this, that and the other...

today i actually drove by a car that smelled like crap...anyways, had to get that out there
a bunch has happened since my last post - the yanks were actually in first place for one day (they'll be there again when it matters), i saw the strangest shaped man of my life and i went to the funeral of a friend...

to the oddly shaped man first...i went to binghamton sunday night for a 'gig' - i use that term loosely of course - valletta, cheeves and i joined forces with kristi c and rachel g and we were to provide dinner music for a large gathering and then a worship set at the end...come to find out they really did want dinner music in the volume sense so jon was stuck playing with brushes the whole time and we were trying to play these fast rocking tunes at low levels - that's one of the hardest things to do musically - most amateur bands will lose tempo when they lose volume and vice versa - i think we did ok thanks to jon...but anyways, there's something about that town - to be honest, i've always thought of it as the armpit of ny...but there was a guy there whose body shape was so unique - from like just below his neck to just above his legs his body was a steady slope (like a hill) - i mean, not like a big gut - like a perfect line that was at a 45 degree angle - i asked valletta what the heck was going on with that and his answer was perfect - 'i dunno, but that's something you would only see in binghamton'....how true - as far as the 'gig' - it went ok...i don't miss travelling with a band that much primarily cause i'm lazy and the thought of lugging heavy stuff everywhere is so defeating...

monday i played some tennis with my newly strung racket and am so excited about how well i am able to strike the ball now - then we played a softball game that night against what has to be the worst team i've played against - after 3 innings we were up 25-2...yuck, you start to feel bad...i also went to richard stoddard's funeral on monday afternoon - he was an old man that i use to visit on a weekly basis at the retirement home - probably the sweetest man i'll ever meet and such a great story teller - toward the end he was always so tired and couldnt get up to greet me...i remember one day when he was really struggling he looked me in the eye with tears in his and said 'i'm so tired of this, i just wanna go home'...that sticks with me, and he is home, and i do miss him but i'm ecstatic for him...i dont think i'm worried of getting old, i'm not even afraid of dying -it's the getting to the point where you dont even wanna live anymore that scares me...

yesterday i went with erin to the becher's for dinner - mike got a youth pastor jon in ontario, NY and i'm so happy for him and carrie - they've been very obedient to God and sacrificed much - it's awesome to see God reward their obedience - it was refreshing to talk to someone who's just beginning in ministry - it reminds me of what it's all about - i'll be praying for you mike and i hope you know i believe in you...

after that i had a planning meeting for my 10 year high school reunion next summer - TEN FREAKING YEARS!!!!!!!!!!! how old am i? HOW OLD AM I?!?!?!?!?! yuck

like i said, the yanks were in first for one game but now they're back to second - this is gonna be one heck of a finish - go YANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

so this friday i leave for mexico - i'm getting everything ready so i can relax a bit tomorrow and spend some time with erin - i'll be gone for a week to mexico and then back for 2 days before i leave for denver again for a week and i am going to miss that girl something terrible :(...i appreciate all your prayers as i travel and i'll have internet access in mexico so i hope to blog en espanol a little bit while i'm there...so check in for updates on my trip

carlos dimas sent me this great quote that i leave you with: to be a missionary means to learn more than we teach; observe more than we assert; listen more than we speak; let go more than we control; empathize more than we judge; fail more than we succeed; risk more than we hold back; encourage more than we demand and hope more than we doubt...