'tis the season...

for a repost!

Christmas Lyrical Thought

Genesis Take Two

Genesis Take Two

1. In the beginning GOD created the Bit and the Byte. And from
those he created the Word.

2. And there were two Bytes in the Word; and nothing else existed.
And God separated the One from the Zero; and he saw it was
good.

3. And God said - Let the Data be; And so it happened.
And God said - Let the Data go to their proper places.
And he created floppy disks and hard disks and compact disks.

4. And God said - Let the computers be, so there would be a place
to put floppy disks and hard disks and compact disks.
Thus God created computers and called them hardware.

5. And there was no Software yet. But God created programs; small
and big... And told them - Go and multiply yourselves and fill
all the Memory.

6. And God said -I will create the Programmer; And the Programmer
will make new programs and govern over the computers and
programs and Data.

7. And God created the Programmer; and put him at Data Center;
And God showed the Programmer the Catalog Tree and said
You can use all the volumes and subvolumes but DO NOT USE
Windows.

8. And God said - It is not Good for the programmer to be alone.
He took a bone from the Programmer's body and created a
creature that would look up at the Programmer; and admire
the Programmer; and love the things the Programmer does;
And God called the creature: the User.

9. And the Programmer and the User were left under the naked DOS
and it was Good.

10. But Bill was smarter than all the other creatures of God.
And Bill said to the User - Did God really tell you not to
run any programs ?

11. And the User answered - God told us that we can use every
program and every piece of Data but told us not to run Windows
or we will die.

12. And Bill said to the User - How can you talk about something
you did not even try. The moment you run Windows you will
become equal to God. You will be able to create anything you
like by a simple click of your mouse.

13. And the User saw that the fruits of the Windows were nicer and
easier to use. And the User saw that any knowledge was useless
- since Windows could replace it.

14. So the User installed the Windows on his computer; and said to
the Programmers that it was good.

15. And the Programmer immediately started to look for new drivers.
And God asked him - What are you looking for? And the
Programmer answered - I am looking for new drivers because I
can not find them in the DOS. And God said - Who told you need
drivers? Did you run Windows?
And the Programmer said - It was Bill who told us to !

16. And God said to Bill - Because of what you did you will be hated
by all the creatures. And the User will always be unhappy with you.
And you will always sell Windows.

17. And God said to the User - Because of what you did, the Windows
will disappoint you and eat up all your Resources; and you will
have to use lousy programs; and you will always rely on the
Programmers help.

18. And God said to the Programmer - Because you listened to the
User you will never be happy. All your programs will have errors
and you will have to fix them and fix them to the end of time.

19. And God threw them out of the Data Center and locked the door
and secured it with a password.

20. GENERAL PROTECTION FAULT

Greetings

To all my Democrat friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

---

To all my Republican friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Scrubs + Charlie Brown

If you're not a Scrubs fan... well tough!

Link

Mighty Mouse

Apparently geneticists have found that they can genetically alter mice so that they don't have fear. I sure hope that they still fear de-con. Read the Article

Toilet Seats

Ok so yesterday morning I had the not so fun experience of my toilet seat developing a crack. Stop laughing! It seriously is a pain in the behind. That being said I went to Home Depot last night in search of a toilet seat. Believe it or not... they had tons of toliet seats in stock, but none of the plain old toilet seats for your average home toilet. I then went to Wal-Mart and was faced with the same selection and the same lack of stock in regular seats. Has there been a mad rush on toilet seats in Jacksonville this week because of the ice storm? Tonight I'm going to Springfield for something else, so I guess I'll stop there and see if the mad rush has hit them too.

Top Ten Politically Correct Christmas Carols

10. O Holiday Tree

9. Have Yourself a Merry Little Day of Winter

8. Frosty the Snowperson

7. Chestnuts Roasting on a Safely Contained, Continuously Monitored, Eco-friendly, Nontoxic Outdoor Fire (for which I do Have a Permit)

6. Higher Power Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

5. Grandma Allegedly Got Run Over By an Unidentified Non-Human Perpetrator

4. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Unendangered foliage (If Office Policy Permits)

3. Hark! The Herald Mythical Winged Creature Sings

2. I Saw Mommy Greeting Santa Claus with a Purely Platonic Expression of Inoffensive Mutual Affection

1. I'll Be Home for a Short Period of Time in December

Hint

For those of you that might be interested... ;-)

Men are from Mars and Women are from...

Pluto. Yeah I know the conventional wisdom is Venus, but I think it's a bigger divide than that. Lately a few of my good friends from college and I have been talking about dating and relationships and it always seems to come back to the same topics about interpreting the person you're interested in to see what they're thinking, feeling, etc.

Obviously we're almost all too shy to outright go up to the person of interest and say, so I like you, do you like me. Although wouldn't it be nice if we all had the guts to do that and didn't have to play the interpreter game? Many books are out there to tell us that men and women don't communicate verbally the same ways and of course when you go to mostly non-verbal cues, I think we might as well be two ancient interstellar runes that the other has never seen.

So the interpretation continues onward as we analyze every move of the person we're interested in. In fact I would say we probably for the most part over analyze them. For example, a simple difference between whether or not the person initiates a conversation or if you do, can end up being the fodder for endless debate amongst friends. Or another example would be deciding whether the other person was flirting back or even if you were unconsciously flirting to begin with.

I think it all boils down to Men and Women being like the United States and the United Kingdom. As the playwright George Benard Shaw said, "England and America are two countries separated by a common language."

Spit Balls!!!

Ok so we all know the theory about how spit balls work right? Well when I came across a trumpet site that recommend that I use spit balls to clean my trumpet I had to dig in deeper to figure out what they were talking about. Today my local music store got my order of spit balls in so of course it was time to give them a try. I know, those of you non-brass players or ignorant brass players like I was are going, "You bought spit balls? Why not make them." I guess at this point I should explain what a spit ball is when used in the context of brass instruments. A spit ball is a foam plug designed to fit into the tubing of a brass instrument. It is soaked in a cleaning liquid. When blown through the horn, it cleans the walls of the horn and leaves a protective coating behind. Needless to say this is a lot easier than snaking a cleaning snake through all the tubing (although that's still necessary on occasion). Now the only thing I want to know is why no one told me about these things before now. Oh and if you're interested, you can buy them here.

What type of Woman Will I Fall For?

What Kind of Girl Will You Fall For?
	You will fall part for the cutie. You like girls with a personality. She's got to have a nice smile and a sense of humor. Although she doesn't have to be a model, she has to be that girl-next-door.
	You will fall part for the independent woman. You like girls that'll put up a fight with their words and their fists. Her conversation must be stimulating and controversial. She's got to have her own friends, her own car, and her own place. Most importantly, she can't be a "barnacle-on-a-whale" type.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Peanuts Character Are You?

Which Peanuts Character Are You?
	You are Charlie Brown. You are always optimistic and persistent, and everyone appreciates your simple sweetness. Sometimes, however, your anxieties get the best of you, and life's mysteries can confuse you.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Support Our Troops!

The Department of Defense has setup a text messaging program for us the American people to show the troops that we support them during the holidays. All you have to do is text your message to 89279. The message will then be delivered to troops around the world.

Lyrical Thought #55

Cartoons

Chris Rice

Chorus:
I was thinkin' the other day,
"What if cartoons got saved?
They'd start singing praise
In a whole new way..."
Yeah, I was thinkin' the other day,
"What if cartoons got saved?
They'd start singing praise
In a whole new way..."

Fred and Wilma Flintstone
Sing "Yabba-dabba-do-lu-yah"
Scooby-doo and Shaggy:
"Scooby-dooby-doo-loo-yah"
And the Jetsons' dog named Astro:
"Rough-ray-roo-loo-yah"

(repeat chorus)

Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles:
"Cowabunga-loo-yah, Dude!"
Then there's, "Kermit the Frog here, singing,
High-ho-le-loo-yah"
And that little bald guy, Elmer Fudd:
"How-ay-woo-yah"

(repeat chorus)

Oh that big old moose and his friend Rocky,
"Bullwinkle-loo-yah"
And our favourite bear named Yogi,
"Hey, Boo-Boo-loo-ya"
Then there's all those little blue guys
And they'd sing, "Hah-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-lay-loo-yah"
How about Beavis and that other guy?
"Nah!!"

Now, there's a point to this looney-tune
I'm not an Anamaniac
But there's a lot of praisin' to do
And cartoons weren't made for that
It's our job
So, let's sing hallelujah

Updates from the Front

Ok, so it's been a long time since I've posted anything of substance on my blog and I guess it must be time to do a post. Either that or I'm hopelessly lacking motivation to do anything else right now.

Lately the main focus for me has been my work situation. As some of you know, I took a foray into looking for a new job this spring and got an offer from a company in Springfield that I had worked with as a customer back in High School when I was working for my school district. At the time a big project of interest to me finally got approved at Dot so I stayed put for the experience. Now as that project has been delayed and mismanaged I've decided that I can't put myself on hold forever and am looking for new opportunities again. Ideally I think I would like to find a networking job in Springfield and move back to the Springfield area closer to friends and family.

