WORK STORIES, PART I ***NOT FOR THE WEAK STOMACHED***

As I was traveling to Los Angeles this morning to investigate a cargo fire which occurred back on December 11th, I came across 2 accidents; one had just occurred on the northbound I-5 north of Beach Blvd and the other southbound I-5 at Indiana.

The first one I came across was around 10:15 am at Beach Blvd. As I diverted traffic from the number one lane a set out a flare pattern, As I walked up to the involved parties (3 involved vehicles) and saw a 7 or 8 year-old boy who sitting on the road leaned up against the center divider. I asked if anyone was hurt and one of the parties told me that the boy had a laceration under his eye. I walked over to him and saw a little blood under his eye and told him that I’d be right back. After gloving up and grabbing the first aid kit, I walked back to the boy and noticed that half of his left eyeball was protruding through his swollen eyelid. Unfortunately, I don’t think the boy was wearing his seatbelt.

The second accident occurred at about 10:50 am on the southbound side of the I-5 at Indiana. While I was traveling northbound I-5, I saw a large black dog run out from the west side of the freeway (from Indiana) right into freeway traffic. Two things went through my head. One, please someone hit the dog, and two, don’t panic stop and swerve to avoid hitting the dog. Don’t get me wrong, I love animals, however, when vehicle’s are traveling at freeway speeds (70-80 MPH), a lot of things can go wrong, which in this case did.

As the dog cleared the #4 and #3 lanes, the car in the #2 lane slammed on its brakes and swerved into the #1 lane, pinning in a vehicle into the center median, followed by a chain reaction crash that involved cars in all four lanes to bottleneck the freeway and causing a truck to slam into the center divider and into several other vehicles already involved in the crash.

I only bring up these two incidents for two reasons. One- always wear a seatbelt. I myself have always hated wearing them. Even after 2 seatbelt tickets I still had trouble wearing them until a year and a half ago. And two- although we all love animals, a dog will not total your car or kill you. The speeding vehicles coming up behind you that are operated by driver’s not paying attention to the road who will slam into your stopped vehicle on the freeway will kill you.

That’s my pearl of wisdom for now.

A BLACK MAN FOR THE MCCAIN / PALIN TICKET?

This guy speaks his mind and actually knows what he's talking about. This couldn't be said any better.

IT ALL HAPPENS ON MY DAY OFF

Firefighters monitor chemical fire in San Clemente
Fire was ignited in polypropylene container in TRW (Northrop Grumman) property, officials say.

SAN CLEMENTE – About 60 firefighters are monitoring a chemical fire that has been burning for almost four hours today in an unincorporated area of the county, authorities said.

A chemical fire inside a polypropylene container on property owned by TRW (Northrop Grumman) was reported at 9:49 a.m. in the 33000 block of Avenida Pico. The flames caused a small brushfire nearby, but it was quickly extinguished, said Capt. Mike Blawn of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Firefighters are keeping an unspecified area near the container cleared because of other containers located nearby, Blawn said.

The fire was reported a few hundred feet from Camp Pendleton.

It is unknown what sparked the fire, Blawn said.

Helicopters also are monitoring the fire to make sure nearby brush is not ignited, Blawn said. Firefighters have decided to let the fire burn itself out and make sure it does not spread.

Courtsey of The Orange County Register

OH THE IRONY...

A Margate, Fla., man suing a Pompano Beach club claims a performer's shoe flew off during a pole dance, shattered the mirrored ceiling and caused glass and the shoe to hit him.

The lawsuit filed in Broward County by 35-year-old Charles Privette says the Booby Trap breached its duty when its employee failed to perform her routine in a reasonably safe manner. The suit seeks at least $15,000 in damages.

Privette's attorney says his client suffered a small cut to his eyebrow, headaches and nose bleeds because of the Jan. 14 pole dance. Booby Trap general manager George Gettinger acknowledges paramedics were called but says injuries were minor.

-Courtesy of FOX News

LISTEN TO THIS (CRAP)!!!!

I'm no a fan of Howard Stern at all, however, this audio clip is really hard to pass up. I was sent this audio clip from one of his morning talk shows. Basically, one of Howard's staff members went into Harlem, NY. and asked some very basic questions. Either people slept through all the debates or people just want Barack in office. YOU'LL BE SHOCKED AT THE ANSWERS!

Listen: Presidential Poll in Harlem, NY

This country is in for mass disaster within just a few months if Barack is elected president (and having Sarah Palin as his V.P.) Maybe this country just needs a swift kick in the ass to straighten us up. Then again, who needs to go to school to vote anyways? The sad part isn't that these people being interviewed aren't running for office, but that these people are the mass majority uniting together in sheer ignorance making fatal decisions for the future of this country and don't even have the basic knowledge to comprehend the results of their actions.

OCTOBER ARIZONA TRIP, PART 1

I left Sunday morning to return to the Phoenix area to see my uncle and to also test for the Police Officer Recruit position with the Mesa Police Department. The last trip in September I made to Arizona basically sealed the fact that I am dying to get out of the Orange County / California chaos. However, I’m not working at a job where I can just transfer out to that area, so there’s a little more to it than just putting in for a transfer and picking up and going.

Prior to arriving to my uncles on Sunday afternoon, I stopped off to see if anyone had purchased the house that I had been looking at. Seeing an “available” sign in the window (no pun intended), I drove over to the sales office a few blocks over to see my friend who I had been e-mailing about the house. I was able to do another walk through and saw some of the areas that were in the process of being repaired (a drywall nail went through the main water pipe in the master bathroom shower).

