No Sermon Sunday

Hey folks! I didn't have to preach this week! I heard on Wednesday that the assistant to the Bishop was going to be at my congregation this Sunday. So that meant that I was not going to have to preach! I don't mind preaching, but when I don't have to, it is a nice break.

We still have been doing pre-moving things. We went to Ikea to find some storage options for the new place. I own dressers, but they tend to be used more as things to keep my clothes off the floor than as a means of storing my clothes. So we are going to try something a little more in keeping with my visual orientation. Ikea had some hanging, open front organizers. This way the items will not just be placed in the drawers and forgotten. I hope this works.

We also went to a gay bar on Friday night and a gay restaurant on Saturday. With the Ikea visit, I think this was quite a rainbow filled weekend!

Some observations of the past week have been license plates. I saw a Mustang driving down the highway. It was nice, a color I wouldn't choose but nice. Then the thing passed me. It had a vanity plate that said, "WAYCOOL" on it. Just let me say, it is not way cool to have to tell people that something is way cool.

Then there was the "mid-life crisis" modile. A corvette was sloloming down the highway. It appeared to be driven by someone in their 50's. Then I noticed the license place: "HAD2HAV." Why did he "HAD2HAV" it? And if he did "HAD2HAV" it, why would I care? And why would he spend extra money to tell me that he "HAD2HAV" it? Did he buy the car so he could enjoy it or so that other people would be jealous of him?

Maybe we need to get the "HAD2HAV" guy and the "WAYCOOL" guy together and see who imploded first from lack of adulation.

Sad But True.

see more Political Pictures

Nine Months and Counting!

Santa has been seen hanging out (or should that be "bulging out") at the beach.

Update et al...

Wah! My feet hurt! Things would probably be better if I lost about 75 lbs. Or if I could stop working at Starbucks. Or, better yet, BOTH! But as that is probably not going to happen in the near future, I just get to deal with my feet hurting.

We have a new person at work, and I have been given the task of training her. I guess if you are noisy enough, they give you more work to keep you quiet. But that is ok, this lady is eager to learn and seems like a good worker. Hopefully I can teach her some good habits before she develops the inevitable bad ones.

At work the other day, I saw an older guy, probably in his 70's, with a jacket on that said "Viagra" in huge letters on the back. I wondered why someone would want that on their jacket, but then figured if you are 70 and can get it up (by whatever means) it must pay to advertise!

I entered two pieces in the Delphi Art Glass Festival this year.

The first is the DaVinci Chic

The other piece is the Cat Clock.


This is the competition that I entered last year and won second and third place in my category, suncatchers.

I am not hopeful of winning any awards this year. The competition is tough. But it is still fun to have my pieces in a public show.

You know, you never know how much you look at a clock until it is gone. Since the cat has been gone, both Nick and I have commented on looking at the wall and being frustrated that the clock is not there. So to remedy the problem, a new clock has been made:


Not a whole lot, but it works. Nick jokes that we will eventually have a clock for every season! Not a bad idea if you ask me. I was surprised how hard it is to draw an egg that looks like an egg. Then, of course, trying to draw the stripes so they work. Oh well. It is difficult having an imagination that surpasses my drawing abilities. It is not wonderful, but it is seasonal and it works.

Life 20 Minutes From Hell

Well, the packing for the moving has started. I hate moving and Nick hates it even more. But I think moving will be a good thing. Getting closer to Nick's job and closer to my church will be helpful. I know I am looking forward to being back in a metropolitan area. It will be nice to be able to go to a gay bar and not have to drive 40+ miles.

There is a "Cheers" type of bar in town. This is kind of my speed. I am not, and never have been, into the big pick-up bar scene. The only thing wrong with this place is they don't have a dart board. Well, we'll have to change that!

My congregation is so excited about having me move closer. They are taking a free will offering this Sunday and next Sunday to help pay moving expenses. I was very humbled to think that in this time of difficulties, people are willing to help. And they are also looking to increase my pay so that I will be able to attend vestry meetings. I am happy to see that they are taking the initiative.

We have gotten a new boss at work. He seems to need to relax his sphincter muscle. He already has gotten the bakery angry with him and is doing his darnedest to make us angry. Our second in command is also working hard to make life difficult: the lead barista sends the schedule and no. 2 changes it. Yesterday I was scheduled to work alone from 3:30 until 7:30 alone. Today, my coworker is scheduled to work from 5:30 until noon alone.

Oy vey!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

My question is: Should we really be celebrating the day when all the Native Irish snakes were driven out of their traditional homeland?

Destruction of our Temple

This Sunday's sermon can be found here!

