20%?! That’s more than I tithe to God.
Rachel, after I told her the standard tip for the food industry
Forty-eight hours post my Florida trip and I feel fine. Mark invited me to attend his niece Rachel’s wedding. The 12-hour drive passed quickly (relatively speaking) when a traveling buddy helped you stay awake. Mark and I arrived at his mother’s house around 2:30 A.M. and awoke 9 hours later.
I read that Apple planned Mac OS X version 10.2 release parties at its retail stores. Who could resist enticements of Scott Kelby, a free Mac Design magazine subscription, a free Jaguar t-shirt/mouse pad/sticker, a chance to win an Apple computer, an opportunity to use my Apple Store gift card, and a burning desire to be an early adopter? So Mark and I arrived at Tampa’s International Plaza at 10:10 P.M. Friday night and discovered a line of over 1,000 people stretched to the opposite end of the mall where the Apple Store resided. We almost bailed three times but we made it into the store two-minutes before the 100 Minutes of Jaguar expired, with around 300 people behind us in line.
I grabbed my one copy (of the 100,000+ copies Apple claim it sold nationwide during the release) and headed immediately to the check-out line. Mark headed to the Genius Bar to ask about his finicky HP digital camera. While in line, I chatted with a rad Texan lady who wrote for Mac Design. She arranged for me to meet Scott Kelby, who signed a copy of his hysterically truthful book, Macintosh… The Naked Truth (which I just finished reading today). Mark and I headed back to New Port Richie with Wendy’s food in our bellies and Jaguar in my possession around 3:00 A.M.
Rachel Lamb’s 2:30 P.M. wedding came too soon. It was short and sweet. The country club reception’s club music, mad dancing, and tender food made not having my wallet and ordering a $3 iced tea a forgettable moment (just like the drunk 90-year-old guy sitting beside me who wanted to give the groom “love making” tips ::shudder::).
The night ended with a trip to Clear Water Beach. Jamie (Mark’s niece), Jesse (Mark’s nephew/Rachel Lamb’s brother), two friends, Mark, and I splashed around in the water of the deserted beach and sang praise songs to God until 1:30 A.M., when we realized that man does not live on lack-of-sleep alone.
Jamie and Jesse are around my age and fun peeps to hang with. Jamie invited me to ride in “the lady’s phat ride” back to town while the guys rode back in Mark’s monster diesel Dodge. The incident of Jamie falling on me, getting us stuck between her bed and the wall, and then blowing it off with, “Again, I’m not getting fresh with you,”; the good-bye kiss on the cheek; her psycho cat named Oreo; and fun dancing were good times. I also cannot overlook the Mac-fan versus PC-loyalist conversations or the semi-formal clothing shopping adventure with Jesse. Ah, memories…
With little sleep and a 9:30 A.M. departure, Mark and I drove through unceasing thunderstorms and arrived back in the ‘Burg just in time for The Dead Zone.
Monday = taking Joshua and Jonathan to the dentist; installing Mac OS X v.10.2 after reading early, early adopters discovered.
Tuesday = me going to the dentist for an 8:00 A.M. appointment; transporting Rachel from work to the dentist office for a 12:20 P.M. appointment; lunch at Bull’s with Rachel; a productive meeting with a client; the discovery of the Hill Street shortcut to Tait Springs Road; a quick stop at Lamb Custom Countertops; a spiritual accountability meeting; and a massive blog update.
I think we’re all over that boys of summer, frolicking on the greensward, diamond days, smell of the grass, cracking of the bat, pop of the glove crap. This strike is all about cha-ching and we are the ultimate source of the cold hard cash for that cha-ching. [...] I’m not a warmonger. I’m a realist and it has been forced upon me. Really.
John Gibson
I’m back in the ‘Burg. My sis and I grabbed some Chic-fil-A, caught the 7:10 PM showing of Enough, and counteracted our Tae-Bo workout with
a sundae at V&Ts.
The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do.
Deuteronomy 31:9 (NLT)
I’m going to disappear for a few days and not explain myself until it’s obvious.
Well then I’ve been ‘monking it’ for a year now.
Mark Lamb in response to my sarcastic remark about being single and married to the church (“Bride of Christ”)
Mark is *finally* moved into his apartment! He still has more to move and significantly more to sift through, but at least he has a place to call home again.
Whether it was the Sheetz coffee or God enlarging my creative vein to the size of a water hose that caused a huge influx of creativity, I went to bed inspired last night. Straight Street Blue Ridge and my own company are the two benefiting parties. I love concepts and ideas that yell AWESOME so loud that they must be of divine origin.
Shea, the BRCC member who did the announcements this morning at church, is searching my calendar to find a place for *me* to do the announcements for a Sunday Big Room™ service.
I cannot mention specifics, but please pray that I will be selected for an opportunity that I have been notified of.
I just want to rave about Al for the moment.
Every time we talk on the phone, I’m laughing. He’s just *that* downright hysterical. If anyone reading this ever works with Al, take a sedative so that you will be able to concentrate on your work and not be rolling around on the office floor with tears of laughter streaming down your cheeks.
“Countdown to pickiness… 3… 2… 1…”
“Ditch the right cell [in the HTML table]. Actually save it. Put it in an envelope and toss it on the front porch. I’ll be by in the morning. On second thought–or was that 3rd–rip it up, burn it and bury the ashes.”
“Am I causing the bloodshot in the eyes, or do you just want me to feel bad for you? I do feel bad that you can’t afford clothes, or at least a shirt. Maybe it’s hot in there with 4 other siblings [Ed: 6 at home, 7 total] and all. Mostly I’m concerned about the system overheating… and getting bloodshot eyes.” [Ed: He was referring to this picture I sent him since he had never seen me.]
“Like the ’so 90s’ <font> tag and the fact that there are no American flags… that’s sooo September 10th. I really need to get with the times. I think I’ll go out and pierce my… nose?”
Papa is a veteran, right? Didn’t he fight in the Cold War?
Rachel