Blitz

I had big plans this weekend of going down to Ottumwa to help Jen and Derrick get the house in Ottumwa in shape to go on the market, but unfortunately I had a little trouble on the way to work on Friday.



That my friends, is a blown tire.


I was able to go down on Saturday and help out a bit, but unfortunately my ride for Sunday flaked on me. Oh well, here are some pictures from Saturday.






Jay



Dave



Mindi and Jen



Jen



Derrick



Derrick and Rob



Jen



Santa


It was good to see Mindi again. It had been too long.

Goodbye, Old Friend

I got word on Friday that this week will be the last week of operation for the Varsity II Theater in Ames. The Cinemark Corporation had been wanting to close the theater down for quite some time, but they were stuck in a lease. Unfortunately for fans of thoughtful, intelligent films, Cinemark was able to negotiate an early termination of their lease and will be closing down the Varsity forever on Thursday night.

This is a sad day. I know that frequently when I have attended movies at this theater there was little more than me and my companions there, but I think this theater could have made it. The Fleur Cinema in Des Moines seems to flourish showing similar movies to the Varsity and it doesn't have the built in audience of Art, Independent, Foreign and Documentary Film fans that the Varsity's close proximity to a major college campus gives them.

It never seemed like Cinemark was interested in making the Varsity work. I know from firsthand experience what it is like to run a business for a person that is doing everything they can possibly do to make that business fail. When it happened to me, it ended with a meeting where my staff and I were served burnt pretzels and burnt hot chocolate.

I hope, if nothing else, that the staff of the Varsity was given properly prepared food when their theater was lead to the chopping block.

I will remember fondly that I saw some of my all-time favorite films at the Varsity. It is the theater where I saw Once, Hustle and Flow, Born into Bro,thels, Young at Heart, Son of Rambow, Napoleon Dynamite, Fight Club, Insomnia, Akeelah and the Bee and The Queen.

Not everything I ever saw at the Varsity was great. Some movies were quite dreadful, but it was always interesting.

It might seem like losing two movie screens in Ames isn't going to reduce the amount of movie options in Ames, by much. But when you look at the type of movies that will be lost, the amount of movie options in Ames just hit an all-time low.

I will be going to the Varsity for one last time on Monday night to say goodbye to an old friend.

Intermission

On New Year's Day, between the Outback Bowl and the Rose Bowl, I went over to check out the ACTORS building in Ames with Becky, Terra and Geri. Geri is actually the President or Chairman of ACTORS.

Some pictures.



Geri



Shoes



Becky & Terra



Rubber Chicken



Ham



Geri and I



Dressing Room


It was an interesting experience.

Reading for a New Year

It is a New Year and soon enough, it will be too cold to go outside and you will need to do more while you are inside than just watching the Cyclones play basketball. May I suggest reading. In fact, while I'm suggesting I'm going to suggest a few websites that are worth your time to read every now and again.

Teresa's blog about crafts: Tea Time
Jesse's website: Live Your Dreams Inc.
Lowell's website: LowellDavis.net
Dawn's poetry: Impassioned Versifier

I think you will find some stuff of interest in all of these diversions.

Philosopher's Wax

I thought about waxing philosophical on how indifferent I am to New Year's Eve and all of it trappings, but as it turns out I'm to apathetic to even write about it.

However, I am now intrigued by the concept of waxing philosophical. I know this is an old timey phrase that dates back to when the word wax mostly meant to grow. Such as a waxing moon. As opposed to a waning moon.

But, I still want to invent a product called Philosopher's Wax. I'm quite certain that it could be used on both a convertible and a finely groomed mustache. A mustache like that kid at Subway has that Willy admires from a distance.

I'm told that New Year's is a time for new beginnings, but it seems to me that to arbitrarily wait for one certain point in Earth's orbit around the sun to make drastic or necessary changes in one's life is silly, but not in a good way like the putty. Make those changes when you realize they need to be made and one certainly shouldn't wait an entire year to reflect on their life.

So to New Year's and all of its trappings, I say "Bah! It is a humbug!" Besides the time with family and friends. The day off from work. All the good food and football.

I thought I would throw out the picture for September while I was at it.





This is a picture of a moonflower.

Thelma and Louise

On Sunday night we took Jesse out to Buffet City to celebrate his birthday. Ever since that night I have had the song The Crawdad Hole stuck in my head.

You get a line and I'll get a pole Honey!
You get a line and I'll get a pole Babe!
You get a line and I'll get a pole
And we'll go down to the crawdad hole
Honey... Baby of mine

Big ole crawdad struttin' round Honey!
Big ole crawdad struttin' round Babe!
Big ole crawdad strutin' round
Like he's the King of Crawdad Town
Honey... Baby of mine

I'm gonna see that crawdad on my plate Honey!
I'm gonna see that crawdad on my plate Babe!
I'm gonna see that crawdad on my plate
With a bowl full of butter and a sweet patate
Honey... Baby of mine

Crawdad's hangin' onto my toe Honey!
Crawdad's hangin' onto my toe Babe!
Crawdad's hangin' onto my toe
I shake and shout but he won't let go
Honey... Baby of mine

What are ya gonna do when the hole runs dry Honey!
What are ya gonna do when the hole runs dry Babe!
What are ya gonna do when the hole runs dry
Sit on the banks and have a crawdad fry
Honey... Baby of mine

See that crawdad winkin' his eye Honey!
See that crawdad winkin' his eye Babe!
See that crawdad winkin' his eye
Let's turn him into crawdad pie
Honey... Baby of mine

Fry them crawdads nice an' brown Honey!
Fry them crawdads nice an' brown Babe!
Fry them crawdads nice an' brown
Grease 'em good so they'll slip right down
Honey... Baby of mine.

