Furnace Turkey
(in which a squeaky furnace becomes turkey for the mission
and I learn a lesson about the grocery jar)
You know what I don't write enough about? The little miracles. The fun stuff that God does in the every day that makes life a bit more adventurous.
We had our furnace inspected.
Yeah...I know that is pretty boring, and to start off on an even boring-er note, we sat down with our budget spreadsheet to figure out how to make that expense work. It's not really a regular expense. We found some money for it, asked for referrals on Facebook, and got several nice recommendations from friends. By the time we got around to scheduling it, I could only find one name and number, so we scheduled that guy.
Well, as it turned out, he was a really nice guy...and a Christian, and he had a lot to say about that. It wound up a being a great conversation. At the end of the inspection, he said to us, "You know what? I have had a great time being able to talk to you guys about this stuff. I'm going to knock $26 off your bill. Just give it to your church or something."
Hmmm. That was nice.
Later that day, my friend emailed that she and her family heard the Denver Rescue Mission was short on Thanksgiving turkeys and they were going to shop and deliver several turkeys the next day...would anyone like to donate and have them pick up and deliver the turkeys? Earlier in the day, I can assure you that the very boring budget spreadsheet didn't have much room for turkeys. Now it did.
Turkeys were delivered yesterday.
The check is in the mail.
And that, my friends is how God let Randy & me broker a deal to have our new furnace guy give 25% of Cell #H42 on our budget spreadsheet to send our friends to the mission with 30 pounds of turkey.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Bring it on, ComiCon!
Today, I landed in San Diego around lunchtime for my first ever ComiCon. I am not here for the party. I am here for the shuttle system that will run 24 hours a day for ComiCon attendees--specifically, I will be helping those with special needs like wheel chairs, scooters, etc.
It's my first time working in this town, my first time working for this company, and my first time in San Diego--oh yeah, and my first ComiCon. I'm a bit nervous!
Having checked in and settled in at my downtown boutique-y hotel with no commitments until tomorrow at 10:00am, I find myself in a Tevye-like tailspin! I need to study the shuttle system--ON THE OTHER HAND, I have this whole town at my disposal! On the other hand, I have several work projects coming up that need some attention. On the other hand, I'm tired and alone.
The Solution in Three Parts:
Step 1: I am going to Frommer's right now and I'm going to commit to doing THREE recommended things while here in San Diego.
Step 2: I'm going to RELAX for tonight and open the bottle of wine I bought earlier.
Step 3: LATER, I will take a good look at the shuttle system and outline a work schedule around my work schedule to prepare for upcoming projects with flexibility built in for socializing with new work friends, which I am optimistic I will meet tomorrow. Hopefully, they can help me figure out my three things because after the first one, I got stumped.
Thing #1 - Tour the USS Midway.
Thing #2 - ?
Thing #3 - ?
It's my first time working in this town, my first time working for this company, and my first time in San Diego--oh yeah, and my first ComiCon. I'm a bit nervous!
Having checked in and settled in at my downtown boutique-y hotel with no commitments until tomorrow at 10:00am, I find myself in a Tevye-like tailspin! I need to study the shuttle system--ON THE OTHER HAND, I have this whole town at my disposal! On the other hand, I have several work projects coming up that need some attention. On the other hand, I'm tired and alone.
The Solution in Three Parts:
Step 1: I am going to Frommer's right now and I'm going to commit to doing THREE recommended things while here in San Diego.
Step 2: I'm going to RELAX for tonight and open the bottle of wine I bought earlier.
Step 3: LATER, I will take a good look at the shuttle system and outline a work schedule around my work schedule to prepare for upcoming projects with flexibility built in for socializing with new work friends, which I am optimistic I will meet tomorrow. Hopefully, they can help me figure out my three things because after the first one, I got stumped.
Thing #1 - Tour the USS Midway.
Thing #2 - ?
Thing #3 - ?
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Sweet Potato Salad
Can't remember where I found this recipe, so I'll post here:
SWEET POTATO SALAD
(File under : Easy, Vegan)
2-3 white sweet potatoes, chopped into small pieces
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red vinegar
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary chopped (Use the Magic Bullet!)
1/4 cup red onion, chopped or sliced thin
Steam the sweet potato
Whisk the rest of the ingredients to make a dressing.
Toss.
Eat.
Yay.
SWEET POTATO SALAD
(File under : Easy, Vegan)
2-3 white sweet potatoes, chopped into small pieces
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red vinegar
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary chopped (Use the Magic Bullet!)
1/4 cup red onion, chopped or sliced thin
Steam the sweet potato
Whisk the rest of the ingredients to make a dressing.
Toss.
Eat.
Yay.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Will you still love me tomorrow?
Today, I had a wide gap between departures, so there was time to come home and take a nap on the clock. Bonus!
