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2009-02-14T16:54:00.001-06:00

It's been fun having a blog over the years, however it's time has passed. I hope to start another one around different themes in the near future, but for awhile I plan to have no active blogs. Thanks for reading and God bless!

2008-09-07T19:31:00.004-05:00

Quite a bit has happened since I last posted...

In June my cousin got married in Colorado. It was a neat ceremony at a gorgeous location (see below). The wedding colors were camo and pink and the guys were planning to go skydiving as the bachlor party (but it was too windy). It was a breath of fresh air to be around people that live life like that!

The day before the wedding, my cousin and his friends taught my brother, uncle, and I how to repel! Now I have another sport to satisfy my internal adrenaline-junkie! :)

In July, I decided I was spending too much of my life at Cabela's and quit my position there. I'm really enjoying the new-found freedoms that I previously took for granted!

In August, I drove to Cedar Rapids with Brianna and Abbi for Cassie's wedding. It was wonderful to renew and further develop friendships with the LU crowd! I miss those people so much!

The next weekend, I moved to a different rental in town. My new place has a lot of character (including teal and lime-green shag carpet) and a lot more windows than my old place!

Six days later, Tobin and I moved into our new offices at the courthouse. From fraying orange carpet that we constantly tripped on to beautiful new modern carpet. From a make-shift work bench with no storage to a built-in bench with more storage than I know what to do with. It's wonderful!

Last week, the Husker football season began. I don't expect us to be amazing, but it's refreshing to have the traditions and, more importantly, hope back in the program! I'm excited to see what AD Tom Osborne and Coach Bo Palini do with the team.

This weekend, my brother's senior football season began. Most of last year's starters graduated and we switched to 8-man so we're unelligible for the playoffs, but it should be a good season anyway. He is starting on offense at split end and on defense at defensive back.

2008-06-17T23:51:00.003-05:00

Psalm 23 (The Message)

God, my shepherd!
   I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
   you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
   you let me catch my breath
   and send me in the right direction.

Even when the way goes through
   Death Valley
I'm not afraid
   when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook
   makes me feel secure.

You serve me a six-course dinner
   right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
   my cup brims with blessing.

Your beauty and love chase after me
   every day of my life.
I'm back home in the house of God
   for the rest of my life.

2008-06-08T23:12:00.008-05:00

Tornado Damage

I didn't make it to the areas with the worst tornado damage, but still got some decent pics last weekend.

This one is the workout building for an apartment complex:

The apartment building just northwest of this lost most of its roof and is completely ropped off.

The following pics are from Harmon park:

This is a common sight around town. The ground is so moist that fallen trees brought alot of sod up with the roots.

Here are two angles of a different tree:

This is still a common thing to see - tree branches waiting for pickup between almost every parked car. Gee, I wonder why Nebraska didn't natively have many trees...

2008-06-03T23:13:00.002-05:00

Kearney looks ok after the storm - the main things in the areas of town I frequent are missing signs and billboards, missing shingles and siding, lots of car damage, debrie on most streets, and large piles of branches waiting to be picked up. Cabela's finally got power back tonight, so that'll be really nice! (They were running on generator, but didn't turn on the a/c and a few other non-necessities.)

On another note, today has been wonderful! I officially have a new rental to move into, got keys to the brand new IT offices and server room, and got a new Blackberry. All are things I've been anxiously anticipating. :) I'll expound on these more with pics of the first two in the near future.

2008-05-30T11:00:00.003-05:00

Tornados hit Kearney and Aurora Thursday Night

40 train cars derailed, buildings at the fairgrounds destroyed, $40 million damage at the airport, residence hall at UNK damaged, apartment complexes damaged...sounds like it was an exciting night in Kearney.

I drove to Omaha from Oklahoma yesterday, so I wasn't aware of the storms until I got a call from Grandma wondering if I was ok. She was with my relatives near Wood River (45 minutes east of Kearney) and heard that several tornados hit. Most of my friends didn't have damage to their homes or cars, but I still can't get through to those on the north side of town (but no injuries or deaths have been reported, so I'm not too worried anymore). Payne Aschwege was quoted in an article as saying "You start thinking about people instead of things," which is so true!

Articles:
Tornadoes hit near Kearney, Grand Island (Kearney Hub)
Tornadoes turn Kearney area upside down (Kearney Hub)
Storm Photos (Kearney Hub)
Governor Declares State Of Emergency: Kearney, Aurora See Tornado Damage (KETV)
Tornadoes Strike Kearney, Aurora (KOLN/KGIN)

2008-05-24T16:47:00.000-05:00

Highlights from the last 1.5 weeks

A week ago Thursday, my car wouldn't start after lunch. A neighbor looked at it and we finally jumped it. (I knew my jumper cables would come in handy - they've been unused since 2000.) It could have been really expensive, but the car only needed a new battery! It was still using the original from 2002, so it did pretty well!

On Monday evening I went to my small group. It's an interesting group of people - all have huge tough things going on in their lives and I think it would be understandable for any of us to fall into the victim role on any given night. A new person came that was really having a hard time - her husband is in jail for molesting their 9-yr-old daughter (who is now in the foster care system), her son is in jail, and she's struggling with alcoholism while trying to parent her four other kids. The group surround her with God's love - not trying to fix her problems, but rather encouraging, empathizing, and pointing her to the only One who can help her! The group occasionally does this instead of going over a lesson, so it's not terribly unusual. But it really struck me on Monday that this is how the church should respond to people! (I love it that my church draws these "types" of people in instead of driving them away!! There's no need to put on a fake smile!) I had lots of energy when I got home and decided to go for a walk. I typically listen to podcasts while outdoors, but this time I just hung out with God. It never ceases to amaze me how me meets me where I am and doesn't wait until I am where I should be. As Joyce Meyer says, "He loves us enough to meet us where we are at, but too much to let us stay there!." How true...

On Tuesday I went to the dentist for the first time in 2.5 years. One of my good friends recommended this guy and he was awesome! My teeth were fine and he didn't think it's necessary to take out my wisdom teeth (both answers to prayer!). I even got to watch FoxNews and ESPN while they cleaned my teeth!

On Thursday I looked at an apartment that I really liked. I decided to take it, but am not sure when I'll move yet. For the last few months, I've been casually looking for a cheaper place to live - thankfully I'm on a monthly lease! I love my current home, but I'm away so much that I might as well live in a smaller place and not pay for all the nice perks I have now.

On Thursday evening, I found out that I got a promotion at Cabela's. I know I'm qualified, but didn't know if the hours, training, etc would take away from my primary job. God took care of all those things and I got the position!

And now I'm on vacation! I drove to Oklahoma last night, will drive to Omaha on Thursday, and will return home Sunday morning. There's little planned, so it will be nice to hang out with friends and take a break from the rest of life.

2008-04-18T17:22:00.002-05:00

In honor of the Red and White Game tomorrow (the Husker football pre-season scrimmage), I'm posting an email a co-worker sent me. This year begins a new chapter for Husker Nation with new head coach Bo Pelini at the helm! Go Huskers!!

Game Summaries for Next Year:

San Jose State -W- 77-0 Joe Ganz intercepts his own pass for a TD.

New Mexico State -W- 56-3 Bo Pelini pulls starters with 1:13 left in game for allowing first points of season.

Virginia Tech -W- 35-31 Bo Pelini tackles VT kick returner running down sideline to save the game for NU. Bo Pelini fined $10,000 by NCAA and must sit out 2 game suspension.

W. Michigan -W- 88-0 Tom Osborne reinstated as interim coach until Pelini comes off suspension.

Missouri -W- 42-7 Chase Daniel has 4 picks, (2 int, 2 nose) the second interception returned by a player with the name Bolini written by a Sharpie on the back of a plain white t-shirt. Bo Pelini was unable to be reached for comment after the game due to his suspension from coaching duties.

Texas Tech -W- 70-10 Bo instructs the defense to allow TT to score 10 points in the final minute to avenge 2004 game.

Iowa State -W- 93-0 Bo asks T.O. if he has the power to kick ISU out of the Big 12.

Baylor -W- 4-0 In preparation for next week's game against Oklahoma , Bo gives the offense the week off and enlists NU band to take the field. ESPN runs human interest story on the day. Defense holds Baylor to -56 yards with two safeties.

Oklahoma -W- 28-27 Bo sends busload of NU sorority girls to Oklahoma's hotel. When asked by ESPN to comment on the move by Pelini, Bob Stoops admits it was a good coaching move, and that he honestly should have thought of it first.

Kansas -W- 51-10 During half-time, Pelini tells his players "I'm thinkin' National Championship." Mangino tells him: "I'm thinkin' Arby's"

Kansas State -W- 70-3 After the game Pelini rushes to the other sideline and yells at Prince for allowing him to run up the score.

Colorado -W- 69-14 Pelini has each player go over to the Colorado sideline and tell Hawkins that bowl cuts are out of style. Coach Hawkins goes to the locker room to cry it out and his son stays to console him most of the game.

Texas- Big 12 Championship -W- 34-21 Pelini sneaks into Bevo's stable and cuts out major organs, feeding them to his defensive players. PETA bans Pelini from the state of Texas.

Florida - National Championship Game -W- 45-17 In his half-time speech, Bo tells a story from his childhood, how an alligator killed his father and ran off with his mother and all he ever wanted was revenge. The Huskers respond by scoring 45 unanswered points.

The Legend of BO PELINI!

Bo Pelini doesn't read offenses. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

Before Chuck Norris goes to sleep at night, he checks his closet for Bo Pelini.

Bo Pelini once played 18 holes of golf using a 12 inch strip of rebar and a sun dried tomato. He shot a 54.

