Breaking News Day/Before-You-Say-I-Might Session 4

This morning was relatively normal at work, but as soon as the Midday show was over it seemed like the world fell apart. We had three potential breaking news stories happen- only one was worthy enough to actually cut into programming, but behind the scenes, we're all on standby when we go on or not. First one was the Amber Alert kid was found- actually he escaped and returned home on his own. Crafty. The second was a wall collapsed in Somerset WI and the third was a fire in a St. Paul house. Strange day. We go for weeks without any breaking news and then we have a day like this.

Tonight's class was probably the most valuable one yet. It was about intimacies- how they can be good and/or bad for a relationship. This is the meat of why marriages often fail, I think. It was interesting. Our breakout group even split by gender to further discuss the topic. It was interesting and I feel I've connected with others in my small group on a deeper level. Very interesting.

After we got home, Bobo and I took a walk and smoked a couple of stogies and talked some more. Nice night out. We really ought to do this more while we can.

music - Blame It on the Rain - Milli Vanilli (due to the Ashley Simpson lip-sync story)

Bobo Gets Engaged!!!

After about 10 months of dating, Robert and Laura are engaged. He asked her last Thursday on Honeymoon Bluff along the Gunflint Trail in the Boundary Waters in the last moments of sunlight and she said yes. They will be married next August (so I have to start looking for a new place to live soon). They met in the bible study that I inherited and now lead with Cara. We're all currently attending a before-you-say-I-might class about marriage. This is so awesome. Congratulations!

oh, and he asked me to be a groomsman and of course I said yes.

Dasher Goes Home/Medieval Birthday Party

Today was the last day I watch Dasher for jenny. She picked him up right from the airport. My time with Dasher was interesting. He has an insecurity that can get annoying. He needs to be on one's lap almost all the time, which would be fine if he would stay still, but he can't seem to.

As soon as Jen left, I threw on my costume and flew down to Keesha's house for a collective birthday party of various FOCUS people. I got there a bit later than most and missed some of the activities like jousting and sword fighting. Everyone looked great in the costumes, Eric had full chainmail and people were sticking magnets on him, Rob Kistler (spelling?) came in full tin-foil armor that kept tearing, etc. Cara looked great. I've been missing her lately because of our schedules. I had to leave a bit early due to Viking Game Day early tomorrow morning.

I have a friend over tonight and tomorrow till Saturday. My little friend Dasher. Dasher is Jen's dog- half Basenji and half Jack Russell or something like that. He is a funny little dog, Bobo and I think Dasher hasn't experienced much dude play. He doesn't seem to know how to roughhouse. He's a little girlie dog. Oh well. Its fun anyways.

music - theme from On the Road

What do you do when there is something at work that saps your energy like a sponge? Not just my energy, everyone involved was drained. An energy vampire is among us.

I brought home the tech manual for the video switcher today.

Bible study was fine, tonight. Everyone was tired. These busy weeks are wearing on us all- having class Monday nights and then bible study Tuesday nights. Romans chapter 5 is short and very repetitive of chapter 4 so we allowed a lot of tangents tonight.

I chucked a digital alarm clock tonight. A clock I received from my folks upon graduation from 5th grade (I think). It still works- sort of. The clock part works, but the alarm had no control for volume. The only setting left is MAXIMUM VOLUME. So I chucked it. I have a new small digital one anyway. One that automatically resets itself every morning at 2am. It receives an AM radio broadcast from Fort Collins, CO that updates the exact time from the atomic clock there.

music - Election Day - Arcadia

Cara and I have returned from the small group leader's retreat in Alexandria. It was a good time. On the way up, Friday night, Hwy 94 was packed all the way till around 8pm. We almost turned around and came home. Its been such a crazy week and we were tired. Once we got there, it was clear that we belonged there. Like the Woodland Hills retreats that I've been to before, this was just so much fun. Its license to be a kid again. There was a treasure hunt on Saturday evening that we had to dress up like pirates for (I won the pirate costume contest, thanks to Bobo's selection of renaissance apparel). We stayed up late playing games and talking and laughing and it seemed like we ate and ate and ate. While the ride up there was so slow, the ride back was very fast it seems. Good times.

This evening I packed up a couple more sales on eBay. Another collectible game action figure and a battle axe!

music - I had Shake the Disease by Depeche Mode in my head most of the time while there, but Greg Wollen's song Glorybound was, for sure, the song of the weekend.