Here comes a man with a sack on his back Honey!
Here comes a man with a sack on his back Babe!
Here comes a man with a sack on his back
Haulin' all the crawdads he can pack
Honey... Baby of mine.

It just might be me, but that is perhaps one of the most romantic songs ever written.

But the reason this song stuck in my head is because as we were sitting around the table conversing about the important matters of the day we noticed a person walking by with their plate stacked full with crayfish.

Then a few moments later the dutiful employees of Buffet City restocked the crayfish supply immediately a guy from another table got up and put every single solitary last crayfish on his plate. It was an impressive feat in its greed, gluttony and structural engineering.

A few minutes more passed and a dutiful employee of Buffet City restocked the crayfish supply. Immediately the same gentleman got up and took every single last crayfish and heaped them onto his plate and returned to his table.

I got up and walked over to the where the crayfish formerly resided. All that was left was some murky looking water and assorted crayfish parts. It reminded me of a seen from a shipwreck movie.

I picked up the tongs and slashed the crayfish brine around. The crayfish man was thorough, but not thorough enough. I found a couple of crayfish in the bottom.



Thelma & Louise (Crayfish Style)


You didn't honestly think I was going to eat one of these creatures?

Foggy Night Supper Club

The day after Christmas we had a very Special Friday Night Supper Club. Robert was back in town from Wyoming and was having a hankering for a tenderloin from BK's.

Jay, Jesse, Willy, Monica, Robert, Jeff and I braved the extreme weather and made the trip to BK's.

I took some pictures of the fog.

















It was a beautiful night to be out and about.

Christmas Eve

Tonight is my favorite church service of the year. I love Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve! It is one beautiful service that manages to completely encapsulate the season of Advent for me. It is one service where I definitely can feel Hope, Love, Peace and Joy.

Plus I love the symbolism of an entire church being filled with the soft warm glow of candlelight. The room starts completely dark except for the light coming from the Christ candle. Then the Christ candle lights one candle. That candle lights another candle. Until every candle in the room is lit. All the light having originated from one candle.

When the congregation sings Silent Night, I feel that song more than any other song the entire year. I would not be lying if I told you that at the end of the service when the bell strikes midnight and it is officially Christmas I always get goosebumps.

I hope your Christmas Eve is as wonderful as the one I believe that I will have.

I wanted to share a story from Andrea's sermon on Sunday because I believe it is both funny and a story worth reflecting on during the Christmas season.

A guy was standing near a cliff all by himself. He was taken by a rush of courage and curiosity and moved close to the edge.

Then he moved a little closer.

The ground underneath his feet began to give a little bit, but then it seemed to hold.

He moved a little bit closer, just to get a little bit better look at the valley below.

The ground gave out underneath his feet and the man fell down the face of the cliff. But after only a few feet his hand caught a small root and his life was spared.

But it was only for a moment. It was a small root and it quickly began to give way as well.

The man shouted out, "Is there somebody up there that can help me? God if you are there, help me!"

Then the man heard the voice of God ask, "Do you have faith in me?"

The man replied, "Yes, of course. I have total faith in you."

"Then let go."

The man thought for a second and then shouted, "Is there anybody else up there?"

I got Mark's newsletter this week:

The Taiwan Times
By Mark Wolfram

Merry Christmas! It is that time of year again where we can rejoice and celebrate the birth of our Savior, who brings us peace, joy, and hope. In the season of Christmas it is easy to get caught up in all of the “stuff” that we have to do or things that are going on. I pray that God would help all of us remember why we celebrate, and that in this message we would find the peace that comes only from Jesus.

Here in Taiwan, there are many activities that I am involved with during Christmas time. I know I have written about some of these in the past, including various skits, songs, and Christmas parties. Last night was my personal highlight of the Christmas season: Christmas caroling. Teachers and students who live at school went outside of the campus last night and sang Christmas songs at some of the local businesses. Then we gathered together to sing to the faculty and staff that live here on the campus of Concordia Middle School. Walking on the streets with the guitar and hearing the students joyfully sing praises to God always warms my heart and brings a smile to my face.

In addition to the Christmas caroling, yesterday the students of Concordia Middle School decorated their Christmas trees. Every December, the school holds a Christmas tree decorating contest. Each class is given a tree or large bush in the central part of campus. They then need to create a tree based on a Bible story. Some popular stories include: Jesus feeds 5,000, Jesus turns water into wine, the parable of the lost sheep, and Noah’s ark.

Students work in their free time in the weeks leading up to Christmas to create items to put on the Christmas tree. Part of the goal of the competition is for students to make the tree using recyclable materials such as boxes, cans, and paper. They also can have lights, but they are not supposed to buy fancy decorations. Yesterday morning and afternoon students were outside working on their trees, and then in the evening, they lit up the trees. It was beautiful. The competition is also a great way to get the students excited about Christmas, read the Bible and build cooperation and teamwork.

The school leaves the decorations up for a couple of days and one of my favorite things to do during the days after Christmas is to walk outside in the evening. I usually wait until about 9:00 and I bring my I-pod and headphones. I then walk around and look at all of the trees as they light up the night. I will also take time to stop by each one of my classes and pray for the students in those classes.
I thank God for the chance to do this, and I rejoice at the mission of this school. Most schools in Taiwan don’t celebrate Christmas, and in fact they have school on Christmas day (we actually do too). However, for the students of CMS it is not just another part of the school year. It is a chance to celebrate and understand why Christmas is important. I pray that the message of Jesus’ birth will change the lives of these students, and give them new life in Jesus.

