Gainesville trip: Day 4

I spent most of the morning sleeping and watching TV. Then, I went to lunch with a couple friends at the Chicken Kitchen and went over to see their new place where they will be living this fall. It’s a pretty nice place, but it reminded me that, for some reason, architecture here in Gainesville is really strange. There was one place in the living room where the previous owners had cut a hole in the carpet in the middle of the floor, so they could run a phone wire up to an end table or something. I guess they were pretty certain they’d never move that end table.

Frisbee golf

Then, we went and played a round of frisbee golf at the old course. My best score there when I was playing a few times a week was 3 over par. I shot a 13 yesterday. Most of that was just general rustiness–I hadn’t played in about 9 months or so–and some bad luck–if there was a tree, even if I made a good throw, I found it. Anyway, it was fun and we all had a good time.

Newberry Backyard BBQ

This place has some of the best baby back ribs I’ve ever had and I’d been looking forward to going there since I started planning this vacation. Of course, they didn’t disappoint and I had a great time with about 7 of my friends. I hope I can make a trip out there every time I visit Gainesville.

Kill Bill Vol. 2

Even better than the first. I don’t want to do an all-out review or analysis, but I’ll say that I’m seriously impressed with Trenton ability to mix various genres of film from different eras into a seamless, solid movie. Also, Uma was spectacular and I was very surprised by her performance. I could see that she took direction very well and that she was a great fit for the role. I can’t wait to see the DVD with special features and “making of…” kinda’ stuff.

Funnier ’cause we were tired

As we were all startin’ to go to bed about 4 am, I was walking through the kitchen when the phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was one of the other guys in the house calling in on his cell phone. I decided not to answer, but my roommate did and this is what he heard at the other end of the line: “Hey. What’re you doin’?” Then, the same guy called about five other people around the city and did the same thing. That delayed our getting to sleep by about an hour because we were just laughing too hard to realize we were tired.

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Gainesville trip: Day 3

Yesterday’s support appointment went well and I’m not officially on three peoples’ MDPs (I think that’s right and I think it’s “Ministry Development Plan”; it’s a TLA–Three Letter Acronym). I’m excited to be giving to Crusade beginning in July and I think it’s awesome that I can help out three staff people.

Basketball… again

I played some more basketball yesterday and I’m really feelin’ it today. I think I ran seven games in two days. That’s not outrageous except I haven’t played that much basketball in that little time since some time last year. I’m pretty sore, but it’s good to be in good enough shape that I can at least run the games. I hope to play at least once more before the week’s out.

Gators Dockside

Last night was all-you-can-eat (AYCE) wings at Dockside, so about six of us went over there to try and break ‘em. Between us, we probably ate over 200 wings, but I can’t say that I contributed too much. I think I only had 20 or so because I’m just not used to eating that much grub in one sitting. At least it wasn’t AYCE pasta or pizza or something; I’m pretty sure I’d feel awful today. It was only wings and they were grilled, not breaded or fried, so I’m good to go for some more eatin’ today.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Man, what a strange movie. Of course, if I felt any differently after watching a QT creation, I’d have to check my senses. The guy just knows how to create interesting, strange violent stuff. It’s bizarre how he maintains an irony of violence without believable gore. I mean, there’re people gettin’ limbs lopped off and whatnot, but it looks so fake it’s hardly even so disturbing as odd. I’m not talking about being desensitized, I’m talking about recognizing what parts of the film QT wants the view to feel are real.

Anyway, I think we’re going to see Vol. 2 some time this week, so I wanted to make sure I’d seen the first part, first. Now, I’m off to lunch with some friends, so I’ll have to pause for a bit.

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Gainesville trip: Day 2

I was up until 4:30 last night; I haven’t been up that late since before I left here, I think. The CRU leadership meeting was good and it was great to see everyone. It was also really good to hear what all has been going on here during Spring semester and to hear what they have planned for the Fall. After that meeting, a few of us went back to a friend’s place and played Scene It!, which is basically a movie/pop-culture trivia game. It’s played with a gameboard and a DVD and the types of questions are pretty clever and we had all had a pretty good time.

Then, we played the Spades, another first since I left. That went on till around 4, but I honestly don’t remember when we quit or too much about how we played because we were all so tired and delirious. Everyone was making pretty bad plays by the time it was all over and I got the impression that we weren’t so interested in winning anymore as we were in messin’ with each other and crackin’ jokes.

