Today is February 29, a.k.a. Leap Year Day.
a.k.a. Ja Rule’s birthday. Happy birthday Ja.
I won’t have a blog on this day again until 2012.
Celebrate with this gem:
holla.
I was supposed to go to the doctor Wednesday to see if I could be cured of my West Nile virus I’ve been carrying around for three weeks. That didn’t happen. I had more important things to do. Well, only one thing to do. Josh and I went camping in front of a Chick-fil-a that was opening with some sweet aspirations of being one of the first 100 customers to enter the store.
Outside of Coca-cola, I am brand loyal to the death to Chick-fil-a. I even worked there for 2 years and some when I was in high school - and I still love to eat it. A lot. So I was pretty excited to hear that they were opening a new Chick-fil-a in Fort Mill. You see Chick-fil-a is brilliant. Not only have they been running the same ad campaign for 10+ years (and it’s still working…), but they get loads of free publicity when they open a new Chick-fil-a because at every new location, the first 100 customers get free Chick-fil-a for a year - ah, sweet music to my ears.
So I did what any smart person with walking pneumonia would have done on one of the coldest nights of the year - I packed up my warm jacket, some couch cushions and a blanket and headed up to Fort Mill with my roommate. We met some old friends up there and set in for a frigid night. Even though it was 21 degrees, there was plenty to take our minds off of the cold - or least momentarily distract. There was a four hour dance party with a DJ, some sweet 4 Square action, an ice cream buffet, and Dennis - the man in cow print pants. Then we packed into a tent like sardines and attempted to sleep for a few hours until 5AM. Then there was a huge party complete with news cameras, a giant cow mascot and commemorative t shirts - and a chunk of chicken coupons that should last me quite a while. And it was all worth it. And I documented the evening with some hot photos with my new camera. Check it out…
a chicken-loving hippie commune…
we have no clue what we’re doing…
the hot lady came for a visit…
cue the dance party…
and to think we’re all paid professionals…
this is Dennis. This was his 20th Chick-fil-a grand opening. And if you were wondering, yes he does have pants on that match that bandana.
the big moment… mom and dad were so proud.
I’m gonna get a x-ray in December. If I don’t gain 5 pounds of solid chicken this year, I’m gonna be ticked.
We got back from C3 safe and sound last weekend, unless you count the hot flu-strep combo that struck P Mac and most of CS4 (side note: I have been in a varying degree of sickness the past 3 weeks - the last of those on some ineffective antibiotics… I think I have SARS - is that still around?). Here are few takeaways from the big D:
- Airport Bingo should be a mandatory game on business trips.
So should Sugar Pants.
- American Airlines can’t spell Hollingsworth right, which almost made my flight reservation non-existent. Conspiracy Theorists agree that Shannon Yates had something to do with it.
- I left my luggage at Avis and I, along with a small caravan of faithful friends, had to trek back to the Dallas Fort Worth Airport to get it. This is why I don’t have nice things. But I do have nice friends.
- Fellowship Church is gigantic.
- The production level there is through the roof.
- I think Elevation is spoiled with our volume levels.
- We’re also spoiled with the Pastor we get to hear every week. We’re like a crowd at the Apollo when Pastor Steven is not in the pulpit.
- Perry Noble brought the heat along with all of his home run jokes. He made the south look like more than a bunch of clueless rednecks.
- Bryan Houston from Hillsong Australia is dynamic and genuine, and with that accent I badly wanted him to have a curly moustache and/or a monocle.
- Say what you want about the empire he’s built, TD Jakes is giant man and one of the most engaging, anointed speakers I’ve ever heard. He was like a wound-up top that spun for an hour straight without taking a breath. I couldn’t write fast enough to get down all of his points. He spoke from Luke 24:13-31 about the order of the breaking of bread and about 30 minutes in, the whole audience had a Beautiful Mind moment, connecting many great stories of the Bible with our own lives along a single theme of how Jesus broke bread in this story: Took it, Blessed it, Broke it, and Gave it. Awesome stuff.
- I want a photo booth. Put it on the “Hot List of Unnecessary Items I’d Buy If I Won Some Power Ball Millions.”
- American Airlines stole my utility knife. And by “stole,” I mean confiscated it for safety purposes out of my carry-on bag. It was probably a good thing I didn’t tell them that the TSA in Charlotte didn’t mind me carrying a knife on the plane. Those over-cautious Texans.