Yeah, tonight was a bit of an adventure. We'll get to that in a sec.

First. This was a Viking Game Day day at the Mall of America. The best part of these days is over time and 4 player chess. After we set up the set its becoming tradition the four production people (Scott, Josh, me and another- rotating person, today it was Robin) play chess against each other with a special board made for four. It is really fun and it leads to chess theory discussions.

The show went fine and packing up the set is getting faster and faster. We're hitting our stride. Tonight's was the last one in the Sears rotunda. Next time we're there it will be in the giant Sam Goody rotunda. We may have to find our stride again.

After we were all packed up I went to a Halloween store to buy cheap swords. Cara and I are going out of town this weekend. We're attending a small group leader's retreat up in Alexandria. They told us to bring pirate costumes for some reason. So I bought swords.

When I got home, Bobo and Laura were upstairs. Not long after I got there, she left. Soon Bobo comes downstairs. Lets go check the trap- I say.

So we go out and look and sure enough, Bobo caught an opossum (he had seen one around and picked up a rather large trap). So as soon as I was packed for the weekend, we took the opossum in my jeep across the river and let him out. We figured it would have to cross the Mississippi on Hwy 694 to come back and that probably wasn't going to happen. He was a strange looking chap. "marsupials do, though". Didn't smell good either. But once we got the trap opened, he was gone -"'cause, they're fast!"
yeah, that was the adventure.

music - song from Night at the Roxbury

I mailed the first sale from Bobo's line of eBay products today. The HeroClix Silver Surfer is away!

[warning... venting ahead!]
Work was fine. There is one guy (the guy who always clears his throat) in engineering who has gotten on my nerves. I guess he sees me as the most willing to help in the production department or something, but come on. He has no care if I'm on my break or not. He expects me to drop whatever I'm doing and help him every time. The thing that is annoying is the difference in nature of our department's days. His department- they have all day to work on whatever they need to. Our department is very dependent on what time it is to if we're available or not. We can only take breaks at certain times. I don't think he sees that.

Infact, he is an interesting person in that he is one of the most self centered people I've ever met. I don't mean that in an insulting way, I mean that in a most littoral way. He has a strong need to show you how you are wrong and he is right. Condescending. I recall one morning, there were about 3 of us production people sitting at the table. The other two guys were reading or something like that. I was eating breakfast. He comes over to our table and sits down and asks if I could help him with something. I say sure- between bites and he says, ok, I'll wait for you to finish... and he sits there, watching me eat until the moment I swallow the last bite. It was incredibly awkward and annoying. aaaaaaarrrgggg!!!
[/vent]

We had social night at bible study tonight. No study, just play games. First we did our highs/lows and for Erik's praise report, he pulls out a ziplock back with a mouse caught in a trap, quite dead and says- "answered prayer!" (which, obviously was a prayer request last week or the week before), quite hilarious, though, Laura didn't appreciate a dead mouse in bible study. What game did we play tonight? Taboo- boys vs girls. I found I kick ass at Taboo. We laughed a lot. Then we got on a strange kick about carnivorous and making puns with all the food names that could apply to humans as food. Fun odd night.

Found out that disk 2 of the Jeremiah DVD set doesn't work. That was a bummer. I'll have to figure out how to resolve that problem with the eBay seller, get all hard-assed and mean.

Bobo got me the 1st volume of collected out-of-print rpg books Greg, Terry, Orion and I used to play way back in the day. Twilight 2000 volume 1. Very nice presentation with more than I had before. Brings me way back.

music - Love, In Itself & Shake the Disease - Depeche Mode

2nd night in our couples class. There was some kind of grouping problem with Bobo and Laura's group and maybe Erik and Keesha's as well so they took the 'problem children' (the Woodland Hills folk) and made a new group, consisting totally of us. So its the six of us and our small group leaders, Ethan and Robyn Craig, who are awesome people. We all kind of knew something was going to shift around but none of us saw it coming out like this. I like it. It seems like God is directing us down a path where these three couples [Keesha and Erik, Bobo and Laura, and Cara and I] are growing into a group of friends. Sort of like when you'd see your parents go out with friends, it feels like that.

Bobo and I watched the first episode of Jeremiah last night. Cool show. Its a post-apocalyptic setting, so I gotta love it. Looking forward to seeing how the show continues.

