The story

Let me tell you a story. There was a boy, born in the middle of the night on May 16, 1976. That boy was me. This is my life… (part one soon)

Of June

Greetings, readers. It is now the latter part of June, and I am going to try to post more on here again. I am reading The Alchemyst  right now on my Nook, recommended to me by my good buddy Robbie, husband of my awesome cousin Kate.

The Passage

The book was good. I had no idea it was only part one of a series until about 3/4 through it, when it became apparent that there was no way to wrap it up without a massive deux ex machina. I am pleased to know I will get to read more of Amy and the Twelve.

Super 8

This movie was great. I heartily recommend it. I may have said that before. Spielberg and Abrams come together and create a movie that is the essence of summer movies of my childhood. Go see it.

Work

Work is going great! I love my job. Hopefully will get to work on documentation for new projects soon.

Church

I love my church! AYC is going on this week, I am so excited for all the youth having the time of their life, getting closer to God and growing as individuals and as the body of Christ! The food trucks that we got are going to make a huge difference in our city. So awesome!

Looking Forward

I have already started countdowns on my phone to 1) September, and 2) my big vacation. I look forward to starting another countdown as soon as I can get a fall vacation planned. Lets work on that guys!

Big Christmas Vacation

I am taking off from December 17th-January 2nd. It is the most time I have had off in a row in over 15 years. I am super pumped! Lots of time with friends and family and festiveness will abound.

My Own Version 

I don’t care that summer just started (technically), I count it as June-August. By my count, im 25% done (or nearly) with summer. To that I say ‘Woo!’

What have you

Ah, summer. You dawn hot, and miserable. I speak mostly of the temperature. At times like this it can be a struggle to focus on the good, but in times like this it is the most important that we do focus on the good.

Pirates 4 was good, Thor was good, still haven’t seen X-Men. Want to do that. Excited about HP7-II and Transformers 3.

Good movie summer, that’s for sure. Reading a lot of books. The Historian was great, but the ending was abrupt and thats a bit frustrating. Fablehaven was an easy, light read, great fantasy. Now reading The Passage.

Got the new Nook, the touch screen model. I love it!

My summer shows are starting, so that’s good. Next Food Network Star, Masterchef, and soon Hell’s Kitchen, Wipeout, Big Brother.

 

Some Culture for your Thursday

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity.

    Surely some revelation is at hand;
    Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
    The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
    When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
    Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
    A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
    A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
    Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
    Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.

    The darkness drops again but now I know
    That twenty centuries of stony sleep
    Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
    And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
    Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

- Yeats, The Second Coming

Greetings

It has been a while since I have posted. Life is continuing to go on, as it is wont to do.

The wall is down at church! So exciting. Big changes are ahead. I am so happy to be a part of what God is doing at the Life Church.

I have been doing a lot of website stuff lately. Work has also been great.

Saw Scream 4. Good movie! Thrills and chills, they still got it. I am not a horror movie fan, necessarily, but I have always liked the Scream “brand”.

Saw “Source Code” – good movie, I liked the idea behind it.

Still drinking tea, so thats good. Hmm. I need to go more in-depth on some of these topics.

Pastor Matthew Barnett from the LA Dream Center was at church last Wednesday, was amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Ok, more soon I hope.

Farewell to Chill

Spring has sprung. Thus begins my long wait for my beloved Fall’s return. This has been a strange season of my life. In many ways I am going forwards, but there have been health issues in my family and (recently) in my own body. I feel as if those days are going behind us now, and we are entering into a time of health. I pray this is so.

Faith

I love my church. I am committed to moving forward in being more involved. I have grown spiritually so much in the last year, so many things are so much clearer to me now. I am so indebted to my pastors, who speak into my life every week. I may not always show it, but I am taking it to heart.

I still need to spend time in the Word everyday. Something so simple, but I let life squeeze it right out most of the time. That has to stop. It will stop.

Family

This past Christmas was the best one in so very many years. My beloved sister was in town for a week, and the family was all together in harmony and love. So many good times were had, it is a holiday season that I will treasure in my memories forever. I pray that next year is just as awesome.

I have not always been the best brother, the best son. This is such a great tragedy because my parents sacrificed so much to give me a great childhood. I am trying, constantly now, to be the best son I can be. As for my sister, she is a constant inspiration to me and I want her to achieve everything God has put in her heart to do.

Final thoughts

I haven’t seen many movies recently, but Limitless was very good. Emealz rocks. Having another roommate has been good. Panda (Kevin’s dog, I am Uncle Steve) is adorable and its great to have a dog again. Doing pretty good sticking to my new budget. Work is going well, getting a lot done.