Just as we finished playin’ cards, we got a little surprise: One of the guys who was planning on coming up this week–late tonight or early tomorrow afternoon–switched shifts at work so he could come up last night. We didn’t get to hang out with him too much ’cause we were all already so tired, but it’s cool that he’ll be here today so we can start the goofin’ off and arguing over moot points that we do so well.

Support

I’m about to go to my first ever support appointment with someone on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. It’s nice to finally be in a position where I can contribute something tangible to ministry and I can’t wait to get started. I also can’t wait to eat some freakin’ breakfast.

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Gainesville trip: Day 1

I’m including the little bit of time that I spent with my buddies last night in this day. Basically, we arrived in G-ville around midnight, went to a friend’s place and watched the end of the Rockets vs. Lakers playoff game, then I went home and went to sleep. For about 30 seconds, it was a little strange being in this house since I lived here for 2.5 years before I moved to Texas 3 months ago. But, from then on it was smooth sailin’. I can even still walk around in the dark without bumping into things. My poker table is gone (well, on loan really), so I’ll have to figure out how to get it back so we can play some poker here this week. I crashed in my roommate’s bed because he wasn’t around, but I’m afraid I won’t have the luxury all week… but I can hope, I guess.

Now, I’m off to church and then lunch. I think we’ll probably play basketball some time today and maybe go see a movie tonight. I think it’s going to be a great day.

Basketball

We played four games today and I didn’t get a single win. All our games were decided by two or less, but it seemed like all my teams just ran outta’ gas right at the end of the game. Regardless, it was fun and I felt really good in all my games. I’m sure we’ll play at least one more time this week, but between ultimate frisbee, frisbee golf, bowling and shootin’ pool, I’m afraid there may not be time for more than one more basketball outting.

Tonight, I’m going to the last CRU leadership meeting of the year (as an honorary leader and old guy). I think it’ll be good to see everyone and it’ll guarantee that I see almost all my friends (that’re still around) while I’m here. I’m looking forward to it.

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So far, so good

I spent most of my day with my family and I enjoyed every minute of it. I went out to lunch with my dad and had a great conversation, then hung out with my stepmother and two siblings and had a great time, then I went out for coffee with my sister and we had a great conversation, then I had dinner with my Mom, sister and grandparents and we had some great conversation. I also picked up a Bible at the Family Christian Bookstore; I’ve been needing a new Bible for about a year and a half now as my current Bible is no longer bound and tends to separate itself into books and chapters and then throw itself on the floor if I don’t carry it properly.

All in all, I’ve had a great day and I know the week will only get better. Off to Gainesville!

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All set

A 45-minute nap, 20 minutes of folding laundry, 45 minutes of packing and a few minutes to burn a CD and I’m ready to go. Off to Florida for a week. There’s no way I’ve overestimated the good time I’ll be having.

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Ready to go? Not even close.

Have I started packing? Of course not. Have I got all my ducks in a row? Not a chance. But, in 24 hours, I’ll be in Jacksonville, probably hanging at some friends’ house and beginning to enjoy my first vacation. Tonight, in lieu of packing, I spent most of my time making phone calls and watching TV (The Apprentice season finale was on tonight).

Tomorrow, I get off work about 1:30 and then I need to leave my apartment by 4:00 to leave myself enough time to definitely make my plane. Things are going to be hectic for the next week or so, but I’ll be updating my blog whenever I can. I’ll be taking lots of photos, too.

Apprentice

I really enjoyed the season and I thought the show was done very well and was very clever. That being said, I think the ending was sort of a crock. Here’s what I mean: Kwame basically got gypped because of the team that he chose. I felt he performed better as a manager because he had to deal with a crummy team while fielding all kinds of bizarre issues. Bill, on the other hand, had a smooth-sailin’ time organizing a golf tournament with honest teammates and very few problems. My point is that I think Kwame would’ve been the hands-down favorite if he’d had a better team and if he’d known he had the power to do things like fire people who lied to him repeatedly. I’m happy for Bill and all, but I felt Kwame was the better man for the job. I hope the producers of the show find a way to make the final task a little more fair to both parties. I felt there were just too many variables that were out of the contestants hands that had a big part in helping “The Donald” make his final decision.

