Backflip

This past weekend I had the very enjoyable experience of watching Wicked the musical at the Schuster Center in Dayton. If you recall a post in December I was pretty underwhelmed by the the Broadway performance of a Broadway Holiday. And while I took Josh’s words to heart and decided to like Wicked no matter what I was still a bit worried it would not live up to my expectations.

However, the play met my expectations quite early in the night and then proceeded to blow up my expectation meter and go into the stratosphere. It was amazin’!

Before I get into why I greatly enjoyed the musical let me start off by telling you of my weekend and the events leading up to the big night. Friday was pretty typical at work and once I got home my roomate Dan helped me replace a headlight on my Mazda (driver side bulb burned out). I thought this was going to be a 5 min. project but it turned out to be more complicated than I had expected and turned into about 45 min. worth of tinkering. Thankfully Dan is very knowledgeable about cars so we were able to replace it and it’s working great.

That night I met some peeps at Sakai to eat some delicious sushi and they all wandered over to the house to play some Street Fighter IV and Castle Crashers on the XBox 360 (play and watch would be a more correct description). It was a great night. However I got a little carried away and didn’t end up going to sleep till around 2 a.m. Which is pretty late. I was also volunteering at Carillon Park on Sat. morning as an interpreter (tour guide) and I had to be there at 9 so this wasn’t the wisest of all decisions. Just to clarify, this was not a LARPing event as SOME people like to think.

This was realized pretty early on Saturday morning when I was 1/2 way to the Park (it’s located near downtown Dayton) and I realized I had forgotten my ticket to Wicked. Since I was planning on volunteering till 5, grabbing dinner at 6 and catching the show at 8 this was very problematic since I would have no time to run back up to Troy to get my ticket. So I turned around to pick up my ticket causing me to be late to the park. Thankfully the volunteer coordinators are not strict and since the park doesn’t officially open till 9:30 I still made it at a decent time.

Interpreting was great, the park has a ton of cool artifacts and buildings and it’s great taking groups through and talking about the history and people who put Dayton on the map. Most famous are the Wright Brothers and we actually have the original (not a replica) Wright Flyer III which was the first plane to be perfected by the Brothers. It’s pretty neat stuff.

After leaving the park I headed to Thai 9 to meet some friends from work for a delicious Thai meal. At this point I was a little worried my decision to stay up so late the night before would have a negative effect on the upcoming show. I had a mild headache and was feeling quite sleepy. However, after a tasty meal and a few Coke’s I was ready to go. We headed off to Wicked grabbing our seats mere moments before the awesomeness that is the show began.

Just being in the theatre caused great excitement and once the musical started I was completely hooked and greatly enjoyed the next 3 hours. The actors pulled the audience into their story and were amazing in their acting, singing and presentation. The special effects were way cool and flowed flawlessly. I won’t go into the story so as to not spoil it for anyone planning on seeing it but it was very witty, funny, epic and education all while being extremely enjoyable. I can’t quite describe how I felt, but I didn’t want the show to end and was actually ready to just campout in the theatre until the next show so I could watch it again. Unfortunately common sense prevailed on Saturday night and I ended up goin home and goin to bed.

I would highly recommend this musical to anyone so inclined to such things. It’s quite a show and one that won’t leave you disappointed.

Having seen a show that flows and fits I’m excited for Phantom of the Opera which hits sometime in the next few months. I think musicals are a form of storytelling that impacts me the most and it’s great to be caught up in the music and story. I know Wicked will be staying on my playlists for quite a while.

A lot has happened in the past month. As the title suggests I have joined a Dojo, bought an XBox 360 and installed a fin on my car.

Let’s start with the Dojo. It’s called the Gi Yu Dojo (http://www.giyudojo.com/index.html) and it is lead by Sandhu Sensei and has been a great experience for me. Not only do I get to learn sweet ninja moves (we study the Kobudo) but the ideals of the Dojo are on improving as a person and benefiting the community. Two activities that I greatly enjoy.

In the short month that I’ve studies there I have picked up one arching idea. It is to be aware. The word Zanshin describes it perfectly. Zanshin means maintaining a state of total awareness. Before you jump to conclusions let me first tell you I am terrible at this technique. The little time I’ve spent thinking about it has shown me how often I do not pay attention to what is going on around me. Whether it’s driving in the car, walking around the office, or just sitting in my home I am happily oblivious to events that are going on around me. So little by little I’m starting to pay attention to the world I live in, and it’s been very eye opening (get it?).