It’s Prayer Time!
1. Please pray for the students at CMS, that they will understand the true meaning of Christmas and believe it.
2. Praise God that my online classes have finished and that I will have a little bit more time in my schedule.
3. Please pray for my teaching. We will end the semester in a couple of weeks and pray that God will help me to end well and continue to show His love to my students.
4. Please pray for my Chinese language learning. That God would help my stay focused and work hard as I attempt to learn the language. Pray also that He would present opportunities for me to use Chinese as a witness to Him.

I wish you all the peace of Christ this Christmas season. Merry Christmas!!!

Mark

If I don't see you before then, I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas!

Advent Study Gift

Teresa and I took part in an Advent Study at church on the 4 Tuesdays of Advent.

At the end of one of the studies, the one that Teresa skipped, George Eckstein came across the room and sat on my couch. He handed me a bag and said that he had a gift more me and Teresa.

I thought this was a little bit strange, but I opened the bag up. What was inside was a very pleasant surprise.





George had come across and old postcard that my dad had made for my dad's postcard company, "Slice of Life". He scanned and printed a couple copies and framed them. It was an awesome present.

Saturday Night

On Saturday Night I met Jeff and Yin in Des Moines for Supper. Although I was horribly sleepy when I got home on Saturday night two things reinvigorated me.

I took a brief 30 minute nap.
I watched the Paul Rhoads press conference. It was very refreshing to see a coach that actually showed passion and a desire to be at Iowa State. Time will only tell if he will be successful, but I already feel that he is the right man for the job.

When I got down to Jeff and Yin's place I was introduced to a couple of pretty fascinating things.

The first was Baxter.








The second was the 1935 Chevy that Jeff is going to restore.








We had a good dinner at Raccoon River Brewery. I tried their root beer. It wasn't bad, but it was no Red Monkey.

Matthew 25:40

I began this Saturday morning (12-20-2008) by rising out of bed around 5:45 in the morning. I often don't sleep that well, but on this night I purposely slept on the couch so that I wouldn't sleep well and I would get up in time.

I was getting up at this awful time of day because I had to be at the Senior Citizen's Center in Ames by 6:30 to participate in the Jaycee project known as Holiday Food Baskets.

Despite my body's best effort to stop me from getting up, I did manage to fall out off the couch and stumble to the basement and take a shower. I hit the road and made it to Ames at nearly the right time.

The process of Holiday Food Baskets isn't really worth mentioning, but there are aspects of the day that are worth noting.

But before getting to those aspects I should make a confession. Deflation and the rapid falling of gas prices has put more coin in this guy's bank account. I have often noted that deflation is great, if you still have a job.

It is a poor joke and I do have more than a basic understanding of economics to know that deflation and hard economic times for other people could eventually lead to my not having a job. I do work in what is essentially a luxury industry. Nobody's job is safe, especially people that work's for a company thats services are hardly essential.

The Pastors at my church have made doing something about the homeless situation in Boone a priority for our church. As hard is it may seem to believe, Boone County has the 5th highest rate of homelessness in the state of Iowa. What makes the situation worse is that Boone does not have a homeless shelter.

There was one briefly, but the finances were mismanaged and it is no longer in existence. Now the best that Boone has to help its homeless is the Boone Biblical College, but they only take men.

I write these things because these are things that I think about lately and it can really happen to almost anybody.

The need in Story County for Holiday Food Baskets tripled from 2007 to 2008.

Andrea told us a story about a family that seemed financially secure. In 2007 they were teaching their children to buy presents for other children through the Angel Tree program. In 2008, their children were on the Angel Tree.

The first 2-3 hours of Holiday Food Baskets is basically grunt work. It is essential, but hardly rewarding. You do a lot of moving food from place A to place B to place C. After everything is organized, then people start coming in to pick up their Food Baskets.

This is the part of the project that is rewarding and I think it is slightly unfortunate that only a handful of us that participated got to take part in this one aspect of the project.

This aspect was carrying the basket of food from the Senior Center to the person's car. It is important to put a bag or rolls or some apples in a cardboard box, but I don't think you get a sense of what all of this really means or amounts to and why it is important unless you get a chance to interact with the people that are getting the food.

It can also break your heart.

While I was carrying a cardboard box of food across a street to an SUV for a young woman she told me that this box of food was really going to help her family. They had 8 people living in the same house.

It made me feel completely inadequate and helpless at the same time. I couldn't help but look into the cardboard box. Just a few moments ago it seemed like a lot of food.

A handful of apples and oranges.
A bag of celery.
A bag of potatoes.
A bag of carrots.
A ham.
2 cans of something.
A bag of rolls.

All of a sudden I felt that I should have run in and gotten them a second box. I should have gotten them a third box. The ham was nothing to sniff at, but I would be lying if I didn't say that the ham that we had on our Christmas table that fed 9 people was at least 4 times larger than the ham we gave out. I didn't do this though. The bureaucracy of such things precluded that people had to sign in with MICA and people were designated so much food.

I just wished the young woman a "Merry Christmas" and walked back inside. It is my regret that I didn't just go grab another box for this family. It was a regret that would be doubled and then doubled again.

