laid off, which is good I suppose; I don't want to get complacent.

My wife continues to being my biggest cheerleader and for that I am grateful.

Where do I go from here?

2010-02-12T15:58:00.002-06:00

I lost my job today.

1:20 in the afternoon.

Turned in my keys and was walked out the door.

Why? The economy...if no one's building, no one's wiring, and that means parts aren't being sold.

Made some phone calls on my way home, first to my wife, then to the guys I've worked with at the store level for the last couple years. All the guys were shocked, to say the least.

Called my parents to let then know.

Filed for unemployment online.

I've never been let go from a job before, so it's all still sinking in.

Holly and I will talk through some things tonight, and Monday will feel really weird.

Where to from here?

Night and Day

2010-02-07T07:51:00.003-06:00

Holly and I have been married six months now; we're still making adjustments as far as living together.

I commented last night that I think that a one spouse is a compliment to the other; some people get a spouse who is just like them, others get a spouse who is the complete opposite.

Holly and I fall into the opposite category.

Don't get me wrong, the opposite thing works out great for both of us. There are times I need motivation to do task oriented things that my ADD mind can't/won't track with; Holly sometimes needs positive encouragement, like after having a rough day at work.

Point is, I love my wife, and I can't imagine being married to anyone else...it just doesn't work.

Night of the Braindead Teenage Twits

2010-01-23T17:39:00.002-06:00

Holly and I went on a date last night...be a while since we had done that. We decided to do dinner and a movie.

We went to see Sherlock Holmes in Delafield...yes, you need to go see it.

We got there early and grabbed a snack and a soda before the movie to hold us until dinner. When the theater was available, we made our way in and chose our seats.

At some point before the movie started, 8 teens made their way into the theater and began looking for seats. Fortunately, Holly and I were the winners of the "lets pick who to annoy" challenge.

They took up seats behind us and immediately started talking...actually, continued talking whatever they were talking about as they walked into the theater.

I looked at Holly and rolled my eyes. We didn't drop $19 to listen to these skinny jean wearing, bubble gum popping morons ruin the movie for us. Holly picked up on my cue and after another preview filled with chatter from behind, turned to the group and said "you guys aren't going to talk through the whole movie, are you?"

That shut them up. One of them answered meekly "no." We thanked them and glanced at each other and smiled. Then the movie started.

Why did I let Holly say something instead of me? She tends to be softer about it than I am. :)

2009 in Review

2009-12-24T13:00:00.000-06:00

All the cool kids are doing year end lists, so why not me too??

The first six months of the year are hard to recall, honestly. I'm sure something good happened, but I can't remember >.<

In June I moved to Oconomowoc to be close to my job. I managed a branch location for an electrical distributor based in Brookfield.

In August, I married the most wonderful woman in the world; she keeps me in check and loves me in spite of my flaws. We honeymooned in the North Woods of Wisconsin; it's been almost 5 months and she hasn't killed me yet, although I'm sure she's entertained the thought.

After being home from the honeymoon for a week, I found out I was being moved from my store back to Brookfield, thus negating several plans Holly and I had. We were able to get a second car, as I needed a car to travel to cover the other branch locations once again. I was upset at first, but have accepted the role I've been given and am thankful to have a job.

Holly was working two jobs prior to our wedding; the first week of September, she was told that the morning job was closing. She was given two weeks extra pay, but we were wondering what God had in store for us. We evaluated and adjusted out budget and discovered that we would be alright financially, we just wouldn't save as much.

Third week of September, Holly is asked if she wants to go full time at Aurora Health Care, the afternoon part time job. She said yes, and began driving to Hartland in the mornings to be an administrative assistant, then driving back to Oconomowoc to do her afternoon data entry duties. We were grateful for the change.

Holly and I have learned how to hit the curveballs that life throws at us. We have also learned not to overreact and look at the situation calmly.

In December, Holly was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in her right wrist. The first doctor made the diagnosis and recommended surgery right away. We sought a second opinion from an orthopedic surgeon who said the surgery could wait a few months, and that allowed us to carry out our vacation plans to go to Las Vegas at the end of February for the Nascar race that Holly bought us tickets for...it's my Christmas and Birthday all in one!

I love my wife and I continue to try to be a better husband to her. I make her comfort food when she has a rough day; I warm her when she's cold; I open doors for her; I hold her hand while we watch TV; I fix her computer when it breaks...there is nothing I won't do for my wife.

Merry Christmas to you, and may 2010 be a Blessed year for you.

this made me chuckle

2009-12-11T17:30:00.000-06:00

Limited only by money

2009-12-05T21:12:00.003-06:00

So, the trip to Las Vegas trip Holly and I have been planning may not happen. Holly went to the doctor yesterday to have her wrist checked out and we find out she has moderately severe carpal tunnel syndrome in her right wrist.

We've already got the race tickets, and the hotel booked, and were waiting for a credit card cycle to get the plane tickets.

Holly's concern is that she'll be on short term disability for the 6 week recovery time, making only 60% of her pay and that will make things tight financially.

I'm not concerned; if we have to cancel the trip, yes, I'll be bummed since the trip is my Christmas present, but my greater concern is for that of my wife and her health. We can always go to Vegas later; we can always re-sell the tickets.

Holly's disappointed that I won't get a present from her if we don't go; I'm still getting her present for her regardless.

The more important thing for me is that we get her wrist corrected; Vegas can wait.

Gobble Gobble

2009-11-26T19:52:00.002-06:00

Hello Dear Reader,

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and tasty.

First stop on the Turkey Train was my inlaws in Illinois. Jon doesn't do turkey so much, so we had mastacholli for dinner. We had pie and cake after the Packer game was over. We then proceeded to watch Star Trek before the parents headed out.

Three more stops on the Turkey Train. More stories to come.

100 days!!

2009-11-10T17:00:00.000-06:00

So, Holly and I have survived one hundred days of being married. :P

Here's what I have learned:

I snore...loudly. I've taken steps to correct that.

I tend to leave my towel somewhere other than it's bar after a shower. I've taken steps to correct that.

I hit the snooze button too many times. I've taken steps to correct that.

I've learned to wipe down the bathroom sink when I'm done using it.

I've learned that Holly tends to sprawl in her sleep.

She also steals the covers sometimes.

I am the slayer of insects, replacer of soap, remover of trash and head of IT in my home. I also make a mean chicken breast.

We've both learned how to hit curveballs. My job changed roles a week after we got home from the honeymoon, Holly's morning part time job closed, then she got full time at Aurora. We've overcome some money issues, and have started watching every penny with Quicken.

I do my best not to be selfish. Holly wasn't feeling well this weekend, so I did the laundry, asking her about her clothes to make sure I didn't destroy them. All turned out well. I also like making her my chicken as it's become one of her comfort foods.

I'm used to wearing my wedding band, and have gotten many compliments on how cool it looks.

Despite being opposite personalities socially, we make it work. Sometimes, I go out solo, and text Holly updates, although I'm still learning to be more diligent about it.

Our wedding was paid off when we paid the September credit card bill.

My wife enjoys buying big gifts for me, like race tickets in Las Vegas the weekend of my birthday.

I can tell when she wants something, like candy, as she'll snuggle up next to me and throw me the puppy dog eyes. Yeah, there's NO WAY for me to not give in.

She has introduced me to new music, and TV show's I'm not used to watching but now enjoy.

She has me eating out less, and eating better at home, and I love her for it.

I've found one of the most satisfying feelings in the world is being next to my wife, with my arm around her, and it's just us...just us.

God has been faithful and because of His part in our lives, we work together. There have been moments of disagreement, followed by anger and some hurt, but after a time, we come back together, give and receive forgiveness and carry on.

I love my wife.

Today was a good day

2009-09-27T23:02:00.002-05:00

Today was a good day.

Holly and I had church this morning, and today was Missionfest. We do Missionfest once a year as a way of focusing on those we support both financially and prayerfully who are out in the mission field, whether abroad or at home.