I need to get some sleep since I probably won’t be getting much for the next week or so.

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Not much to say

I have about 24 hours to pack for a week trip to Florida. That’s not too bad, but what makes it rough is that I generally avoid checking any luggage at all costs. Federal law says each person on the plane gets one carry-on item, plus one personal item–laptop, bowling ball, purse or whatever–so I might be stretching the “one personal item” into a duffle bag. And, of course, my carry-on item will also be a duffle bag. I’ll probably be bringing a pillow too, since I’ll be crashing on a couch all week and I know that if I don’t bring my own pillow, I’ll lay there all week thinking, “I wish I had my stupid pillow. This little throwpillow just ain’t cuttin’ it.” I don’t care how stupid that sounds because if I have a good pillow, I get good sleep and good sleep helps me ignore anyone who might think I’m stupid for wanting to bring my own pillow.

Anyway, I also have a lot of stuff to put in my bags since I anticipate a pretty action-packed week including basketball, frisbee golf, maybe some ultimate frisbee, a big picnic, CRU and just hangin’ out. Basketball and frisbee golf will dictate that I bring at least two extra pair of shoes (maybe three if I think we might be playing basketball outside) while CRU necessitates another pair of shoes and then I’ll need a pair of shoes for just cruisin’ around Gainesville. That’s like five pair of shoes, which will nearly fill a bag (because shoes can’t be folded).

Anyway, I’ve got a lot of planning to do. First, though, I need to get some sleep.

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Good idea, Bad idea

We’re getting into Spring now, so I thought I should go ahead and start gettin’ me some sun. So, I figured I usually shoot hoops before I work out, so why not shoot hoops in the sun? I’ll tell you why not: It’s stinkin’ hot out there and the sun will sap all your energy if you let it. Sure enough, it let it and it did. So, I shot around for about a half hour, hopefully getting some sun, and then I went ahead and started my workout. About two sets in, I felt awful–tired, nauseous, sweaty, dehydrated–and all I wanted to do was go home. Looks like I need a new way to get some sun. Maybe I’ll have to resort to reading by the pool.

The books are in

The books that my acting instructor recommended have arrived and I’m well into Acting in Film. So far, I’ve found it to be a very practical book with a lot of good information for a guy like me who hasn’t ever been anywhere near a set. The book’s not about “being a tree” or the ethereal part of acting, but it covers more of the basics like how to act on a set, how to prepare a scene and things like that. It’s really interesting and I’m sure it’ll help me even next week at my lesson. Best of all, it’s an information-packed, fast read.

One week

A week from tomorrow, I’ll be in Jacksonville, beginning my version of Spring Break. I’m really looking forward to it and I’m sure it’ll do me some good to rest up, but I’m not yet to the point where I feel I need to “get away”. I think that’s good, though, because I’m not getting stressed at work and I won’t put unrealistic expectations on my trip. I’m looking forward to seeing my family and friends and just sittin’ around and gettin’ paid.

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It’s official

I’m going to Florida from April 16th until April 24th. That’ll give me a few days each in J-ville and G-ville. The ticket was only $268, so that was definitely an added bonus.

Plowing through Treader

I’m almost half done with Voyage of the Dawn Treader and I hope to finish it up by this weekend. That’ll put me pretty much on pace to finish the series by the time I head to Florida. More importantly, I’m still really enjoying the stories.

More training tomorrow and Thursday

I’ll be spending the next two days in a very similar environment to the one I spent a couple days last week. I expect to be thoroughly bored, very tired and mostly counting the minutes to food-times and bathroom breaks. But, it may all be worth it as this training will allow me to shine in my group and in my company, and that could mean a nice raise this time next year. Only time will tell.

On the subject of training: I may be working my way into an opportunity to go to Austin for a week of training in late April (in fact, it could be the week after my trip to Florida, making for a very busy April). Initially, I was supposed to be getting this training in Dallas, but it turns out the training center is basically at the airport. After crunching some numbers, my co-worker and I have discovered that it may actually be cheaper to fly us to Austin–rent us a car, get us a couple hotel rooms (in a Hilton or something) and pay for our food–than it would be to pay us for the commute to and from the airport for five days. Now, if we can only convince our managers of that, we’ll be home free.

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