5 Things

You may recall I have a list of 5 things to do by the time I'm 30. Actually, there are currently 3 on the list:

1. Be able to play Moonlight Sonata again
2. Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out
3. Go on a relief and development trip to Africa.

First, let me say I can cross number 1 off the list. If you want me to prove it you'll have to stop by and I'll play it for you. Second, I'm now prepared to add the remaining 2.

4. Visit the French Riviera- I wanted to add something about traveling around Europe. Of course I hope to visit many more places than the French Riviera but this sounds cool and is a little more defined than "Travel around Europe."
5. Go to an outdoor music festival such as SXSW, Coachella, Austin City Limits, etc. I love live music and I've always wanted to go to one of these festivals so why not add it to the list?

I recently got a little criticism on my list, "Why bother making a list if they aren't really challenging?" Let me clarify the reason for the list. It isn't that I think these 5 accomplishments will define me. It's also not meant to push me to do challenging things. I'm not opposed to a challenge but the purpose of the list is meant to help me keep in perspective some of the things I want to do as life keeps speeding by. Some people have goals that they want to be a millionaire by the time they're 30. That's fine, but I like the feeling of checking things off my list and I don't have complete control over whether I become a millionaire or not.

So, the list is now complete. 1 down, 4 to go. (ahh, did you feel the rush when I checked one off the list?)

check me out

Yeah, that's me with Chad Johnson. Yes, I also got his autograph. WHO DEY BABY

I was just minding my business in my cube at work when a co-worker came in from lunch and said, "hey, I just saw Chad Johnson." We looked out the window and saw him walking down the street into CVS across the street from our office. I've never gotten anybody's autograph before but I ran down the steps with a notebook and my camera phone and went into CVS. I hovered around for awhile until I confirmed it was him, then I asked if I could have his autograph and picture. He didn't really have his whole persona going on, he didn't say much...but that's ok. I felt like a dork for asking him but it was worth it. Unfortunately I only had a camera phone but you can trust me, that's him!

Economics is everywhere

Let me tell you about the economics of an 80s concert in the 21st century. As you may know, Def Leppard and Journey were in town tonight. Last week I looked into getting tickets but couldn't quite get a crowd together who was interested in going. Lawn tickets were $25. I resigned myself to the fact that I didn't need to spend $25 just to see "Pour some sugar on me" live at Riverbend. But today at work people started talking about it and people sounded like they were going to go. We checked on-line, lawn tickets were still available. So we decided to go- who doesn't want to listen to some classic metal and arena rock on a beautiful summer night? The traffic was terrible. We arrived at the box office and got in line only to find out the lawn tickets had just sold out. However, there were still pavilion tickets left.

Think about it, that's not usually the case. Usually the pavilion seats go first because people want the comfort of the seats and the closer proximity to the band. The lawn seats are what's left for the stragglers. Not so tonight. The demand for the cheap seats was greater than the demand for the premium seats. Apparently the willingness to pay for "Don't stop believin'" and "Open Arms" was a little lower than anticipated by the event organizers when they drew their supply and demand curves. Some people paid the extra for the pavilion, but plenty of people were walking away. So, we didn't get to see the show. We weren't willing to pay the $65-75 for pavilion seats. Maybe if it was 1985. (Didn't they hear that Styx just had a FREE concert in Mason a few weeks ago?)

An interesting twist is that the scalpers also only had pavilion seats left. We did run into one guy with lawn seats but he wanted to sell them for $75. Apparently he didn't take Econ 101. If I can still buy the nice seats for $65 at the box office, why am I going to pay $75 for the cheap seats?

At least we sang some good 80s songs in the car on the way home.

Summer in the city

Summer was meant to be like it was today. Sunny, a few white puffy clouds, 79 and low humidity. I took advantage of the weather by going for a walk in the park this morning. I also went up to the overlook to snap a few pictures. I'm going to miss Eden Park, if you recall, it's one of the reasons I love Walnut Hills so much. I know London has some great parks so I'm anxious to explore them, but Eden Park will always have a special place in my heart. I want to put together a collage of pictures to take with me, so if you have some good ones send them my way, these are a few I have so far.

common sense tips

A recent BBC article entitled "How to Blog and Keep your Job" made me stop and think, "uh, oh...am I going to lose my job because I'm blogging?" NO. Maybe if people used a little common sense and didn't write gossip and other incriminating things on their blog they wouldn't lose their jobs. Gossip always comes around to bite you, especially if you're publishing it on the most public place of all, the world wide web. Don't they have dads that keep reminding them not to put things on there that they wouldn't want ANYONE else to see?