We heard a good sermon on Luke 10:46-52, about how Bartimaeus had his sight restored to him by Jesus, and what he had to do to be there with Jesus.

After church, we skipped out on the potluck and made our way to Miller Park, because Holly surprised me with Brewer's tickets!! We grabbed a couple hot dogs and sodas and settled in for the game. Too bad the Brewers lost, but I was just happy to be there.

After the game, we headed over to Holly's folks for dinner and some catching up. We took the DVDs with our wedding photos with us to show.

We caught a break in the weather, with the heavy rain stopping, to make our way home.

We're both tired from our very full day, but today was a good day. I love Holly so much, and today was a great day to spend together.

2009-08-27T22:00:00.002-05:00

I'm enjoying what evenings entail at home: dinner, usually a movie and time with my wife. We're still putting away gifts and acquiring more stuff we need, but for the most part, we've got a nice little groove.

As far as my job, two weeks ago I was re-assigned to the main office from the branch location I was managing, with the job of being the swing man again. Being Swing means that I get to travel to any store where the guy managing (or the sidekick) needs time off. I like the variety and I do well at it; that's why I was brought back to be the Swing. The hard part this time is that I no longer live central to all the stores, but farther west, near the Oconomowoc store I was managing. All that means is that I need to be up sooner to hit Grafton, West Bend or Oak Creek. I get mileage for anything over my normal commute to Brookfield, so it's not too bad. Some nights on the way home, I hit a mess of traffic, like today after the Brewer's game, but I'm thankful that I'm still working right now.

We're still getting used to sleeping next to each other. Both of us wake up in the night and adjust, and I'm sure Beloved wakes up at my snoring, but I think overall, we're doing ok. We take turns cooking and doing the dishes and just enjoy spending time together.

I'm liking this :)

an outside perspective on our wedding

2009-08-08T19:09:00.001-05:00

Our friend Diane offered her take on the wedding proceddings.

Thanks Diane :)

Wednesday, honeymoon week

2009-08-06T19:15:00.000-05:00

Wednesday

Out the door at 10:30am to head as far north as we could without getting on a boat or leaving Wisconsin. Our destination was the National Shoreline near the Apostle Islands.

The GPS had us taking roads that didn't exist anymore right from the start...when leaving the cabin, we were told to take a left. After driving about, oh, 300 feet, we realized this was no longer a road, but someone's driveway to their cabin. Turn the car around and head back the other way...did I just hear a soft crunching sound? Oh well, off we go.

Once we get going in the right direction, we ended up taking some "roads", if by "roads" you mean there are no trees in the middle of the dirt path, then yes, we were on "roads."

We finally find some pavement again and proceed almost due north. I realized the car felt different and wiggled it a bit side to side. Pull the car over and check the tires. Sure enough, left rear was soft. Proceed down the road at the posted speed limit and slowing down for right hand corners, we finally make it into Mercer, where there appears to be some sort of street festival and a blatant disregard for motor vehicles. Find some fix-a-flat and put that into the tire, then drive a ways up the road to find an air pump to fill the tire the rest of the way.

With that adventure taken care of, we made our way up Highway 51 to Ashland Wisconsin, and stopped for lunch around 1pm, then continued up Highways 2 and 13 to Bayfield where we stopped at the Apostle Islands Visitor's Center to get some info and a map or two. Holly found a cute little lighthouse to give as gift to a family member when we get back. Holly also read a posted notice that one of the islands was re-opened now due to the lack of bear attacks on campers. Tasty.

Back to Highway 13 and north we continued to Red Cliff to find Blueberry Road. Now, the ranger at the Visitor's Center said Blueberry Road was the better option...I humbly disagree. Not that Blueberry Road won't get you to Point Detour, but at some point, the pavement ends and the "road" keeps going.

After travelling about 12 miles or so at 20 miles an hour, we made it to Point Detour. Park the car and make our way down the "stairs". Now, most of the "stairs" were there, but the "landing" halfway down was mostly gone, save for one lone board in the middle. Jumping wasn't an option as you could miss then tumble down into Lake Superior.

Once we made it to the bottom, we found ourselves standing on beautiful red sandstone rocks the size of our car. We could see a couple of the islands not too far offshore, maybe a few miles out. The waves of Superior crashed against the rocks as we walked along the shoreline. We saw a couple of kayakers off the shore headed west.

After monkeying around for a bit, we climbed back up the "stairs" and poked around the campground that was nearby, then headed over to Little Sand Bay. Walking down the pier, we saw that the kayakers had made their way over to the Bay. We took a few more pictures and then got back in the car to start making our way home.

We decied to take the paved route back to Red Cliff, which was much nicer and probably a bit faster then Blueberry Road. Down to Bayfield to snap shots of a couple of beautiful houses, then south to Ashland again.

We made it home about a quarter to 7 in the evening. A very fun day that gave us a few ideas about future getaways :)

Monday and Tuesday of the honeymoon

2009-08-06T13:14:00.001-05:00

Monday

After waking up and having breakfast, Holly and I headed back into town to walmart to pick up some odds and ends we missed as well as buy the alcohol we were denied the previous night.

Upon returning to the cabin, I tried to get the pontoon boat started to no avail. I knew I was missing something, but wasn't sure what, so we called Volker and GiGi and left a message on their machine.

We headed to the house where I was given a wonderful back massage by Holly; so good in fact, that I fell asleep shortly after she finished. Holly woke me up a short time later to let me know that Volker was on the phone to tell me how to get the boat started.

We decided to try to find the pizza place in town GiGi recommended in the handy guide they left us, but it appeared to be closed. Oh well, Perkins for the win!

After dinner, we cruised to downtown Minocqua to look at some of the shops and maybe plan out a shopping trip. Most stores close at 7, so we made it into only one before just walking around more to work off the monster slice of peanut butter cup pie we had with dinner.

When we returned home, I managed to get the boat started and we took a pleasure cruise around the lake before it was too cool out to enjoy and too dark to see.

Tuesday

Up and at'em at the crack of 9:30, we headed to town around 11:30 and grabbed smoothies at a coffee shop with wireless so we could check online on a couple things and touch base with everyone.

After that, we headed downtown to shop. We stopped at Gaslight Square to poke around some shops and head upstairs to the antique shop. We walked around, just looking at everything in the antique shop and marveling at how old some of it was and how good most of the things were.

After antiquing, we walked some more, then grabbed lunch at T. Murtaugh's pub. Great cheese curds and everything else as well! I got Holly hooked on that quarter game, you know the one, where you dropped one quarter in and try to knock several quarters out. We played that game for quite a while before heading up the road a bit to some more shops. There, we picked up a pewter dragon for Holly, and some cheese, chocolate and fudge for later.

We came home so we could water the plants and clean out the car. With that accomplished, we took a trip to Lake of the Torches casino to try our hand at the games. There weren't too many card table games, other than blackjack, so we tried a couple of slot machines and then landed at some video poker machines. We only took a $20 in each and left the rest at home so we wouldn't mortgage our future. I had fun, but Holly wasn't really to thrilled by it, other than feeling like we were in a Vegas movie.

Home for dinner on the screen porch, then watched the sunset over the lake before the ballgame. As I write this, we're enjoying some of the chocolate and the peanut butter fudge we picked up today and we'll be watching another movie tonight.

So, I got married...

2009-08-04T12:58:00.000-05:00

Let's start with the events of the wedding day itself and move on from there.

I woke up at 7:30, hit snooze once and then headed for a shower and shave. I wasn't feeling up to breakfast, as my stomach was a bit uneasy.

Headed to my friend's house to pick up the getaway car. Curtis has a 1964 Corvair Spyder convertible, with the turbocharged V-6 and 4 speed manual. After a quick lesson in how to handle the top, I was off to the church. I hit a spot of rain and had to pull over quick to put the top up.