We had made up 200 Holiday Food Baskets. At the end of the event around 50 remained. Here is where my regret doubled the first time.

We loaded up the excess food and took it to MICA. As it turns out, MICA doesn't really have that much capacity for storing frozen hams. Their freezer was already full and they needed to make room. To do this they gave each of us a turkey.

My regret doubled again.

So now I have this turkey weighing on my conscience, but I throw it in the trunk of my car and drive off.

My first stop is Becky's. I'm supposed to stop at her place to pick up some Christmas gifts. Some for me and some for Teresa. What I learn on this stop is that Becky thinks I'm going to end up in a ditch some time in the near future.

I know she has had this fear for quite some time. When Shannon and I went up to Cedar Falls she gave me an extensive quiz on what kind of safety equipment I had in the car in case we went in a ditch. It basically boiled down to a thermos of hot chocolate. This didn't seem to satisfy her.

She packed a gift bag full of food. Every time I would pull a new tin of food out she would tell me to "keep that in my car in case you go in a ditch."

I do not discount the possibility that I might someday go in a ditch, but the closest I've ever come to going into a ditch was in the middle of the summer and the reason why is because I was reading the newspaper while I was driving to work.*

If the weather is bad, I don't read the newspaper.

After I left Becky's I stopped at Shannon's to watch her make Christmas candy. She also bound my calendars for me.

Somewhere in between the "pink stuff" and the experimental caramel (which involved the use of a candy thermometer - who invented the candy thermometer??) the lack of quality sleep on the couch began to catch up to me in a massive way.

I bid my adieu since I was going to Des Moines for supper with Jeff and Yin and I was hoping to get a nap of Wentworthian proportions in before I hit the road.

Then on Sunday morning in church, Phil announced that a new family in Boone was homeless.

And I still have this turkey on my conscience.

*Not counting the skunk story.

Gridiron Prophets - Year 3

As a third college football season drew to a close, a third season for the Gridiron Prophets (a College Football Pick 'em) completed. For the first time since its inception, Toby did not come out as a champion. Lowell came out on top.

This year's standings:

1. Lowell Davis (The Perfect Storm)
2. Robert Henning (Bob's Picks to Win)
3. Corey Faust (A-Rob All Stars)
4. Jason Baier (Hookie Hoo-Hah)
5. Jon DeWaard (Lemon Party)
6. Mark Wolfram (Taiwan Hawkeye)
7. Dan Dill (dandydan)
8. Toby Sebring (I Love Lamp)
9. Christopher D. Bennett (Tea Leaves)
10. Jesse Howard (Cyclone Goldie)
11. Jim Condon (obscene)

I guess I need to get Lowell's trophy ordered.

Toys for Tots

I reported yesterday that I took pictures for the Toys for Tots press release for United Way of Story County. Here are a few of the pictures:


























This might have been the most fun I've ever had in a Wal-Mart.

Toys for Tots received thousands of dollars in donation on this day. I believe you can still donate, but I have no clue how. But if you are interested I could get you that information.

Burying the Lead

Sometimes I will bury the lead in an entry. Most of this time it is done on purpose because I want people to figure out what the most important part of the story is for themselves. However, I'm sure there are times where it is just another example of sloppy writing like the kind that Dan Brown foists upon us.

Yesterday I spent my morning wandering the aisles of Wal-Mart with Shannon and a couple representatives of Dr. Pepper photographing them purchasing toys for Toys for Tots.

The pictures are to be used in The United Way of Story County's press release on Toys for Tots.

That sounds like a pretty important story. It certainly sounds like an interesting story, but it was not the most important part of the event for me. I want to make sure that when I start on this narrative, the most important part of the story is in the front and center, so I'm taking what I consider to be the lead part of the story out and making it into its own entry, so it doesn't get buried under the rest of the Toys for Tots narrative.

I wrote before about how I didn't need to share the terms of my wager with Shannon with the world. I am not a person who needs to gloat. The victory itself is usually more than enough for me.

I shared with you that one of the end results of the wager was that I ended up with a sweet UNI beanie that Shannon made and she ended up with an ISU hoodie.

If UNI would have beat ISU, I would have been forced to put on the beanie immediately following the game and worn it around and through the McLeod Center and to the car.

Furthermore, I would have had to wear the beanie to the ISU-UNI tailgate in 2010.

ISU won the game and so Shannon was subject to the terms of my wager. She simply has to wear the hoodie on to the Iowa State campus and have the experience photo-documented. This trip will of course include a stop at the Jack Trice statue outside of Jack Trice Stadium.

Shannon has requested that this trip be put off for a couple of months because of the severe cold weather and her low tolerance for extreme cold weather. I have agreed to wait.

Because of this, I was not expecting to see the Iowa State hoodie until March or April.

So yesterday was Jesse's birthday. As far as I know the only thing he got for his birthday was the Big Juan and churros that I bought him at Taco Time and the dessert that Jay baked him. So maybe I got one of his birthday presents.

I arrived at 9 am at Wal-Mart. In the entry to Wal-Mart there were several shopping carts filled with toys, presumably for tots. I introduced myself to one of the guys from Dr. Pepper and waited for Shannon to show up.

After a few minutes she arrived and said something like, "See what I'm wearing."

Out of the top of the black coat I could see the distinctive color of a cardinal hoodie.

"So it is starting to grow on you?" I said while trying to cover my feeling of victory.

