Ordination retreat is wonderful!

I let everyone know it was my birthday today (okay, yesterday now)... they sang to me at dinner :*).

We reviewed everything that will go on at ordination this Saturday, spent some time talking with the bishop, spent some time in worship, and had some free time to just contemplate and be. (I love El Rancho!)

To bed...

Go me... it's my birthday... go me... it's my birthday... Ahem, sorry. Anyway it's not until day after tomorrow, but by then I'll be on my Ordination retreat!!

I had an awesome day today! Sadu Crobinhobin came up to hang out with Fuego and I to drink beer and have a quiet evening in.

Okay... maybe not so quiet. Crobinhobin's two dogs came along to have a good romp with Ginger -- so awesome! They ran inside the house, ran outside the house, wrestled, chased Fred (we had to set up puppy gates to finally give him some safe space in the house).

I must say that it was pretty wonderful just to get to spend the day with two great friends (Fuego being one of them ;o). Of course, over the course being Thanksgiving weekend, I got to have an extended Birthday celebration including a movie and family fun on Friday with my mom, my brother, Fuego, DJ Purgatory, and got to see Grasshopper, RedHot, and hang out with them and their wonderful kids (Ladybug and Mini-me) last weekend.

Birthdays are pretty sweet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fuego and I hosted nine people tonight... I cooked... we ate... it was good.

This being my fifth year in a row hosting Thanksgiving, I've gotten pretty used to the preparations -- plus, this year CB and Mighty8bit offered to bring salad and pies (wow they were good!), so I didn't have to start cooking until this morning at about 7. DJ Purgatory brought cranberry sauce (a special family recipie), Senior Drakes brought wine, Mom and Woodelf brought pickles olives, and soft drinks, and Some-of-the-time-girlfriend brought his sparkling personality and strikingly good looks ;o)

I made Turkey, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, and scalloped corn, and Fuego made brussel sprouts.

It was a really odd combination of social circles and personalities, but somehow it all worked great.

DJ Purgatory brought his family tradition of going around the table and each sharing something we're thankful for, and then after dinner we all played Apples to Apples.

All in all, it was a really awesome Thanksgiving... though this year Brohead and Cocktail Monkey couldn't make it -- they were at a friend's house -- but maybe next year.

Cheers!

It's been one of those nights...

I went out to exchange some envelopes that we got for ordination invitations since the ones we got were size 9 instead of size 10 (upon very close inspection, they did say size 9 in about 4 point translucent letters). So out I went into the wind and rain.

I arrived at Fed Ex/Kinko's to exchange the envelopes -- still in the bag in which I purchased them, mind you -- and the man at the counter says he can certainly take them back if I have a receipt. There is no receipt in the bag. He asks the manager, who says, "nope... no way we can take them without a receipt."

I explain that all I want is to exchange them for the correct size.

Dubiously he examines the envelopes and concludes "we don't even sell these."

I explain that in fact they do sell them, and that the display containing them is directly across from him.

Incredulously he inspects the display. Finding that I have spoken the truth, he says "where does it say these are size 9?" (now it may surprise you that he is also unable to locate where these envelopes state they are size 9, but remember that he also couldn't locate the entire display where the envelopes are sold... so I'm not so sure that's a point in my favor).

I point out to him where it says it.

Squinting carefully, he acknowledges the infinitesimally small translucent letters, concludes that this brand does not come in size 10 and says, "I can't exchange these. The size 10s are a different price and I can't refund you on the size 9s without a receipt."

Jaw agape, speechless, stunned silence.

"Sorry."

So I call Fuego... she thinks the receipt might be in the back seat of the car... EUREKA!

I go back in and triumphantly parade my receipt up to the counter. Now there's a line.

Have you ever been in a line at Kinko's? How is it possible that with four people working, they can't seem to help more than one person at a time, and even between the four of them can't seem to manage the competence of ONE normal person?

So ten minutes later, the person in front of me (this WAS the line) is done and it's my turn...

I now find out why it takes ten minutes to help a single person.

She scans my receipt... two minutes later she asks for my phone number... another two minutes later she asks for my name... another two minutes later she asks for my address. Since only six minutes have gone by, I figure I'm doing pretty well. She scans in my new purchase -- refusing the exchange of the package of envelopes which she can't seem to understand why I opened since they were the wrong size (thanks for the GREAT view of my hindsight, ma'am) -- and has me scan my credit card. She has forgotten to push a button... this process having only taken her two minutes, she apparently isn't allowed by corporate to notice her mistake for another two minutes. I finally get to scan my card again and sign my receipt.

Awesome. I've paid an extra $7.50 for the correct sized envelopes and I now have 25 useless sized envelopes for souvenirs.

Off to the bank. Which doesn't add any further injury to the encounter (thank God).

Finally I get to the burrito place where I'm to buy dinner for Fuego and I. It's 9:25pm.