Bo Pelini could kill Chuck Norris nine different ways with his headset and four different ways with his play chart.

Bo Pelini sleeps with a night light. Not because he is afraid of the dark but because the dark is afraid of Bo.

Superman wears Bo Pelini pajamas to bed.

Bo Pelini didn't hang the moon. He stared down an asteroid and it stopped in it's tracks.

Bo Pelini's calendar goes straight from March 31st to April 2nd; no one fools Bo Pelini.

Bo Pelini was originally cast as the main character in 24, but was replaced by the producers when he managed to kill every terrorist and save the day in 12 minutes and 37 seconds.

Bo Pelini doesn't cut his grass, he dares it to grow.

Bo Pelini used to beat the sh1t out of his shadow because it was following him to close. It now stands a safe 30 feet behind him.

They say that Superman's only weakness is kryptonite. Bo Pelini laughs at Superman for having a weakness.

Bo Pelini's dog is trained to pick up his own poop because Bo Pelini will not take shit from anyone.

Bo Pelini's wristwatch has no numbers on it. It just says, "Time to kick butt."

2008-04-05T17:59:00.004-05:00

To commemorate the end of snowboarding season, I bring you a video of the 3-man tandem snowboard in use. Unfortunately, I can only find it on AP's site, so I can't directly link to it. Go to http://www.associatedpress.com/ovn/index.html. Under the Feature Video From Your Site heading, search for "snowboard."

Snowboarding is hard enough with only my body to content with. I can't imagine having two more people strapped onto the same board! Somehow they only fell 3 times going down.

(Thanks to Tobin for finding this!)

2008-03-04T22:27:00.000-06:00

Inspiration

My brother inspires me! I took him snowboarding this weekend for his 3rd and 4th days on the slopes. He went on his first blue and his first black on Saturday! (Greens are the easiest, then blues, then blacks, and then double blacks are the most difficult)

When he falls, it's never a weeny fall...it's always spectacular, complete with a cloud of snow! But within a second, he's on his feet and flying down the mountain again! There's never any sulking/pouting/etc from this guy!

As a side note, he mentioned that he felt old. I remarked that I did as well - "Only 3 years until I'm 30...and only 3 years until you're 20!" I'm not sure which amazes me more...it seems like just yesterday that he joined our family and now he's looking at colleges!

2008-02-23T10:43:00.003-06:00

I inadvertently fell asleep before 7:30 the last two evenings and didn't wake up until the next morning. Guess it's time to adjust my bedtime...

Something to ponder... About a month ago, I ordered a Panasonic Toughbook CF-30 at work. These laptops are made to withstand drops on concrete, dust, sand, temperature extremes, and other conditions not recommended for the typical computer. So why was it shipped in a sturdy box with lots of packaging? Couldn't they have simply wrapped it in thin cardboard and shipped it?

2008-02-09T20:24:00.000-06:00

Tidbits

*Question I heard on The Dave Ramsey Show podcast from the end of January: "Why does everyone run to a store when an item is on sale, yet they run from the stock market when stocks are on sale?" Hmmmmm.

*My last roll of toilet paper was missing most of its perferations - it averaged missing 3 at a time at the beginning and 7 at a time by the end of the roll.

*I GET TO SNOWBOARD ON FRIDAY!!!!

2008-01-29T18:27:00.000-06:00

We have had snow cover since December 6, even though we haven't had more than a few dustings since then. In some ways, it's so beautiful! I drove down the interstate on Sunday and couldn't help but notice the drift formations. (Aside from the beauty, I also tried to reason through the physics behind how the wind coerced the snow to stick in those ways. ;) )

The reason I love Nebraska weather is the variety. So while I love the beauty, I would be fine with a blizzard, freezing rain (but not enough for an ice storm!), or a few 50-degree days in a row to melt away the snow.

2007-12-25T20:20:00.000-06:00

In case you still have some holiday pig-out sessions left, I bring you some holiday eating tips. This floated around at work in between our three Christmas potlucks...

Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

2007-12-23T22:48:00.000-06:00

Name that tune!

The following floated around at work and we thourougly enjoyed working through it! We got stuck on a few songs, but Google helped us out after 10 minutes of scratching our heads. Enjoy!

1. Diminutive masculine master of skin-covered percussionist cylinders.

2. Move hitherward the entire assembly of those who are loyal in their belief.

3. K.O. the corridors / Embellish the interior passageways.

4. An emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good given to the terrestrial sphere.

Or...Detergent in the galaxy

5. Nocturnal time span of unbroken quietness. Zero-decibel darkness.

6. Listen, foretelling spirits harmonize

7. Seraphim we aurally detected in the stratosphere.

8. I apprehended my maternal parent osculating with a corpulent unshaven male.

9. What offspring abides thus?

10. The thing manifested itself at the onset of a transparent day.

11. The primary carol. The Christmas preceding all others.

12. Tranquility upon the giant blueberry.

13. Obese personification fabricated of compressed mounts of minute crystals.

14. Omnipotent supreme being who elicits respite to ecstatic distinguished males.

15. Expectation of arrival to populated area by mythical, masculine gift giver.

16. Natal celebration devoid of color, rather albino, as a hallucinatory phenomenon for me.

17. In awe of the nocturnal time span characterized by religiosity. No Swiss-cheese moontime.

18. trunk legumes cooking on a Coleman.

19. Geographic state of fantasy during the season of mother nature’s dormancy.

20. The first person nominative plural of a triumvirate of far eastern heads of state.

21. Tintinnabulation of vacillating pendulum in inverted, metallic, resonant cups.

22. In a distant location the existence of an improvised unit of newborn children’s slumber furniture.

23. Proceed forth declaring upon a specific geological alpine formation.

24. Jovial yuletide desired for the second person singular or plural by us.

25. Bridging the gap and tunneling the trees

26. A minuscule metropolis of steel.

2007-12-09T21:09:00.000-06:00

The weather is perfect. There is about four inches of snow on the ground, zero wind, and a it's a brisk 10 degrees. The trees are happy because they're not weighed down with ice. And because my street isn't cleared, I have fun sliding around when I come and go!

I love winter!

2007-11-25T14:35:00.000-06:00

I saw this link on Eliot's blog and had to share it with you! Check this out for outragious signs, including "Do not read this sign under penalty of law" and a bottle that contains "Dehydrated Water."

Husker update: Bill Callahan was fired yesterday! And there was much rejoicing in the state of Nebraska...

2007-11-18T14:29:00.000-06:00

Sooner or later I will learn not to promise future posts because when I sit down to blog the next time, I usually have different ideas. Nevertheless, I'll comment on each of the posts that were "swimming around in my head" from the last post.

On the changes in the Husker athletic department...I'm so thankful that Tom Osborne has been hired as Athletic Director to straighten out our football program! No, it probably won't be an immediate change, but things will start moving in the right direction for a change. Yes, we'll have to pay Callahan $3 million to buyout his contract when we fire him (he'll get nothing if he resigns), but I'm willing to contribute to that to get a new coaching staff! (Actually I am contributing to it through my Husker license plates) Osborne is meeting with the coach and his staff this weekend to decide Callahan's fate. I'm anxiously awaiting the news that Callahan will be gone!

My trip to Oklahoma last month was wonderful! There were many great conversations with a variety of people. I even helped Mrs Casselberry and her crew serve the food at a wedding. I can't say I expected that to be fun, but it definitely was! I can't wait to go back this week for Thanksgiving!

The reunion in Texas was amazing! Yes, we drove 30 hours to be there 36.5, but it was still well worth it! I somehow managed to spend time with all of the people I was hoping to, even those outside of the reunion group. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends!

God has been blessing me so much lately! I feel like I'm trying to drink from a fire hose! He has wowed me in so many areas, from timely encouraging phone calls to finances, from amazing things He's doing in my church to blessing things at work.

I'm tired of having student loans hanging over me (and I need to continue feeding my snowboarding addiction), so I decided to get a second job working at the Cabela's call center during evenings and weekends. They treat their employees really well with pay and benefits and they're open 24/7 (except for Christmas day). So it's been a really great fit for me!

2007-10-22T23:01:00.000-05:00

Life has been really crazy lately! This coming Wednesday will be my first weeknight at home since September 26. No, none of this was because of taking vacation...the schedule was just that crazy. (Actually I was home one night, but I was sick so I don't think it counts.) There's lots of posts swimming around in my head -- like about Nebraska firing our Athletic Director and bringing in Tom Osborne to bring back the football program, the trip to Oklahoma, the upcoming trip to Texas, the amazing things God is teaching me, and, oh yeah, what's been keeping me so busy. But all of that will have to wait because I need to get some sleep.

2007-10-02T23:14:00.000-05:00

Things I've learned the hard way in the last few days:

1. Salt is an essential ingredient in pancake batter. I made pancakes from scratch this weekend with a 4-ingredient recipe. And I forgot one of them. Naaaaaaasty!

2. Rotating my tires is essential! A few years ago (and one car ago), I replaced all four tires because they were each bald. It happened again today, though in much-less exciting circumstances than last time. I had been hearing a clicking sound while driving for the last few weeks. I figured it had something to do with the wheel or axel because its frequency increased with speed. So I called my mechanic and he took a rode with me to determine what the sound was. I couldn't reproduce it...grrr! He thought the side boards were rattling more than normal, so maybe a barring was going out. After checking for this at the shop, he realized all of my tires were bald. So I'm enjoying brand-new tires once again. Hopefully this time I'll learn my lesson to rotate them!

2007-09-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

God has brought me through shame, embarrassment, a slight bout with depression, jubilation, peace, excitement, and relief...all about a single realization I had a few weeks ago. It will drastically change life, but God has already shown Himself faithful and is repeatedly displaying His perfect timing in my life.