Shannon said that I'd get a chance to some "bonus pictures", then she quickly made up some excuses for why she was wearing the hoodie. Something about it being the only clean one that she had and she wasn't allowed to wear her UNI hoodies to work. Then she revealed that this was just a cover story by admitting that she had worn it this past weekend, but then quickly tried to cover up the reason why behind "liking new clothes".

Regardless of the motivations that she tells herself and the motivations that she tells the world, I was able to get some bonus images of Shannon in her new cardinal and gold.

So before getting into the whole Toys for Tots experience, I would like to share a couple of those images that her dad (the truck driver for the day) was talked into taking.








In a related note, Toys for Tots received thousands of dollars in toy donations on that day, but that isn't the lead story.

Don't Screw with the Gorshes

I got a call from Jen on Saturday. She told me that some of her Uncle's neighbors in Ottumwa had complained about the dumpster that was sitting in front of the house.

The neighbors understood why it was there, but wanted it removed until after Christmas.

Derrick and Jen were not about to move the dumpster. They had paid one rate to keep the dumpster as long as it is needed. To have it removed and brought back would cost them a pretty penny. A very pretty penny.

So they did what anybody else would do.

I got these pictures sent to my phone on Sunday night.











So let this be a lesson to you. You mess with the Gorshes and they just might taunt you with their Christmas decorating.

Beavers

I was offered Angie's ticket to the Oregon State game on Saturday. I then forgot it at work. I was then offered Kelly's ticket. I took it.

I took a few photos of Hilton. As you can tell, the tickets aren't quite as good as the football tickets.

















The next picture is kind of an optical illusion. Don't stare at it. It might make you sick.





The Cyclone did win on this day, defeating Barack Obama's brother-in-law.

Plus Five

About a year ago I posted a comment on Shannon's MySpace page where I was apologizing in advance for what Iowa State was going to do to her UNI Panthers IF Wesley Johnson played in the game.

Wesley Johnson did indeed play in the game and he played well, but UNI came into what was once the toughest building in the nation to play in and beat Iowa State rather soundly. Most disappointing about the game was the fact that ISU seemed to quit in the second half.

It was McDermott's second team and for the second straight season he had to completely rebuild the roster in the offseason. It was a disappointment, but in retrospect it was to be expected.

Then in early January I was at the Jaycees Year End Banquet. I believe on that same night Michael Beasley was personally destroying the Cyclones.

I believe that it was at this point that Shannon made a rather snide remark about the Cyclones. I had to stand up for the Cyclones and we agreed to attend next season's game with a friendly wager to boot.

It is a little known fact that I rarely lose wagers. In fact it has been about 5 years since I last lost a wager. I knew that I had, 11 months in advance, secured a victory for the Iowa State Cyclones. Don't believe me?

Check the archives: I guarantee an ISU victory over UNI! (You will have to scroll past the pictures)

Or I can repost the pertinent part of the blog:

The first event occurred while I was talking to Shannon. Somebody came back from the bar side of the American Legion to announce that my beloved Cyclones were losing by 25 to Kansas State. Although it was sad news, it was to be expected. The simple fact of the matter is that they have Beasley and we do not. That fact alone will decide quite a number of games in Kansas State's favor this season.

At this point Peggy (the 2008 Jaycees President with questionable taste in college sports teams) came over to point out that her Kansas Jayhawks also thumped Iowa State earlier in the week.

I responded that I wasn't so sure that wasn't to be expected. Right now Iowa State is held together by spit, baling wire and a walk-on point guard.

Shannon added that "He will defend Iowa State under any circumstances."

What she said is undeniably true, but the way she said it indicated that she thinks that there was another way that it is acceptable to be.

Then she took it too far. She wandered down a road that is going to end poorly for her. Even though that road won't officially end for several months.

She brought up that UNI had beaten ISU this season.

It is a fact. I can't deny it, but I can make bold proclamations.

I made this bold proclamation:

"I guarantee that we beat UNI next year."

There I said it. I got it out there. I might have went into some details about how next year's Cyclone team would be essentially the first team in 3 years that wasn't going to be built from scratch that offseason.

Then she made the mistake.

"That sounds like a wager." Those words escaped her lips. I think she knew that she had a mistake as soon as the words had finished reverberating around the American Legion. Yet she gamely continued on and did not back down.

The terms of the wager have not been set, but I can hint at what I'm leaning towards. Let me just say that I think Shannon is going to look good in Cardinal and Gold.

Wednesday was indeed the night that we made our way up to Cedar Falls to witness the game.

I don't think I need to go into details about the game. UNI fought their hearts out. They were able to force overtime, before the Cyclones were able to finally secure the victory by 5 points.

My impressions of the night are that McLeod Center is an impressive building. It gets surprisingly loud in there. UNI's program is way better than Iowa State's program, for the same price. It has pages. Iowa State's program is a page. Their scoreboard is a little strange. It is split into two separate scoreboards, so it is a little difficult to find the score of the game. It was quite an experience.

I don't want to go into the details of the wager, because I am not somebody that needs to gloat... but I would like to share that one of the outcomes of the wager was my acquisition of this sweet beanie that Shannon made.





On a related but unrelated note (that might have been the equivalent of using the nonword irregardless)a fellow miner by the name of Schmidt (I have too many friends with the first name Cory) has designed the ISU Basketball equivalent of an Advent Calendar. We figure that Iowa State needs 20 wins to make it to a tournament this year.

He has placed 20 post-it notes next to his desk in the Mine. Every time ISU wins we take down a post-it note and celebrate with some candy.