Monday morning I arrived to the Mesa Police Training Facility at 7:30am to begin the testing process. After submitting my application and it being approved allowing me to test, I spent the next several hours at the training facility. The test started a little after 9am and I finished shortly before 11am. I was later told that I passed the written porting of the test and was being scheduled for an oral board interview within the hour.

After quickly changing from shorts and a t-shirt into my suit and submitting my background packet, I was the first applicant of the testing process to go through the oral board selection. Approximately 30 minutes later I returned back to the lobby area and was greeted by the recruitment sergeant and was congratulated on passing the oral board portion of the process.

Tuesday morning I woke up shortly before 5am and reported back to the Mesa Police Training Facility for complete the physical agility portion of the initial testing process. I had mixed feelings about how this was going to turn out. The physical agility testing in Arizona is completely different than what I’ve done in California. It wasn’t the 1.5 mile run that I was afraid of being disqualified for, but rather about the sit-up portion.

A few months back I pinched a nerve in my lower back and I’ve been going to a physical therapist for the pain. A week before the scheduled test my back had been in a lot of pain, especially the extreme lower left side. Needless to say, I was sweating that portion of the test. When I attempted to complete my first one I felt a sharp pain shoot up my back, however, each one there after got less and less painful. After completing and passing the initial physical agility portion of the test I was assigned a background investigator and an interview time for Wednesday, then returned home (or my uncles “spare house” and sat in the Jacuzzi for about an hour.

Wednesday morning I arrived to the Mesa Police Department at 8am and met with my background investigator, where he conducted a formal initial background investigation. After leaving the police department at 12:30pm, I went home, changed, and took a nice long drive around the valley area.

Thursday morning was the day of the polygraph. All week it had been in the back of my mind. A few nights prior in one of the many conversations my uncle and I had sitting in the backyard each evening we had talked about this portion of the process. Basically it was something not to worry about. If you can’t control it or change it, don’t worry about it. Things will work themselves out. Before going to the station, I was able to sleep for over 11 hours and had morning coffee with my aunt before driving back to the house that I’m totally in love with. None of the construction workers were around to talk to, but the front door was unlocked so I took another look around looking at all the completed repairs.

When I finally arrived at the station, I was a little nervous with really sweaty palms (it took 45 minutes to be fingerprinted electronically on the LiveScan machine because my fingers were so wet…that’s another story in itself). My polygraph examiner came out to get me and escorted me to his office. The first hour and a half was an interview, sharing stories and experiences, and learning about his position and education as an examiner. I have never met someone so professional, easy going, and easy to talk to such as this individual. Long story short, by 3:05pm I was done with the polygraph examination. He said that there were still some other tests he had to run on the results, however, he was very confident that I would pass. I was brought to another section of the department and had to complete another portion for the process before finishing at 4pm.

I arrived back to my uncles and packed had headed out of town at 5pm. The drive back was relaxing, quiet, and stress free. I got home just before 11pm and fell asleep.

All in all it was a great trip. I’ll be going back next month just for a short weekend trip to spend some time with my aunt and uncle (and to look at the house again…I really need the stock market to turn around, but then again if it’s meant to happen, it will happen).

11 YEARS LATER...

When I got home this afternoon I saw a box on the counter from the National Eagle Scout Association. My directory had finally arrived and was thrilled to open it up.

A few months back I was contacted by NESA asking if I'd like to be put into the 2008 Eagle Scout Roll Of Honor Directory. People have always said that the Eagle Scout accomplishment lasts a lifetime. Quite honestly I rarely look back on it. Every once in a while some type of scouting will come up somewhere and I'll say, "I'm an Eagle Scout." To most people it's a complete shock. It's not something that a lot of people know about me.

When I was going through some of the 800+ pages in the book I came across my name on page 169. Looking back now it was quite an accomplishment, considering all that I was going through.

I started my Boy Scout Journey on July 9, 1991, and earned the Rank of Eagle Scout on May 28, 1997. During those years I held several positions with in Troop 634 which was originally based out of the Sun and Sail Club in Lake Forest and later moved to Rancho Canada Elementary School. I was also a Den Chief for Cub Scouts and Webelo Scouts.

Prior to earning the Rank of Eagle Scout, I became actively involved in the newly formed Lake Forest Division of the Orange County Sheriff's Explorer Post. After starting the explorer stuff, I had no intention on attempting to finish my Eagle Scout. Both programs fell on the same night and same times and I hated missing out on the explorer stuff.

Looking back, I'm happy that I was pushed into finishing it. Not only was I happy that I actually accomplished my goal, but that I was able to accomplish something so important while not liking it at the time and having to sacrifice a lot to actually finish it out.

My accomplishments from those years of my life really help formed and shaped the person who I am today. Not that I near perfect, but it has definitely given me an education and an understanding that so many teenagers are really missing out on in these stages of their lives.

"The Eagle Scout Award. It's Scouting's highest rank and among its most familiar icons. Men who have earned it count it among their most treasured possessions. Those who have missed it by a whisker remember exactly which requirement they didn't complete. Americans from all walks of life know that being an Eagle Scout is a great honor, even if they don't know just what the badge means.

The award is more than a badge. It's a state of being. You are an Eagle Scout-never were. You may have received the badge as a boy, but you earn it every day as a man. In the words of the Eagle Scout Promise, you do your best each day to make your training and example, your rank and your influence count strongly for better Scouting and for better citizenship in your troop, in your community, and in your contacts with other people. And to this you pledge your sacred honor."

