8.23.2003

look who's laughing now

Yesterday I was able to go to the Raiders game with my pops. The game was decidedly subpar but I still had a good time. First, it was hanging out with my dad, which I realize I appreciate more and more every time I do it. I definitely have a cool dad. I was also able to partake of a Hot Link, which was a pleasure of a dog. And finally, we got to sit by two of my favorite types of fans at the game.

The first kind of fan is usually a big guy, and by big I mean fat; and he has something to say about just about everything. His way of talking is particularly amusing, too. Most of the time he is stuffing his face with food and commenting "I told you this boy would be our boy this year" or "How much that boy makin'? 7 million? He better be showin us somethin soon." While my account of this fan's commentary may not be that wonderful, I assure you this kind of fan is a pleasure to sit near. Well, this guy was behind us last night with his wife. He was big and jolly and loud and friendly. Perfect combo.

The second kind of fan I often enjoy sitting near is the angry fan. Not angry at other people, but angry at the team and whatever situation they find themselves in. This guy bellows obscenities at every opportunity, berates the coach (who is out of earshot) for every call, and mutters complaints under his breath about the vendetta the refs have for his team. Bonuses if the guy stands up every time he yells. Again, this guy was in full effect to our left. Big angry white guy with a shaved head and a long goti, lots of tats - sorta reminded me of my friend Brian Quinn in the way he yelled. And Brian was always appreciated for the way he could yell.

It was maximum AC! Inside joke. And absolutely nobody that reads this journal will understand it. Score.

This is very bad news. Mulder was having a Cy Young-ish season too. With Hudson hurt, Zito's 10-11 record...I'm not sure how this bodes for my beloved A's.

8.20.2003

Major strugs with the e-mail. My home e-mail appears to not be working, but for those of you who wish to e-mail me you can still follow the e-mail links off this website and get in touch with me.

I know I haven't been around on the website much lately. I've been incredibly busy lately, but don't worry I still love you all. Before long I'll be back to my regularly pontificating about nothing in particular. Be good!

8.11.2003

he goes out to see the world

Last week was a pretty good week. I attended via satellite the Leadership Summit with a team from my church. I've been the past few years but this year felt applicable to me moreso than any other year. Now that I actually have a ministry team for the youth, and with me needing to get cracking on a team for the new church, a lot of what was said can help me out. I enjoyed Erwin McManus the most, he's a pretty awesome guy. He spoke twice and both times I was riveted. One thing he said that stuck with me was that so often we can make the Christian life just that of being a good citizen. Pay your taxes, follow the rules, be nice, and you're pretty much being a good Christian. Erwin reminded us that Christianity is not about the elimination of sin - it's about the unleashing of a powerful, unique life. I'm going to try to implement a lot of what I heard last week. It's a lot of work...but I believe it's the most important work in the world, so it's got that going for it.

Attendance at youth group has been up the past two weeks, we're going through movies and we've probably had 3-6 new people each week. Pretty awesome, and pretty challenging. We need to step up in a few areas to be able to keep and really minister to all these kids. That's why I'm glad I have such a great team of people. The other day I was just sitting back and thinking about it, and really everyone on the team is exceptional, servant-hearted, and I'm lucky to be able to work with them. Maybe I should tell 'em that or something. You know, encourage em? Naaaah.

8.04.2003

Some of you might consider me a computer geek. I might even consider myself one. And I play my share of video games. But at least i'm not like this. It's short, it's worth it. There's a saying in gamer guy circles about gamer girls - all the pretty ones are insane. This would seem to help build that case.
tell me now what should i do

Yesterday's A's game was spectacular. My voice is still a little hoarse from that finish. It was a consummate pitcher's duel; Mulder only made two mistakes and I was afraid it would cost us the game. Somehow Tejada came through in the bottom of the ninth though...just amazing. Walking through the hallways toward the parking lot to spontaneous chants of "Yankees Suck!" is a wonderful thing. You couldn't wipe the smile off half the faces in the Coliseum. Sports pwn. I almost went to Friday night's game too - then I would've been present for both of Miggy's walk-offs in one weekend...tis a shame.

I much prefer doing youth ministry as a team. I have a totally awesome group of volunteers and I am looking forward to growing into a stronger team and I want to be a better leader for them. Last night was good in that the different bases were all covered by different people for youth group. There's some fine-tuning to be done for us meeting at the sanctuary for this month but I did appreciate it. The real bad spot of last night was the urinal in the men's bathroom overflowing. Why in the world would someone put tp in the urinal? It makes no sense.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the whole overflow thing. Guess I should call Ricky and let him know he may wanna do an extra-nice mop on that floor today. Muaha.