Not only am I realizing how much I miss by zoning out but I feel much more secure and competent since I know what is going on around me and can react in a proper manner. It’s a little thing, paying attention, but it can have vast benefits if taken seriously.

Onto the XBox 360. For those of you who do not know, it is Microsoft’s gaming console. It’s in direct competition with Nintendo and Sony’s offerings (such as the Wii and Play Station 3). The XBox decision was a long one one at which I did not arrive at easily. It was a tossup between buying a new gaming laptop, since my current one is 3 years old and can’t play my new games, or getting a dedicated gaming machine. After weighing the pros and cons, the prices, the expected benefits and bugging a bunch of my friends about their ideas I went with the XBox.

Having had the machine for a few weeks now I am still very happy with my purchase. It’s everything I expected and more. Games run flawlessly and the controller adds a new dimension to gaming that is more enjoyable (at the time) than a keyboard and mouse. Another tangible benefit is the XBox is a great party machine where multiple people can play at the same time in the same place. While my game selection is currently slim (LEGO Batman and Street Fighter 4), I plan on expanding it in the near future.

I plan on picking up Rock Band (3?) and I have my eye on a few other games that are good for groups. If you know me, you may be wondering how I play my XBox since I do not own a TV. This was factored into the decision and while a TV is necessary for most XBox players, I find the machine and games so intuitive that I don’t need one to play and enjoy it.

Heh heh. Ok, that was very untrue. What actually happened is that my roommate Dan picked up a TV from a friend at a great deal. I feel quite ridiculous talking about it since it’s quite a beast, 52″ HD rear projection screen behemoth that we stuck in the basement. It was way larger than the machine I was contemplating purchasing but I’m not complaining. We have no plans to get cable so the screen is being used for gaming and movies (which the XBox can play).

So far it’s working out great and it has completely changed the space in our basement, making it a great hangout place.

Boy, I sure write a bunch once I get goin.

Last topic, a fin for my car (Mazda 3). That’s right. I am the proud owner of an AquaCar - Cars that can navigate underwater. While that would be quite interesting I will say I have very little use for an AquaCar (if they exist) and my fin is much more practical. It acts as a radio antenna. It replaced my tail antenna on my car and looks quite spiffy. My dad and brother helped install it last night and it’s stayed on all day (even with the snow) so I hope it stays that way. I haven’t taken any pics yet but will try to post some once I do.

Besides that, life is just peachy. Can’t wait to see what the future has in store.

I did this last year and thought it would be a good time to put down a quick year in review. I am not one to look too closely at the past. But it is nice to take a few minutes to reflect on what took place last year. Looks like it was a good year.

This list is by no means all inclusive, included are events/things that stood out from my normal tasks in life. Here goes in no particular order:

• Hong Kong with Jordan to see Whitney
• New Bike (thanks Jordan)
• Michigan Bike Trip
• Detroit with the family
• Boy Scout Cub Master
• Settlers of Catan (thanks Glenn)
• Moving Lis and Brian since a tree fell on their house (thanks Dan and Glenn)
• House sitting for numerous peeps
• Father/Son Campout at Hueston Woods
• Family Camp 2009 at Camp Graham
• Quitting WoW (still goin strong)
• Roombas!
• IIBA Member
• Hospice of Dayton (consulting)
• Guitar playing
• Started wearing jeans again (yeah, weird)
• Blackberry (woohoo!)
• Teradata (consulting)
• Annual Fall Festival
• Rimz + Wheels
• WF1 (consulting)
• Scruff’s Graduation
• Sogeti Soccer
• AO Smith (consulting)
• Kings Island x 2 (Greg, Nate and Glenn + Sogeti)

Think that about sums it up. It was a good year. Looking forward to 2010, I’m gonna keep my same resolution as last year. That is to improve myself as a person, or level up if you will. I won’t get into any details at this time, still working on some focus areas to devote my energy. But they may include martial arts and guitar lessons. We shall see.

This past weekend I attended a Broadway production at the Victoria Theatre with some friends from work. It was called Broadway Holiday and it was enjoyable. A handful of famous Broadway singers sang a smorgasborg of Holiday and Broadway music (as the title suggests). The performance was good but I was a bit disappointed. This is due to a few reasons.