This is quite true. My best friend Keagan and I achieved the Rank of Eagle Scout on the same day, just 45 minutes apart. To this day I still have all of my Boy Scout patches, uniforms, other paraphernalia, and yes, my Boy Scout Handbook.

Eagle Scout Board of Review (May 28, 1997)















Me and Keagan (May 28, 1997)

CALIFORNIA BANNING TEXT MESSAGE USE WHILE DRIVING

As we all know, as of July 1 of this year talking on your cell phone without a hands-free devise became illegal. Now Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a law making it illegal to read or send text messages while driving in California (basically you are not allowed to touch your cell phone while driving) starting in January 2009.

The bill imposes a $20 fine for a first offense and $50 for repeat offenders using any electronic devices to read or send messages, e-mails, etc.

Now I'm just waiting for the State of California making a law that every person needs to register their cell phone like a firearm. This is getting WAY TOO RIDICULOUS!

DARIUS RUCKER'S NEW COUNTRY ALBUM: LEARN TO LIVE

On my way out to Phoenix last weekend I stopped at Best Buy and picked up Darius Rucker’s first solo country album titled, Learn To Live. I’ve been hearing the debut song, "Don’t Think I Don’t think About It" on the radio for a few months now and really liked it.

Being that I had nothing but time to kill on the way to Phoenix, I listened to the album 3 or 4 times and was quite impressed with the album. As the lead singer for Hootie and The Blowfish, Darius has always had a voice to their music as it’s changed over the years. However, as a solo artist on his country album I was extremely impressed and am already looking forward to hearing his next album.

Darius will be joining Brad Paisley for the "Paisley Party Tour” in early 2009 along with Dierks Bentely and Canadian’s Crystal Shawanda. As far a Hootie and The Blowfish are concerned, they are on hiatus for an indefinite amount of time. According to a recent interview Darius said, “We’re taking a break…people [in the band] just wanted to take time off. We’ll play together someday. We just don’t know when.” Most of the other band members also have separate solo recording contracts outside of Hootie and The Blowfish.

With that said, I’m happy that I got to see them perform the last two years that the Anaheim House of Blues. Unfortunately, there are no California stops scheduled for the remainder of the “Paisley Party Tour.”
I got my copy of Learn To Live for $7.99 at Best Buy, which is now $9.99. It's still a great but for the 12 tracks on the album.

PHOENIX…DAY 2

I started “house hunting” at 11am this morning with the company with my aunt. We headed west of their Phoenix houses to the Town of Laveen. Laveen lies just to the west of Phoenix and just north of South and Estrella Mountains. On our last stop we came across my favorite property.



Located at the west end of Laveen, I came across a property that I absolutely fell in love with. It’s a 2,247 sq. ft. 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 3 car garage which lies on 7,233 sq. ft. of property. The house comes with all stainless steel appliances such as refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, and range stove/oven, and washer/dryer. The kitchen cabinets are Sussex Cherry with 2 1/4” crown molding and Granite stone countertops all around. The floors are all 18” tiles with carpeted bedrooms.



The backyard views are amazing; facing south, southwest with a beautiful view of the two mountains to the rear of the property. All of this for under $200,000…I want to move into this house so bad!



Tomorrow it’s off to look in the southeast valley before my trip back to the OC.

ARIZONA…PART 1

I left work at 3pm today and started my journey to Phoenix. First off, I love coming to Arizona…the scenery, the weather…did I mention that it’s 91 degrees right now? While every one in the OC is in the low 60’s to high 50’s…it’s still summer time here. Being that it’s 91, quite honestly, it doesn’t feel that warm. Don’t get me wrong, it’s warm, but it just feels like a nice summer night in the OC minus the humidity.

One of my favorite things about Arizona besides the above is that Arizona is an “Open-Carry” state. For those of you who don’t know what that means because of California politics, allow me to educate you; You can legally carry a loaded firearm on your person as long as it is holstered and in plain sight. Yes, you can go to dinner, grab a movie, go to Starbuck’s with a gun on your person. Even better, you can keep a loaded firearm in your vehicle at ALL times…just tell the officer if you get pulled over.

So what did I do when I crossed the Colorado River at 6:25 pm this evening? I removed my Glock 36 from the trunk, loaded the magazine, and placed my firearm in my vehicle. It’s great that there is still a state that allows you the freedom to protect yourself.

Prior to, still on the California side, I was FINALLY able to let loose on the Camry. I’ve wanted to open up the engine for a while now, but never have. A few months ago I had high performance tires put on my Camry that are rated to speeds of 167MPH. I know my car can’t go that fast, however, you can never be too careful. With that said I opened it up a few times. Once I got used to hitting 120MPH, I wanted to see how fast my car could go. Let me put it this way…I hit 130MPH and there was still plenty of room for acceleration.



Once it hit the 130 mark, the testosterone button was pinged. That and my hands were super sweaty from the adrenaline. But the last time I went that fast was in a Chevy Caprice back when I was an explorer with the OC Sheriff’s. The digital speedometer read 136 MPH.

Tomorrow I go to look at properties in the area. I’ll be looking in Laveen, which is just west of where I’m staying now. I’ve been doing some research and have written down some areas where I want to look. Being that my uncle is also in the housing business he has also given me some areas to take a look.

HELLO AGAIN...

Okay, first of all I know it’s been a super long time since I’ve posted anything meaningful going on, but I’ve been super busy so I apologize for that.