The sign outside says "Closed"

What? But the door says they're open until 9:30! Well... it's unlocked and their clock inside confirms my watch's assessment of the time. I open the door and poke my head in...

"Sorry, we're closed."

"Really?"

"Yup... Sorry."

Never mind the fact that there are two guys who I WATCHED go in while I was getting out of the car and they let them order and buy food... no, they're closed. Awesome.

I call Fuego, drop off the package in the mailbox (an unwanted copy of Lady and the Tramp 2 that the Disney movie club sent even though I jumped through their little internet loop and "declined." They also charged my credit card $28 for it -- how many needless and really bad sequels does Disney need to put out directly to DVD? Are kids today that entertainment starved that their parents have to buy them crap like that to watch?), go to the store to buy beer and milk and something else... must be buns.

Finally I drive home (through the wind and rain).

...

I forgot the stamps.

Wow, Disneyland's fireworks are some of the best I have EVER seen!

The trip was amazing, a 36 hour extravaganza covering almost 1000 miles and spending 16 hours in the park.

The kids were totally wiped out when we got in this morning, but everyone had a blast and there were no major incidents (no one was even late to check in!).

Fuego and I had a great time hanging out together in the park. Neither of us particularly likes the atmosphere of consumption and I was disappointed to find that they had additionally added the element of commercialism in that different corporations now sponsor different areas of the park (I guess $17 for a cheeseburger isn't enough, so they have to have corporate sponsorship to underwrite the costs ;o) That said, spending sixteen hours together walking around and noticing the little things I've never noticed before at Disneyland (for example, did you ever notice the amazing trees in and around the park?), and going on our favorite rides (Space mountain remains my all time favorite, especially since the renovation -- NICE!).

I think I'm going to have to let Fuego drive next time on Mr. Toad's... I took a wrong turn and ran us head-on into a train and we ended up driving around in hell for a bit before we found our way back out (whew!).

Some of the upgrades are kind of hokey -- the additions to Pirates wasn't too bad, but the Haunted Mansion a la Jack Skelington is pretty lame. It's cute if you've never seen it, but once was enough... (and nothing was scary). They also changed the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse into the Tarzan treehouse (I didn't go in, so I can't say whether it was a real upgrade or just a bastardization of the original with a new name to attract younger audiences who don't know what Swiss Family Robinson is -- I blame the parents ;o)

Back to the fireworks... now that was a show worth waiting for! They were timed to a history of Disneyland through the addition of each new ride/attraction, done to music, and had a live tinkerbell zipping back and forth over the castle (DURING the fireworks!) on a zip line running from the top of the Matterhorn to somewhere else in the park that I couldn't see from hometown square. They combined fireworks with lasers, with flame-throwers, created three-dimensional effects by setting off fireworks all the way around home-town square, and used the park sound system to narrate the whole thing -- it really was awesome!

So... having left at 11pm on Friday, driving all night (with maybe 3 hours sleep), plaing from 8am - 12am (sixteen hours), boarding the bus at 1am, driving all night (with closer to 4 hours sleep this time!), and getting back to the church at about 7:45am, it's kind of surreal to be sitting at home on my couch now writing my blog for the day...

Enough for now... I've been up for a very long time and am going to bed.

Um... I'm in Disneyland today... here's something to keep you occupied until tomorrow =o)

Today is the day!!

I've been planning this trip to Disneyland for quite some time -- a 36 hour mad rush to the mouse and back again. There are a lot of churches that have done this trip, but St. ECWIW's hasn't done it before, so it should be pretty awesome... not to mention that we have a total of five different churches joining us (I know of at least one other church doing the same trip with churches in their local area as well, so we'll have to compare notes when it's all done with). We're leaving tonight at about 11pm, riding all night to get to DL when they open, playing ALL DAY, and then riding all the way back home after the park closes at midnight. We should get back home just in time for church on Sunday morning... yike. With over forty kids on board, I'm just glad I'm not the one driving!

I'll let you know how it goes. =o)

No really... he fawns all over warm, sweaty, stinkey shoes as if they were the hottest date he's ever had. Once he's rubbed all over them, laid on his side and held onto them with his front paws while kicking them with his back paws, he then does whatever he can to physically get inside... usually all he can fit is his entire head, but really, I think that's enough. Get a room already!

So having expanded on that little issue... on to the next!

Fuego and I went to see ok go tonight at the Great American Music Hall, it was pretty awesome!

If you've never heard of ok go, then you've certainly not been following Fuego's blog (they're her new favorite obsession). Here is a sample:



Anyway, the concert was a blast... except that the "warm up" band, called "Quit your day job" (something they should NOT have done) just plain sucked. They sucked like I have never heard a band suck before... and when they were done sucking, they sucked some more. I think the teenage girl next to us put it very well when she said -- "well, that was pointless."

At least ok go made up for it with a great performance.

More tomorrow (we're going to Disneyland! ... no really, we are.)

I've come to the conclusion that my cat has a shoe fettish.

Okay bye.