he might have a point...

Santa on Cross Protests Commercialism

BREMERTON, Wash. — Art Conrad has an issue with the commercialism of Christmas, and his protest has gone way beyond just shunning the malls or turning off his television. The Bremerton resident nailed Santa Claus to a 15-foot crucifix in front of his house.

"Santa has been perverted from who he started out to be," Conrad said. "Now he's the person being used by corporations to get us to buy more stuff."

A photo of the crucified Santa adorns his Christmas cards, with the message "Santa died for your MasterCard."

The display is also Conrad's way of poking fun at political correctness. He believes people don't express their feelings because they're afraid of what other people might think.

His neighbors found the will to express their feelings this past week. Some were offended but many were just curious.

Jake Tally walked by on Friday and chuckled, but didn't pretend to understand the message.

"I don't really know what to think. I know it's about God but Santa has nothing to do with it," he told the Kitsap Sun newspaper.

update on eric..

sorry its been a crazy wknd already.

nic is correct and eric has been freed. here's the statement from his family:

“Eric Volz was released from a Nicaraguan prison hospital earlier today and will be in hiding, due to reports of threats against him.

We have reason to believe he is being followed and are taking every precaution to assure his safety.

Our family is overwhelmed by the incredible outpouring of support of Eric’s innocence over the past year. In the center of an impossible situation, we have experienced the most abundant love from friends and total strangers, and we thank you.

We are grateful to the courageous individuals in the Nicaraguan government who fought for truth and justice to prevail in this case as well to those in the US government who provided assistance in securing Eric’s release.

This ordeal has taken an incredible physical and emotional toll on all of us, especially Eric. We thank you in advance for respecting our privacy and allowing our family to recover.”

pray for eric volz!

hey folks,

i just got an email bulletin i thought i needed to pass along. if you haven't seen this story on my blog before, here's the video of the backstory.



here's the latest:

"Today, the Nicaraguan Appellate Court ruled 2-1 in favor of Innocence for Eric Volz and demanded his immediate release. In fulfillment of Nicaraguan law, Judge Ivette Toruno, the convicting judge who is required by law to sign the release papers, arranged for Eric's attorney to pick-up the release papers at 2pm this afternoon. However, Toruno left the court at 1:30 and will not come back for the rest of the day. It is unclear as to whether or not she will be in the office tomorrow, as well.

Judge Toruno is currently in contempt of court by refusing to make her appointment and sign the release papers. Eric has been freed, but is still being detained illegally, against the orders of the Appellate Court.

Nicaraguan radio broadcasts have been announcing that the people need to take justice into their own hands, since word of the court's decision. We are more concerned than ever before, for Eric's safety.

It appears as if no one in the judicial, penal and/or immigration systems in Nicaragua is responding to requests by Eric's attorney or by the US Embassy to process Eric's release immediately as ordered by the court.

Eric's mother Maggie will appear on CNN AC360 TONIGHT and The Today Show tomorrow morning in the first hour."

visit eric's website for more info.

i ask you to add eric to what seems as an always-expanding prayer list

"in awe of the One who gave it all"

Matthew 6:27-34-Message

"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion--do you think it makes that much difference?" Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers--most of which are never even seen--don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

For the broken and beat

For the wounded and weak

Come fall at his feet

He's the remedy

Come close. listen to the story

i've been searching. searching for the right words. searching for words that would help me make sense of this whole thing. this whole thing we call life. something that would help ease the pain, heal the hurt that many feel for various reasons. where else can we run? where else can we turn?

i opened my word today, something that i admit i dont do enough. in the back of the book, after God's word, the lovely people at zondervan put a few pages with selected scriptures arranged by different topics. the immediate one i landed on was the topic dealing with comfort. it led me to 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. and God's word says:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. and our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

i liked how the niv words that it "produces in you patient endurance." too often we (and when i say we i always include myself) forget God's reasoning; however we hardly ever know what that is. it's not for us to know. i struggle to grasp that every single day.

i leave you with this song. i saw phil wickham a few wks ago open for the david crowder band. now, prior to the show i could care less who phil wickham was. honestly. im not easily impressed musically. just another guy with a guitar. i downloaded his cd "Cannons" and have only lately been listening to the lyrics. several incredible lyrically strong songs. this isnt really on the comfort subject matter, but it declares the incredible love of Christ. the video and the music are just for support. what i really want you to grasp here are the lyrics.

Phil Wickham's "True Love"




Come close listen to the story
About a love more faithful than the morning
The Father gave his only son just to save us

The earth was shaking in the dark
All creation felt the Father's broken heart
Tears were filling heaven's eyes
The day that true love died, the day that true love died
When blood and water hit the ground
Walls we couldn't move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that true love died, the day that true love died

Search your heart, you know you can't deny it
Come on, lose your life just so you can find it
The Father gave his only son just to save us

The earth was shaking in the dark
All creation felt the father's broken heart
Tears were filling heaven's eyes
The day that true love died, the day that true love died
When blood and water hit the ground
Walls we couldn't move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that true love died, the day that true love died

Now Jesus is alive
Jesus is alive
Jesus is alive
Jesus is alive
Jesus is alive
oh He is alive
He knows he can

When blood and water hit the ground
Walls we couldn't move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that true love died, the day that true love died

Come close listen to the story

the story of Jason Ray.

here's a story I ran across watching sportscenter the other night. it's a sports-related story, but ESPN finally did something right as my dad said.

here's the story

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=rayofhope

here's the actual story. trust me, you will wanna see this.

some phone pics taken lately...

my camera for internet streaming purposes for volleyball

my view for volleyball from up top

maroon madness feat. soulja boy

our "big daddy" lenses ($100,000+) used for top angle football and top angle basketball

the camera loves me

yes on occasion i do see a sunrise

the ultimate musical instrument..

this wasnt the show i went to, but this is what the musical geeks that are the david crowder band have come up with

Jacob...

i never wrote this before because i didnt want to get caught up in the moment, and therefore possibly hinder anything i would write under a normal circumstance.

my friend, and most importantly brother in Christ, Mr. Jacob Parish (or as we had called him in football "diboll"), passed away on September the 14th, 2007 in an automobile accident. while the specific details are still being resolved, we do however know without a doubt jacob is with the Father. 