With that said, last night Andrew and I attended the Counting Crows and Maroon 5 concert which was opened by Augustana at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine. Both bands put on an amazing performance in different ways. Counting Crows was the first up opening with Mr. Jones. I really enjoyed the musical aspect of the show, especially when both Counting Crows and Augustana ended singing a duet on their closing song (I want to say it was either Time and Time Again or Rain King).

On the other hand, I think Maroon 5 had a better performance with stage lighting and special effects, but I really enjoyed Counting Crows music a lot better and wished that they could have had more stage time.

Prior to going into the amphitheater I saw about a half dozen of coppers I used to work with and haven’t seen since I left the department back in 2004 which was a real treat. All in all it was a great night and wished that I hadn’t been so tired (I had been at the Calibre Press Street Survival Seminar all day and the day before which was great).

On that note, more to come…I bought some new toys which I will tell you about and I’m going back out to Arizona next weekend to take another look around out there…super excited.

HARBOR HOUSE DVD’S NOW AVAILABLE

The 2008 Harbor House experience is available on a 2-disc DVD set. One DVD contains 9slideshows containing 665 photos showing to the music of Lifehouse, Coldplay, Something Like Silas, The David Crowder Band, Kutless, Chris Tomlin, P.O.D., and U2, for an approximate runtime of 35 minutes. The second DVD contains 981 photos which can be extracted and printed at your convenience.

SOMETIMES I DO THIS WHEN I GET BORED (AT WORK)...

Yes, it's over the vehicles PA system...

SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T HELP BUT JUST LAUGH...

MORE HOOTIE

THEIR BACK! I saw Hootie and the Blowfish last September at the Anaheim House of Blues, which by FAR was the most amazing concert I've been to. After a 3 hour stage performance and 6 encores, I walked away wanting so much more. Nedless to say, I'm going back to see them on Friday, August 22, at 8pm as they rock the House of Blues in Anaheim.

ALL BETTER (FOR NOW)

A few weeks back I was teased for possibly having pink eye. In fact, it wasn’t pinkeye, but rater a reaction from allergies when I was housesitting in San Clemente for the 3 or so weeks prior that I never took care of. So, About 3 weeks or so ago, I went to see the doctor to get rid of the redness of my eyes. After being prescribed drops and an antibotic, needless to say I was back to normal by the following week, or so I thought.

A week ago last Friday my right leg started to become sore. I thought that I needed to be off it for a day, so I called in sick, thinking that I’d be back to normal the following day. However, the pain had worsened. By Monday evening the pain was soe severe I felt like crying and I could not sleep. I’ve had gout before, but the pain of gout had nothing on this.

At 1:45am Tuesday morning, l decided to drive to Saddleback Memorial Center and checked myself in to the ER shortly after 2am. I was taken to the back area, where 5 x-rays were taken of my left foot checking for fracture or breaks. After that, I had an ultra-sound performed on my left leg.

By 4am, the results were in and they couldn’t find anything thing wrong. They put a soft boot type cast on my left leg to stabalize my leg to help reduce the pain I was checked out by 4:30am and given a prescription for 800mg of Motrin and 5mg of Hydrodocone, or Norco (aka Vicoden). I was told to make an appointment with my doctor in 2 days and to return to the ER if the pain worsens. After waking up around 1pm that afternoon, I went and had my prescription filled.

Going into Wednesday afternoon, my leg was becoming more painful. I began to use crutches to get around. My foot was becoming a little more red than usual, however, I didn’t notice any swelling. After our usual dinner at Islands a few of us went over to the Wal*Mart at the other side of the shopping center. As I hobbled into the store (which I hate until now) the Indian guy with bad B/O felt bad for me and gave me a electric cart to use while in the store (that’s a whole other story in itself).



After finally getting home arounf 10:45pm Wednesday evening, the pain felt worse than the day before and so I went back to Saddleback’s ER. After talking to the doctor, he took me out of the brace/soft cast and prescribed me 5mg of Valium to help sleep through the pain. After leaving the ER shortly after 1am on Thursday morning, I went home and fell asleep. Until this day, I’d never taken Valium, but it is simply AMAZING!

Thursday morning I had my scheduled doctors appointment. The redness to my foot was there, but with minimal swelling. After the brief visit, a blood draw (WHICH I HATE AND ALWAYS PASS OUT TO) I was prescribed 0.6mg of Colchicine (DON’T TAKE IT IF YOU DON’T HAVE TO-I’ll tell you why in a minute) and another ultra-sound at the Radiology Department at Saddleback Hospital at 1:30pm and scheduled for another visit the following day.



Up until this point they had no idea what was wrong. Fitst thought was either a fracture, possible blood clot, or torn tendon or ligament, but the x-rays and untra-sound rulled those out. After the second ultra-sound they were still unable to find a cause.

Back to the Colchicine, the doctor through that I may have had a more severe form of gout. Previously, I’ve only had it in my big toe which hurts like a mother, but never in the ankle joint. Thinking that this might be the case my doctor prescribed me the Colchicine which should have knocked out the pain. However, the only side effect being the possibility of diarrhea. I was tld to take two pills for the first dose and one pill every hour. By the 6th pill I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. I went to bed only to wake up 3 times during the night, at which time I continued to take a pill each time I woke up.