First off, my expectations for the show were a bit high. I went in expecting to be awed and wowed. And while there were one or two moments during the show that I was amazed it was not nearly as impressive as I was hoping. Don’t get me wrong, the singing was great and the performers did a good job of entertaining the audience. However, it seemed to me that they weren’t trying very hard.

This brings me to my second point, effort. The performers were good at what they were doing. Heck, they mentioned they did the show in over 100 cities this year alone so I’m sure they could perform with their eyes closed. However, the performance was missing that special something that comes with putting forth all ones effort. It was missing a life or realism that usually draws in an audience. It seemed like they were just performing their jobs and reciting an act.

As a comparison, a few months ago I went to a Muse Machine performance a few months ago and was blown away and astonished at the show. The Muse Machine is composed of High School and College age kids from the Dayton area. For the show they put on a variety of musical numbers just as in the Broadway Holiday show. However, the performers from Muse were much more into their songs and were really achieving and overcoming their fears by performing in such a venue. It was exhilarating and very enjoyable to partake in such a triumph.

I will admit, my expectations for the Muse Machine performance were very low. I didn’t expect the level of singing and professionalism I saw in the performance. So this definitely played a roll in me enjoying the show.

But going back to the point of effort. It is amazing to me that such famous Broadway performers can get away with slacking at their jobs. They are professional entertainers at the top level of the business. I expect more from them.

Looking to the future, I am going to see Phantom of the Opera and Wicked as well as a handful of other performances this year and I’m a bit anxious about the experience. Ever since I was little I have been listening to music from Phantom since my parents went to a show and bought a CD. I love the music and what pieces of the story I have been able to piece together.

I fear my expectations for the live performance will be through the roof. And expectations are a tricky beast. How can one diminish or curb such thoughts? I have planned on not listening to the Phantom recording in the 2 months leading up to the live performance in hopes that I will not compare the two. This seems an effort in futility but I can’t think of what else to do.

I want to enjoy the show and the performance by the actors. But if it doesn’t live up to my expectations I know I will be dissatisfied. So what to do?

My last post dates sometime back in October. That was almost 2 months ago. And while some of you were probably hoping this blog would die, it has survived.

Let’s see, what have I been up to? October was an interesting month. I discovered that I’m not ready for a serious romantic commitment. It turns out that I’m enjoying my life of freedom and carefreeness and I don’t want that to change anytime soon. I’m sure I’ll change someday and start looking for a mate, but until then, I’m gonna enjoy the time right now and make the most of it.

I got a long term gig at one of my old clients in Dayton. Started working for WorkflowOne again and it’s going very well. It’s my longest full time engagement yet and I’m about two months in. So far all is just dandy.

I turned 25 a bit ago, people seem to make a big deal about 25 since it’s a quarter of a century. But I could care less what number it is, time is inevitable and worrying about how old I am or will be or whatnot seems like a big waste of time.

Other interesting tidbits from the past 2 months include a discovery that Photo Hunt is super addicting and very fun when played with a group of friends. Dressing up for Halloween is pretty fun, especially at work (see pic below).

Of note in the pic are my 5 finger shoes which I was able to wear to work that day. Woo!

I also attended a few other Halloween parties and dressed up as a Viking again and then the Dark Jedi for a second time (different group of peeps so it was fine).

November went well. Thanksgiving break was great. Lots o’ peeps were in town (Laura, Amy B, Amy L, Ben, Whitney, etc) so it was awesome to see and hang out with everyone. It’s difficult for me to keep ties on people who are away because I am lazy and don’t like to spend the effort. But it’s so nice to see and catch up with peeps that I really need to start making an effort so that so much time doesn’t pass in between communications.

Got to hang out with my family over break as well which was great. My sister’s hubby was visiting his family in New Jersey (perhaps?) so it was just my sister, brother and parents at the t-giving table which was fun. We played Carcassonne before dinner and my mother ended up winning which was a surprise. I came in second using a very strange strategy which was pretty neat.

So that’s what I’ve been up to the past few weeks. And that brings me to my topic at hand, consumerism. For some reason (more on this later) I went out and purchased some new rims and tires for my car. They are pretty awesome, but it’s very strange that I would make such a purchase since when I bought my car I purposefully didn’t get one with automatic windows or locks or anything “flashy”. But then BAM I bought some sweet rims.