i cannot even remember when exactly i first met jacob, but i do know we weren't strangers long. he was the kind of guy that knew no strangers. everyone he met, he called friend. and how could you not call him friend back? he was the guy in the hallway that always wore the same thing everyday, a smile. he was the guy runnin up to you with his hand out ready to wish you a good day. he was one of the nicest, most passionate fellas i have ever had the pleasure of meeting. one passion, which i will get to a little later, was FFA and his animals. i had more experience with him in football. i played my senior year of high school, and he was a junior on the JV squad. jacob played on the defensive line. pretty big position of such a lanky guy. i remember vividly practices where he, along with some of his teammates would get driven off the line pretty hard by the big varsity guys. i remember jacob parish, getting back up everytime with a smile on his face and ready to go at em again. during the nutcracker drill (basically 2 guys head up trying to push each other out of a box), jacob fought every time against somebody bigger than he, and always got up ready to give it another go. i did have several conversations with him about wanting to quit the team, which i had those thoughts after the first practice. but he stuck it out all year and fulfilled his commitment. his FFA and animals were probably near the top of his list. i have little experience in this with him, but for whatever reason i did attend a stock show a few years back. and the only memory i have of that, in my opinion the only excitement in the whole thing, was when jacob won his event. i can't even remember what animal he was showing, but i remember his reaction. he was the only one that showed any emotion upon winning. he jumped up and down, hoopin and hollerin after he won for what i think was a rabbit or something. it was the best thing about that show for me. it showed his passion for what he loved. i wish i had half the amount of passion he did for the things he loved. i wish i could have a smile on my face half the time he did.

to be honest i never found myself asking God why? i knew why, i knew his time with jacob was done. it all kind of seemed surreal. i think God uses moments like that to tap us on the shoulder and let us know this thing called life is real, and that he IS in control.

being away from home for the past yr, i hadn't seen him much. only when i was home and was at church. i remember his camo tuxedo at prom, i remember his wrangler jeans and awesome pearl snap shirts, i remember his love of country music. most of all, i remember his smile, and his love for people, and his love for the God that's so mighty to save.

i miss you buddy.

----------------------------

I once was lost, but now I'm found
I once was lost, but now I'm found
So far away, but I'm home now
I once was lost, but now I'm found
And now my lifesong sings

I once was blind, but now I see
I once was blind, but now I see
I don't know how, but when He touched me
I once was blind, but now I see

And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings
And now my lifesong sings

I once was dead, but now I live
I once was dead, but now I live
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give
Now my life to You I give

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to You


-casting crowns

thank you Mac haik...

gimmie a break folks. honest mistake

George said it best...

There's a short cut to the highway out of town why don't you take it

Don't let that speed limit slow you down go on and break it

Let us be the remedy

And the problem is this

We were bought with a kiss

But the cheek still turned

Even when it wasn’t hit

And I don’t know

What to do with a love like that

And I don’t know

How to be a love like that

When all the love in the world

Is right here among usAnd hatred too

And so we must choose

What our hands will do

Where there is pain

Let there be grace

Where there is suffering

Bring serenity

For those afraid

Help them be brave

Where there is misery

Bring expectancy

And surely we can change

Surely we can change

Something

And the problem it seems

Is with you and me

Not the Love who came

To repair everything

Where there is pain

Let us bring grace

Where there is suffering

Bring serenity

For those afraid

Let us be brave

Where there is misery

Let us bring them relief

And surely we can change

Surely we can change

Oh surely we can change

Something

Oh, the world’s about to change

The whole world’s about to change

--david crowder band's "surely we can change"

Project Witness: The Lost Footage

yep folks. this is where i grew up. at least until the 5th grade. but i do not claim it. and i can speak for the rest of my family when i say 'we glad we aint there now.' if you dont know why, turn on CNN tonight, or here's a link that explains somewhat. i do know that its not how the media shapes it to be.

Keep Singing

Another rainy day

I can't recall having sunshine on my face

All I feel is pain

All I wanna do is walk out of this place

But when I am stuck and I can't move

When I don't know what I should do

When I wonder if I'll ever make it through

I gotta keep singing

I gotta keep praising Your name

Your the one that's keeping my heart beating

I gotta keep singing

I gotta keep praising Your name

That's the only way that I'll find healing

Can I climb up in Your lap

I don't wanna leave

Jesus sing over me

I gotta keep singing

Can I climb up in Your lap

I don't wanna leave

Jesus sing over me

I gotta keep singing

-mercyme

"come on and we'll sing. like we were free."

show review!

this was to be my first show experience at lazona rosa. i must say it was enjoyable. i've been a fan or mr mat kearney since i saw him on vh1's artist's on the rise. his diversity and originality blew me away, and still does. i bout these tickets for jer's birthday. knowing he enjoyed kearney, but hoping he would enjoy it as much as i figured i would. yes i understand how selfish that SOUNDS, but that wasnt my initial intent. anyways, back to the show review. we get there when doors open, and while the twenty-some-odd people rush to claim their spot right smack in front of the stage, jer kar and i gradually made our way to our spot, right in front of the mixing console. why is this you ask? well if the dude is mixing the show from there, where do y0u think it's gonna sound best at? (if he's a good engineer)...i rest my case. so we were there an hour prior to showtime, and basically just stood there and talked. allow me to paint a visual for those of you that have never been here. its basically a warehouse with a bar. much like austin music hall, but lazona is more of a club-like stage and place. stage in the corner. bathroom stalls with no doors etc. so. show gets kicked off at 9 on the dot. opening band titled wild sweet orange. i had already check them out on itunes, but hadn't listened much. wasnt really blown away, but they were fairly good. kearney actually said later they were weeks away from signing a major record deal. so they play for about 35 mins, and then a 20 minute set change ensues, and kearney opens up with "crashing down" i believe. from there i have no clue of a set list, and i'm pretty sure there wasnt one. several times he asked what do you guys wanna hear? he played his first hit "nothing left to lose" in the middle of the set which i found interesting. his next to last song he took a request and someone wanted to hear "what's a boy to do?" kearney's response was "i dont even know how that one starts. i havent played that on this whole tour." so he commences to try and figure out how to start it, and he finally does start it, just him and his acoustic. then he gets to verse 2 and draws a blank. he spends a moment in thought, then asks the audience what the next part is. someone yells out a part of the song, then he says no thats the end of the song. from there he cannot figure it out, so continues with the part that was the end and just finishes the song from there. thats part of what made the show raw. he then closed with "undeniable." 