Outside of work, life is kind of boring lately. I've been doing a lot of TV on DVD like NCIS, M*A*S*H and Scrubs. I have really grown to feel like Dr. Cox's character on Scrubs a lot around work. Sometimes my smart alec comments in my head take on his voice which is mildly amusing to me. The Catholic young adult group in Springfield has kind of fizzled now that I'm the only non-married member (Young adult groups shouldn't have an odd number of members!).

My main pursuit lately has been music. Monday nights I'm playing with the Lincoln Land Community College jazz band. I've been doing this for a year and a half now. It's quite challenging for me because I never really got to do jazz in high school and I'm surrounded by guys that have been doing it for years. My chops are finally close to where they were in high school and hopefully they'll continue to get better. If you're in the Springfield area, our concert for the semester is November 26th at 7:30pm at the First Christian Church. Admission is a food donation for the food bank.

Music Ministry is my other musical pursuit. I'm playing trumpet, singing tenor (I'm the only guy right now in the choir.) and still cantoring for Mass. It gives me something to do on Wednesday nights.

If anyone feels like road tripping or meeting up in random midwest cities, let me know. I'll probably be game. Time for some fall/winter adventures.

Another Year, Another Disappointment

Well the Cubs implosion is now complete. No goats, no Bartman, no excuse except for poorly played baseball by the Cubs. On the plus side we were in the play offs this year as opposed to last year's 90 losses. Hopefully next year all of the pieces will come together.

IT IS!!!

It's a Cubs NL Central Championship.

AC006199


Go Cubs!

Lyrical Thought #54

We've Got to Get Out of This Place

Animals


In this dirty old part of the city where the sun refuse to shine
People tell me there ain't no use in trying
Now, my girl, you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true,
You'll be dead before your time is due, (I know)

Watch my daddy in bed and dying
Watch his hair been turning grey
He's been working and slaving his life away, (Oh yes I know)

He's been working so hard
I've been working too baby, (every night and day)

(Chorus)
We've gotta get out of this place
if it's the last thing we ever do
We've gotta get out of this place
Girl there's a better life for me and you

Now my girl you're so young and pretty
And one thing I know is true
You'll be dead before your time is due, (I know it)

Watch my daddy in bed and dying
Watch his hair been turning grey
He's been working and slaving his life away (I know)

He's been working so hard
I've been working too baby,

(Chorus)

Somewhere baby
Somehow I know it baby

(Chorus)

Believe me baby
I know it baby
You know it too

It Might Be ...

Magic Number: 4

Yeah!

Today at Mass I was sitting behind a young family with a 1-2 year old daughter. At communion time we were singing The Cry of the Poor by Fr. John Foley, SJ. When the song ended (with the refrain "The Lord hears the cry of the poor, blessed be the poor," the little girl smiled from ear to ear, clapped and then threw up her arms and said "Yeah!" Now if we could just all be that excited about God and religion.

This was more poignant today because Father spoke in his homily about the difference between the Jewish tradition of keeping the entire Sabbath for God versus our modern day where we find it a struggle to give up an hour for Mass. What will it take to get us to pay more attention to God and no the clock in the back of the church?

It could be...

Magic Number 9

Lyrical Thought #53

Turn, Turn, Turn

The Byrds

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear its not too late

Nerds R Us

Lyrical Thought #52

Song for My Future Wife

Eric Nicholas
Free MP3

I spend my time
wondering where you are
right now
And you're in my dreams
I'm asleep but I still can
smile
I see myself
twenty long years from now
in your arms
And I'll search
the world
to find you I'll search near
and far

(chorus)
Everywhere I go
I'll wonder
If you're in the room
Every woman I see
I wonder
If she is you

Do you believe
that we could fall in love
at first sight
I'm sure
when I find you
I'll find that look of love
in your eyes
Sometimes I wonder
if I passed you by
somewhere
Or maybe I've known you
I've known you all my life
but I've been too scared

(chorus)

And when I find you
I'm gonna love you
I'm gonna hold you
And be right by you
I'm gonna be there for you
And care for you
And I will be
I will be
there for you

I spend my time
wondering where you are
right now
And when I finally
find you I won't ever let you gohohoooo

(chorus)

How Much Have You Changed?

------------10 years ago-----------

1.) How old were you?: 17

2.) Where did you go to school? Williamsville High School

3) Where did you work?: Bullets.Net

4) Where did you live? Sherman, IL

5.) Where did you hang out? Other than the Band Room?

6.) Did you wear glasses? Yes

7.) Who was your best friend? Pat

8.) How many tattoos did you have?: 0

9.) How many piercings did you have? 0

10) What car did you drive? Do I have to say it? '89 Chevy Cavalier

11.) Had you been to a real party? No
12.) Had You had your heart broken? No

-----------5 years ago-----------

1.) How old were you? 22

2.) Where did you go to school? Nowhere

3.) Where did you work? Dot Foods

4.) Where did you live? Jacksonville, IL

5.) Where did you hang out? Wherever I could meet up with my friends.

6.) Did you wear glasses? Yes

7.) Who was your best friend? Jill

9.) How many tattoos did you have?: 0

10.) How many piercings did you have? 0

11.) What car did you drive? '02 Saturn SL2

12.) Had your heart broken? Yes

13.) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorce? Single

----------------2 years ago-------------------

1.) How old were you?: 25

2.) Where did you go to school? Nowhere

3.) Where did you work? Dot Foods

4.)Where did you live? Jacksonville, IL

5.) Where did you hang out? My couch.

6.) Did you wear glasses? Yes

7.) Who was your best friend? Michelle

8.) How many tattoos did you have? 0

9.) How many piercings did you have? 0

10.) What car did you drive? '05 Saturn ION-3

11.) Had your heart broken? Yes

12.) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorce? Single

--------------------Today--------------------

1.) How old are you?: 27

2.) Where do you go to school? Nowhere

3.) Where do you work? Dot Foods

4.) Where do you live? Jacksonville, IL

5.) Do you wear glasses? Yes

6.) Where do you hang out? My couch

7.) Who is your best friend? Michelle

8.) How many piercings do you have? 0

9.) How many tattoos? 0

10.) What kind of car do you have? '05 Saturn ION-3

11.) Has your heart been broken? Yes

12.) Are you Single/Taken/Married/Divorce? Single


REPOST AS "HOW MUCH HAVE YOU CHANGED?"

75 Bands

Ok, there are 75 bands depicted in the above picture. Start naming them below as comments.

Congratulations Tori and Greg

Last night my cousin Tori and her husband Greg got married. It was a beautiful wedding and I didn't flub up playing trumpet for it which I was worried about. I got to see a lot of family members that I don't normally get to see and for once it was a wedding and not a funeral. I just keep hoping that I'll be the one getting married sometime soon.

Radar and Women

Ok so I'm watching M*A*S*H on DVD and it's one of the episodes where Radar is gaga over one of the new nurses and is asking Hawkeye for advice as to how to proceed. I feel like Radar way too often. Any Hawkeyes out there?

Trumpet Voluntary

Ok, so we hear it at many weddings, so it should be simple when requested to find the music, play the music and move on right? Well my cousin asked me to play it for her wedding and since I can't get in touch with the organist, I started looking online. I've found it in at least 5 different keys and at least 3 different arrangements. So which do I pick? Do I gamble the the organist will have it in a certain key? The last time I played it, the bride gave me music and the organist showed up and said he knew it in a different key. Thank God for the transposition wheel on the organ.

This should be simple!!! One key, one mel'dy, one tune of all, we are one trumpet when we play.... (pardon the bad and I mean BAD rip off of One Bread, One Body).

Lyrical Thought #51

Living on the Edge

Aerosmith

There's somethin' wrong with the world today
I don't know what it is
Something's wrong with our eyes

We're seeing things in a different way
And God knows it ain't His
It sure ain't no surprise

We're livin' on the edge
We're livin' on the edge
We're livin' on the edge
We're livin' on the edge

There's somethin' wrong with the world today
The light bulb's gettin' dim
There's meltdown in the sky

If you can judge a wise man
By the color of his skin
Then mister you're a better man that I

We're livin' on the edge
You can't help yourself from fallin'
Livin' on the edge
You can't help yourself at all
Livin' on the edge
You can't stop yourself from fallin'
Livin' on the edge

Tell me what you think about your sit-u-a-tion
Complication - aggravation
Is getting to you

If chicken little tells you that the sky is fallin'
Even if it wasn't would you still come crawlin'
Back again?
I bet you would my friend
Again & again & again & again & again

(solo)

Tell me what you think about your sit-u-a-tion
Complication - aggravation
Is getting to you

If chicken little tells you that the sky is fallin'
Even if it was would would you still come crawlin'
Back again?
I bet you would my friend
Again & again & again & again

There's something right with the world today
And everybody knows it's wrong
But we can tell 'em no or we could let it go
But I would rather be a hanging on

Livin' On the Edge
You can't help yourself from fallin'
Livin' On the Edge
You can't help yourself at all
Livin' On the Edge
You can't stop yourself from fallin'
Livin' On the Edge
Livin' On the Edge
Livin' On the Edge
Livin' On the Edge
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Livin' On the Edge
You can't help yourself from fallin'
Livin' On the Edge
You can't help yourself at all
Livin' on the edge
You can't stop yourself from fallin'
Livin' on the edge
Livin' on the edge
You can't help yourself
You can't help yourself
Livin' On the Edge
You can't help yourself at all
Livin' On the Edge
You can't help yourself
You can't help yourself
Livin' On the Edge
You can't help yourself
You can't help yourself
Livin' On the Edge
You can't help yourself from fallin'
Livin' On the Edge
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, you got to that now

QOTD

You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat. - Albert Einstein

He's BACK!

