1. Tuesday nights have become ’me’ nights at home. On Mondays I’m typically away from home for 13+ hours with work and the weekly staff meeting at Life Pointe Church. On Wednesdays I only have about 3 hours at home after work and before Life Group. But Tuesdays when I get home I stay home and catch up with stuff. It’s my ‘fun’ day - my ‘I don’t have to run’ day !
2. TODAY I extended my ‘fun’ day by 4 hours and worked just a half a day. I went to Target for the first time since perhaps last December, and I went on a 90-minute shopping spree. Actually for the amount of time that I was scouring that store I didn’t really buy too many items (17). I could have really gone wild and bought 35 items !
6. I’m having a lot of fun and learning a lot too with my fresh new Panasonic DVD Recorder / VCR Combo. I bought it online at circuitcity.com a couple of Saturday nights ago, and FedEx delivered it to me (free of charge) less than two business days later ! I couldn’t believe my four eyes when it arrived that fast !
7. Since my new DVD recorder has a digital tuner I’m exploring and enjoying crystal clear digital television for the first time ever. I have 90 new digital channels (expanded basic) that I always had but couldn’t access until now. That includes 50 music channels. I dig that !
8. Last night and this morning I recorded four hours of digital television programming on DVD-RW for the first time ever. I’ve got some tweaks to make to this process. I recorded it all in EP mode (which allows for 8 hours of programming onto a single 4.7 GB DVD). The picture quality suffered a bit. I’ll have to bring it down a notch for my next recordings. I’m learning.
9. I’ve pushed back the purchase of my fresh new HP Pavilion laptop indefinitely - but not for too long. Once the initial enjoyment value for my DVD Recorder / digital television revolution begins to wind down a bit then it will be time for me to buy my next new toy - the laptop. It should happen sometime in August.
10. Bright and early this morning I was once again reminded why I rarely go through the drive-thru at the McDonald’s at the Oasis Plaza en el este de Homestead. It’s because the service is subpar. They get confused handling more than one order at a time !
Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 7:48 PM
· Filed under Home, Money
TODAY I paid the second of two homeowner’s insurance policies for the upcoming year that begins for each of the policies in about 6 weeks. One of the policies ($754.00 for the year) is for all perils except for wind, and the other policy ($949.10) is for wind only. So that’s $1,703.10 combined for the year - or less than $4.67 a day.
Here’s how my annual insurance costs have evolved since I’ve owned my current home (nearly 7 years):
Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 4:36 PM
· Filed under Career, Home
THIS AFTERNOON I shaved. Why ? Because it’s Saturday !
I shave twice a week. Why do I shave twice a week ? It’s because I do not wish to shave three times a week. I had to shave every day for 8 years while I was Active Duty Air Force. I didn’t like it at all. It was 1 of the 57 reasons why I decided to get out of the Air Force when I did. Over 15 years later I’m still working for the Air Force - but as a D.O.D. civilian. I can shave whenever I feel like it, and I feel like shaving twice a week. In fact I feel like shaving on Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings. That’s why when you see me on Wednesdays and Sundays I appear to be rather clean-shaven. There’s about 76 hours between my Saturday afternoon shave and my Tuesday evening shave, and there’s about 92 hours between my Tuesday evening shave and my Saturday afternoon shave. A lot of hair grows on my face during those 76 to 92 hours. I like how my face feels once it’s all shaved off. It feels smooth like that !
If I decided to increase my shaving to three times a week then perhaps I would go with a Sunday evening / Tuesday evening / Thursday evening schedule. That way I would be clean-shaven on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
That just seems like a bit too much shaving for me.
Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 10:04 AM
· Filed under Home
It’s the only morning of the week in which a set alarm clock does not wake me up. During the work week it wakes me up at precisely 5:15 AM. On Sundays it does so at 6:30 AM. On Saturdays I get to sleep in, and lately (especially) I’ve been taking full advantage of this once-in-a-week opportunity.
This morning I recall waking up (for the first time) at 4:20 AM. When I quickly identified the time as ‘4:20 AM’ I just as quickly went back to sleep. I proceeded to sleep right through my normal wake up times for the other 6 days of the week, and I finally awoke (for good) at 7:47 AM. I just laid there in bed for about 10 minutes as I planned out my upcoming day. It was right then and there that I decided to not go anywhere at all today. I walked in to my home just before 3:30 PM yesterday (Friday) afternoon, and I don’t plan to walk out of it again until just before 7:30 AM tomorrow (Sunday) morning. I’ll be enjoying the comfort of my home sweet home en Homestead for 40 continuous hours. It’s just me and my home. Home is where my heart is.