as far as musicianship goes, i expected good things considering he's fairly well known. the band consisted of kearney who played acoustic as well as some piano, 2 electric guitar players, (one of which was a multi-instrumentalist which i will get to momentarily), a bass player and a drummer. the drummer didnt impress me, but he hit his licks. the stage left guitar player played and was the primary background vocalist. he did well i was impressed with him. the stage right guitar player i was probably most impressed with. he played electric, one song picked up kearney's acoustic, one song played played bass as the bass player played piano, went back to play electric until later when he played the lap steel for 2 songs. and for one song, played an accordion of all things. oh and he sang too. now how incredible is that? like i mentioned previously the bass player played piano some, at one point he also had his bass strapped on and, while sitting at the piano, would play a piano lick and then play a bass line and alternate that a few times. i was not disappointed. it certainly was not a packed house, and it probably could've been less than $25, but it was his first headline show in Austin and i was most impressed with mr. kearney. if you click the pic below, it takes you to a show he recorded about a yr ago. so you can have a little taste of what we experienced. enjoy!

cheers

"meet me in chicago, down by the water line."

here's a quick rundown of the weekend prior to last night (sunday the 10th).

thursday night i left college station (so nice when i get to leave) after class and went to p-ville to jeremy and kari's casa for the friday festivities that kari and i had secretly planned. actually kari had planned, i deserve no credit whatsoever. all i did was have some sort of an idea what was going on and drive. if you have yet to figure out what the festivities were, it was a scavenger hunt. i'll direct you to jeremy's blog for more details on that.

friday evening i got to have dinner with my buddy jordan and went to see chuck and larry with stan and mrs windy and jer and kar. the jury is still out on my thoughts on that movie. it was funny, but im probably not any better off having seen it. after the movie, still in birthday mode, we wanted to go to 6th st. to a comedy/improv club called esther's follies. ive heard great things over the years about it, so we wanted to go check it out. well the last showing was at 10 and we didnt get done with the movie and things in time. so then we ended up going to mozart's on lake austin blvd right next to hula hut. it was the second time i have been out that way, this time at night and i still loved it. place like that is just another reason why i miss austin.  i got some slammin fruit tart thing and a cappuccino served in a soup bowl-ish glass. it was outstanding. foam and all. and sat right by the lake, only light from the moon and the candle lit coffee shop. it was a tranquil experience.

saturday i woke up and headed straight for college station to meet my dad for the aggie game. he accompanied me since it was an early game. turned out to be a great game despite the extreme heat index of 150 on the field, which we were mere rows from, and standing the whole time (we cheated however and sat down. it was hot. so sue us.) anywho, no matter who you were rooting for, it was a great football game all the way around. well not all the way around but it was exciting. 

After the game, it was my turn to go to work. for every home game its my job to take the footage from the main top camera and put that into the computer to be edited sunday afternoon for whats called the 12th man video, which alumni purchase every week as well as for internet stream on aggieathletics.com. The only problem is you can't do it any faster than 1X. So it does take the whole 4 hrs the game took. This wk i had 2 editors capturing so it cut down immensely. i got done about 11pm and headed home to arrive a little after 1am.

sunday went to church, then headed to p-ville for the big show. headed downtown a few hrs before showtime to eat and whatnot. got some  grub at potbelly sandwich works on the drag, which i highly recommend by the way. after that we got our tickets and later went to the show.

SHOW REVIEW COMING!!

cheers

first wk and beyond

every year at this time, i remember why i enjoy summer so much. could it be the scorching heat? the sweat filled days? the ever growing theme park lines?...well yes and no....but in reality, its because I dislike school so much. the work, the class, the stress, the lack of money in my pocket..i could go on and on really... we started school this past monday, the 27th... and it went.... debated the whole wk whether to drop physics, finally did within the last possible hr. only to add botany...yeah....botany....so excited. but other than that the schedule is pretty decent. history of jazz, prof is actually a jazz pianist. other profs should really take notes from this guy. he lights up like no other when he talks about jazz. why cant other profs do the same, and display their love for whatever subject? anywho, i also have an art history class, and finally sign language 3. hopefully these classes will help me get that gpa up. i know mother would appreciate that.

this year at work im doing the internet stream of home volleyball games..pretty lame but its pretty fun. my other assignment is to capture footage into the computer from the main top camera for football and the highlight reel from our instant replay machine. which i do right after the games are over, several games begin at 6pm. you do the math. has to be done before sunday's because that footage is used for the "12th Man Video", which i edited last yr, that the alums pay for the whole game tape.

this past wk i did take part in filming a commercial to be shown during football games this yr, i share about a 3 second spot with 2 other of my co workers. for the aggie bucket of corn. i helped edit it as well, and i must say we went in with the sole intent of making it the corniest commercial possible. and i must say i think we succeeded. so if you people venture to a game, be looking for my beautiful face.

getting ready for Mat Kearney show on sunday the 9th at la zona rosa..pics sure to come

Colbie Caillat "Realize"

Salt Lick review

Jeremy's Take on the Building/Overall
Atmosphere: Upon arriving in Driftwood, Texas to the popular
and well known restaurant, JMob and I were expecting to eat some
amazing BarBQ. The gravel drive and cedar post fence provides a
wonderful "ranch" atmosphere which adds to the restaurant patrons
experience. The building was built by the current owners parents and
each stone was hand picked from the land to build the building that is
home to the Salt Lick. Sitting at the long, old, and wooden tables,
watching the fire will excite any patron.

JMob's Take on the Building/Overall Atmosphere: I've already been here previously, but it was years ago so I already knew what to expect. There were some things I noticed this trip I hadn't previously. For instance a sign that reads "Please limit eating time to 1hr and a 1/2 to allow others to enjoy our food." A second thing i noticed on the wall was a Texas Monthly article about Sandra Bullock, which says the interview took place at Salt Lick.