Mostly, things are great.

Superbowl Sunday

The superbowl has come and gone. Football, for the time being, is over. It is now time for those of us who do not watch Nascar or baseball to cling to basketball for as long as we can. Then, silence… until the NFL draft this summer. But, on to cheerier topics!

The Superbowl

It was a great game this year! As much as I hated it, I had to pull for the Packers, because another Steeler Superbowl win was unconscionable. The Packers dominated the first half, but after some key defensive injuries and an apparent knowledge loss about how to *hold on to the ball*, the Steelers were right back in it after halftime.

The game ended up a nail biter, and there was much yelling and edge-of-your seat excitement at my friend Todd’s house where we watched it. The Packers were, of course, victorious. A great win, thanks in large part to turnovers and the extremely talented Aaron Rodgers.

Fun fact – The Packers are NFC’s first number 6 seed to win the Superbowl, and they did it with 15 guys on the IR. Wow.

The real question is? How powerful are the Packers going to be next season, when everyone is healthy? A scary thought, if you are not a Packer fan.

The National Anthem

Christina you have a great voice, and you dressed more modestly than I think I have ever seen you. Well done. However, you messed up the words. WHAT THE CRAP?! That is all.

The Commercials

Great batch this year! I loved the one about the luxury prison, the Darth Vader kid, the monkeys, the Bridgestone tires (especially the beaver one), the Doritos with the pug, too many to name. Extremely well done, ad people.

Twitter

Watching a sporting event like the Superbowl is a totally more ‘connected’ experience now. I felt plugged in to people all over the world, and it was a deeper experience. Yeah, most of what we did was rip on the half time show and Christina and her ANTHEMFAIL but it was a good time.

The Halftime Show

There is so much I can say. I have decided that in this section I am going to feature twitter posts made by me and my friends and twitter peeps. I think it has already been said there the best. There is a LOT below, so… you are warned.

@stephen_od Creativity and use of light and color was super impressive but vocals were terribad and how many times must people massacre GNR? Good to see Usher tho. #backtothegame #superbowl

@thinkgeek Dear halftime tech in charge of lighting the “/,” we still LO\-E you. But did you try turning it off and on again?

@simonhelberg The halftime show was like if the Power Rangers formed a band and guest starred on Saved by the Bell.

@elijah_tindall The Black Eyed Peas came back from the future 2 perform in the SuperBowl… In the Future performances R embarrasing.

@MatthewBarnett What do the black eyed peas and preachers have in common? They both have one bad night and lose supporters.

@Taylorsteits Fergie. You ruined the halftime show! First Christina? Then Fergie? What’s next??

@Lord_Voldemort7 It’s a sad day for music when teh best comment about the Superbowl Halftime show is “at least they remembered the words.”

@shameonyoko The Black Eyed Peas’ mix sounds like they hired a church sound engineer with a “great heart.”

@crzylilkym Well Tonight could have been a good good night… if we wouldn’t have had to watch that horrible halftime show!!

@howelljon ok my 2 cents… lights, choreography was cool, they sound terrible live, but at least they didn’t mess up the lyrics. #nationalanthemfail

@crzylilkym Halftime Show: HORRIBLE!! She so murdered ‘Sweet child of mine.’…

@wilw I think we just saw RUNNING MAN: THE MUSICAL

@DougMusso I’d rather watch @LilMitchhhie and @lane_primeaux do “look at them jeans” than watch the black eyed peas

@howelljon RT @Johnny_Hill Mad props to whoever planned the Super Bowl halftime show! All the elements weere awesome! #bestever // sarcasm at its best!

@wilw What is this LOI’E they’re lighting up on the field? Is that something the damn kids today do, like a dance?

@EWDaltonRoss I’m not having the time of my life watching this halftime show.

@dinorizzo Ok next year we will let u super bowl guys borrow our @HPCArena and our tech guys so u can have a mix and mics on , that’s really bad .

@KennyStole This looks like the opening ceremony in Beijing. I’m in auto-tune purgatory.

@JesusNeedsNewPR Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers sound pretty awesome right now, huh? #SuperBowl

@EWAnnieBarrett Oh this is just embarrassing #halftimeshow

@Chad_Gibbs Would any of this make sense if I’d seen TRON?

some non haters

@Johnny_Hill Great usage of lights and coordination of tons of people! I want one of those suits that lights up!

