I’LL HAVE A BLOODY MARY, A STEAK SANDWICH AAAND A STEAK SANDWICH
Easier than writing lots of individual emailsArchive for October, 2007
UN.ACCEPTABLE.
I can’t even communicate how close I am to the last straw regarding the assinine nature of some of what’s being legislated in our country these days. CLICK HERE to see the latest straw thrown on the pile.
Dr Laura has a page called ‘Calls To Action’ (which I think is awesome) and she gives outlets to take action regarding certain topics. If you think that the decision banning the flag-folding tradition to honor veterans who have fought for our country should be resincded and left up to the individual families to decide, CLICK HERE and send an email to The Honorable Gordon H. Mansfield Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
171 HOURS LATER
The fires starting getting super crazy on Sunday. I was scheduled to go to SF on Wednesday. After the 4th fire broke out and it was on my side of town, I wondered if the freeways were going to be shut down and then I wouldn’t be able to get out at all. Soooo, I modified my plans, packed some clothes and my external hard drive and said goodbye to my roomies and belongings. I had prepared myself for my house and my things to burn to the ground.
So, I got on the road around 4pm on Monday 10/22. I arrived back home one week later on Monday 10/29, around 7:00pm. Who knew how much one can do in just 171 hours? A recap:
*MONDAY-evaluated what I should take from my house in case it burned down (opted for my external harddrive); met with clients for some signatures; drove up to Bay Area 2 days early (nervous they might close the 5 due to the fires in SCV) (the drive was GREAT with my new Ipod!!!); landed at the Seelye’s house around 8:30pm; hung out and met Odin (the cutest bull mastiff puppy in the world…pictures to follow)
*TUESDAY-hung out; scanned/emailed docs for work; took Odin to the vet; enjoyed Caspers 
; babysat the kids; family dinner; Odin slept with me (and pee’d on my bed)
*WEDNESDAY-errands; Chinese food at a place I haven’t been to since high school; went to the appt with the architect (they’re about to do a major remodel); homeade dinner (Christina is a gourmet gourmet); Bible Study in Concord
*THURSDAY-Walked around the Lafayette resevior-good conversation; lunch at Claim Jumper; errands; scanning project; babysat kids (McDonalds run); special time with Jack/Odin
*FRIDAY-Breakfast at Sunrise Cafe; downtown browsing (Verizon, Ruth Chris [please note the massage advet in the background], Apple); left Seelye’s and met my cousin Michelle at my uncle George’s; hung out there while they got a party ready; special time with Michelle at Buckhorn Grill; special time with family; drove to Hanford at 10:30pm; arrived around 1am
*SATURDAY-woke up to a sweet little greeting from Zach!; hung out at Harveys; lunch out and errands with Kristin; family night with Nana/Papa Wilder (tri-tip, etc); movies and popcorn/orange juluis drinks
*SUNDAY-church prep; beautiful drive to church through country roads; Sunday School/Church; lunch at Sonic (worker fell on her roller blades-OUCH!); Pumpkin Patch field trip; uniform time at home with movies, pizza, relaxation!
*MONDAY-Hang out time with Zach, Kristin, and Tyler; neighborhood walk; nap times/movie time; field trip to Superior Ice Cream parlor; packed and journied home (special note: people in the Central Valley heed the ‘left lane is a passing lane only’ concept..such a pleasure).
I had 171 hours to enjoy friends and family and to be reminded of all the blessings in my life. God’s nice to me.
HELL HATH NO FURY (IN SCV)
I’m not really sure why that saying is relevant, but for those of you who don’t read the paper, listen to the radio, or check on-line for news…where I live (SCV) is engulfed in flames…AGAIN! The Santa Ana winds have fueled 4 major fires in SCV…as I type this, 10+ homes have been burned to the ground. These are not rural homes. Because the winds of over 100 MPH send blazing embers in every direction, there is no way to contain the fires.
All the schools are shut down tomorrow. The Fire Dept has asked everyone to stay off the roads for all the emergency vehicles. Over 800+ people have been evacuated and more to come. There might be really good ministry opportunities to help people in need in SCV. It’s amazing that God has a plan for all of it!
Here is the site where I get my updates!
AND HERE (SCV CITY SITE)
Here’s a site of a local SCV stranger who is giving updates too
ONE GUTSY ARAB-AMERICAN WOMAN ON AL JEZEERA BROADCAST
Whoa…watch this before it leaves the web and she has a huge price on her head. This is a powerful and impressive interview with Wafa Sultan, an Arab-American psychologist from LA. It’s remarkable that the Arab TV in Dubai financed this and aired it…be sure to watch it before it goes away….chances are she will soon be in great danger.
As a disclaimer, I do not agree with everything she says and the relativistic approach to matters, but you’ve got to give her 11 points for MOXY!
I also looked up the site http://memritv.org/ ….now THAT’s heavy news. Who cares what Brittney’s doing? Let’s talk about Syria and their missles or Iranian aminated films for children featuring suicide bombers.
God have mercy on us!
KITTY-CORNER
Well, I have a short list of posts I’ve been wanting to write, but just have not had the time. Today, I have time for one such post and to invite you into a little corner of a world that I infrequently frequent.
If you watch The Office, you will appreciate this (and Ashley Murray, YOU will really appreciate this). From time to time, I fill in as a receptionist at a particular office when the usual receptionist is gone….well, I guess she’s actually the office manager, but whatever. The reason I have the infrequent gig is because a church friend is the HR person at this office and would rather have a ‘regular’ fill-in rather than a temp.
Fine by me. There are lots of perks…the church friend is there (and fun to catch up with), I get to hone my alphabetizing and filing skills, I get to answer the phone with fake phone voice, I get to use the intercom system to page workers and hear my voice on a microphone, I get to print things and highlight things, I get to unlock and lock the supply cabinet, I get to put up a little ‘ring bell for assistance’ sign when I leave, etc…however, the BEST part, is that I get to do all this in an environment surrounded by kitty paraphenilia. YEP, it’s basically like working at Angela’s desk. I imagine some of the cat’s names to be ‘Sprinkles’. Last time I worked at this office, even with the immense and challenging work load, I had time to count 19 cats within my line of vision whilst sitting at the desk.
Please enjoy the views (click on pic to enlarge):
Kitty Corner
Kitty Speed Dial
Peering Kitty Eraser!
What’s not pictured is the picture on the corkboard of a cat on a rocking chair (presumably in her home) surrounded by LOTS of little stuffed animal cats. In addition to what you can see, there are usually cat cursors and icon on the desktop, etc. In some sick part of me, I love it.
PS-I hate cats
LAST WEEK
Wow…it was a crazy week for lots of reasons. God is good, Amen.
The highlights:
Monday-I worked for Mary Jo, filling in for kitty-corner lady…I actually took some camera phone pics that I would like to share (maybe that will be it’s own post someday)
Tuesday-Cleaned the house a bit, had ICU club mtg, hung out with Cindi and Judah (always refreshing), had a work night with Holly (and received a FANTASTIC gift…THAT will get it’s very own post!)
Wednesday-worked on Real Estate topics (paperwork, research, pre-viewed properties, etc), dinner with a new Worship Team candidate, WT rehearsal, late night conversations
Thursday-Subbed at VHS and had a 9th grade student escorted out by security after her behavior was at the peak of unacceptable (the Asst Principal had me call the parents too…blah blah blah…parents DISCIPLINE your children when they’re young. If not, you end up with kids like this rights based, blame shifting, anti-authorian fool for a child… I wish some of you could’ve been there…it was like a hidden camera show that went on for about 20 minutes. I actually wish the parents had been behind a 2-way mirror to see how how their child REALLY acts.
Friday-Finished prep work for a weekend of showing homes to an out-of-town client/s. Looked at 7 houses Friday afternoon. Also, received an offer on one of my listings (YAY! PTL!) and presented it to my sellers at night. Fell into bed around 11pm.
Saturday-Showed houses 9am-12, attempted to go to Vanessa Llanos’ wedding in Burbank (I-5 closed due to tunnel/truck fire), got sick in afternoon, rested and did not go to a dinner party at Robinson Ranch that I had RSVP’d yes to…sad. It was going to be fun too!
Sunday-Church (AWESOME! cool fellowship, cool ponderings of Christ and heaven!), showed more properties, prepared counter offer, hung out with Holly (laughed a lot), met with clients at 9:30pm to sign counter, scanned, emailed, computer work, bed..2am?
This week will be a bit slower, but not by much! I do love my life though…I’d rather die busy than bored!
At the same time, I don’t want to waste my life. . . Though slow does not always mean ‘wasting’ and busy does not always mean ‘worthy’. The proper use of time changes from moment to moment for me!
THE JOYS OF NETWORKING!
Ok. Look. i KNOW that my blogroll is…vast. I get comments on it all the time. Comments like:
‘Sam, YOU’RE like the real TMC alumni site’ or ‘It’s crazy how many people are on your blog.” However, usually the very next line is, ‘But it’s so awesome. i go to your site when i’m looking for anyone.’ There have even been some posts written by friends on their own blogs about people they’ve met or rekindled with through my blog. Cool.
Deep down, the blogroll is the technological reflection of one of my hearts’ desires…I like connecting people (intentionally or otherwise). I like when peeople with needs find people who want to meet needs. I suppose that’s why real estate is a good business for me…the heart of it is meeting people’s needs by connecting people.
So, on Monday I got an amazing email from a beloved former RA. I will include some excerpts,
“I have been meaning to write you for a looong time now…for many reasons, but most recently because of the cool event that came about after your post about the needs at Lambano Sanctuary. I had visited their website about 6 months ago and cried for about an hour as I read the names of the children who had died while in the care of the people at Lambano. All that to say, when I read your blog about the current needs of Lambano, Jesse and I decided it was time to do something practical. We have been reading Future Grace (Piper) with the highschoolers at our church and from that began talking about mercy ministires, life purpose, etc. So I gave them the website to go to and together we all were really excited to be involved.
Most of the kids in the youth group are incredibly musically talented, so we decided to have a concert. It was scheduled to be outside…bring a blanket etc. on Sunday the 30th of September. It rained the entire day, so we quickly changed plans and moved the event inside my parent’s house. There were not as many atendees as I was expecting, probably due to the rain, but those who came were very generous!
We had little menus with espresso beverage selections on them, and the highschoolers served drinks, played music, and helped cover the costs so that all of the money raised would go to Lambano to build the hospice. We had a silent auction, raffle, and general donation table. The kids put together a power point to help people get a feel for the incredible needs of the children in Africa, printed out stories etc. All together, people donated $3,335! Jesse and I are so excited to send that check, Sam! A reason to praise the Lord for the bloggy dog world we live in…:)!
We had a reflection time tonight, during youth group, about what we have been learning, thinking about, and how to make generosity, serving others, caring for those in need a part of everyday life. It was a good time to hear from them. All that to say, the last few months have been very encouraging in terms of increased communication. Sometimes things don’t happen as organically or as fast as you are hoping. I was reminded of how important it is to be still and meditate and actually reflect on the day, a big event, an argument with Jesse, something enjoyable with Caed, the beauty of God’s creation etc.”How cool is it that individuals are taking the initiative to help other individuals?!?!?!?! A little background…Beth Mack (former Sweazy RD) helps run Lambono (an orphange for kids dying of AIDS) and posted on HER blog about their needs in South Africa. Courtney, my former RA, has a huge heart for those in need…during college she traveled to Liberia and saw what life in one of the poorest countries in the world is like..and how children live. I’m sure that helped reinforce her natural compassion and kindness. After her time at TMC, she then married another TMC RA/graduate who also has a heart of gold. They live up in Washington, have a son, Jesse has a job, they are involved in their church. Regular people…who love the LORD.It’s amazing how God moves in individuals’ lives and then crosses their paths. I guess the question is…are we open to His preparation of us and His leading of us? Almost always, His leading involves other people…which is why I’m convinced that networking is so valuable. here’s to ‘the blog’!
WHO DO YOU KNOW?
EVERY person that sees it is impressed. Do you know someone who is looking to make a GREAT investment in a perfectly remodeled 3/2 in Valencia??? I bet you do.
Will you forward this virtual tour to everyone you know? I’m sure that between the hundreds of us, there’s someone what would love this home AND this price ($319,000)!!!
My sellers are very easy to work with and will consider all offers!
GULU WALK III-JOIN US!
So, ICU is going to the 3rd annual Gulu Walk, held in Pasadena this year. It’s a really cool few hours where you meet lots of likeminded people who care about Uganda and you walk for a couple of hours (to replicate the commute that the kids in Uganda do becasue they fear abduction by the LRA).
Jennene and I would love it is you joined us. It’s a really good opportunity with the Valencia Highschoolers from our club. Come join us!!!!
DETAILS
-Saturday, October 20th
-we usually meet at McDOnalds in the am (exact time TBD)
-the walk starts at 11am in Pasadena (usually last a couple of hours)
-We’d be back in the afternoon sometime
MEMORIES…
YEAR ONE-GULU WALK
YEAR TWO-GULU WALK
CREEPY?
On Friday night (the only night that I could get a good night’s sleep), I got a call from a 228#..at 3AM!!!!
I could barely understand the person (accent). I was irritated. I said ‘who is this’, ‘it’s 3am’ etc….the male voice kept saying, in broken English, ‘I need your help. I emailed you.’ I hadn’t gotten any emails. I said, ‘No, you didn’t.’ he desperately said ‘Check your email’ and then I hung up. About 6 seconds later, 2 emails came through on my PDA…I felt like someone was standing outside of my window…creepo. Normally, I would chalk it up to junk mail, but the weird thing is that in addition to the call, one of the emails was sent through my real estate website as a new lead (which means someone had to log onto my website, click on a search, enter their info and then send it to me…not the style of bulk spammers). Here’s what both emails said
“Dearest One,Forgive me if this message comes to you as a surprise as we didn’t know ourselves before, and it may offend your personality for contacting you without your prior consent and writing to you through this channel.