Shannon probably won't be happy that I share this fact, but when we were looking around the UNI Book Store for a food item that would be Panther related for the Cyclone Advent Calendar we failed. Then she noticed that there was a purple package of M&Ms (dark chocolate) and a gold package of M&Ms (peanut) she suggested we use those. In fairness she also said it would be a moot point.

Well, it was not a moot point...





... it was an excellent idea. Panther candy was tasty!

We are planning on celebrating our victory Saturday over the Oregon State Beavers with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Mmmmm.... I wonder what Jayhawk is going to taste like.

House Hunt - Potential Progress

One of the four houses I saw this weekend I actually liked. In fact, it is the first house that I've seen that I'm going to go look at again.



Living Room



Technically "Master Bedroom", but potentially an office.



Kitchen



Vanity in addition to sink in bathroom.



Dining Area



2 Car Garage


The furnace was two years old and most of the windows were new. One of the negatives was a basement that was essentially a dirt basement.

I might have taken more pictures, but the battery on the camera was dying.

More House Hunt

Over the Thanksgiving weekend I looked at 4 more houses.

One house didn't have a basement, which was kind of bad, but the fact that it didn't have any yard eliminated it.

I did find a few interesting things in one house.



Mirrors for closet doors? What a great idea!



A tragic waste of a claw foot tub.


Although I didn't like this house all that much, I think mirrored closet doors are going on my want list, right next to having a garage and having a yard.

Thanksgiving

I started Thanksgiving by helping serve the free Thanksgiving dinner with my Mom, Teresa and Logan. I was given the extremely important duty of collecting trays.

After my shift concluded I talked dogs with Karma's former vet Jordan and his family. Even though I know when I get a dog again it will be a Golden Retriever, I was told by one of Jordan's daughters to look into Bulgarian Mountain Dogs.

I really had no intention of doing this, but I was told (incorrectly) that I would be a hypocrite if I didn't do such a thing.

So enjoy this little tidbit from Wikipedia about Bulgarian Mountain Dogs (AKA Caucasian Shepherd Dog):

Powerful and massive, the Caucasian Ovcharka can be a difficult breed for an inexperienced owner, because it respects and obeys only those that it deems superior to itself. They are good with children, but will not see them as their masters. The dog develops a strong bond with its owner but will rarely be submissive; this is truly a thinking dog which relies on its own instincts, sometimes even disregarding its master's directions. A breed with a very quick reaction time and fast protection reflexes, it has even been unfairly described by some as somewhat of a "loose cannon". With proper care, handling and training, this is a well-behaved and obedient family companion.

I have no doubt that such a dog would see me as being superior, but Golden Retrievers are where it is at.

I concluded my Thanksgiving by eating a wonderful dinner and dominating my family in Rack Rummy.

Here are some pictures from the day.


























If you break it down, I had 6 Thanksgiving to attend this week. That is a lot of good and unhealthy eating.

Mr. Meeting

As I look at the year that is rapidly approaching, it turns out that 2009 is going to be the Year of the Meeting.

For starters, I will be the Marketing VP for the Ames Jaycees in 2009. That means two board meetings a month in addition to 2 membership meetings a month.

I will also be on the Board of Trustees at the church. I don't know exactly what the Board of Trustees does, but apparently it involves staring at water damage to the ceiling and then voting on it. I vote "yes" that is water damage. I'm not sure how many meetings that will entail, but I'm hoping that it isn't too many.

It also seems like I might end up on the Board of the Methodist Men. I'm not sure if this is a done deal, but I think that the meet twice a month in between church services.

That should be enough meetings for me, I might have to abstain from all meetings in 2010.

As it is, my years working for the Evil Clown Empire conditioned me to hate meetings. We only really had 2 Store Manager Meetings and we rotated through them.

The first meeting I will call the Boat Captain Meeting. The old man that owned the company would give a stirring story about how managers were doing to much work. My favorite was when he compared managers to boat captains.

If you were a captain of a boat and you saw that you were going to slam into something ahead, would a good captain run down into the boiler room and start shoveling coal or would they grab the wheel and steer the ship out of danger?

The point of the meeting was that he wanted more staff added to every shift so that managers could manage rather than shoveling coal.

The next manager meeting would always be about how labor was too high and we needed to cut labor.

This of course would be followed by the Boat Captain Meeting. It was an endless cycle.

Aesthetically Qualified

Because I know interesting people sometimes the beget me more interesting people.

Such as Lowell begot Bill who then begot Willy who then begot Faust.

Frank from work met a guy while working at Best Buy that is a movie producer. Well, he is sort of a movie producer. He moved out to Iowa from some place out East and is trying to raise enough money to make a movie.

He hasn't made the movie, but he has made a movie that is over 90 minutes long about the movie he wants to make. It includes lots of his theories on movie making. Lots of the sets he wants to use. Pictures of the women that are going to be in the movie in bikinis. Pictures of horses that will be in the movie. Pictures of dogs that will be in the movie.

However, nowhere in the sale pitch does he indicate what the movie is actually about. The closest you get to know what the movie is about is the discussion of the characters that will be in the movie and you can combine that with the sets that will be used for the movie and maybe get an idea of what is going to happen in this movie.

There is one exception. One little sliver of information that comes through. The producer does include 5 rehearsals of one scene from the movie. Here is the dialogue from that one scene, starring the producer as the lead character from the movie, talking to somebody that isn't there:
(Try to imagine this being said with a Jersey accent, by a guy wearing a leather jacket and gloves.)