I've Been Bad!

Sorry folks! If there is anyone who is still out there. The past week has been busy and (of course) filled with too much Facebook.

Part of the problem has been that my work hours have been increased. Two of the people who were causing me the most distress have been either fired or have quit. It is difficult to get which story is correct.

The story has it that both had been involved in "unauthorized discounts." With one of these discounts taking place with the loss prevention person standing right there. A quick check of the register tape and the surveillance tape showed that a $3.50 beverage was sold for $1.64. The girl who made this "mistake" had worked for Starbucks for over a year. A little too obvious to be a mistake.

At first I thought that I had something to do with the girl being let go. She came into work all pissed and when told that the Dept. of Agriculture was there, her response was "I don't give a sh*t."

If Dept. of Ag. has a problem with our cleanliness, then we could be closed. Having an "I don't give a sh*t" attitude when the inspectors are there can be dangerous. I should also say this girl had been sporting this attitude for quite a while.

After our encounter, I walked over and reminded my boss that the sooner the transfer could be moved through, the better. To which my boss asked me why the repeat of the request. I told her what had happened and she went over to talk to my co-worker. The next day I got called into work to fill her shift.

I took a few days of me feeling guilty until I found out that she had been providing "unauthorized discounts." I am sorry she got canned, but I don't feel nearly as guilty.

Speak No Evil

The sermon for this Sunday can be found here.

Waterless Snow?

When I first saw sugar-free Peeps, I could not believe it. Sugar-free Peeps? Isn't that an oxymoron? Like sugar-free cotton candy? I personally have not tried these, I am actually kind of scared of them. I read that they don't taste bad, but they don't have the crunch shell. And they are expensive, over a dollar for three.

I am not that addicted to peeps.

Square Root Day and Other Things

I guess I have always been a geek!

Today is a square-root day. What this means is that the day and month are the square-root of the year. 3 X 3 = 09. The first square-root day I celebrated was on September 9, 1981. I was a Sophomore in high school. It was the last square root day of 20th century. (Some may say, "But what about October 10, 2000?" Actually, that will be the last square-root day in the 21st century. 10 X 10 = 100)

I have done things like this almost my whole life. When I was a kid, I used to figure out what fraction of my paper route was finished. After delivering the first paper, the route was 1/64 finished. After the second, 1/32 finished, etc... It helped to keep my brain occupied during a really brain-dead task.

Speaking of really brain-dead tasks (Ben reaches up and takes off the clerical collar) THE BIGGEST PAIN IN THE ASS AT WORK GOT SUSPENDED!!!!!! SHE MAY EVEN GET FIRED!!!! Why this couldn't have happened about four months ago; I know not. And part of me feels kind of guilty enjoying the hardship this girl is going through. But there is another part of me that thinks this may not have happened if the management had been on top of things and did not just let things slip.

Speaking of slip,... Nope, no witty transitions here. Darn!

We have signed a lease for a new place. We will be moving in mid-April. I am excited because the townhouse has a basement which means that I can have all my glass stuff near by. No more driving across the state to get to it. Hopefully this will mean that I will be more prolific as an ARTEEST! One of the places we looked at was right across from the stained glass store. That would have had its up sides, but also some obvious down sides.

I have been transfixed by Facebook lately. I am wondering if part of this is...(Huh, *sighs wistfully* Ewan McGregor is singing to me from the television. Most people think he is singing to Nicole Kidman, but I know better. Oh, where was I?) due in part to the dopamine system in the brain. Facebook has the ultimate reinforcement schedule. You never know who is going to be there and what is going to happen. As our brains try to figure out the patter, we keep getting drawn back in. I have gotten hooked on Hatchlings, especially. I want some of the limited edition eggs and there is always the possibility that the next nest will have one.

I need to learn C++ or Python or something because I want to do some programming that I am sure I cannot just find. It kind of sucks to have some ideas that you know can be made but are lacking the know how or finances to make them happen. Oh well.

Looking back at this post, I would almost assume I have entered a manic phase in my life. I have never been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but that doesn't mean it can't be there. If I do have it, is there any way to remove the depressed pole while leaving, if not the manic, then the hypo-manic stage? I guess that is why people take speed. The unfortunate thing is that my manic phases involve more mental aspects. If it involved physical, then I would be a svelte god. But at this point, I resemble more the Buddha than the emaciated Jesus.

In any of the religious traditions, was there ever a buff god? Maybe Tigeryogiji could shed some light on this. In Christian traditions, Jesus is usually physically depicted on the wimpy side and God is usually portrayed as an old man.

If these thoughts are incoherent, sorry.