Ok so it's just one inning of work and the Cubs are currently well on their way to losing and giving Tom Glavine his 300th career win and Alfonso Soriano is probably now on the DL, but Kerry Wood is back!

Hey Hey, Holy Cow

CENTRAL W L PCT GB HOME ROAD RS RA STRK L10
Chicago Cubs 57 49 .538 - 29-25 28-24 495 432 Won 2 6-4
Milwaukee 58 50 .537 - 37-18 21-32 520 485 Lost 1 3-7
St. Louis 50 54 .481 6 25-25 25-29 459 548 Lost 1 6-4
Houston 46 61 .430 11.5 28-25 18-36 473 552 Lost 3 5-5
Cincinnati 45 63 .417 13 24-29 21-34 494 560 Lost 4 4-6
Pittsburgh 43 62 .410 13.5 24-30 19-32 435 521 Won 1 3-7

Another Networkers Done...

Well today we had the final day of the conference. The keynote today was given by John Cleese of Monty Python fame. He was extremely funny, but at the same time had a great message about life and how we need to allow ourselves mistakes or we won't be able to learn. We had a lot of people coming in late and hung over this morning after the customer appreciation event that happened last night. The feature act was KISS.

Tomorrow I fly home in the afternoon and will hopefully be in Springfield by 11pm or so. I plan on crashing at my parents in Sherman and then finishing the drive to Jacksonville Saturday morning.

Seven Points

So this morning I took my free certification exam at networkers. Thankfully the keyword was free. I really should have studied just a bit more. I missed passing by 7 measly little points. Nothing like a good start of the day ego deflater. I have two tests left for my CCSP, the one I just blew and the IPS exam. Need to get my butt in gear and study hard for both and get this thing done. I've been working on it for 2 years now.

Last night NetQoS hosted a party at the House of Blues that I was invited to (should have stayed in my hotel and studied). I must not be a normal geek or something. The food was completely vegetarian and meager at that. Guess the others were happy getting drunk on free beer. Oh well.

Tonight is the KISS concert. I'll go to the event for sure, just wondering if I'll be able to stay up late enough for the KISS part since it's not starting until after 10pm which is still midnight body time.

Networkers 2007 Post 1

Well I made it to Anaheim Saturday night after an eventful day of flying. First I woke up late and missed my flight by about 5 minutes in Springfield due to some faulty alarms. I made it to Chicago on the next flight and thankfully my corporate travel agent was able to get me to San Francisco and then on to Anaheim. Yesterday's Techtorial was a bit of a disappointment. Usually techtorials are highly packed training, but this one was basically a marketing deluge about a new product.

Today has been good, my morning lab was extremely hands-on and very good. Right now I'm waiting for my afternoon session to start on DNS implementations in the Enterprise... sounds exciting to you non-geeks now doesn't it?

On a random note I found out today that is also in the LA area this week for something. Being so close to Disneyland I feel that a rousing chorus of "It's a Small World" might just be in order... but then again maybe not.

NPM Thoughts and Reflections

Well I'm back in Jacksonville. I ended up skipping the morning session today in the interest of getting the drive home underway while alert. Overall the convention was great. I got to personally meet and talk to David Haas, Fr. John Foley, SJ, Fr. Roc O'Connor, SJ, Fr. Bob Dufford, SJ, Steve Angrisano, and Tom Booth! Totally awesome to get to discuss liturgy and music with the guys that are composing our church's music. The St. Louis Jesuits gave a concert which was awesome, it's amazing how much energy they all have considering the youngest is right around 60. Fr. Roc O'Connor is like a kid at times. When he gets excited he just starts hopping with a grin and his tongue sticking out. Yes I know... I am Ben Story and I'm a Catholic music junkie. Come on of course I am, who else would have bought David Haas, Marty Haugen and Bob Hurd CDs in high school instead of say Greenday?

Speaking of CDs, I splurged a bit at the booths and bought a few CDs and even got one given to me. The free one is a CD/book set from Good for the Soul Music. It's part of their Companions on the Journey (COJO) series. They're geared as guided reflections either for personal use or in a small group situation. I was getting ready to buy the one they have entitled Love Letters and the guy at the booth gave it to me for free in exchange for me giving him a review when I was done listening to it. I've listened to the first few tracks and it really is quite good. This set's goal is to explore love in the context of our relationship with God, ourselves and others. Really powerful songs accompany each reflection. They also have COJO's for Music Ministry, Lent, Christmas and Grief. They're working on more to come. I really think I'll try to get a young adult faith sharing group setup this fall and use the Love Letters one to start.

I also bought a new Steve Angrisano CD called Welcome Home and a new Matt Maher one called Overflow both from OCP. The Matt Maher one is going to need to grow on me a bit. The first listening caught me off guard when compared with the other CD of his I have. Steve Angrisano's was really good. I also bought a CD entitled Defining Beauty by a lady by the name of Danielle Rose that I talked about in a previous entry. She is currently an artist with WLP. That CD is really really awesome.

As for the sessions themselves, they were generally good although most of mine turned into marketing seminars of sorts for the artists involved. I was a little bit surprised with the seemingly uniform push to go to songs with antiphons that the congregation sings and then having either the choir or cantor only singing the verses. This seems like a step backwards to me in terms of Vatican II's push for "full, active and conscious participation" in the Mass by the congregation. The other big push seemed to be Spanish music. I'm a little bit perplexed at this because I'm trying to figure out when the US went from being a melting pot to a compartmentalized society. I'm fourth generation Italian American, but I don't go around wanting things in Italian to support my heritage. I'm an American first and foremost as were my ancestors once they arrived here. My Grandparents both spoke English as a point of pride in being American. While I look forward to the Mexican influences in our music, I think it can be done while still using English which more of the congregation knows. You should have seen the blank stares when they had the 2nd Reading at Mass completely proclaimed in Spanish. I'm sure it was a wonderful reading, but until I look it up in my Bible I will have no idea.

Well that's enough for now, time to go to the parental units and go see Harry Potter. :-)

Crawling In..

Yes, that's right I'M crawling back to my hotel room after midnight while attending the National Association of Pastoral Musicians conference. They had a concert tonight with some of the best of the best of contemporary Catholic Christian music including Tom Booth, Steve Angrisano, John Angotti, as well as some newer artists from GIA and WLP that I hadn't heard of yet. The concert was awesome! One of the newer artists, a lady by the name of Danielle Rose. She was on FIRE with the spirit, smiling from ear to ear and then some. She announced she was soon going to move to a Fransiscan community in Texas to become a novitiate which is probably where her glow came from.

What an awesome night.

Holodeck

Ok so I've been watching a lot of Star Trek Voyager on DVD lately and it's gotten me to thinking. Several of the episodes revolve around things occurring on the ship's holodeck. For those of you not familiar with Star Trek technology, the holodeck is a large room on the ship where holographic images of places and characters can be produced that the crew can interact with as if they were real. One of the programs that became a favorite of the crew was called Fair Haven. Fair Haven was a small Irish coastal town complete with the local Pub and church. For a while in their day crew members can retreat to the Holodeck and immerse themselves in a kind of dream to unwind from their stress.

This has gotten me thinking about where and when (it could be any time period) I would choose to go to relax if I had a holodeck at my disposal. I think I would like to find a program that would be in a small town somewhere in Italy (hey it's Star Trek, I'd have the universal translator). I'm not sure what year, but definitely in a slower calmer time. It would be nice to sit at a street side table drinking some wine and watching people stroll around.

How about you? Where and when would you go?

Lyrical Thought #50

Together

Krystal Meyers

We all long to belong
We all need to be needed
Loneliness is our disease
Still we bite the hand that feeds
Where did we go wrong
Insecure and self-sufficient
Building up walls instead of bridges

Let our lonely hearts collide
We're made to live this life
Together
Together
Reach across this great divide
Cuz standing side by side is better
Together

All the pride we defend
Teaches us to pretend
Like we can make it on our own
But we were never made to walk alone

Let the lines between us disappear
It starts now
It starts here
Yeah

Cubs Win!!! Cubs Win!!! Cubs Win!!!

