The Prize

So after yesterday's post, it seems that I am all out of fresh and creative ideas for today's post. Although last night was rather exciting...I went to the fair again, with my friend from work and her sister. We saw my favorite local band from San Diego, The Garrett Thomas Band, featuring my buddy Michael on violin. They did a raffle at the end of the show, and I won! I won! Yeah! Now, you may be asking yourself, "What did Robyn win?" Well, I'll tell you, I won a small statue? figurine? icon? uhhh... don't know exactly what it is, but it is a two-inch tall "thingy" of two plastic hands, and a cross in the middle. Yep. That's what I won. I also won a free CD, but since I already have a copy, I gave it to my friends. I figured that I would spread the wealth. One word of caution for those who like to throw Christmas parties: Beware the white elephant gift exchange... my "prize" is definitely going to make an appearance.

On a more serious note, I am feeling a little worn out this week. I have almost reached my limit for how much I can handle, and I need a day off. I feel like I just can't get a break. Good thing I have next Monday off, but I haven't decided whether I'll be in Newport or San Diego. Decisions, decisions... I will be at Newport Beach for the 4th of July, so if any of you are in the area, give me a call and we'll hang out!

The Black Lung

Scene 1

At Christiane's place, on Monday evening, Robyn and Christiane are preparing to practice music for a wedding they will be playing at on Saturday...

Christiane: Robyn, you say the chord sheets are on the CD?

Robyn: Yeah, its a CD-Rom.

Christiane loads the CD in the computer in her room, Robyn is in the living room.

Christiane: Shoot, I don't think I have Acrobat Reader.

Robyn: Well, you can download it from the Internet.

Christiane: Yeah, if I had the internet.

Robyn: You don't have access?

Christiane: No, its a long story.

Robyn (looks at her watch, the time is 7:15pm): What if you called the boys down the street?

Christiane: That's a good idea.

Robyn: You might want to hurry though, I think they have their Men's Bible Study tonight at 7:00pm.

Christiane: Yeah, yeah, Okay.

Christiane picks up the phone...

What's their number again?

Robyn: I don't know, something 1015.

Christiane (laughs a little): Well I knew that...

Christiane finds the number and dials the guys' number...she gets an answering machine...

Hi guys, it's Christiane, are you there? I know you have your Bible Study tonight...Please pick up... I know you are there... (begging) please? Pretty please?
(Imitates Zoolander) cough, cough.... I have the black lung...cough, cough...I am writing my oogoogally...cough, cough...

Dennis finally answers the phone

Dennis (laughs): Yup?

Christiane: Were you guys in the middle of prayer or something?

Dennis: No, someone was giving their testimony...what do you need?

Christiane: I'm so sorry, I need to use your computer, can I come over and download something and print it out?

Dennis: Sure.

Christiane: Thanks, Robyn and I will be over in a minute. We are trying to rehearse for a wedding on Saturday. See you in a few. Thanks again, sorry for interrupting.

Robyn and Christiane successfully obtain the chord sheets they need from Dennis' computer and proceed to rehearse the music.

Scene 2

Approximately 2 hours later...the phone rings

Christiane: Hello? (pauses) oh, hi Dennis...thanks so much again for letting us use your computer.

Dennis: yeah, when you first called, we thought about unplugging the answering machine, and then you said that part about the black lung, and we had to answer it.

Christiane: Yeah, I know how to get what I want. The whole time, I was telling Robyn, "I feel so bad for interrupting." You can ask her...

Dennis: Well, we all had a good chuckle about it later.

Christiane: Good. Thanks again. I'll see you soon.

Dennis: Yeah, talk to you later...bye

Christiane: Bye.

Epilogue:

Robyn and Christiane had a productive evening. The rehearsal went well. They were both very thankful to Dennis and the Men's Bible Study for bailing them out. The wedding will take place on Saturday at 4:30pm where in addition to providing the music, both Christiane and Robyn plan on fighting for the bridal bouquet and eating lots of cake.

At the Fair

So yesterday, I played my cello at church. It was really fun because we also had a guy playing sax. He was so good! Everyone loved it. Too bad he's moving to Seattle.

Because I was taking medication for my back, I was really tired and fell asleep during the sermon, which was on Romans 9. I will probably read it later, just to remind myself what it was about.

I also got to go to the fair with some friends. We all had a great time. We ate greasy fair food family style, meaning that we all bought different kinds of food and then shared it all. I also tried one bite of the deep fried snickers... not bad, but not something I would ever order again. The best part of the evening, in my opinion, was racing down the big slide. I came in third place. Not bad for a rookie.

Back Update: Still stiff, but more mobile than I was on Saturday. I love Ibuprofen! I'm going to the chiropractor this morning. He will help me...I hope.

Ultimate Breakdown

I was really looking forward to today. Even though I had to go to the dentist, and they yelled at me for not flossing... I was going to play Ultimate Frisbee today. I love frisbee. And there were about 10 people that came out to play today, which is a recent record. The frisbee game has been on the decline, but today was really fun.

So I go up to grab the frisbee, and I feel my back move. Yep. Twisted it or something. I landed, but I was in pain. It still hurts.

I am supposed to play cello tonight for "7," the band I'm in at church. I'm still going to play, even though my back is out. I'm more mobile than I was earlier, but I'm so bummed right now that my back is out, especially since I have been trying so hard to strengthen it.

I am getting tired of being injured. It is hard to stay in shape when your body won't let you. And it just reminds me how frail I really am. Shoot, I'm going to be arthritic when I get old...

Surfing: Lesson #1

Although I went to UC Santa Barbara for 4 years, and have been to the beach many, many times, I never learned how to surf. My brother kept telling me it was such a waste that I went to a school where I could walk to the beach, and never learned how to surf. I just never had the desire. But I had an opportunity to try last weekend. Here's the story:

So last weekend over Father's day, my sister decided to learn to surf. It was an ideal situation because we were at the beach house in Newport, my brother, an avid surfer, was available to instruct, the waves weren't intimidating, and the weather was nice. After watching my sister succeed in catching a wave or two, my brother asked me if I wanted to try. The board is a 9 foot longboard that my brother bought to instruct others, and it is somewhat intimidating. After voicing my doubts about my surfing ability, my brother told me to just get out there. So I did. On my best opportunity to stand, my hand slipped off of the board, and due to lack of stability, I couldn't get up. Surfing was quite challenging, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to try. Maybe next time I'll be able to stand up. I can see why all you surfers out there enjoy the sport. It is quite the opportunity for humiliation.

Stay tuned for Surfing: Lesson #2...coming soon to a blog near you.

Recent History

I have moved around a lot in the last few years, and I'm getting tired of moving. I felt that it was time to just move somewhere and see what may come. Community is very important to me. It takes time to develop relationships, and it is hard to establish quality friendships when you keep moving. Now that I've been in San Diego for a year, I'm finally feeling a bit more settled, and things are going well for once, and I think I can say that I am content, a little bit restless, but content.

Prelude

I never understood it, but whenever I journal, I am better able to organize my life. Even if this blog is just a running dialog with myself, I hope that it will allow me to better understand my life and the world I live in. I always enjoy looking back on the events in my life and marveling at the changes that occur with my family, friends, jobs, church... and I'm glad that there is a small corner of the internet that I can call my own.

One Lane Road