The events around that accident are fading. Thank you, God, for time and the effects time has on the mind.

music - Growing Up - Peter Gabriel

I saw a man die today.

Cara and I were in Woodbury visiting her friend Kristin and his husband, Matt. They just moved into a house and we returned Sadie, their dog, that Cara was watching for the weekend. We stayed for a good chunk of the Twins game. We took off at about the 10th inning. Took 494 north which becomes 694 as it turns west. It seemed like a lot of people were driving recklessly all over and I even made a comment to Cara like "What's up with people tonight!?". Then we had just passed 35E and a red SUV was merging into our lane about 50 yards ahead of us- perfectly fine. Then, very very fastly, a large grey pickup truck, weaving between cars behind us, whips around my jeep and obviously wanted to get in our lane ahead of us, but the red SUV had just merged there. Too late. The back of the big grey truck clips the front of the SUV causing the truck to redirect perpendicular with the highway and he keeps going off the highway to our right, hits the ditch, rolls over on the frontage road. The red SUV manages to pull over on the on-ramp of Rice Ave. they were fine. Cara starts to call 911, I park the jeep on the side of the highway, hazard lights on and run down and up the ditch, jump the fence and join the 3 or 4 other people assessing the situation. The truck was on its roof, pieces of truck and glass all over. Another car comes up the frontage road and in its headlights we see the driver of the truck kind of hanging out of what was the rear window. There is blood and he is moving a little. It seemed like 4 or 5 minutes and a cop arrives. In his flashlight beam we see just how much blood has pooled. It doesn't look good for this guy. The red SUV guy comes down and he is superwired-in shock, but he is physically fine. By now more cops and ambulances are there. Cara was up checking on the red SUV guy's son, he's fine too, a bit shaken up. She gives a cop her report, I give mine and eventually we're on our way.

music - Too Much Rope - Roger Waters (Give any one species too much rope and they'll f* it up!)

Happy Birthday Gregory!

Worked out at the Mall of America for Viking Game Day and it went rather well (unlike the last two times). Stopped by the Franklin Covey store- which has become a tradition this year. After we set up the set, Josh, Scott, Zach and I played 4 player chess. We've been doing that on and off all week and its been a blast. Somehow, I became the designated liaison between us and the cheerleaders. One of the regulars calls me Indy because she heard Joe Schmit call me that (Joe doesn't know my real name so he calls me Indiana because last year I was Indiana Jones for Halloween). And I broke my leatherman.

I'm scheduled to work at the Metrodome tomorrow evening for a Twins pregame show. After that I'm going to Greg's and Mandy's again this weekend to watch the nice guys (see below).


music - Hold Back the Reigns - Duran Duran (Rio) and Here is the House - Depeche Mode (Black Celebration)

Happy Anniversary, Greg and Mandy!

Its been a while since I updated this blog. I've been at Greg and Mandy's hanging with the nice guys. Hanging with the nice guys is kind of like a miniature vacation for me. It forces me away from my usual routine and gives me a period of time to just sit on my ass and watch movies or tv. Thats half of why I haven't posted for a while. Those dogs are wonderful. They even got to chase a rabbit this weekend!

Tonight was the first Before You Say I Might class (of 7). Its a couples class for those who are involved in a serious relationship and are thinking about marriage. It was interesting and I can see the potential for how this could help Cara's and my relationship. I have homework. I'm due to write more, but I'm feeling quite unmotivated tonight, so I'll just have to write more tomorrow.

music - Downside Up - Peter Gabriel (been listening to a lot of Pete lately)

So I haven't posted for a few days.

Yesterday I bought a new bike and was immediately called into work for breaking news. I was the first one to arrive in response to the pager. Cara had to hang out while I got the studio and control room up and running. The regularly scheduled crew came in so we left. My bike is awesome. Its a large Raleigh mountain hardtrail with bar ends and a water bottle mount.

I woke up around 3:30 this morning for work. Today was the first Viking Game Day shot live from the Metrodome. Its always a bit crazy out there because you have tons of people who are trying to get into the game and half of them are filled with alcohol. Then we have former Vikings on as quests. Today's guests were Boomer Brown and Robert Smith and... Burt Reynolds!!?? What? Why? Who knows, but he was there, on the set. The best part was we were referring to him as Turd Ferguson over the headsets while we were trying to figure out where to put him in the show. So as I'm standing right next to Burt, Dave the director says- as plain as day, "So, we're replacing Q&A with Turd Ferguson?" I had to laugh. How surreal was that? The show went alright. Somewhere in the middle of the show I saw Terri Huml in the crowd. She was a board member at Bloomington Public Television when I worked there. She was also the Vice President of Advertising for the Vikings at the time. Not sure what she is to them now or why she was there, but it wasn't a surprise that she was there. We got out of there sometime between 1 and 1:30.

