Not much going on for today's post so I thought I'd give everyone the benefit of my insight into two movies Vicki and I saw recently. They were both pretty good. Because we have extremely flexible schedules we have discovered that the only way to see a movie is to attend the first showing of the day (usually between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.) on a week day. It's cheap and the theater is virtually empty. Best of all, no cells phones ringing, no obnoxious middle school kids making up their own dialogue, and nobody behind you translating from English to Spanish for their grandmother.
Angels and Demons - If you liked the book (I did) then you'll probably like the movie. The only problem for you book readers is that there's not much suspense because the movie follows the book almost to the letter. I'm still wondering how the Tom Hanks character makes it through the entire ordeal without dozing off. The entire story happens in one long day, and he starts it after at least a ten hour trans-Atlantic flight. Maybe he slept on the plane?
Night at the Museum, the Battle of the Smithsonian - I wasn't actually all that excited about seeing this one, but it turned out to be a really "cute" movie with a few really funny spots. I didn't see the first "Museum" installment, but it wasn't too difficult to figure out what was going on. Look for the cameos by half of the cast of The Office. I especially liked Able.
One final note, Bethany showed up for a last minute visit this afternoon while Cody is in Abilene checking out a potential job opportunity (don't mention this to anyone at Dell). After dinner we sat in our brand new patio furniture (see post from a few days ago) and ate some homemade cookies. Life is good! Oh, and a bonus movie note, we watched Bride Wars on TV. Not too bad for a chick-flick. And, no cell phones ringing, no obnoxious middle school kids, and nobody translating English into Spanish.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thursday Highlights
Today was Thursday, but it was difficult to tell. When you're semi-retired all days that end in "y" are equal. There were a few highlights though.
I had lunch today with one of my former colleagues. It's been over a month since I was released from Transocean and we had a little catching up to do. It seems that all of my old work friends are doing fine. Funny how life in a big corporation goes on without you. One day you're there, putting in 60 hours a week working on so many important things that just have to get done, and then you're gone, and things don't grind to a halt without you. I guess it's a little like dying. When you're gone, you're gone, and somebody else just somehow picks up where you left off.
Vicki and I have discovered a great place to walk. There's a 2.5 mile track around the new Brazos River Park. We waited until around 7:00 when it had cooled off a little and then headed over. I think that walking on the crushed gravel track is easier on the legs than walking on concrete. But keeping up with someone whose legs are a foot longer than mine presents another challenge. I'll do my best. Maybe I'll grow.
I registered with the Texas Workforce Commission yesterday (or was it the day before yesterday?). Notice I only said "registered." I haven't actually applied for any benefits yet because I haven't actually started looking for a job yet. Once I get into the job hunting mode I'll be looking forward to that $392 a week.
Speaking of looking forward to something, I was presented the opportunity to be a group leader at Kadesh at ACU the week after next. My nephew-in-law, Jay Blackburn, who is the recently appointed youth minister at the Grace Crossing Church in The Woodland asked if I'd be interested in being a part of his group. I've heard so much about Kadesh over the years - Kayla and Bethany both attended several times - that I thought it would be great to be a part of it. I sent in my registration information this morning. All I know so far is that I'll be driving a van full of high school kids home from Abilene (someone else is apparently driving them to Abilene). I'm clueless as to the official duties of a group leader, but I'm confident that I can handle whatever they may be. I'll get to stay in one of the dorms and eat in the "World Famous Bean". I always wanted to go to ACU. This will be a dream come true. I've already put this on my resume.
I've been teaching a men's Bible class on Wednesday evenings at First Colony. The focus of the class is how we as men can let God use us for His purposes. One of the verses we focused on this week was from James 1:22 - which paraphrased says "Don't just read the Word of God, do it!" If we could all do both of those things - read it and do it - things would be just about perfect. I'm going to work on that.
I had lunch today with one of my former colleagues. It's been over a month since I was released from Transocean and we had a little catching up to do. It seems that all of my old work friends are doing fine. Funny how life in a big corporation goes on without you. One day you're there, putting in 60 hours a week working on so many important things that just have to get done, and then you're gone, and things don't grind to a halt without you. I guess it's a little like dying. When you're gone, you're gone, and somebody else just somehow picks up where you left off.
Vicki and I have discovered a great place to walk. There's a 2.5 mile track around the new Brazos River Park. We waited until around 7:00 when it had cooled off a little and then headed over. I think that walking on the crushed gravel track is easier on the legs than walking on concrete. But keeping up with someone whose legs are a foot longer than mine presents another challenge. I'll do my best. Maybe I'll grow.
I registered with the Texas Workforce Commission yesterday (or was it the day before yesterday?). Notice I only said "registered." I haven't actually applied for any benefits yet because I haven't actually started looking for a job yet. Once I get into the job hunting mode I'll be looking forward to that $392 a week.