- If you see Mack Brock around sporting a new “Johnny Tremain” pony tail, you can thank me for that.
Here’s a visual companion to this Cliff’s Notes list.
no, it’s not a soccer team, just some hot matching track jackets - walking in with style.
a quaint little worship auditorium…
it sits a few people
some good seats
T.D. Jakes is a giant man
p.s. The blogging slump is officially over. Back to twice a week. Fo sho.
Back from the week+ long blogging hiatus. I’m telling you, having a hard drive crash is like having a dentist appointment before school - you feel a step behind all day, trying to catch up. That’s how the whole past week has been for me. And maybe I could have handled it, had it just been a hard drive. But throw in a week full of mild to mega milestones and the end of the infamous Days O’ Death and you’ve got yourself a dangerous cocktail. Busyness? High. Extra-curricular New Years Resolution activities? Not even on the radar. And if you’ve been wondering, that’s where I’ve been.
‘And what are these events that kept you at bay from the blogging public?’ you may be wondering silently to yourself. Well here they are, in no order other than chronological:
Sunday: Elevation’s Two Year Anniversary
And I thought I made a big deal out of birthday parties… This day was big and awesome and never-ending. I love my job. Here’s a few hot pics:
it’s a pretty substantial mind-blow when people line up to get into church like it’s Top Gun (the roller coaster, not the movie).
everybody wants a float in the Wade Parade
i spy, with my little eye, my hot lady
Our fearless leader, with some sweet rock n’ roll tuxedo pants
mindblow pt. 2: baptism mosh pit in the atrium
Monday: A Purple State of Mind
Josh and I made plans to go see this movie/speaking tour on its stop in Charlotte. I’ll write more about it later. Just know this for now - it was fantastic. Watch the trailer.
Tuesday: National Pancake Day
I went with some friends to IHOP to celebrate one of my favorite breakfast foods. And whats better than hot, tasty pancakes for dinner? Free hot, tasty pancakes for dinner.
Wednesday: Young Life
This is not so much a milestone, as it is one of my favorite parts of the week. Where else can you play a game that ends with someone answering Valentine’s Day trivia, getting it wrong, and having to eat canned oysters? Nowhere, sir. Nowhere.
Thursday: Valentine’s Day slash One Year Anniversary
Hands down the highlight of the week. Tasty food, a giant chocolate bass, and a hot lady. And one of the best gifts I’ve ever received (danger! cheese ahead and I don’t even care): a one year scrapbook with an un-Godly amount of man hours put in to making it. Ashley Park is so much better than your girlfriend.
Friday: Baumer @ Tremont
It’s not often that I get to spend time with Kenny, Nate, Chad and Josh - but when I do, it is always great. I got to see Sheri and Ryan Payne too. And Baumer’s new jams are off the heezy. Talk about time well spent. Go listen to them now and thank me later.
Saturday: The Great Fence Project
Partly because I like working outside, and mostly because I’m a cheap jerk, I trade some rent cash every month for man hours with my neighbor/landlord. And since its been winter, I’ve had a few hours build up. So Landlord J cashed all his chips in for an all-day fence building project. Side note: I love any project that begins this way: “The ultimate goal is to not spend any money.” Awesome.
And while the week was full of great events, there were some casualties. This was the first week all year that I didn’t make my bed. Or read. Or blog. Not even once. Not even close. But it is also the same week that I swore off soft drinks for at least 3 months. Related events? You tell me. And if you’re keeping score, that’s 7 great days, 3 failed resolutions. Things are finally back to normal now, at least until tomorrow - when we take off for C3. And I’m ready to mess with Texas.
Note: This will probably be the nerdiest I ever sound. Go.
Well, we had a good run, but today was the end of a journey for the hard drive on my MacBook. I spent some time with Chris at the Apple store this morning, trying to breathe life back into it, but it wasn’t meant to be. He told me: “Hard drives are like hearts. No matter how good they are, at some point they will die.” He also said that all hard drives have a 100% failure rate. Comforting, I know. Fortunately, I backed up my hard drive about 2 weeks ago so I’m not out as much as I could have been.
What, you ask? How much could I have been out?