Most people I know don’t spend nearly enough time in their home. They are always out and about and on the go. They rarely take ‘personal time’ away from it all. They are sort of like zombies. All work. All action. No play. No rest.
That will not be me (today anyway). My shenanigans on a Saturday would be considered to be extremely lame for many, but it works on so many levels for me. I am so much busier in 2008 than in any other previous year in my entire life. Today I am taking a day off from the rest of the world. I am recharging my batteries. I am getting refreshed. I am enjoying this home of mine. It’s got everything that I need. It’s where I belong today. It’s where I need to be.
I’ll be back outside and on-the-go tomorrow (Sunday). Catch me then (if you can).
I do more before 9 AM on a Saturday morning than many people do all day on Saturday !
I started my Saturday morning bright and early at Homestead’s Oasis Plaza Publix just a couple of minutes after they opened up their doors at 7 AM. Once upon a time I used to be the first person in to the original Towne Square Publix (Useless-One & Campbell Drive) on most Sunday mornings at 7 AM (sometimes on Saturday mornings at the same time). Nowadays a Saturday morning at 7 AM visit to Publix is a rare treat, and a Sunday morning at 7 AM visit is an impossibility (due to my other priorities). I was in and out of Publix with all of my groceries for the next couple of weeks or so in about 45 minutes.
Next on the agenda (after I took all of my groceries home) was Chevron on Homestead’s frantic corner of Useless-One and Campbell Drive. I filled up my car with 10.836 gallons of gas at $4.199 per gallon (an all-new record) for a total cost of $45.50 (another all-new record). It was my first fill-up with gas in 19 days (a few days above my usual running average). I averaged a daily consumption of 0.57 gallons of gas over the past 19 days.
I then went over to Walgreens where I got excellent $ALE DEAL$ on laundry detergent and videotapes (what a combination).
I capped-off my Saturday Morning Shenanigans at Burger King where I picked-up an Enormous Omelet Sandwich, Hash Browns, and Turbo Coffee. Burger King has always been my all-time favourite fast food restaurant for breakfast, and for many years I used to go there at least once or twice per week. This may have been my first or second visit in all of 2008 thus far. I just don’t eat as ‘bad’ as I used to ever since my MASSIVE heart attack and subsequent 9-month coma elevated cholesterol readings and subsequent Lipitor prescription. Eating a Burger King breakfast has now become a once-in-a-long-while occasion. I’ll do it again en Octubre !
And so those - mis amigos - are mis Saturday Morning Shenanigans. I got back home at 9 AM this morning, and now I’m watching television, surfing the web, doing laundry, paying bills, filing paperwork, and other fun stuff like that. This is the day that I’ve been waiting for since … last Saturday !
Have a sensational Saturday everyone ! Make it memorable.
It’s great to be back home in Homestead. I’ve been home for a little over 24 hours now, and I’ve used this (Satur)day to relax and return to a more normal routine.
I’m looking forward to a lot of ‘normal routine’ things during this upcoming week. I’m looking forward to serving at Life Pointe Church for 3 hours starting at 7:25 AM tomorrow (Sunday) morning. I’m looking forward to attending the 10:30 AM service right after that. I’m looking forward to blogging the ‘Life Pointe Church Sunday Morning Tossed Salad’ on here tomorrow afternoon. I’m looking forward to returning to work at 6 AM on Monday morning. I’m looking forward to the weekly staff meeting at the Life Pointe Church office suite right after work at 4 PM on Monday afternoon. I’m looking forward to a visit from the Orkin dude on Tuesday afternoon because he keeps my home bug-free. I’m looking forward to hangin’ out with my Life Group at 7 PM on Wednesday night.
I’m looking forward to all of these things and everything else in-between that makes this Life the best Life that I could ever imagine. All of these great things are possible because of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He has made this Life especially for me. I am forever greatful of Him and what He did for me, and what He is doing for me. There is no-one and no-thing that is greater than Him !
This morning I didn’t get out of bed until (a SHOCKING) 9 AM ! I’ve already set my alarm clock for 6:30 AM tomorrow (Sunday) morning. Despite the late ‘getting up’ time this morning I’m gonna try to get back to bed at a reasonable time tonight (such as 10 PM). It felt so great to be back in my own bed last night. In fact it felt so great that I was in it for nearly 12 hours (from 9 PM to 9 AM) !
