Random Dozen

Because i am having to rub the sleepies from my eyes, and i am having a hard time focusing on any one thing i thought i would go with a blogging friend's "Random Dozen" for today:

1. When was the last time you craved a food--what was it, and did you cave? ~~~ The last time i craved anything was my Beloved's homemade Pumpkin Pie.  While she uses the Libby's pie filling she has a way of making this incredible pie crust!  While i had to be patient and wait for her to make it over the holidays, you better believe i caved just as soon as the opportunity presented itself. ;-)

2. M & M's or Skittles? ~~~ Please, there is no comparison. M&M's!  There is just something about chocolate and nuts, especially dark chocolate!  When M&M's puts out their bags of dark chocolate M&M's we get several bags and pace ourselves. ;-)

3. Have you ever read the Bible completely through? ~~~ I can honestly say yes, but only once.  It was while i was on deployment for the Guard and did not have as many outside "distractions".  To my shame i have not done it before or since.  Although i am seriously considering getting a copy of a reading plan and just start plugging away at it, ignoring any dates for such and such reading.  If i miss a day, just picking up where i left off.  Only, i don't like jumping back and forth between books, etc.  For example the plans that have you read some from the Old Testament, some from the New Testament, and a Psalm or Proverb.  I don't mind reading a book from the New, then a book from the old, then say a chapter from Psalms or Proverbs... but i want to complete a book/chapter before i move on to the next from a different section.  For some reason that bugs me.  And i want to start on the New Testament this time... even if that means having to read a book from the New Testament a couple of times as i finish the Old.

4. How long does it take you to really wake up in the morning?  ~~~ Oh i AM a morning person!  8)I will wake up with the alarm without using the snooze, although i have been known to use it - but when i do it actually makes me feel more tired.  I can usually go from being asleep to fully cognizant in 5 minutes or less, and i can usually be fully prepared for my civilian job in less than 15 minutes - to include shower - if i have to.  I am pretty sure it has something to do with my time in the military.  In basic we used to joke that we could hear the tendon in the Drill Sergeant's finger as he turned on the lights and could have two of three digits on our locker combination done before the lights were fully on. *chuckle*

5. Have you ever been on a cruise? If not, would you like to? ~~~ I have been on one for my honeymoon.  We had a great time and would love to do another one.

6. Who is your favorite actress? ~~~ I like Sandra Bullock.  She is a very driven and talented woman, and i am not just saying that because of "The Blindside" - which i loved by the way.  I have enjoyed pretty much every movie she has ever been in.

7. ______ is something that I will just never understand. ~~~ Wow, that is a loaded question!  And one with not just one answer.  Of course the first answer that came to my mind was "women". 8)  But in reality that was too easy.  I am not saying that women can be understood (by men), but that there really is a lot more that i will just never understand. For example, how does God's sovereignty and man's ability to choose work out?  I have an idea in my head, but as C.J. Mahaney would say, "you are in the deep end of the theological pool" when you think about such things.  But this is life.  We get to turn such things over and over in our minds like Rubik's Cubes.  Not only are there things that i will never think/believe i understand, but when i stand before the Throne of God, i am quite sure there are going to be a lot of things that i thought i did understand... only to be corrected on.

8. How much of a technology junkie are you? ~~~ Ooh... not nearly as much as i would like to be sometimes.  I am really intrigued by the new tablet readers like Kindles.  The iPhone is completely incredible.  I love what they are doing with cybernetics of late... incredible.  Hybrid cars fascinate me to no end.  Hi-Def TV's and Bluray players - WOW.  But at the same time, i do not kill myself to keep up with all of the latest and greatest gadgets.  I can't afford to. Nor do i have the time to keep up by reading about all of the latest devices.  I have a hard enough time keeping up with all of the trends going on within my own job (which has been in a non-stop "transition" since i joined this contract almost seven years ago), plus keeping up with what is going on in my children's lives.  As an example, my Beloved gave me my first iPod for my birthday several months back.  Until last night i was pretty clueless on how to delete files from it.  I had to sit down with my 14 year old last night, who showed me - and he has only had his since Christmas.

9. Do you enjoy selecting greeting cards for people, or is it more of a cultural "have to" for you? ~~~ I have never really been a sentimental type of person.  And to be honest, never really good with the "have to" part of etiquette.However, my Beloved has really helped me get better in this regard - even when my own bad attitude gets in my way.  She "stamps" and makes some of the best cards i have ever seen.  I love it when she makes up our Christmas cards every year.

10. When was the last time you got a new style/haircut?  ~~~ September 1986.  That was when i shipped off for basic training and was given my new hair style.  "Just a touch off the sides and top please!"  NOT!  I love my "style" currently though.  If i can grab it in between my fingers it is too long.  Before basic training i could pull my hair down over my face and tuck it under my chin - if you can imagine.

11. What do you enjoy shopping for most?  ~~~ Not much.  If i have to spend more than ten minutes looking it up on-line i get irked.  I will do comparison shopping, just i do it on-line.  And i am very grateful that God has given me a wife that enjoys shopping every bit as much as i do. 8)

12. What's the last thing you think of before you leave the house? ~~~ Keys, wallet, phone.


(Some notes since i am having trouble figuring out how to annotate source images... the clock image is from a collector's item from Fallout 3).

Rambling into the New Year

Some readers... well, the handful who actually read this blog ... might remember that a while back my beloved gave me a very nice refurbished iPod Nano.  When i first connected it to my home PC i must have clicked something that i was not fully aware of and it proceeded to upload all of the music files i had on my PC.  Most of which i did not actually want on the player.  It's not that i don't like the music i have, it's that i only wanted to upload sermons and select songs.  I messed around with it for a while before i ran out of time (having a plethora of other things all 'screaming' for my attention).  So, for the most part my gift lays dormant on my bookshelf in my bedroom.  Well, this Christmas DS1 received a brand new iPod Nano.  Well, when he went to attach his iPod to the home PC the computer absolutely refused to recognize his player.  I messed around off and on for the better part of my vacation to no avail.  Finally, on Sunday, as soon as i got home from church i plopped myself down in front of the PC to get it worked out.  Finally, i had to delete all of the old iTunes and Real Player, and a few other applications (five or six all told), and then re-download the newest iTunes (for the second time).  Once that was installed successfully the iPod and the PC began to play nicely together.  My iPod - which is apparently a 4th generation device while my son's is a 5th - still works.   Now... i still need to figure out a better way to manage the songs and files on my iPod. 

Speaking about my vacation... i got into a mild argument with our guest.  I made a comment about how it irks me that several news agencies are referring to the new decade that we entered on 1-January.  People we have NOT entered a new decade yet.  We are STILL in the first decade of the twenty first century of the third millennium.  We will NOT enter a new decade until 1-January 2011. In my line of work i deal with IP addressing, and various other base counting systems (i.e. binary is base 2, hexadecimal is base 16).  Where computers treat the number 0 (zero) as the first number. The Gregorian calendar does not contain a year '0' (zero), thus the first decade was year 1 AD through year 10 AD, thus the second decade did not begin until 1-January 11.For the most part i bite my tongue... i mean... is it really that big of deal in the scheme of things?  It bugs me because it is inaccurate, but is the world going to fall of it's axis?  No.  When i mention such things to my beloved she mostly nods and just lets me go on.  but apparently our guest took issue with it, so i actually took the time and went on-line to research it and i found out that i was indeed correct.  There is no year 0 in either the Gregorian or the Julian calenders. I felt truly vindicated, but made it a point to not say "i told you so".  Now, in concession, there is an Astronomical year 0.  This is simply inserted just prior to 1 AD.  So we were both right.

Although i was unable to sit down long enough for my ADD clouded brain to focus long enough to get any writing done over my vacation, i was able to lug around my old Section Leader's book (it's a hardbound book with an NSN number and everything) and jot down a lot of notes.  My friend Ram also come over to play some Necromunda.  As i took down notes of my thoughts i have narrowed my 'focus' down to four main characters in three different story lines: Jakob (Ash Wastes Shaman), Elrain (Ash Wastes Ranger), Seiran (Delaque Scummer), and Harley (Escher - Troupe of the Masque).  They are four pretty different types of characters.  I just hope they come across that way.  I've also decided that when i save the files i need to use a shorthand version notation so i can remember who/what when i post them on my short story blog site.  I am so excited about all of the notes i've taken i am pretty sure i could whip out about 10k words before i run out of ideas and notes.  The main problem i have is actually sitting down and putting finger to keyboard.  It's not always just sitting in front of my laptop either.  Sometimes it can take me ten minutes or more to get my mind to focus enough to get what i want down in a way i can understand, let alone share.  Even then i am easily distracted.   Usually what i have to do is just get typing and typing, and then come back to reread and edit.  Another friend, Tulip, has been really helpful in this regard.  Often she is able to tell me where things don't make much sense and i am able to clean it up enough that i feel comfortable posting it on-line.  My beloved, and DS1 for that matter, are really good at the grammar thing... but for some reason i have a hard time working with them.  Maybe someday i can eat enough humble pie to sit down and learn from them so that i can grow even more as a writer.

Of late God has been working on me... as He usually does... i am just glad that He still does. Right now i just do not have very many details on what He is showing me right now.  Perhaps i will actually grasp it soon... i hope.

Happy New Year! and welcome to 2010

Wow, what a rough start to 2010... not in a bad way, just a busy way.  We have had a friend and her two children over since Christmas so i have had a house full of kids enjoying their Christmas vacation and the new Year.  I should have not taken my vacation at the same time.

For the most part my beloved and i have been able to take it all in stride.  They are really good friends, and our kids get along very well.  But the extra stresses were getting to me and i became a little snippy yesterday (after dealing with a 'rogue' iPod for about six hours yesterday).  So my vacation time did not end great, but by the end she forgave me.  I know this for sure because she put her frozen hands on my back to get warm, when she came to bed (i LOVE this).  Still, i am not very proud with how i acted last night...

With being gone the past week and a half i have a lot of topics that i've jotted down...  to begin i really must present my Music offering for my weekly "Music Monday" offering...

While at church yesterday the worship team played O the Wonderful Cross.  I absolutely love that song.  I then heard again it on the way home.  I had my song for this week... but then my "intense time of fellowship" with my beloved and i felt totally worthless... seriously.  This morning i heard the song "He is with you" on the radio on my way into work.  And it struck a cord for where i feel that i am at right now.

He is With You
by Mandisa Hundley

There's a time to live
And a time to die
There's a time to laugh
And a time to cry

There's a time for war
And a time for peace
There's a hand to hold
In the worst of things
In the worst of things

He is with you when your faith is dead
And you can't even get out of bed
Or your husband doesn't kiss you anymore
He is with you when your baby's gone
And your house is still
And your hearts are stone
Crying "God what'd you do that for?"
He is with you

There's a time for yes
And a time for no
There's a time to be angry
And a time to let it go
There's a time to run
And a time to face it
There's love to seek
In all of this
Through all of this

He is with you in the conference room
When the world is coming down on you
And your wife and kids don't know you anymore
And He is with you in the ICU when the doctors don't know what to do
And it scares you to the core
He is with you

We may weep for a time but joy will come in the morning
The morning light

He is with you when your kids are grown
When there's too much space and you feel alone
And your worried if you got it right or wrong
Yes He is with you when you've given up on ever finding your true love
Someone who feels like home
He is with you

When nothing else is left and you take your final breath
He is with you

He is with you

Having said all this, i want to place a link for the You Tube Video to O the Wonderful Cross as well...

If it were not for what Christ has done on my behalf i would have no hope, even though it feels i continue to fall over my own two feet.  Our church has started a series "Daring to Dream Big", and i have felt compelled to approach the Senior Pastor about some things on my heart... but i am sore afraid.

Well, i have a lot more topics to chat about, but i need to move on.  Till tomorrow...