life, and a little more

Believers Outside The Box

Jun 08

metalman777Christianity, Life, audio podcasts, The God Journey No Comments

I was listening to an archived podcast of The God Journey and it summed up exactly how I feel about “church” that I thought I’d share it.  Please listen and tell me what you think!

What I like most about these guys is how “un-dogmatic” they are.  If you prefer a Sunday morning event and want that to be your main way to connect with other people, then go for it!  On the same hand, if you feel disconnected with the Sunday morning event and find fellowship outside of it, then go for it!

Summertime

Jun 04

metalman777Life, family summer No Comments

Well, it sure has been a while since I’ve written any original posts, non Lost related!

Today is the last day of school for my kids.  I’m so proud of them all!  Starting next August I’ll officially have a Junior in high school, an 8th grader and a 6th grader!   Good bye elementary school.

I’m sure this summer will include lots of sleeping, swimming and Playstation 3.  My goal is to beat Nate and Hannah at least once in Call of Duty!!

Up next month is my second half marathon in San Francisco.  I’m really looking forward to participating in that.  Running over the Golden Gate Bridge? I’m in!  And to get to do that as the sun is rising up over the mountains!  Can you say breath taking?

I have lots of yard work to do, but I’m not sure I want to dwell on that!

Today Was A Great Day

Mar 13

metalman777Life good day 1 Comment

The sun is shining brightly and the wind is blowing coolly, so today is a perfect day to work outside. That makes today a pretty good day.

I was able to attend Nathan’s last basketball game and see him crash the boards mightily (get rebounds for all you non-basketball people).  That made today really, really good.

Today is also the last day of  the mega-all-consuming overtime that has literally ruled my life for the last 5 months!!  Tomorrow is my first day off in a month!  That makes today a great day!

Dave Ramsey was right.  If you live like nobody else, then you can finally live like no one else!  All that overtime went to paying off quite a bit of debt I’ve accumulated over the years.  Probably since I had my first credit card at 17.  I’m sure I’ll post a blog entry about getting out of debt at a later date.

I just want to say a huge thank you to my wife for holding down the family fort all this time.  I think your work was harder than mine!

Best Buy Is Stupid

Feb 24

metalman777Life best buy, rewardzone, ripped off No Comments

I got an email today from Best Buy.

It said “Congratulations on requalifying for Premier Silver status. We greatly appreciate your continued loyalty to Best Buy^®, and we’d like to say “thanks.” Your Reward Zone^® program Premier Silver status is good through February 28, 2011.”

It listed my points as below:

I thought to myself!  Sweet!  $660 in rewards is the equivalent to electronics heaven!!  I could buy so many things – FOR FREE!!  Man, I could really save up and get that super big HDTV!

So I go about my work and kinda forget about it.  As I sit at my computer relaxing after a long 11 hour day, I get another email from Best Buy.

It says: “A PREVIOUS EMAIL INCORRECTLY LISTED YOUR POINTS AND REWARD CERTIFICATES; CORRECTION BELOW.”

It listed my points as below:

Talk about a buzz kill!!  Going from $660 in free electronic goodies to a measly $5? How could this be?  I’ve dropped more than a few hundred dollars at Best Buy over the last 6 months and surely I’ve acquired more than $5 in rewards!

What’s the saying?  Easy come, easy go?  That is a stupid saying!

MMX, part 2

Dec 31

metalman777Life, family 2010, looking ahead No Comments

In MMX, part 1, I looked back on 2009 and reminisced on the good times I had with my family.

Part 2 looks ahead at the coming 2010 year. I don’t plan to make resolutions, but instead want I want to write about a few things that I’m quite looking forward to this year!

1. My middle daughter turning the big 13 in March! She is so excited to finally get a cell phone! Now I’ll have two teenagers! God save me! (just kidding, as my Bekah is an awesome girl and I love her very, very much!)
2. Running my first Half-Marathon in April. It will be in Santa Cruz, running alongside the ocean. How awesome is that?
3. Summer break with the kids. We’re gonna try to do a cheap Disneyland trip; the kids are finally old enough to ride ALL the rides. Just no “It’s A Small World” for me please.
4. Celebrating anniversary number 17 with Cindy. I honestly can’t believe it’s been that long! I’m grateful for every day!
5. Getting the kids back in school. We’ll have a Junior, 8th Grader and a 6th Grader. 3 kids in 2 different schools instead of three. That’ll be nice for Cindy!
6. Finally getting out of debt. I’m working my butt off right now and we should be debt free by next fall. That is a major burden off my shoulders.
7. Hannah turning 16 and getting her driver’s license. Yes, I’m nervous as heck, but at the same time I’m super excited for her. I definitely feel more gray hair sprouting even as I type this.

2010 is going to be an awesome year. I can just feel it.

MMX, part 1

Dec 30

metalman777Life, family 2010, looking ahead No Comments

This time of year is usually spent doing two things.

People look back at the past year and reflect if it was a good or bad. A few sum up the best of the year in top 10 lists, as I have done with my best music of 2009 playlist.

After looking back, those same people usually cast a glance at the year to come and make a list of resolutions they plan to keep. I did this very thing last year.

My resolutions for were:
That said, here are those goals for 2009:

1. Follow Jesus where ever He takes me.

2. Get healthy and drop some pounds.

3. Make family a priority.

4. Definitely read more and watch less movies.

5. Pick up the bass guitar and learn some sweet bass lines.

6. Buy Guitar Hero Metallica the minute it comes out!

I have to say I actually made some headway this year and did accomplish most everything on the list.