Fortunately, another article revealed most people are smart enough not to believe everything they read in a blog. Given that people write so much crap (see above) who would take anything they read on an individual's blog, unaffiliated with any real journalistic publication, as trustworthy news?

PS. If you're looking for articles on blogging, check out the BBC, they have tons. Apparently 25% of internet users in the UK blog. That seems like a lot- do that many people in the US blog? I guess if you count Myspace they do.

A good cause

Check out my friend Melody's site here. She joined Team in Training to run a marathon in order to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You can find out about it on the site and donate money. She's running to support a little girl named Hannah who lives in Mason. That's probably the only good reason to run a marathon ;)

Hot off the press

Hot of the Google homepage news...Today was the hottest day ever recorded in England. Temperatures reached 36.3 degrees celsius breaking a record set in July of 1911. In case you're rusty on converting to good old US metrics that's 97.3 degrees fahrenheit. Now, that might not sound bad compared to what we have here. BUT, I was told that it's virtually impossible to get an apartment with air conditioning in London because "it just doesn't get that hot here." I think that's hot enough for some AC!

I've got nothin'

I have nothing of real interest to comment on today. My life is pretty much pre-occupied with moving to London and trying to enjoy the rest of the time I have here in wonderful Cincinnati. Since I rarely watch the news or read the paper I don't have knowledge of important current events I can comment on. My main source of news is my Google homepage.

The Google homepage is just another reason why Google is better than Yahoo. I was asked about this the other day and wasn't really able to describe the difference except that Google somehow searched the web differently than other search engines. According to Wikipedia Google analyzes the relationship between websites rather than just the number of times the search term appears on the page to come up with more accurate results. (I still don't quite get it, but whatever).

Back to the Google homepage. There are literally hundreds of choices to customize your page with content ranging from news, sports, lifestyle, videos, email and weather. You can also create a section of your own links for sites you commonly go to. Today I decided I needed to udpate my selection. I had some NY Times, Enterntainment News, BBC, ESPN, People and others but I found I only consistently read the entertainment news. Unfortunately that means I can only comment on such shallow happenings as Lindsey Lohan's latest fiasco, recent happenings with Brangelina and Shiloh or which celebrities were recently married or divorced. (Did you know that Pamela Anderson is engaged to Kid Rock? sick!)

I was browsing through the content and was amazed at all the choices. Definitely the weirdest module to add was a bra size calculator- why do you need that on your homepage??? Anyway, I added some links to CNN Money, Rolling Stone, NPR and BBC London. I also cut down on the entertainment stories, I found they were all repeats. Now hopefully I will be more well-rounded. The only downside is there are no local sites to add, but I added a few to my personal bookmarks section.

Lastly, they have a module that will countdown to a specific date so I added that as well. The current countdown for my move to London is 37 days.

zoom zoom

FOR SALE: 2004 Mazda 3s 5-door. It's painted "velocity red," (watch out, cops like the paint job) and it also has a sport shift. It has good fuel economy with 24 city mpg and 29 highway mpg. Other features include moonroof and 6-cd changer. It's very fun to drive and I'll miss it! It's in good condition, very clean on the inside with a few minor nicks in the exterior paint. Only 29,000 miles. I'm asking $15,500. Kelley blue book value is about $16,000. Let me know if you're interested in more details. Tell your friends!

See you in the jungle?

Since the only football I'll get to watch in London doesn't involve touchdowns, I was thinking of going to a Bengals pre-season game before I move. I know it's not quite the same as the real thing but it's the best I can do. There's a game on Sunday night, August 13th. Let me know if you want to go. Who-dey, baby!

I'm legal

My UK work permit went through today. It was looking a little uncertain yesterday but thankfully it went through! That means the timing I've been planning on will still work out. August 8-9th I'll be in Wimbledon looking for apartments. Then I'll be moving permanently on the 24th or 25th of August.

"bat in the cave"

I've been wanting to try using British English language to write, but so far everytime I go to write I don't use any words that are spelled differently. I started reading a book of essays on all the oddities of the UK. A few pages were dedicated to rambling on using phrases that an American would have no understanding of...it worked, I was clueless. (Can anyone tell me what a counterpane is? If I already told you it doesn't count, and it doesn't count if you look it up online) So instead of just messing around with spelling, I started researching on the internet the differences between American and British English usage. There is definitely a lot of information out there. Wikipedia has lots of interesting articles although they are a little more technical than what I'm interested in at this point. There are also lots of interesting dictionaries that define lots of British words. I'll give you 10 bonus points if you can tell me what the title of this post means. Don't cheat though, nobody likes a cheater.

Apparently they also have some sort of rhyming slang that I've yet to understand called cockney rhyming slang. I found a site that said, "There are lots of words that make up cockney rhyming slang. These are basically rhyming words like "butchers hook" which means "look". If you are in London and you hear someone talk about a Septic they are probably talking about you - because it's short for "Septic tank" which equals "yank", which is our word for an American. How do you like that!"

Can someone please explain this to me??

Correction

Remember a few posts ago when I said I'd gotten cooler since I used to get so excited over new school supplies? I regret to state, it's not true. I still get excited about new school (now office) supplies. Worse, I get excited about Excel and powerpoint tricks. It's amazing all the cool shortcuts that there are. Sometimes I even have dreams about running equations and using excel. But those usually aren't happy dreams, they generally happen when I'm facing a deadline. But the worst thing is that I was just watching 7th Heaven. Yes, that show is still on. There's really nothing on TV Monday nights during the summer so when I flip on the TV it's there. Tonight I just couldn't turn it off because I wanted to see if Simon and Rose were going to go through with the wedding, of course it was "to be continued." The real test will be if I watch next week.

Summer Movie Update

While I'm on a roll with summer movie viewing I thought I'd give a quick synopsis of my opinions. Keep in mind, I'm no film critic. If I'm entertained and hooked by the story I'll like the movie. I'm not necessarily out to find amazing symbolism or deep characters.

1. The Devil Wears Prada- This was a very cute movie. Possibly one I'd consider buying on DVD. I loved the fashion element and it was very funny. At the same time, there was a slightly serious twist cautioning against giving up who you are and what's important to you for a job. I think it's sometimes easy to be enticed by the money and the glamour but in the end it's not what life is really about. At one point Meryl Streep's character, the high profile, elitest editor of a fashion magazine, says of her glamorous lifestyle, "Everyone wants to be us." Not to get too serious about a summer chick flick, but that line stuck with me.

2. Superman Returns- THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME! You must see it on the big-screen. The special effects are great and so is the soundtrack. I saw it on the IMAX which was definitely impressive. The 3D scenes were cool but not necessary in making the movie what it was. I thought the story was good, Brandon Routh makes a great Superman and Clark Kent, and there were some fun surprises. I even got a little tear in my eye at the end (but if you know me, that doesn't take too much). I'm definitely looking forward to the follow-up movies.

3. Pirates of the Caribbean 2- Again, this is a great movie! Of course, the movie can't quite be as great as the first one because it doesn't have the element of surprise going for it. No one was expecting the first one to be so great. It by no means falls short the way most other sequels do (ie. Matrix Re-loaded) Although the plot gets going somewhat slowly and therefore seems a little long it's a definite must see. All of the characters are back, Jack is hilarious, Will is cute and dashing and the rest of the pirates are still along for the ride. It has one of the coolest sword fighting scenes I've ever seen (though I guess I haven't seen that many) and the sound track and special effects are great. The bad pirates are like Lord of the Rings on the sea, very gross looking- sometimes I was a little distracted by that. The movie has an ending that is a little surprising and sets up nicely for the last episode of the trilogy. If you go to see it in the theater, be sure to wear your eye patch, I did.

Superman Returns and Pirates of the Caribbean 2 both confirm an opinion I've held for awhile...music makes a movie. Actors and special effects can only go so far but music makes the action, excitement, fear and emotion come alive on a whole new level. Gotta love it.

more on prayer

This article posted by Steve also has some great thoughts on prayer.

Not to us

Echo Church is re-launching! For the past year we've been building our core and now we're going to do some publicity. But publicity is nothing without God. In preparation for the re-launch we are going to have 30 Days of Prayer beginning Saturday, July 8th. We're trying to find 100 prayer partners to join us for this concentrated time of prayer as we seek God's spirit and vision for the city and our community. You can check out the website for more details, as well as updates throughout the month. There you can download a prayer guide for the 30 days and a reminder card.

Prayer is something I'm passionate about. I wouldn't have admitted it outloud, but it used to be that when I prayed I had this feeling deep down that it didn't matter. "Well, it would be nice if this worked out," I would think to myself, but for some reason I doubted that God was always listening and acting. Now things have changed. Over the past few years I've had some experiences and God has revealed his power and faithfulness to our prayers. One of my favorite verses that speaks to the power of prayer is 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Another great book to check out on prayer, besides the Bible, is Red Moon Rising - it's a great book on the 24-7 prayer movement.

Leave a comment on this post if you'd like to participate in the 30 Days of Prayer, or email us (info@echochurch.org). I hope you will join us!

It's official

I signed my letter of assignment for the UK today so now it's official... I guess I'm going to be needing this tutorial on how to learn to appreciate a soccer game on TV. Plus I'll have to get used to calling it football and watching American football on Tivo. Who-dey!

Happy 4th of July!

I'm not a very patriotic person so you aren't going to see a picture of a flag flowing in the breeze and I'm not wearing red white and blue today...but I'm thankful for my country, our freedoms and a day off of work. So enjoy! I doubt I'll be celebrating July 4th for the next couple of years. I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me running around the streets with sparklers, an American flag, and a George W. t-shirt celebrating our independence from Britain. Fortunately I won't have to drastically change my wardrobe since I don't have any clothes with American flags on them (and I never will!)

The Devil Wears Prada

I saw "The Devil Wears Prada" yesterday. It was a pretty cute movie. At one point the characters were debating why women needed so many purses (is there really a question here??). They said something about how accessories are iconic items that express individuality...Well, I'm not really sure how you define an accessory but I love them. Purses, watches, bracelets and rings. You name it, I like it, although I'd say watches and rings are my favorite. Wikipedia says "With the use of different accessories and jewelry the saavy dresser can make his or her outfit seem completely different." Maybe it's because I'm a detail person that I like accessories so much, or maybe it's because I'm just that saavy.

I realized last week that I've always been into the accessories. When it was back to school time as a kid my sister and I got so excited to get our new school supplies. Pens, pencils, Trapper-Keepers and back packs (anybody remember Lisa Frank??). We were so excited about them that we would keep getting them out and showing them to each other, like a little school supply fashion show. Fortunately I've gotten cooler since then. But, the moral of the story is, it's all about accessories. The sooner you realize it, the better, and more savvy you'll be.

Color me Purple

Today was the day...we "conquered" the Purple People Bridge. I'd say that "conquered" might be a bit of an overstatement but they seemed to like to be dramatic. Regardless, it was a very cool experience, despite the purple and yellow jumpsuits. Unfortunately you couldn't take your own cameras. Apparently there might be a problem if you drop them on the pedestrians below, and they want to be able to charge you $5 for extra pictures (at least one is complimentary). So we didn't get to take a any pictures but I scanned these in just for you!

The climb is a great advertisement for the city. If you're from out of town it gives you some fun, interesting tidbits about the city and provides some great views. If you're from the city it's a whole new way to experience it. If you want to see the Ohio River, I'd suggest this rather than tubing on it. We actually saw someone doing that today among the driftwood and unidentified floating objects--yikes! At the top we got to ring the "achievement bell" when we reached 150 feet. (Did I mention it was a little over-dramatic?) Still, I'd definitely recommend it, you get to take your time going across and stop at the top of each span to enjoy the view. It would be cool to do during Tall Stacks with all the boats on the river.

Plus, who doesn't like to talk on headsets?? If only it had just been our family we could have had more fun with the walk-talkies without fear of embarassment. Not surprisingly, that didn't stop my dad. As we're approaching the bridge he said, "Houston, we have a problem" and the guide jerked around and said, "What's wrong?? Is everything okay?" Nice one Dad.