Well today I'm writing from the back seat of my parents car as we traverse Lake Shore Drive towards I-55 after an exciting finish at the Cubs game. It was kind of a bummer at first because the Brewers got off to a 5-0 start in the top of the 1st, but even with some very sloppy fielding they didn't score any more runs and the Cubs were able to claw back into it. Ramirez topped things off with a walk off two run homer to win the game. We were in the bleachers and there was definitely a lot of high fives to go around after that homer. I just hope my voice is ok for tomorrow night since I am Cantor for 5:30pm Mass. :-)

Lyrical Thought #49

Why?

Mokey (Fraggle Rock)

Sometimes I'm alone,
Sitting on my very own,
Trying to find a simple kind of clue.

And I would like to know,
Why the Doozers move me so,
Doing all the things that Doozers do.

Why do caterpillars crawl?
Why is there a sky?
Why is there a world at all?
And why do I ask why?

Here I go again.
Why do questions never end?
What keeps callin' all day long to me?

Secrets come and go.
I know we're not the only ones.
Sometimes magic, sometimes only me.

Why do caterpillars crawl?
Why is there a sky?
Why is there a world at all?
Any why do I ask why?

Lyrical Thought #48

Falling Of The Rain

Billy Joel

Once upon a time in the land of misty satin dreams
There stood a house and a man who painted nature scenes
He painted trees and fields and animals and streams and he stayed
And he didn't hear the fallin' of the rain

In the forest green lived a girl who put her hair in braids
And she sang as she walked all around the wooded glade
She was glad when the rain came falling on her face and she sang
'Cause she didn't mind the fallin' of the rain

Will it always be the same as we recall?
Does it touch you when the rain begins to fall?
Ah, but I don't want to know and I don't want to see
Another rainy day without you lyin' next to me

High upon a hill far away from all the dusty crowd is a boy
With his eyes on the ground; his head is bowed; he is a fool
And his mind is filled with hopeless dreams and he waits
But he will not see the fallin' of the rain

Will it always be the same as we recall?
Does it touch you when the rain begins to fall?
Ah, but I don't want to know and I don't want to see
Another rainy day without you lyin' next to me

So now the boy becomes the man who sits and paints all day
But the girl with the braids in her hair has gone away
And it seems that time has brought things to an end; nothing's changed
'Cause you can't stop the fallin' rain.

If only it was this easy...

Seven of Nine: Your presence is required... rather it is requested, tonight, 1900 hours, holodeck two.
Lieutenant William Chapman: Another engineeric simulation?
Seven of Nine: Dinner.
Lieutenant William Chapman: Dinner?
Seven of Nine: The consumption of nutritional biomatter.
Lieutenant William Chapman: No, I know what dinner is, I just... are you asking me to join you?
Seven of Nine: Yes, state your response.
Lieutenant William Chapman: OK... yes.

Must Love Dogs...

Last night I had another in my series of first dates. I was hoping that this would lead to a second date, but there was just no chemistry (yeah I hate that term, but I have no better way to say it) there. I felt like I was pulling teeth to get her to talk. I never really thought of myself as all that extroverted, but I guess I must be or at least need more extroverted-ness from my date.

I have been talking to a lot of friends lately. Some are finding awesome new loves, some are getting married, some have decided that their loves weren't really what they were looking for. All of these points in the continuum of dating make me think. Why does the process need to be so hard? Why can't we all find true love and be content in the time until that occurs?

Today I added another movie to my list of romantic comedies that I like. Must Love Dogs was very good. As someone that keeps dabbling in the online dating scene it was especially funny to me. Sometimes I wish I could find my happy ending.

Another Survey

The "Grown Up" Survey
(Meant to be completed by those out of high school)

Tired of all of those surveys made up by high school kids?
'Have you ever kissed someone?'
'Missed someone?'
'Told someone you loved them?'
'Drank alcohol?'
Here are 50 questions for the people who are a little more "mature"...

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
My cable bill, I swear it keeps going up.

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
Thousand Hills Dining Lodge

3. Last time you puked from drinking?
Never

4. When is the last time you got drunk and danced at a bar?
Never

5. Name of your first grade teacher?
Mrs Gaither

6. What do you really want to be doing right now?
Falling in love again.

7. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Naval aviator, astronaut

8. How many colleges did you attend?
Truman State University

9. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
It was on top of the pile.

10. GAS PRICES?
Suck

11. If you could move anywhere and take someone with you?
Italy

12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
Blah it's Monday

13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
Man am I tired.

14. Favorite style of underwear?
boxers

15. Favorite style of underwear for the opposite sex?
Don't care.

16. What errand/chore do you despise?
Cleaning

17. If you didn't have to work, would you volunteer?
Yup

18. Get up early or sleep in?
Get up early.

19. What is your favorite cartoon character?
Garfield

20. Favorite NON sexual thing to do at night with a girl/guy?
Cuddling on the couch while watching a movie.

21. Have you found real love yet?
Yes, but am searching again.

22. When did you first start feeling old?
When I started getting gray hair.

23. Favorite 80's movie?
???

24. Your favorite lunch meat?
Ham

25. What do you get every time you go into Walmart?
Nothing in particular.

26. Beach or lake?
Lake

27. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
No

28. How many people do you stalk on Facebook?
Now why would I admit to dhat?

29. Favorite guilty pleasure?
Gelato

30. Favorite movie you wouldn't want anyone to find out about?
?

31. What's your drink?
Crown and Coke

32. Cowboys or Indians?
Indians

33. Cops or Robbers?
Cops

34. Who from high school would you like to run into?
?

35. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now?
100.5 WYMG

36. Norm or Cliff?
Norm!

37. The Cosby Show or the Simpsons?
The Simpsons

39. Do you like the person who sits directly across from you at work
Yes

40. If you could get away with it, who would you kill?
No one.

41. What famous person(s) would you like to have dinner with?
Linus Torvalds

42. What famous person would you like to sleep with?
Scarlett Johansen

43. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?
No

44. Last book you read for real? And finished?
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

45. Do you have a teddy bear?
No

46. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
Tent

47. Somewhere in California you've never been and would like to go?
Calascio, Italia

48. Do you go to church?
Yes

49. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
Relationship

50. Just how OLD are you?
27

D-Day Musing

This is a bit belated, but still relavant. Last week XM's 1940's channel carried rebroadcasts of the NBC radio news broadcasts from D-Day and D-Day +1. What really struck me was the fact that in 1944 the news cast involved three prayers, one from a Protestant minister, one from a Priest and one from a Rabbi. It really is striking to me how different the United States is today. Even if we were in a "popular" war like World War II, I can't imagine any news outlet being willing to carry any religious prayers for our troops and country.

The other thing in the broadcasts that struck me was the way the news casters covered the military actions. They went to great lengths to cover the story while not giving any useful tactical or strategic information. If only our military were so gifted in today's media.

It makes me wonder, what would be the outcome if a conflict like World War II were to occur in today's world? Would the US even get involved? Would the press be the enemy's best intelligence source? Would the citizens of the US support our troops with efforts of war rationing, war bonds and scrap drives?

QOTD

"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within."

--James Baldwin

More Newman Photos

More photos are here.

Newman Fire Updates

First, an update with good news about some Newman history from Katie (Boettcher) Jones.

---

Dear Friends~

The first thought that occured to me this morning when I read the fire e-mail: "I knew there was a reason I still had all of Newman's pics from 1975-2003 including the negatives." What's more, I have all the alumni memories that were typed up as well and the Newman box was one of the few things that didn't get waterlogged in my basement flood a month ago.

Ironic or providence? You decide.

~Katie

---

Now an update from the Newman Facebook group via Mary Niehaus

---

On Wednesday, May 30, the Catholic Newman Center was struck by lightning. The bolt struck the middle of the roof, setting Newman on fire and causing it to completely burn down during the early hours of Thursday morning. Little was salvageable, but the tabernacle was recovered by the Fire Chief and placed in Mary Immaculate. Nobody was in the building or injured.

We have been receiving calls from students, alumni, and community members inquiring about the state of Newman and the Newman community. As of right now, the best thing that anyone can do is send up some prayers for this summer and this semester. We are determined to rebuild, both the building and our community. Financial donations are also needed and appreciated to cover the impending costs of the next few weeks (buying new vestments for Fr. Bill, office supplies, computers, etc). All donations can be sent to the Cornerstone address at:

801 S. Davis
Kirksville, MO 63501

Newman Fire Pictures

Pictures

There are more on Megan Lesczynski's profile on Facebook

Nothing Good...

It is said that nothing good ever comes from a middle of the night phone call. Unfortunately in this case they were definitely right. I just got off the phone with who informed me that earlier in the night the Catholic Newman Center in Kirksville, MO was hit by lightening and burned to the ground. Newman was my home away from home for my years in Kirksville while attending Truman State. To think of all the memories that that building held for so many of us brings me to tears.

