xiananarchist

Last night, a friend had some free tickets to the Brewers vs. GIants game.  We had a sweet spot a ways behind home plate.  We didn't win, but I'm okay with that.  I had a great time.  It's amazing how much smaller the field looks in real life when compared to what you see on TV.  

In the pic, I'm the third from the left.

Saturday was my buddy Justin's birthday. He's a big Star Wars fan, so I attempted to make a Death Star pinyata. It didn't turn out nearly as well as it should have. Actually, it looked quite bad in comparison to the pic behind the link.  

But, I have to say, the explosion was spectacular! We had him swing a sword at it in the beginning of our Aikido class. The popping sound echoed through the dojo. Cleaning wipes went everywhere! (Yeah, inside joke.) It startled the German Shepherd and Newf. The Golden Retriever didn't care: he was too busy with his sweet potato filled chew stick.  And there was much rejoicing.

Next time, I'm going to substitute a beach ball for the balloon. And I'll make sure to have grey tissue paper. I think that will take care of a lot of the issues I had creating it.  

 I may regret this, but I think I'll open up another blog.  I've been a forum moderator for more nearly 5 years now.  I thought I'd publish my thoughts on what works best.  My guiding metaphor is "moderator as leader."  I'm certainly not replacing my theological blog, which is my baby (albeit a poorly attended baby).  My moderation blog will be here.

Happy birthday to me!  It's the big year, thanks to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  I figure it would be a good year for H. Camping to be right, or for 2012 to end the world (as long as it happens in the first half of the year).  This way, the world can go *poof* while I'm 42.

No big plans today.  Birthdays aren't what they used to be.  Every year, it becomes more like just another day.  I did take tomorrow off work, though, just in case I have more fun than expected.  But it's not a requirement to have a good day.

Oddly enough, I want to mow the lawn.  There's a stretch that is currently much higher than the rest of the lawn that the landlord mowed last week.  However, I've done something to my knees and they hurt to do things like go up and down steps.  I don't think pushing a mower would help them heal any.  Instead, I might go outside and read.  Actually, now that I think about it, if my knees had been in tip-top shape, I'd probably say, You know what? It's my birthday and I'm not mowing.  I'm going to go outside and read instead." 

Oh!  I just remembered, I do have big plans today.  I want to go see Green Lantern.  He was a childhood hero.  It would be awesome to see him on the big screen. 

As an aside, I suddenly realize that the main pic I use as my avatar is now about 8 years old.  I wonder if I should change it.  That would be hard.  I really like it. 

 Wow, has it really been that long since I've posted here?  

I've discovered an incredibly cool site for those who like to read.  It's Good Reads.  The idea is to rate, review, and discuss books.  Yeah, kinda nerdy.  Perfect for me.  I've added something like a buzzillion books.  If you join and want to add me as a friend, shoot me a PM or e-mail and I'll give you my name there.   

Also, I was introduced to Turntable a few minutes ago.  You have to have a FaceBook friend who's in to get in.  Once in, you can go into a room and share the DJing activities.  Quite fun.

And a friend just sent me the pic on the side.  Love it.  

Really tired now.  Time to go home.  

It has been an interesting holiday weekend.  I was planning on hitting a Maundy Thursday service, especially since I rarely have the opportunity to go to any church service due to work schedule.  Then, on Wednesday, I get a call from a friend who says he's leaving the area and wanted to hang with me one last time before he split.  The only night I had free was Thursday, so we went to Famous Dave's for supper, then went to play pool.  It was our last supper together on the night of the Last Supper. 

Then, today (Easter Sunday) I have to opportunity to work from home, and I brought supper home from work last night. They served fish for Good Friday, which was absolutely delicious.  As I ate my leftover, extremely yummy fish tonight for supper, I reflected upon how blessed I am to have this job.  It's a great company.  The leadership has a strong character.  We were listed as one of the 20 best small companies to work for according to Entrepreneur Magazine.  There's a reason for that.  They really care about their employees. 

I know many people who work in environments that suck.  When will employers learn that creating sucky jobs isn't in the bests interests of the company's future or the community in which it resides.  I like to think of our company as one that shines as a beacon of possibility amidst the gloom of popular business practices.  It's a better way to do business.

That's why I thought it cool to eat fish that my job supplied on Easter Sunday while I worked at home.  The day of the resurrection is a day that we say that there is a better way to relate to each other in the world.  We don't have to live in a dog-eat-dog world.  We can work to change it.  But before we can really do much about today's issues, we have to recognize that there is a better way to go about things than business as usual. 

Yeah, an interesting last few days.  Even though I didn't step into a church, I've really felt like I've been participating in a story not of my making.  From the last supper, through Good Friday fish, to experiencing new possibility.  Yep, very interesting. 

The weather's changing. Well, theoretically anyway. It should be getting warmer. When the warm days hit last week, it initiated my dietary reflex toward eating a bit better. It's a good thing that I love salads, because that's what my body is craving.

I'm also moving toward a nearly-obsessive aikido practice. I only go to class 1 to 2 times a week, but when not in class I think about it a lot. This, too, I chalk up to a natural reaction to warmer weather. Brighter days causes a desire to exercise to blossom within me.

On the reading side, I purchased a used copy of Werewolf the Apocalypse. It is a great read. I don't think I'd ever want to run a werewolf campaign, but it is great material for improving upon a Vampire the Masquerade game.  Not that I plan on playing anything soon.  Still don't really have the time for it. 

Okay, I really planned on being in bed well before now.  Stupid second wind.  Going to try to get some sleep now. 

Boo yeah! He's my fav!

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Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 85% Superman 70% Supergirl 65% Spider-Man 60% Batman 60% Robin 60% Wonder Woman 55% Hulk 55% Iron Man 40% Catwoman 35% The Flash 30%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

A friend of mine turned me onto Fight Quest last night.  Love it.  I'm chain watching it.  Good thing it's my day off.  I may not get much else done today, though. 

The first episode I watched is about Kali.  Now, I need to buy a pair of rattan sticks.  Here's a clip. 

I just spent some time surfing through LJ groups in search of an active community to participate in.  I looked for progressive and liberal Christianity, interfaith dialogue, and other relevant options.  I figured I would find at least something.  Apparently not.  It looks like the options available are really dead or a home for spam.  If anyone out there has some suggestions, I'd like to hear them.