I really need to get some new pics because the new rims + tires are actually 17″ while the old ones are 16″ but the pictures kinda mess that up. But until then, just know that the new rims are pretty cool.

But why? You may ask. And it’s a good, valid question. One to which I don’t have a solid answer. This is what happened. My mechanic told me I needed new tires. So I decided to get some. One of my friends named Scruff told me about a deal his Uncle could get me if I purchased some tires and rims at the same time. So then I had it in my mind that I was gonna get new rims and tires.

Well Scruff’s Uncle changed jobs (it usually takes me a long time to do anything of this manner) and so I didn’t really take that route but I still had in my mind that I was going to get rims and wheels. So one Saturday morning I just went to Tire Discounters and asked for some rims and tires and that’s what I got. The real kicker is I ended up spending more money than I planned. I had the money but I spent more than I expected. While I’m not mad or unhappy with my decision it just seems weird that I’d spend such money on something that was just an idea (not something I really wanted or was seeking to get).

Afterwards in telling people about it I became confused because it was strange that I would make such a purchase. I had the money and had in my mind that I would get some so I did. Which brings me once again to the topic, consumerism. Purchasing items that are completely unnecessary and are not needs but are purchased because they are wants (or in my case ideas).

It is such a strange behavior, especially when coupled with situations where the person making the purchase doesn’t have the money for the item they are purchasing. While I can’t say I understand this phenomena I can definitely say I’ve been a contributor to it.

Usually I’m pretty careful about making large purchases and think about them and analyse them and make sure I’m gonna like what I get. For example, I’ve been planning and looking to purchase a new gaming laptop for probably 3-4 months. But in the case with the rims I just didn’t think and went out and bought. Almost like a zombie purchaser. No thought behind my actions, only an endless search for more, more, more! Pretty creepy.

Since I know I’m apparently prone to such behavior, I’ll have to be on the lookout for it so that I don’t make anymore strange purchases. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my new rims and wheels, but I’m sure I’d enjoy just normal wheels about the same.

Any thoughts on the interesting purchase? Or any compulsive buyers out there who have tips and tricks of how to make a wise purchases? Feel free to sound off in the comments.

A few weekends ago I spend a few days in Michigan on the annual Tour of Leelanau. It’s a week where a few friends from my church and I head up to Leelanau County in Michigan and spend a few days riding our bikes around, camping and eating great food. It was 4 days with 2 1/2 days. We went around 200 miles. The trip was great, lots of fun. Some observations that hit me while riding are below:

Independence - 2 days into the riding I realized that I had nothing to prove and that I should be comfortable with myself. Go at my own pace and enjoy myself. Before this moment I was unconsciously pushing myself past my limits in an effort to impress those I was with and to not get shown up. Thankfully I realized this is dumb, and was able to take it easy for the rest of the trip.

Diversity is healthy - the trip consisted of the following professions - Architect, Electronic Device Salesman, Teacher, Engineer, Welding Manager, Student, Consultant, Quality Expert, Plastics Salesman, Business Owner, IT professional, Duck Farmer, Parks Manager, Arborist, and a Data Architect. While it’s not the most diverse group in the world it was still an interesting conglomerate of different people. While I normally see these people on a weekly basis it was great to spend a weekend with them and to see a bit of how they see the world.

Going along with the above point. It’s very interesting to see how different group dynamics work. How there is strength and confidence in numbers but also pressures and expectations. At one point in the trip my friend Dan and I got separated from the group and then partially lost. This actually turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip. We just biked around at a leisurely pace. This made me realize how rushed I felt when I was with the group. Similar to the independence piece above, I was letting the group will effect how I was enjoying the trip. It was well within my power to go at my own pace and my own time but I was feeling rushed with the group. So it was nice to be split off from it for a while.

Physical and mental hardships are opportunities to grow. Perseverance, mind over matter, confidence and fighting through the pain are all good lessons to learn. At one point on the second day I was alone, out of water, unsure of how far I had to travel, tired and hungry. Looking back it’s hard to capture the moment but it was pretty intense. I had the choice to stop and get help (call the truck to come and get me) or to keep going. I decided to keep going and even though I got slower and slower, I made it to the next town, food and rest. It sounds like a simple life lesson, but it’s been a while since I’ve been pushed in such a way and it felt great to work through the hardship and emerge victorious on the other end.

I had a great time in Michigan hanging out with the guys. I neglected to take many pictures because 2 photographers were riding, however if I run across some good pics I’ll post ‘em.