@Johnny_Hill Mad props to whoever planned the Super Bowl halftime show! All the elements weere awesome! #bestever

@christaplease I don’t care what anybody says… that halftime show was balllerrrr! #impressed #iloveblackeyedpeas #socreative

@JannyP I say they just hire @chadleymonster for the Super Bowl next year… #audiofail but those led suits.. Slick!

It’s tea time

Let’s talk tea.

I am not talking about sweet tea (which I love) or those little teabags of earl grey (which I am fond of as well). I am talking about loose leaf tea, proper tea. Come on a journey with me, which will culminate in my first tea review. I am going to start reviewing tea brews and also tea companies, so that any of you who are interested can obtain some elixir of your own.

ME & TEA

Growing up I was not a fan of hot tea. I had it a couple of times at mamaw’s house and hated it. I saw people on TV and in movies drinking it, and it seemed an ‘old person’ thing.

When I was in my early twenties, a friend of mine introduced me to a cup of earl gray (thanks, Clay!) and I immediately realized that I had been wrong about tea along. I grew to truly appreciate several kinds of tea, which my friend graciously supplied. I did not, however, ever purchase any myself at this time.

That year, I resolved to get into tea. I bought a yixing clay teapot from a site I was tipped off to by a co-worker.  TenRen is a site that I will review later but want to go ahead and strongly recommend if you want to get into tea. Although I loved my earl grey, I wanted to make the leap into loose tea so I bought some Winter Oolong along with the tea set.

The team I was on at my company was big into tea, so I had multiple teas to try right off the bat. I still remember my first sip, and how it opened my palate to a whole new dimension. Slightly bitter, but pleasing, I fell in love with Oolong right away. My boss had some jasmine green tea, and that quickly became my favorite. It became a multiple time a day ritual to put on the electric kettle, and brew up a few pots of tea with the team.

Several containers of tea later, a couple of years had passed. My team had changed three times, and tea was a thing of the past. Electric kettles were banned at desks, and after a short while we all tired of going to the break room every time we wanted a pot of tea. My tea set went into the box, and there it stayed. I ended up giving it away in 2009, to someone who hopefully uses it regularly. It was a very nice set.

Back to 2007. I still liked tea, but I never drank it anymore. Then, I went on a cruise. It was a blast, and one thing they had was ‘high tea’. Once again, the path back to loose tea nirvana ran through tea bag territory. I had some pretty good earl grey, and it reminded me of how much I loved tea. I resolved to get back into it.

I did not. In 2009 I went on another cruise and again resolved to get back into tea ‘as soon as the weather cools down’. I did not.

It was not until late 2010 that I began to seriously think about spending the money to get back into tea. Our mall opened up a “Teavana” and so I went to check it out this past Christmas season. Although the pitch was heavy, and the tea was expensive, the employees appeared very sincere and I was impressed. It was time to finally put the tea where my mouth was.

THE PLUNGE

Around Christmas time I got a tea travel steeper and some tea that was on clearance. This was a bump in the road because although the tea itself is good, the travel steeper is asthetically pleasing only. The mesh you put the tea in must be submerged in water, it gets particulate in the tea, etc. The fact that they do not sell it on their web site should have given me a hint.

I considered giving up on tea, but having already invested over $40 on it already I decided to push on. I bought the Perfect Tea maker, which is a fascinating device. You basically just put in the leaves, add hot water, let steep, then place the maker on top of your cup. Doing this releases the tea into your cup, leaving the leaves in the maker. This makes resteeping a snap, I heartily recommend it.

In addition to the tea maker, I gave in to the beauty that is the hard sell from the passionate teaologists (that is what they call themselves, I am not making that up). I got some Youthberry (white tea), Jasmine Dragon Pearls (green tea), Assam Breeze (black tea), and Prosperous Peach (oolong). I also got a glass cup. Yes, I spent a pretty penny , but as they say “its an investment in your health and wellness”.

For me this is very true because I am drinking tea now where I used to drink coke all day. From a product with health detriments to a product with many, many health benefits, that is a huge switch.

OH, I almost forgot that I also got a special teaspoon for measuring out the tea. Lame? Not really. Regular spoons just can’t do it right, trust me. Teavana sells one, it is a very small investment that I guarantee is worth it.

THE ROUTINE

I decided to set up ‘shop’ at work, since my cube is extremely close to a coffeemaker, from which I can get the water to brew my tea. I like all of the tea that I got from Teavana (reviews later), and after my morning starbucks (we have a little coffee conclave, but that’s another post) I pretty much drink tea all day at work.