Jeremy's Take on the Beef,etc.:
After adjusting to being served at a BarBQ restaurant (typically, I
order meat market style), I ordered the beef and sausage plate that
came with coleslaw and potato salad. Trying both meats without sauce
first to preserve the original taste, I found the sausage very typical
of a sausage anyone could buy at your local grocery store.
I make this comparison to grocery store, because I expect homemade
sausage to be distinctly flavorful and fresh. The flavor was not well
seasoned or fresh tasting. Upon eating the second bite of the
sausage, I might have chipped a tooth on the bone pieces I found in
the sausage. Even when I drowned the sausage in sauce, I was unable
to completely enjoy or eat the sliced link that was brought out. The
sliced beef or brisket was a different story. Although this brisket
is not one brag about. It seemed like any typical brisket, yet was
lean* and juicy (as any
brisket should be). There was nothing flashy about the beef, but I
did enjoy it with and without sauce. The sides were not typical
potato salads and coleslaws. Each had a distinct flavor and I enjoyed
the different recipes served by the restaurant.
*I prefer the lean beef.

JMob's Take on the Beef,etc.: I ordered the combination plate of beef and sausage. I enjoyed the beef, but disliked the sausage very much. The sausage was too much on the crunchy side, almost like it was warmed, and not grilled. For instance at Kruez, it's almost falling off the casing. That tells me it's DONE! The sauce was probably the best sauce i've ever had. But if you need sauce to make it good, that tells me the meat is lacking. 

Jeremy's Take on After Sweets:
After not being completely full, because I left half the sausage on my
plate, we both agreed it was time for desert. We both ordered peach
cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Once it arrived,
there was no doubt we had made an excellent choice. The orange and
yellow warm combination of the sweet treat melted in my mouth. It was
bowl licking good.

JMob's Take on After Sweets: OOOHHHH mama...."Them are some good eats." While not being full on the entree, I was glad to get something good. Peach Cobbler. And A LA MODE! It was definitely the highlight of the meal. The portion was huge and I couldnt finish it. 

Jeremy's Finally Thoughts: For
the two of us to eat, including a tip, I could think of several other
BarBQ restaurants to visit for $40.00. Excellent service, not so good
entree, unique sides, and a great desert. Basically, I left the
restaurant full on potato salad and peach cobbler. Not a good sign
from a restaurant with the reputation of having great beef. I give it
two stars and would not recommend it to any friend of mine.

JMob's Finally Thoughts: I say 2 out of 5 stars as well. The most points coming from the peach cobbler. I would definitely recommend KRUEZ first, and Salt Lick would probably be third or fourth on the list sadly. When leaving, we were asked "how was it" and much to their amazement we responded with an "It was alright." Apparently they aren't very used to mediocre reviews.

We hope this is helpful to our readers and would love to hear any
feedback. Have a great day.

i got excited just now because i had a comment on my last post....but when reading it, i realized it was not a comment about an awe inspiring post, moreso it was i need to blog.. so here it is..

currently at austin java jammin some tunes, surfin itunes, just had a spectacular turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich and a cup of roasted chicken soup...take away the humidity and add a bit more rain and it would be the perfect coffee shop day...i've been listening a lot lately to jon mclaughlin's song "beautiful disaster." heres the video and lyrics:



She loves her mama's lemonade,
Hates the sound that goodbyes make.
She prays one day she'll find someone to need her.
She swears that there's no difference,
Between the lies and compliments.
It's all the same if everybody leaves her.

And every magazine tells her she's not good enough,
The pictures that she sees make her cry.

And she would change everything, everything just ask her.
Caught in the in between, a beautiful disaster,
And she just needs someone to take her home.

She's giving boys what they want, tries to act so nonchalant,
Afraid they'll see that she's lost her direction.
She never stays the same for long,
Assuming that she'll get it wrong.
Perfect only in her imperfection.

She's not a drama queen,
She doesn't want to feel this way, only seventeen but tired

She would change everything for happy ever after.
Caught in the in between, a beautiful disaster,
But she just needs someone to take her home.

Cuz she's just the way she is, but no ones told her that's ok.

And she would change everything, everything just ask her.
Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster,

And she would change everything for happy ever after.
Caught in the in between of beautiful disaster,

But she just needs someone to take her home
And she just needs someone to take her home.

and i thought it was a wk last wk....

well folks....i am now officially apart of the overworked population of america...which is pretty much everyone...studies have shown...i wont go into that

while not fully calculated yet, i believe i have pulled well around 60hrs this wk... with thursday off and with working today (saturday)...here is the pic i promised..a real pic....i took this from the balcony FOH position a few days ago, the fiber snake isnt hooked up yet, so i just had a local mic and headphones making sure i knew how things would be able to be routed and such. the beauty of a digital console is anything can be routed anywhere, and from several different points in the signal chain. so it opens so many different doors in how to do things....basically what im saying is i want one....i was told to spend time on the console daily, basically booting it up, let it know it still means something to me and the world, or will in a matter of weeks....i only got to do that once, but that was the highlight of my day when it happened...i think that encounter was thereaputic for the both of us

the church pushed back their move-back-in-date another wk, or else i would've easily pulled 80hrs this wk...so next sunday is slated as their first sunday back in, and i will be a company rep for their first and second sunday's. the first one i am excited about, but also extremely nervous about. i keep having these thoughts that whatever they kick their service off with, choir or congregational singing or whatever, they kick it off and no sound comes out at all...not because the speakers dont work, but because the operator has no idea how in the world to turn things on.....and i can just imagine the clueless look on his face....they have already been told i will not mix the service, i will merely be there to offer technical and somewhat moral support when they cant figure something out...until that moment i will still be spending many waking moments pouring over the manual (available for download..thanks yamaha)

we got all the speakers hung and somewhat aimed, monday we will hook the rest of the signal chain in and put tunes through...hopefully....i'll try to get a better pic this wk w/o all the scaffolding in it, with the speaker hangs and light trusses as well....most of the manual labor is over, now its the fun actual technical stuff....now i like my job even better..

until next time,

cheers

she's a beauty

what up peeps?? im taking a break out of my insanely busy week to let you people know about the current job. First Baptist New Braunfels is doing a total renovation worth $6.5 million on their A-frame sanctuary probably built in the 1950's. and this is the biggest install i've been apart of thus far, and more importantly this is the most technological of them all.

