And so it begins another year…. I know I’m a bit late with this post but give me a break.

Here is a list of things I would like to get done in 2010.

- Visit my family more. (El Centro, Phoenix, Yuma and if ever possible Maryland)

I have a strong connection with my family, and with the ever growing family population I sometimes feel I am missing out on their lives and perhaps the other way around. So I want to make it a priority to visit on more than just holidays.

- Start my Master’s Degree.

I haven’t decided yet but we’ll get into that another time.

- Read at least a book a month.

I can do it… just get sidetracked with life and video games.

- Go on another big trip

I want to go to Europe, particualry France or Spain. But I will be fine with another two week road trip.

- Get a new car/newer car

Don’t get me wrong I love rolling deep in our 1999-2000 Corollas, but its time for an upgrade.

- Find a church

Sounds simple huh?! So far not so my friends. I will be starting a new post entitled “A shopping we will go”, which will detail our journey to find a new church home.

- Take piano lessons.

I’ve always wanted to learn. We’ll see about this one.

This is all for now but I’m sure more will be included as I live.

It’s Back…….

Tuesdays: Bands I like : Grizzly Bear

As I am getting older I find my taste in music is growing. I first heard these guys through some Indie air play station in 2006, the song “Knife” of their album Yellow House. I was immediately hooked.  I just found it moving and poetic and just outright lovely. Not always a word I choose to define music but it was a revelation to me. I really hope I get to see them live.

Here are a few of my favorites. Hope you enjoy.

Grizzly Bear- Shift

Grizzly Bear – Easier

Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks

Enjoy!

So I’ve taken quite an extensive break from this blog, this avenue of thoughts typed out wtih cool pictures to connect to. I love the idea of this blog but like it, I too am inconsistent in refreshing its thoughtful pages. So here again I begin.

Monday’s Scattered Thoughts – I’m addicted to movies

To me there is nothing better than a good movie. A story to escape into, a revelation into some lost or taboo human experience, a story with unresolved issues, and better yet a heroic villain.

I”ve always been drawn to film, theater, music. As a child I can remember watching movies at my Grandmother’s house, The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, South Pacific, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I can remember not having a choice when it came to watching TV with my step-father. Westerns were his favorite, watched just about every Clint Eastwood western made. I also rememeber staying up late with sister watching Elvis Presley movie marathons. I remember the times before I could drive or was in trouble in high school, I would just go rent 3 movies at a time and watch them. I remember it was pretty much the only thing to do in the Imperial Valley (Drive-In was my favorite, for many reasons). I rememeber going to watch Gladiator with my buddies after school one day and chanting “Maximus, Maximus” in the theater. And the list goes on and on.

I think about it sometimes and I could probably recount a part of my life and include a movie for each particular event. I enjoy watching movies in solitary as much as within a community venue. There is just something about films that bring a value to my life.

So to end. Last Five Movies I have watched:

1. Paradise Now

2. The Squid and The Whale

3. In the Company of Men

4. Sherlock Holmes

5. Surrogates

As I waited in my 2nd hour just to get a ticket with a letter and a number at the DMV. A man approached this seemingly diverse group of tired and frustrated people,  introduced himself and said he would like to share a message of hope with everyone.

This is my ode to the preacher man & the DMV>

I sing of the one who speaks from his heart

Who’s penance runs deep and passion spreads wide.

O’ Great orator of the sweet divine,

speak now or forever hold your belief.

So pass out your flyers, your hopeful truth,

and quickly speak before it is my turn.

Quickly will you be rejected, you know

Sharply will their heads turn in great disdain.

Yet you stand your ground, and speak your message,

However incomplete, however wrong.

They will all find their place in this sad line,

pay their dues and be on their way, far gone.

Time moved to slow when the Son had not rose.

On this day, in this line, a man gave hope.

Enjoy! My incomplete never to be finished “ode to the preacher man @ the DMV”

First off let me preface that I hate, I hate, I hate going to church on Easter

While the rest of the world anticpates any form of action, you continue to violate and misinterpret the season.

While I continue to struggle with life and all its many struggles, you continue to ignore and consolidate your resources.

While many of us are just learning what it means to be human, you continue to hold standards that you cannot keep.

Yet there is one day in which you polish yourself up with a buffet that entices the ever hungry heart (penance).

While you proclaim to have a solution to all the problems and all the pain, I am left hanging by every word and promise unfulfilled.

While you brag about your ambiguous vision, we are left to fulfill the work until we can work no more.

While you continue to grow and reinvent, most will continue to be left behind.

And so on this one day you manage to let your bridges down and masquerade so you might meet your needs.

While we both miss the point about this season, He continues to lend his ever reaching arms out to us.

While we continue to take advantage of His people, He continues to have mercy upon us. (I pray)

And when we think we have got it all together, He humbles us and He motivates our hearts by His Spirit.

And that is why Easter Reigns Supreme!

There is a place that lies between who I was and whom I am becoming.

A place of pain and sorrow and  a place of joy and celebration.

Much of life has been snagged upon the cruel world, where injustice mongers and hatred reigns

The thread that holds the very fibers of my being often grow thin, unweave and lose there place

Everyday is a start of finding the seams.

Who I was, was not a bad thing. Just misinterpreted.

Lost in the translation of who I wanted to be and what was settled for

Values change in the process of popularity and recognition.

The songs I sang often rang out of tune.

The cavern was made deep, and new seams had to be found.

Whom I am becoming can only be outlined by who shapes me.

It does not make sense to most, yet I do not need approval

what sets apart the present and the past is what unites it, the scars.

Yay, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death… for thou art with me.

Finding the Seams, tracks my progress to know and be known.

I’ve gladly accepted everything I did not deserve.

Never knowning how to respond, I would willingly expect more.

The only fake thing about me is my response.

Quick and passive, with a hint of proper grammar.

So I walk between  the know and the how,

Torn by the fact that exposing myself places the ever diligent finger on the reset button.

I do not know what real connectedness looks like,

too much of my life is fragmented, yet overflowing with mercy.

So again I accept what I do not deserve,

What I cannot distinguish,

and the fact that  I am a complex part of a community just learning how to be.

I had an epiphany this morning. A lot of the things in my life are not me, meaning I have only mimicked what I have seen others do well.  It is time for me to bring new life to my thoughts and creativity. So from this point forward this will be a creative writing blog with tidbits of my interactions in this crazy world. It’s time to dig in!

Goals for ‘09. Not to be confused with resolutions!

I thrive on goals. I need them to push me and to give me a sense of purpose. I also hate setting goals, they push me and give me a sense of anxiety. Nonetheless it stretches me.

1. Take more pictures (Jami and I are terrible at remembering to pull out our camera. so its gotta be  a goal)

2. Get a new job!

3. Road Trip with wife in June~

4. Read at least 10 books (it can be done)

5. Implement Spiritual Disciplines into weekly life

6. Train and Compete in a Triathlon (Join Me – Perris Triathlon )

7. Finish my backyard/start on bbq island

8. Get back into Tennis

9. Blog more consistently (sorry readers, all two of you)

10. Take Guitar Lessons (I know how to play, but I need help!)