2007-09-23T16:47:00.000-05:00

It's now fall, which means we're that much closer to winter. Which means, more of this...

and this...

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

(Thx to Becky for the pic's)

2007-09-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

Where were you six years ago?

I woke up for my 9:30 English Comp II class with Dr. Coppinger. As I left Gilbert Hall, Jen (I'm blanking out on her last name...she lived on G3) was coming back from class and asked, "Have you heard?" She filled me in a little and then I was off to class.

Dr. Coppinger told us what was happening with glazed eyes and a wavering voice. We prayed and then went to watch FoxNews on the big screen in the Solheim lounge. We saw the plane fly into the second tower live.

I got back from class and my roommate Jenny was in tears. Her sister was a flight attendant with American Airlines and the airline couldn't account for the plane she was on.

Soon after, we went to the a gathering in front of MSC, where the baseball coach gave an emotional talk. One of his siblings (I believe) worked in the WTC and this person was unaccounted for. Then we prayed in small groups.

In World Civ that afternoon, Dr. Johnson talked about the possible attackers. He talked alot about bin Laden and Al Qaeda, both of which I had never heard of.

2007-09-08T23:28:00.000-05:00

If you like Lego's and MC Escher, you should check this out!

MC Escher's Relativity, Ascending and Descending, Balcony, and Belvedere, along with design notes and pictures of the construction process.

These guys are amazing!

2007-08-28T20:11:00.000-05:00

over the weekend, i attended a wedding wearing a t-shirt, nice shorts, and flip-flops. and i was dressed better than the bride and groom. the bride wore a 3/4-sleeve t-shirt with a hood and jean shorts along with her vail (i didn't notice what kind of shoes she had on). the groom wore a white shirt with a looney tune tie, jean shorts, 1/2-calf socks, and sandles.

i am never the best-dressed at any event, but i almost felt overdressed at this one...

2007-08-25T08:31:00.001-05:00

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day,
I'd rather one should walk with me than merely show the way.
The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear;
Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear;
And best of all the preachers are those who live their creeds,
For to see the good in action is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn how to do it if you'll let me see it done.
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true;
But I'd rather get my lesson by observing what you do.
For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give,
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

--Eddie Guest

2007-08-06T23:28:00.001-05:00

it's been a wonderful evening! we had an awesome steak dinner at church along with some amazing testimonies. inbetween feeding and listening, i got to know a few people and watch alot of kids! then i came home and sat outside watching the lightning while listening to joyce meyer podcasts. and that's about all i've done! i love simple enjoyable evenings like this!

2007-08-01T22:28:00.000-05:00

kearney had a 30% chance of rain today, but it quickly turned into a 100% chance! different areas of town had between 4.84" and 6.00" and a large portion of our streets were closed part of the day. thankfully, by the end of my lunch break, most of town had drained. i was still kinda worried that i wouldn't make it home in the afternoon (when the charter tech was coming to look at my lack-of-internet problem. i made it just fine until i saw my street. the charter guy and i parked at the end of the block and walked through the water (most of the lawns and sidewalks were flooded so there wasn't anywhere to walk on dry land). below is a picture from my driveway looking down the street to where my car was parked.

here's one that does a better job of showing the depth of the water:

this is a dodge ram that i watched drive through the water. here it's parked entirely on the sidewalk and has its floor mats drying on the back. (seeing that convinced me that my poor little saturn had no chance.)

thankfully by 6:30pm the street was dry and i could drive to my garage.

after showers like this, i'm always impressed at how quickly the drainage systems empty the streets. back in henderson it would take days to recover, but kearney takes only a few hours!

2007-07-29T17:30:00.000-05:00

in my last post, i talked about how i need a more passionate relationship with God. it was true that i realized this, but it was still all in my head. my heart wasn't convinced.

last week, this revelation made it the 13.5" down to my heart. God doesn't want to be someone who i walk by in the hallway and say hello to. he wants to walk along-side me in everything i do! putting it in words doesn't sound near as exciting as it felt to realize, but you get the idea.

i've often wondered how to force my heart to understand something. all i did this time was to make time each day to spend time with God. there's nothing genius there, though i realize it may not always be that simple.

in other news, we're doing a sermon series at church about the basics of Christianity. today's sermon was about the devil and how to defeat him. satan's strategy is to keep people from knowing Christ, to cause Christians to stumble and fall (by telling lies that God is bad and sin is better), and to encourage compromise. he will use anything to bait our compromise -- church, Christian friends, etc. the solution is simple: know Christ! by getting to know God through the Bible and prayer, we will be able to decifer the lies of satan from the truth of God.

as a conclusion to the message, our pastor read parts of Josh Hamilton's story from this month's ESPN the magazine. he was a baseball phenom who was kicked out of the game because of a drug problem. after awhile, he surrendered to Jesus who brought him out of addiction and back into baseball, where he now plays for the cincinnati reds. an exerpt from the article:

[In my dream] I would hit [the devil] and he would bounce back up, the ugliest and most hideous creature you could imagine. This devil seemed unbeatable; I couldn't knock him out. But just when I felt like giving up, I felt a presence by my side. I turned my head and saw Jesus, battling alongside me. We kept fighting, and I was filled with strength. The devil didn't stand a chance.

You can doubt me, but I swear to you I dreamed it. When I woke up, I felt at peace. I wasn't scared. To me, the lesson was obvious: Alone, I couldn't win this battle. With Jesus, I couldn't lose.

what an encouragement!

2007-07-19T22:59:00.000-05:00

God is so amazing! He's been teaching me so much lately. i want to put it into words for you all, but i don't think i can.

to sum it up, God is showing me that i need to become more passionate about my relationship with Him. in an apparantly separate set of revelations, He's showing me how to cut my monthly bills, something i couldn't figure out on my own (i tried). He tied it all together tonight for me. i can't wait to see how He's going to use these revelations tomorrow and next week and next month and into the years to come!

in other news, i got a much-needed haircut tonight (i almost had a mullet) and now i weigh 3 lbs less than i did 24 hours ago.

2007-07-11T21:10:00.000-05:00

God reminded me last week how wonderful my friends are! they've landed throughout the country, but He still allows me to see some of them frequently -- something i never dreamt of! last week i had the opportunity to paint at Becky's condo, along with Aduma, Kendra, Mrs. C, and a few of Becky's other friends. we worked and played hard -- it was so wonderful!

we definitely had our fun, but more than that, i came away inspired by them (once again). about living with less. about the importance of spending time with God. about ways to help the poor out of poverty. about learning. about eating better. about capturing the energy from lightning. :) and about the majesty of God (actually He showed that to me Himself).

oh, and my siblings are absolutely amazing!!

i am truly blessed!

Mika Brzezinski of MNSBC rips Paris report

2007-06-28T22:24:00.001-05:00

i've never heard of Mika Brzezinski, but i'm definitely a fan now! hooray for a newscaster doing what her part to promote relavent news instead of more about Paris Hilton!

2007-06-15T23:35:00.000-05:00

i was thinking tonight about how stupid moths are. they always fly towards light -- whether it be from the headlights of a car racing down the interstate or a porch light. and before long, they're dead.

then it occurred to me...they race for what they're drawn to. us humans are drawn to something (or rather someone) as well. but too often, we go for the quick fixes and short cuts, which never satisfy long term. so maybe i'm not much smarter than a moth.

i'm not ready to say moths aren't stupid, but i certainly have a different perspective now!

2007-06-06T22:32:00.000-05:00

"hold my hand or you might blow away"...

...mom frequently told me as a little tyke. i gripped her hand tightly as i imagined myself flailing in the wind, like debris tossed around by a tornado.

i hadn't thought about this for awhile, but definitely did today as we had sustained winds of 43 mph and gusts of 51 mph. one county employee told me she was almost pushed to the concrete from a gust when walking around a building corner. (i imagined this causing a broken wrist or another injury and the victim trying to explain the injury, laughing to myself.)

the yard behind my place is littered with large branches, finally blown from the trees after being broken during our ice storm in december. in the next county they are having power outages because of the wind.

it's classic tornado weather, but so far we're only in a watch (and obviously a wind advisory). here's to a safe night in central nebraska!

2007-06-03T15:26:00.000-05:00

i saw alot of trailers this week. this quote is from one of my favorites...

"Dude, you just killed a helicopter with a car!"
"Yeah, I was out of bullets."
--Live Free or Die Hard trailer

2007-06-01T22:59:00.000-05:00

i've spent the week with the Casselberry's in oklahoma. my sister keeps asking what i've been up to and i never really know how to respond. i guess i can sum it up by saying i'm just living life with them and soaking up what family life is supposed to be like. they're the first to admit their family isn't perfect, but i learn so much each time i'm down here. it's one thing to hear about how families deal with conflict, work through frustrations, etc, but it means alot more to watch it in action. i also learn just as much by observing the ways they interact in the good times. growing up, i celebrated, laughed, and generally enjoyed life away from my family. but now i get to see how families enjoy that stuff together as a unit.

of course, it hasn't all been observation! we've watched a bunch of movies (pirates 2, shrek 3, pirates 3, a beautiful mind, and perhaps more before i leave), went shopping for maggie moo's ($203 worth of candy!) with Amos (one of the other "adopted" kids here), played rook, drank coffee, drank lots of chocolate milk with Johnny (a new tradition when i come down here), and made a few cheesecakes with Amos (another new tradition).

i'm so thankful that they welcome me into their family as one of them and let me live life with them!!!

2007-05-12T10:32:00.001-05:00

a few weekends ago, i watched one of my friends almost total her car. i've been in plenty of close calls (and a few that were beyond close calls), but i've never watched someone i know about to crash. it definitely changes the perspective!

she was following the car i was in and we made a right turn off the highway. she didn't see us because she was behind a large truck. by the time she knew we were turning, she had to slam on the brakes. in the heat of the moment, she mistakingly tried to make the turn. instead she jumped the median and almost t-boned a car waiting to come on the highway. luckily, the other driver was aware enough that he jutted out into traffic to avoid being hit.

had the situation been slightly different, we could have been hauling my friend away in an ambulance and towing her mangled car to the dump. but instead, she only had alot of mud, grass, etc get into her tire which caused air to leak out. it didn't even need to be patched -- just cleaned out! the angels were definitely watching!

2007-05-06T16:55:00.000-05:00

i saw this on Jeanette's blog and had to take it for myself!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

2007-04-28T01:05:00.000-05:00

a late night thought

i love the phrase "i'll sleep when i'm dead." i know i'm twisting the intent of that thought here, but i'm sure not going to be sleeping when i'm dead. i'll be partying, celebrating, and worshipping! and i'm guessing those down in hell won't be sleeping either.

this "revelation" will undoubtedly seem silly in the morning after i've had some sleep, but it just struck me tonight in a way i've never thought about it.

2007-04-25T23:02:00.000-05:00

a tumor, discipline, and rain

there's a woman that i know from church who had surgery on saturday to remove a brain tumor. the doc said it would be difficult to remove because it was located right behind her eye. (it actually set a record for the largest brain tumor in our hospital's history.) before going under the knife, she was told she would only have 2 months to live. but her surgeon prayed with her and her daughter before operating -- everyone was at peace about the surgery. afterwards, the surgeon came out elated! he had completely removed the tumor and it was noncancerous! immediately after she came to, she recognized her friends and family, which is unheard of after this type of operation.

on friday and saturday, the prayer warriors spread the word about the woman's tumor -- people were praying in kearney and across the state, in colorado, in texas, and probably other places. those prayers were answered by our Great God. it really convicted me because i know so many people in seemingly hopeless situations. i pray for them, but do i believe God will heal them? i usually pray that God will surround them while in their crappy situation. is that how i ought to be praying?

< subject change >

i listened to a joyce meyer podcast yesterday and wrote down the following quote: "Discipline is what we must have to make us do the things we should do in order to have the things we say we want to have." i can't say i've ever thought of discipline in that light.

< another subject change >

the schools in town opened late yesterday. because of snow? sadly, no. it was because of rain. we were in a flash flood warning and a wind advisory most of the day...which makes for a crappy combination. i came home at lunch and noticed my backyard and the museum i live next to was completely flooded (see pictures below).

2007-04-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

yay for winter not being over!

it snowed all day thursday and a bit friday morning!

2007-04-03T22:52:00.000-05:00

road trips are amazing...

...especially the last-minute variety. they have a way of inspiring and rejuvinating me more-so than the planned trips.

my latest last-minute road trip occured this weekend. Becky and i were tentatively planning a short snowboarding outing, so we were really bummed when she had to work on saturday. we decided to shift our plans to a day later and crossed our fingers that i could take monday off. on saturday morning i called my boss and he gave me the day off. after clearing my schedule and sending a few emails to work folks, i left for colorado at around noon. i listened to podcasts on the drive and arrived in town early enough to do some reading at a coffee shop before Becky got off work. then the evening was full of yummy food and really good conversation.

we slept in a bit on sunday, but still made it in good time to the resort for a wonderful day of snowboarding! we started off taking some tougher and longer blues and it was amazing!!

in the middle of the morning, i had a spectacular fall -- i think i redefined the meaning of a face-plant. when i stopped sliding, i was face down and my goggles and glasses were around my neck and packed with snow. the inside layer of my goggles were ripped and my poor glasses were bent up. (i had earlier made a comment that i should buy a new pair of goggles, but didn't think it would be absolutely necessary!)

after lunch and a few more runs, Becky and i independently considered taking a short black diamond trail. i thought i was being overconfident (which probably caused my earlier fall), but i couldn't say no when Becky brought it up. the run was so incredible and i only fell once! it wasn't near as difficult as i expected it to be! let this be an encouragement to anyone who is contemplating learning snowboarding -- after only 6 days on a board, you too could successfully take a black! (and i had a hard time learning it the first two days!)

when we got back to town, we raced to a local restarant for Becky to meet some classmates to do homework. this brought back so many memories from study parties at letourneau -- a bunch of whacky, geeky girls doing electrical engineering homework! fun times!

then we went back to her place and had our own church together, since we missed it that morning. it was amazing! i love reading, discussing, etc the Bible with a good friend! (i am continuously amazing at how far God has brought me -- i was running from Him until 8 months ago!)

we relaxed and packed on monday morning and then she went off to work. i went to a ski shop and bought some goggles and gloves (which also needed replacing). my goggles broke at the best time of the year -- everything was 20%-80% off! my new gloves are really cool -- they have wrist guards and extra padding on the palms and knuckles! i can't wait to wear them on the slopes!

my drive home was filled with talking with Mrs C (something i don't do near enough) and listening to more podcasts. i made home just in time to go to church -- a wonderful way to start my week!

2007-03-25T13:42:00.000-05:00

congratulations to Marcus and Anita...

...on the birth of their son, Luthor Reuven!!

2007-03-04T17:03:00.001-06:00

trajedy and celebration

trajedy struck bluffton university on friday when the bus carrying their baseball team crashed, killing 6. i don't know anyone who is currently a student at bluffton, but, being a mennonite-affiliated school, i know plenty of alumni. i don't have words to write about this, so if you want to read more, check out articles here, here, here, and here.

on a much more positive note...Ben and Brianna are now married!!! it was a wonderful wedding! and as a bonus, i caught up with a bunch of LU friends and friends from henderson. yayyyy!

2007-02-22T22:38:00.000-06:00

welcome to winter in the midwest!

yesterday we were in a flash flood warning. tomorrow it's supposed to be 50 degrees with rain and thunderstorms. today they issued a blizzard watch starting saturday morning.

2007-02-17T14:23:00.000-06:00

Holding onto bitterness is like drinking poisen and expecting the other person to die. --James Arthur Ray on Oprah, 2/16/2007

this quote sums up what i've thought of my parents since their divorce in 2000. i've been so angry at them for so many things and hoped they would suffer by knowing what i thought of them (though i never communicated this anger).

dad responded by being eager to talk with me and sending small nudges to test the waters when i didn't come to him first. he told me over christmas that it doesn't pay to be bitter -- just get over it and move on. he made it sound so simple, but that's exactly what he does. he realizes he can't do anything about how the other person feels, so he does what he can to let the person know he's willing to talk and then stops worrying about it.

mom responded with bitterness, blaming, and victimization.

guess which parent i gravitate towards now? o, how life has changed in the last 1.5 years...

now turning the tables on me, i realized last week that i've rarely felt the pain from their divorce. i've been too wrapped up in the anger and resentment, which is slowly being worked through. now some of the pain is coming through. i now have God and people in my life to help me through this, so hopefully i won't ping-pong between anger/bitterness and distracting myself from thinking about it like i usually do.

2007-02-15T23:50:00.000-06:00

yapping & food

so i have this friend that i talked to 654 minutes on my cell last month (even though i was with the person 2 of the weekends in my billing period). 607 of those were night/weekend minutes of my 780 total (or 78% of my off-peak minutes). the other 47 minutes i spoke to this person came to 21% of my peak minutes used.

this month, we'll be apart 3 of the 4 weekends. how close to my 1000 off-peak minutes will i use this month? ;)

in other news, i went to the ER this weekend while visiting my sister in omaha. after a few hours of ruling all sorts of things out, they decided i had a viral infection. i've never experienced so much pain in my life! (i don't want to go into the other details now.) everytime i ate anything, it came up along with a lot of pain within a few minutes, so i've been leary of eating ever since. this is what i've eaten in the last week or so:

saturday: bread bowl (with Brianna!!), some amazing cookies at my sister's

sunday: 1 can of chicken noodle soup

monday: 1 can of chicken noodle soup, popsicle, apple juice smoothie with 1/2 banana

tuesday: apple juice smoothie with 1/2 banana, popsicle, 1 can of vegetable soup, slice of bread

wednesday: pb&j, popsicle, chocolate, chicken sandwich, fries

thursday (for supper alone): two slices of pizza, alfredo, chocolate, valentine candy, 1/2 banana

looks like my stomach is back to normal now. :)

2007-02-08T22:48:00.000-06:00

kearney has full power back!!

last week, nebraska public power district repaired and energized kearney's last 3 transmission lines! nppd's work is far from over though. i heard (but haven't found verification) that most of the new lines were temporarily tied to the poles and not secured to withstand any type of storm. in addition to properly securing the lines, they will have their hands full making the necessary repairs made in time for irrigation season.

i was anal about conserving power last month, which was really good for me. it was easier to focus on living a simpler life, but it didn't hurt that i was out of town for most of the weekends. :) i did less chatting online, had slightly less heat, used less hot water. but i also did less sitting at my computer, less vegging, and more reading. it was humbling to realize how much electricity i routinely waste.

this storm will not soon be forgotten.

2007-02-06T20:51:00.000-06:00

"this is the worst day of my life." --me after school on 2/6/1992

...except it turned out to be one of the best! we knew that my brother might fly in that evening, but nothing was certain so mom wouldn't let us tell anyone. it was really difficult to control the excitement that day! after supper, mom, dad, my sister, and i loaded into the mini-van for the 2-hour drive to omaha. even then, we didn't know whether my brother would fly in. (he flew from south korea to seattle a few days previous, but was stuck in customs for awhile).

we got to the airport and awhile later, the plane that he might be on arrived. a bunch of suits came off along with a few families. and then no one else. after 5-10 minutes, an elderly woman exited, carrying a young, korean boy. we all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

i remember it being really awkward. this 1-year-old kid was my brother, but i didn't know him at all. do i hold him? do i try to make him giggle? what do i do?

he wasn't sure what to think of us either. it was obvious that he was tired of being on a plane, but he didn't have anyone familiar to go to. we were huddled around, smiling at him and he had this bewildered look on his face. he squrmed out of someone's arms and started crawling around on the cold tile, gazing up at us every once-in-a-while. after signing papers and visiting a bit, we loaded up and took this stranger home with us.

15 years later, i can't imagine life without him. to me, this day is just as significant as his birthday because it's the first day i saw him.

so...happy birthday William!

2007-01-30T22:03:00.000-06:00

what a storm...

exactly 1 month after our last ice storm, everyone in central nebraska has power! like most towns, kearney only has limited power (still only 2 of 5 transmission lines), but it's better than nothing!

2007-01-30T21:32:00.000-06:00

i found this on Runyan's blog:

Blue Spaceman

6 Classicness, 11 Technology, 4 Team, -4 Aggressiveness

Your results: Classic High-tech Goodguy Citizen
Found in: 6824 Space Dart-I, 1984

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Classicness
You scored higher than 99% on Team
You scored higher than 99% on Technology
You scored higher than 99% on Aggressiveness

Link: The Which Lego Minifig Are You? Test written by legomutineer on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

2007-01-23T21:32:00.000-06:00

dj: congratulations for making it through yesterday

*thinking* ok, so i made it through yesterday. yeah it was a rough day, but so what?

january 22, 2007, was designated as the most depressing day of the year. apparently, it's when all the unpaid christmas bills and failed new year's resolutions culminate. and it's also a monday.

it's really sad that people have failed new year's resolutions only 3 weeks into the year. there are 49 more weeks to succeed at the goal! i guess if you made a commitment to do a certain thing each week or each day it may be failed (but i would hope you would allow yourself more grace than a few small failures).

last year, my resolution was to read a book a month. i thought it was a great goal -- specific, concrete, allowing a bit of flexibility. and i kept it until june (the longest i've ever kept one!) but i started breezing though my books because i waited until the last week to read much. but anyways...on to this year's!

my goal this year is to spend more time with God. i would like to make it more specific, but by being so general, i think it will inspire me to work harder at it. i have found that to keep my goals, i need to allow for a lot of flexibility. and btw, you all have permission to ask how i'm doing on this resolution. i'm sure i'll need prodding every once in a while. :)

2007-01-22T23:02:00.000-06:00

blurbs

snowboarding was amazing!! Abu, Aduma, Becky, Martha, and i spent two wonderful days on the slopes. i caught on quick enough (though i wouldn't have said it then) and am ecstatic to go back in 2 weeks to work on it some more. we'll have another great group of friends (including my brother!!)! w00t!

three weeks after our new year's ice storm, kearney is still limping along on only 2 of 5 transmission lines. last week we were so close to exceeding the load that two of our manufacturing plants went back to generators. it's been really neat to watch the community surround those without electricity -- free showers at some schools and the ymca, community shelters, money raised to assist individuals, etc. the utility companies are receiving fema funding to help with their costs (which, last i heard, was at $200 million), but none money of that is going to individuals. i believe there are still a few towns running completely on generators, but they will hopefully be back on line power within a few days.

we started a sermon series on "unforgettable encounters with God" at church yesterday. one of the things Pastor Mike said was that God meets us where we are, not where we should be. isn't that incredible?? it doesn't matter how much i've failed God, He will always meet me wherever i'm at!

2007-01-06T22:20:00.000-06:00

we've had 2 ice storms within 2 weeks. many of the utility workers have been working solid since the week before christmas. those guys are incredible! but there are still about 10,000 customers in central nebraska without power -- even entire towns (though most of them have generators by now. kearney is provided power through 5 transmission lines and only one was functional for about a week. one more has been brought up and i don't know about the status of the other two. my boss probably won't get power back for 3-4 weeks. (i'm lucky enough to live really close to our utility company, so mine hasn't been off much.)

i've been watching the 10 o'clock news on a station that is still running on generator. they are only using two cameras, minimal lighting, no heat, and had their newsroom evacuated because chunks of ice were coming through the roof!

i drove in the country a bit and the damage is incredible! pictures can't fully capture it. the majority of the electrical poles were damaged -- some snapped like toothpicks, others bent (i didn't know wood could do that!), and others twisted. i've also seen metal transmission towers crumpled. it's really incredible! one of my coworkers put together this slideshow of pictures from the storm. NPPD (our utility company) also has some great photos and news on the progress of getting the electricity going again.

it will be awhile until i take electricity for granted again!

2007-01-01T23:57:00.000-06:00

the impact of a sibling

siblings often have a powerful impact on each other. this can range from the littlest things to something enormous. i have learned that blood doesn't necessarily play a factor -- adopted siblings can have just as much of an influence. i've been blessed to have many adopted siblings in my life -- from my brother William to members of other families.

Jonathan Casselberry has single-handedly convinced me to root for oklahoma sooner football. the only time i don't is when they play the huskers. to be fair, i've started rooting for all big 12 teams in the last year or so. but i definitely root harder for oklahoma than for the rest of them.

this is just one more way the Casselberry's have changed my life! :)

2006-12-30T09:40:00.000-06:00

another winter storm warning without any snow

for the second time in 1.5 weeks, we are in a winter storm warning with no snow. last time, the county went into a state of emergency because so many people were without power for a few days...all because of rain. i wonder what the outcome will be this time.

2006-12-26T23:13:00.000-06:00

my last christmas gift of the season

today i mailed in my final medical payment from my appendectimy last december! :)

2006-12-25T21:25:00.000-06:00

the traditions of my family's christmas eve

the festivities begin at 4:00, when my aunts, uncles, and cousins gather at grandma and grandpa friesen's house. we always plan to eat christmas dinner at around 4:30, but usually have to wait on my aunt and uncle who live an hour away. (this year they were told to arrive at 3:00, so they arrived in time to eat for the first time ever!!) i'm the oldest grandchild and us older cousins get shuffled back and forth from the adult table to the kids' table and back again from year to year. this time, my sister, her husband, and i sat with the adults for the meal and i shifted to kids' table for desert.

after dinner, we all change for church and there is much hair-curling/styling of the littler girl cousins by the older cousins (i stay out of this part). grandma and grandpa live about 3 blocks from church so all 24 of us walk, unless there is an extenuating circumstance (like someone having a bad cold or me having my appendix out right before christmas last year). church is always the same -- a christmas pagent with a live newborn and its parents and the same actors as shepherds, wisemen, and angels every year. this time it was completely different, which was great! our lead pastor gave a monologue about the era Jesus was born and less well known circumstances surrounding His birth. it was really interesting, but i couldn't stay awake for the whole thing. :-
after the service, we visit awhile with old friends and then walk back to grandma's to change into comfy clothes and wait for everyone to arrive from church. until a few years ago, this was the most excruciating part of the night as us cousins were all anxious to open gifts. now it's just the youngest two (i believe they are 10 yrs old now) and my brother-in-law who have trouble waiting. (Brian gets the most excited to open gifts of any adult i know!) after about an hour of waiting, we all gather downstairs and the cousins start opening gifts from each other. we always start with the youngest and work our way to the oldest. every year, us older kids try to convince everyone that it's only fair to go oldest to youngest once in a while, but there's never enough interest! then everyone opens gifts from our grandparents and find what the aunts and uncles left in our stockings.

after thanking everyone for the gifts, we start grazing on the snacks grandma, grandpa, and the aunts have prepared: cheesy-hamburger dip and chips, smokies, several types of chex mix, chocolate-peanut-butter ritz, and marshmellows dunked in carmel and rice crispies, and desert from dinner.

then comes the most entertaining part of the evening: bingo! this tradition started only a few years ago, but it quickly became the favorite activity of most of us. we each get two bingo cards and pick out dollar-store gifts with each bingo we get. there is much stealing of gifts (the favorites are windshield deicer and utility knives), a few that no one wants to steal (a thong -- there is always speculation about the look the cashier gives grandma and grandpa when they buy one each year), and many that appeal to some but definitely not others (bobbie pins, puzzles, chip clips, toilet paper).

then the cousins generally finish snacking and retreat to the tv to battle for the best show -- this year was the main selection. once in a while, some of the cousins entertain the rest of us instead. two years ago, two of them got homemade guitars as an inside joke and they kept us rolling on the floor in laughter for hours. a few years ago, one cousin got a game that reminds me of the nintendo wii system. there was a football mat and a special ball that sensed when it was being hiked, thrown, etc. only one of the older cousins could get it to work and it was really entertaining watching the recipient of the gift and some of the others try to catch on.

the evening ends between 1:30 and 4:00 with a cold, but joyous ride home.

before going to bed, we usually open gifts at mom's, so the night can get pretty late!

2006-12-16T12:20:00.000-06:00

i'm proud of my mennonite heritage. of my ancestors, who sacrificed everything for their beliefs. who refused to compromise those beliefs to blend into the surrounding societies. who were forced to flee several countries because of that stubborness.

i'm proud of my siblings. of my sister, who is using her brilliance to get a doctorate, which will be used to help those in need. of my brother-in-law, who is a wonderful husband and a really responsible guy. who is doing well in his new career. of my brother, who has a great attitude while dealing with the many struggles in his life. (i can't wait to see him thriving in a few years!)

i'm proud to be a farm kid, where i was forced to learn the value of hard work and the value of a dollar at a young age.

i'm proud to be a nebraskan. where family, generosity, courtesy, and the simple life are valued more than in other places i've lived.

i'm proud to work in the public sector, where the primary goal is service and not simply making money. and that most of my immediate and extended family also work in the public sector.

i'm proud to be on a first-name basis with the leaders of my county and city governments. that i am involved in significant decisions with these leaders. that i get to help with the elections.

2006-12-12T22:52:00.000-06:00

humbled. amazed. grateful.

humbled that the God of the universe is leading me on a personalized journey of healing.

amazed at how far He has brought me in such a short time.

grateful that He will continue to lead me towards complete healing.

sometimes at my celebrate recovery small group, there a person with alot on her heart and she, sort of, takes over the conversation with her questions/fears/etc. (but it always amazes me how the entire group bands together to help out this person.) last night was one of those nights. at first, i was getting frustrated, but then i realized that she has alot of the same questions that i had when i started attending celebrate recovery and that i was trying to formulate answers to her questions because...

*da da da dah*

...i've come that far. i can now look back at people who have similar questions as what was bogging down my life. it was really really humbling.

God sure is amazing.

2006-12-10T15:51:00.000-06:00

i've been spoiled the last few weeks. this week i spent 3 days in omaha at a conference for county officials (which was held about 2 miles from where my sister lives!!). last week i went to a security conference in lincoln on thursday. the week before was thanksgiving. so i've had 6 days off in the last 3 weeks without taking any vacation. (i've made up for some of it with longer days, but still, a day off is a day off!)

next week might be difficult as i have to work all 5 days. :)

2006-12-07T21:17:00.000-06:00

i just learned from C-4 that monday was ninja day! o, the memories from letourneau...

2006-12-07T09:45:00.000-06:00

i'm going to a hockey game with Dad and my brother this weekend. they are coming to my place before-hand. here's to two huge steps in letting Dad back into my life! :S

2006-12-02T19:15:00.000-06:00

much luck to the huskers against the sooners!

2006-11-24T18:17:00.000-06:00

these two scriptures have brought lots of comfort to me this weekend! i hope they encourage you as well.

Your hands made me and formed me;
give me understanding to learn your commands.
May those who fear you rejoice when they see me,
for I have put my hope in your word.
I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous,
and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
May your unfailing love be my comfort,
according to your promise to your servant.
--Psalm 119:73-76

Shout for joy, O heavens;
rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
--Isaiah 49:13

2006-11-15T23:45:00.000-06:00

i am so thankful the election is over. we had a large turnout, but i haven't seen the exact numbers so i won't speculate beyond that. it was a frustrating night, but was enjoyable overall. and i learned it is tougher to stay up until 5.00am than it was in my college days. :)

it's been a good week. i had a great weekend at the casselberry's and things haven't been too bad since then. God is really teaching me alot, which is so exciting!! and hank got a new power supply, so he's happier as well. and it snowed last night. w00t!!

more on the stuff God's been teaching me at another time. :)

2006-11-02T19:16:00.000-06:00

i find myself getting increasingly angry and cynical the more i keep up with the news. so what's my typical solution? to not pay attention to any of it.

i'm starting to realize how dangerous this is. how can i be a productive member of society if i am uninformed?

i need an attitude adjustment and i've tried to do it on my own. i'm finally realizing that only God can help me with that. only He can shape me into what i desire to be.

2006-10-22T21:43:00.000-05:00

i've spent a lot of time on digg's website recently and have found a few interesting sites to share:

apparently, zune, microsoft's new digital music player, is similar to the hebrew equivalent of the "f" word. way to be, m$.

at lords of the logistic, there's lots of pics of people carrying crazy amounts of stuff on bicycles/motorcycles.

check out top open source windows apps. i love free stuff!

get in the halloween spirit by making a pumpkin computer.

for those who want to have some instruction before diving into the linux world, take a look at linux 101 required reading list. this might be a resource for me when i finally take the plunge...

and finally, watch Bill Gates praising the apple macintosh, albeit many years ago.

2006-10-21T09:45:00.000-05:00

i've been listening to the book the world is flat: a brief history of the twenty-first century by Thomas L Friedman. it's basically about how economic globalization is flattening/connecting the business world. i highly recommend it!

anyways...i was about half-way through the book and heard this:

in the future, globalization is going to be increasingly driven by the individuals who understand the flat world, adapt themselves quickly to its processes and technologies, and start to march forward, without any treaties or advice from the IMF. they will be every color of the rainbow and from every corner of the world. the global economy from here forward will be shaped less by the ponderous deliberations of finance ministers and more by the spontaneous energy from the zippys. yes, americans grew up with the hippies in the 1960's. thanks to the high-tech revolution many of us became yuppies in the 1980's. well, now let me introduce the zippys. "the zippys are here," declared the indian weekly magazine, outlook. "zippys are the huge cohort of indian youth who are the first to come of age since india shifted away from socialism and dived head-first into global trade and the information revolution by turning itself into the world's service center." outlook called india zippys "liberalization's children" and defined a zippy as "a young city or suburban resident between 15 and 25 years of age with a zip in the stride. belongs to generation z. can be male or female, studying or working. oozes attitude, ambition, and asperation. cool, confident, and creative. seeks challenges, loves risk, and shuns fear. indian zippy's feel no guilt about making money or spending it." they are, says one indian analyst quoted by outlook, "destination driven, not destiny driven. outward-looking, not inward-. upwardly mobile, not stuck in my situation in life." with 54% of india under the age of 25, that's 555 million people 6 out of 10 indian households have at least one potential zippy. and the zippy's don't just have a pent-up demand for good jobs, they want the good life.

"zippy" has been defined! i'm not sure if i fit the definition, but thought it was really interesting nonetheless.

2006-10-19T21:26:00.000-05:00

snow!

so it was just a dusting and was gone mid-morning, but it was still snow!

2006-10-12T00:05:00.000-05:00

an update

i've been quite busy lately. my evenings have been filling up -- i'm in a bowling league and doing some church things each week, as well as watching my cousins play volleyball. i've also been out-of-state every-other weekend for awhile. i went to cedar rapids over labor day to hang out with lots of letourneau friends. 2 weeks later, i went to hesston college for my 5-year reunion. last weekend, i went hiking with Becky and Aduma in colorado. this coming weekend, i'm going home to hang out with my siblings and other random family members.

in between this stuff, i've been working to change something that is long overdue. since my sophomore year in high school, i've kept God at a distance. i've been surrounded by Godly people. i've been to youth conferences, mission trips, and two Christian colleges. most of my friends have been Christians throughout the years. but i've tried to keep God Himself out of my life.

over the 4th of july weekend, i spent some time with my 2nd mom and something changed in me. God, through her, convinced me that it was finally time to deal with my relationship with Him. along the way, i'm working on plenty of issues from my past that are messing with my life now. it's been both exhilerating and draining, but progress is definitely being made!

that's about all i have to say for now...

2006-09-17T22:05:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been wandering
Off the narrow path
You’ve given me so many things that I've never had
And all in all I know it's you that always pulls me through
If you reach deep inside you’ll see my heart is true

‘Cause I hate the way I feel tonight
And I know I need you in my life
Yes I hate the way I feel inside
And I promise to make the sacrifice

The world I know is pulling me
More and more each day
I feel like the odd man out as I begin to pray
Spiteful eyes are watching me
With everything I do
In the midst of darkness Lord
My spirit calls for you

--12 Stones, "The Way I Feel"

2006-09-14T22:54:00.000-05:00

typically, i am busy 1-3 nights a week and hang out some with random people on the weekends. the last week has not been typical at all.

on saturday morning, my aunt called that she was on her way to kearney for my cousin's volleyball tourney. so i tagged along and watch a whole lot of volleyball in 4 hours. my uncle and a few other cousins joined us as well a bit later. in recent months, i've been much more observant of relationships of all kinds, especially the ones between parents and children. my aunt and uncle and their family appears to be on the right track. the parents treat each other with alot of humor and respect. this is also passed between the parents and the 5 kids (even the 3 teenagers). i don't notice any tension, nor any need for restraint of harsh words, etc. granted, most people wouldn't display this in a setting like a volleyball tournament, but they acted as they typically do -- with lots of respect and humor all around. this family is a joy to be around. i'm definitely blessed that i live close to them.

on saturday evening, dad called me to report about the husker game that he got to attend with one of my other uncles. :-\ my brother and i almost had tickets too, but it made it a little more tolerable that it rained during the whole game. :) other than discussing and analyzing the game, dad mentioned that he and my brother were going shopping in grand island (located right between us -- 45 mins away) on sunday afternoon and wanted me to join them. we ate lunch at whiskey creek and shopped a bit afterwards. the fact that i felt semi-comfortable hanging out with dad is a miracle in itself. in the last year, i've gone from not wanting anything to do with him to having lunch and talking some on the phone. it's still awkward for me, but progress is definitely being made. and as always, it was wonderful to see my brother.

on monday after work, i raced to henderson to watch my brother play football (he's on the reserve team). henderson didn't do too well until the 3rd quarter. our quarterback/kickoff returner made a brilliant run along the sideline and then didn't get up. the ambulance came and carted him off to the hospital. (the rumor is that he had a neck injury.) after this, the new quarterback (who had never taken any hikes) went 2-4 with 2 touchdown passes and loads of rushing yards. but in the end, henderson lost in overtime by 2 pts. my brother did well with a few tackles and *almost* had a reception. he also broke up some passes and did really well guarding his man on defense. i sat with mom and her parents. in most settings, i wouldn't enjoy being with the 3 of them -- too much bickering, "discussions" ending in awkward silences, complaining, gossiping, etc. but at a football game, it's usually enjoyable. between plays, i tease grandma about how little she knows about football ("a touchdown is good...but only when it's us that scored," etc). she's slowly learning. :) mom and grandpa sometimes jump in with sarcastic comments. after the game i drove home, arriving at 11.00.

on tuesday, i managed to leave work at 5.15, came home for 1.5 hrs, and then went back to the courthouse to help with a special election. a town in my county was voting on a school bond and the county election commissioner was responsible for all election services. i went to the polling place with her, tore down the voting booths and other equipment, talked with the poll workers about how the day had gone, and tried to understand why some of their end-of-the-day numbers didn't agree. the polls closed at 8.00 and we finally left at 9.15. we got back to the courthouse with the ballots and other equipment at around 9.30 and started scanning the ballots. after an hour of mishaps, we finally got the majority of them scanned and reported to the media. i'll have to manually enter 3 or 4 ballots into the reporting software, which is definitely better than the stack that i manually entered after the primary election. i left the courthouse shortly thereafter and got home around 10.40.

last night i worked a little late, grabbed something to eat, and went to bowl. i've never bowled more than once a year...and now i find myself in a bowling league. it's been really interesting, but i'm not doing too bad. last week, we started playing poker. we each put a quarter in and draw one card if we get 9 pins and 2 cards if we get a strike. last time, a teammate and i pooled our cards together so we could have a shot at winning. we won once, so we broke even at the end of the night. it's been really fun to focus on drawing cards and not on how good or bad
we're bowling. :)

and today i had nothing planned in the evening!! what did i do? i fell asleep watching tv and woke up 2 hours later. :)

2006-09-07T22:12:00.000-05:00

with the help of monty python and the search for the holy grail, i'm sure many of you have wondered what the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow is. well...here's your answer! (brought to my attention by Bernz)

2006-08-28T22:10:00.000-05:00

a trip down memory lane

my IT cohort and i decided to go through a few shelves worth of old manuals and software last week. wow was it a trip down memory lane. we found some windows 95 & 98 floppies and compaq system software with "DO NOT DISCARD" written all over them -- we promptly disobeyed those instructions. there were many AS400 manuals and their associated 5 1/4" diskettes (many copyrighted 1986 and 1987). we found a product magazine from 2000 and were awestruck by how much things have changed since then. there was a flyer for an amazing sale of a spectacular product! -- a computer with 4MB of RAM and a 160MB hard drive! we were going to jump on that, but unfortunately the sale was over.

i was rummaging through a stack of windows NT software and manuals when Dustin (my cohort) said he had never seen a NT machine before he started working for the county (we have a few servers and clients running archaic software :-\). my jaw dropped as i suddenly felt really old. when i was taking networking classes at hesston, novell was the network OS of choice, but windows NT 4.0 server was up-and-coming. i took a few NT 4.0 administration classes and even thought of getting certified. and he had never seen a computer running windows NT. (i almost titled this post "he dated me" after feeling old by this, but decided against it :) )

after that, we found a bunch more compaq and hp software labeled "DO NOT DISCARD". some of them had internet explorer on them and this brand-new browser called netscape -- oh, how the times have changed.

when it was all said and done, we had filled the recycling dumpster 1/2 full, had 1.5 shelves worth of empty binders, and a few souvenirs for ourselves. fun times!

2006-08-17T23:12:00.000-05:00

my latest purchase:

2006-08-09T23:48:00.000-05:00

for a few years, i've been searching for something -- a concrete step-by-step procedure of an abstract concept. i've read books and talked to lots of people about it, but the concept was still too abstract for me to grasp. today i finally found what i was looking for!

i now have a procedure of how to forgive -- complete with numbered steps and lots of substeps. these steps are obviously cyclical and are a never-ending process (both to my dismay), but i finally feel like i have a grasp on how to proceed. what a wonderful feeling!!

2006-08-07T00:12:00.000-05:00

while i was still attending letourneau, i had a conversation with someone who had graduated from college 2 or 3 years previous. it was her experience that her learning and interests were much more focused after school and this was mostly influenced by what she was doing at work.

my experience has been the opposite. in the last few months, my interests have grown exponentially. i am fascinated with anything and everything -- leadership theories, beliefs of religions and denominations, manufacturing processes, government, how electronics products work, meteorology, aeronautics, economics, psychology, business theories, biology, anything on the discovery and history channels, and many more that i'll think of immediately after posting this.

2006-07-27T23:36:00.000-05:00

seattle, wa

as promised, here are the highlights of my trip to seattle.

after work a few thursday's ago, i drove to Becky's to hang out for a few hours before flying out of DIA on Friday. i haven't flown since before i began at letourneau, so i experienced the increased security of post-9/11 for the first time. i didn't check any bags, had my boarding pass printed out, didn't have my laptop along, and was wearing flip-flops, so getting through security was quick and painless! Sarah had flown into DIA a few hours before I arrived. i got to the gate an hour before takeoff and our flight to seattle was delayed an hour, so we had plenty of time to catch up!

i don't particularly enjoy flying because of the hassle, but i love it once i'm on the plane!! i still get a kick out of being on a machine that powerful -- tractors and combines are big, but not near as large or powerful as a boeing 757! i also really enjoy looking at all the farmland, cities, mountains, and whatever else going by beneath me. i've never flown during irrigation season, so i got to see the pivot circles and the various colors of the land this time!

i only took one pic on the way to seattle. this is mount rainier and, wow, was it gorgeous!

once we landed, Sarah's brother (who lives in seattle) and mom started showing us the city. we went to a park that looked over the skyline, mountains, and eliot bay. here we are posing with coffee for added effect:

then we were off to the space needle -- beautifully lit up against a gorgeous blue sky:

next we drove across the puget sound and took pictures of the lit-up skyline:

the next morning we went to the pike place market and walked around shops for a few hours. the most popular shop had lots of fresh fish (i've never seen that much at one place! -- nebraska barely has rivers much less fishing boats). every time a customer ordered, the workers tossed tossed the fish around and whooped and hollered. here is a more relaxed moment at this shop:

many of the shops sold t-shirts, but this was by far my favorite:

we also ventured to the site of the first starbucks:

the view was wonderful from the market:

another view from the market -- that's mount rainier floating in the sky:

then Sarah and i went to Kyle and Lisa's wedding. many of my friends are married, but i've never been to a wedding where i know both bride and groom so well! we sat next to some of Kyle's family friends from saudi arabia during the ceremony. i couldn't believe how many of them had flown in! the ceremony was great -- short, sweet, and beautiful! they exited the sanctuary to the top gun theme. :)

the reception was entertaining, which wasn't too surprising considering the bride and groom. :) we sat with Lindsey, Jonathan, and Kyle's roommate from last year (i don't remember his name :-\ ), so we did a lot of reminiscing. Kyle's sister introduced herself to me -- she definitely has her brother's energy! here is a pic of the letourneau group with the gorgeous bride and groom:

after the wedding the Randow clan and i went to a few more parks (Sarah's brother knows all the great places that tourists don't know about!) and to a mall, where we browsed at the lego store and the discovery store.

the next morning they all drove me to the airport. once on the plane, i listened to air traffic control (which was very interesting!) and watched the ground below me. then i spent a few hours with Becky before driving home.

2006-07-19T22:25:00.000-05:00

(i took this screenshot from weatherbug a few minutes ago)

i was in seattle last weekend for Kyle and Lisa's wedding. the entire weekend was amazing, but for now i'll only share my love with the current weather there. i think the warmest it got was 79 degrees. how i long for that after a few days of upper 90s/lower 100's!

just wanted to share that short blurb about my weekend...much more to come!

2006-07-12T22:38:00.000-05:00

A bird does not sing because it has the answer;
it sings because it has a song.
--Chinese proverb

that quote completely sums up how i've felt this week -- not having anymore answers than before, but singing anyway!

2006-07-12T00:02:00.000-05:00

my fortune came true...ish

tonight i went to the mall to buy flip-flops. i also decided to pick up several pairs of pants for work while i was there. before coming home, i stopped at the mall's chinese restaurant where my fortune was "you are going to have some new clothes."

does it count if the fortune came true before i read it? did i buy the pants because of the fortune i was about to have? ;)

2006-07-09T22:35:00.000-05:00

my nephews

woody (a 27-lb jack russell terrier) and hank (a 14-month-old black lab)

the two adorable boys

awwwww

hank helping my sister plan her wedding

woody about to kiss my sister

the new family (my sister and her new husband with the boys)

2006-07-06T00:09:00.000-05:00

eureka! :-\

i spent the long weekend at Becky's house while she and her brother were hiking. so her mom and i got to spend a lot of time together! we drove around rocky mountain nat'l park and went to see cars, but other than that we just relaxed and had lots of good conversation.

throughout these conversations and, interesting enough, a businessweek that Becky had setting out, i finally came to a realization to explain my behavior in a wide range of circumstances over my entire lifetime. (how's that for a broad statement?) i'm still mulling over it and its ramifications, so i'm not ready to share it with the world just yet...

it's exciting to finally figure some of this stuff out, but it still bogs me down with shame and regret. i'm not sure what to do about changing the mindset behind this behavior, so it's really daunting as well.