I get to the church, park the car under the overhang and head inside to get changed. A couple of my guys are already there and the rest join us soon. Being guys, of course we goofed around and made fun of each other while changing. My groomsman Eric hands me the flask I had given him and told me it was mine for the day. He had filled it with MacGillicuddy's, which left me with minty freshy breath and took the edge off of my nerves.

The guy's pictures were set for 10am, and we were in for a treat. Holly and I hired Valo Photography to do our pictures based on the work Valo had done on our friend Emily's wedding last fall. The guys pictures were taken in the gym at church and we got a chance to have some fun. Simon has a shot of me trying to "run away" with my guys holding me back.

Once the guys were done with pictures, we had lunch. Holly's dad had run to get a couple of Counsin's party subs and believe me, subs have never tasted so good. I managed to have a couple of pieces of sub and some soda to calm my churning stomach.

After lunch, the guys headed upstairs for some air and to keep me away from Holly. Basically, we were killing time until the ceremony.

At 12:30, my best man John, Pastor Kent and myself went behind the sanctuary to wait for the ceremony to begin. I took a sip of my flask and felt my nerves calm down a bit. John prayed with me and Kent joined us. I took a couple of peeks outside to see who was already seated then kept getting pulled back out of sight by John or Kent.

We hear our cue to walk out and take our places at the front of the stage. I felt the desire to wave to everyone, so I did, then said "hi guys." Everyone that knows me said "Hi Chad", and laughed some stress out.

The doors open and the couples start walking in. I started to feel the tears come, but held them back. After all the couples were in, the music faded out, then Holly's walk in music was on. At the right moment, the doors open and there was my bride! As her father led her down the aisle, I started to cry. I wiped my eyes because I wanted to see everything. Coming toward me was my bride and she looked amazing!! Adorned in a gorgeous dress, with her hair just right...just wow.

Pastor Kent starts the ceremony and asks Holly's father who gives this woman. Steve answers, "Her mother and I" through teary eyes. He then brought Holly and my hands together and went to sit next to Holly's mom.

I look at Holly and feel at peace. She was smiling at me as we stood there before the Pastor, our friends and the assembly.

As the ceremony progressed, I kept looking at Holly and she at me. We asked Pastor Kent to teach out of the Song of Solomon, which is a great book from the Old Testament of the Bible, giving him a chance to do something he hadn't taught on before.

We asked our friend Nick to play the song for the lighting of the unity candle. At my request, he played "When you Say Nothing at All" which Holly and I found sweetly ironic, given my pechant for talking.

We added the element of communion to our wedding as our faith in Christ is very important, and Pastor Kent was more than willing to lead us in that element. As we stood together after the candle lighting and communion, we sang the last verse of "When You Say Nothing At All" to each other.

I kissed my bride, lovingly and with intent. We turned to face our guests, grinning like fools. The pastor pronounced us Husband and Wife, and we walked out to "It's the End of the World as We Know It" by R.E.M. and danced our way up the aisle. I couldn't contain myself and let out a whoop as we neared the doors to the foyer.

One by one, our couples came out and then we went back in to dismiss our guests. We started on Holly's side with her parents, then to my side to greet my parents. We wanted to dismiss our guests so we could thank each one of them for coming, so we had the bridal party guiding guests downstairs for cake.

It was simply awesome to see so many of our friends come to see us be married. Old friends from growing up, work friends, and current friends. Both Holly and I enjoyed seeing everyone and having a chance to see them all at least once, since we knew it would be difficult to see everyone once we were downstairs for cake and punch.

Once downstairs, we cut the cake. Holly and I each took a forkful to feed each other with, only Holly took a bite of her own cake, leaving me hanging. She smirked at me, then took another forkful and fed me as I her. The cake was then wheeled away to be cut, and the sheet cakes were wheeled in to be eaten. Holly and I set the guests on the cake and then sat for a bit, since we had been standing for a while.

Everyone was getting cake and punch and chatting, people were stopping by to congratulated us. We got some cake and punch and started to take it all in. Here we were, surrounded by loved ones, married, MARRIED!

Around 3, we headed back upstairs for the rest of the pictures. We took pictures with my grandparents first, as they were a bit tired. Once those were taken, we did the usual pictures with the family and bridal party and whatnot.

Once pictures at the church were done, Holly and I planned to take some pictures at the lakefront by the art museum, since that's where we met. We hopped in the car, left the church with the top down on the car, just for the fun of it, then stopped to put the top up so as not to muss Holly's hair.

We arrived at the lakefront to find six other weddings already there for pictures. We changed locations to the small park where Wisconsin Ave turns north, right in front of the art museum. Simon and Jake, the photographers, were having a blast setting up shots and directing us and taking the perfect pictures. We crossed the street and took a shot where Holly and I are on the street with the downtown skyline and the sun behind us.

We moved over in front of the art museum for some more shots, then down to Discovery World for some more fun. Jake made the comment that Holly and I were alot of fun to work with and that they were having fun.

After Discovery World, we headed out to the dinner reception for some final pictures, then food. Once again, surrounded by family, we got to enjoy some excellent food and conversation. We spent a couple hours chatting with friends and thanking them for being part of our special day.

After dinner, we had to take our getaway car back to Curtis. We picked up our car and headed to the Pfister for our first night together. We valet'd the car and a bellman took our bags up to our room. We felt so rich!!! Once in the room, I helped Holly out of her dress so she could shower and change. I needed a bit of normalcy, so I found the Brewer game on TV while I was waiting. Once Holly emerged from the bathroom we retired for the evening...hint hint ;)

We awoke in the morning ready for breakfast. Part of the package we had was a credit to the cafe for breakfast, so we took advantage of it. Holly had a ham and cheese omelet, and I had the biscuits and gravy. We left the cafe feeling quite full.

After packing our things and checking out, we headed to Holly's parent's house to pick up clothes for her for the week, and to say goodbye to Jon and Katie, and Moira. After they left we did some check endorsing and got the car loaded with Holly's things.

We headed to the bank to night drop the checks, only to find there's no night drop slot. We basically had to start over and put the check into ATM envelopes for the deposit....what a pain in the butt!!

We stopped by OUR apartment to grab a couple of small things, like the wine flutes we were given, so we could enjoy the wine someone else gave us. From there, we departed for our destination. The drive was nice: I had the Brewer game on the radio while Holly napped. We stopped for gas and Holly picked up some cheese to snack on for the final leg of the journey.

Once in Minocqua, we found the Walmart and picked up some breakfast and lunch stuff, as well as snacks. We ended up in line behind a lady who seemed to be stockpiling supplies for a kindergarten room. $375 later, she was done, but it was now after 9pm, so we couldn't buy they alcohol we had in the cart, despite being in line 20 minutes...Oh Well.

We got to the cabin about 9:30 and found the key and let ourselves in to find two more cards on the kitchen island, as well as a bottle of champagne and a tourists guide of restaurants in the area. Thanks to Volker and GiGi, and Ziggy and Sandy for that!!!

We unloaded the car, put away the groceries and then sat down in seats that didn't move. Put in a movie and vegged out. About 11:30, I woke Holly up and suggested we move to a bed so we could sleep properly that night.

The most awesome thing for me so far is that I get to sleep next to the woman I love at night, with her next to me, and wake up seeing each other in the morning.

This and that...

2009-07-17T22:52:00.002-05:00

Wedding preparation moves forward. New apartment is moved into and stuff is being sorted according to usage. What gets used stays upstairs, what doesn't gets banished to the basement.

I'm not all that nervous, at least not yet. Anxious would be a better way to describe what I feel. I'm looking forward to The Day, but I'm also want to make sure I'm preparing myself for the days after that, to be a good husband for my wife. Huh, my wife....that sounds funny to say...I like it....

I don't post here as much as I would perhaps like to, but I tend to get tied up on my other blog and also now with podcasting. I try to keep the more positive stuff here and save the politics for the other blog, and I've been occupied with political happenings.

I'll try to post some more here for ya ;)

busy busy busy

2009-06-16T22:04:00.002-05:00

Psssst!

down here!!

yeah, I'm still here, but I've been letting my political side run free for a little while, so here's an update.