In other news, I have a girlfriend (for realz this time). Her name is Steph and she is great. I also just started on a billing project and it’s working with folks I’ve had the pleasure of working with in the past which is great. It’s a 6 month gig so I’ll be there for the long haul which is excellent. I’ll let ya know how it’s treatin’ me.

Time. Such a strange phenomenon.  Today we measure it using sophisticated clocks. Our ancestors used the placement of the sun and start to tell time. However telling time itself remains elusive.

Two people can be doing the same task in the same space and can take the same amount on minutes. However their perceptions of the time spend completing the task can be completely different. Instances such as this are where we get the saying “Time flies when you’re having fun”.

I can’t pretend like I understand time or how it works for different people. However I did want to share an interesting weekend dealing with time.

Last weekend was Family Camp 2009 which is a weekend my whole church (TLJC) heads out to a camp and spends the long weekend together. It’s always a great time and something to look forward to. This year had an extra bonus of going someplace new which I found exciting. I was not disappointed.

I had a great weekend at camp, hanging out with friends, goin to fires, eatin’ great food, having fun, fellowship, playing sports and being out in nature. It always seemed like there was something to do if I wanted but I never felt rushed or pressed for time.

Which brings me back to the topic at hand. This weekend seemed to last extremely long. There was plenty of time to hang out and participate in all the events I wanted. There was also time to sit around and read or wander around in the woods. Time to do everything I wanted and still time left over for extra enjoyment.

It seemed like I got to camp and time froze. I didn’t have to get up at x hour or be somewhere at x hour if I didn’t want to. I didn’t have to drop something and go do something else. I felt suspended and free. I didn’t have to acknowledge time.

If I had to guess I’d say not having a set schedule made time appear to last longer. I definitely wasn’t contemplating what I was going to do after work or for dinner or that night. It was all just going to happen when it happened and I didn’t have to worry about it. It was great not having to be somewhere and to just be in the present. In the current moment.

This doesn’t really get me any closer to understanding how time works. But it was a great feeling to be present and to enjoy the current moment instead of thinking on what was around the next tick of the hour hand.

Any thoughts out there on time? How can is “slow down” and “speed up” for different people? Is it possible to live in “slow down” mode all the time? Would we want to if we could? Seems like this idea spawns more questions than it answers.

Hello dear readers. It’s been a few moons since I’ve last posted here and quite a lot has been going on.

I’ll start out with Settlers of Catan on the Levi and Ice Cream. Yum! Scruff, Jordan, Amy and I had a rousing game of Settlers of Catan on the Troy Levi. It was a great day and we brought food for a picnic. Randomly Nate and Dana saw us playing and decided to hang out. We all headed over to Dan’s for a movie and were surprised to receive ice cream cones. They were very tasty!

Next is my family vacation to Detroit which was mucho fun.

If you’re wondering if you read that correctly, you did. We went to Detroit to see a Tigers ballgame, to check out the city, to visit the Henry Ford Museum, Deerfield Village and to see G.I. Joe (which I’ll have you know, can be done other places besides Detroit, unlike the other activities). Unfortunately G.I. Joe followed the same path as many movies today and completely destroyed the G.I. Joe story and put some strange impostor in it’s place. But that’s a topic for another time. I had an excellent time hanging out with the family in Detroit and staying in the Pink Palace, which sounds quite scandalous but in reality is quite harmless.

Some pics from the museum are below:

It was a great vacation and I’m glad everyone could make it this year. On the trip up and back I also got to spend lots of time with my girlfriend which was x-cellent.

Since vacation there has been lots of hanging out with friends (seems like there is a Sogeti birthday every other week), going to Kings Island with Sogeti, reading Harry Potter (I’m on the 6th book, so addicting!), men’s night out, visiting Lis and Brian in Cincy, buying some suits (ye-yeah!) and generally taking it easy.

In there was also a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) night with Tayo and Justin who work with me at Sogeti. It was a pretty fun time where they taught me some submission holds and we spared a bit. Check out some of the amazing pics below:



The MMA session was very enjoyable and informative. Unfortunately Tayo is out for a few weeks recovering. Recovering from a surgery, not the MMA sparing. At least I think so. Keep your eyes glued to the UFC to check out our respective climbs to world champions.