After Turd, I went home and rested for a bit. Then Bobo, Laura, Eric, Cara and I went to Shaun of the Dead. Very fun movie. Cara had to run as soon as we got home. Eric hung out and we watched some internet movies. He had not seen Troops before. Then he left and I updated my blog.

music - Thursdays Child - David Bowie (even though its Sunday)

For each of the shows that are produced throughout a day during the week there are usually certain directors that do those shows. This week, it seems that all the directors were shaken up and everyone is doing everyone else's show. It is kind of refreshing. Its a chance to work with directors you don't usually get to.

So, since the fair has ended and the couple of weeks after that all crescendoed into the At Issue/Town Hall Meeting Friday, everything has leveled off. Things sort of resemble regular schedules again. Working at the pace for the last few weeks was stressful. I wasn't able to do anything with my decko training and the momentum I had with that has faded. I'm grateful that the intensity of those weeks is over, but I'm left with a sense of left over ambition. Today I had a bug to pursue training as a technical director. That has been the nudging of my managers ever since I've been hired, but sitting at the switcher is very scary and by the end of the day I was questioning that ambition bug again. But I did ask to borrow the tech manual to get a basic foundation and a direction to start with understanding this piece of equipment.

There were more interviews with people about David Fraunshuh. Today we had Stanley Hubbard, himself, as one of the people speaking about him. Its kind of funny working with the guy that ultimately owns you.

This evening we had our 'Harry Potter' gaming session with Pat, Paul, Erik, and Bobo and I. These usually start off as "here we go again..."- not real excited, but by the end of the night, I find it has been an enjoyable gaming experience for the most part. Pat is very good at running NPCs with lots of variety in character. I believe the campaign has been going on for about a year and a half. We shall see how long this game lasts.

music - Cookin' Mid-County and Animal in Every Corner - Danielson (come on, pack it up. lets get out of here. come on...)

Today was rather cool. We had a Gold Star project. A gold star project is like in the movie Hudsucker Proxy when they had a Blue Letter- A Blue Letter! That's a message from the top floor, everyone out of the way!!! Gold Star is a project directly from the Hubbards. This is just single shot, one person interviews with people all talking about a guy named David Frauenshuh. Three people came it today be interviewed and from what they said about him, I'd really like to meet him. The testimonies of these people made David sound like the closest thing to a saint we could have. Described as-"the kind of guy you couldn't wait to hang out with again." "Can't wait till next time I get to see him." "Wonderful member of my bible study and a great man of God". Sounds like someone who would be a great role model. From what I understand, he is a real estate developer and owns half of St.Paul. Kind of cool.

Our bible study was tonight and I thought it went really well. Again with the question system where everyone submits a couple of questions and we pick them from a bowl as been a really really great way to get people involved with discussion. This group has come alive once again (and maybe more than it has ever been). We are finding that there is a very divers dynamic in the group and its turning out very fulfilling for me.

music - Brother Danielson

This felt like an ordinary day. There appears to be a sort of relief this whole week. Aside from having the Town Hall Meeting last week, that in itself is a relief, a certain co-worker is not present. We all have a week to prepare for their return- which was rough last time they had a week off. Its like they need to make up for the time away or something. Well, enough about that. I have a whole week of not having to talk about it.

I had my physical tonight after work. Everything turned out alright, I guess. While I was in Kenya, Cara's dad (who is a doctor) determined that my heart rate was too high and everyone was worried. Well, the doctor today said there wasn't a problem with my heart rate at all. So there!

When I got home, there were people gaming upstairs- so I watched MillenniuM. Oh, man, this show is awesome. The episode that I watched last nigh was quite a turning point in the first season. The show accelerates from this point on to the season finale. I love this show.

music - Who Killed Tangerine? - Tears for Fears
btw, I found out that the first track on that album isn't called Wake Up, its actually the title track - Everybody Loves A Happy Ending, so yesterday's music is erronious

This entry marks one week of new updates.