Johnathan Sinclair
What does that mean? What you just did? I saw that.
I see women doing that? What does that mean?
You pulled your shirt down over your butt. What does that mean?
Does that mean that you think your butt's too big?
Or perhaps I'm not aesthetically qualified to give you the once over?
Or maybe I'm not financially qualified to give you the once over?
Babe, you're like a fantasy world?
Like a dream world. Like a dream world.

I don't think it is too big of a stretch to call it poetry.

Free Shirt

Monday night was the debut of my new bowling shirt. It isn't much to look at. I freely admit this fact. But it is mine and it was free.





This is the first year as a team we have had bowling shirts. Now Patio Pros LLC, might not be the most stylish team in the world, but I guarantee you that we are the most stylish 8th Place team in any league.

I wish I could say that the debut was successful, but Corey's Uncle Daryl took me behind the woodshed. That was to be expected, I am about the worst bowler in the league. Although I seem to bowl much better when Nate shows up. I'm going to have to see to it that he shows up more often.

The Shannon After

Shannon had over a foot of hair cut off her head last Thursday. On Sunday I was able to document this joyous hair loss, but the day was not completely happy.





In the picture above you should try to look past Shannon. You may notice something. Shannon appears to be standing on an abandoned railroad bridge.

My favorite park in Ames is Brookside Park. I don't believe I would be talking out of turn if I were to guess that it is also Shannon's favorite park. We met at the park and walked to this bridge despite the cold temperatures.

The previous Saturday we met there to take her before pictures. We talked about going to this bridge on that day because she was curious about it. She had heard a wildly inaccurate characterization of the bridge from Becky. Becky and I had walked across the bridge one night after a Jaycees meeting.

On that Saturday there must have been about 20 people just hanging out on the bridge. I thought we should give the bridge another try, but it did not end up to be one of my better ideas.





If you take you gaze downward you might notice a few things about Shannon. I mentioned it was cold. The proof can be found in the coat/scarf combination that she was wearing. Although it is stylish, the gloves she is wearing are not for fashion purposes. Shannon was cold.

The particularly observant might notice a couple of other things. In her gloved hands Shannon appears to be holding a bag. The bag contains the hair that Shannon parted with so that she could make a donation to Locks of Love.

If you know this bridge very well, you might be able to gather from the trees behind Shannon, she is standing over water.

I'm sure you can see what is coming, but on this day I did not. When Shannon reached into the bag to pull out her former hair to pose for a picture with it, one of the 8 braids (I have no clue if that is the right word) escaped her stylishly gloved, but frozen hands.

It fell between two railroad ties and into the ice cold stream below.



The lost hair.


It was a heart breaker. I didn't think Shannon would want this to be documented, but she insisted that it be documented.

We managed to get the rest of her former hair put away and left that cursed bridge.

Once we got to dryish land we took some pictures of the her and her former hair.



That is lots of hair.



I repeat. That is lots of hair.


The lost hair didn't take off down the stream immediately. There was some time where it seemed like it might possibly wash near enough to the bank that we could get to it with out descending deep into the near freezing water.



Shannon watching the hair float away.


But it was not to be.

The day was not a complete loss though. There are still 7 locks to be sent to Locks of Love. A wonderful donation.



Plus, Shannon does have a great new hair cut!


I also gave this beanie to Shannon. I hate to part with anything that Teresa makes, but I don't think the colors are for me. Everybody seems to say that the hat looks better on her than me any way. It is probably because it is hard for me to give the badass vibe that I normally emanate when I'm wearing that beanie.

After the photo shoot Shannon helped me to write a CPG for the Ames Jaycee website that I redesigned. I won't bore you with the details, if you aren't a Jaycee you really wouldn't be that interested.

Then we joined my Mom, Carla and Teresa for supper at Jeff's Pizza. If I haven't written about it before, I love Jeff's Pizza. I'm a particularly large fan of their Gyro Guy pizza and their Clones. Clones are pizza rolls and they are fantastic. Better than Gumby's used to make before Gumby's went terribly downhill.

The meal was pleasant despite the fact that the large amount of females at the table insisted on ordering a Chicken Alfredo pizza. I'm going to tell you flat out, chicken does not belong on a pizza. Even the gourmet pizza wizards at Jeff's Pizza could not sway my opinion. I will freely confess that their Chicken Alfredo pizza was the best chicken pizza I have had to date, but it still wasn't a pizza I would want to sit down and take to town.

Thankfully, we ordered a Gyro Guy pizza as well, so I didn't wither away.

The conversation was relatively polite until it inevitably turned into gossip hour about my friends. I was able to put the smack down on that though. We gossiped about Teresa's friends instead.

Truth be known, I don't gossip.

After dinner Shannon and I went to Stephens to see the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. It was the first professional symphony orchestra concert I have ever attended. They played 3 pieces of music including a piece by Bernstein and a piece by Copland.

The lights never fully dimmed. This was something I wasn't expecting. Another thing I found odd was that they opened the show by playing the Star Spangled Banner. I've gotten to the point where I only hear the National Anthem at sporting events, so that was a nice little surprise. They followed the Star Spangled Banner with the playing of what I'm going to assume was the Israeli National Anthem.

They concluded the show by playing two encores. Before the encores the conductor of the Symphony Orchestra spoke to the crowd and praised people from Iowa. I guess that was the classical music equivalent of "You rock Ames, Iowa! We wish we could take you with us."

It was a very enjoyable show. I will gladly go see a Symphony Orchestra concert again in the future.

So the night ended on a high after the low of losing the hair. An excellent day at the aggregate level!