May each and every one of you have a safe and peaceful Saturday night, and until we hang out again here on the blog or LIVE and in-person - remember this (and turn up the volume LOUD !):
You know you want it, so don’t let me be the one to deny it:
1. On this dark and stormy Tuesday afternoon in Homestead I actually heard the following overused phrase from a coworker - ‘I think this is gonna be a really bad hurricane season. This could be the worst one yet !’ Remember when Hurricane Andrew destroyed Homestead 16 years ago this August ? That was one of the quietest Atlantic hurricane seasons in modern history. It only takes one powerful hurricane to wreck havoc with your life as you know it. If we have an all-time record 30 named storms this season, yet none of them strike land anywhere near you then what kind of hurricane season is that ?
2. We’re getting a lot of much-needed rain today here in Homestead. I totally dig that. We need every last drop of it and then some to pull us out of this extended drought that we’re in. We could really use at least three FEET of rain (that’s right - 36 inches) over the next three months !
3. If you think that you haven’t seen that many mosquitoes out and about thus far this Summer then check again by this weekend. Let me know if you can feel them biting you in a few days.
5. Last Friday I celebrated the 13TH anniversary of me living here in my current home here in Homestead. This is by far the best place that I have ever lived in my entire life / Life.
6. For those of you who are new to my blog let me explain. When I refer to the last 22 months of my Life the word ‘Life’ is always capitalized. When I refer to the 39 years before that the word ‘life’ begins with a lower-case ‘l’. When I write about my ’life / Life’ I’m referring to my previous sad, miserable, and directionless life, as well as my current Life - full of glory, joy, and purpose for I have been saved and reborn again by the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s all symbolic, but it also keeps it all in perspective.
7. My next laptop will have at least 2 gigabytes of memory in it. My current laptop has exactly one-fourth that amount. I think that I will finally buy a brand new laptop sometime between now and the end of the year. I’m actually not looking forward to it. Once I buy that new laptop this blog may suddenly go inactive for about 3 to 5 days because it will probably take that long to transfer all of my files over from this laptop to that laptop and also install and configure various programs. There’s a lot of work involved there. If I knew that it would be really easy then I would probably already have a new laptop by now.
8. Ela O. called me on the telephone this afternoon, and we talked for exactly 7 minutes and 29 seconds. She made me laugh hysterically, and I returned the flavour. The telephone is my least favourite electronic device that I could easily live without; however, when I see that it’s Ela on the other end (via my Caller-I.D.) I know that I should be prepared to laugh up a storm with her. She has every reason in the world to be sad and miserable, yet she is one of the happiest and most joyful women I know in my current Life. She’s got a whole lot of purpose remaining in her Life here on Earth on God’s fantastic journey !
9. Ela tried to pull a fast one on me during that telephone conversation by telling me that I was being assigned to make coffee this Sunday morning at the Life Pointe Church Café. We have quite a few Medical Doctors and Registered Nurses that are part of our LPC family. They would be put into action and forced to go to work on their fellow brothers and sisters if I were to make coffee on Sunday morning. We would need a couple of shuttle buses to transport the victims from the movie theatre to the hospital. I stopped making coffee for the general public in 1989 - not because I made anyone sick or anything like that - but because I could. Nowadays I actually make my own instant coffee for myself on most mornings. It would probably cause irregular heartbeats for most normal healthy humans.
10. The Sun is now shining brightly and baking the atmosphere directly above my neighbourhood. That only means one thing. Prepare now for another ferocious thunderstorm with torrential downpours in about an hour.
1. NO - Your eyes are not deceiving you. This is really an edition of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’. I just had to take advantage of this extremely unusual cool and dry air over Homestead this late in the winter season (which incidentally I forecasted with precision accuracy nearly a week ago). When dewpoints reach the lower-60s in late-May in Homestead you just know that you are living through a strange weather phenomenon. Of course if you have no clue what a dewpoint is then you probably just think that it’s really sunny outside !
2. Before I even ventured on this ‘Walk-A-Thon’ I went over to Florida City (where all of the food is), and I ate the mother of all MASSIVE breakfasts to end all MASSIVE breakfasts big and small - at Denny’s ! I walked in, I was treated with love, care, and respect, and I ate one of the biggest meals that I can remember in recent short-term memory. Everything was just oh-so-perfect with this breakfast experience - including the environment, the surrounding clientele, and the rockin’ music that was playing in the background. I think I found my new favourite breakfast hang-out joint on future Saturday (or holiday) mornings.