2006-06-28T00:09:00.000-05:00

anniversary

i started working for Buffalo County one year ago today.

the job has definitely changed me for the better and for the worse. i'm more confident in my decision-making skills. i managed a $400,000 budget. i survived the support and reporting responsibilities for two elections. i realized that meetings can actually be beneficial (95% of mine are not a waste of time)! i became very thankful for my past IT jobs because they each had a way of preparing me for this one.

but my attitude definitely needs work. many days, i leave the courthouse mad at the world and not wanting to spend any more time on a computer than absolutely necessary.

o, and i will officially become a boss next week. i have someone helping me 20 hours a week next year! our skills complement each others' wonderfully, so we will both learn a lot from the other. i will be forced to refine my communication skills (this was a significant issue for me this year). i realized that i've become lazy with a lot of things and he's a really ambitious guy, so that will help keep me on my toes. i guess you could say i'm nervously looking forward to this experience. :)

2006-06-17T16:11:00.000-05:00

work is doing weird things to me. i have alot of trouble focusing during the week, whether i'm at the courthouse or not. i've never struggled with focus, so it's been especially frustrating.

once i leave work for the day, most of what i do in the evenings involves calming my mind down -- hoping to focus on something without thinking of something at work i need to add to the ever-growing to-do list. i usually end up watching tv and reading newsweek or reader's digest during the commercial breaks. sometimes phone calls are mixed in, but i don't care for those much during the week after hours of being on the phone at work.

but the weekends are different. if i'm traveling, i listen to books on cd and think. if i'm not, i listen to my ipod while cleaning, doing laundry, catching up on email, and running errands. for some reason, i don't have trouble focusing on weekends. this is such a glorious break from the demands of the rest of the week.

2006-06-11T19:38:00.000-05:00

yesterday

i gained a brother (i like that better than calling him a brother-in-law), 2 nephews (Brian's dogs -- which i get to babysit!!), and a cousin-once-removed (my cousin had a kid right before the wedding).

i also participated in my first wedding since i was an 8-yr-old gift-carrier, wore heels almost all day, drank a lot of champagne, gave a toast at the reception, and watched my shy and insecure brother make a fool of himself in front of k-state fans in support of the huskers (a bribe was involved).

o, and since the wedding, i've gotten 3 calls from the newly-wed's. i think that's awesome...and kinda wierd.

2006-06-08T02:04:00.000-05:00

T minus 2 days...

...until my sister is married.

2006-05-31T23:20:00.000-05:00

having the cops called on me and almost getting hit by a train -- all in the same night

last week i was helping my sister and her fiancee Brian pack up their belongings (they're moving to omaha in 1.5 weeks after they get married). Brian lives on a corner, but we had 5 cars at his place so there wasn't much space to park. the only spot available close to his place was blocking a sidewalk. as soon as i parked, i hear this screeching voice -- "you can't block the sidewalk! people walk there! you can't block the sidewalk!" after a few minutes, a cop stops by bc the...um...lady (i'll be nice) had called me in. the cop rolled his eyes and said "she's a big pain for us. always calling people in for stupid stuff." he directed me as i crept to within an inch of my sister's bumper to satisfactorily clear the sidewalk.

as the 3 of us drove the vehicles back to my place, i was following my sister. in the last year or so, she has developed a phobia of trains -- she would rather not cross tracks or drive along them. but because of the low visibility for all of us drivers in the over-packed vehicles, we avoided the construction on the main route to my place and took a road that cut across the train tracks. one train starting crossing just as we approached the tracks. before it was through, another one passed from the other direction. the bars finally went up and my sister crossed the tracks in front of me. before she was over the first set of tracks, they started coming down again. surely i just imagined that the crossing bells had stopped ringing, i thought to myself. my sister hesitated in front of me, also not sure what was happening. she crossed as the bars came down directly in front of me. i couldn't back up at all because i had just crossed an intersection and a car was at my bumper, apparently just as impatient as i about having to wait through 2 trains and now a 3rd.

thankfully, the rest of the evening went relatively smoothly.

2006-05-23T22:00:00.000-05:00

Kyle's most recent hospital adventures

the fun began while i was at letourneau at the beginning of may. Kyle (Lisa's fiancee) called me that he was in the hospital! at first doctors thought it was appendicitis, but they thankfully realized it was a viral infection before they operated. after 5 days in the hospital he was released the day before graduation to the madness of packing and moving out of his on-campus apartment.

on the friday and saturday after he was released, his IV wound was really painful. i knew it was hurting him, but didn't think twice about it because the same thing happened to me after my appendix was taken out. but my wrist/arm didn't hurt until about a week after the needle came out...his was almost immediate. he's been to the ER and had appointments off and on to deal with this since then.

this thursday, we went back in the hospital with nerve damage in his arm. he'll be there for at least a few more days with tests, physical therapy, etc.

i believe his diagnosis is "RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) -- a condition that develops in some people after an injury (like an infection) that causes the nerves to go haywire, 'a short'" (from Lisa's away msg).

another update from Lisa: "Kyle is going through different treatment for RSD. So far he's not reacting the way most people do and so they're trying other ways. He's also doing physical therapy and it will be while before he'll pain free (prolly after the wedding)"

because of the hospital stay at the beginning of may, he missed all of his finals. thankfully his prof's are all really understanding and are allowing him to take his finals as late as midterm next semester for credit.

2006-05-18T21:45:00.000-05:00

primary election

we had a primary on may 9. after the ballots come in from the precincts, we run them through a scanner which tabulates the different races. we save everything to a zip disk to upload the data to my office pc where i print out reports for the Election Commissioner and to put on the County's website.

elections are a fun time with a few moments of high-stress scattered throughout the night. the ladies that work in the election office bring plenty of food for everyone and the workers bring plenty of energy and laughter.

because of the governor race (the incumbant Dave Heineman vs the legendary husker football coach Tom Osborne), many people switched parties to have a say in this important race (we don't have enough democrats in this area to make a significant difference). enough of them waited to switch until after the ballots were purchased that we ran out of republican ones in many precincts. these precincts were sent ballots made on a copy machine, so the ballot scanner couldn't be used to count them. many also decided to vote non-partisan and those too had to be hand-counted.

many races were decided on election night, but a few were close enough that the hand-counted ballots determined the final results. we scanned almost 10,000 ballots in 2.5 hours on election night, but it took 3 long days to process the ones that needed to be hand-counted.

by law, both a republican and a democratic representative must do the hand-counting and must witness the reporting of that data. so the 3 of us spent all of friday manually entering data for less than 200 ballots. one of the rep's read to me the totals to be added for a particular race for each precinct, i typed it in, and the other one made sure i didn't mistype. there were enough close races that a mistake from me might make a huge difference and we were all zoned after a few hours, so there was plenty of stress involved in that process.

on election night, the race for the County Board seat in my district was within 8 votes, but after all of the hand-counting it was down to within 6 (another confirmation that every vote counts!). by law, the election office is required to do a recount if a race is within 1% of the winners votes, but a canditate can request a recount as his cost if he wishes. this race was decided by 1.7%, but we didn't know for a few days if the loser would want a recount.

i don't think the election is legally completed yet, but i'm fairly certain my work has been completed. i am so thankful for this! i worked 54 hours in 5 days last week and dealt with the election for all but a few hours of that. i wasn't prepared for the election taking that much of my time. the only other election i've been involved with was a city election with only a yes/no vote. for some reason, i expected the processing of the primary election to be comparable with that one.

2006-05-07T21:47:00.000-05:00

i spent the last few days at letourneau university -- hanging out and watching many friends graduate. i have returned home refreshed, inspired, and with a new perspective. more to come about the trip and the thinking i did over my 26.5 hours of driving time.

2006-05-01T22:47:00.000-05:00

i have a gut feeling that my relationship with each of my parents will drastically change within the next 3 years (which is when my brother will leave for college). i will distance myself from the one i am closer to and will become close (relatively at least) with the one i haven't talked to in a few years.

i've never had this stong of a gut feeling as this one. it's not a goal, a dream, or anything else. i know without a doubt that it will happen.

2006-04-25T22:25:00.000-05:00

note the page numbers in the above picture (click the pic to enlarge).

Mrs. C gave me this book (which will tell me everything i need to know about my finances) and i happened to notice the error while reading it at her place. being the amazing person that she is, she had a bunch more of the same book on a shelf and gave me a copy without pages 75-106 missing.

2006-04-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

i vaguely remember learning that Kendra (one of Becky's friends from high school in bartlesville, ok) grew up in grand island, ne, which is 45 minutes from where i grew up and also from where i live now.

when my sister and i joined Kendra and Becky for a day of skiing this spring, i learned that Kendra's sister is going to UNK, the same university my sister is currently attending. she also has some relatives still living near grand island.

a few weekends ago, i had the opportunity to hang out with Kendra and her parents in bartlesville. we learned that her relatives near grand island and my cousins go to the same small church (with around 50 members), attend the same school, and have the same last name (but aren't closely related).

when i returned home and told my sister this, her eyes got really large. "remember when i went on a blind date in high school? the one our aunt set up for me? that was with Kendra's cousin!"

wonder what i'll find out the next time i hang out with Kendra or her family...

2006-04-20T22:28:00.000-05:00

today, for the 2nd time in less than 3 months, i cut my finger with a scissors at work.

2006-04-18T20:36:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MRS. C!

you have welcomed me into your home as your own. the conversations we've had have meant the world to me. your wisdom and patience amaze me everytime we talk.

i wish i could express how grateful i am for everything you have done for me!

2006-04-10T23:41:00.000-05:00

two months...

...until my sister gets married. we marked the date by stuffing 171 wedding invitations. hu-ah!

2006-04-06T17:44:00.000-05:00

the sky is orange. :)

i promised the county's emergency manager that i wouldn't wish for storms in the county. they're definitely coming, so i'll just say that it will be an entertaining evening. there has already been large hail in the next county and a tornado spotted a few counties away.

during a break from some training today, a bunch of us went on the roof and watched the clouds for a few minutes. i've never seen them swirling like they did. it was so cool!

the current radar with the arrow pointing to kearney:

2006-04-03T23:22:00.000-05:00

i am drained.