The Future of Boone

When Sara and I went to Ottumwa I think we might of had a glimpse into Boone's future if it becomes the proud home of a Juice Bar.

I should start out by pointing out that on our way to Ottumwa Sara got pulled over and issued a speeding ticket by the nicest State Patrolman. He even started out with a joke:

"What are you doing today, besides fast?"

Sara and I ended up in downtown Ottumwa. I snapped a couple of pictures of Boone's Future. We actually went downtown so I could get a picture of the Adult Theater because Derrick did not believe me that it existed, but I found a couple other sweet things. For some reason Sara would not get out of the car and join me.



Right across the street from the Adult Theater - Strip Club!



The Salty Frog is located right next to the strip club. A couple of women came wandering out of The Salty Frog while I was nearby. They looked like the type of women that would come out of a bar called The Salty Frog.



So it goes... Adult Theater, Chinese Restaurant, Abandoned Store Front, Christian Community Outreach Center. Well played Ottumwa. Well played.



Jen described this picture as "The Buddy Jesus".



Cinema X. They lose points for the name. They might as well call it Cinema Generic.



Sara's View



Apparently such a landmark that they built a parking ramp around it.



A better look at the parking ramp.



I might as well end with an Arty Picture.


I'm sure I will be returning to Ottumwa again in the next few weeks. Hopefully, I will get to take in even more of its majesty.

Incidentally, I will be asking some of you to come to Ottumwa with me to help Jen work on her Uncle's house. You have been forewarned. Unless I already asked you. Then you already know about this project.

If you need more than just an altruistic motivation to get you to help out, Ottumwa has a Breadeaux Pizza. Mmmm... Breadeaux Pizza.

Jen's Uncle

Jen's Uncle Jon passed away last Tuesday. He was laid to rest on Saturday.

Below are the words that Jen wrote to be read at his funeral. They are painfully beautiful.

To the world, Jon was introverted, shy, reserved, quiet --to me he was just “Jon”. Maybe if prompted to describe him in a few words I would say, “Jon’s not the kind of guy you can get to know just by meeting him.”

So as far as uncles go, Jon was the best. He was the uncle who was never too tired to drag the sled up the hill for another ride; who could spend all day at the swimming pool; who never tired of constructing forts in the basement. He knew the rules to every game (from chess to tennis) – and was always joyfully defeated by his seven and five-year old opponents. Days spent with Jon were full of fun and adventure…and if the night skies were clear, he would pull out his telescope and tell us the name of every star and crater in the moon.

Jon knew everything about everything. He knew the name of each flower, of every tree. He could tell you the variety of grass of every house along the street, as well as the seasonal pros and cons of each hybrid. He always knew the answers that “stuck” me on crossword puzzles (even at hospice on a morphine drip…and he could spell it!). Those of us who got to know him, knew he was funny, at times plain silly. Sometimes we just sat and laughed about nothing in particular. That’s the Jon I feel privileged to have known.

Jon loved classical music and Gilbert & Sullivan operas. When he wasn’t applying the subplots from HMS Pintafore to contemporary times, he was talking science. He could talk ad nauseam about thermodynamics, physics, and differential equations. In a recent discussion regarding my rowing team, I had told him that our goal time for a 3 mile race was 24 minutes…without hesitation he replied, “That’s an 8 minute mile or a little more than 11 ft per second.” Dumbfounded, I asked “why would you know that?” He just shrugged. I checked the math – he was right.

Jon has given me more than an thirst for knowledge or an appreciation of parabolic curves– he’s given me priceless (although sometimes painful) lessons in perseverance, strength, patience, hope, and faith, as well as countless other gifts that will only be clear with hindsight. It is for those bits of wisdom, gained by Jon allowing me to share in his journey, that I will always be grateful.

Words, Words, Words

Polonius: What do you read, my lord?

Hamlet: Words, words, words.

Polonius: What is the matter, my lord?

Hamlet: Between who?

Polonius: I mean, the matter that you read, my lord.

Hamlet: Slanders, sir: for the satirical rogue say here that old men have grey beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams: all which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down, for yourself, sir, should be old as I am, if like a crab you could go back word.

Polonius: Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.

That has always been my favorite moment in Hamlet. It has stuck with me enough that frequently when people ask me what I'm reading I invariably answer: "words, words, words."

I bring this up because I've taken on the task of reducing the amount of words, um books, in my collection. It is a task that is slightly herculean.



So it begins...



Some would say that I don't need any direction in male chauvinism, those people would be mistaken. (Although this book was downsized.)



Books



That is a lot of unnecessary writing manuals.


Most of the downsized books will find their way to book sales. However, I might try to find good homes for some of these books on my own. So keep tuned to this frequency, I might post some of those books here.

Lunchtography

The picture below is what greeted me on Thursday as I left the Computer Mine on my lunch break.





In retrospect, I should have taken the time to take a decent picture. Rather this one out my car window while I was stopped at a stoplight.

Before

One of my vacation projects was to attempt to bring as much of my stuff together as made sense and downsize as much stuff as I could.

I was able to accomplish some downsizing. I think my major accomplish was getting my old Hoosier Kitchen Cabinet out of storage. I knew it was slightly damaged when it went into storage, but it looks like it declined even further.


























When I was explaining the existence of this "Hoosier" to Shannon she became excited. You could even say jealous. She even had a recommendation as to a person that would be able to fix it and return it to its former glory.

Shannon's dad picked it up on Friday. I'll be excited to see what it looks like when he gets done with it.