While I know that the building will rise again and that the good news was that no one was hurt, I can't help but mourn. Perhaps it was fitting that the ring tone that awoke me to this news was Seasons of Love from Rent because that's how I would measure the Newman Center's impact on my life.... in Love.


May God support us all day long
till the shadows lengthen
and the evening comes
and the busy world is hushed
and the fever of life is over
and our work is done -
then in this mercy -
may God give us a
safe lodging
and a holy rest
and peace at the last.

-John Henry Cardinal Newman

In light of the Russian's latest sabre rattling, perhaps it's time to dust off this famous quip from the Gipper.

My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes.
- Ronald Reagan

Echo Taps

Today I had the honor along with five others to honor our country's Veterans by playing Taps as part of the Echo Taps Ceremony at Camp Butler National Cemetery in Springfield, IL. You can see photos of the event here.

My Firsts

1.Who was your first homecoming date?
Lisa Holmes

2.Who was your first roommate?
Justin Sponougle

3. What was your first job?
Eddie's Ice Cream

4. What was your first car?
1989 Chevy Cavalier

5. Who was the first person you texted today?
no one

6. Who is the first person you thought of this morning?
?

7. Who was your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Gaither

8. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
Washington DC

9. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with?
I never snuck out.

10. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them?
Josh Pfieffer

11. Where was your first sleep over?
Jeremy Holcomb's

12. Who was the first person you talked to this morning?
Angie at work.

13. What was the first concert you ever went to?
Beach Boys

14. First tattoo or piercing?
None

15. First foreign country you went to?
UK

16. First crush?
Tiffany Tibbs

17. When was your first detention?
Never, but I got close with Mr. Denk in 7th Grade

18. What was the first state you lived in?
Illinois

19. Who is the first person you kissed?
Katie Boettcher

20. Who will be the first to repost this?
Matt

Community

Community, it's a word that we often don't think about, but to me it's become very important. Since college I have realized the importance of community in my life. During college I was blessed with being part of the Catholic Newman Center community. Newman became my place of refuge from the stresses of college. I had a group of friends that were sharing like experiences as well as our faith. Whether it be for Mass, organized activities like Choir and CSA or just random social activities in the lounge, it was a grounded place for me to go. Some of my best friends today are people that I met through this community.

Since college however I've noticed that there has been something lacking in my life and now I think I've figured it out. It's community. As much as I would like to say that I'm self reliant and independent, I still need community in my life as well. The problem is that I haven't found anything even remotely like my college community. It seems that nothing I have tried has fit me well. Most of the communities that I've tried being a part of have not worked for one simple reason, the people involved aren't at the same point in life as I am. Even the local Parish community hasn't really filled the niche. I have trouble understanding why people don't want to give more than an hour to the Parish during the week. I also don't understand where the young adult Catholics are hiding. Surely I can't be the only one in Jacksonville that is younger than 45. Surely there are others out there that are seekers too.

Ok so I know that this little blurb isn't going to change much, but it feels good to write it out and ponder it. Maybe someone will give me a hint of where I should be looking. Maybe my community that I'm seeking is desperately looking for me... or maybe it's hiding under a rock or something.

Movie Quote

Sally: Well I went bed at seven thirty last night. I haven't don't that since
the third grade.

Harry: Well that's the good thing about depression, gets you rest.

A When Harry Met Sally Reflection

Jess:I don't understand this relationship.

Harry: What do you mean?

Jess: You enjoy being with her?

Harry: Yeah

Jess: You find her attractive?

Harry: Yeah

Jess: And you're not sleeping with her. [ok so it's more like and you haven't asked her out for me]

Harry: No

Jess: You're afraid to let yourself be happy.


This dialog hit me different this time. I've seen this movie dozens of times over the years. I guess it's just the intersection of the scene and the moment I'm in right now. I have a good friend that I've known for almost a decade. She's one of those people that unless someone says something you would never think of outside of the friendship you're in because she's your friend. This past New Years I spent time with her and another friend. The other friend actually asked if we were dating. We weren't and still aren't, but that planted a seed that has sent me down that path of thought. I'm just so worried about saying anything to her and possibly making things weird between us if she's not interested. I wish there was a way to read a woman's mind because they sure don't send clear signals.

Quote of the Moment

Dear Lord, give me the truths which are veiled by the doctrines and
articles of faith, which are masked by the pious words of sermons and
books. Let my eyes penetrate the veil, and tear off the mask, that I can
see your truth face to face.

St. John of the Cross

Cubs Tickets!!!!

I got a fedex package today and it had two tickets for tomorrow's game! Apparently I won a contest off of www.cubs.com that I had entered at the beginning of March. Oh and for those that don't know, last year I won an iPod Nano from a similar contest. Man I should buy a lotto ticket.

Friday Funny

I got this as an E-mail forward.

The Guys' Rules­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down
Finally, the guys' side of the story.
( I must admit, it's pretty good.)
We always hear " the rules"
From the female side.

Now here are the rules from the male side.
These are our rules!
Please note: these are all numbered "1"
FOR A REASON!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.
We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon
or the changing of the tides.
Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport.
And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want.
Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a Problem.
See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria 's Secret girls, don't Expect us to act like soap opera guys.

1. If you think you're fat, You probably are.
Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one .

1. You can either ask us to do something
or tell us how you want it done.
Not both.
If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched.
We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong.
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine...really !

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as SEX, CARS, the shotgun formation, or BASKETBALL.


1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this.
Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;


But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Pass this to as many men as you can -
to give them a laugh.

Pass this to as many women as you can -
to give them a bigger laugh.

Angela's Reception

Things went much better tonight that I was fearing. Seeing Kate and her husband really didn't phase me as much as I was anticipating. Most of my mood was my normal it's a wedding and I'm single sorta blues. The reception was very nice, great food, a good DJ and good friends.

There is someone that I'd like to ask out(and she's actually single), but I have no clue whether she would be at all open to it or not. The real problem is that she lives in another state so the normal get together as friends bit is a bit challenging. I wish women were easier to read.

Angela's Wedding

Today my friend Angela was married to her husband Charlie. It was a very nice wedding Mass. Right now I'm sitting in the hotel in Peoria (sans WiFi ... GASP) writing this in offline mode while watching the Cubs on TV. One thing really struck me today and it had nothing to do with Angela or Charlie. During the Eucharist, the priest only offered the Body to the congregation. Only the bride, groom, servers and the priest were offered the Blood. I've never really thought about it in the past because it has never happened, but I felt kind of slighted that both species were not offered by the priest.

The other thing that as a musician slightly confused me was that the congregation was not invited to sing with the musicians for the songs during the Wedding. It would seem to me that especially in special liturgies the Vatican II call for full, conscious and active participation would be paramount to help give the community's AMEN to the bond being formed in front of them. Hope I didn't overstep my bounds by singing One Bread, One Body from memory during Communion. ;-)

After the ceremony I follwed a caravan back to the hotel where we're all staying. After three trips to the front desk I finally got assigned to the right room with the right key. I've definitely been spoiled traveling with Dot and staying in mostly Hamptons and Hilton Inn and Gardens.

The reception is upcoming and after talking with my ex-fiance and her husband after the wedding I think I'll do ok. I was really worried that some deep long forgotten wound would burst open and I wouldn't be able to handle things, but so far so good.

Quote of the Day

On my income tax 1040 it says 'Check this box if you are blind.' I wanted to put a check mark about three inches away.
- Tom Lehrer

Virginia Tech

In the aftermath of the horrific tragedy that occurred yesterday at Virginia Tech, many people will ask why and where was God? These are normal reactions, but I believe that today's account of a Professor, a Holocaust survivor, that saved the lives of his students by giving his life to barricade the classroom door is a testament to God's presence. God was there in the classrooms. Let us all pray for the students, faculty and relatives in their time of need.

Ponderings

Ah, spring is here, smell the scents of flowers and freshly cut grass wafting through the air. And in the mailbox amid the bills and junk mail, a small stream of those fancy envelopes with their "LOVE" stamp. Yup wedding invitations. As usual this puts me into a pensive mood.

I start to wonder when it will be that I'll at least have a date to take with me to a wedding. Of course long term I wonder if I'll ever have a wedding of my own.

On a more immediate pondering, I have two tickets for a Billy Joel concert in St. Louis for the 25th. At the time I bought them back in January I had a hope that I would have a girlfriend by now to go with. I really don't like going to things like this alone. I really want to go, but I'm not sure if I'd rather go alone and waste a ticket or if I'd rather find some couple that would like to buy the tickets off of me and spend my loneliness at home.

Is love such a hard thing to ask for?

Lyrical Thought #48

Exsultet

MP3

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,

that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.



Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Deacon: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Deacon: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.


For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is night
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!


Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!


Of this night scripture says:
"The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father,
in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church's solemn offering.


Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.


(For it is fed by the melting wax,
which the mother bee brought forth
to make this precious candle.)

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!