Wedding plans are coming along, at least as far as I know. 46 days and counting!

Canada was fun! Beloved and I drove up to Winnipeg to a friend's wedding and to meet one of our bridesmaids. Yes, you read that right...we had a bridesmaid in our wedding who we had never met face to face. Now we have. Calm down.

Work seems to be picking up a little. Orders are still on the smallish side, but volume is up, that is, more foot traffic in the door. Hopefully the orders will follow.

I'm moved. If you want my new address, you have some method of contacting me. Use it.

My new place is huge....especially compared to my last place. Two bedrooms AND a den...very nice.

That's about it...carry on.

growing older

2009-04-30T22:31:00.002-05:00

Something I've realized is that I'm not as young as I used to be, and my metabolism has slowed down. I used to be able to eat just about anything and not worry about gaining weight, but now, not so much.

I moved to Milwaukee weighing 160 pounds. Three months later, I was at 175. Now I'm at 205. I supposed 45 pounds in ten years isn't bad, but I'm starting to feel the difference.

In addition to the extra weight, I'm having shortness of breath for no good reason. Simple tasks at work kick my butt.

I've decided to take care of it. My friend Eric recommended two programs for me: 100 push ups and 200 sit ups.

Basically, you do a test run of push ups and sit ups, as many as you can do in one sitting, then you use the chart to start your workout regimen. I started tonight and plan to do Sundays, Tuesday, and Thursday before bed.

I want to lose weight overall, increase my stamina and just feel better overall. Wish me luck :)

a tragic loss

2009-03-30T18:00:00.000-05:00

This morning I confirmed a hunch I had yesterday.

I open the paper and found this article.

I coached Zach last year in basketball, and Karl would often help me even though he wasn't my assistant.

I also knew Luke, the younger son. Fun kid, precocious and always had a smile on his face.

Right now I'm dealing with that feeling of loss and grief, even though I wasn't all the close to the family, I still knew them.

Please join me in praying for this family as they grieve the loss of a father, a son and a friend and the recovery ahead for Denise, Zach and Amber.

See You at the Show

2009-03-15T17:47:00.003-05:00

Saturday night, Holly and I had tickets to go see Nickelback at the Bradley Center. We both enjoy their music and always have a good time at the show.

We went to dinner before hand at Chili's and Holly could hardly contain her excitement. Dinner was quick and we were on our way to the BC.

Parked next to MATC in the surface lot, then headed to the BC with tickets in hand. Got inside about 6:30 or so and headed to our seats before hitting the bathroom before the show started.

Saving Abel was on first...not bad. I only knew one song, but that never stops me from enjoying a band I don't know. Holly looked around before they dropped the lights and commented to me how empty the arena looked. I replied that she should take a look after Saving Abel was done. With that, the house lights dropped and Saving Abel was on.

After Saving Abel, the roadies came out and set the stage for Seether. Seether I'm much more familiar with as they are a little more established, and they didn't disappoint. They played their new single "Fake It", as well as "Broken", and altogether put up a nice set.

After Seether, more roadies. Holly had went to powder her nose, so I sat with our stuff and people watched, one of my favorite activities. Quite a few good looking ladies, and of course I was with the best looking one ;)

Although...there was....I think a bear that had been shaved. This chick was in her late 40s or early 50s, around 300 pounds, whiter than Casper....and she was wearing black thigh high leather boots and a sheer red nightie, with other red fabric covering her in strategic places. What. The. Hell? I saw her make her way up the stairs from the section below us on the arm of a guy who I assume was her husband/boyfriend/handler/parole agent. As she got up to the lane to head out the concourse, a group of people re-entered the arena and looked at her and expressed a bit of shocked and/or disgust.

Holly made her way back to our seats and I told her about the "woman", and we both began waiting anxiously. Sure enough....her "she" came. Holly's jaw dropped, and a few of us in the area we were seated began to do a running commentary are "her" choice of clothes. I thought maybe it was laundry day, and all she had left was the sheer red nightie. Others though "she" was just plain out of her mind. Then, thankfully, the house lights went out and Nickelback was on!!

Lots of Pyro and Video. Lots of guitars....overall great show. Chad Krueger could have talked a little less and rocked a little more, but they managed to get quite a few songs in over 2 hours.

Here's some pics from my iPhone.

they say it's your birthday...

2009-03-01T18:40:00.002-06:00

Friday was my 33rd birthday. I bought doughnuts to take into work for my customers. I really didn't have any plans for anything special, so Holly and I decided to head to the autoshow and look at cars we can't afford.

Got quite a few pictures which I will post at a later date.

I've felt out of sorts since Friday....just not all together. Not sure why.

Saturday was alot of fun. Holly and I had lunch with friends that she hadn't seen in some time, then we headed off to my basketball game that was at 3:30. My guys played a great game and we won.

Hollly and I headed back to my place to rest for a bit, then off to Bed Bath and Beyond to look at home decor stuff and wedding registry ideas, then off to dinner at Applebee's.

Sunday brought church, then a client call, then basketball practice. I bought pizza for my guys since they've played so hard for me this year and to celebrate my birthday.

On to home to watch my race, which is just about done...then just winding down until bedtime, then back into the week.

the wait is over.

2009-02-08T17:51:00.002-06:00

I have my iPhone.

The number porting process took about 24 hours over all, but all of my stuff is AT&T now.

Holly and I headed to the Apple Store at Mayfair for my 10:30 appointment. When we got there, I stepped up to the Genius Bar and waited for the next available Genius. My Genius' name was Ernie and he took care of me. I went with the 8 gig iPhone, and picked up a pack of screen skins and a car charge with a radio adapter. Ernie went through the process of moving my phone number over from Sprint over to AT&T.

When I had paid for everything, Ernie gave me a quick primer on the features of my iPhone. After that, Holly and I headed back to her house, where I plugged my iPhone into my Powerbook to charge it and also add the apps I had already downloaded in preparation of getting my iPhone.

Holly picked up my phone and started playing with it...when she was done she handed back to me. I go to unlock it and find out she had put a lock on my phone...

I was less than amused.

I made one attempt to unlock my phone, then shot her a look that let her know she needed to fix the problem she had created, which she did.

All day long, Holly kept calling me, only to get the voicemail I had left on my old Sprint phone. Finally, after church today, she tried and my iPhone rang :)

My number is still the same, so give me a call :P

books

2009-02-04T21:23:00.002-06:00

When I was a kid, I used to consume books. I would read read read and then read some more, just because I loved it. I can't recall when that stopped for me, but it did.

I started reading for information more than pleasure, and once I got hooked on the internet, books were a thing of the past.

I found myself reading online, staring at a monitor, scrolling down news articles, then closing the tab and looking for my next information fix.

I was talking about this with Holly, and she strongly encouraged me to read for fun again. As luck would have it, she has all the Harry Potter books, and I had been wanting to read them.

Well, I'm now took books down and well into the third. My goal is to have all seven knocked out before the next movie hits theaters this summer.

4 years

2009-02-02T18:16:00.002-06:00

Holly and I celebrated 4 years together this past Friday night. We had made plans to go to Friday's at the Ballpark for dinner and then attend a going away party for a friend after that.

As I was wrapping up my day at work, I was thinking about what to get Holly as a gift. Before Christmas she had mentioned she wouldn't mind an iPod, so on my way home from work, I stopped at Best Buy and bought her a 120 gigabyte iPod classic in silver. I them placed said iPod in my glovebox for later giving.

Get home, freshen up, head over to Holly's to pick her up for dinner. As we make our way up 43rd street through West Milwaukee, I ask her to fetch something for my out of my glovebox. She opens the glovebox and I tell her it's right on top, since there's no light in the glovebox. She pulls the iPod out and I ask her to "unwrap it", as it was still in the bag from the store. She removes the bag and sees she's got an iPod and is slightly stunned by it all.

