The Road Home

I got off work early yesterday, and the girls had been good, so I thought we could go see a movie. (this is a HUGE treat in our house because we rent/buy so many movies for cheap that we don't feel the need to go see things in theater) I've been hearing a lot about Christmas Carol 3D and I thought the kids would get a kick out of it. So I look up show times, which is a pain in the you know what to begin with. They don't do a good job of delineating 2D from 3D screens on line. I linked from the 3D overview to showtimes thinking that would do it, but no. We tried to catch a 2:00 showing at one theater, but they had signs up saying they didn't do the 3D thing. So we tried to catch the 2:30 showing at another theater. NO signs saying anything about not having 3D, in fact, lots of signs advertising 3D. So I buy tickets for the 2:30 show and while the tickets are printing I make small talk about extra charges for the the 3D glasses or what not, and she says yah 3D has a more complex projector so it costs more, but this showing isn't 3D. What the hell do you think I'm buying tickets for the biggest 3D movie in the last decade for? So I try to get the tickets changed and of course we have to wait for a manager. I could catch the 2:00 showing which was already 15 minutes into it (would have been closer to 40 minutes by the time all was said and done) or get the 4:30 showing (which was NOT matinee, and thus defeating the whole purpose of going to a movie because I got off work early), and by now the kids are all ramped up for a movie in 3D... it turned out to be 50 freakin' bucks for 2 adults and 2 kids.

I had told the kids that my boss's wife reached out and tried to touch the snow because it was so real. When the did the "Disney 3D" splash screen it had effects popping out and my 4 year old says "Whoaaa, I feel like I'm in snow!" Which was hilarious because it wasn't snow it was just some metal bars rotating around. The movie was GREAT! Really well done. I didn't get most of it because my eyes are different. (near in one eye, far in the other) So a lot of the 3D was lost on me, but the kids got a load of fun out of it, so it was worth it to me.

Then we were almost late for a 7:15 appointment I had in Hillsboro (40 or more minutes away). But we made it. I was meeting someone to buy a new camera (craigslist). We got a Cannon A1100IS, which has mixed reviews but so far I like it. Then it's off to a pizza birthday party for a friend of ours that we haven't seen in a while. And that was fun times.

I slipped in the shower and landed on my ribs. They hurt now. Stupid shower mats.

I don't go in for scare tactics too much... but this is scary. Not scary in that alien invasion sort of way, but scary in a heart-rending sort of way. Please listen to this.

http://fredthompsonshow.com/premiumstream?dispid=320&headerDest=L3BnL2pzcC9tZWRpYS9mbGFzaHdlbGNvbWUuanNwP3BpZD03MzUxJnBsYXlsaXN0PXRydWUmY2hhcnR0eXBlPWNoYXJ0JmNoYXJ0SUQ9MzIwJnBsYXlsaXN0U2l6ZT01

please.

Mexico was a blast. I saw lots of fishies, and swam with dolphins. I ate es cargo and soufflé and duck for the first time. All pretty good. I was surprised that es cargo would be as good as it was, but there you have it. We went snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas. We walked around Mazatlan, seeing the Cathedral of the Virgin Guadalupe and some other neighborhood parish. Played in a water park in Puerto Vallarta. Ate lunch with Kara's brother in LA. He and his girl seem like cool people. They totally drove an hour and a half to buy us lunch and take us to the airport. We flew to Las Vegas to route to Portland, but 20 minutes from PDX we got the call that it was closed so we just kept flying on north to SEA-TAC. Southwest put us up in a hotel and we flew out in the morning to Reno to be routed back to Portland. It was alot of fun. I learned that I don't get sea sick. Which isn't much of a surprise because I don't get motion sickness. I do however get motion annoyed. You do feel the cruise ship moving about in the water. The stabilizers keep it pretty steady most of the time. But we hit a pretty bad wind storm and the boat was a rockin. I had to experience it, so at 4 in the morning when the wind was making things move quite a bit I went out on deck. And HAD to hold on to the railings. =) I literally couldn't walk during most of it. It was stupid to go out on deck, but it was fun. I'm glad I did it. On the other hand, because of lack of sleep perhaps, or from a week of motion I now have vertigo. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, but ever since being back on land I keep getting ghost limb like sensations of the boat rocking. It's disorienting. And only went away while in the air. Probably because in the airplane the boat WAS still moving. =)

I'm up. It's 4. In 3 hours a plane with me and Kara on it will be leaving for Oakland, a small layover, another plane to LA, a taxi to the docks. This afternoon we will be on a big big boat. A cruise-ship, if you will, that will be moving in a southernly type of direction. To Mexico, if you will.


...



without the kids. =D

If this doesn't make you giggle ... then ... whatever. Just laugh.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91486191

This makes me sad. I believe in non-discrimination being a two way street. Completely. I can't stand racial prejudices. Meaning I disagree with Affirmative Action. Reverse discrimination doesn't fix anything. I think ... I know homosexuality is a sin. I disagree with the lifestyle, but I wouldn't want to deny anyone the ability to seek out their own road for happiness. Sin it may be, but it's consensual. I don't think anybody has any right to tell anyone else what they can and can't do with each other, if all parties involved are willing. So this list of court cases is one I find ... discouraging.

I have this weird vision of a perfect government being a small one. Very small. A marginal bureaucracy that has no authority between two (or more) **willing** adults. Essentially libertarian in nature, as far as the law is concerned. Basically, you do as you will as far as you and your property are concerned. As far as someone else and their property is concerned you have no right that they don't allow you. However, there is still room for some socialist programs. The taxes go only to pay the few government employees a livable wage, and to pay for things like an efficient welfare program that encourages partakers to learn a trade and become self sufficient. It makes sense in my head. The thing is, it requires that everyone GET ALONG!!!!!!!

I would LOVE. LOVE to vote no on prop 8 (a moot point since I live in WA) and allow gays equal rights. Because EVERYBODY is entitled to equal rights. But how in the world can you ask for equal rights in one breath and then in the next sue somebody for exercising their right not do business based on their beliefs?

If the photographer you want declines photographing your wedding because they believe it's wrong, then find another photographer. Simple. They are entitled to their belief and you are entitled to yours. Work with the people who want to work with you, let the other ones go. Is it really this difficult of a concept? I mean the doctor who wouldn't perform the in vitro even went as far to refer the patient to someone who wouldn't mind performing the procedure! How is that bigotry?

To me the judges who are siding in favor of these cases are the same ones who allow the robber to sue the owner for injuries incurred during the robbery attempt.
http://overlawyered.com/2006/09/the-burglar-and-the-skylight-another-debunking-that-isnt/
I know it's not the same thing, but it's the same backwards thinking. The same broken logic.

I think there's a trend in society that the Lord is aware of, has made His prophets aware of, and expects His followers to respond to. That is one where lawlessness, contention, and greed are all lauded. This is all spiraling towards a world that makes our beliefs VERY difficult to hold. We knew this. It's been in prophecy for thousands of years. It's a great theory to be able to say well I'm not gay, but that doesn't mean you can't be AND you're not Christian but that doesn't mean I can't be. Unfortunately the law of the land disagrees with my Utopian let bygones be bygones attitude.

This is GREAT!

Had a really good day at church yesterday. I think it would've been a good one for Symon to be at. There was a talk about they different types who go astray, and a talk about using your priesthood and living up to your calling. Another one on going astray, by just a little bit can over a long time be disastrous, but even though the topic is cliche was done REALLY well. By the end of the four talks I was totally crying like a girl. Still moist when sacrament was over, I went up and told Br. Dunn and Br. Sheppard that they did a good job, but they were never allowed to make me cry in public again. Went home and cleaned on the house a bit. Then went home teaching, we stayed at the Knaphus' for an hour and a half. Fun times. Then I went over to Shelly's to show off my new body language book and the movie Across the Universe. Mindy said she'd seen it before and didn't like it. But then she kept coming in and watch for a few minutes and ask what was going on and why the characters were doing whatever. She finally admitted to only watching a few bits of the movie and that she didn't like that it wasn't the Beatle's version of the songs. Then again, she didn't like Dark Knight either. I think she's just being anti-hype, which is really annoying. Anyhoosier I've got to get ready for work.

So I sat around most of the day making a mess in the bedroom trying to find a paper that is unwilling to be found. And watching bad American Idol auditions, and sXe Phil. I did find my insurance card, however, and that is nice. I thought I'd distract myself with a rave tonight, but that turned out to be pretty lame. The Pala had advertised a pajama jammy jam, but only a couple of people had their jammas on. I got there about 10:30 and even though the Dj was cutting some phat beats the floor was empty for an hour and a half. I was uncomfortable being the only one of the floor so I sat at the end of the bar sipping a shirley temple wishing like crazy Kara was there with me. And being thoroughly bummed out about this places platonic possibilities. It was mostly couples in groups of 4 or smaller. The bar was not set up for meet and greet. About the time some people started showing up and the bar was getting full I asked some chick to dance with me, she was there with a girlfriend, so I figured I wouldn't be pissing some dude off, but she wasn't there to dance. She just drank with her friend the whole night. Anyways when she said no I went outside to call Kara. I ended up talking to Kels for a while which was just a groovy. Went back in and got another shirley temple, but some man looking 6 foot tall (not in high heels) lookin' dude/chick had taken my seat at the bar, so I took a table. Sittin' there wishin' I didn't care so much about how I'd look on the floor all by my little lonesome. There was this girl there with three dudes and it didn't look like she was "with" any of them, and she was boppin' her chair more than me. It looked like she was asking them to go dance with her, but they weren't havin' it. She looked about as trapped as I felt. They eventually left. Two TVs in the bar, one was showing a Victoria Secret runway special, and the other was showing a B-boy dance off. Some KILLER break dancing going on. Gettin' on towards 1:30ish I went up to this group sitting at a table next to the dance floor. It was one dude and three girls. I walked up and introduced myself to the dude and was like "Do any of you guys wanna dance? I'm totally not trying to pick anyone up, I'm just tired of sitting over there like a loser." The dude wasn't dating any of them, he was married to. He didn't look much older than me, but he'd been with his girl for ten years. Anyways one of the chicks said she get out there with me, but she needed a breather first because she'd just sat down from dancing. So I sat with them for about 5 minutes mostly talking to the dude, he was pretty cool. Then they got up go have a smoke first. They came back and went strait to the floor and the dude busted out the camera. I didn't wanna move in on their picture so I just sat there. 2 minutes went by and the DJ ended his night. 2:00 rolled around and that was that. So I pretty much paid 5 minutes to sit around and listen to techno and watch TV. Something I could've done at home without feeling like such a dorkus. I didn't have this much anxiety about introducing myself to new people back in highschool. I guess I got some people watching in, and that's usually fun. I probably would've had a ball if my attitude didn't suck so much. Can't blame the place. Grr...

My family is in California. Symon is in Seattle. Mikey is in Maryland. Lizzy is estranged due to previous... complications. Jenny was just in town, but I feel like I was just blown off. I hope I'm imagining things, but at present I'm rather butt hurt ... both figuratively and literally. I'm still not all the way better from my accident at work a few weeks ago (I stepped off the side of a semi into a hole, and bounced my booty off of a bar of steel sticking out of hardened concrete). I have loads of time when I get home from work to clean and pay bills and do the productive things that an adult should be doing, but I'm letting the quiet house get to me. What little motivation I usually have for those sorts of things is melting away in a fog of grayness. Which is really pathetic because the family has only been away from me for two and a half days. I saw my Mommy on the way back up. That was nice, I only stayed for an hour or so. I've been spending my time watching Derren Brown clips and reading hypnosis and NLP tricks. I got Mikey all excited about it because it looked to him like Satanic magic. Which isn't the voodoo that judeo-christians will think it is. Satanism is not what the name will lead you to believe. But it still makes sense from a judeo-christian outlook. Satanism is really just a religion about your own ego. And it's "magic" is only the force of your will creating around you what it ... wills. Perhaps showing Mikey some of the science behind this so called "magic" is a bad idea, but I think he's a different person now than he was. And I can certainly understand becoming a new person. I think tomorrow will be a better day. I just showered, and feel better. It sounds like Beezy and I are gonna go play pool for a little bit tonight. Maybe I can practise a few techniques in a few of my hobbies...

I passed. I passed. I PASSED! I now get to make mix designs in Oregon. Or adjust them on site, even with an ODOT inspector looking over my shoulder. Nyah! They've got my cert posted on the web, but I haven't gotten my results in the mail yet, hopefully my score is good enough to convince the boss that I should get a bigger raise. Either way, I DID IT.

One of the ladies I home teach is in the hospital with liver failure. If you're the praying type, please pray for her, her name is Tandy.

HOLY CRAP!!!! This is skill.

please watch this. This is amazing.

www.thegodmovie.com - this is a movie whose basis is Jesus was mythical and did not walk the earth. From reading the pages it seems that the main argument is that Christianity is only copycatting other, older, savior based cults. Good argument guys... I say, watch it. I know I will. For the same reason I watch movies on the blacks and the priesthood, for the same reason I watch other anti-church propaganda. It is wise to be familiar with the arguments that will be thrown at you. Fighting for you faith strengthens it. I promise.

www.expelledthemovie.com - this is Ben Stein showing a side of himself that I was heretofore unfamiliar with. This is a documentary showing the cover-ups in intellectual "big science." The movie (at least from the trailer) shows scientists who were black listed for saying their investigations pointed to intelligent design. I hope it shows some of the hoaxes that have "proved" darwinism along the way. This may not be out to prove Christianity at all, but it's also good to have scientific arguments to help prove your points on intelligent design. Knowledge is something we're supposed to be gaining here. Know your battles ahead of time.

Symon posted a link to the site glassbooth.org I've learned a bit about where I stand on the issues. I took the quiz read some results, decided I felt differently than I thought I did, and retook the quiz. It keeps saying that I'm most like John Edwards and Barrack Obama. Don't start hating because you don't know in what ways I'm dissimilar. I still feel that Ron Paul is the best candidate just because I'm more and more a libertarian, but it's nice to know where I fit with the rest of the candidates. Also, in case somebody like Giuliani or Mitt Romney get to run in november for the republicans that I can have a democrat that I don't mind backing. John Edwards get MAD kudos from me, however, for saying that illegal immigrants should have to learn our language to become legal citizens. It's nice to hear that coming from a politician and not just everybody else.

I'm going to one today. Friday was a long and somber day of work. I got to work at 1:30 in the morning and worked at that site for 4.5 hours standing in ankle deep mud (mud meaning both the traditional dirt + water, and mud also meaning fresh concrete). My shoes, I learned, are not quite as water proof as advertised. About half way through there Frank (my boss) pulled me aside and told me that Terry (one of our drivers) was found non responsive in slumped over in his cab, had been given cpr for 20 minutes waiting for the ambulance to show up and then rushed to the hospital. Keep it on the down low until we can find Craig (Terry's roommate) and get him off the road. They got Craig at the plant before he left and someone drove him to the hospital to spend the last few minutes he could with his friend. I don't believe he got those few minutes, I'm pretty sure Terry was passed on before the ambulance even showed up. I came home for lunch and went back to work. I think it was 2 ish before I was done with work. Terry was one of the nicest guys I've worked with. I cannot claim to have known him well, but we were on good terms and have spoken more than a few times. This is not the usual exaggerating of good qualities that we usually do when somebody we know dies. Terry was genuinely a very nice guy. Even in a bad mood he would flash his goofy smile at you. He listened when you spoke to him. If you are at all acquainted with modern society you will at once understand what those compliments mean. Terry had a 9 year old son, Sterling. I worry for him, as his mother is completely unstable and in and out of jail. She does drugs (meth, I believe). Terry and Sterling were supposed to spend this weekend together. Almost every conversation I had with Terry his son came up. He loved that boy, and it was very much reciprocated. Being a good daddy is also something that seems to be getting more and more rare in modern society.

I don't really write much on this anymore. I need to. It's a suggestion in the church that we keep journals. It is a good thing to do. You can look back on your life, others can look back on your life. Blogs especially seem good because you can community with others in journaling. I like that. I'm reading Brother Odd lately. It's the third book in the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. I normally don't read series out of order, but this was a Christmas present, and I love Dean Koontz. So I thought I'd start reading it with the addendum that the minute I felt like the other two books were needed I would put this down and wait for the other two. So far so good. So I don't know if I'd call it a resolution or not, but I intend to start doing more with this than posting videos that catch my fancy. Though... I'll still do that too. =)