juicy fruit.

this has been the topic at church for a few weeks now and i love it. pastor scott really has a dynamic way of capturing an audience and it really appeals to new and old followers alike. it was awesome because during service we were given packs of juicy fruit gum today and were told to use it as a symbol when life gets hairy for us to remember the peace that is jesus christ.

i think the next time my three year old is driving me up the wall and will not listen, instead of losing my patience...i will just chew some gum.

maybe we all should just chew gum and our stress level would decrease dramatically. just saying...

.g.

locked in our vaults.

i have decided to boycott capitalization on my blog for no good reason. sorry all you english majors and blogspot spell check, but this is how i roll from now on.

anyway, i was listening to "colors" by amos lee the other day and there is a part of the song where i have no idea what the lyrics say but pretend to know and sing them anyway. they sound right until you actually take the time to look them up. once you do, you find out you were not even close! come on y'all know what i am talking about. i am sure there is a song you are singing right now that isn't even close to being right! haha.

with that having been said, i looked up this mystery verse and found it to be profoundly inspiring to write about. the verse goes, "i know we all, we all got our faults. we get... locked in our vaults and we stay".

i was thinking about how it is really hard to keep good friends these days because we are all simply to busy to care about anything or anyone else other than numero uno. we tend to live in such a me first mindset that it often times alienates those who are close to us and want to spend time with us. in the age of myspace, facebook, blogspot (haha), and twitter; we just assume that casual posts, updates, comments, and tweets will replace real life human interaction just fine. i feel like for me personally it has caused me to feel quite distant from many good friendships i used to value.

the problem is that we are all becoming so accustomed to just living out our digital lives that we are missing out on real life. i plan on doing my best to reverse this trend and rekindle my relationships with friends and family. i hope they see the value as well and follow suit.

.g.

My War Against Dell

I used to be a big fan of Michael Dell and his reasonably priced computing machines. Lately, however, I have decided he is more my enemy than my friend. Let me explain...

First he creates these tantalizing computers with all sorts of neat little gadgets and packages that the average person can afford only for said computers to start malfunctioning prematurely. Maybe all computers do this, but it seems like most of the people I know that own Dell machines sure complain a lot more than those who own other brands.

My Dimension 4600 desktop is as old as they get. I think I bought it somewhere around 2004 or 2005 and while it has fought the good fight, its fan is starting to make noises that would spark jealousy from a 1966 Mustang. As I researched this issue through this neat thing called the internet, I discovered that Dell is notorious for having ungodly loud machines. I suppose I should consider myself lucky that my Ford Model T computer has stayed relatively modest in regards to noise thus far.

The other problem I have is how cheaply the parts are made for both the desktops and the laptops. You can't take them apart to dust them without something breaking. I am extremely careful and meticulous when it comes to caring for electronics but the shoddy workmanship of these things bested me. There is a loose piece on my wife's laptop that causes a large gap in the bottom right corner of where the screen and plastic meet. I have tried valiantly to fix it but discovered it was manufactured incorrectly.

In short, the next time you are thinking about getting a computer...DUDE, you are NOT getting a DELL!

Happy 7th of July!

Today I am celebrating my Independence Day, so to speak. But more about that later.

I woke up to the blissful sound of a crying 2 month old. Although, I shouldn't complain because it was around 9am and my poor wife wakes several times a night to feed him. The sacrifices women make for motherhood...God Bless them!

Once I was actually able to lift myself out of bed to get ready for the day, we had to take our Infiniti to a 76 station across town for a Smog Check at a Test Only station. Across town because it was the only place we could find a coupon for, and a Test Only station because the DMV saw fit to screw us out of more money again. So we get there and drop the car off only to be told it would be an hour or so before it would be ready. Lucky us right? Julia (my wife for those who aren't in our T-Mobile Fave 5) and I with 2 month old Nathan in tow then proceeded to walk across to Quiznos to eat only to discover that Quiznos was no longer there. Happi House will have to do.

I suppose the food at Happi House was ok, but this annoying Asian lady working the counter told Julia she should hold the baby more straightly. Thanks for the advice Super Nanny! I couldn't decide which was more amusing, her parenting advice or the fact that she resembled a love child of Tammy Faye Baker and post-op Jacko. BTW, much love to you MJ. You inspired me as a kid and I will never forget your music and dancing.

After we received the call that that car was finished and it had passed (thank God) me, being the gentleman I am walked back to get the car to pick up Nathan and Julia from the restaurant so they could just relax. You can imagine my delight to find out that the genuis workers there found a way to break the hinge for my gas door. I fixed it later with Krazy Glue (shameless plug) but come on, who does that. If only Bubbles the chimp had looked in the car he would have seen a gas door release button on the dash, but instead he decided to Hulk out on a poor defenseless piece of plastic.

Game, set, and match Bubbles the Mechanic!

So back to my personal Independance Day story. I have been working at Texas Roadhouse as a Service Manager since March and was able to meet some really great people in the process. The only problem I had working there was the schedule. I thought I would be able to just get used to it, but let me be the first to tell you; restaurant hours and families do not mix. You basically have to choose one or the other and I chose my wife and two boys.

Today was my last day sort of. I basically showed up gave back some shirts, got my final paycheck, and left. My last day of actual work was Sunday night. The drive there was about 30 minutes both ways and I just felt like the combination of distance, late hours, lack of consistent days off, and missing my family was too much.

Today I got a chance to eat dinner with everyone for the first time since 'Nam and even play outside with Daniel (my 3 year old). So I guess you could say I felt a little FREEDOM today after the dust settled. I really look forward to having actual weekends off again and coming home at reasonable hours! Heck, I may even get the REAL Independance Day off next year!