Quick Update

Just a brief update:

1) Got married. Again. And it was a wonderful weekend. The ceremony was great, the reception was a lot of fun, the rehearsal dinner was tasty. It was so great to see family and friends all together to celebrate with us. It meant a lot to me. I also got to play lasertag, where I proceeded to destroy everyone in our first game, winning by something like 150 points. I got to see my best friends that I had not been able to hang out with in forever. And the whole wedding party got along ridiculously well. So well, in fact, that we all became depressed when we got back to our respective homes, which resulted in the immediate planning of a reunion. And to top it all off, my groomsmen, those wonderful, upstanding young gentlemen, got me quite possibly the best wedding gift ever: an XBox 360.

2) I've been playing a lot of XBox since we got back. Which is probably why I haven't updated.

3) Still looking for a job. I've had some meetings/interviews, and I hope to hear from some places soon. I'm really hoping something comes through soon. I've been trying to be patient, to wait upon the Lord, as it goes. Again, I know this is what I'm called to do, what I want to do with my life. When you know that, it makes you all the more eager to get started.

4) Jill and I are getting ready to go to Alaska. We leave Sept. 1 and will be back the 9th. I'm extremely excited. This will be my first cruise, and my first time out of the country (as we depart from Vancouver, B.C., Canada). Yeah, I'll only be in another country for a few hours, but hey, it counts. Even if is it only America's hat.

5) My dad is feeling better. He's recuperating. Of course, my sister has been sick the last few days, with gallstone/kidney stone issues. My mom and I are wagering on which of us is next. It's ridiculous.

6) That's about all I have for now. I have to go get started on dinner.

Peace...

Blogstravaganza limps to the finish line...

The last entry in the inaugural (and likely last) Blogstravaganza is finally here. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. Or something.

Today was definitely better than yesterday. No random phone calls telling me a family member was in the hospital. In fact, my dad was able to go home this afternoon, where he is resting and recuperating. He's not the best patient, and he hates hospitals, so I'm sure he's glad to be home. He's sore and in pain, but it should get better in a few days/weeks. I'm relieved that everything went as well as it did. he's had a lot of health issues in the last few years, both he and my mom. It's hard not being there for them, unable to help out or lend support or just being present. So I pray. And I call. It's really all I can do.

In other news, I've decided that team handball looks incredibly fun. If you can't tell, I've been watching the Olympics quite a bit. At least, that is whenever I can figure out how to do so; whether a sport is on tv, or delayed, or streaming live. NBC has messed up in making their Olympics website user-friendly and easy to navigate. An absolute mess. Epic fail.

Back to the point... handball is a cross between basketball and hockey, minus the sticks and fights and plus a few more teeth. Not to mention fewer Canadians. Or perhaps it's better defined as dry water polo. Either way, it looks like fun, and I expect it to see some rise in popularity here in the US due to these Olympics. Much like the recent rise in Dodgeball after the movie came out, handball can only benefit from some screen time. Even if it's only available on your computer. That is, if one can figure out how to watch it. I'm still struggling. I randomly fell into a match earlier today, but I'm not sure I can get back to the handball video section. Thanks, NBC. Way to make your website for this ridiculously huge sporting event incredibly difficult when it doesn't have to be.

End Rant.

End Blogstravaganza.

I have nothing more to say.

I'm out.

Peace...

Crappy day...

Today was kinda crappy. I got a call from my mom this morning, telling me she was at the hospital with my dad, who was having what felt like horrible indigestion/chest pain. Not a good sign for someone who had a heart attack 3 years ago. Turns out it wasn't a heart issue, but rather he had gallstones and a hernia. He had surgery this afternoon, and it went as well as it could. The gallstones are out and the hernia is fixed. He's recuperating and should be able to go home tomorrow afternoon as long as all goes well between now and then. So if you're the praying type, it would be much appreciated.

Other random small crappy stuff happened today that just made it a very frustrating day, like the universe just decided to smack me around a little.

That's all I have for right now. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Peace...

(I forgot to title this one yesterday when I originally posted it)

Blogstravaganza '08: now with electrolytes...

Jill and I just got back from watching "Stepbrothers." Absolutely ridiculous. Ferrell, Reilly & co. once again deliver a truckload of laughs from a handful of idea. There honestly isn't much there, just an outlet for these two actors to act as ludicrous as you can imagine. I laughed. Hard and often. If you need a good laugh, it's definitely worth your time. Although, I am pretty disappointed that the line about a dead raccoon filled with ricotta cheese is not actually in the movie.

In other news, the University of Kentucky Wildcats just got a commitment from a highly-touted Texas QB, Ryan Mossakowski (via KentuckySportsRadio). It's an extremely difficult task for UK to get great talent due to their rather pitiful past, much less great talent from football hotbeds such as Texas. Perhaps things are really changing, and the best prospects are now at least considering UK (and occasionally making their way there). This is good news for Cat fans. Hopefully Coach Brooks (and Coach-In-Waiting Joker Phillips) have started something here.

What else to add... I guess not much. This blogging every day experiment is a challenge, especially when I live a pretty uneventful life at present. I never have much to say to begin with, so trying to write something worth reading every day is... Well, I'm not even sure it's worth reading....haha. But I shall press on. I promised a week's worth of blogs. And I aim to deliver.

Anyway, that's all I have for now.

Peace...

Parting Ways and Part-time

Blogstravaganza '08: Eclectic Blogaloo

It's weird seeing Brett Favre holding a Jets jersey. Something's not quite right about the picture, like it's from bizarro world. There are no real winners in this situation, either. Green Bay loses a legend and its chances of a great season and Favre loses some of his legacy. The Jets do get a great QB, but he's almost 39, and is at best a short term solution to a long term problem. I'm a huge Favre fan; he's the reason I am a Green Bay fan. But even I know he is nearing the end of his playing career. Last season was great, and this season could have been pretty good had he made it clear from the start he wanted to play again. The team, initially left with the only option of moving on, did that as best they could. The whole thing just stinks.

Also, I had a meeting today with the pastor of the church where I'll be interviewing on Tuesday. It went really well, I think. It's only a part-time position, though, so I'm not sure what to do or how to continue on. The simple reality is that I need a full-time job (or at least full-time pay). And the other reality is that there is no such thing as part-time ministry. Doesn't happen. So, we'll see how it goes. It would be a very good place to work, and the position could grow to full-time. I just wonder if we can get by until that point. I could get another part-time job, but two part-times don't truly equal a full-time, once one factors in benefits like health insurance, etc.

Hopefully something will happen. That's all in God's hands, not mine. I'll do all I can here. The rest is beyond my control. Hopefully my creditors will be patient...

Just out of curiosity, does anyone read this? I'm thinking about adding a hit counter to see. I'm not sure who my audience is, if there is one.

I suppose that is all I have for today. Back to watching preseason football.

Peace...

And It's a Good Day...

Blogstravangza '08 marches on...

Today is a good day. Today I a) won a prize from AAA where Jill and I had booked our honeymoon cruise. True, it was just a girly travel bag, but I won it nonetheless; b) I spent most of the day relaxing and running errands; c) I had a delicious chicken quesadilla for lunch and chicken teriyaki for dinner and most importantly...

d) I have a job interview on Tuesday of next week.

This is fantastic. Despite all my efforts so far, actually getting an interview is a difficult task. Most of my prospective jobs are moving a bit slower, still gathering resumes and not ready to interview yet. So the fact that I emailed this church just yesterday and they have already called me back and scheduled an interview for Tuesday (plus meeting the pastor tomorrow morning) is a remarkable feat. I really hope it goes well.

So, prayers and thoughts and such would be greatly appreciated.

That's about all I have right now.

Oh, also I've been listening to Obadiah Parker today. And you should too. Excellent music. Plus, their lead singer, Mat Weddle, did an amazing cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya." You can find it on YouTube and their music on iTunes. Go. Listen now. You can thank me later.

Peace...

Catnapping and Culinary Quests...

Blogstravaganza '08 continues...

Well, last time I mentioned the missing cat. This evening I was sitting on the couch watching TV and Jill was outside talking on the phone, when she suddenly comes back inside, telling me she thinks she has found the cat. I go outside and work my cat-whisperer skills, getting the cat to come right up to me. I (gently) grab it, and put it in our garage while Jill calls the number on the flyer.

I'm thinking we're about to be $1000 richer.

Turns out, someone had already returned their beloved feline to them. So, here we are. Cat-nappers. And not the afternoon-dozing kind. The kind that grab some random cat (who looks almost exactly like the one pictured on the flyer) and stick it in a garage for pseudo-ransom.

We released the cat, unscathed and no worse for wear.

Fin.

On to the rest of today's post...

One of the things I'm learning about married life is the fact that Jill and I have a limited repertoire when it comes to cooking. Between us, we can cook a few dishes well, and dinner each night involves us sitting around for anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes deciding what to do for dinner. The conversation usually goes as such: "What do you want to for dinner? I don't know; what do you want to do? Oh, I don't know...." The banter revolves around each of us suggesting the other make a decision, namely, I think, because neither of us is exceptionally picky or prone to intense cravings for some specific food.

Deciding what to do for dinner is the most difficult decision I make these days.

Jill, ever the creature of habit and order, likes to eat the same things often. I enjoy making/eating different things, but that desire is tempered by my inherent laziness and current lack of culinary prowess. Such a quandary.

We have a collection of nice cookbooks, gifts from the wedding/shower/etc., but we always seem to be missing some ingredient or another. One very interesting tool we discovered to combat this failing is www.supercook.com.

This site lets you enter in the ingredients you have on hand, and it spits back a collection of recipes using the ingredients you actually have. It's been pretty helpful, even providing us with our new favorite dish, which is essentially chicken teriyaki with rice and veggies. It's fantastic, if I do say so myself. (Did I mention I'm the head chef at Chez Howard?)

That's about all I have for now. Back tomorrow with something for the world to not read.

Peace...

Blogstravaganza '08

That's right! It's Blogstravaganza 2008, wherein I shall attempt the utterly remarkable, the monumental task of blogging every...single...day for an entire week. Starting today.

Today's post: Cat Hunting.

Evidently, there is someone in our neighborhood who has lost their cat. Lynus is an 8 pound tabby cat, and the owners are desperate to find him. So desperate, in fact, that they sent flyers out in the mail to places around us. One of these flyers ended up in the hands of someone at Jill's job who happens to live near us. She told Jill about it, and Jill brought home a flyer.

These people want this cat back so much, they have offered a reward.

A $1000 reward.

And here's the best part.

Jill and I are pretty sure we've seen this cat hanging around our house. On more than one occasion. So, I am now hunting for this cat. Being unemployed, this is a good deal. For no more than the cost of looking out our windows and catching this poor homeless cat, I could make a cool grand.

It's the best job prospect I've had since we moved here....haha.

So, I'm now in the animal control business. Wish me luck. I'ma go catch me a kitty.