May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

Exsultet in Latin

MP3

Exultet iam angelica turba caelorum:
exultent divina mysteria:
et pro tanti Regis victoria tuba insonet salutaris.


Gaudeat et tellus tantis irradiata fulgoribus:
et, aeterni Regis splendore illustrata,
totius orbis se sentiat amisisse caliginem.


Laetetur et mater Ecclesia,
tanti luminis adornata fulgoribus:
et magnis populorum vocibus haec aula resultet.


Quapropter astantes vos, fratres carissimi,
ad tam miram huius sancti luminis claritatem,
una mecum, quaeso,
Dei omnipotentis misericordiam invocate.
Ut, qui me non meis meritis
intra Levitarum numerum dignatus est aggregare,
luminis sui claritatem infundens,
cerei huius laudem implere perficiat.

Vers. Dominus vobiscum.
Resp. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Vers. Sursum corda.
Resp. Habemus ad Dominum.
Vers. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
Resp. Dignum et iustum est.

Vere dignum et iustum est,
invisibilem Deum Patrem omnipotentem
Filiumque eius unigenitum,
Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum,
toto cordis ac mentis affectu et vocis ministerio personare.

Qui pro nobis aeterno Patri Adae debitum solvit,
et veteris piaculi cautionem pio cruore detersit.

Haec sunt enim festa paschalia,
in quibus verus ille Agnus occiditur,
cuius sanguine postes fidelium consecrantur.

Haec nox est,
in qua primum patres nostros, filios Israel
eductos de Aegypto,
Mare Rubrum sicco vestigio transire fecisti.

Haec igitur nox est,
quae peccatorum tenebras columnae illuminatione purgavit.

Haec nox est,
quae hodie per universum mundum in Christo credentes,
a vitiis saeculi et caligine peccatorum segregatos,
reddit gratiae, sociat sanctitati.

Haec nox est,
in qua, destructis vinculis mortis,
Christus ab inferis victor ascendit.

Nihil enim nobis nasci profuit,
nisi redimi profuisset.
O mira circa nos tuae pietatis dignatio!
O inaestimabilis dilectio caritatis:
ut servum redimeres, Filium tradidisti!

O certe necessarium Adae peccatum,
quod Christi morte deletum est!
O felix culpa,
quae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem!

O vere beata nox,
quae sola meruit scire tempus et horam,
in qua Christus ab inferis resurrexit!

Haec nox est, de qua scriptum est:
Et nox sicut dies illuminabitur:
et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis.

Huius igitur sanctificatio noctis fugat scelera, culpas lavat:
et reddit innocentiam lapsis
et maestis laetitiam.
Fugat odia, concordiam parat
et curvat imperia.

O vere beata nox,
in qua terrenis caelestia, humanis divina iunguntur!¹

In huius igitur noctis gratia, suscipe, sancte Pater,
laudis huius sacrificium vespertinum,
quod tibi in hac cerei oblatione sollemni,
per ministrorum manus
de operibus apum, sacrosancta reddit Ecclesia.

Sed iam columnae huius praeconia novimus,
quam in honorem Dei rutilans ignis accendit.
Qui, licet sit divisus in partes,
mutuati tamen luminis detrimenta non novit.

Alitur enim liquantibus ceris,
quas in substantiam pretiosae huius lampadis
apis mater eduxit.²

Oramus ergo te, Domine,
ut cereus iste in honorem tui nominis consecratus,
ad noctis huius caliginem destruendam,
indeficiens perseveret.
Et in odorem suavitatis acceptus,
supernis luminaribus misceatur.

Flammas eius lucifer matutinus inveniat:
Ille, inquam, lucifer, qui nescit occasum:
Christus Filius tuus,
qui, regressus ab inferis, humano generi serenus illuxit,
et vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum.

Resp. Amen.

¹ This sentence follows apis mater eduxit in the Latin. It is shown here to correspond with its placing in the English.

² This sentence has no equivalent in the standard English version.

Musical Tradition

As most people who know me know, I am very big on music, especially when it comes to its use in Liturgy. Meanwhile it would probably shock the same people that I would be wondering what happened to some traditional music in the Triduum celebrations this year in my Parish. Holy Thursday went as much as one would think including Tanto Ergo for the procession of the Holy Eucharist to the chapel. Last night at Good Friday though, I was thinking when we were doing the Good Friday petitions(for non-Catholics these are normally done at Mass, but on Good Friday they are extended in length and importance) that something was just missing. Then it hit me, chant. Yes me the guy that's always turning his nose up at chant missed some Gregorian Chant in the Liturgy. I started thinking and remembered that growing up the petitions were intoned by a cantor and the congregation responded also in song. At this point I went thumbing through the Breaking Bread looking for the way I remembered it and found only the 10 petitions and a note about the Deacon or Cantor leading it in song, but none of the chant was there. Also missing was the break in each petition where the leader would call the congregation to kneel and then after a moment of silence stand to continue on with the other petitions.

Maybe I revere tradition and ritual more than I thought I did? Tonight is the Easter Vigil, the Holiest celebration of the liturgical year. Judging from last year I know that I'll be disappointed by another chant, the Exsultet, which is sung to conclude the Service of Light at the beginning of the Mass. Usually it is up to the Priest or Deacon to sing this chant, but they have the option to allow a cantor to sing it as well. The priest that will sing it tonight is a good singer so he is more than capable of singing it, but the unique chant in the Sacramentary written for the Exsultet was last year replaced with a rather boring generic chant mode last year that really didn't do justice to the text of the Exsultet. I had the privilege to sing the Exultet three years in a row for Fr. Bill Kottenstette's Parish in Memphis, MO and so maybe that is why it is so important to me.

Maybe too it's because I'm starting to see songs that were my favorites growing up disappearing from the common repertoire of the Catholic Church. For example, I am now in my 8th year of being in congregations where singing "On Eagle's Wings" is unofficially banned because "it's a funeral song". This pigeon holing of songs drives me nuts. Another song that has seemed to slowly disappear off the map is "Send us as Your Blessing Lord". Is this the curse that we as Catholics have brought on ourselves by using constantly changing soft bound hymnals? Yet at the same time I don't want to stagnate and never grow or change or add new songs.

Regardless of my frustrations, the Easter Vigil liturgy will still be the highlight of the year and I encourage all of you to find your closest Catholic Church and attend tonight.

Windows and Mac... Meet Linux

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDc9I3z7ab4]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LAXg_UmzTY]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkFQVcl62qo]

Lyrical Thought #47

This is more because I just saw Mr. Holland's Opus and perhaps out of hope.

Cole's Song

Julian Lennon

I feel that the love around me
has come from another world
I have lost love
I have found love
From the moment you were born

I could see a new beginning
Come to me, let me tell you how
how I've lost love
and now I've found love
in a world of broken dreams

I was wrong
to deny your feelings
and I'm sorry
if I've caused you pain
I was lost then
so confused then
and I believe that
you would change that

There are broken hearts we can mend
Through the music we've learned to love again
Through the sad notes
through the years
there were times when I just couldn't tell you

And now we've come
to an understanding
and I'm sorry
that it took so long
I have lost love
I have found love
from the moment you were born

I have lost you
and now I've found you
Let me feel your heart
let me hear your song

QOTD

"In the developed countries there is a poverty of intimacy,
a poverty of spirit, of loneliness, of lack of love.
There is no greater sickness in the world today than that one."

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Happy Pi Day

:-)

QOTD

If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them. - Isaac Asimov

Lyrical Thought #46

River of Dreams

Billy Joel
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the mountains of faith
To the river so deep
I must be lookin' for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it's too hard to cross
even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find what I've been looking for
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the valley of fear
To a river so deep
I've been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I'd never lose
Something somebody stole
I don't know why I go walking at night
But now I'm tired and I don't want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn't take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is I've been looking for
(Two beat Pause)
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To the river so deep
I know I'm searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night (break)

’M’not sure about a life after this
God knows I've never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That is runnin' to the promised land (Long Four beat Pause)

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the desert of the truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We're all carried along
By the river of dreams
In the middle of the night

Lyrical Thought #45

Is Anybody There?

from the musical 1776
Adams:
Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?

They want to me to quit; they say
John, give up the fight
Still to England I say
Good night, forever, good night!
For I have crossed the Rubicon
Let the bridge be burned behind me
Come what may, come what may

Commitment!

The croakers all say we'll rue the day
There'll be hell to pay in fiery purgatory
Through all the gloom, through all the gloom
I see the rays of ravishing light and glory!

Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?

I see fireworks! I see the pagaent and
Pomp and parade
I hear the bells ringing out
I hear the cannons roar
I see Americans - all Americans
Free forever more

How quiet, how quiet the chamber is
How silent, how silent the chamber is

Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?

Tickets Going on Sale

All is right with the world, tickets are now on sale for the Cubs home games. I can taste the Old Style now!

Tech Support from the Middle Ages

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRjVeRbhtRU]

This was just hilarious!