3. I ate so much food that I just had to walk it all off, and so I did via a basic ‘old-school’ standard-issue 1.3-mile walk around the circumference of my beautiful neighbourhood. I did the walk in a little more than 23½-minutes, and I walked to the fantastic beat of my glorious Christian rock, pop, and hip hop music on my green 2GB iPod Shuffle. Editorial Comment Alert - If I were the Music Director of the main lobby of Life Pointe Church on Sunday mornings then I would play my iPod Shuffle in lieu of the current music selection on the iPod that has been played endlessly for about a year now. But that’s just me.
4. One side of Lakeshore’s dumpsters were clean and empty. The other side were dirty, full, and overflowing onto the ground. Gee I wonder which side the City Of Homestead hasn’t gotten to yet ? ! The north side is anxiously awaiting with baited breath the emptying of our dumpsters.
5. I guarantee at least one more edition of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ this Summer - on location from the River Walk in San Antonio Texas. Look for it during the week of the 4TH Of July.
It’s the Summer replacement series for ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ which is now on seasonal hiatus. It’s … ‘Saturday Morning Shenanigans’. This should be a fun weekly series for all of us.
Saturday morning is pretty much the only morning of the week when I don’t have to set my alarm clock to wake-up earlier than I would if I didn’t set my alarm clock. During the week it’s typically set for 5:10 AM, and it typically wakes me up. On Sunday mornings it’s usually set for 6:30 AM, but I usually wake up before that time. And then there’s Saturday mornings - no set alarm clock, but I still wake-up before the dawn. I think that it has everything to do with me totally being ‘a morning person’. I’ve been waking up between 4 AM and 6 AM for the past 30 years. Before my current Air Force / Department Of Defense career I delivered newspapers early in the morning before school.
This morning I ventured on over to Florida City (where all of the food is at), and I ate a MASSIVE breakfast at the Cracker Barrel courtesy of my longtime waitress Debbie. Incidentally Debbie is one of the few good people that was an integral part of the last few years of my previous life who is now a part of my new Life. Oh yeah - the meal was livin’ large and outrageously scrumptious. This just in - I’m up a pound or two to 166.
Saturday mornings are also ’laundry mornings’ in my household. Every 38 minutes I’m washing a new load of dirty clothes, and every 48 minutes I’m drying a new load of clean clothes. I’m efficient like that.
And so there ya go - the debut edition - the pilot episode if you will of ‘Saturday Morning Shenanigans’. We’ll do it all over again next week, and in next week’s edition I’m gonna reveal a secret passion (and talent) of mine that developed over the course of a decade of Saturday mornings back in the 1970s into the 1980s. It’s a ’can’t-miss’ episode that all of Life Pointe Church will be talking about the next day at Homestead Bayfront Park. You won’t want to miss it pal !
There was no walk around my neighbourhood on this Saturday morning. It was about 73°F and the relative humidity was very near 100% with lower visibility due to light fog. The South Florida summertime weather pattern has taken hold, and it will have a firm grip on us for the next 5+ months.
Last Saturday morning was the season finale of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’, and so I present to you a recap of the season that started on Christmas Eve with my TOP 10 thoughts (in chronological order):
1. Monday December 24TH 2007 - If this were May, June, July, August, September, or October then I would have probably been eaten alive by every bug known to mankind, but this is December and it is just so refreshingly delightful outside !
2. Tuesday January 01ST 2008 - You can tell where the party-animals live here in my neighbourhood. Their dumpsters are overflowing with leftover holiday week garbage. The dumpsters that were still able to be closed from the top are where the retired folks live … Dogs can be party-animals as well. I came within inches of stepping in some of their ‘holiday leftovers’ during my walk this morning. It was a close call !
3. Saturday January 05TH 2008 - Walking is a great time for praying. I prayed for the residents of Homestead, Florida City, Redland, Leisure City, Naranja Lakes, and Princeton to be blessed by the Glory of God. I prayed that the believers stay strong and unwavering with their personal relationship with Jesus. I prayed that the non-believers be guided onto the on-ramp of the fantastic journey by the believers. There’s plenty of room for everyone who truly believes in Him !
4. Saturday February 16TH 2008 - A friend from afar recently asked me why I started this weekly walk. Besides the obvious health and fitness reasons this walk - inspired and encouraged by this fellow WordPress blogger - is symbolic of my walk with Jesus Christ. I’ve been walking with Him on His fantastic journey for about 18 months now. I was once a mannequin - plastic and rotting. Now I am alive. Since I am alive I am living Life (always capitalized) the way that I should have lived it during my previous 39 years on His great Earth. That includes throwing everything up in the air like ‘Tossed Salad’ (catch the symbolism there) and only catching the good stuff - the right stuff. A physical walk is now on my agenda to complement my spiritual walk with my Creator. No longer am I sitting still in neutral. I am now moving forward and going places with my Life. The Lord Almighty is driving me. I am merely His passenger.