Beki: Honey, do you realize I'm making money right now?
Randy: Good
Beki: I'm getting paid to sleep with you.
Randy: Uh huh
Beki: Do you still respect me?
Randy: I'd respect you a lot more if you'd stop talking.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
2012 Live Shows
01.27-28
THE GATHERING - Prestatyn, Wales
The Alarm
The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Last Republic
Another great time in Wales; however, the addition of Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) on sax, tambourine, percussion, and guitar made one weird addition to the Alarm. I liken it to putting whipped cream and a cherry on top of a perfectly good steak. No thank you.
__________________________________________________________________________
02.27
Glen Matlock
Hugh Cornwell
@ Three Kings - Denver, CO
At the Gathering in 2011, Glen Matlock doing his solo thing, and I became a big fan of that. Last night, he played a great gig a small bar in Denver with Clem Burke (Blondie) who is easily one of the greatest drummers ever. I volunteered for Love Hope Strength and really enjoyed the show. Missing was guitarist James Stevenson (also of the Alarm) whose wife is having surgery. Wishing her a speedy recovery!
I think I was in a unique position as a fan of only Glen's solo career with no knowledge of the musical catalog of his former bands the Sex Pistols or the Rich Kids.
Headlining was Hugh Cornwell (the Stranglers) who Randy enjoyed more than I did, but I did get his comparisons to early Pretenders and there were definitely some cool musical moments there. I am a bigger fan of Glen's.
_______________________________________________________
THE GATHERING - Prestatyn, Wales
The Alarm
The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Last Republic
Another great time in Wales; however, the addition of Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) on sax, tambourine, percussion, and guitar made one weird addition to the Alarm. I liken it to putting whipped cream and a cherry on top of a perfectly good steak. No thank you.
__________________________________________________________________________
02.27
Glen Matlock
Hugh Cornwell
@ Three Kings - Denver, CO
At the Gathering in 2011, Glen Matlock doing his solo thing, and I became a big fan of that. Last night, he played a great gig a small bar in Denver with Clem Burke (Blondie) who is easily one of the greatest drummers ever. I volunteered for Love Hope Strength and really enjoyed the show. Missing was guitarist James Stevenson (also of the Alarm) whose wife is having surgery. Wishing her a speedy recovery!
I think I was in a unique position as a fan of only Glen's solo career with no knowledge of the musical catalog of his former bands the Sex Pistols or the Rich Kids.
Headlining was Hugh Cornwell (the Stranglers) who Randy enjoyed more than I did, but I did get his comparisons to early Pretenders and there were definitely some cool musical moments there. I am a bigger fan of Glen's.
_______________________________________________________
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
The Men in Falling Jeans
This is a random interruption from my vacation tales, but today I found a piece of paper that I had jotted down some notes on. I was listening to an NPR interview with Hisham Matar, the author of a novel called Anatomy of a Disappearance.
The author was saying that in Libya, the revolution was sometimes informally called "the revolution of the young men in falling jeans" because so many of those involved were young men. It was astounding to me that a trend as stupid as wearing your pants halfway down your butt had made it to Libya and may even be seen as a sign of Western-style freedom. Seriously, of all the cultural ideas you could adopt from America...you're just gonna show me your underwear?
Hashim's father opposed Khadaffi, and moved the family to Egypt but at some point, he was taken, arrested, tortured, and disappeared without trial. Hashim says he feels the deepest connection with those in small Irish fishing villages whose fathers fished alone and disappeared at sea. It isn't a kinship that my brain would necessarily leap to, but it makes a lot of sense.
For him, the connection and understanding is in the idea that one cannot give up hope until they know and at some point, certainty may become more desirable than hope. I have added the book to my reading list and am trying to figure out if there is a song I could write in there...or if it would just be a re-hash of "Hope is All I Have."
The author was saying that in Libya, the revolution was sometimes informally called "the revolution of the young men in falling jeans" because so many of those involved were young men. It was astounding to me that a trend as stupid as wearing your pants halfway down your butt had made it to Libya and may even be seen as a sign of Western-style freedom. Seriously, of all the cultural ideas you could adopt from America...you're just gonna show me your underwear?
Hashim's father opposed Khadaffi, and moved the family to Egypt but at some point, he was taken, arrested, tortured, and disappeared without trial. Hashim says he feels the deepest connection with those in small Irish fishing villages whose fathers fished alone and disappeared at sea. It isn't a kinship that my brain would necessarily leap to, but it makes a lot of sense.
For him, the connection and understanding is in the idea that one cannot give up hope until they know and at some point, certainty may become more desirable than hope. I have added the book to my reading list and am trying to figure out if there is a song I could write in there...or if it would just be a re-hash of "Hope is All I Have."
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