So far, I have noticed the following improvements: general feeling of well being, sleeping better, more alert, clarity of thought, less body aches, digestion improvement. And that is just off the top of my head. There is no going back now, and in fact I am preparing to get an electic kettle and another perfect tea maker for the house. I can then split my tea collection between home and work and cut back on cokes and other beverages at night as well. I feel good about these decisions.

I have gotten a couple of co-workers in on the tea-fest as well, and everyone I speak with comments on it. I am happy to share, as regardless of what they would have you believe at Teavana you can re-steep any of the tea you buy. I will say that the “Properous Peach” is only really good for 2 steepings, but I have re-steeped everything else 4 or so times with no loss of flavor. How? Slightly increase the amount of steep time per batch.

MORE TEA, PLEASE

Due to the cost of Teavana tea (I will get more into this in a future post), I have searched online to find good loose leaf tea retailers. I am sad to report that it is a mess out there, tons of places to buy but no real direction. I was unable to find any real reports out there saying ‘this place is great’ except for some about TenRen, whom I am already aware of.

I do not know why I did not go right back to TenRen, maybe it is because I already know they are amazing and I just want to try some other places before I come back. TenRen is also extremely reasonable in price and you are getting tea from Asia that you can trust. In any case, I will be ordering from them next. That is another post.

I will make links available here on my blog concerning shops I have looked into and/or used. I found a couple that really caught my eye, including one endorsed by Deepak Chopra. Although we really disagree on spiritual matters, the man seems like someone who would know what he is talking about when it comes to tea. I will review this company, Golden Moon Tea, in a future post.

Their web site totally impressed me, and I joined their tea of the month club. I also got their Jasmine green tea pearls and some “snow sprout” white tea. When I got their tea, it came in these individual reusable air-tight canisters. I have tried all of the tea, and it blew me away! Their tea is by far superior even to the amazing Teavana tea that I got, and I will definitely be ordering from them again.

As it stands, I have 8 varieties of tea, and expect to order 2 more from TenRen later this month. I am sold on the tea experience, and encourage you my excellent and intelligent reader to try it yourself.

Questions? Post away.

next, review of teavana buying experience. then, review of teavana teas. later, review of golden moon tea and their teas. stay tuned.

Boo on me

I am absolutely horrified that I went the entire Christmas season, my favorite season of the year, my most treasured season, with no blog posts. My humblest apologies, dear reader.

I will make up for this next year, I promise. I said I would never do that, but I must. I must promise, because so much needed to be said and I said none of it.

Now I sit, mid-winter, and the first tendrils of spring are on the horizon. Sooner than I would wish the joy of my winter wind will fade, to be replaced by the horrid heat. It is ok, however, because like the sunrise, fall will come again next year.

I do not like to talk about it, but I have struggled with some things these past few months. I have been depressed to a certain degree, but everything is going to be ok. Overall, it was a great Christmas season. I will post the highlights soon. Hold me to it.

January ends. Again, no posts. I am so embarrassed. This is my outlet, even though I am quite confident I have little to no readers. That is not a “poor me” but rather a melancholy acceptance of a likely fact.

Lets work on this. Be well, my friends. Love each other.

Thanksgiving Week

First, let me say that I am so very thankful for the following things in my life:

• My God, My Faith – I am so thankful to have this foundation to who I am. It defines my soul, and I am excited about the future!
• My Family – I love you all so very much. Mom, Dad, Sis, Uncle Don, Aunt Pat, Kate, Robbie, Finn, Todd, Dina, you are the bedrock that anchors me to the reality that I am truly blessed.
• My Church – I am so very fortunate to be a part of what God is doing at Life Church Memphis. Pastors John, Mundo, Dan, Bryan, Adam, Jon – each of you has a special place in my life. I have so much to learn from you, and I find myself humble enough to listen.
• My Friends - I have the best friends. I cannot name you all. I would not trade you for anything. Kevin, my best friend, my brother, you are a rock man and I am excited about what God has for each of us in this next season of life. The rest of you awesome friends? Check the section below. Shout outs are coming!
• My Job – I am truly blessed to have a good job. I am so very thankful for Shelby Systems, for all my employers, supervisors, directors, managers, peers, for everyone here. Thank you GOD for this job!
• My Many Blessings – I am so very overwhelmingly blessed, I live in a great house, I have very cool geeky stuff, and I never want to forget how fortunate I am.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYBODY!