November fifth, nineteen-fifty-five!  It was a red letter day in the history of time travel.  Doctor Emmet Brown fell on the toilet while hanging a picture in the bathroom, hit his head on the sink, and when he regained consciousness, had a vision for the Flux Capacitor.  Now, obviously we have no real time travel… yet… that we know of.  But we do have an amazing set of movies that sure help us see what time travel would be like.  The Back To The Future trilogy has been on my shelf for about six years.  I’ve picked up one of the three dvds maybe a few times since I purchased the set.  Next week, however, I’m going to try to watch the whole kitten-kabootle*.

*I have NO idea what a kitten kabootle is.  But if TV has taught me anything, it must be a makeup tackle box for young cats.

I’m tired at the office today.  And I’d like very much to walk across the parking lot to the building that has the couches in it and lay down for a short nap.  However, I feel pretty bad taking a nap during the work day.  The problem is this…  I don’t want to be literally sleeping on the clock.  But I also see other people I work with checking their ebay marketplace and watching cartoons and reading magazines about parenting children with ADHD.  So what’s the difference between me sleeping for half an hour and another guy wasting that half hour doing anything but work?  I have a pretty good feeling that we both get more productive after our diversions.  I wonder how other people do with spending office hours doing things other than work.  (Ironically, instead of working OR sleeping, I’m writing a blog from work.)

I got engaged on Tuesday, October 20th to Jeannette Lockard, the world’s greatest woman. Here’s a picture of us… she’s the pretty one.

There are things in my life that I don’t like. It’s true. I don’t like that I have two part time jobs. I don’t like that I’m slightly addicted to Craigslist. I don’t like that no matter how hard I try, I’ll never be able to sightread Rachmaninoff. And I don’t like that all of these things that I don’t like are my own choice. I can do something about those things (mostly), but I choose not to. And I hate that. But there is one thing that I can do. I can choose to get over those things and get on with life. So here goes nothing.

Can I tell you how much I love Zales, inc.? Well, there are, in my mind, three things that stand out to me as key reasons for being the best corporation under the sun. Perhaps I should change my designation. It’s not that they’re the greatest company. It’s more like this… if Zales were a person, I’d want them around. Not because they’re commitment to integrity or excellence or standing by their work. Oh no. I’d want to be around Zales (the person) because it’d be like watching a train wreck at every interaction with people. Everybody wants to be friends with the time bomb, right? Here’s my short list.

#1. Zales, without a single exception, blindly apologizes for everything. If I say that I ordered a ring on the Zales website, a customer service rep tells me that it’s their fault and they promise to do all they can to make the situation right. If I say that the ring I purchased was not the ring I ordered, a rep tells me that they understand and are sorry for the inconvenience and that they’ll do whatever they can to make the situation right. This is the kind of guy you want around. I’d love to have the guy around me that before any other words were out of his mouth, “I’m sorry” was first. ESPECIALLY if he made promises that in no way whatsoever could he possibly begin to fulfill.

#2. Zales has the amazing talent…. nay, super-power of being able to give customers wrong items when purchased. You order a blue necklace. You receive a blue watch. You order a gold chain. You receive a gold pin. You order a size 7. You receive a size 6. I would love to see a person do this in the real world. You ask that guy for a high five and he kicks you in the nuts. Priceless.

#3. Zales has a way of forgetting things. Not just normal things like first names and social security numbers, either. Things like what items you’ve requested, received incorrectly and returned. Things like refunding your hard-earned cash. I love the thought of having that guy around when it comes time to pay for a meal out. The waitress brings the bill, then that guy forgets that he’s even had anything to eat & doesn’t pay. I want to see that play out.

All that to say this… Zales might be the coolest guy to be entertained by. I know I’d enjoy watching him do terrible things to his world. But Zales corporation…. not as much. I don’t want to say that I’d never deal with Zales, inc. again, but it would take a very, very good reason for me to. EVER. All of THAT to say this… Zales sucks and I’m pretty sure their employees don’t have souls. I’ve checked.

I’ve been leading worship at a small church for about a month on Sunday nights. The extra pay is great, the larger ministry footprint is awesome and the new friends are really neat… But the time commitment is less than healthy. Every Sunday I leave Chelsea after church and go straight to the other church for practice, then have the service and after a few handshakes and a laugh or two, I’m on the road again. The drive is about 1:30 with traffic and is kind of stressful for a road-rager like me. Under perfect settings, the drive would be 10 minutes and I could spend my Sunday afternoon on the couch with my GFF. But in trying to save up a little cash for she & I, I took this job… And it ironically takes me away from her. But my contract ends next Sunday. I’m looking forward to that.

I have this same feeling about othr stuff. When I go to camps and weekend retreats that take me away from my people and my places, my heart starts leading me back home long before the events are over. Why is that? Why do I ignore the great things happening around me? Well, I’m sure that love has something to do with it. But what is that takes my focus off of the here & now and puts it on the there & then?

I can’t think of one thing, to be honest. I guess I’m just a home body, I guess. Looks like my world-tour dreams can be put to rest. Unless I buy an RV and a driver… Then not only is my home with me on the road, but my rage doesn’t come out.

The panthers of Paragon are taking on the Will Carleton Academy’s cougars… Even as I type this. I have an in with the panther coach, so I got a really great seat. I’m not sure how many people are in the situation I’m in right now, but I really hope I’m not the creepy guy today. I don’t know any players, and I’m certainly not a staff person at an elementary school (I would never have enough time to get any coffee consumed.). I’m the coach’s boyfriend, but NOONE knows that sitting around me. So this afternoon as I watch volleyball, I’m just a sports enthusiast… Well, sort of.

It’s been raining today. When I got up and went to job #1, it was dark… so dark, in fact, that I couldn’t see the weather yet. But by the time I left job #1, it was raining pretty hard. And from then til now it’s done nothing but the same. My commute from job #2 back to the city was pretty exciting. The wind plus the rain equals nothing less than a luge course for my little mustang.

Today’s big experience, more-so even than the luge-like interstate, was the realization I came to four minutes ago. I’m starting to formulate a theory that I wish I’d have started years ago. After work (when things are stressful, anyway), It’s a good idea for me to spend a little time dissecting the day before I go home. Not that I can’t interact with my loved ones, but sometimes a few minutes with a magazine and a cup of coffee are good for me. Somehow a cup of coffee magically turns me back into myself from whatever commuting monster I’d been only ten minutes ago. Not sure why, but I’m going to make this time a priority. It’s better for me, but also better for my people. I don’t want my first half hour home to be releasing all sorts of venom into others. I’d much rather release that venom slowly with a cup of coffee, which (I can only assume) neutralizes it. Anybody else do that?

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything just for fun, so here are a few things that truly make me laugh. Let me be honest, though… I didn’t create and have NOTHING to do with the content of the following websites.

The People of Walmart

Awkward Family Photos

J C Penney Video Catalogue

I went to the downriver area this afternoon with the GFF for a wedding. And it’s a beautiful day. I mean the weather, not downriver.

We just ended wedding season, and yet… Here we are again. This time, it’s an easy drive to a somewhat familiar location, which is great, considering I’m totally booked tomorrow from 5am til 5pm. That reminds me… I need a Saturday night curfew. All of this to say that I’m glad to be at another wedding with my gff. Worth it.