Well, before backing up two weeks ago, following a little scare with my operating system, I hadn’t backed up my work since roughly October. About 120 GB worth of design work, photos and music. I know. I’m an idiot. And it is divine providence that my hard drive made it far enough to be backed up to a pseudo-reasonable time. With all that said, I still have a few hoops to jump through to get back to where I was, but it could be much worse, and we’ll bounce back. Just throw it on the heap of the week that was (and it’s not just me - if you run into Meredith, Larry, Caleb, Wes, Jeremy or Spencer… ask them about their week - and you’ll see how all encompassing this has been…) And so the Days O’ Death continue - 6 more to go.
And go back up your hard drive. Now. No, not after you check your Facebook. Now.
Its Wednesday. The Super Bowl was Sunday. Timely bloggers write about it Monday, or possibly even late Sunday night. Not this guy. Nope. I’ve got things to do. And as of today, there are 9 Days O’ Death left, so that lands squarely in the ‘Good Excuses’ category. Moving on.
The Giants won with some smack-you-in-the-mouth defense and a few lucky plays, causing “arguably” the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. I love how sports pundits can explain away any sort of ridiculous overstatement just by throwing “arguably” in front of whatever dramatic comparison to history they are about to make… pundits like the inept Joe Buck. Who keeps giving this guy work? He’s the poor man’s Bob Costas, minus the charm. Without fail, I’ll be getting ready to watch a big sporting event - the World Series, the NCAA Championship game, the Kentucky Derby (this is hypothetical… I don’t really watch horse racing…), Joe Buck will be there, like a stain on your favorite shirt. The best thing Joe Buck has ever done is this Super Bowl commercial…
which brings me to the commercials… the real reason America watches the Super Bowl. And maybe it had something to do with the writers strike, or maybe I’m just more judgmental because of my marketing background, or maybe is was the fact the game itself was actually more exciting, but overall I though there were very few real winners, and some of those that I expect so much from this time of year, didn’t deliver the knock-out punch I was hoping for (Bud Light, FedEx, etc.) Here’s a brief and incomplete report card.
Winners:
Pepsi Max - Head Nod
Pepsi - Timberlake Drag Around
Coke - Parade Floats
Bud Light/Semi-Pro - Will Ferrel
(*though I was much more willing to watch the movie than buy the beer after this)
Tide - Talking Stain
Audi - Godfather Parody
The “Ehs”:
FedEx - Pigeons
Bud Light - Cheese Party
E Trade - Baby Online
T Mobile - Charles Barkley/D Wade
(*Barkley has some pretty funny lines when you watch it a second time)
Vitamin Water - Shaq Horse Jockey
(*again, better after a second viewing - listen to the horse names)
Toyota - Badger
The “Well, I guess we just wasted a couple million…”’s:
the rest of the Bud Light ads
Life Water - Thriller Lizards
Underarmour
Gatorade - Derek Jeter
both Sales Genie ads
both Bridgestone ads
Go Daddy
Garmin - Napoleon
Planters - Cashew Lady
And the Best in Show:
Doritos - Mouse Trap
And not only was it the best, it wasn’t even written by a hired agency - this was one of the user-submitted ads to Doritos (their second year doing it - and a brilliant idea… thousands of submitted videos to pick from, weeks of pre-hype, and solid final product… though this year’s was better than last…). If you missed any of the commercials, you can watch them here.
And finally, how could I fail to mention the halftime show? Tom Petty is an American rock legend, and even though he didn’t play a song that had been written in past 15-20 years, it was awesome. In the years since “NippleGate”, the Halftime show has been well above reproach and thankfully spotlighted true musical icons (Paul McCartney, Prince, and now, The Heartbreakers…) whoever is planning these things, keep it up - you’re setting a new standard for quality entertainment on “arguably” America’s biggest stage.
This is a non-descriptive list of books I fully intend to read this year. If I don’t read them all, I’ll read at least 12 of them. No really, I will. And if you disagree, you’d better have a better suggestion.
- Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
- The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee
- High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
- Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love by St. Augustine
- We Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
- The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
- Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
- A Plain Account of Christian Perfection by John Wesley
- Selections from the Spurgeon Sermon Archive by Charles Spurgeon
- Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
- Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman
- Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
- Foundations of the Christian Religion by Blaise Pascal