This morning, I let the boys out and went off to go pick up Cara. We went to church. Its kind of strange that Boyd was gone for so long and returned last week only to take this week off again. We had Sandra Unger and Paul Eddie as speakers today and thats just as good (maybe sometimes better than) as Greg. There was a Get-Involved-With-Your-Church kind of fair in the main entrance after the service and I had been asked to hang out and answer any questions about FOCUS since most of the focus folks (would that be folkus?) were at the focus retreat this weekend. So we hung out for a while.

After we left, we met Melony, Cara's cousin, for lunch. She's cool and we had a good time. Melony works at the MN Zoo so she was giving us updates on Henry, the Zoo's newest baby monkey. After that we went back to the Willis' to pick up my stuff and be sure that Greg and Mandy got back ok for the Nice Guys. They were back and everyone was fine- Eddy snorted a couple of times and looked at me sideways- but he always does that.

Dropped Cara off at her house and that was pretty much the last of my energy. I was getting ready to leave when Jeremy arrived to drop off Leesha. Found something Jeremy and I can connect about- STAR WARS. Its the universal language. Went home and watched some MillenniuM, did some bills. Called mum n dad. Typed this. and went to bed.

music - Wake Up by Tears for Fears (thanks Greg and Perry) and Twin Peaks sound track (while I updated my blog)

Slept in today. Got up all slowly, Bobo made some quiche and we watched some Invader Zim. Then we went off to the theater for a noon showing of Hero. Hero is a film, not a movie. Made for film sake, not for money sake. I enjoyed it a lot. This was the kind of situation where I was like "eh, sure, I'll see it". Not all that excited, and then it turns out to be a beautiful film. The use of color is what really made it stand out. After the movie, I made my way off to Greg and Mandy's house to dog sit the Nice Guys. We played Chess on their PS2 and then Cara came by. We went to dinner, came back and watched Firefly. It was a nice relaxing day, for once.
After Cara left, I went to bed at my brother and sister-in-law's house.

music - the new Danielson album! (thanks Greg)

This was one very very work intensive day. I went in early to help with an early taping of At Issue. We did most of the show from when I got to work up until Midday. After Midday we finished At Issue and went right into a Town Hall Meeting show which was had some big statesmen in it so there was more pressure than usual. The day went very fast and I didn't have full sleep lastnight on account of the concert. But all went well. I got to see Gregums. He dropped by to give me a key to his house so I can let the Nice Guys out, tomorrow. While Greg was at work Perry played us the new Tears for Fears- sounds like ELO/10cc/McCartney all in one! Then we listened to some Danielson!

After work I was completely zombified. I got me some food and watched an amazing episode of MillenniuM. This show still amazes me. Then, I got on my computer and hacked out a color scheme and a donation option on the message board. I also got the bible study debriefing out and posted the first of many items Bobo has commissioned me to sell on eBay. Quite productive for being brain dead.

It seems like a long time since I've seen Cara.

music - Twin Peaks and Strait Story soundtrack (in other words, an Angelo Badalamenti day)

So I got to sleep in a little today. Its Viking Game Day at the Mall of America. The show didn't go very smoothly today. It was our 2nd show and the 1st one went so well. I guess it just wasn't our time. Production starts at noon and the show tapes at 6:30 and usually ends around 9:30pm or so, but today I got out of there early because...

Scissor Sisters concert tonight!! There were actually a lot of people from work there. 7 of us total. I'll have a roster once I know how to spell everyone's names. But here is the set list:

• Take Your Mama Out
• Better Luck Next Time
• Tits on the Radio
• Skin song (didn't recognize this one)
• Magnum Beat song (or this one)
• Lick song (not this one, either)
• Laura
• Mary
• Comfortably Numb (this was great because they would hit a guitar rif and kick out the rhythm from Pink Floyd - Run Like Hell- that was a nice touch)
• Filthy/Gorgeous
• The Return to Oz

encore

• Can't Come Quickly Enough
• Music is the Victim

One thing- the Scissor Sisters are very chatty. We were often yelling back at the stage "No more talking! Next song please!" Another thing was, the lead singer was quite a sweetpants. Whoa! Therefore, so was 50% of the audience. The show felt sort of short, which was ok, because it didn't start until 11pm [sarcasm]good thing I left work early[/sarcasm] d'oh! so off to bed for some rest so I can be effective for hell day :)

music- hmm, I guess it'd have to be... Scissor Sisters