"Sound Geek lingo ahead"

the church has notoriously had dirty power issues, so not only do they drop a new pole for power, but we also do our part and install a Lightviper fiber-optic snake. this fiber snake carries about 32 channels and 8 returns fiber-optically. eliminating any and all ground noise from power and any other kind of interference. basically lightening could strike the actual cable and nothing would happen to it. the fiber snake actually connects to a card that plugs in the back of the digital console. no 48 analog mic lines. just 1 fiber cable. another card plugs in the back of the console that is for their aviom monitoring system, which allows 16 channels or subgroups routed by way of cat 5 from the console to different mixing pods around the stage, thus giving the performer control of their own mix. today, my bosses son chris, who mixes monitors for country singer miranda lambert, he had a few days off so he came in to do some training on the console for the church's audio guys and i. i had already been asked to learn the console and be the company rep at their first 2 services, and of course i said yes because i want them to use it right, and i wanna know it myself! i can't help but imagine the service starting and no sound is coming out, and im looked at with a clueless look on my face!

until next time,

cheers

Interesting article

Churches must be more responsive

Definately worth the read

happy 4th

To all soldiers, past, present and future, here and abroad. Thank you

its been a wk...

well folks its been pretty much the longest week...i even had tuesday off and it still felt like an eternity..

this wks job has been at the greater austin bureau of real estate or something to that effect..they have this huge ballroom of a thing that is pretty sweet..building is only 6 months old, problem being that they dont have an audio system..they had a fender passport, and for those of you who dont know what that is, that plays to 25 people max...so they need some desperate help...

this wk i work monday, tuesday and weds i'm off and goin to H town w/my family and immediate-extended family (taylors) to see my astros play...i dont know who...how bad is that...

i often post videos, mostly cuz of the song in them..so here's a hillsong united song entitled "the stand", and this is them singing it as well....words are incredible, as their stuff always is..what a message, what a declaration....

"so i'll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned. in awe of the one who took my place. so i'll stand, my soul Lord to you surrendered. all i am, is yours."



cheers

if you haven't seen this yet...

times like these, and times like those

well folks...it's all said and done...it's all over but the....cleanup?? haha..i have no pics to post, the photog has all theirs...i will provide a link to her gallery as soon as they are up...so keep checking around..

i would like to thank all of you that came and showed your support for megan and clay as well as both our families...many of you not only came, but helped out in so many ways that this would not have been possible..whether you were told personally or not, thank you..

times like these i love because i get to see family as well as many familiar faces that have moved on from lockhart that have touched megan and clay's life as well as mine..several coaches that coached clay and i at different times, 2 of the 4 have moved on from coaching and into admin...i was told by my favorite coach ever, coach brock, that kids like me are the reason he gets into coaching....but coaches like him are why kids like me want to play for them...coaches that not only coach you in a sport but also care about you and coach you in life....

really no idea why i wanted to share that..anyways

until next time

and it begins.....

well folks.....the day is upon us.....the union of meg and clay...let the madness begin....and its not till tomorrow....if you will, say a prayer for the mothers that be....nuf said...

go spurs

this is for nic...

my job update..

i will admit..it's been a while....but there's a reason....work, and lots of it...as some of you know i got hired on with Austin Audio and Video for the summer...they have already developed a fairly well known reputation around central texas and the state as well....notable installations include the texas senate chambers and disch falk field at that one school in austin...disch falk was a permanent/temporary install...it was completed fully before the season began, but with the season over and full construction going on, we had to uninstall everything basically but the speakers and speaker cable runs..sounds a lot easier than it was, believe me...the project i've been at from the beginning is a new middle school being built in east austin (scary i know) over by the expo center...construction site, so it was definitely another world...believe me when i say i look like a moron in a hard hat...we've been there for the most part of 2 wks, and have to this point completed the speaker hangs in the gym (all 23 speakers), the cable runs to a certain point (waiting on electricians to finish some pipe)..we're also doing the cafetorium sound system (which the electricians havent even begun to start our piping) so other than that, the only other project i know coming up at some point is FBC New Braunfels installing at least a new digital console, not sure if it's a complete sound install or not, but wiring for the digital console will just be fiber optic, so a lot less things to deal with for sure...

wish i could post pics, but i dont wanna break my camera on the jobsite and i dont have picture mail on my phone yet...astonishing i know

until next time

Meg's graduation wknd

Christians vs. Atheists

i just got done watching an abc nightline special including kirk cameron and his partner from "way of the master." nightline had them debate an apparently well known atheist couple...martin brasheer ran the debate (the guy who notoriously interviewed michael jackson)i wasnt too fond of how abc ran the debate, but thats not my point here. the show was pretty lame and they showed maybe 5 clips from the debate. all the while God was breaking my heart for these people. after the show they opened a chat room on their site to let people debate the existence of God. too often, we as Christians get caught up in our own wars between conventions and legalities, when there are lost and dying people that arent attacking which side of the baptists are correct, they're attacking that our Saviour even exists. we have our blinders on and focus on pointless stupid things within the body when our focus needs to resemble that of Christ's. please recognize i include myself in the "our." i just wanted to share some of what these people are saying. there were thousands of posts, but these 2 really broke my heart.

"I agree, and also, it is funny how many books were left out of the bible, such as the Gnostic Documents. No Christians really know about them though. It is funny how Atheists are better educated about Christianity than the Christians are. That is probably why we are atheist, because we know about the ludicrous religion and have come to the conclusion that it is irrational."

"I would like to know if God does exist, why would he let me as a child and so many other children be molested. That is all I want to know. What kind of God is he."

hopefully thought provoking..the link up top is to the chat room and you can read the what im sure will be several thousand posts.

2 from my collection

the one on the left being john mayer's room for squares, and the one on the right being the police "synchronicity"..i also have obtained U2's "War" (see the Goodwill post) and John Mayer's "Continuum" and my latest is John Mayer's "Heavier Things", his second studio album and the one which is out of print. All i now need is the John Mayer Trio "Try" album and i will complete my mayer collection. and then whatever else i find next..

deuces

support creativity

hey people, our buddy kyle lent's (lead guitar from the Justin Cofield Band) new cd drops in a few hrs (apparently already on itunes though) so go check it out..its called "In Harbors Gray" its awesome..and he tracked pretty much everything on there himself...which is definitely a rarity these days..

deuces

tennis w/sizzle N jmizzle

the Goodwill extravaganza

dear fellow bloggers,

have you ever wondered if God gives you things in your day so that you can have something to write? not necessarily life changing, just an occurrence...

anywho, so this past wknd i was headed home again...long story as to the reason why i was headed home, but anyway my friday started off with class as normal at 11, then i was to head home after...on the way home from class, my battery light pops on and off a few times...so i take it in to firestone here in CS to get her seen about...well they call back and tell me i need a battery...which is fine, lets do it and i can be on my way...i get the battery, head out and find myself 45 mins out of CS and about 40 mins from any sign of civilization and the light comes back on. i think to myself "those peeps apparently didn't fix the dang problem." so i call the guy and tell him what has happened. he says "you have 2 options, either bring it back here, or head on to austin to another firestone. either way, it might die." im thinking oh great. these people are real professionals. so i figure i will head on and limp my way to austin. i make it fine to the firestone on research and the lady will take a peek. i needed a black sport coat for saturday evening, and i needed to look at goodwill anyway, just so happens the firestone was nearest my most favorite goodwill in austin...so i end up crossing 2 access roads and walk about a mile to the goodwill....find a jacket thats a tad too big, dont end up getting it, but i do end up sorting through their thousand or so t-shirts and i only get 2...but hey, they're 1.99...thats some SWEET ACTION...but wait..there's more...while waiting for my car to be done, i realize they have records there...

side note-i am in the middle of collecting some sweet old and new school records for a little artwork to adorn whatever digs i may obtain next yr...kind of like itunes on my wall so-to-speak...i love my itunes and i love the new artwork thing...so im gonna obtain records from ebay and wherever else (2 john mayer vinyl's are currently en route from ebay people) and then proceed to put them in record frames from urban outfitters and mount those suckers on my wall...

back to my goodwill story, i sorted through a few hundred records and found a police record entitled the synchronicity as well as a U2 War album..both 1.99!...so im pretty excited about my collection...so the second firestone found nothing wrong w/my car, except they would love to put a new alternator in...i bet they would...just like i would like to fly to the moon...which would probably be chaper than a new firestone alternator...so we take it to our mechanic in lockhart.....everybody has one of those...everybody is a tim the tool man taylor and likes their own mechanics....especially my dad....even our mechanic couldnt find out anything...so i drive on...if you see a silver mercedes on the side of the road...its not me....but if you see a silver taurus..then thats me....and im broke down....cuz my car has baffled modern mechanics..i dont recommend it

until next time

the turgeon general

so we hired a new men's basketball coach this wk...you might not know that because ut announced kevin durant going pro on the same day, within an hour of our press conference...funny how that happens...but i was skeptical about this guy, he supposedly was a good player at kansas, and had some assistant coaching experience and a head coach gig, but could he coach big XII? that still remains to be proven, but what i was impressed with was his character...he was here monday of this wk seeing the campus and whatnot, job was offered to him monday night....instead of waiting on the press conference and sending his players text messages telling them what was about to happen, he flew back and had a 3 hour late night mtg with his now former players....and when asked about that in the press conference, he teared up and had to compose himself..and he made the statement "guys, there's a lot more to life than college basketball...there's a big world out there." most big time college coaches would never say that...they want their players to believe there is nothing else but basketball...not the turgeon general.....now i cant say we're gonna be a great team next year, but i know it's gonna be done with class...gone are the days of the infamous smirk on the aggie's coach...the turge is here!

good riddance

yes yes i know..i know what your thinking...haha your coach left...or at least nic is...well personally, i appreciate what he did for our program the past few yrs, but i refer you to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle:

"Here's the other thing to know about Billy Clyde Gillispie. He was never going to stay at Texas A&M. Never. If he didn't have a legitimate reason to leave, he was going to invent one.
His monstrous ego wasn't going to be satisfied in Aggieland. He wanted more. He has been that way his entire coaching career. Ask some of the people who coached with and against him along the way. Billy Clyde never lacked ambition."

i leave you with this quote from an obvious whorn fan, who commented this on justice's blog:
"they were a joke before BCG and they will return to their rightful thrown as losers..."

sounds like a sad, sad person..(that was not nic's quote. nic did a little UK cheer, and was said with the utmost respect. i think)

first, a little somethin somethin for you guys....





next, a sweet video

Signing with Jon Boy

"now this is a larry the red-neck cable guy weddin"-O daddy

well people....it happened...the day of holy matrimony happened...and for them, it couldnt have gotten here soon enough....thats right, the wedding of Jeremy and Kari (jer bear and kar bear as i like to call them)....and it was magnifico....i had planned to do some sort of ring trick to begin with, i let some of the guys know what they thought, they loved it...but warren had an idea to do a little twist on it....if you were there, you saw, if not, here's the story...unfortunately i have no reaction pics...

moments before we entered the sanctuary to escort the beauty's (bridesmaids) on stage, the plan was put into motion..plan was put the ring in his coat pocket....but how? feel him up? while tempting, mark tate wasn't around to handle it for us, so we had to go a different route (just a joke mark...just a joke buddy)...so we have to commandeer the sucker....well..only way to do that would be to convince him he needed to take it off....and that wasnt hard...as nervous as he was, he could've used having it off for a while...so we, stan warren and i, convince jeremy he needs to use the bathroom prior to us going in, (which is a smart idea anyway kids)...catch is, we told him to let us have his jacket so he wouldn't pee on it, bcuz i had told him i had....now i can't go into my bathroom experience, but it would've been easier had i in fact taken my jacket off...but i didnt and thats beside the point...so he takes it off, gives it to us, and goes....i slip the ring in his coat pocket, and we're good to go....he comes back, we go in..it's all good.....well first off i didnt know when they would ask for the ring, so i prolly woulda dropped it anyways...but now that he had it i didnt have to worry...so the time comes, pastor asks me for the ring, and jeremy doesnt turn around at all..just sticks his hand back...well i reach in my pocket, then begin to feel around everywhere i would think it might be in my suit..doing probably the worst acting job ever, but apparently i sold it...so the groomsmen go down the line each feeling around their coats and whatnot looking for it....jeremy stays glued to kari, probably knowing something's wrong...kari's eyes get big, and im pretty sure i saw some sort of death look, (AKA "The Look" every woman has in her arsenal)..she looks at her mom, then back at us, then at him..stunned...well stan finally says "jeremy look in your jacket pocket"...he fumbles around in it, while my heart beats about 1000 times per minute hoping that pocket doesnt have a hole in it....he eventually found it, and we're all good...everything else went off w/o a hitch....