5. Saturday February 23RD 2008 - I received some disappointing news at my Doctor’s office yesterday afternoon. After numerous analyses of my blood work over the past several years he has finally made the determination that diet and exercise alone is not bringing down my bad cholesterol (LDL). It’s still in the ‘elevated’ range, and it doesn’t appear to be coming down on its own. He has prescribed Lipitor for me - 10 milligrams per day to start off with. He gave me a free 14-day sample of it to ensure that it doesn’t cause any bad side effects with me. If I feel fine after the first 14 days then it’s on to Walgreens to get my prescription filled. I take my first dosage this afternoon. This will probably be the start of daily medication for the rest of my Life. I am no longer a young buck. Apparently I am now a middle-aged dude with high cholesterol. I am facing the music.
6. Saturday March 08TH 2008 - My semi-basic 1.4-mile walk on a rare full stomach was done so during treacherous weather conditions - with thick dark clouds hanging low overhead, strong gusty northwesterly winds of up to 25 MPH, cold air pouring in, and even a little bit of leftover drizzle on this fresh side of the powerful cold front. I will dream of mornings like this from April through October when it’s hot and sticky outside with no wind … The ducks were out and about this morning, and they appeared to be lost, dazed, confused, and perhaps even drunk. They were stumbling about, wandering around with no sense of direction, and I saw one of them nearly tumble over in a state of mass chaos. They were wondering why the weather had suddenly changed on them. Some of them probably drank too much (rain).
7. Saturday March 29TH 2008 - Whenever I walk the walk I feel like I’ve taken back my neighbourhood. I’ve lived here for nearly 13 years, but I’ve only really lived here for the past 3 months. Before Christmas Eve 2007 the only walking I did was to and from the mailboxes and the dumpsters. From 1995 to 2007 I merely existed in this neighbourhood. Now I am fully alive. Taking back my neighbourhood from obscurity has been just like taking back my Life from the darkness. I’ve wrapped my arms around my entire neighbourhood just like I’ve embraced this new Life that God has given me.
8. Saturday April 19TH 2008 - I may not have big muscles to show for it, but I am the most physically fit today than I have ever been in my entire life and Life. I am in far better shape today than I was during my late-teens and early-to-middle-20s when I had to run a mile-and-a-half every year in the Air Force.
9. Saturday April 26TH 2008 - ‘The cat by the dumpster’ was there again. He looked at me with his sad yellow eyes with no fear. I think if I dropped a few morsels of tasty food by his side then he would have gobbled it all up in a split second and then followed me for the remaining mile-plus of my walk. 10 years later …
10. Saturday May 03RD 2008 - 2 little dogs were out for some early-morning shenanigans without their owner. I think they escaped from their patio. They were having a good ole time running all around in the street and on the grass - until they saw me ! That’s when they ran behind me and straight outta sight - probably back to where they belong. I wonder which one of those little dogs was the trouble-maker ? Which one said to the other one, ‘Hey, follow me. We’re gonna go out and paint this town. We’re gonna go and get us into some monkey business this morning. Let’s go dog !’
1. It’s the first Saturday morning of May, and the walk continues. We’re enjoying an unusually cool Spring here in South Florida. Later this month the rainy season should be kicking-off, and that will pretty much bring an end to these weekly walks for the season.
2. It was another 2.2-mile walk for me this morning, and I did it in 40 minutes flat. That’s an average of 3.3 MPH. I always feel refreshed and alive during and after the walk. I think that’s the whole point of exercising.
3. U.S. 1 is known as the ‘18-Mile Stretch’ from Florida City to Key Largo. I’ve got the ‘18-Minute Stretch’. That’s the middle portion of my walk that takes me from the main gate of my neighbourhood, completely around its southern hemisphere, down the spine, and back to the main gate again.
4. 2 little dogs were out for some early-morning shenanigans without their owner. I think they escaped from their patio. They were having a good ole time running all around in the street and on the grass - until they saw me ! That’s when they ran behind me and straight outta sight - probably back to where they belong. I wonder which one of those little dogs was the trouble-maker ? Which one said to the other one, ‘Hey, follow me. We’re gonna go out and paint this town. We’re gonna go and get us into some monkey business this morning. Let’s go dog !’