We park at Friday's and head inside to get a table. There's a bit of a wait, so we get an electric coaster and head to the waiting area to sit while we wait for a table. Holly asks me if I'd like my gift now, or during dinner. Now works. She turns to open her purse and says "I wasn't sure which you wanted, so I hope this helps."

Huh?

She hands me a 4" square card with an iPhone on the front. Still not putting 2 and 2 together, I open the card. Inside is a gift card for roughly half the price of an 8 gig iPhone...

I am stunned...I had no idea she was getting me half an iPhone.

Dinner was great as was the company we met up with afterward.

I have the most amazing woman in the world, an in about 6 months, she'll be my wife.

end of the week

2009-01-23T21:29:00.002-06:00

Interesting day today.

Work actually went by pretty quick, especially for a Friday. With everything slowing down lately, I tend to have gaps of a couple hours between customers and sometimes even phone calls.

The fun began around 3:30pm. Customer comes in to pick up an order and we start talking shop and what not. Then another guy showed up a few minutes later, followed by guys 3 & 4.

Guy 2 was in and out. Guy 1 worked with guy 3, so they were talking about work stuff while I took care of guy 4.

Guy 4 heads out and I start taking care of Guy 3, who has a couple of lists. Get him taken care of, staying over about 40 minutes by the time I pulled his orders and did my end of day stuff. I don't mind actually...Holly has a girls' night and I've got nothing on my agenda.

On the way home, get my oil changed, then get home. Lemon pepper chicken and broccoli for dinner. Listen to the Bucks game while I work on my file server, then I pop in Iron Man.

A little Bailey's to cap off the night and just relaxin'.

grace vs. tolerance

2009-01-16T10:59:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking alot lately about the difference between grace and tolerance.

To tolerate someone, to me at least, sound like you are "putting up with them," as though you merely deal with someone (or the trait the bugs you) as a nuisance.

Tolerant adv 1: inclined to tolerate ; especially : marked by forbearance or endurance <tolerant parents> tolerant of religious differences>2: exhibiting tolerance (as for a drug or an environmental factor)

Grace, on the other hand, is not merely "putting up with someone" but loving someone in spite of them self, just as God loves us.

Grace noun 1 a: unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b: a virtue coming from God c: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace 2 a: approval , favor graces> barchaic : mercy , pardon c: a special favor : privilege grace, shall rule his heritage — Rudyard Kipling> d: disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency e: a temporary exemption : reprieve

Unmerited, that's how grace is given, for no other reason to BE GIVEN.

Certain humanist groups feels they should be tolerated by those who disagree with them...they demand merit.

We, who have no merit, are given grace by the One who loves us. Tolerance is a cheap imitation of grace and will never take the place of grace.

Batton down the hatches!!

2008-12-18T13:38:00.003-06:00

OK, so Wisconsin is due to get 6-12 inches of snow in what could be a pretty solid winter storm.

so what's the problem?

Nothing that I see, I mean, I live in Wisconsin and I expect snow in the wintertime. That means I need to make some adjustments to how I do things.

Snow makes travel interesting, so I add time to get to my destination. I start my car and give it a few minutes to warm up, not so much for me, but so that the oil has a chance to get out of the pan and lubricate my engine before I get up to speed.

I'm aware that traction isn't optimal, so I add extra distance between myself and the vehicle in front of me, watching my mirror and hoping the guy behind me is doing the same.

I'm aware that it's cold out, so I dress accordingly: heavy coat, gloves, hat if necessary, and boots. I keep a change of clothes at work in case I somehow fall and get dirty or wet.

I turn my headlights on whenever I'm using my wipers. I flash my lights at those who don't. I tend to have a problem seeing gray cars at twilight while there's a light snow falling; they may as well have a Romulan cloaking device on them.

I don't freak out when I hear that there's a "large" amount of snow coming, no matter what the weatherman/woman is telling me. I don't run to the store to stock up on supplies because I don't need to horde anything; I have enough in my cupboards to sustain me the 24-48 hours it may be in the event of a snowpocalypse.

I enjoy the snow; I love the quietness, even in the big city, of a scene wrapped in freshly fallen snow.

2008-12-17T21:26:00.002-06:00

I took some time tonight to do what I'm always saying I'm gonna do....contacting old friends. Holly has heard me time and time again say "I should call that person..."

So, I went through my friends on Facebook and wrote a quick note to several friends I hadn't heard from or seen in years...

new picture of me

2008-12-15T15:00:00.003-06:00

When I mentioned I was growing a beard, one of my followers asked if I would post a pic.

yeah, it's wintertime

2008-12-10T17:55:00.002-06:00

well, we have some snow and cold, so I'd say winter is here.

Work moves on: some guys are busy, but most are slower this time of year. Not a big surprise to me, since my dad was a carpenter for several years and was often laid off in the winter.

I'm growing a beard. I think Holly likes it, but I'll ask her to be sure. Probably just a winter thing, but I've given it about three weeks so far, only shaving my neck to trim it up. I think it's coming in pretty good and it doesn't itch so much anymore. I'll post a picture in another week or so.

Christmas plans have been mostly made, so more travel is in order.

Rod Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois, was charged yesterday with a couple counts of corruption for trying shake some people in non-government positions down. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Youtube virus outbreak

2008-12-02T18:21:00.003-06:00

Apparently, there's a virus going around that is spread through Youtube videos, which I've embedded on my site in the past.

Please, update both your antivirus software AND Windows.

Download this program to clean out your temporary files, which is where this virus lurks.

Any questions, drop me a line.

of Turkey and White Death

2008-12-01T14:31:00.002-06:00

Short Holiday weekend.

Holly had to work Friday, so we spent Thursday with her family at her aunt and uncle's house. Lots of food and football and family.

Friday I had a computer client, then that evening was a going away party for a friend of mine.

Saturday Holly and I headed south to my mom's house around 8. We rolled in around noon, they headed over to my grandparents' house to catch up with them.

Back to Mom's house to veg out and get ready for dinner. Mom had already decided she wasn't cooking so we ordered pizza, which was fine with me. My sister and family was also there, so we got to see my nieces and nephew.

After dinner, we just sat and talked and hung out. Holly got to play with my nephew's new Nerf chain gun. Twenty five rounds of Nerf goodness can be fire from the thing.

At the end of the night, Holly and I made our way over to my other grandparents' house to stay the night. My sister and the kids were staying at Mom's, and we didn't want to overcrowd the house.

Chatted with my grandparents for an hour or so, then headed to bed. Up in the morning to see the glorious snow already falling. My stepmom called and said she and Dad wouldn't be over due to the weather. Problem is, she was bring the bulk of the food for that day. Grandma rolled out plan B and we had plenty to eat between the pork roast, the ham and the two casseroles my sister had prepared.

Holly and I started our return north at halftime of the Packer game. The weather wasn't too bad, just some limited visibility. The only real problem we had was traffic around Rockford, and it took us 90 minutes to go 30 miles.

The only real weather problem was about 30 miles out of Milwaukee on I-43, where the snow was sticking to the freeway.

I dropped Holly off at home, sat for a bit, then headed to the store to get fixin's for lunch this week. Watched some of the Bears-Vikings game, then headed to bed.

Short weekend, but sometimes, that's all you get.

Vegetable beef stew

2008-11-23T21:06:00.002-06:00

1# Stew meat (I cheated and bought chop suey meat so I didn't have to cut it down)

1 can each:
Sliced carrots
Sliced potatos
Whole kernel corn
Peas

1 47 oz can Tomato Juice.

Brown stew meat, seasoning to taste (I used Lawry's seasoned salt)

Pour Tomato Juice into crock pot

Add vegetables

When meat is browned, drain and add to crock pot.

Set timer to desired time, stirring occasionally.

When done, dish out and eat!

This is one of my favorites from when I was a kid.

The White Death comes for us all.

2008-11-17T21:42:00.001-06:00

OK people...we live in Wisconsin....that white stuff from the sky...that's called SNOW. When you see SNOW, SLOW DOWN!!!

You're welcome.