In other news, I am in the midst of switching clients which makes life pretty interesting. It’s crazy knowing that whatever client I end up at will determine a large portion of my life for the next few months or years. Thankfully I’m not worrying about it too much and trusting in God to open the doors to where He wants me to go. It’s really peaceful being able to give something my best effort and accept the outcome even if it’s not the one I desire.

O, almost forgot. My friend Esther just started a blog. She is spending a semester studying abroad in Costa Rico which is sweet! Check out her blog here http://unsemestreencostarica.blogspot.com/. It has also been added to the links on the right. Have fun readin’.

“Momma I fell in love again.
Safe to say I have a new girlfriend”

Yup. It’s true.

Before I tell you who she is, let me first describe her to you.

She’s pretty awesome.
She goes where I go.
Makes me feel smart, makes me laugh.
Provides entertainment.
Keeps me connected with my friends.
Makes phone calls for me.

She wakes me up in the morning.
She’s modest.
She doesn’t complain.
She’s the best.

We met online.
We got serious pretty quickly.
It was pretty much love at first sight.

She likes hanging out with all my friends.
She helps me order stuff online.
She plays music for me.
Helps me looks up random facts.

I’m star struck.
I’m never lost if I’m with her.
She’s always courteous and kind.
She likes to show off, but not too much.

She makes me feel smart and important.
She provides light when I’m in darkness.
Gives me company when I am lonely.
She has the same interests I do.
Same love for technology.
She’s memorized the Bible and can site any verse.
She’s perfect.

Now what you’ve been awaiting. The pic! Go ahead, give it a click.

Yup. It’s true. It’s my Blackberry 9630. Otherwise known as the Tour.

Think I’m a geek? Well get one for yourself and you’ll see what I mean. Want to talk to me about it? Call up my new girlfriend and we’ll chat.

WARNING: Super, x-tra long post ahead. Continue at your own risk!

What an awesome weekend.

It all started on Thursday after work when I stopped over at Glenn’s house to hang out for a bit and then head down to Cincy to meet Greg and Nate. The plan was to go to Kings Island on Friday and hopefully avoid the crowds since it was a work day.

Let’s start back at Glenn’s. Right before we left I was super surprised to hear Glenn ask, “Should I bring Settlers?” He was speaking of Settlers of Catan which is this x-cellent board game that I was introduced to a few weekends ago by Josiah. The real excitement was that I had ordered the game in hopes of taking it to Cincy but it hadn’t arrived in the mail yet. The big rush was due to the fact that Nate refused to play the game due to circumstances at work and it would be a good prank to bring the game (especially since he knew I wasn’t getting my copy in time). Glenn knew nothing of all this so it was pretty horkin’ amazing he mentioned bringing it. Armed with Settlers and some other gear we headed down to Cincy.

After some good conversation and music we arrived in Cincy and hung out with Greg and Nate. Eating at B-Dubs and playing some Rock Band made the night very enjoyable. But the real fun started when we broke out Settlers and had a go. I know inside jokes are only fun if you know the joke but I have to make a record of the events for future reference. Apologies for not explaining, this post is already super long and it’s still only Thursday night. New lingo for Settlers - shale (instead of ore), forest (not lumber), brick (supposed to be clay), wheat (instead of grain), sheep (for wool) (we actually didn’t get any of them correct, whoops), Soldier Boi, Indiana Jones Theme Song (this became a re-occuring song for the whole weekend), House (for settlement), and Hotel (not city). Heh heh. Good times.

We awoke pretty early and headed to McD’s then to Kings Island to ride the new coaster named Diamondback. It was pretty sweet. Super smooth and fun. The wait wasn’t bad at all either (just 45 min.). Another sweet ride is the Firehawk which has riders lying on their backs or stomachs and moving parallel to the ground. Completely different than any other coaster and very enjoyable. Other happenings at KI included us stopping some line cutters and getting into an argument, an interesting discussion about being prudent, the Indiana Jones Theme Song, the line - “She was with another man” - from a song by some guy with a crazy voice, picking up a balloon with my 5-finger shoes while on a ride only to get it taken away by a nice KI worker named Emily, accidentally popping the same balloon in line and people freaking out, bing! bing! bing! (watch the commercials for the Palm Pre and you’ll know where this comes from), some comments on my 5-finger shoes, a sweet ride called the Crypt, stealing a table from a kid (me, not one of my prouder moments), giving it back to him (thanks Glenn) only to have a different group of people take it (ah well), perfect weather (cloudy and cool), beating Greg and Nate on the Racers and talking smack to ‘em the n-tire time on the ride, and conquering the park by 4:30. All in all it was a great time.