Friday morning I returned to the doctors office feeling sick to my stomach, having chills, wanting to vomit, and so forth, apparently additional reactions to the Cochicine that I didn’t know about. My doctor took me off the Cochicine and prescribed me 2 additional prescriptions, 50mg of Indomethacin (an anti-inflammatory) and 500mg of Levaquin, something to treat a possible bacterial infection.

After leaving the doctors office and getting my prescriptions filled, I went home and took a Valium and fell asleep for most of the day, before waking up shortly before 5pm and throwing up. After that, I was already starting to feel better.

Saturday morning I was already beginning to feel a whole lot better, but still had a little pain to my left foot. I stayed indoors all day to rest my foot. When I woke up Sunday morning I noticed an even bigger difference in regards to the decrease to pain. I left the house to get my car washed and go to church and out to dinner. Freedom is just around the corner.

I have a doctors appointment Monday morning to be cleared to go back to work for this Tuesday. I don’t think I’ve been this happy to ever get back to work. I just need to stay off of it for another day or so then I should be back to normal. YIPPIE!

ACCEPTED

As many of you know I applied to The Art Institute about two months ago. Late last week I received my letter of acceptance from the school. "Congratulations! The Admissions Committee is very pleased to offer you admission to The Art Institute of California- Orange County.

You have been admitted to the Bachelor Degree program in Graphic Design beginning 2008, Fall"...yada yada yada...

I'm extremely excited about this, but at the same time too I have to ask myself if this is really something that I want to do. When all is said and done I am looking at just under $80,000 between tuition (alone is $76,663), books, and other supplies. I know its a great school, however, I really don't know if I really want to put myself into that much debt.

Ehhh, if this is where I am supposed to be then I know that God will open all the doors and everything will work out. Then again, I can always hit up the "cougar bars" in Newport Beach and see how that goes ;)

ANOTHER REASON TO "SAY NO TO DRUGS!"

If you didn't see American Idol on Tuesday night, then you missed Paula's best performer critiques.

Watch it here

WHAT IF

As a church, Saddleback finished their 4-week series One Month to Live, based on the book, One Month To Live. The authors Kerry and Chris Shook concluded the series with an amazing life story and background of their book. To be completely honest, I really was not looking forward to this series at Saddleback Church; however, it was something that I was going to commit to reading and attending the services listening to Doug Fields talk on the series.

Honestly, the last half of 2007 (basically June-December) weren’t the best months of my life. I was dealing with a lot of personal “issues” (guys have issues and girls just have problems) and dealing with a lot of confidence and insecurity issues. Even into the beginning of this year, I was still struggling with some of those issues. On top of that, I my work schedule was constantly changing. I was working 6-10 day workweeks from the last week of February until just a week ago, working over 60 hours of “volun-told” overtime that I didn’t want.

However, during this time God was setting a lot of that time aside for me to be alone with Him. I was dealing with two very important issues in my life. For almost three months I knew that I’ve needed to tend to some unfinished business, but it was something that I had been procrastinating on since late January. After the second weeks message, we were challenged to love like I’m forgiven. The ending of that message was the last push of encouragement and motivation that I needed, to go forward in faith and do something that God had kept on my heart for so long. It wasn’t easy, nor was it something that I wanted to do, but I knew it had to be done.

This morning, as I sat in church at Yorba Linda Friends I was listening to Pastor Matthew Cork finish his series, Life In Balance: Simplicity. To summarize his sermon:

Simplicity is not:
- a checklist of do’s and don’ts
- just a change in lifestyles or habits
- necessarily the opposite to complexity
Simplicity is:
- a call to a life of focus, not simply a plan of action (Matthew 6:33)
- an inward reality that changes our outward lifestyle (Matthew 22:37-39)
- a freedom from self, and a willingness to surrender our rights for the good of others.

In the message Matthew made two comments that I really took to heart. First, “You will only love God as much as you love the person whom you least like.” Being that I basically ended a friendship due to several circumstances (which I will not go into), it was definitely encouraging hearing that. I believe that you can completely forgive someone for all the hurts and pains that they may have caused with out wanting to restore any type of friendship.

Also, I am a person who loves my space, my comfort zone, and for the most part I am usually not a huge risk taker. I’m the type of person that will evaluate, research, and calculate the pros and cons before jumping into a decision. With that said, Matthew brought up a point of having visible “warning indicators” in our lives for decisions that we face. If that actually existed, believe me, I’d be the first one to get one. I like knowing what I’m about to get involved in. I don’t like going into any situation blind, nevertheless unprepared.

Sometimes I feel that I live a lot of my life on the safe side, especially when it comes to relationships and friendships. There are reasons why I don’t put myself into compromising situations, or try to go a little further that what I know would be pleasing to God. I’ll be the first to admit that I have hurt a lot of people close to me, but mostly not on purpose. A lot of times it was done out of ignorance. For those of you who really know me, I am probably one of the most respectful, honest, open, and down to earth people that you know. Yes, I know I do have a little of a cynical side to me, but for those of you who know the “real me,” you know that I have a ton of positive attributes that I try to uphold on a daily basis. Bare with me, I’m going somewhere with this…really, I am.

Back to tonight…as I mentioned earlier, we finished the series, One Month To Live. From the four key points of the series, live passionately, live completely, live humble, and live boldly, we were challenged to do three things on a regular basis with the people closest in our lives:

- say what you mean now (tell them that you love them, encourage them, and admonish them on a regular basis),
- show them how you feel be following through with actions, and
- share it now…don’t wait.