Wedding plans

2008-11-16T22:07:00.002-06:00

As of right now, Holly and I have a guest list assembled. We're having the wedding at the church we go to, and doing the reception in two parts: cake and punch after the ceremony, and then dinner with family and the bridal party.

Not much else to report at this time. We're looking for a hall for the family dinner, and a photographer as well. We do have a date picked, August 1, 2009.

We're trying to keep costs down, so we're going to be creative along the way. I don't think we've declared a budget officially, but I have an idea of how much we can comfortably afford.

transitioning to a Mac

2008-11-05T14:30:00.002-06:00

Yes, I've had a Mac before, but now I'm making the transition to a Mac as my day to day system.

Last Tuesday, my dell laptop died on me, or at least, started to. I did all the usual hardware troubleshooting and determined that the motherboard was failing. Start poking around on Craigslist here in Milwaukee and find a few good laptops for around $400. Spied a couple of Apple Powerbooks in that price range and started playing email tag.

I scored a 12" powerbook, 1.5 ghz for $415 with all the original discs and literature. I like the size and it's loaded out...dvd burner, bluetooth, etc.

I love the size to horsepower ratio. In a PC notebook, you generally don't get this kind of performance in a small notebook.

For the most part, the change wasn't too hard, as I've got Mac experience. My biggest thing is crossover with my Vista Media Center. If I want to drag a show I've recorded off of it and play it on my Powerbook, can I? For the most part, not yet. I'll keep looking for a solution.

I'm putting a call out to my current Mac-owning friends....what apps are you using?

My Fellow Americans

2008-11-04T09:50:00.003-06:00

Make sure you go vote today...no matter who you vote for, exercise your civic duty.

Three Bean Chili

2008-10-26T22:47:00.002-05:00

1 lb ground beef
1 47oz. can tomato juice
1 can chili beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 pack chili seasoning
chili powder (optional)

Brown ground beef, add chili seasoning mix, add chili powder if desired.

Pour tomato juice in crock pot, add beans.

Add seasoned beef to crock pot, cover, set time.

When done, dish out or pout into containers for later.

home on a Saturday night

2008-10-25T22:35:00.002-05:00

Sitting at home on a Saturday night. Holly's sick, so I stopped over after taking care of a client. In the end I decided it was better to let her rest and I came home.

We've started the wedding plans, mostly the guest list. Who to invite, not to invite, who will we invite that won't show up.....barrels of monkeys.

Not much else going on. Watching the World Series and I'll be over at Holly's folks tomorrow watching the race since there's no Packer football.

How Chad met Holly

2008-10-12T17:19:00.003-05:00

January 29th, 2005

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Chad was invited to a dance hosted by Wisconsin Lutheran College taking place at the Milwaukee Art Museum by a friend, Emily, who attended WLC. He was leery about going, as he was well beyond college age. Another friend, Dawn, pleaded with him to go, and to bring his roommate Ben so she'd have someone at the dance she knew.

Holly also attended WLC, and was a friend of Emily's, and was going to the dance.

Dinner plans were made for Genesis on South Highway 100, but Genesis was full and had a long wait, so dinner shifted to Applebee's on Highway 100, near the Home Depot.

Emily had arranged for Dawn and Holly to have rent-a-dates, but the boys were more interested in drinking than the girls.

When it came time to sit down at the restaurant, Holly, Emily, another friend, her fiance and the rent-a-dates were seated at one table, while Chad, Ben and Dawn were seated across the aisle. This table was deemed "The Leper Table" by Chad.

Shortly after dinner was served, Chad quietly asked Dawn if the Three (Chad, roommate and Dawn) could disappear and not be noticed. Dawn said no, so the Three were committed to the dance.

Holly, Emily and Dawn got into Holly's car, and Chad and Ben got into the Ben's car; the race was on. There was spirited driving from the restaurant to the parking deck next to the Art Museum.

Once inside the dance, the group moved onto the dance floor. Soon, however, the songs became slower, and Chad looked for one of the girls to dance with. Holly was nowhere to be found, and it seemed Emily and Dawn weren't interested in dancing with Chad.

Chad took a lap through the museum to wonder how long this hell would last. Only part of the museum was open, so the lap didn't last long. He made his way back to the party and proceeded to lean against a support beam and sulk.

Holly, wearing a magnificent red dress, approached Chad and asked "What's your deal?" (No...really, she did). Chad replied that he wasn't having any fun. Holly answered that they'd have to change that.

At some point, the group ended up on the dance floor together again. The music was fast and everyone was having some fun. Chad knew he had to take a chance; he took Holly's hand and pulled her to him so they were dancing close together.

When the music slowed again, Holly went to find a seat and catch her breath. Chad went to grab Holly something to drink. She thanked him and downed the soda.

Holly was still warm, so Chad suggested stepping outside to cool off. Holly had kicked off her shoes early in the evening, so Chad went to fetch them for her. They got their coats, and took the elevator up to the catwalk that leads across Lake Drive.

They walked across the catwalk, then past the War Memorial, and toward Veterans Park. Holly asked Chad questions about himself, and Chad was more than happy to answer and tell stories as they strolled down the lakefront.

At some pointed they turned to head back to the dance to rejoin their friends. As they crossed the catwalk, Chad knew that he had to make a move. As they approached the elevator, he asked Holly for her number. Holly smiled and gladly gave Chad her number.

As they rode down the elevator, they were spotted by their friends. Emily rushed for the elevator door, eyes wide, wondering why Holly no longer had lipstick on. Chad got looks from both Dawn and Ben, but didn't care. The group split up to head home.

Dawn and Emily already had plans to come over to Chad and Ben's, while Holly had to head home to be up for church in the morning.

When Chad got home, he called Holly and left her a voicemail stating that he had a great time in spite of himself, and was looking forward to seeing her again.

When Dawn and Emily arrived at the boy's place, they began interrogating Chad, as Holly seemed to be quite enamored with Chad on the drive home. Chad asked the girls if they had invited Holly to Bible study at his church Sunday night. They replied that they had, but Holly wanted a more personal invite from Chad. Chad, in his true bold self, then pulled out his cell phone and called Holly a second time so he could invite her to Bible study.

This was the beginning of something magical to come.

just because this is cool....

2008-10-01T20:46:00.001-05:00

surprise!!

2008-09-09T11:50:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Holly informs me that she has a surprise for me on September 4th, and to make sure I don't schedule anything. That's a Thursday, which is usually Dinner and Laundry. My directions are simple...come over to her place as soon as possible after work.

Wouldn't you know, Thursday was busy at the close of business, so I get out of work later than usual. It was raining, so I really couldn't speed with confidence.

We had dinner with her folks before heading out. As we drive, I start to piece together where I think were going, but don't say anything about it, just carrying on conversation.

Holly had gotten tickets to the Brewers game that night. Why? I had been wanting to go to a game, but didn't want to spend the money I've been saving for her ring. Thursday night was her treat. We sat in the bleachers, ate nachos and watched baseball.

I have the most amazing woman on the planet for a girlfriend.

'nuff said.

what really matters

2008-09-04T08:49:00.003-05:00

This has been a rather trying week for me. I was sick through the holiday weekend, and that threw a wrench in alot of plans.

Holly and I were going to head down to her sister's place for the weekend to hang out, and on the way down, stop by the jewelry store and pick up her engagement ring.

I know, tradition says that I'm supposed to buy it without her knowing, so that I can surprise her with it.

you know what Tradition...up yours.

When we found The Ring back in March, I knew what I was up against. I now had a price tag as my goal. The main thing I have going against me is my credit....it is, shall we say, less than exemplary. Holly, however, had credit enough, but not enough job to back it up. So, with my job and her credit, we can do this.

Well, since I couldn't go along Saturday, The Ring was put on hold. I talked with the sales rep at the store, and I had to at least put something down so that The Ring didn't disappear.

Tuesday, I get off work at 4:30, run to a local branch of my bank, take out some funds, and head down to Schaumburg, IL. I'm there before 7, make my down payment to put The Ring, then head back to Milwaukee.

