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Friday, June 20, 2008

So what's new???

In the absence of my beloved Xbox 360, which is in Texas at the moment being fixed by the way, I've been watching movies, storms, TV, and reading. In the last 3 months I've read 3 books for fun and will start my 4th on the trip to MT.
Iron Man - fantastic
Prince Caspian - better than the first
Incredible Hulk - fantastic

the next movie I want to see is Wall E.
I also went to the Science Museum Star Wars exhibit. We spent 4 hours there. It was fantastic and the models were something else. I have a great wife who went along and said she had fun too. Next week we are off to MT with a stop at Medora along the way. I am excited to visit as it has been nearly 15 years since the last time I was there. It will be a good vacation.
This weekend is our last playing at Wooddale a place where we have worshipped for the last few years together, and I have been attending since 1997.
Anyway, keep in touch. We are having a going away party on July 14 at 5:00pm our house so if you are in the area please stop by.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

STReeeeeeeeeeeeeeTCH

The move to China will stretch us. That is normal...new place, new people, new living quarters, new job, new language, new food, etc...
But also professionally it will stretch us. I am taking on a different class of student. But also different subject areas. I will teach 6th grade band, 7,8 band, HS band, music theory, and now MS orchestra. I don't know anything about how to teach orchestra. But over the summer I will learn and when fall comes I will do my best. Only 2 months and 4 days until we move. As it gets closer my emotions start playing with me. Nervous, excited, anxious, calm...I guess the weirdest thing is the peace I feel about it all. I'm certain that that doesn't have anything to do with me. There is a chance that I may get involved with the underground church in China. I have the contacts. That scares me. So be careful what you pray for, you may get it. 3 years ago I grew tired of the stagnancy of my faith and of the church of America and its people. I prayed for something on the edge, for God to use my talents in a way that would put me out there and test me. Zoinks! Looks like that may happen. So be purposeful in prayer and know that there is a power out there that just might answer you.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

saddness

A sadness has fallen over the landscape that is my life. Summer break started and I had looked forward to 2 1/2 months, (before leaving for China) of watching TV, movies, traveling, camping and playing video games. But sadly one of those will not be the case. In what has been described on the internet as the "Red Ring of Death" my Xbox 360 has died. The blinking red lights on the on button indicate a "internal hardware failure" a problem that is becoming more and more prevalent in the Xbox 360. Because of that they are extending the warranty of the internal hard drive to 3 years. The repair is free but I will be without my Xbox 360 for 30 days during the peak of playing time. Why oh why couldn't this have happened in May or April or March anytime but SUMMER! So sadly I will be in mourning this weekend trying to ponder my alternatives..afterall one can only read so much.

:(

Thursday, June 05, 2008

New site

Over the next few months and especially once we move to China (after Aug 14) I will be making the transition to our Mac webpage. It will feature lots of pictures, in addition to my rantings and ravings. Only it will be a little more tame because it is a website that has been given out to other teachers and some students. For the uncut and unrated version keep checking back here. In the meantime if you are interested in seeing some pictures from our wedding and various vacations please check out the link below. Please note that there is no "www" or ".com"

Our Mac Webpage

ENJOY

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Salutations upon you all!!

Greetings Earthlings,

I have 6, count them 6 more days of school. YIPPEEEE!!!! Things are rolling along nicely here at the end of the year. I am aware that my 7th grade band and my high school band are both planning something special for me on the last days of school so that is nice. Recently I received an email from a Chinese teacher I took a beginning Chinese class from over a year ago and she is starting a Chinese culture and language club twice a month starting in June. I should be able to make 5 or 6 of them, with Laura of course. That and in a recent email from my school ISB I got an 8% raise for next year. Not bad for not even starting work yet. The summer movie season has started and of course I've been supporting the motion picture industry as a loyal patron of the feature film. Iron Man, Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones, Baby Mama are the 4 movies I've seen recently. Indiana Jones was in true form and a very entertaining movie, Caspian was better than the first, Baby Mama made me laugh quite frequently and Iron Man was in a word PHENOMENAL! I am anxious to see the other superhero movies Incredible Hulk, Batman and Hellboy later this summer. But my disappointment still lay within as I am missing the new Starwars animated film. The high definition preview can now be seen on itunes. Wow! Anyway, keep in touch during the summer months as no doubt they will be come very busy for us all. The only difference is that I am moving to China. toodles...