Lyrical Thought #44

Anything But Lonely

from Aspects of Love
Andrew Lloyd Webber

ROSE:
Anything but lonely,
Anything but empty rooms.
There's so much in life to share --
What's the sense when no one else is there?

Anything but lonely,
Anything but only me.
Quiet years in too much space:
That's the thing that's hard to face,
And...

You have a right to go,
But you should also know
That I won't be alone for long.
Long days with nothing said
Are not what lie ahead --
I'm sorry, but I'm not that strong.

Anything but lonely,
Anything but passing time.
Lonely's what I'll never be,
While there's still some life in me,
And...

I'm still young, don't forget,
It isn't over yet --
So many hearts for me to thrill.

If you're not here to say
How good I look each day,
I'll have to find someone who will.

Anything but lonely,
Anything but empty rooms.
There's so much in life to share --
What's the sense when no one else is
there...?

Just promise one thing.

ALEX:
All right.
What is it?

ROSE:
Don't ask me questions...
You must promise first...

ALEX:
I can't
I must know what it is.

ROSE:
Don't leave me!

Want The Inner Scoop?

Want to see my posts that are for friends only but don't want to make an LJ Account? Well if you're an AOL IM user you can now login to LiveJournal using OpenID. To set it up, add a comment to this post but instead of Anonymous choose OpenID. Then for the URL put http://openid.aol.com/yourscreenname and check the log in box. Once you submit the comment and login I'll be able to grant you friend access to my blog. Then you just need to login to livejournal using openid to see my full blog. :-)

Chief Illiniwek

Ok, so as usual, the political correctness zealots have gone overboard. Chief Illiniwek is a symbol of the University of Illinois, but he is also a reminder of the history of the land now known as Illinois. Long before there were lawyers to squabble over school mascots, the Native American tribes farmed, hunted and lived on this land. The descendants of the tribe known as the Illini have been involved almost since the inception of Chief Illiniwek with supporting the tradition. Several polls of Native Americans have in general supported the use of Native American symbols and names as mascots. As usual in the United States, a vocal minority is trumping the rights of the majority.

I am mainly of Italian descent, but according to my Grandmother I have some either Cherokee or Creek blood from her side of the family. If tomorrow some team was to name their mascot Luigi the Fighting Paisono I would not be offended, nor do I think mafia types in suits would start shooting the mascot. These are sports teams we are talking about! Has the United States gotten to the point where we are willing to give up freedom of speech to prevent anyone from being offended?

Chief Illiniwek is a tradition that honors the Native Americans that once called Illinois home. The dance used at games was developed by an Eagle Scout that studied the traditional Fancy Dance of the Prairie Tribes. The regalia was also designed to be like the Prairie Tribes. I hope that the trustees feel a giant sucking sound as alumni funds dry up in support of the Chief.

QOTD

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino." -- Joe Fox

QOTD

"Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing."
--William James

Ivy, Ivy, Ivy

Ok so this is a random post. Does anyone have good ideas on finding artificial ivy in bulk cheap? I have this itch to decorate my cubicle at work as if it was the outfield wall at Wrigley. I need to cover a 5' x 3' segment.

Lyrical Thought #43

I'm Wishing

Words by Larry Morey
Music by Frank Churchill

It`s so sad and lonely, wishing well ,
longing for someone you never see,
Make him love me onley, wishing well,
won`t you grant this a favour to me?

I`m wishing for the one I love
to find me today.
I`m hoping, and I`m dreaming of
the nice things, he`ll say.

Tell me, wishing well,
will my wish come true?
With your magic spell,
won`t you tell my loved one what to do?

I`m wishing for the one I love
to find me today.

I`m wishing for the one I love
to find me today.
I`m hoping, and I`m dreaming of
the nice things, she`ll say.

Tell me, wishing well,
will my wish come true?
With your magic spell,
won`t you tell my loved one what to do?

I`m wishing for the one I love
to find me today.

Disappointing Weekend Update

Well I had high hopes for this weekend. It was to be a busy one, but a good one or at least that was the plan. Friday night did go well. I helped out at the KC fish fry and had a good time. Got to play Euchre afterwards and hang out with the guys.

Saturday, well Saturday's disappointment is mainly my own doing. As usual I assumed that I had a better chance with a woman on a first date than I really did. I had fun on the date, but got the now ritual you're a great guy, but routine. I'm tired of first dates so at least for now I'm shutting off my profiles so now it's in God's hands.

And then today, as a Bears' fan I was psyched for the game. I really thought we had a shot at winning the game, especially when the weather got sloppy in Miami. I mean that's Bears Football! Unfortunately the Jekyll and Dr. Hyde routine from Grossman was back to Jekyll and Grossman was well just plain gross. Unfortunately for the Bears, the only real highlight came in the first 15 seconds of the game when Hester ran back the opening kickoff for a TD.

Thankfully pitchers and catchers report in just over a week. Go Cubs!

Prayer for the Bears

Let us bow our heads now and pray....

Our Papa,

Who art a Bear,

Hallowed by thy fame,

Thy championship come,

Thy play be run,

At home as it is away,

Give us this day our Sunday win,

And forgive us our turnovers,

Though we pounce on those who turnover against us,

And lead us not into fourth and long,

But deliver us from Krenzel.

http://mike.wordpress.com/2007/01/18/a-prayer-for-the-chicago-bears/

GO BEARS!

Those Who Fail to Learn History...

Ok, first read this article about Hitler's rise to power from the Wikipedia.

Now fast forward to today and read this article about Hugo Chavez in Venezuela from Fox News today.

All I can say right now is that I sure hope the US doesn't elect a Chamberlain President in 2008.

Lyrical Thought #42

Mix Tape

Avenue Q

I wish that things were this easy, but then it also shows why they're so complicated.

Kate Monster:
Princeton.

He likes me.
I think he likes me.
Does does he 'like me' like me,
Like I like him?
Will we be friends,
Or something more?
I think he's interested,
But I'm not sure.

Come in!

Princeton:
Hiya, Kate!

Kate Monster:
Princeton! Hi!

Princeton:
Hi! Listen, I was going through my CDs
yesterday, and I kept coming across songs
I thouht you'd like, so I made you this tape.

Kate Monster:
Oh, that's so sweet!
Can I get you a drink? Or a snack?

Princeton:
Actually, do you mind if I use your bathroom?

Kate Monster:
Go right ahead.

Princeton:
Oh, thank you!

Kate Monster:
A mix tape.
He made a mix tape.
He was thinking of me,
Which shows he cares!
Sometimes when someone
Has a crush on you
They'll make you a mix tape
To give you a clue.
Let's see...
"You've Got A Friend"
"The Theme From 'Friends'"
"That's What Friends Are For"

Shit!
Oh, but look!

"A Whole New World"
"Kiss The Girl"
"My Cherie Amour"

Oh, Princeton! He does like me!

"I Am The Walrus"
"Fat Bottomed Girls"
"Yellow Submarine"
What does this mean?

Princeton:
Hey Kate, you might wanna not go in there for a while.

Kate Monster:
Princeton, thank you for this tape.
I was just looking at side A. Great songs!

Princeton:
Oh, well, did you get to side B yet?

Kate Monster:
No, not yet.

Princeton:
Oh, it's great! Check it out.

Kate Monster:
Yeah?

Princeton:
Right here...

Kate Monster:
"Stuck On You"

Princeton:
"Love Me Do"

Kate Monster:
"My Heart Will Go On"

I loved "Titanic"!

Princeton:
Uhh, it was all right.

"She's Got A Way"

Kate Monster:
"Yesterday"

Princeton:
"Goodnight Saigon!"

>From the Russia concert!

Kate Monster:
Oh. Great.

"Through The Years"

Princeton:
"The Theme From 'Cheers'"

Kate Monster:
"Moving Right Along"

Nice tape.

Princeton:
Oh, there's one more...

"I Have To Say I Love You In A Song"

Kate Monster:
Princeton, that's so sweet!
I've never gotten such a nice present from a guy.

Princeton:
Awww. Well, I'm glad you like it.
But, I have to go now. I'm gonna make one
for Brian and Christmas Eve and Gary and
Nicky and Rod and Trekkie Monster and everyone!

Kate Monster:
Oh.

Princeton:
Oh, and, uh -

Kate Monster:
Yes?

Princeton:
What are you doing tonight?

Kate Monster:
Grading term papers. But it's kindergarten,
so they're very short. Why?

Princeton:
Everyone's going to hear this singer at the
Around The Clock Cafe. Do you want to go with me?

Kate Monster:
Like, a date?

Princeton:
Sure! A date. It'll be a blast.

Kate Monster:
I'd love to come!

Princeton:
Okay! Well, I'll see you then.

Kate Monster:
Okay!

Princeton:
Okay, bye.

Kate Monster:
Bye!
He likes me!