Holly had called me during the day, and asked if I would find her a laptop for school, so I had a couple of leads I wanted to discuss with her and her folks. I was back in Milwaukee at 8:45pm, and we talked about what her system needs were, and I had a lead on a great laptop for that. Holly and I were talking and the subject of The Ring, and how soon to acquire it. I explained my plan, and to be honest, she wasn't thrilled with what I had in mind. The conversation ended quickly, as she had to get back to her homework, and I was tired and needed to head home.

I was upset. I had let Holly down, again; she was upset with me, that I could see; I was mad at myself for not having better discipline with my money. She called me a little later on and I didn't answer, so she shot me a text basically saying "You're mad at me, aren't you" I replied that I was mad, I just wasn't sure at who.

I had a hard time sleeping Tuesday night. Holly and I were planning to meet someone about a laptop, and I wasn't about to let hurt feelings get in the way. Holly was still upset as well.

The plan was to meet up with the laptop guy at 6:30 Wednesday night, so I was going to pick Holly up at 6 to go meet the guy. When I got there, I took her in my arms and told her that I loved her, and that my love for her hadn't wavered in spite of what had been said. I mean that. I do some pretty stupid stuff, and she stands by my side, helping me up off the ground, so why wouldn't I love her?

We get her the laptop, and I get it all set up. Love covers a multitude of sins, and when I left for home last night, we'd moved on past Tuesday night's conversation.

Bottom line: I love Holly, and would go to the ends of the earth for her. That's what really matters to me.

final thoughts from the weekend

2008-09-01T21:23:00.003-05:00

Well, I survived.

This limited diet crap is for the birds.

I woke up this morning and felt great, but knew I shouldn't push my luck, so I kept to the diet.

To torture myself, I grilled at a friend's party. I was in charge of the hot dogs and brats. How's that for willpower? Making sure the meat was taken care without partaking....yeah..that sucked.

Holly has commanded that I take tomorrow easy, so I will.

I'm dying for a cheeseburger...or biscuits and gravy....

an update

2008-08-31T21:00:00.002-05:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate being alone?

I really do.

I managed to take some food today and it stayed down, then went for a walk around the block, just to get out of my apartment for a little bit.

Then I decided to go farther...I got in my car and went for a ride. I promised myself that if at anytime the lightheadedness returned that I would come straight home.

I took a leisurely cruise down Bluemound til it merged with Wisconsin, then the zigzag by the War Memorial Museum down to the lakefront, where the Big Stage was being taken down.

Up the lakefront to Lake Park, then back down, to Wisconsin, Bluemound and then finally home.

It felt good to get out. I wanted to see the Harley's on Friday night, but didn't get a chance. There are still quite a few folks cruising around at the end of the weekend. Yes, most have gone home, but some are still here, taking in the last bits of the celebration.

bleah

2008-08-31T10:30:00.002-05:00

so, my weekend got shot to hell Thursday night. It appears that I have viral gastritis...how I got it I have no idea.

I was at Holly's folk's house for the usual Thursday night, dinner and laundry and everything was going as usual. During the Packer game, I went to use the bathroom, and while in process, I had to brace myself, as I felt lightheaded.

I made it back to the couch and laid down. I felt disoriented. When my laundry was done, I collected it and got ready to head home.

At some point in the night, I woke up and knew I had to get to the bathroom. Nothing says fun at 3 am like hovering over the toilet.

At 6am I called into work, unable to stand for more than a minute or two. When I woke back up, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor, since I knew this was something I wanted checked out.

Basically, viral gastriris. I'm limited to a diet of bananas, rice, apple sauce, and toast, or BRAT. No spicy food, no greasy food, no dairy.

I spent Friday night at Holly's and slept rather well. After I woke up, the dizzyness returned. I decided that Holly should at least have some fun this weekend, so I asked her to take me back to my place so she could go down to her sister's as we had planned.

I spent Saturday baseball on Fox, college football on ABC and the Brewers game on a local station.

Around 10pm, I hovered again.

I slept ok through the night....waking around 3 am for a time, and then was up around 8:30.

I'm attempting to eat a fried egg...cooked all the way thru, cuz I'm craving solid food.

The Brewers game is on the radio in a few minutes, and the race is on tonight....we'll see what happens I guess....

2008-08-25T12:01:00.002-05:00

Spent a fun day yesterday with Holly doing nothing but hanging out together. Took a walk at Lake Park, drove down to the airport and watched planes take off and land, made an ice cream run.

Now, it's back to work, then off for the Labor Day weekend to Illinois. That's right, I'm getting out of town for the 105th...well, Friday I'll take it in.

867-5309

2008-08-17T23:01:00.003-05:00

I'm thinking about changing cell phone providers when my current contract is up in February.

I'm tempted to go with AT&T, as they have some kind of magical phone.

I could stay with Sprint, and either go with their version of the magical phone, or something slightly less magical.

I'm looking for something with better input for calendar and text....basically, a fully keyboard. My Razr doesn't cut it for more than quick texts.

Going to AT&T would make it easier to add Holly's phone to a family plan as needed.

Thoughts?

everybody's Irish

2008-08-17T22:57:00.002-05:00

So, for a little while on Sunday, everybody on the Summerfest grounds was Irish. This weekend was Irish Fest. Lots of green, lots of Guiness, and lots of fun.

Holly tends to buy me something very cool when we go; a couple of years ago it was an NYPD tribute jersey that was worn by an Irish football team. This year it was the Irish national team's football jersey.

Saturday, Holly and I attended a wedding of a good friend of ours. Makes for a long day when the wedding is at 1, and the reception is at 5. I like the fast that Milwaukee isn't so big that we couldn't come back to my place between rounds and relax for a bit.

priceless

2008-08-12T15:21:00.007-05:00

Dinner at Saz's: $42

Gas to drive from Milwaukee to Green Bay and back: $30

Ice cream in Green Bay: $10

Spending a Saturday night in Green Bay just because we could: PRICELESS

an absolutely fabulous day

2008-08-02T16:10:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting outside on the patio at Holly's folks's house, enjoying the awesome weather. The sun is out, there's a nice breeze, and there's a squirrell under the bird feeder feasting on leftovers. Holly and I went down to Whitnall park and picniced today, then returned home to visit with her parents.

It's days like this that refresh my soul and allow to me to stand (or sit) in the wonder of God and His creation.

on moving...

2008-07-22T10:33:00.002-05:00

So I've decided to stay where I am.

I didn't feel that the modest financial gain would benefit me being so far from my friends and all that I do.

As a friend commented, all it takes is one or two unplanned trips to Milwaukee to undo everything.

I slept amazingly well last night, which tells me that I made the right call. I wasn't so anxious about my decision that I tossed and turned as I had in previous nights.

Now, who has a broken computer for me to fix? ;)

thoughts from Romans 1:1-17

2008-07-21T22:25:00.005-05:00

Some thoughts as I read thru Romans 1 tonight. My thoughts will be in bold, emphasis in italics in the passage is mine.

Romans 1

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit^[a] of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God^[b] by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

In his greeting to the Roman Christians, Paul re-enforces who Christ is, both in his human heritage (v3), and his Heavenly heritage (v4).

7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul's Longing to Visit Rome

8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

11I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—

When was the last time we were eager to go to church and see other believers?

12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.

When was the last time we were encouraged by another's faith?

13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.

Paul had a willing and receptive audience in Rome. There were some Christians already there, but for the most part, Rome was ripe for the new idea that the Gospel presented.

16I am not ashamed of the gospel,

Are WE ashamed of the Gospel? Is Jesus an afterthought to our friends and co-workers?

because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,^[c] just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."^[d]

^{Salvation for everyone...no matter what he or she has done. No sin too small, or too big, for God to overlook. No sin too small, or too big, for Christ to forgive.}

the cost of living

2008-07-17T08:21:00.004-05:00

I've recently been apartment hunting to try to lower my expenses. Mind you, my current apartment runs me $465 a month for my studio, storage in the basement and a parking spot and includes heat and water; factor in electric, total of $500.