my speech went down, forgot some stuff to say that i'd like to make public (or to all 4 of you that read this): "Thanks mom for letting me hang out with Jeremy."

reception was fun, i filmed and took pics for em...got home about 10pm old time...time change hit me and i ended up not making it to church the next morning...met the newlyweds for lunch..and thats a whole different blog!!

until next time

abstract johnny cash's are fun

well folks, i'm sitting at a new coffee shop in town, its been open a few months now, but i had never brought myself to try it...i'm overly picky about not only my coffee, but my coffee shops....well this one's a winner.."it's a grind"..its not real big, and the music, although cool, is a bit too loud making my norah jones listening experience off my ipod a bit difficult....the workers have a bit of the ci ci's feel....someone walks in, they say "hi welcome to its a grind"...friendly atmosphere, they bring your coffee to you, right beside ben & jerry's (which both of these together could make me spend large sums of money real quick)....one more and i'm done...they have this huge abstract painting of johhny cash sitting over their fireplace....2 very unique things im digging...i think i'll be here more often..

was supposed to work twice last wk, both were canceled (thank goodness) due to rain....this wk i was supposed to work today, tomorrow, sat. and sunday...today and tomorrow have been canceled due to big screen issues...which is fine bcuz

1. i dont like tennis
2. i need to study

so thats what im attempting now, studying about geography....whatever that really is....wedding and morning after wedding blog still in the works...stay tuned..in the mean time check this guy out:
www.myspace.com/johnwaller

until next time

wedding pics peeps...

Jeremy & Kari Hellums' wedding

i have a wedding post and will post a few pics when i get a chance...my internet at home is not working so i must work on it as coffee shops allow....so stay tuned...i promise its coming...until then, enjoy march madness!

rehearsal day/wedding early morning

well im sitting in the hotel...on this, officially march 10...wedding day of jeremy and kari...pretty sure you already knew that....

well the rehearsal went fine, took about 30 to 45 mins and then we went and ate at the reception hall...pretty good bbq...then we (groomsmen) headed to temple to do a little bachelor-partying.....we set out to go see a movie, but passed the bowling ally on the way and decided to hit that up instead....low and behold it was a club-like bowling ally atmosphere..black lights, strobe lights, loud music....it was pretty slammin....so we bowled, i had a horrible game, nic had probably the best showing of his life, and we had a great time just hangin out....loooooonnnnng day tomorrow....look forward to it, and i know the stars of the show are ready to git-r-done....so until next time

dan hawkin's rant-re-enactment

the impromptu-surreal movie scene

so im sitting in the MSC flag room minding my own business, downloading (legally) the new passion itunes bundle, and the guy sitting directly across from me is also on his computer....and we both are just minding our own business, then all of a sudden he gets a phone call....im not one to pry, usually, so i didnt listen at first, i listened to my newly bought music.....well not 2 minutes goes by when he is talking at a normal tone of voice, which is too loud for such a "study-full" place...so i begin listening, thinking "he must not care if i listen due to the fact he is talking so loud." so soon enough i begin to see he has not far removed from a relationship...apparently his ex-girlfriend was on the other end, and her voice was raised on the other end of the call, so i can hear bits and pieces of her too...this guy basically sounded like a torn up individual, he went home yesterday after class and threw up all afternoon, his thoughts on her leaving him for another man was that she just left and didnt take her long to jump in the sack with the other guy......this is not a paraphrase folks, this was exactly this guy's words....i felt like i was in the middle of a movie scene honestly.....and the guy was you know, a pretty hefty guy from what i could see....well apparently he started to tear up, i know this bcuz i heard the quiver in his voice, and he said he was doing ok until she brought weight into their argument.....and at this point i feel sorry for the guy, thinking he is just another victim of our sometimes ruthless, yet God-given counterparts- WOMEN..(just playin mom...i love you)...poor guy.....so after about 15 or probably 20 mins of this convo about how he is such a mess, he packs his things and walks out...still on the phone....and i must say.....even though i felt sorry for the guy, i had to seriously hold myself back from laughing out loud.....it was very surreal....a quote from a professor i once had came to mind..."i dont own a cell phone bcuz i dont want other people to know my personal business."....i think this guy should've followed suit..people..strange interesting guy,...lets not air our dirty laundry out so much...for the children's sake

its been an already interesting 3 hrs in my day, at least i now have my coffee...

until next time, have a blessed day

Amazing Grace

i forgot to say last wknd....i went w/my dad to see the new movie "Amazing Grace"....i hadnt heard much about it, but i was expecting it to take a different angle than it did...of course i wont spoil it..

i leave you with this, from Chris Tomlin's version "Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)"

"my chains are gone, i've been set free.
my God, my Saviour has ransomed me
and like a flood his mercy reigns
undending love, Amazing Grace"

an "i will survive"-birthday

well today is pretty much the backend of my crazy wknd...i didnt work very much during the wk..for some unknown reason softball decides to host another tourny, so i was at softball pretty much all afternoon friday. we shut down halfway through their game to carry everything over to baseball so another crew could put on one of our baseball teams 4 games this wknd.. they too are hosting a tourny; and last night they hosted oregon state, the defending national champs (which i wasnt aware of until my sister informed me moments before the game..i did basketball today..senior day..hopefully we showed our 6 seniors that we really have appreciated them...and funny that the team we faced today (mizzou) now has our old head coach (Melvin Watkins) as an asst...he recruited for ex. acie..more to come on the game though at a later date..

