I've upgraded

stormtroopers for hire

are you in need of the deadliest force this side of the galaxy?
no problem.

in the quiet

I'm a drifter.

my mind can never rest on one difinitive end. it's here or there or somewhere inbetween. this seems to happen mostly in the early hours of the morning while I'm trying to sleep... thought after thought after thought... drifting.

countless topics, random issues, not-so-random issues... they are always pestering me like a child who walks in on the middle of a movie and needs to know exactly what's going on (I know, because I still do this... right Doug?). So before I lose anymore sleep over it let me clear the mucky muck for you: I'm pissed off (sorry mom). I'm a pastor and I am publishing that...

I can't think of any better way to sum it up.

I'm not angry. I'm not mad. I'm just pissed (for the sake of the easily offended I will defer from using that word anymore in this post; I will now refer to it as P'd).

P'd that one insecure maniac would take the lives of 32 innocent college kids.
P'd that people sometimes just don't get it.... just don't get me... just don't get my good intentions.
P'd at divorce.
P'd at how selfish some people can be.
P'd about genocide.
P'd about AIDS in starving countries.
P'd about war.
P'd about parents who abuse their children.
P'd about wasted potential.

The list could go on.

When it's quiet I drift.

okay so I probably will still lose sleep whether I post this or not... it's just good to get it out there sometimes.

"we're all behind our baseball team"

My sister and I and a bunch of other people, most of whom I don't know, hopped on a charter bus and headed to Detroit to enjoy the Tigers take on the Chicago White Sox. It was a beautifl day for baseball! We got there about an hour and a half before the game started...



My sister and some others wanted to get a bite to eat, but I didn't want to miss out on the free replica championship ring giveaway, so I entered the park by myself and got my ring! Andrea got in too late and didn't get one since they only gave them to the first 30,000 fans. Anyway, For the next hour or so I wandered around the park... the first thing I saw was a kiosk where they were selling Tigers jewelry. They had a ring there that looked very much like the one I had gotten for free, some necklaces with Tigers charms, earrings, etc... the two most impressive items they had there was a Detroit Pistons 2004 Authentic Championship ring as well as Mike Illitch's actual 2006 American League Championship Ring...





This has been the second time I've been to this park now and I thoroughly love it. What a beautiful stadium. I wish I could go to more games more often, but it's a good 3 hour trip there and 3 more back...



Oh well... for now it will remain a very special treat when I am able to go... and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather go with than family! I'm happy my sister is a Tigers fan...

I think my sister said it best...

view her blog here.

my car's for sale

wanna buy it?














1996 VW Passat GLX VR6 Wolfsburg Edition.
192,000 miles
brand new brakes
brand new door handles
new clutch, starter, tires, tie rods, bearings, plugs, wires.. all within the last year. It also get's close to 30 miles to the gallon, which is awesome.
It's a great car, I'm just upgrading. The engine is in great shape and should last for a very long time.
I'm asking $3500... In Fair condition it's worth $3800, but with all the money I've put into it over the last year, I would rate it in good condition. The only thing that would not make it in great condition is the body. It has a little rust and some minor paint chipping. let me know if you know of someone who's interested!

yes, I was at this game last night.

and I was this close to Sheed after the game.



what an unbelievable game.

thought process #2

Okay.... The first thing that comes to your head: someone you know and care about tells you they want to kill themself... go.


yyyyyyyyyeah.


I have heard a lot in my day (at the ripe age of 27, I know), but this one takes the cake. How in the world do you begin to process something like this? The first and obvious is to immediately find them some help. Got it. Then what's my role? what do I say? There have been many moments of silence in conversations with this soul, too young to die, much to young to ponder death. I guess my only reasonable answer is Love.

thought process #1

I'm a person who wears my emotions on my sleeve. I feel tough today though. I feel almost caloused from the emotional wear i have been going through. Just when I think I'm in one place with my emotions, they are forced completely to the other end of the spectrum... like a fish getting hooked and jerked backwards... I wish the hook would have just ripped out from the force, but it didn't.
So now I've gone through the ringer... I feel like I'm prepared to handle just about anything... is this an extension of God's grace? Somehow my emotional exhaustion has left me with the feeling of empowerment. Maybe I'm being too modest.
Maybe I have more to offer now... to who or what remains to be seen.

okay so I lied... it's only been 3 weeks, but I couldn't resist this one

surely a young Dwight Schrute and Michael Scott

i'm done

no more posting.
give me a couple months.

I win

nobody else posted a prediction and mine was 23-20 Colts.











so I win.

predictions?

the closest wins!

at last.... introductions.

This is my girlfriend Julie... she's the pretty one on the right if you haven't figured it out. We've been dating for a couple of months and she's the best!! If you're lucky, you might get the chance to meet her if you haven't already.

new song

I'm usually good for writing about one song a year... and for some reason that time has come...

I wrote and recorded a song today.

It came to me quickly... they hardly ever do that, but I ran with it... let me know what you think.... here is a link to the audio: slumber song

**please note that I recorded this on my laptop with the built-in microphone and did most of the traks in one take... it's no masterpiece to speak of, but I figure what good is it if I don't share it.

here are the lyrics:

SLUMBER SONG

where did we go wrong?
this time it feels so strong
we knew we'd give affection,
but we paid it no attention
now which way do we go?
this movement feels so slow
and something in my soul,
tells me I will never know
I will never know.

where did I go wrong?
now I write this slumber song
for years I've been sleeping,
but now my eyes they're weeping
now this I can't deny,
I've lived here with this lie
my thoughts will always go,
to how you always know
you, you always know.

you did nothing wrong,
now time is almost gone
you say a prayer, I echo
with pain inside we let go
what the heart may fail to see,
there my soul will always be
though you'll end up in my heart,
that's also where you start
that's also where you start.

therapy

I could have lost myself
In rough blue waters in your eyes
And I miss you still

...

But I don't have to make this mistake
And I don't have to stay this way
If only I would wake


-Joshua Radin from the song 'Winter'

time capsule

do you ever revisit a part of your past in your mind and somehow, for maybe a moment, or maybe two hours, you're just stuck there? Like you've narrowed in on a part of your life with such concentrated thought that you are back to that place... it's like hypnosis... I mean, that's what it is right? concentrating your thoughts and mind and being somewhere you're really not?
Yeah, I was hypnotized... and I'm still waiting for whatever the trigger may be that will release me from this trance...

...and then I ask myself if I really want that...

I want my money back

Tonight I went to a high school basketball game. It has been a while since I've been to one of these events. I think the last one I had been to before tonight was last year watching my brother.

Fruitport @ Reeths Puffer. The stadium holds up near 2500 people I would say... I think 30 showed up.

$10 was the price of admission for two and evidently for the most uninspiring basketball I think I've ever seen... at least at the varsity level... Almost 3 minutes went by in the game and there were at least 5 missed shots by both teams before the first points were scored. I'm not talking 3 literal minutes here... I mean three minutes off of the game clock.

It was 20-10 at halftime and everyone in the stands somehow knew the game was already out of reach... I left in the third quarter.

This is Division I high school basketball? I would have rather watched retarded monkeys trying to walk straight... at least that would have been entertaining.

I want my money back.

Fortunately, better games are ahead... March 26: Pistons Nuggets. I'll be there.

poor Tony Romo

hint

for all you gamers, here's your hint... or perspective or whatever... hope this helps.