Speaking of looking forward to something, I was presented the opportunity to be a group leader at Kadesh at ACU the week after next. My nephew-in-law, Jay Blackburn, who is the recently appointed youth minister at the Grace Crossing Church in The Woodland asked if I'd be interested in being a part of his group. I've heard so much about Kadesh over the years - Kayla and Bethany both attended several times - that I thought it would be great to be a part of it. I sent in my registration information this morning. All I know so far is that I'll be driving a van full of high school kids home from Abilene (someone else is apparently driving them to Abilene). I'm clueless as to the official duties of a group leader, but I'm confident that I can handle whatever they may be. I'll get to stay in one of the dorms and eat in the "World Famous Bean". I always wanted to go to ACU. This will be a dream come true. I've already put this on my resume.
I've been teaching a men's Bible class on Wednesday evenings at First Colony. The focus of the class is how we as men can let God use us for His purposes. One of the verses we focused on this week was from James 1:22 - which paraphrased says "Don't just read the Word of God, do it!" If we could all do both of those things - read it and do it - things would be just about perfect. I'm going to work on that.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Memorial Day Fun
Yesterday was Memorial Day. A day to remember all of those who have given their lives for this country, but also a day to have some fun. Being that I'm unemployed the day didn't seem much different from a typical Monday. But, being that everyone else had the day off, some of us managed to get together for what is becoming one of my favorite things to do - play horseshoes! I know, I know, horseshoes is basically an old man's game, but I'm not exactly getting any younger so maybe it's good that I'm getting into the game.
We played over at Fort Bend Country's newly constructed state-of-the-art horseshoe venue - the Roberts Horseshoe Dome (more commonly called the "Shoe Dome"). I was paired up with Randy Roberts' across the street neighbor, who came over to see what was up and stayed for a few hours. We dominated play and finished undefeated for the day. After the excitement of the spirited horseshoe tournament had died down we all settled down and enjoyed some gourmet Memorial Day pic-nic food - hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, brownies and an assortment of other nutritious junk food. I took a holiday from my diet.
Vicki and the other lady-folk opted out of the horseshoe festivities in favor of sitting inside in the air conditioning and debating the ethics of which gender has the ultimate responsibility for the correct positioning of the toilet seat. Check with Vicki for the details of this fascinating discussion!
Today was another big day in the Freede Hood. We bought patio furniture!! After running around town to four or five places we ended up back at our original location and bought the patio stuff of our dreams. Vicki had been saving her spare change and one dollar bills for the last three years or so and had finally come up (almost) with enough to furnish our patio. There was some assembly required, but it looks great. Maybe we'll have Memorial Day here next year!
Tomorrow is looking huge. I'm planning to sand and paint our existing back yard bench to match the new patio furniture. Should be an awesome day.
Next week I think I'll start looking for a new job. Maybe.
We played over at Fort Bend Country's newly constructed state-of-the-art horseshoe venue - the Roberts Horseshoe Dome (more commonly called the "Shoe Dome"). I was paired up with Randy Roberts' across the street neighbor, who came over to see what was up and stayed for a few hours. We dominated play and finished undefeated for the day. After the excitement of the spirited horseshoe tournament had died down we all settled down and enjoyed some gourmet Memorial Day pic-nic food - hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, brownies and an assortment of other nutritious junk food. I took a holiday from my diet.
Vicki and the other lady-folk opted out of the horseshoe festivities in favor of sitting inside in the air conditioning and debating the ethics of which gender has the ultimate responsibility for the correct positioning of the toilet seat. Check with Vicki for the details of this fascinating discussion!
Today was another big day in the Freede Hood. We bought patio furniture!! After running around town to four or five places we ended up back at our original location and bought the patio stuff of our dreams. Vicki had been saving her spare change and one dollar bills for the last three years or so and had finally come up (almost) with enough to furnish our patio. There was some assembly required, but it looks great. Maybe we'll have Memorial Day here next year!
Tomorrow is looking huge. I'm planning to sand and paint our existing back yard bench to match the new patio furniture. Should be an awesome day.
Next week I think I'll start looking for a new job. Maybe.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Great Road Trip
We just got back from a twelve-day road trip that took us through Lubbock, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Sedona, Carlsbad Caverns and Round Rock. It was 3,680.6 miles of non-stop fun and adventure!
The Grand Canyon was awesome, Las Vegas was amusing, Hoover Dam was amazing, Sedona was beautiful, and Carlsbad Caverns were cool.
The Grand Canyon was awesome, Las Vegas was amusing, Hoover Dam was amazing, Sedona was beautiful, and Carlsbad Caverns were cool.
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