As of last week, I am completely comfortable knowing that if I died tomorrow that I would have no regrets. I’ve made my peace with God, I know I am saved, my friendships and relationships have been restored, and I am confident in knowing that in every deep and personal friendship and relationship that I’ve been in, I’ve left each and every one of them in a better and healthier place than when I first met them. We’ve all grown and walked through several valleys together. Am I saying that my life is perfect? Not at all. Now that everything is completely restored I can use the remainder time here to deepen and strengthen the ones that I already have.

So, if tomorrow I was told that I only had one month to live what would I do? I’d embrace those closest to me and spend every moment making memories for the future.

OH SWEET DEER

Tonight at work I BBQ’d up some Venison. Being that I have never eaten Deer before I was a little sketchy and hesitant to try it, however, after the first bite it was quite tasteful. Needless to say I will be defrosting another batch of Venison for a near future meal.

NEW SPRINT VS. NEXTEL BLACKBERRY'S

This past Thursday morning I sent an e-mail to Dan Hesse, President and CEO of Sprint, inquiring about the two BlackBerry's:

Hi Dan,

I know you are super busy, so I won't try to waste your time. I'm an avid CrackBerry,…I mean BlackBerry user. I used to be on the Nextel side of business before having to change over to the Sprint side. The greatest loss was the Direct Connect feature on all of my older phones and BlackBerry's. I was extremely tempted to switch to AT&T back in August just to keep that feature, but only on an updated BlackBerry, but I have been with Sprint/Nextel/Sprint since July of 1998.

Rumor has is that Nextel is coming out with an iDEN compatible BlackBerry some time this year. Is the Sprint Curve 8330 going to be compatible with the Direct Connect feature? If not, will the Nextel iDEN Blackberry have a digital camera feature. I currently have the Blackberry 8830WE, but miss both features, which was something that I had on my Motorola i580. And if Nextel is indeed coming out with a new BlackBerry, which quarter is it projected for?

Thanks for any feedback!

Brian

When I got to work and checked my e-mail just a little while ago, I ACTUALLY got a reply back:

Dear Brian

Thank you for your email. I have done some research on your questions and the Sprint Curve 8330 will not have Direct connect. Also the Nextel iDEN Blackberry will not have a camera on it. I do apologize for any inconvenience. If you have any other question please visit us at www.phonescoop.com.

Thank you again for contacting Sprint. We appreciate your business.

Sincerely,
Camika D - Sprint

You heard it hear first...I'll be sticking with Sprint and purchasing the BlackBerry Curve 8330 when it is released sometime this month. I can't wait!

THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME

As all of you know, I am extremely addicted to my BlackBerry, or “CrackBerry.” Although I have gotten in the habit of not always having it on me, it’s always at least in the car where ever I go. Lately, I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the BlackBerry Curve 8330, which is set some where between April 16th and 20th. I’ve even been on the phone with customer service trying to pry information from them about conflicting reports.

As if I am not already anxious enough about the release of the BlackBerry Curve 8330, now I am also hearing reports that the Nextel side of Sprint will be releasing a new BlackBerry sometime this year. Dan Hesse - President, CEO of Sprint quoted in the Sprint Nextel Corporation Q4 2007 Earnings Call on February 28, 2008, “…later this year we'll introduce the first ever iDEN WiFi BlackBerry, which will feature push-to-talk, a QWERTY keypad and contemporary industrial design.” FINALLY!

I bought my first BlackBerry 7520 on the Nextel network in May of 2007, which incorporated the iDEN network. Because of massive texting issues I was having with it, I threw my BlackBerry against a rock in July of 2007, which subsequently fatally damaged my blackBerry. Later that month I purchased the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition on the Sprint side. Best of all I was still able to keep my $7.50 unlimited text message plan when I switched sides, but ultimately lost the Direct Connect (PPT) feature.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my current BlackBerry, however, I miss the digital camera and video feature of my old regular phone. Now that Sprint will be offering the Curve (which has a 2.0MP camera) and Nextel will be coming out with a new model (maybe with a 3.2MP camera) and my favorite, the DIRECT CONNECT (PPT) feature. Either way I’ll be happy. Both BlackBerry’s will be duel network compatible.

So, the “chirp” is coming back along with all the other great BlackBerry features. I’m assuming that this new Nextel BlackBerry will be announced at the 2008 Wireless Enterprise Symposium in just a little over 4 weeks. I can’t wait. I think I’ll be able to hold off a little longer (self-control).

SOUP IT UP

There are some things in life that you just can't get enough of. For me, this is one of them!

SWEET GAME

Phoenix 2, Anaheim 3 in SUDDEN DEATH!

CURVING TOWARDS THIS INSTEAD...MAYBE

In addition to the Samsung Instinct which was just announced, Research In Motion aka Blackberry just announced that their Curve series will be offered for Sprint. I bought my first Blackberry (the 7520 from Nextel) back in May of 2007, but had a short life expectancy due to it being thrown against a rock in July because of network complications. After about two weeks or so I switched from my Nextel service to Sprint and purchased the Blackberry 8830WE, which I totally love. However, I miss ONE thing that my Nextel "bullet proof" phone had that my current one doesn't...a camera.

I missed the camera feature so much that I had seriously looked into purchasing the Pearl series from Sprint, losing the full size QWERTY keypad just to have the camera feature, but I didn't want to deal with learning how to use the "smart text" feature. I hate T9 text, which is something that I don't have to worry about with my current Blackberry.