1. Follow Jesus where ever He takes me? I’ll be honest and say it has been a tad uncomfortable at times. Not in the martyr, follow-Jesus-to-the-death way, but in the shedding some more of my religious, dogmatic underpinnings and not-wanting-to-be-part-of-the-churchy-do-it-like-this-because-we’ve-always-done-it-like-this way. I love Jesus more than ever and am so grateful to see Him in new ways. He is my shepherd and leader, and no one else.

2. I started running in June and have lost almost 20 pounds! [in my best Austin Powers impersonation] Yeah baby!

3. Family is the priority. It is tough because I’ve been working so much overtime to get out of debt that I feel as though I’m neglecting them at times. It helps to know this is a temporary thing and soon I’ll have time to be with them AND have money to take ‘em on a nice vacation!

4. Read some great books and watched a lot of great movies.

5. I borrowed a bass guitar and took a few lessons, but it just didn’t fit into my schedule. But I tried!

6. Guitar Hero Metallica is awesome and a blast to play. I just hate being crushed by my 15 year old daughter. Seriously, she can beat my by 100,000 points and she’s playing on expert!

Nice, real nice

Sep 23

metalman777Life relaxing 2 Comments

Nothing big to report.  I finally have a minute to sit and enjoy Nathan’s soccer practice and it isn’t a million degrees out here.

Feels real good to just sit for a minute and relax in the moment.

And I Didn’t Even Die!

Sep 15

metalman777Life, exercise exercise, goals, running 2 Comments

As I sit here and type these words, my legs are feeling both awesomely strong and amazingly feeble….I just ran my first 10K!

Lucy the Running Dog

I’ve been running since June of this year. Running started out as a love/hate relationship, but some time this last month, I’ve started to really love it. I actually anticipate and long to get out on the road with my dog Lucy and some good tunes in my ears. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d enjoy running!

I am happy to have done 6.22 miles, but am still nervous as that is only 1/2 of a 1/2 marathon! I plan on running in the Santa Cruz Half Marathon in April. As good as I feel about finally running a 10k today, the idea of that being only the 1/2 way mark in the Santa Cruz race is still in my mind. I’m glad that I still have quite a long time to train.

My short term goal is to get my 10k down to an hour and with a long range goal of completing the 1/2 marathon in 2 hours 15 minutes or less.

This was the route I ran today. Almost made it to the UC! I was very proud of Lucy as she trotted the entire time right by my side. I was hesitant to take her as I new it would be long, but when she saw me putting on my running shoes she got excited and I just couldn’t tell her no!

She is one pooped pup now:

The Best Day (Happy 16 Years Cindy!)

Jul 24

metalman777Life, family anniversary, marriage 1 Comment

Sixteen years ago today was one of the best days of my life.  I got married.

I was but twenty years old, Cindy eighteen.  We were a young couple in love, bound and determined to make our relationship work.  Too young to know what we were signing up for, truthfully.

I remember our wedding day…the giddy anticipation of it all -  waking up early, helping decorate the reception hall, bumbling around most of the day quite useless.  Finally the moment arrived.  There was my bride walking down the aisle.  My breath still catches when I think about it!   With two blinks of an eye, the ceremony was over and we were on our way to the reception to party until the wee hours of the night.  Did I say party?  We couldn’t get even drink  a toast of champagne as we were under the legal drinking age!

Two more blinks of an eye and now it is sixteen years later.   Where have all the years gone?  There are so many sweet memories: the birth of our three awesome kids, going on family vacations, late night chats, lots of swimming and bar-b-q’s, and Cindy always there with a smile.

I can see why God compares our relationship with Him to marriage.  It’s a lot of work, but totally worth it!  When He talked of the two becoming one, He was talking about one of the greatest miracles in the known world.  Learning to serve and relinquish wants and supposed needs for Cindy and my kids has been a beautiful (sometimes very difficult) lesson to learn.  Seeing her serve me and give up her rights and wants for the betterment of our family has taught me much too.

These sixteen years have been full of ups and downs, but they have been the best sixteen years of my life.  Thanks Cindy, for saying “I do”.  You’ve made me a richer and better man for it.

Anticipating A Dream Come True

Jun 17

metalman777Life, calvin & hobbes, humor, music concerts, dreams, music, stryper 5 Comments

I have done something that I’ve wanted to do since I was 16 years old…..I bought a ticket to go see Stryper in concert!  Yeah, yeah I know – insert bumble bee stupid jokes here.  You can read my story about how I became a Stryper fan here.

Stryper will be supporting their new album, entitled Murder By Pride, which will be released July 21st, 2009.  The six songs I’ve heard so far are top quality and are a great addition to the Stryper legacy.

The concert will be on November 14th, 2009 in Los Angeles.  So I have to wait a little over 5 months until I can drive 4 hours to see the concert of a lifetime!  5 looooong months of waiting……….my anticipation made me remember a story in the Calvin & Hobbes comic strip where Calvin sends off for a beanie and he dies a thousand deaths waiting for it.  Because I love Stryper and because I love Calvin & Hobbes and because this is my blog, I’m gonna share that comic strip in the coming days.  (check out this website where a fan lovingly scanned in the entire Calvin & Hobbes library)

to be continued….