Why would I move?

To save money.

My commute to work is 50 round trip, 5 days a week. 250 miles, almost all highway.

My car gets better than 30 miles per gallon, so just on driving to work alone, per month, I spend $133 (figured at $4 a gallon/30 MPG).

I've got a lead on a place in Oconomowoc, 4 miles from work. Eight miles a day round trip. Forty miles a week. $585 a month, heat AND electric included.

So what's the problem?

I currently live 3 miles away from my girlfriend. This is the woman I want to marry. Currently, our schedules only allow us to see each other a couple of times a week, Thursdays for laundry at her folk's house, and a couple of days during the weekend.

Now it's a scheduling issue, but if I move 30 west, it's a logistics issue.

Would I be saving enough money to make it all work out?

aftermath of the weekend

2008-07-07T09:52:00.002-05:00

Hope you had a good holiday weekend...here's how mine went:

worked on the 3rd, over to Holly's for dinner, at which she and I decided to go to the fireworks on the lakefront. We tried a new location this year: the South side. The booms were a little late, but otherwise it went well. We were home in 20 minutes after the fireworks done.

For the 4th, picked up my buddy Curtis, and we joined Holly's Dad at the Holz Chevrolet car show. Nine-hundred cars, mostly classic muscle and some antique. We were able to case the grounds in about 2 hours.

Drop off Curtis at his place, then back to my place to pick up the fixin's for taco salad. Make that over at Holly's house for the get together that afternoon. It was a hit :P

Saturday I had a client in the morning, then bummed around my apartment. Went over to a friends house to watch the race from Daytona, then home.

Spent Sunday with Holly, just hanging out. After church, we had lunch at BW3's Mayfair, then listed to the rest of the ballgame at my place. Made a quick custard run, then went for a ride around town. Stopped to see some friends over in Oak Creek, then home to get ready for the work week.

Not entirely interesting, but then, if it was all interesting, how would we appreciate the differences??

waiting vs. anticipating

2008-07-03T11:56:00.003-05:00

Holly and I were out for a walk Monday night, and we were talking about things pertaining to our church. I mentioned that I didn't feel like I was waiting for something, but that I am anticipating something.

She asked me to explain the difference.

Waiting....merely passing time until the next event, like at the doctors office; you wait to see the doctor.

Anticipating...expecting something to happen...like Christmas. You don't wait for Christmas, you anticipate it.

I'll be honest, I don't know what I'm anticipating, but I think it's gonna be cool.

racecars

2008-06-24T14:09:00.003-05:00

As you may or may not know, dear reader, I'm a Nascar fan. I also happen to live across the street from the legendary Milwaukee Mile. This past weekend, the Craftsman truck series and the Nationwide series were in town.

Johnny Benson, winner of the Truck race on Friday night.

When I go to the track, I take my scanner. This allows me to listen in on radio communication between drivers, and crew chiefs, Nascar officials and track officials. I use noise cancelling headphones to save my hearing.

Carl Edwards. Flew in from California to run the event, then flew back to run the Sprint Cup race on Sunday.

Time to change the tires and put in some gas.

Under caution. Scott Wimmer, from Wisconsin, leads; Carl is second; Mike Bliss is third.

I had a great time both night. Friday got interesting as they cleared the bleachers due to lightning, but finished the race after the threat was gone.

detours and such

2008-06-18T22:46:00.001-05:00

Check out my other blog for pics of the floodwater along I-94 between Milwaukee and Madison

http://thechadhasspoken.blogspot.com

feeling nostalgic

2008-06-18T10:23:00.003-05:00

For some reason today, I missed my old home in Central Illinois. Maybe, just maybe it's that tomorrow, June 19th, marks 9 years in Milwaukee. Nine years since I moved out of my mom's house to the Big City to start new.

I remember the radio station I used to listen to, WWCT, or Rock 106 as it was known. Great morning show to listen to while I drove to school, great rock on the air. I had a couple classes with one of the DJs, and got to know him fairly well.

I remember 4th of July on the Riverfront in Peoria. Fireworks set to music by another station in town. Place would be packed.

Late night movies at the Willow Knolls 14.

Hanging out at the riverfront in Pekin, under the bridge with our musclecars.

Burgers at Schooner's in Morton.

Torpedo's at La Gondola in Pekin.

99 cent gas.

Monday nights at Brown's house.

how high's the water, mama?

2008-06-13T12:44:00.001-05:00

oh Faramir, how you have fallen

2008-06-09T13:14:00.004-05:00

when last we saw Faramir, he was in Middle Earth.

I guess he's fallen on hard times....I found him at Miller Park recently...

working for peanuts!

RIP Bo Diddley

2008-06-02T13:02:00.001-05:00

I love West Allis

2008-05-31T23:42:00.002-05:00

So, I drop Holly off at home around 10:45pm Saturday night after dinner with a friend. On my way home, I'm a few blocks away from my apartment when I see an Indy car turn right off of National onto 84th....an INDY car...

As soon as my light turned green, I followed it to Paulie's Pub. Race home, park my car and walk back to the bar to see what I have to do to get a ride...

I walk up, West Allis' finest are issuing a noise citation because one of the neighbors compained.

YOU LIVE NEXT TO A RACETRACK!!!

The racecar in question was the Jim Beam two seater, used for taking fans for rides around the racetracks the Indy car series is racing at. Paulie's Pub must have worked something out with Jim Beam. Funny thing is, the car had headlights, taillights, turn signals and an Indiana license plate...totally legal. Heck, the Harley's are waaaaay louder. Oh well...we laughed it off.

reflections on the weekend

2008-05-27T12:10:00.005-05:00

Holly and I drove down to Illinois to visit my family over the holiday weekend. We left Saturday around 9am and made it to my sister's house in Western Illinois about 2ish (271 miles). We then met up with some old friends of mine for dinner at their house around 4 (21 miles), back to my sisters around 10:30 (21 miles). Both Holly and I had a hard time sleeping, as there seemed to be alot of noises we weren't used to, like coyotes and clock radios and me snoring.

Sunday morning, we we're up early to head to church (32 miles). I have a friend from my high school days who is pastoring a new church plant on the riverfront in Peoria, and we also got to hook up with some other friends of mine, Cory and Vicky. After church, Holly and I we're invited over to Cory and Vicky's (7.4 miles) for lunch and a chance to talk and catch up.

After lunch, Holly and I headed back to my sister's house (40 miles) for my youngest nieces birthday party. After cake and pizza, we hang out for a bit to talk with my mom and stepdad. about 5:30, we leave to head to my dad's house (30 miles) to watch the Nascar race and hang out with my dad and stepmom.

Up Monday morning for breakfast, then off to my paternal grandparents (59 miles) to have lunch with them and catch up. My Dad's folks are 84, and living in their own house after taking a stab at assisted living. They didn't care for the assisted living deal, so they bought a house that has a handicapped accessible bathroom, as Granddad had a stroke about 5 years ago and has limited use of his left side.

Next stop: Maternal Grandparents (18.5 miles). No food here, just a chance to visit for a couple hours. After that, we head to my mom's (1 mile) for dinner. Mom went all out: meatload, peas, biscuits....so much good food. We sat for a while after dinner, during which I entered a slight food coma. Holly took the wheel when we left for the first leg home, aided by my GPS. We stopped in Rochelle Illinois to gas up and get beverages, and I took the wheel for the rest of the way home (250 miles). I dropped Holly off at her house about 1am, then made my way home.

I included the mileage because I wanted to show that "going home" is never a short hop, even once I get there. We did it on less than three tanks of gas, two energy drinks, 2 sprite zero's, 1 diet coke, and a bag of cheese curds.

Why do I make that effort? I am blessed at the age of 32 to have all four grandparents, and I love my family. It's worth the numb butt and gas money to see them when I have the chance.