My name is (Arthur John) 16 years old boy from Lome Rep of Togo West Africa.
I am Orphan boy, i was born in October 1991 at Lome Rep of Togo West Africa, i was a baby when my parents dead during Togolese Civil War 1991-1992. I didn’t even know who is my parents.
I went to the internet where i was looking for someone who can help me, and i got your email address. Please my dear, i need your help, i’m homeless since ten months now. i’m sleeping on street without any help. Please i need your help so that i can have a house where i can be sleeping, my school will open on 22th October 2007 i don’t even have any money to pay for my school fee even to buy books nothing with me.
Please, help me with any amount of money you can be able to help me. Blessed be to the hands that give than the one that take it.
My God bless you for any thing you can be able to help me with.
Arthur John.”
Soooo, let me get this straight…an orphan kid in West Africa has a yahoo account and surfed the net to find me and then called me from Mississippi at 3am? Hmmmmmm. Needlesstosay, I was WIDE awake after the call, but his words ‘I need your help’ were ringing in my ears. So, I stared at the ceiling, and then watched the 3 Survivor episodes that I had DVR’d and was saving for a rainy day (or a rudely awakened good night’s sleep). I have heard/rec’d nothing since. Of course I did some internet research on Saturday morning: Togo really is an African country, there really was a civil war, there’s nothing on Truth or Fiction about this particular email, etc. Creepy?
SHABBAT SHALOM
Soooo, let’s talk about church family for a moment. I love having close relationships in the church, being involved in the church community, caring about and being cared for by people in my local church.
Over the last 9 years, I have been really blessed to be invovled with a family that is exceptional in their care and love for the church. If I said their name, you’d probably know who they are, but I’ll remain vague…for fun.
ANYWAY, he’s an elder and leads our worship team and she leads a Bible Study and has mastered hospitality! Lately, he’s been encouraging the Worship Team to take a true sabbath rest on Sundays. I try. Some days I can, some days I can’t, but I try hard to take a sabbath rest. No sabbath rest that I’ve taken has ever beaten the Sabbath rest that this couple provided for Holly and I yesterday!
On Saturday, they called me and invited Holly and I over for lunch on Sunday because it had been so long since we’d really all gotten a chance to hang out.
Sunday afternoon, when we got to their house, there was a full snack spread with dips and yummy things. Then the BBQ’d food was memorable as we sat around the table and laughed. The subsequent laying around in the living room led to him asking us if we wanted him to put up cots in the back so that we could enjoy the beautiful day outside. YES please. He set up awesome camping cots, we brought out cozy blankets (it was perfectly chilly), she asked if we wanted tea (YES please) and then he asked if there was anything else that we wanted. I, half joking, half serious said, ‘Live music. would be great..can you play guitar for us?’. He laughed and then got his guitar, started tuning it and then played for the next hour or so, while we all hung out (layed around) outside, with a pleasant breeze overlooking a calming view. We talked about life and the LORD, laughed, dozed, talked, laughed, dozed, etc…we took a sabbath rest…provided by loving and awesome church family! It was refreshingly delightful. It’s not rocket science as to why the LORD wants us to rest.
Thanx church family!
ICU GOT A HUGE ENCOURAGEMENT TODAY!
So, I logged onto our Schools For Schools account (as usual) and noticed that our account had $5,000 more than usual!!!! Upon a bit of investigation, we learned that Invisible Children awarded us $5,000 for our relentless creative ideas. CLICK here for the email blurb
We’re really thankful…AND, we’re currently in 3rd place for the entire competition!
It’s exciting and encouraging!
I’M WORKING ON A POST
I don’t have time to finish at the moment…cuz of this week’s schedule:
1) Monday-Subbed at VHS for Jennene; Had CORE mtg; had a GREAT evening with Emily (Mason) & Dave
2) Tuesday-Subbed at La mesa in the severely handicapped class (a very intense opportunity); grocery shopping
3) Wednesday-Subbed at la Mesa in the severely handicapped class (stay tuned for a post dedicated to that experience); Worship Team practice
4) Thursday (today)-Working at Mary Jo’s place (filling in for cat lady); coaching with GM at CBV
5) Friday-Subbing at Placerita for 8th grade math
6) Saturday-COC All Church Work day; showing properties
7) Sunday-Worship team and more….
Soooooooooo, the post i want to write is about my time, observations, and gratitude from my experience subbing with the severely handicapped students. Not sure when that will be…good thing I wrote down my thoughts throughout my 2 days there.
REALITY
For those cynics out there that don’t believe The Office can possibly be based on anything real, READ ASHLEY’S RECENT REALITY in her actual workplace.
I love that this happened to Ashley, of all people.
Stay tuned for Hawaain shirt Friday (be sure to add your 37 pieces of flare).