yesterday late afternoon my parents arrived in town to spend last night and most of today with us, seeing as how my dad's b-day was today, march 3rd...so we took them to the baseball game...they enjoyed it i believe... its interesting bcuz each sport's home games have different traditions...football has the yells of course, so does basketball..but the little things like the left right left right after an opposing player fouls out, or holding up papers out of the batallion that say BTHO whoever we are playing, then when the lights go off throwing them in the air; baseball too has its own things...for ex: the pa people play the whats usually know as "da da dun dun dun dun :charge" well they play that, then whenever the right moment for "charge" is supposed to come in, we yell the pitchers name...its not much but its small things that keep it fun and fresh.....

i must share the card i got my dad....i dont really remember most of what was on the front, just about how he's survived fashion changes ect...then open it up and the song "i will survive" plays...haha i thought that was fitting

until next time

well i thought about not writing about the game and how we got hosed by the refs, because that would just sound gay....all i would like to say is...compare foul calls b/t teams and how many guys on one side were fouled out, with the other side having nobody in foul trouble at all...oh and if grabbing a jersey and impeding a players progress is not an intentional foul, i dont know what is..

i leave you with this quote from the always moronic ron franklin.(not as moronic as kirk bohls mind you)

"Well that airball didnt even draw iron."-Ron Franklin

its a record

well this wknd i found myself at home for the 4th straight wknd....this time it was man shower time...not mine by any means, it was Jer's man shower...my first shower experience of any kind...it couldnt just be a shower....no no...thats girly stuff...we had to put emphasis on the MAN part...we played no games or whatever the women do at a shower...we had man food (KRUEZ), man talk (what was said at KRUEZ, stays at KRUEZ), and we gave man presents....although im sure kari would have for sure enjoyed getting tools and water hose roller uppers and mag lights....we had a good time, my cut of shoulder wasnt as good as some others i sat near and wanted to trade pieces of beef....thats not picky, thats just knowing what you like and i like me some shoulder with the most amount of beef....just tryin to get my money's worth....but the shower went good, we all had a good time....after the shower i went w/nic and jer to what i thought was going to be a viewing of reno 911...turned out after they bought my tix, i found out we would be seeing hannibal rising...not normally my cup of tea, but it was ok....except for the loud, underage kids sitting directly behind us constantly talking and cursing...but i have a great tu-aggie story...

so we enter the lockhart theatre and im kind of hungry due to my lack of a good cut of shoulder (see above) and i decide since one of these great guys bought my ticket, the least i could do would be to buy the snacks.....well i order up a tub of popcorn, my movie theatre norm, and whats the best way to wash all that buttery goodness down? you guessed it, a large DP....and so i order up a large DP and the girl's hand heads for this extremely burnt cup with all this 2005 natl champs mumbo-jumbo....and im like hold on....this cant be happening...these peeps are 2 yrs removed from winning the natl championship and they still have these cups...now a yr ago i can see that but cmon.....we dont have 2005 NIT co-champs or w/e our b-ball team did a few yrs ago.....so i tell the girl "im not drinking out of that...you dont have any more large cups?" she replies "no thats all we have. i can give you 2 mediums for the large price." and i think to myself "although that is a heck of a deal bcuz that would be more than the large holds, that would put me in the bathroom a few times" so i decline and tell the guys "i would buy ya'lls drink but i know ya'll are gonna get those cups so you can get your own drinks." and i know what your thinking, pettyness at its best.....but the sips gotta learn somehow....but its not their fault...its the theatre's fault...which is pathetic...now if they were just getting rid of the cups, i can understand that...but i have never seen those there before; not even after they won 2 yrs ago.....so needless to say, i got my medium and protested the theatre by not getting a large and them not getting their $.25 more...so there.....

slow wk this wk....phone hrs today as usual, but no work until the wknd...softball fri afternoon and last mens b-ball game of the yr saturday v. mizzou...should be fun..no tests just a project due at some point....cheers to a great wk

until next time

2 in a row is tiring

well my 2nd straight Dnow wknd is done...and i am pooped....although i am tempted to say i enjoyed this wk a bit more, i cannot...both wknds had their ups and downs, both allowed me to hang out with close friends, and both allowed me to be involved in some media capacity...and more importantly, both allowed me to be apart of what God is doing in 2 different churches and their youth groups...i also had the privilege of hearing/meeting a worship leader i've heard so much about, mostly from my dad...lindsey kane, who i've heard of periodically due to the face that i am on greg carnes email list and see her name pop up often as many major bands opening act as they come through san antone...my dad had the privilege of hearing her at an indie showcase somewhere, and he was most impressed. once again seeing how networking is so important, i also found out nic knew her from previous work he has been involved in. it was a pleasure to work with her, i enjoyed her stuff very much and look forward to hearing her during the Beach Break camp this summer. you can check her out on myspace as well as the rest of the world basically. i have a crazy rest of my wk ahead, work pretty much all day tomorrow with 2 softball games followed an hr later by a women's basketball game i am supposed to work as well...test fri morning, then headed back home for a wknd of Jeremy's "Man Shower" at Kruez and hopefully some more hang time with friends and family.

Until next time

Face melting rock + fully hubcapped room=face melting hubcaps

busy february 07 wknd part 2 consisted of the yearly Pflugerville DNow, something i've been apart of for 3 or 4 years now..and for what i think to be the 2nd yr in a row, we had the same lineup for speaker and band...the speaker being Pat Camarratta (no clue on spelling but you get the idea...good stuff as always with JCB and the boys...always a pleasure to work with a band you like to listen to, get along with, and enjoy hanging out after show...they're one of the easiest bands to mix for, but thats probably due to the fact i know the material...made some recordings of the sessions and also made a video (down below)...other than that, during the wknd i got to meet my parents for lunch with stanley at mcalister's deli, and in the words of my father when looking for a place to eat wherever we are; "there's always mcalister's deli" haha....so we met them there and stayed for about 3 hours just chatting....alos had a good wknd hanging out with stanley and mrs windy, got to see my little pimp daddy jordan just basically sunday..but the time spent with him was nonetheless fun...i had my first chuy's experience on saturday night when we all went to eat with the band, i guess i never ventured to chuy's because there's not one in south austin...and i had already eaten so i wasnt hungry and didnt get the full effect, but i did have the queso and that was killer...we ate in a room where the whole ceiling and i believe the whole wall was covered in hubcaps...which was interesting..got flbc dnow this wknd so hopefully i will have more to report next wk...got softball all day tomorrow, and in the cold that will not be fun!! so until next time