5. Most neighbourhoods have a lack of parking. My neighbourhood has an over-abundance of parking. I think we may even have one parking space for every man, woman, and child that lives here. At least it seems that way.
1. Some of the best television programming on-the-air is in the form of 30 and 60 second commercials. You know that it’s a great commercial when you pretty much stop what you’re doing whenever it comes on the tube - no matter how many times you’ve already seen it. I’m thinking about the AT&T GoPhone commercial right now that stars Meat Loaf and Tiffany. (NO - The’re not really married in real-life. That’s not really their son either.)
2. The sight of a large gathering of people applauding President George W. Bush after a speech is a beautiful sight. The concept of everyone respecting The President Of The United States Of America (whoever it is), and treating him or her like you would want to be treated by any other human being is just plain humane. Unfortunately it’s a concept that millions of Americans just don’t understand.
3. I think that I totally adore eating Kellogg’s Pop Tarts today just as much as I did as a kid back in the 1970s into the 1980s. I think that if you ask me about them again in another 30 years then the answer will probably be the same.
4. On the other hand back in the 1970s I did not appreciate Chinese food. In fact I didn’t really enjoy eating it on a regular basis until the mid-1990s. Homestead has no shortage of family-owned Chinese restaurants. Everywhere you look - ‘There’s one !’
5. Homestead also specializes in family-owned Mexican restaurants, and that’s a delicacy that’s even newer to my personal tastes than Chinese food. One day soon I’m going to have Lunch with this cat at a fine Mexican restaurant near my workplace.
6. If there are just 3 motorists driving along a somewhat secluded portion of highway in Homestead then those 3 motorists would just have to be myself, the slow-poke directly in front of me that’s driving 33 MPH in a 40 MPH zone, and the tail-gater directly behind me that is so close that I can no longer see his or her vehicle anymore via my rear-view mirror. Throw in an extra-special 4TH vehicle that’s rapidly approaching all 3 of us with its high-beams on, and you’ve got a typical Tuesday morning on North Canal Drive in Homestead !
7. Incidentally Miami-Dade County’s SW 328TH Street is known as ‘North Canal Drive’ for 7½-miles from Homestead Bayfront Park westward to the city limits of Florida City at SW 172ND Avenue. At that exact point SW 328TH Street is renamed ‘Lucy Street’, and it is the dividing line between Homestead (on the north) and Florida City (on the south). It has been that way since the 1940s. If you’re coming out of the Villages Of Homestead then you are making a turn onto ‘North Canal Drive’ - not ‘Lucy Street’.
8. I had planned to go to Publix this afternoon after work to buy some much-needed groceries, but then I decided against it on the way home because I have way too many things to do - such as compiling and publishing these ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’. It’s all about the sacrifices that I make for you - my loyal and faithful friend of this blog.
9. I was referred to as ‘Pastor Chris’ a couple of times last week at the Exponential Conference in Orlando. I think it was because in some of the breakout sessions that I attended it was mostly all Pastors (and me). Unlike the Catholic Church Pastors tend to look and dress rather normal - just like you and me.
10. My fingernails grow so fast. It seems like I just clipped them a few days ago, and now they need clipping again. That’s another 5 minutes out of my busy schedule !
Good Morning Everyone ! It’s Thursday morning, and it’s the final (half) day of the 2008 New Church Conference - Exponential ‘08 here in Orlando, and I’ve got so many handwritten notes written down that it appears that I’ll be blogging all weekend long - once I return home to the comfort and convenience of my living room and (most importantly) the technology of my high-speed cable Internet connection. Here in Orlando I’ve been sputtering along at roughly 50.6 Kbps (via an old dial-up connection). That’s right. I’m cruising the Internet like it’s 1998 ! My next laptop will have that fancy schmancy new wireless innovation included within it !
OK friends here’s the plan. I’ll be back at home in Homestead later today (early tonight). I’ll post this week’s ‘Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame’ first and foremost, and then if I’m still wide awake and have some energy left over I’ll post the first of three ‘Exponential Conference Orlando Tossed Salads’. I’m devoted to posting a single edition for each day of the conference, so you’ll see all of my highlights / takeaways summarized in a way that is most worthy of the coveted (nearly legendary) ‘Tossed Salad’ brand name. I’ve also got to do the ‘Friday Night Blogroll Review’ on Friday night or else a whole bunch of you will begin going through withdrawals. I know that a lot of you regular bloggers post some of your best award-winning material on Thursdays in a dire effort to make it onto the ‘Friday Night Blogroll Review’, so get to it and I’ll get to it as well. Look for that shortly after 4 PM on Friday night.