After grabbing dinner at BD’s Mongolian grill Nate headed back to C-bus (boo!) and Greg, Glenn and I headed back to Greg’s and then into downtown Cincy to look for a hotel. Using technology (laptop computer getting free wifi + a GPS) we ended up in a decent hotel (even for Kentucky, haha!). We played some Settlers and then headed out to meet some of Glenn’s friends at Bar Louie. We hung out there most of the night and had a good time. Parted ways with Glenn’s friends and Greg and headed back to the hotel for some more Settlers (1v1) and some pizza (yum!).

Saturday morning we got up early and headed over to Lis and Brian’s house to help them move. A tree fell on their house on the 4th of July and they were finally able to get in to move all their belongings. This also meant that nothing was packed. So we moved from 9:45ish to 4:30ish. It was tough work but there was lots of help (thanks Glenn, Dan and Allison!). And it was a pretty fun move. Dan and Glenn are x-cellent at keeping things light and funny. This helped time pass uber quickly and we got Lis and Brian all moved into their super nice house (quite an upgrade in my opinion) safely. I was pretty toasted after the move and after an enlightening car ride back to Dayton to drop Glenn off I headed home and vegged out the rest of the night.

I did start reading a book titled “Scratch Beginnings” by Adam Shepard. It’s a story about a middle class guy who sells everything and tries to make a living with just the clothes on his back and $25 in a completely foreign city. His goal is to get out of poverty and to show that the American Dream is still alive. He’s sick of hearing crap from Barbara Ehrenreich (Nickel and Dimed) about how the American Dream is dead. So he sets out to prove it’s still alive. It’s a very intriguing story and I ended up finishing it on Sunday. More on that later.

Saturday night also heralded the arrival of my friend Josiah. We hung out for a bit, watched some TLJC movie previews  with Jordan (which are x-cellent) and then called it a night.

Sunday was church (”Faith comes first - everything else follows”), the rootbeer stand with my parents, and bowling with peeps from Sogeti. I bowled a 160 and felt pretty good about it but didn’t come close to Glenn or Todd who both bowled a 212. Sogeti bowling team anyone?

The rest of Sunday was spent doing laundry, going to the grocery, grilling (no burnage!) and reading. I finished Scratch Beginnings and had a great conversation with Jordan R. about poverty and class differences. Some startling revelations from the book and convo are included below:

Speaking about why people aren’t happy, “So many of us don’t have five-year plans on how we are going to better our lot over time rather than search for quick fixes. A five-year plan is invaluable. It gives us a sense of purpose in our present lives, the peace of mind every day that what we are doing has a purpose, a means to an end.”

“Unfortunately, few of us take ownership of our lives. We live in an “It ain’t my fault” society. Nothing is our fault. Ever. We’re fat because of genetics, we suck at math because we had a bad teacher… it has nothing to do with the fact that we aren’t eating right or exercising, or that we aren’t doing our homework… It’s everybody else’s fault. It ain’t ours.”

“3 types of people in life:
1. Those who make things happen
2. Those who watch things happen
3. Those who sit back, scratch their heads and think, “What the in the hork just happened?”

There are actual differences in speach patterns in different classes. Lower classes tend to speak in circular patterns, never getting the their point. Middle class people are usually direct and don’t waste time.

Pretty interesting eh? It is a great book and a quick read. The whole poverty topic is very strange to me and I look forward to finding out more about it.

As a good end to a great weekend my Monday has gone super well. To start things off I began billing at AO Smith in Tipp City today. I’m doing some Project Management and Business Analyst work for their Matrix One system. Billing rox (I’m a productive member of society once more!) but what really made my day happened in the lobby at 8 a.m. I was signing in when a lady who must have been behind me while walking in stops and stares at me.

“You must be a Lindeman.”

Shocked, I look up and don’t recognize who was speaking. Then she introduces herself, she’s the daughter of a guy that goes to my church. I have seen her a few times at picnics and such but had never talked to her. She was happy to see me and I her. It was a great start to a great day.

As a side note. That was the second time I had been pegged as a Lindeman in just about as many weeks. So strange and so flattering - or should it be embarrassing? Haha, who knows?