Feeling odd.

It's been awhile since I've posted anything worthwhile... at least a "couple-few" days. I just haven't been in the mood to blog for some reason. Perhaps it's because my mind is scattered in several places, and it's hard to gather my thoughts enough to jot anything down. There's so much going on... life is moving at light-speed. It doesn't ever seem to slow down. I'm feeling very nostalgic I guess... watching all my friends' lives change. We're all beginning to move on with our lives. It seems like just yesterday that I was dawning a Civil Air Patrol uniform. Although I they were plenty, the years of kicking back beers at UD parties are just a faint memory. Friends have come and gone. And, now a new chapter in my life is staring me right in the face. It's real bizarre, knowing the page that I'm about to turn is going to alter the lives of many. I suppose that I feel somewhat lonely in all of this. Although I have a great wife, it's hard to put my feelings into words sometimes. There are a lot of emotions that come close; but aren't truly accurate. Frightened, alone, anxious, ready, overwhelmed, busy, waiting, lazy, tired, burned-out.... these feelings come and go. I don't know. It's wierd. But, it's all in God's hands... and I just hope that my faith is strong enough to keep in there.

Why we should go back to stoning criminals...

Yesterday, at some point during the daytime hours... my friend's house (Mike and Amanda) was broken into. The sludge of society stole approximately $10,000 worth of their stuff. Including an X-Box, all of Mike's paintball gear, his grandfather's shotgun, and a lot of Amanda's jewelry. Neeless to say, they were/are very freaked out. I'm sure that I would be too. That sucks so bad!!! Anyway, be praying for them everyone.

Top 10 Best Movie Lines Ever

Horror writer Stephen King, who moonlights as an Entertainment Weekly columnist, recently polled EW readers to find out what they think are the best movie lines ever. Here are the 10 picks by Entertainment Weekly readers: 1. "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." --Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) in "The Princess Bride" 2. "Inconceivable!" "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." --Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) in "The Princess Bride" 3. "Have fun storming the castle." --Miracle Max (Bill Crystal) in "The Princess Bride" 4. "As you wish." --Westley (Cary Elwes) in "The Princess Bride" 5. "I'll have what she's having." --Female diner (Estelle Reiner) in "When Harry Met Sally" 6. "You had me at hello." --Dorothy Boyd (Reneé Zellweger) in "Jerry Maguire" 7. "Fasten your seat belts--It's going to be a bumpy night." --Margo Channing (Bette Davis) in "All About Eve" 8. "You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together...and blow." --Marie Browning (Lauren Bacall) in "To Have and Have Not" 9. "If I'd been a ranch, they would've named me Bar Nothin'." --Gilda (Rita Hayworth) in "Gilda" 10. "Veda's convinced me that alligators have the right idea: They eat their young." --Ida Corwin (Eve Arden) in "Mildred Pierce" I think it's interesting that the top 4 are from The Princess Bride.

Dreams

I was encouraged the other day to write down my dreams and vision. So here it goes.... 1) I have a dream to create a church that isn't physically recognizable as a church. Trendy, upbeat, stylish. People will walk in the front doors and go, "This is a church?!... No way." Decor and design that rivals the mainstream markets. A church that is on the cutting-edge of design. 2) I have a dream of stainless steel and frosted glass. Plasma screen TVs and video announcements. Themed messages and series'. Not knowing what you're going to get on any given Sunday service. A dream of breaking all the expectations of church. 3) I have a dream that people will be excited about inviting people to church. A full-service coffee shoppe. An award-winning media and design team. Concerts in the parking lot. Billboards. This all seems a little scattered, I know. But you get the idea.

Things that make you go "Hmmm...."

Okay, so it's no secret that I'm poor. We're doing better, but Sabrina hasn't had a job for a year... so things have gotten a little behind. With that said, SBC disconnected our DSL service last week. The funny thing is, it was disconnected two days after sent them a payment. So, I was like "what the crap?!". So, I spend a grand total of 2 hours on the phone with them... tech support, customer service, some guy in Texas, etc. The thing that puzzles me is... why did it take two hours for them to figure out that my service had been disconnected because of lack of payment?! Shouldn't that be the very first thing that pops up on their screen?! Secondly, after they figured out the reason that I didn't have DSL.... why does it take so long to get it turned back on? I called on Sept. 15, and they can't get it turned on until Sept. 27. That just doesn't make any sense to me. They can turn it off instantly... but they aren't able to turn it on the same way. Whatever. So yeah, I'm really missing playing SOCOM online. Especially, since I bought SOCOM 2... I've been anxious to get online. Go figure. Perhaps this is why deregulation is a bad thing, eh?

I almost forgot...

... about the most interesting part of the weekend. Sabrina's uncle got married. Yeah, this was an interesting wedding. First off, it was in the boonies! Like, way past Dayton! Interestingly enough... she works at Lexis-Nexis. Anyway... I knew going into this that they were both into the whole "country-western" thing. But, I was not prepared for this. Like I said, it was out in the boonies... they have a horse farm. So, there's like 9 horses. They had us park in the field... "horse-piles" and all. We were there pretty early... I'm not sure why. So, people begin showing up... oh yes, most of them were wearing cowboy hats and boots. It was like a bad nightmare. But, then it gets worse... the "band" shows up. A friggin' country band!!! I will admit, they weren't half-bad, for country. So, let's get to the wedding... Okay, they are getting "hitched" out by the pond. That's fine... however, the pond is clear at the other end of the field. Yes. The field with all the poop in it. I've never had to dodge and step over horse-piles to get to a wedding before. So, we're all gathered out by the pond... then here comes the happy couple.... on a freshly washed Kubota tractor!!! That's about as redneck as it gets. The wedding goes on... they get married... we walk back through the "mine-field". Then, the band starts playing. Ugh... I was contemplating suicide at one point. Anyway, the food wasn't too bad... they had it catered --- good move. I was ridiculously tired from the night before at Joe's Java... so we left pretty early. So, yeah... interesting indeed.

Well...

What a weekend. On Friday, I went to Columbus during the day to hangout with Casey Henagan. He's the guy that wants me to help him start a church in Arkansas. So, we went and had lunch and we talked. He's really cool, because he encourages me everytime I see him. Then, we went to the mall in Polaris and grabbed some Starbucks. Good stuff. Friday night, drove to Wilmington, OH to Joe's Java. Three words: Plethora of smells. Rotten grain, inscense, cappucino, manure... definitely a workout on the nose. Joel and Phil did a great job... nice acoustic set. The DBB was super-cool, as well. I would buy their album, if they had one. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Oh my gosh... the morning service was horrid. An atrocity. Everything went wrong. Larry's message was good though. Videos not working... all because of the lack of preparation and not focusing on what's going on. Come on guys! The last three Sundays I have been in a great mood, until I get to church. There's a serious problem there. I told Tim that I need to step down from the worship team, so that I can effectively run the media team during services. Besides, I can't stand those electronic drums. So, bonus for me.

Good news kids...

I can hear again! WooHoo! Yeah, I went to the doctor on Wednesday and he said that I just had a bunch of wax up in there. Evidentally, my ear canals are super-small; so they are easily clogged. I was there for like 2 hours; mainly because I am a new patient... so he had to go through all of my family history and all that jazz. But anyway... the church now has a newly formed "decorating committee". Surprisingly, I was invited to the meeting... at the last minute. (Go figure.) I don't think it's gonna be too bad though... Em and I will do our best keep 'em in line. Although I don't necessarily agree with throwing away money to just "suffice"... who am I to butt against the system?! I'm obviously not the "leader" of the group; and honestly think that my invitation was a "let's not offend Josh" tactic... hence it being at the last minute. I don't know... I'm probably reading too deep into things. But, we'll see. *grin* Also, many many thanks to all those who offered words of support to me in my time of frustration and depression earlier this week. It helped. Spaceba.

I'm beginning to frighten myself... part 2

Your Homicidal Rampage! by crash_and_burn
Your name:
Weapon of Choice:	Pop-up Advertisement
Your Favorite Target:	Televangelists
Your Kill Count:	1,177,035,689
Your Battle Cry:	"My kidneys tingle with pleasure!"
Years You Spend in Jail:	4
How Much Money In Damages You Cause:	$231,576,202,177,927
Your Homocidal Insanity Level:: 24%
Quiz created with MemeGen!

I'm beginning to frighten myself...

Your Homicidal Rampage! by crash_and_burn
Your name:
Weapon of Choice:	Chainsaw
Your Favorite Target:	Inanimate objects
Your Kill Count:	817,326,955
Your Battle Cry:	"My kidneys tingle with pleasure!"
Years You Spend in Jail:	49
How Much Money In Damages You Cause:	$126,266,403,604,861
Your Homocidal Insanity Level:: 55%
Quiz created with MemeGen!

They're so pretty though....

What stupid celebrity are you destined to kill? by daydreamer8852
Name
Birthdate
You killed
With a
On	February 1, 2017
Quiz created with MemeGen!

The saga continues...

So yesterday I get an e-mail from "a person" informing me of all the things that I should be doing... and it ended with "You're doing a good job...". Okay... first of all, if I was doing a good job, you wouldn't have to e-mail me to tell me the things that I should be doing. Man! Don't patronize me. Anyway, I composed reply e-mail that said exactly what I felt... I mean, no hold barred... I really spoke my mind. However, I didn't send it. Instead, I wrote an e-mail that said, "We need to talk." I think that approach will be more effective. I'm tired. Tired of all the stuff I do. Tired of being on the worship team. Tired of spending countless un-appreciated hours at the church. Just tired.

Bad morning.

This morning, I was fine until I got to church. I think I'm definitely due for a vacation. I forgot to do some stuff before this morning; so "people" were coming up to me asking where it's at... and telling me about things that are wrong in the bulletin. Normally, this wouldn't frustrate me. But, I was only going by the info that is on the "Master Calendar"... and things have been changed, without anyone changing the calendar. How am I supposed to know that?! For the love of everything holy... you can't just change something without letting EVERYONE know! Especially the person that is doing the bulletins. I am so sick of this last minute crap! I mean, come on... can we prepare for something?! Is that too much to ask? Perhaps a little forewarning?! I think my frustration is also stemming from the fact that I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that media is not a priority at church. And, that I'm not making the progress that should be made by now. Perhaps, God is leading me in a different direction. Perhaps not. I don't know. I think more than anything, I just need a break.... not just a vacation either, a break from the norm. I'm really thinking about taking a trip to Arkansas while on vacation; to get to know Casey a little better, and feel things out down there. We'll see though. Life is very confusing right now.... confusing and frustrating.

I still can't hear... Day Six.

Today marks the sixth day in a row with little or no hearing out of my right ear. I believe it's getting progressively worse... and it's definitely infected. There's liquid stuff coming out of it; and it is beginning to hurt. I'm not feeling real good about P&W this Sunday. I mean, I like the songs... I just don't feel like we accomplished much at practice. But, it's okay... we could always be worse. I was a bit of a jerk at practice too. Mainly, from my knee aching and not being able to hear... mixed in with an empty stomach. That's not a good combination for me. I tend to get irritated very easily. Anyway, I suppose I better get to bed... I've gotta get up and go to work tomorrow... ugh. I really do get sick of being at church. I figured it out one day... on an average week, I spend 60 hours at church.... at church! Please understand, that I'm not sick of the church (the body)... just the church (the building). Make sense? Great.... great and good. I talked to BigPru today about hooking up and doing some design work together on the side. He was cool with that. It just hacks me off that some guy in Texas is getting design work that I should be getting! Is that selfish? I don't think so. I mean, if you're a Christian business owner like Spradlin Bros., and need a couple of websites designed... Why would you want a guy in Texas to do it? Why not ask the struggling graphic designers in your home church first?! ---- that do great work might I add ---- Seriously, this guy that they've hired.... SUCKS! People... what are you thinking?! So yeah, we need some extra cash... and we're looking for clients. If you know anyone that needs some graphic work done... send'em our way.

Movie Review: Cold Mountain

I can't say that Cold Mountain was a "bad" movie. But it certainly wasn't "good" either. I guess one could say that it was an average Civil War movie with the love story. However, the one thing that sets it apart for me... is that is was completely edited with Apple's Final Cut Pro. I think it's pretty cool that Miramax Films uses the same video editing software that I use. Aside from that, I probably would not have watched Cold Mountain. This movie does have a couple of "naked" scenes in it and some pretty strong sexual content along with those scenes. It offers some violence... but not too much. So, if you go to the movie store to rent a movie and get it home and it has a scratch on it that prevents it from playing... and the store is all out of that movie when you call and complain... so they give you some free rentals... and your wife won't let you get Kill Bill Vol. 2... Cold Mountain might be an okay substitution for you. Maybe.

A poll for you...

What's your favorite soda?
	Pepsi
	Coca-Cola
	Dr. Pepper
	Mt. Dew
	I don't drink soda.

I can't hear... Day three.

Yes. I have not been able to hear out of my right ear for three days now. There has been no progress... aside from the fact that I'm getting used to being deaf. Maybe I should have taken some sign-language classes. Oh well. Anyway, I called and made an appointment with the doctor today. First time I've been to the doctor in 9 years... and even at that, they can't see me until next Wednesday. Let's not rush the fact that I can't friggin' hear! My wife is already tired of it. As if I didn't say "Huh?" enough before... now it's twice as bad. My grass desperately needs mowed. Seriously, it's like really long. Sabrina and I went to my mom and dad's house tonight to pick up some Coke that they had purchased for us. They were nice enough to make us dinner too. Dude, I ate more than I have eaten in a long time. I very rarely finish a meal... but tonight I did... plus some. Good for me. It should most certainly be an enjoyable experience tomorrow sometime. :-)

Happy Labor Dabor.

Yesterday was a pretty decent day... We (Sabrina, Larry, Luke, Em, PJ, and myself) were the worship team, and a lot of people said that we were great and that they enjoyed the change. In the evening we had the Labor Day Picnic; which was suprisingly enjoyable, since I didn't have to do any work for a change. Sometimes it's nice just to be able to "go" to an event and have fun. I'm pretty sure Byran Wellmann's small group was the force behind the picnic... if so, many kudos to them. The only not-so-good thing about yesterday is that I can't hear out of my right ear. It has continued into today... it feels like there's fluid or something in there. Like, I can hear... but everything is very muffled. I was reading a bit on Swimmer's Ear; and I think that's what I have. Enough about me though... wait a minute.... this is my blog, it's all about me! So yeah, Sabrina and are heading down to Cincy to go to some museums and spend some quality time together. We haven't done anything like that for a long time... it should be good.

Going to the "dark side"...

It would seem that more people are switching from Xanga to Blogger. Even Larry is trying it out. Yeah yeah... I know Xanga is "easier".... maybe; but only because it's made for lazy people that don't want to stretch themselves to learn a little bit of HTML. That attitude will be the downfall of our society.

My thoughts...

As today comes to a close, I can look back and note that I won't soon forget this day in my life. It's just been a memorable day. Not necessarily for me inparticular, but moreso just a day full eventful happenings. For instance... The Republican National Convention has come to a close. I must admit, I didn't watch all of it... but with the Internet, I know pretty much all of what happened. I can say that I wasn't too impressed with President Bush's speech. There were parts that seemed heartfelt, but not too many. There was also a lot of talk about 9/11; seems kinda odd to keep referring to a past event so much when your campaign is all about the "future". I would definitely say that the best speech came from a Democrat... Zell Miller. That was awesome. And, the funniest was from "The Governator". I didn't get to see or listen to Rudy Gulianni's speech... but I'm sure it was good too. John Kerry has some sick infatuation with Springfield. Coming home from practice at nearly 10PM... S. Limestone St. was literally lined with police cars... street after street. I'm not kidding... they even had the D.A.R.E. vans out! I think they ran out of cars! What kind of moron holds a rally at midnight on a Thursday?! Granted, it was right after the Republican Convention ended... so I can see why the timing works. But, why the city I live in? Our citizens our stupid enough... they don't need any more influences. I guess that I should count it as an honor that presidential candidates are coming to my town; like they did 'back in the day'. Today was the first day of "Roadrunner" at the church. Man, that was nice! I spent all morning just downloading software updates for my Mac. It hadn't been updated since December of 2003. Larry was super-excited too; because he got to actually go to some websites that he wanted to go to. Very nice indeed. Thanks God. Alrighty... I think I'm off to bed now.

.: BREEZE .:

BREEZE_win
Originally uploaded by Josh R..

Here's another desktop called "Breeze". I think it's 'soothing'. Please note that not only do I design these desktops for me, I make them for you crazy Windows users too. That's right, I take the time to make them just for you.

The Kerry camp strikes again.

Yep. Evidently, John Kerry has deemed it necessary to make another stop in the wonderful city of Springfield. Kerry will be kicking off a rally at midnight on Thursday night. Idiot. Why can't he go bother Enon or Fletcher?... and leave us alone. Anyone want to join me for a friendly protest?

Will design for food...

I'm looking for a little extra design work to make some $$$. If you need any design work done or know someone that does... E-mail> me.

"50 Under God"

50_undergod
Originally uploaded by Josh R..

Here's a desktop wallpaper dedicated to our nation being "Under God". The red background is the field of stars from the US flag, but instead of the blue.... it's a ragged torn up blood red color; representing the blood of Christ that was poured out for us.