So that’s what I’ve got for you on this Thursday morning in Orlando. Don’t forget - the regular Thursday night and Friday night features on here plus 3 days - 3 editions of the ‘Tossed Salad’ from the Exponential Conference. It’s all right here on ‘The Major’s Life Blog’ over the next 60 hours. Don’t miss the excitement. You won’t regret it pal. Cool beans.
Good Evening Friends it’s time for a quick late-night edition of the ‘Bedtime Stories’ on this glorious Wednesday night.
I just got home from Life Group at J.T.’s and Anne’s house. Food, Fellowship, and God. That’s how we roll on Wednesday nights, and it all leads back to Him - The Lord Almighty - Up Above. There is no other bigger, better, and more powerful than Him. We believe. We receive. We have taken Jesus at His word. We have accepted His control of our Life. We are acting in obedience to His instructions. It is all about Him.
Pastor Paul left a voice mail for me at home this afternoon while I was at work. He told me to call him as soon as possible. I did so as soon as I got home. He had an interesting and exciting opportunity that he wants to share with me later this month. I’m 100% sure that I want to take advantage of this incredible experience to further my progression on God’s fantastic journey, and I’m about 90% sure that I can take a few days off from work to do it. I’ll find out for sure tomorrow at work when I complete a leave form and turn it in to my supervisour. If he accepts and approves it then I’m there !
Be sure to catch this blog in action tomorrow afternoon. I’ve got your ‘Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame’ for you sometime after 4 PM. It’s a common bathroom product that kills germs dead, but can it also kill blood-sucking mosquitoes dead on contact ? We’ll find out together tomorrow !
Until then I wish you all a safe and peaceful Wednesday night. A new day arrives in the morning, and it’s another glorious opportunity to chase that daylight and seize every moment that comes your way. Do it all for Him.
Good Evening Friends. This is the Monday night edition of ‘Bedtime Stories’ brought to you by Olive Garden.
I’m shutting-down my computer shortly before 9 PM tonight and retreating to my master bedroom due to a videocassette recording dilemma. I’ve got all 3 of my VCRs working overtime tonight and early tomorrow morning taping over 8 hours of quality television programming on 5 different networks in addition to watching over 3 hours of TV shows before I even go to sleep tonight. Who said that there is nothing good on TV nowadays ? Not me ! Tomorrow (Tuesday) night is even more ridiculous. My VCRs will go to work for me in taping nearly 11 hours of shows that I can’t watch ! That’s right I’ve gone VCR crazy like it’s 1988 !
Be sure to catch the blog in action tomorrow afternoon after 4 PM as I present to you my weekly ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’. You just won’t believe what could be on my mind tomorrow !
Later this week on the ‘Thursday Night Internet Hoax Hall-Of-Shame’ I’ll show you how you can eradicate mosquitoes from your Life forever with the help of a common bathroom product.
Until we hang out again here on the blog remember this:
If it’s Saturday morning then it must be time for me to nourish and exercise my mind and body. And a-way we go !
1. I ate a MASSIVE breakfast at the Cracker Barrel this morning during the six-o-clock hour. The place was nearly packed with Indy racers and race fans, Spring Breakers, and natives of Homestead and Florida City. I drowned my stack of french toast in an inch of maple syrup. Where’s my Lipitor ? !
2. After the feast I did the walk, and it was the longest walk yet ! Google Earth estimated my walk at 1.98 miles. It was definitely between 1.9 and 2.0 miles, and I did it in less than 37 minutes on this clear, crisp, and cool 63°F morning. Pretty soon these walks will be coming to a gradual end for the hot and sticky Summer season.
3. Inside Joke: ‘Who’s that happy kid walkin’ ’round the neighbourhood ? Who’s that happy kid walkin’ ’round the neighbourhood ? It’s me ! It’s me ! It’s C.M.D. !’ That’s right - I’m that 41-year-old ‘happy kid’. Why am I so happy ? Read on …
4. Whenever I walk the walk I feel like I’ve taken back my neighbourhood. I’ve lived here for nearly 13 years, but I’ve only really lived here for the past 3 months. Before Christmas Eve 2007 the only walking I did was to and from the mailboxes and the dumpsters. From 1995 to 2007 I merely existed in this neighbourhood. Now I am fully alive. Taking back my neighbourhood from obscurity has been just like taking back my Life from the darkness. I’ve wrapped my arms around my entire neighbourhood just like I’ve embraced this new Life that God has given me.