It looks as of April 15, 2008, the Blackberry 8330 will be available for around $179.99 (versus the $299.99 Samsung Instinct price tag) after instant and mail-in rebates. This is something that I am very seriously looking into purchasing. In addition to the camera feature, it also allows you to take movies (which are stored on a micro SD card-Blackberry now supports up to an 8GB micro SD card) so you can take hours of video, and a digital voice recorder feature. Rumor has it that you cannot use both hands to text on the Samsung Instinct's virtual keypad, which is a draw back because I do text and drive at the same time.

I compared both the Samsung Instinct and Blackberry 8330 specs side by side. Other than a few little things, basically I've come to the conclusion that I will be getting a LOT more for my money if I purchase the Blackberry. As far as the billing fees are considered, I'll be paying the same on either phone, so that's not an issue any longer.

Anyways, here are some additional specs on the Blackberry 8330.

SPRINT INSTINCT

Sprint just announced the unvailing of its' new phone, the Samsung Instinct, which is due out in June. I am very excited about this new product and have already signed up to be one for the first to own this product. Usually I'll wait a few months for any new product to so that any kinks can be worked out. Lately I've been looking into ditching my Blackberry 8830(WE) for the Trio 750WX, only because I really miss the digital camera feature and won't have to spend the extra $50 a month for the Blackberry service.


Here are just a few of the specs of the Instinct:
- CDMA/EV-DO Dual Band (800/1900MHz), which will now fully support the Nextel
Direct Connect feature (something that I REALLY MISS), and 3G Capable
- 3.1" TFT Touch Screen @ 262,144 colors
- 2.0 Megapixel Digital/Video Camera with Flash at 2X Zoom
- MP3 Player
- Micro SD (supports up to a 8GB card)
- Phone as Modem
- Full HTML/WAP 2.0 Browser ready
+ Java
+ E-mail
+ GPS
- Bluetooth 2.0 (Stereo)
- Phone Features:
+ Dimesions (4.6 X 2.2 X 0.5 inches) @ 4.4oz
+ 5.75 Hours of Talk Time
+ Alarm, Calendar, Calculator, TO-DO, Stopwatch, Memo, World Clock, and
Unit Converter
+ Address Book (up to 600 names with Call Groups, Muntiple Numbers per Contact, Picture and/or Ring ID)
+ Sprint TV (CNN Live) and Radio
+ SPRINT EXCLUSIVE of VISUAL VOICEMAIL
(which allows you to pick and choose the voicemails which you want
to hear)

Additionally, initial reports are indicating that the Instince will come with a 2GB SD Card and TWO (2) BATTERIES for a price tag under $300.

Click Here for Continous Updates

FINALLY SENTENCED

This was an arrestee that I booked and transported to OCJ in March of 2004. Now, four years later he is FINALLY sentenced. While he was making his phone call to his mother, she said he was all over the news. His response? He began laughing and yelled to the other two accomplices that they were in the news.

I have no sympathy and having personally seen the store surveillance tape that captured the whole murder, I wish he would have received the death penalty. The store employee who was murdered was someone that I saw on a regular basis when I worked at the police department. The murder was basically an initiation to a white supremest gang.

Irvine 7-11 Murder Sentencing

BETTER OFF AS A MEMORY

But one day you're gonna find someone
And right away you'll know it's true
That all of your sinking's done
It was just a part of the passing through
Right there in that moment you'll finally understand
That I was...

I WANT TO SEE...

I haven't been to the movies since Transformers came out last June, however, I want to see these in the theaters:

What Happens in Vegas (May 9th)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22nd)

You Don't Mess With The Zohan (June 6th)

The Love Guru (June 20th)

Get Smart (June 20th)

Wanted (June 27th)

The Dark Knight (July 18th)

PEEP SHOW

Brent sent this to me. It's too funny not to share.

15 MINUTES OF FAME

Carrie Johnson (formerly Filson) will be on L.A. Ink this Thursday on TLC at 10p. Her tattoo is incredible.

WHAT NEXT

It’s amazing how quickly hopes can be crushed before you’re back at square one. These past few weeks have been nothing short of utter chaos and frustration. My outlook is split down the middle-one being that I know God is allowing my to go through this to strengthen my trust and faith, but on the other hand I completely contradict myself by thinking that I must have failed God because it seems that I’m failing at everything I’m trying to accomplish.

Sunday morning was a perfect example of that. After being up for 22 hours, I had a job interview which I tanked, the second one in less than a month. However, I wasn’t too disappointed for tanking the interview as much as I just wanted to get home and go to bed. The past month has been extremely difficult for me and I am completely exhausted. To make matters worse is that I’m not able to sleep as much as I need to. It’s not that I don’t have the time to, but it’s just simply I can’t sleep. Lately I’ve been averaging 5-6 hours a day since going back to midnights a little over two weeks ago.

I have so much crap on my mind that I’m just trying to let go of-the biggest one being of finding a new job. Although I technically have about a year and a half left, I’m now starting to get a little more anxious about finding a new one. Being that I’ve already tanked my last two interviews in less than a month, my confidence isn’t quite up to par right now. And to make matters a little more difficult I’ve basically run out of motivation.

One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is perseverance. However, after fighting and working to obtain a goal for the last 7 years, I think it has gotten the better half of me. I’m tired, and I feel defeated and isolated trying to reach something that is becoming a lot more distant. I think that I’ve finally come to terms with myself knowing that the past is the past and that I need to move on and seek out something else.

