I'm bored...watching a tutorial class...and I found this on a blog, and thought, "heck, why not?" So here it is...mostly for me, read if you like.
1. First name: Christopher
2. Were you named after anyone? : First name, nope. Middle name, yes--my uncle.
3. Middle name? : Alan
4. When did you last cry? : Church, two Sundays ago.
5. Do you like your handwriting? : Yes
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? : Smoked Turkey, deli sliced.
7. Birth date? : The day is the same as the day that Britain and France declared war on Germany in 1939.
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? : ...I don't keep the bad stuff. Maybe a Yanni CD.
9. Do you have a journal? : Nope.
10. Do you use sarcasm a lot? : Yes.
11. What are your nicknames? : C-Dog. No, not really...just Chris.
12. Would you bungee jump? : I doubt it. If it was with a friend...perhaps.
13. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? : Nope.
14. Do you think that you are strong? : Yes.
15. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? : Mint Chocolate Chip.
16. Shoe Size? : 10.
17. Red or pink? Red.
18. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? : I am often lazy.
19. Who do you miss most? : Besides my family...I'd have to say I miss one of my best friend's, BJ Cadd.
20. Do you want everyone you send this to, to send it back? : ...
21. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Blue jeans, and brown sandels.
22. What are you listening to right now? In my head, I am listening to a mix of Coldplay, Switchfoot, Dashboard Confessional, Damian Rice and the Beatles.
23. What was the last thing you ate? : Dinner, last night. French Bread Pizza.
24. If you were a Crayon what color would you be? : Some kind of deep green.
25. What is the weather like right now? : Regular La Mirada day...sunny, with a chance of showers.
26. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? : My wife.
27. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? : The face. Always look at the face!
28. Do you like the person who sent this to you? : ...
29. Favorite Drink? Right now I enjoy drinking Sprite.
30. Favorite sport to watch? : Wrestling (the real stuff, not the fake stuff), then football.
31. Hair Color? : Brown and curly.
32. Do you wear contacts? : Nope.
33. Favorite Food? : Pizza/Italian variety. And steak.
34. Last Movie You Watched? : Fun With Dick and Jane.
35. Favorite Day of the Year? : Christmas
36. Scary movies or Happy Endings? : Happy Endings
37. Summer or winter? : Depends. Either way, it should be real, none of this SoCal half-way crap. Give me heat so I can go swimming in the ocean, or give me snow so I can go sledding in my backyard!
38. Hugs or Kisses? : Kisses.
39. What is Your Favorite Dessert? : Hmmm...Molten Lava Fudge Cake with Ice Cream is really good.
40. Who Is Most Likely To Respond? ...
41. Who Is Least Likely To Respond? ...
42. What Book Are You Reading? : That Hideous Strength...after trying for a while I am really getting through it finally.
43. What's On Your Mouse Pad? : I'm at school...so, flowers. At home, an old fashioned globe.
44. What Did You Watch Last night on TV? : Alias...we're watching it on DVD. And American Idol.
45. What's in your CD player right now? : I have an i-Pod. See the mix in my head for an idea...add some U2 to the mix.
46. Favorite Sounds? : Rain on a tin roof, and the waves in Hawaii...and the sound of a plane taking off when I am in it.
47. Rolling Stones or Beatles? : Beatles every day on the week.
48. What is your Favourite Pastime? : Reading...playing strategy games...talking with friends...watching good movies and talking about them...cooking.
49. What do you do for a living? : A variety of things...I am a barista at Starbucks, a teacher at the Gorman Learning Center, and a financial advisor for Primerica Financial Services.
50. If you could go anyplace in the world, where would it be? : Europe...Britain, the Med, Italy, Greece, Germany, I guess France, Austria, Russia, Turkey...
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
The Fallout
I had an accident almost 2 months ago. It was decided by the police that it was her fault, and the insurance company has already settled. So why am I still dealing with these people?!?
I have now received what I would consider a threatening phone call from someone connected to the lady I was in an accident with nearly two months ago. I am assuming (I refuse to talk with them, per all the advise I have received from everyone I have sought counsel with) that they are upset because since they were found at fault, they have to cover their damages themselves. Today, "Carlos" called me to tell me "there are other ways of dealing with this...there are other ways..."...it may not sound terribly threatening, but you can hear it in his voice...he at least intends to be intimidating. Fortunately, I have him recorded (technically...he recorded himself, as he left it in my voicemail...) and am calling the police to ask them to deal with this harassment. However...I work nights, and they have our address...one of those things about exchanging info at the scene, etc. So pray that they are just full of hot air, and more than that, that whatever happens Sheri and Aiden be kept safe.
I just keep repeating to myself "I bought this lady juice. JUICE!" Oh well. I rest in the peace that I did the best I could at the time...I think I honored God before myself in the situation...and whatever comes of this is in His hands.
I have now received what I would consider a threatening phone call from someone connected to the lady I was in an accident with nearly two months ago. I am assuming (I refuse to talk with them, per all the advise I have received from everyone I have sought counsel with) that they are upset because since they were found at fault, they have to cover their damages themselves. Today, "Carlos" called me to tell me "there are other ways of dealing with this...there are other ways..."...it may not sound terribly threatening, but you can hear it in his voice...he at least intends to be intimidating. Fortunately, I have him recorded (technically...he recorded himself, as he left it in my voicemail...) and am calling the police to ask them to deal with this harassment. However...I work nights, and they have our address...one of those things about exchanging info at the scene, etc. So pray that they are just full of hot air, and more than that, that whatever happens Sheri and Aiden be kept safe.
I just keep repeating to myself "I bought this lady juice. JUICE!" Oh well. I rest in the peace that I did the best I could at the time...I think I honored God before myself in the situation...and whatever comes of this is in His hands.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Courage of Conviction
Over the past several months there have been several opportunities to reconsider exactly what I believe and hold as relevant truth. To be candid, the nature of God has often been at the center of these reflective periods. That, and what my professed faith in the Christian God will mean in my life, and in the lives of my family.
A perfect example occurred this past week. I was on my way to work, and for no reason whatsoever, I decided to pick up C.S. Lewis' Perelandra, the second book of his space trilogy. I was already half-way through another book, so picking this up was completely random, and I wasn't really interesting in rereading it until I had finished the book I was in, but for some reason I wanted to take a look at Perelandra. Randomly I opened the book to the section where Ransom is coming to the realization that he has been sent to Perelandra to do physical battle with the "UnMan" who has possessed the corpse of his old rival, Weston. The stakes are high, as the UnMan will essentially ensure the Fall of Perelandra, just as we fell here on earth. Ransom is arguing with himself, that surely he is not the last great hope for the salvation of Perelandra. Surely, since the evil opponent is unnatural, something equally powerful, and certainly greater than he will be sent to save the day. But, as the other voice within him whispers, its not for nothing that he is called "Ransom". He realizes this...
"His journey to Perelandra was not a moral exercise, nor a sham fight. If the issue lay in Maleldil's hands, Ransom and the Lady were those hands. The fate of the world really depended on how they behaved in the next few hours. ... Either something or nothing must depend on individual choices. And if something, who could set bounds to it?"
I read this and meditated on it for the next few days, thinking what a great truth it was.
Then we went to church on Sunday.
Speaking this past week was a guest from International Justice Mission. He's a lawyer, formally a D.A. for Washington D.C. He has gone around the world assisting people in an effort to show them that there is a God who cares for them. I have heard this story before, and its truly a great thing that they do. However, I admit I was not completely moved by it, because I have lived outside the U.S. and know a little about what injustice looks like. Rarely do the wrong doers get their just rewards, and even more rarely do the oppressed receive deliverance from their plight. Throughout his message, my cynicism, or "realism" kept getting in the way. He told us about a child-slavery ring in Asia that they visited. They collected the info and prepared to go before the magistrate to present their case. But the meeting was on a Monday and they were there for the weekend, so they decided to attend a local church and pray for God's blessing the next day. As this man spoke, I almost audibly said to myself, "But what could possibly happen? The magistrate probably works with the slavers...there's no hope." Then the speaker said the one thing that I couldn't have hoped to hear, and the thing which had surprised the speaker himself when he experienced it...the preacher at the church they visited was the magistrate they were to visit the next day.
I cried. Well, I teared up. Even as he started to say the unbelievable truth, something in my heart knew what he was going to say. Of course that was the man they would meet at the church they randomly attended. God could not be God if He was unable to do such a miraculous thing. All that was need was the attempt, even in the face of hopeless despair, when it will clearly do no good...and He assures us it will be enough.
The man who spoke to us on Sunday had prefaced his message by asking the question frequently asked by non-believers..."How can such pain exist in this world if there is a God and He is good...and more importantly, WHY doesn't He do something about it?!?!" The answer is...He did do something about it--He put us, the body of Christ, on this earth instead of removing us to heaven. We are God's solution to the problem...if we will only go, and have the courage of our convictions to do what we "know" to be useless in the face of the problems that assail us. Jesus keep us, for we are weak and the road is daunting.
A perfect example occurred this past week. I was on my way to work, and for no reason whatsoever, I decided to pick up C.S. Lewis' Perelandra, the second book of his space trilogy. I was already half-way through another book, so picking this up was completely random, and I wasn't really interesting in rereading it until I had finished the book I was in, but for some reason I wanted to take a look at Perelandra. Randomly I opened the book to the section where Ransom is coming to the realization that he has been sent to Perelandra to do physical battle with the "UnMan" who has possessed the corpse of his old rival, Weston. The stakes are high, as the UnMan will essentially ensure the Fall of Perelandra, just as we fell here on earth. Ransom is arguing with himself, that surely he is not the last great hope for the salvation of Perelandra. Surely, since the evil opponent is unnatural, something equally powerful, and certainly greater than he will be sent to save the day. But, as the other voice within him whispers, its not for nothing that he is called "Ransom". He realizes this...
"His journey to Perelandra was not a moral exercise, nor a sham fight. If the issue lay in Maleldil's hands, Ransom and the Lady were those hands. The fate of the world really depended on how they behaved in the next few hours. ... Either something or nothing must depend on individual choices. And if something, who could set bounds to it?"
I read this and meditated on it for the next few days, thinking what a great truth it was.
Then we went to church on Sunday.
Speaking this past week was a guest from International Justice Mission. He's a lawyer, formally a D.A. for Washington D.C. He has gone around the world assisting people in an effort to show them that there is a God who cares for them. I have heard this story before, and its truly a great thing that they do. However, I admit I was not completely moved by it, because I have lived outside the U.S. and know a little about what injustice looks like. Rarely do the wrong doers get their just rewards, and even more rarely do the oppressed receive deliverance from their plight. Throughout his message, my cynicism, or "realism" kept getting in the way. He told us about a child-slavery ring in Asia that they visited. They collected the info and prepared to go before the magistrate to present their case. But the meeting was on a Monday and they were there for the weekend, so they decided to attend a local church and pray for God's blessing the next day. As this man spoke, I almost audibly said to myself, "But what could possibly happen? The magistrate probably works with the slavers...there's no hope." Then the speaker said the one thing that I couldn't have hoped to hear, and the thing which had surprised the speaker himself when he experienced it...the preacher at the church they visited was the magistrate they were to visit the next day.
I cried. Well, I teared up. Even as he started to say the unbelievable truth, something in my heart knew what he was going to say. Of course that was the man they would meet at the church they randomly attended. God could not be God if He was unable to do such a miraculous thing. All that was need was the attempt, even in the face of hopeless despair, when it will clearly do no good...and He assures us it will be enough.
The man who spoke to us on Sunday had prefaced his message by asking the question frequently asked by non-believers..."How can such pain exist in this world if there is a God and He is good...and more importantly, WHY doesn't He do something about it?!?!" The answer is...He did do something about it--He put us, the body of Christ, on this earth instead of removing us to heaven. We are God's solution to the problem...if we will only go, and have the courage of our convictions to do what we "know" to be useless in the face of the problems that assail us. Jesus keep us, for we are weak and the road is daunting.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Benefits (Seen & Unforseen) of Working at Starbucks
So, I work at Starbucks. I enjoy working at Starbucks, most days. I'm a closer, and closing is in some ways more fun than the rest of the day. Its more work than anything other than opening the Store, and even then, though I've never opened the store I'd say we do a fair share of work because we're prepping the store for the openers. Course, we don't have to wake up early, which is a huge benefit of closing.
Generally I can deal with the customers. Keep smiling and "just say yes" to pretty much everyone. Occasionally there are problem customers--the guys that steal drinks or our tips, the ones that make huge messes in the lobby and DON'T tip, and of course, the customers that consistently come into the store approximately 2 minutes before our official close time and ask for a "Joe to Go", which is a very long process, and specialty drinks when we're trying to shut things down. Technically we're required to serve them...but there's no rule about resenting those that are so inconsiderate that they make a habit of inconveniencing people. 10 minutes before we close, you wanna ask me for an extra hot white mocha with extra caramel, soy, no foam, extra whip with 2 Sweet-N-Low's, that's fine. When everynight you walk in to make your order even as I am clearly dismembering the bar and taking things to be cleaned and order your special drink...that's just kinda rude. More importantly, NEVER tipping when you do this should be grounds for expulsion from the store.
But, I work with good people generally. And I get lots of free stuff--drinks obviously, sandwiches, sometimes fruit plates, etc. But one cool thing is a skill that has been developed in me since working at Starbucks that I hadn't anticipated. My aduio-recall abilities are much sharper today then ever before. I can be standing two feet away making another drink, reading the recipe to make sure I get it right, and as long as the noise coming out of the next customer's mouth can be heard, I don't have to think about what they're saying. I hear it, and process the words he/she said about 30 seconds after they stop talking, so that before the person who is actually taking the order has written everything down I can already start the drink. Its kinda cool. The difference, in case I am not making myself clear, is the difference between hearing and listening. I am not attending to you when I hear you...my ears are merely properly functioning, whilst when I am listening, I am deliberately paying attention to what you're saying. Well, I have found that I can essentially hear you and replay what I heard in my head with nearly 100% accuracy.
I thought it was kinda cool. Work at Starbucks...your hearing will...improve.
Generally I can deal with the customers. Keep smiling and "just say yes" to pretty much everyone. Occasionally there are problem customers--the guys that steal drinks or our tips, the ones that make huge messes in the lobby and DON'T tip, and of course, the customers that consistently come into the store approximately 2 minutes before our official close time and ask for a "Joe to Go", which is a very long process, and specialty drinks when we're trying to shut things down. Technically we're required to serve them...but there's no rule about resenting those that are so inconsiderate that they make a habit of inconveniencing people. 10 minutes before we close, you wanna ask me for an extra hot white mocha with extra caramel, soy, no foam, extra whip with 2 Sweet-N-Low's, that's fine. When everynight you walk in to make your order even as I am clearly dismembering the bar and taking things to be cleaned and order your special drink...that's just kinda rude. More importantly, NEVER tipping when you do this should be grounds for expulsion from the store.
But, I work with good people generally. And I get lots of free stuff--drinks obviously, sandwiches, sometimes fruit plates, etc. But one cool thing is a skill that has been developed in me since working at Starbucks that I hadn't anticipated. My aduio-recall abilities are much sharper today then ever before. I can be standing two feet away making another drink, reading the recipe to make sure I get it right, and as long as the noise coming out of the next customer's mouth can be heard, I don't have to think about what they're saying. I hear it, and process the words he/she said about 30 seconds after they stop talking, so that before the person who is actually taking the order has written everything down I can already start the drink. Its kinda cool. The difference, in case I am not making myself clear, is the difference between hearing and listening. I am not attending to you when I hear you...my ears are merely properly functioning, whilst when I am listening, I am deliberately paying attention to what you're saying. Well, I have found that I can essentially hear you and replay what I heard in my head with nearly 100% accuracy.
I thought it was kinda cool. Work at Starbucks...your hearing will...improve.
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