5. My fresh new 2GB iPod Shuffle came along for this morning’s walk for the first time ever. My original 1GB iPod Shuffle started off as a 50-50 mix of newer Christian rock, pop, and hip hop music and older Secular dance music from my ‘once-upon-a-time’ life. Now it’s more like 72.5% Christian / 27.5% Secular. This fresh new 2GB iPod Shuffle will be solely Christian music. Fun Fact: I occasionally refer to Christian music as ‘Republican Rock’.
It’s time for the Sunday night edition of ‘Bedtime Stories’ - brought to you by Puffs.
Another 7-day week has concluded here on this blog, and it was the 2ND busiest week in our WordPress history based on total views. It was the busiest Monday in 5 weeks, the 2ND busiest Friday of 2008, the busiest Saturday ever, and the 3RD busiest Sunday of 2008. It was the busiest Thursday / Friday / Saturday / Sunday 4-day period ever! Thank You Everyone for reading this blog on a regular basis !
I’ve got what appears to be my unprecedented 3RD cold in less than 5 months. Once upon a time I used to get a cold about once every 18 months to 3 years. Of course that was back when I was a plastic mannequin. This past Friday night I was amongst an estimated 5,000 to 9,000 adults, teens, and kids at the ‘Moonlight Easter Egg Hunt‘ at Harris Field, and on this glorious Easter Sunday morning there were over 700 of us at the movie theatre for Life Pointe Church services. I was shaking hands and hugging people all over the place this morning, and now I have a head cold. Go figure !
I’ve already E-Mailed in sick to work for tomorrow. I think that it’s best for me to sleep-in tomorrow morning and feel better before I go back to work (hopefully on Tuesday morning).
So until you hear from me again here on the blog please pray that I feel better soon. Oh yeah, and remember this:
It’s past 11 PM EDT on this Good Friday night, and I just got home from the ‘Moonlight Easter Egg Hunt‘ at Harris Field about 30 minutes ago.
I was on my two feet for nearly 8 hours non-stop this afternoon and this evening, but now I am sitting down here at my computer. I forgot how nice sitting down actually feels ! I can’t wait to get in that bed of mine to lay down and go to sleep. I’m pretty sure that’s going to feel totally awesome as well !
Tomorrow morning’s regularly-scheduled ‘Walk-A-Thon’ has been cancelled. I got enough exercise standing up and walking around for 8 hours today. In lieu of ‘The Major’s Walk-A-Thon’ I shall present to you a very special edition of the ‘Tossed Salad’ featuring a recap of the events of today.
It’s right around 8:30 PM EDT on a Thursday night, and I’ve got your ‘Bedtime Stories’ for you right here - right now !
This is the calm before the holiday weekend storm. I’m enjoying the calm - the peace, the quiet, the safety, and the security of my own home. But I can’t wait for the storm to begin. The storm of faith, fellowship, and Love at Harris Field in the heart of Homestead tomorrow afternoon and evening, and the glorious celebration of Easter Sunday at Life Pointe Church for about 5 hours on Sunday morning.
I’m working tomorrow morning, but then I’m taking the afternoon off. I plan to be on-site at Harris Field tomorrow afternoon right around 3 PM or so to help get that place transformed into our ‘Moonlight Easter Egg Hunt‘. We will totally ROCK that place for several thousand guests for about 4 hours tomorrow night. Gates open to the public at 6 PM, and the fun begins shortly thereafter. Be there for the biggest Good Friday event in Homestead’s history !
I’ll have an early edition of your ‘Friday Night Blogroll Review’ posted here on the blog shortly after 12 noon tomorrow, and then late on Friday night (or early on Saturday morning) I’ll have the ‘Life Pointe Church Moonlight Easter Egg Hunt Tossed Salad’ on here featuring a full recap of the night’s events.
Until we meet tomorrow afternoon at Harris Field, or until we meet back here at the blog remember this:
It’s time for the St. Patrick’s Day edition of ‘The Fortune Cookie Message Of The Week Club’ - because whenever I think of my Irish descent I think of - CHINESE FOOD !
‘Never bring unhappy feelings into your home.’
Once upon a time I used to be a generally sad and miserable person. I like to refer to that time of my life (not capitalized) as ‘Ages 0 to 39′. During the Summer Of 2006 I awoke from the darkness. I am now ‘Chasing Daylight’. It’s morning again.
Two recent search engine terms that led to this blog are quite interesting. One is a question, and the other answers the question:
