Setting Himself Up for Disappointment
Rating Frozen Pizzas. I always enjoyed Tombstone Pizza myself. I got hooked on Tombstone after taking a free sample at the local Kroger’s. Occassionally they’ll have a special “2 for 5 dollars” which everyone would stock up on. DiGiorno? Well it’s not as good as the commericals make it out to be. Kinda doughy in places.
One thing I wish Tombstone would do, would be to have a small pizza about as half the size of the standard size pizza. I can eat a half all by myself. And it seems like cooking a whole and then throwing the other half away is just a waste.
Todd Burka’s picture pages have been updated with new captions. Take a look. It’s slightly amusing.
Scott Burka has updated his webpage too with an account of his tryout with a drum and bugle corp, the Bluecoats. Scott seems really intense about this drum corp thing. I hope he isn’t setting himself up for a disappointment. His brother, Todd, had asked him what were his alternate plans if he didn’t make it in to the band. He wouldn’t give him a straight answer. So let’s hope he makes it. However sometimes I think he might be better off not doing the summer band thing. Living on the road and performing every other day is a rough life. Probably not very conducive for a Christian life. Scott’s a good kid. I hope he isn’t selling his Christianity short. But then again, it’s really none of my business what he does.
One thing I’ll be doing at New Year’s Eve is watching a rock concert at the community center put on by church members. Am I the only one sees an emperor has no clothes phenomenon in this? Case in point – usually they play one Incubus song…”Drive” and a bunch of Led Zepplin songs I’ve never heard of. If you want to impress me, play some hit music. Play songs I know. Then again if it is their band, they are certainly welcomed to pick their own music. Anyone can make up a band…Blink182 told us that. Putting a good rock band is another matter altogether.
Friday Five: New Years
Return of the Friday Five. I missed last week’s because I was not in the habit of checking the website.
1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
Feeling as though I had made a difference in a young person’s life. Even though, very likely I didn’t have a real impact, even feeling as though I did, makes me feel better about myself.
I was going to post a “Jeff’s Wonderful Life” post, feeling as though I really make a difference in everyone’s life, but deep down I know I probably don’t. More on this topic later on.
If the question had been phrased as “What was the highlight of the year?” it would have been easy to answer. July 28th, 2002: Seeing a young friend of mine become a Christian. That was a real thrill. It’s rare that I’m actually friends (not just acquaintances) with the person being baptized. I count that as a real highlight.
2. What was your biggest disappointment?
September 11, 2002: Getting laid off. I sorta saw it coming. But it always takes the breath out of you. My old boss didn’t have a clue as to what I did. That can play a role in whether you keep your job or not. It can go one of two ways – either they keep you because they don’t know and are scared of not having you around. Or they get rid of you thinking the unknown must be easy to do. It was the latter for me.
And for those of you wondering, yes, I did get laid off on September 11th. How lame is that?
3. Will you be making any New Year’s resolutions?
Yes. I haven’t made them yet. But I will post it later on. Most likely it will be a carbon copy of last years.
4. Where will you be at midnight? Do you wish you could be somewhere else?
At church. I always help out at the youth lock-in at church. Usually we are in the middle of a devotional when the new year comes in. It’s kinda lame to the rest of the world. But somehow it’s cool to me because it is the direct opposite of how the rest of the world does it.
5. Aside from (possibly) staying up late, do you have any other New Year’s traditions?
Not really. Just going to the church lock-in and staying up all night. I’ll probably try to catch a nap sometime.
My parents eat black eyed peas for some reason. They’re always trying to get me to eat it on New Year’s Day, but I never do. Must be some rural Tennessee thing. I’ll probably end up playing U2’s “New Years Day” at some point in the day.
I have to teach the Wednesday night class at church on New Year’s Day. After staying up all night, I doubt I’ll be at my 100% level that night. But I am going to try to be prepared beforehand so I’ll be able to teach adequately after a decent nap.
Paoli Redux
I have this rough textured ski mask which I have always taken along skiing. The mask itself has some sentimental memories to it because I used it during my later elementary years when I went sledding. Since it is rough textured, it tends to rub against my forehead and in general make it dry. So I guess I’ll need to get a better hat. Maybe I’ll go out later on to a sporting goods store. I’ve thought about getting a better ski jacket. I’m using a hand-me-down jacket from my brother-in-law. I’d probably get another ski jacket, if I knew fashion trends wouldn’t change in a week or so. I could pick out a cool looking jacket, only to find out that particular jacket color is now out of style.
Then again, why should I spend alot of money for ski equipment just for Paoli. I should probably wait for a big trip out west before I spend any money.
While I was skiing, for a short time, a news helicopter from WLKY (Louisville CBS Affliliate) hovered overhead. I scoured the WLKY website, but didn’t see a trace of news about Paoli. Must have been for those brief human interest stories or weather clip (“Look, people are skiing at Paoli, now back to the weather”).
Some of the kids at church have actually started using the online discussion board. Maybe it will get some good discussion going.
Shelton Peeler has done a good job trying to get new pictures on Scottsville’s webpage. One thing I found when I was at the PM service at Scottsville last Sunday, was that the congregation tends to be a closeknit group of people. The kids (even teenagers) drew names and exchanged gifts that evening. Even some of the adults were getting gifts. We couldn’t possibly do that at Mt. Juliet. Our Christmas parties are broken up into Sunday School classes and other similar groups. We couldn’t have a congregation-wide Christmas party because it would be just too big.
Not Asking for Anything Specific
I guess I should be grateful to be able to unwrap undershirts and curtains (?) for Christmas, when many poor families don’t have anything to unwrap. And don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful. However I never really understood why my family seems to get me more “practical” gifts rather than “fun” gifts. It was my fault for not asking for anything specific.
I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what you got for Christmas. If you’re about bragging to your friends about the stuff you got for Christmas, chances are they got something bigger and better. So you’re better off keeping your mouth shut and to be thankful for what you’ve got.
Since it’s Wednesday night, we’ve got church tonight. I suppose everyone will be wearing their new clothes they got for Christmas. Not me.
The mass media has us fooled. Pre-printed Christmas day editions of the Tennessean. Taped Today Show segments. I must admit they had me fooled for a while. They should rename the Christmas Day Today Show to “Two Weeks Ago Show” since that’s when it was probably taped. We don’t expect Matt “Almost Bald” Lauer and Katie “Colonoscopy” Couric to come into work on Christmas Day.
Ghosts of Christmas Past
Growing Up Church of Christ means never going to Christmas Eve services at church. No tinsel or Christmas trees at church. No living nativity scenes. For me Christmas is more of a national holiday, although I realize it is a holiday celebrated worldwide. There’s nothing in the Bible indicating Jesus was born on December 25th. Although if it helps someone think of Jesus more on one particular day of the year, then its a good thing. As far as I’m concerned, I try to think of Jesus 365 days a year, not just on supposed special occasions like Christmas and Easter.
Birthday cakes for Jesus – This was pretty much foreign to me. I had always heard of people doing this, but had never seen it done before.
I can remember one time in 4th or 5th grade, our class sponsored a needy family during Christmas time. We made ceramic Christmas ornaments for them. We bought toys for the children and clothes for the parents. Later on the whole class went over to the family’s home to deliver the gifts. I can remember that family having a very sparse amount of furniture. The PTA room mothers and our teacher wanted us to see that not everyone has the luxuries that we have. It was an awkward time. But obviously the point the adults were trying to make, worked since I still remember it even today.
I’m sure they’ll have plenty of people helping at the soup kitchens tomorrow. People tend to become very aware of needy people’s problems during this time of year…then forget it the rest of the year.
When was the last time I truly believed in Santa? 5th grade maybe. I realize that might be a little old these days. Rumors of Santa’s non-existance persisted in elementary school. But I never believed them.
On Christmas morning my sister and I would wake up (I’d usually be first to wake up) and run into the living room where the Christmas tree was. Santa would leave our gifts stacked up in 2 piles. It wasn’t difficult to tell who’s was who’s. We’d spend much of the morning putting together the toys labeled “Some assembly required.”
I was notorious about trying to figure out my gifts. I would try to peak underneath the wrapping paper. A few times I managed to find out. There was always an ongoing conflict with my mom to see who could outsmart who. Usually she would win by wrapping my presents in a 2nd box.
My $21 Ski Trip
I can’t believe it. I skied for a grand total of $21. That included equipment rental, lift pass, and lunch. Lunch was a hotdog, plain potato chips and a very small glass of cola. I’ve paid as much as $50 to ski before (not counting the hotel stay). Al Pedigo, our trip organizer, is the master negotiator. The trip started off being $50/person. Later it was down to $39…and then even later it got down to $21 with the special 1978 prices. For some reason Al is usually able to get us a free lunch with the fee.
Snow conditions could have been better. There were patches of mud in places. One of the last hills on the family trail was closed due to not having enough snow. The rest of the family trail itself was slushy due to being used so much. The blues and black diamonds were much better. Icy in spots but still decent. The bunny slopes were very crowded. I later found out that there was a special deal going on for $10 for skiing only the bunny slopes.
Brian Dyer skied with these really short skis with no poles. Patrick, John’s friend, snowboarded. Brian, Patrick, John Pedigo, Matt Blevins, and I pretty much skied together for much of the day. We were all pretty much the same ability level. We did have to wait on Patrick sometimes since he was not adept at snowboarding. But he got better as time when on.
At the end of the day, Stephen Allen hurt his tailbone trying to jump on the Jurassic Park trail. It was his first trip skiing and was trying something way above his skiing ability. His parents may not let him ski again, which is a real shame.
On the way up and back, Mark Ross, Scottsville’s own optometrist, drove. His 7 year old, Conner, was sorta mischievous during the trip, but overall a good kid.
On the way back we stopped at a very peculiar Pilot gas station. Inside it has a Taco Bell and Subway restaurant. I remember being there before. Very strange. I believe there is some stipulation that says Taco Bell has to serve Pepsi products. However at this gas station only Coke products were available at the fountain. They also had a internet kiosk which sold internet access for 25 cents a minute.
I stayed at the Pedigo’s house last night. I was much too tired for the 90 minute drive home. The first night, I set up a webpage for John. John didn’t seem too enthusiastic about it.
On the way back this morning, I stopped by Taylor Christian Camp. It was very strange to see the trees without any leaves on it. Dead. I must have seen 3 U.S. postmen on the way back to Mt. Juliet. All with their flashing white Starsky and Hutch lights on the top of their vehicles. Guess Christmas is almost here and they were finishing up their deliveries.
Loosing Battery Power
My friends Josh and Beth wrote an original play which I went to see last night. It was more than just a morality play. It had Christian themes to it. The actors did well and didn’t appear to be robotically reading their lines at all. I know that it probably took quite a bit of time writing and setting up the play and I was happy that it turned out really well.
The only thing that left me sorta confused was when did the play end and when did the actual sermonette begin. At the end one of the play’s characters got up and said “It’s great we can get together for our Christmas Eve service here at 11PM,” which I knew wasn’t right since this was December 21 and it was 9:30PM. So he gave his sermonette and then asked us to pray with him. I was thinking “ok, this is still part of the play.” Yet the rest of the audience obviously thought the play was over and bowed their heads. I guess I’m just not used to dramatic Christian productions.
In the middle of church service this morning, David Shannon’s wireless microphone lost all battery power. We had to perform a hot swap in the middle of the sermon. Sorta embarrassing, but not necessarily for me because I don’t have anything to do with mic batteries. So I guess we can’t use rechargeable batteries anymore.
So I’m going skiing tomorrow. Driving up to Scottsville this afternoon. Leaving tomorrow for Paoli at 6:30AM. Returning to Scottsville around 11PM. I guess I might spend the night again in Scottsville, depending if I am too tired to drive back.
No Feedback
A friend and I were discussing the church webpage. Many times I receive no comments (whether negative or positive) about the church webpage. Usually it is something to the effect of “The webpage looks great.” But hardly ever do people give me an constructive criticism on it. I could really mess it up and people wouldn’t bother telling me what’s wrong with it.
Around here people either know about the internet, but are too busy to check on the church webpage….or they don’t know what the internet is, and therefore don’t look at the church webpage.
I see there is a meeting about the ski trip with MJ on December 29th after services. I’ll most likely be going to church elsewhere for a special service. I’m not stressing about missing it. Usually they just tell skiers not to do stupid stuff like not bring waterproof clothing or gloves. Really the meeting should be for first-time skiers. I’ve heard it all before. All I need to know is when we’re leaving and when we’ll be coming back. That’s all.
Short Mountain Bible Camp’s webpage is up and running. Designed by me. We’re still trying to get the bugs worked out of it, but for the most part, the domain is working and online camp registration will soon be working.
The past few pizzas I’ve got from Papa John’s and Pizza Hut have been less than spectacular. No tomato sauce at all. Poor quality. I like my cheese melted, not burnt thankyouverymuch. I don’t know what it is, but Papa John’s has really gone downhill lately. Used to, I could get a large one topping pizza for $7.57. Then it went up to $8.58. Now there are no more specials and I have to hunt around for a $8.99 coupon. Without the coupon I have to pay $12.58 for a pizza, which is much too expensive for a pizza these days. Especially when I can get a large Dominos pizza for $7.57. On the other hand, Pizza Hut has and always will be expensive. Never go to the Hut without a coupon.
Feliz Navidad Translation
Spent much of the day installing a new discussion board in the church webpage. It will probably go live pretty soon. Hopefully it will cut down on inappropriate links being posted. Also its got a good design and everything.
Phil asked me to drive the church van for the teens’ caroling/progressive dinner night. At first I had mixed feelings about going since I didn’t know many of the people who were going to be there. But now I’m glad I went. I was able to get to know some of the teens a lot better. John Michael Kennedy is hilarious. We must have the same sense of humor or something.
We went caroling at some of the widows’ and shut-ins’ houses. I’m sure we did alot more good than what some people realize. I’m sure this was the highlight of the week for some of those older people. They seemed really happy to see us. Hopefully we brought some joy into their lives.
Somebody was saying “Man, Jeff you really were going off on the girl scouts yesterday.” So let me explain the post. It was supposed to be 100% humorous. If you took it as some angry rant, you totally missed my point. Girl Scout Cookies are inheritantly funny to me. So re-read the article as if Dave Barry was writing it.
Breakfast with the neighbors tomorrow. This is in lieu of our usual Christmas morning dinner. It’s a long story and I’d rather not explain why we’re having it on the 21st instead of the 25th. Mom usually fixes some very nice breakfast foods and everyone is happy. I usually look forward to it.