I think that rejection has gotten the better half of me. I don’t want to have to face having to explain my past, after looking at the look of shock on their face when I can sit back and laugh about it because I know that it never happened. Word gets around quick and I think that I am finally at the point of no return. At the same time that is why I value honesty and integrity. I’m not one to bad mouth other people. Sure, I’ll be completely up front and honest to you, but I don’t go behind your back to talk trash. I’ve been on the receiving end plenty of times and it hurts. I’m still being haunted to this day (literally) for three errors on a polygraph machine which will keep me from being put through any further in the hiring process. After yesterday morning, I know I should be receiving a phone call in the next week from a reference I used who has been a long time friend who will ask me about the interview.

It sucks and it’s not fair. However, I know that life is not fair. I need to take the punches and fight the fights that I know I can win. Unfortunately, I think that this is one of the fights that no matter how hard I try to fight or no matter how many times I return to the boxing ring I will lose each and every time. Through all the utter chaos and frustration, I know I am still loved by God. Although I don’t know why I have to go through everything I’m going through, one day I’ll see. But until then, I’ll keep planted in God’s Word and continue to follow after Him (easier said than done).

THIS IS MY NOW...

Tonight we finished up the Book of II Thessalonians and I heard one of the most encouraging verses, which could not have come at a better time. “And I say to the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.” – II Thessalonians 3:14

In Paul’s second letter to the Church of Thessalonica, his final chapter encourages and instructs Christians of proper living. I felt that this verse struck my heart the most because of some of the things that I’ve been going through lately. So many times I know I’ve been doing the right thing without taking shortcuts and trying to be accountable, while seeing other people around me seeming not to take their faith seriously and in doing so, it seems like they’ve been getting ahead while I seem to be standing still, again, waiting on God. So many times I’ve felt like giving up and compromising myself and my faith just to get to where I want to be, then asking God for forgiveness; but I know that our true faith doesn’t work like that.

It’s been hard for me lately not giving in to the world, but at times wanting to so much just to feel accepted and appreciated. Although my heart feels overwhelmed with joy and the peace that only God can anoint, at the same time my personal life feels alone and abandoned. I’m not depressed by any means, but sometimes I continue to doubt myself wondering if the desires of my heart will work out, and if so, when.

My life has had its’ fair share of loneliness, pain, frustration, confusion, and disappointments. Nevertheless, in all that I’ve gone through and continue to struggle with (my confidence, or lack there of and me having to be a perfectionist), God’s peace has been overwhelming during these past couple of months as I’ve turned my focus off of me and onto Him.

The two most important lesions that I’ve faced head on in the last couple of months have been humility and perseverance. Humility, being dependant on God and giving up my control; and perseverance to learning from the disappointments, failures, and rejections, and continuing to move forward, even when it feels uncomfortable and hurts at times.

I continue to learn new things and see how God works in my life on a regular basis as I walk through life. In the words of Paul, “May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.” (II Thessalonians 3:5), I’m reminded that as I walk through life, everyday is an opportunity for my relationship to grow closer to Christ. Is it easy all the time? Certainly not. Just like any relationship, you grow by walking together and getting to know one another.

There will be obstacles in the way that will challenge my faith. In regards to my relationship with Christ, the biggest obstacle is Satan. Satan loves nothing more than to remind me of my past, in turn stirring up mixed emotions and thoughts questioning if I’m really good enough for God. Fortunately, Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross and I am accepted into His presence through the grace of God.

So, as I continue to journey through life, I need to be constantly reminded to keep my relationship with Christ sacred, holding it close and dear to my heart. Although I may have had a weak start, I need to continue to persevere through the tests and trials and enduring the obstacles while keeping my focus on Christ so that I can have a strong finish to my life.

WAITING PATIENTLY AND CONFIDENTLY...

Although I can't see the future, God knows my heart and promises me this: "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." -Jeremiah 29:11

NEVER WANTED NOTHING MORE

I've had this song on repeat on my iPod in my car for the past two days.



Other good songs on the album I really like are:
- Don't Blink
- Just Not Today
- Wife and Kids
- Dancin' For The Groceries

THE MEANING BEHIND THE TITLE

cha•o•tic |kāˈätik|
adjective
in a state of complete confusion and disorder

pa•tience |ˈpā sh əns|
noun
the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset
_________________________

CHAOTIC PATIENCE:

I wouldn't go as far to say that my life is in disorder, however, I will completely agree that it's in a state of complete confusion. Almost a month ago I came to the realization that I will be 30 in a year and a half. Usually by now, most of us my age are established their careers and relationships. For me it's almost the complete opposite.

Although I'm not where I want to be, I'm fine with that. It's not easy at times to accept that I still struggle with being single (going on 13 years now), and still want my childhood dream career. As I work at obtaining both I know that God is in control. His plan for my life will be revealed in His timing. Until then I have to remain faithful and committed to Christ. This season of my life has been pretty unique. I've been through quite a few things which has allowed me to grow and look at life from a difference vantage point.

But I think that the most important area that I've seen the most amount of growth is in my relationship with Christ. Since the beginning of the year, I've been taking full advantage of the extra "free" time I've had and plugging myself into God's Word and deepening my relationship with Him. I know that my current status in life is only temporary, however, when things eventually change I know that I'll be rooted and grounded deeper in Him which will help me in all areas of my life.

Am I disappointed with my life? Absolutely not. About 5 months or so ago I asked God for patience in my life. Believe me, since then it's been a daily lesson. Although at times I become frustrated I know that God is in control and that this is just Him reassuring me to continue to trust Him.