Matt Maher Concert in Columbia

So like I mentioned earlier I went down to Rolla to visit and to go to Columbia for the Matt Maher concert. Well I batted .500 for the weekend. I got to Rolla ok, but going to Columbia that evening was anything but uneventful. Matt was driving and tried to swerve to miss someone's cooler that was on the roadway. Unfortunately he didn't quite make it far enough out of the way and the rear passenger side tire caught the cooler and went flat immediately.

Ok so two guys should be able to change a simple tire right??? Well apparently not always. We got the jack out and started taking off the lug nuts. Unfortunately the fifth and final lug nut just would not budge. After trying various methods of cajoling it off, we finally admitted defeat and called AAA. The tow truck driver showed up about 45 minutes later (we had no clue besides that we were between Jefferson City and Columbia so it took him a bit to find us). He had similar problems with that lug nut and had to resort to jumping on the lug wrench to break it free (his pneumatic wrench wouldn't budget it).

So once we were on our way again to Columbia at the whopping 50 mph that the spare allowed, we knew we weren't going to make it to the concert. Instead we went to Wal-Mart and got a new tire installed and then got supper at CiCi's pizza (mmm Mac and Cheese pizza). Thankfully let us know that they were meeting up at Steak and Shake after the concert so we met them briefly to chat and what not before heading back to Rolla.

The rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful. I'm now back in the frozen tundra of Jacksonville.

Headed to Rolla

Why you may ask would a single guy that already has a degree decide to drive to Rolla where there are 9 guys for every one female? Well does live there so I guess that's a good reason. Oh yeah and the side trip with him to Columbia to see Matt Maher is good too. Oh and at that concert I'll be seeing the wonderful ladies from Truman including and . Ok so I guess there's a good reason or two to drive to Rolla, MO.

Lyrical Thought #41

Hmm it's ironic that this is #41 and it's Super Bowl XLI...

1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl Shuffle

*Chorus*
We are the Bears Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you.
We're so bad we know we're good.
Blowin' your mind like we knew we would.
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone.
We're not here to start not trouble.
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.

*Walter Payton*
Well, they call me Sweetness,
And I like to dance.
Runnin' the ball is like makin' romance.
We've had the goal since training camp
To give Chicago a Super Bowl Champ.
And we're not doin' this
Because we're greedy.
The Bears are doin' it to feed the needy.
We didn't come here to look for trouble,
We just came here to do
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

*Willie Gault*
This is Speedy Willie, and I'm world class.
I like runnin' but i love to get the pass.
I practice all day and dance all night,
I got to get ready for the Sunday fight.
Now I'm as smooth as a chocolate swirl,
I dance a little funky, so watch me girl.
There's not one here that does it like me,
My Super Bowl Shuffle will set you free.

*Mike Singletary*
I'm Samurai Mike I stop'em cold.
Part of the defense, big and bold,
I've been jammin' for quite a while,
Doin' what's right and settin' the style,
Give me a chance, I'll rock you good,
Nobody messin' in my neighborhood.
I didn't come here lookin' for trouble,
I just came to do The Super Bowl Shuffle

(Repeat Chorus)

*Jim McMahon*
I'm the punky QB, known as McMahon.
When I hit the turf, I've got no plan.
I just throw my body all over the field.
I can't dance, but I can throw the pill.
I motivate the cats, I like to tease.
I play so cool, I aim to please.
That's why you all got here on the double
To catch me doin' the Super Bowl Shuffle.

*Otis Wilson*
I'm mama's boy Otis, one of a kind.
The ladies all love me
For my body and my mind.
I'm slick on the floor as I can be
But ain't no sucker gonna get past me.
Some guys are jealous
Of my style and class,
That's why some end up on their -,
I didn't come here lookin' for trouble,
I just get down to The Super Bowl Shuffle.

*Steve Fuller*
They say Jimbo is our man.
If Jimmy can't do it, I sure can.
This is Steve, and it's no wonder
I run like lightnin', pass like thunder.
So bring on Atlanta, bring on Dallas,
This is for Mike and Papa Bear Halas.
I'm not here to feather his ruffle,
I just came here to do
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

*Mike Richardson*
I'm L.A. Mike, and I play it cool.
They don't sneak by me 'cause I'm no fool.
I fly on the field and get on down.
Everybody knows I don't mess around.
I can break'em, shake'em,
Any time of day.
I like to steal it and make 'em pay,
So please don't cry to beat my hustle
'Cause I'm just here to do
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

(Repeat Chorus)

*Richard Dent*
The sackman's comin', I'm your man Dent.
if the quarterback's slow,
He's gonna get bent.
We stop the run, we stop the pass,
I like to dump guys on their -.
We love to play for the world's best fans,
You better start makin'
Your Super Bowl plans.
But don't get ready or go to any trouble
Unless you practice
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

*Gary Fencik*
It's Gary here, and I'm Mr.Clean.
They call me "hit man,"
Don't know what they mean.
They throw it long and watch me run,
I'm on my man, one-on-one.
Buddy's guys cover it down to the bone,
That's why they call us the 46 zone.
Come on everybody let's scream and yell,
We're goin' to do the Shuffle,
Then ring your bell.

*William Perry*
You're lookin' at the Fridge,
I'm the rookie.
I may be large, but I'm no dumb cookie.
You've seen me hit, you've seen me run,
When I kick and pass, we'll have more fun.
I can dance, you will see
The others, they all learn from me.
I don't come here lookin' for trouble,
I just came here to do
The Super Bowl Shuffle.

(Repeat Chorus)

Update Time

Ok so some of this some of you already know, but some of you don't so here goes. I'm guessing this won't be as long as 's update posts, but who knows.

Well the biggest thing going on right now came as a shocker to me when it started. A little bit before Christmas I got a call from an IT recruiter. I wasn't looking for a job, but I figured it can't hurt to listen to him and see what he had to say. He didn't have any jobs that I was interested in, but we did start talking about the job market in my area. One of the factoids that he gave me was that I'm currently making around $10K-$15K less than the average Network Administrator in my area. Too add insult to injury so to speak I found out that I'm not even on the low end of the bracket yet. Needless to say this opened my eyes and ears to the possibility of there being life after Dot. Realistically I'm not dissatisfied with my job itself, but some of the things that surround it make the possibility of change appealing including my current commute, location (I'd rather live in Springfield) and of course now my salary.

It's not like I don't already make a good living, but there are times where I wish I had a little more money to spend on things like a vacation or just the simple bonus of not having to worry about the correlation between pay day and bill due dates. I would also like to be able to put more away into savings, investments and my retirement account. Outside of pay distance and location are my biggest factors to consider. Right now it seems like I'm straddling between two worlds, one Quincy-centric and the other Springfield-centric. Work is in Mt. Sterling which is closer to Quincy. I live in Jacksonville which is closer to Springfield and besides church, most of the things that I do outside of work are in Springfield. This usually means that I end up driving the two hour trip from Mt. Sterling to Springfield at least twice a week if not more. It just gets to be a lot of driving. My car will be two years old in May, but I have over 47,000 miles already. It would be nice to have more time by just eliminating some of the driving.

In Dot's favor right now is that most of the projects that I proposed last fall made it into the budget this year instead of being cut. There are a lot of new technologies that I would get to learn about staying at Dot. On the flip side I recently asked my boss for the right to telework one day a week (Our programming staff gets two days a week.) and was flatly told no without any hint of room for discussion. Part of me at this point would love to find the dream job in Springfield and just cut bait on Dot, but for some reason I have a strange loyalty even with the pay and teleworking problems.

Well that sums up my job issues in a very large nutshell for now. No decisions yet, we'll see what happens.

Ok besides the work stuff, I've been keeping busy as always with Pastoral Council, Choir, Cantoring and I added Jazz band last fall. It's been fun playing with the Lincoln Land Community College Jazz Band. It's mostly community members so I wasn't the odd ball non-traditional student. I've also started taking private lessons on trumpet to try to catch up with the other trumpet players. I've been playing relatively easy music for so long that I've fallen into lots of bad habits. My teacher is working me back to proper form slowly, but surely.

Well for now I'm going to wrap this up and head to bed. Monday's are my long day because I leave home at 6:45am and don't get back until after jazz band at around 10:30pm.

Super Bowl XLI: The Battle of the Midwest

That's right, no east coast or west coast teams this year. Just the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts. Talk about two exciting conference championship games today. It should be a hell of a Super Bowl this year. Go Bears!

DA BEARS are SuperBowl Bound!!!

Oh yeah baby! Go Bears!!!

DA BEARS!!!

Ok so now that I've managed to give myself a sore throat from screaming at the TV for the last 3 hours I just have to say:

DA BEARS!!!

National Hugging Day

Apparently next Sunday is National Hugging Day so make sure to get your hugging muscles ready.

National Hugging Day

Scooby Dooby Doo

Iwao Takamoto, the animator that created Scooby Doo, passed away at age 81.

Prayer for Love

God, please help me find the love of my life. I want to discover love and share my love with someone else. Please guide me toward the best choices in life to find the right person. Amen.