Hello....

Hi,
I'm back..
How are you?
I'm fine.

Got some news to post soon...

to prepare, I ask you to take a quick look at this.

http://acts215.blogspot.com/search/label/weight

It is Finished

2012 has come to a close... It's been a year of transition.  I changed my full time job (I didn't leave the Ex, I just changed assignments.. read a little about it here). I have learned new things and used a completely different skill set.  It has been great to exercise a new part of my brain and light up some new neural synapses.  I do station visits, I have some audit functions, but the biggest and hardest part of the job is recruiting seasonal drivers for "peak"...or Christmas deliveries.. I'm away from home a lot, but I think Donna likes the peace and quiet.  Our relationship is very good as we skype a lot and stay in touch via txt and phone calls.  So far, this has been very good.


 The evening service called "Mosaic" at Perritte Memorial Methodist Church came to an end.  I lead worship there for 2 years. The service had great people that have expended a large amount of energy to try and reach  a new group of people in Nacogdoches but it never got momentum.  I miss those good people but fortunately I'm friends with most of them on facebook.

My son Austin moved out of the house and got 2 part time jobs in the Webster Tx area.  I stay with him when I work in Houston.  Early in the mornings he is a package handler at the Ex and on weekends he works concessions at Kemah Boardwalk.

He really seems to be enjoying his new jobs and he loves NOT being in Lufkin.  There is a Chipotle' just a couple of blocks from his apartment and he loves living in that area with so much to see and do.

My oldest brother Richard passed away this year, and my family asked me to perform the service.  It was hard in a way but it was also a great blessing to talk about my oldest brother and laugh and cry with my family about him and his life.  My relationship was not always good with Richard but I was so glad that I had seen and talked to him a few times in his last months and in his last day he called me a hardhead and we told each other "I love you".  It was a good day even though it was his last.

Finally, as of midnight, December 31st 2012, I will no longer be a pastor at First Christian Church in Lufkin, Tx.  The new job I have requires full time travel.  I work in Houston when I'm not working in Lake Charles or Victoria or Corpus or Brownsville or Laredo or Uvalde or wherever else the company needs me.  This travel and the new responsibilities pull me away from my congregation and prevent me from fulfilling my call as pastor to this congregation.  It was a very hard decision but it's the right one.  I thought I could make it all work but I could  not.  Sunday was my last service and we did a little extra music.  It was a fun morning and I enjoyed being at the table for the last time.  You can go to church again here if you want.. :-)

2012 was kind of a hard year... I look forward to 2013 and what it has in store.  Hannah's graduation and what she will do after... Austin's work (he's already been told he'll go to full time at Kemah in February), weekends with my bride.  Donna and I looked back and realized that for the last 14+ years since we started Upward Basketball at FUMC Lufkin and we both started working in church services doing various things, we have been working 6 and 7 days a week for all those years.  Since I travel so much I will value some free weekends with my honey.  We're going to the Cotton Bowl to watch the Aggies beat the hell outta o.u. and we will celebrate our 29th anniversary a couple of weeks later.  We are still very young at heart and love being together.

Adios 2012...  2013 has lots to offer, but most of all.. as Jimmy Buffett says.  I Love the Now!

Ecclesiastes 3

¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

Peace...

The end of a long chapter...

Well today should be my last day at the Lufkin station of a small package delivery company that used to be called RPS. I can't use the actual name as the corporate folks are picky as to when and where their name is used and I get that. Most of you know who I'm talking about because I affectionately call it "The Ex".

I got here 14 years and 10 months ago. There were 7 routes and there was one package handler that unloaded the trailer and one that looked up bad addresses. A part time service manager that did check-in and myself. I had been a special assignment manager in Shreveport for several months so I had an idea as to what I was getting in to.. but I really didn't. This was a small small station. I unloaded the trailer my first day here as the normal package handler quit while the building was without a manager.

That was just the first in a long line of many things that comprise my life as "terminal manager" or "station manager" as we now call it here in Lufkin.

I've delivered routes..some for months while I was looking for and recruiting drivers and running the building. There were days I unloaded, delivered, loaded the outbound packages in the evening and dispatched the linehaul driver. Let's just say "chief cook and bottle washer" was a very appropriate title.

I've worked with many people. Some drove me crazy and I had very stressful and unhealthy relationships with them (cleaning out my desk and finding the zantak and other digestive meds in my drawer reminds me of the times when this place was much more stressful).

I was pushed to my limits many times here, for the hours I worked and the energy and life it took from me. I poured my heart and soul in to this place for a long time. I treated it as if it were my own business.

Through all the challenges and stresses I new I needed something bigger in my life. There were times I would go by FUMC's prayer room early early in the morning before going to work to try and find something I didn't have. I knew I couldn't do it alone. We later plugged in to church there and then later we started Upward Basketball here in Lufkin. That changed my life and how I dealt with people and with things.

I gave people I had experienced major fall outs with a second chance. I forgave and laid down huge burdens. I became a minister to the staff I had here at work. I encouraged them spiritually but mostly I listened and tried to help the best I could. I love these people. I'm going to miss working with them every day. I've sponsored a couple of them on the Walk to Emmaus and some I've just been here for when they needed an ear or some advice.

I've learned a great deal here. Treat people how you want them to perform. If you want them to be winners, treat them like winners. Recognize in public and criticize in private. Anger is a tool.. it should not be an emotion in the workplace. If you let anger rule you then you have lost your effectiveness. Diversity is an amazing blessing. It's not easy I assure you but you have the most creative answers through a diverse work group. Love your people. Be a servant leader. I'm not perfect nor will I ever be and I have stood up in front of my entire team and apologized before when I was wrong in the way I've done something or how I treated someone. (I think I was actually wrong once.. just kidding ;-) )

We had 7 vans all inside our building when I got here. We now have 24 trucks that hit the street every day. We have added 3 modular docks on to the back of the building to handle the additional trucks. We had 1 package handler and 1 PT svc manager when I got here. We have 14 package handlers, 1 service manager, 1 pick up and delivery coordinator and 4 administrative personnel. We have had 2 name changes since I got here and I've had 6 or 7 bosses in that time.

I'm taking on new responsibilities. It's not a promotion. I am simply doing something else. In fact it is actually 1 grade lower than my current pay grade but my pay will be the same. I've made some decisions in my life. They are impacting me now and I'm ok with that. When I got to Lufkin, I planned to be here 18 months and move on up to bigger and better things. We then found community and we put down roots. I wanted a stable life for my children. I wanted them to grow up and graduate here. My wife and I have strong ties of faith and friends here and we really didn't want to go either but I have a Gypsy bone in me that I'm sure I got from my dad. I have been restless. I stayed for the kids but once they got out of school I tried to get some promotions but the jobs I was applying for went to younger folks.. or people with "big building" experience. I passed on those things earlier in my career for my kids. I have no issues or animosity regarding the path I chose. I love where I am and I love where I'm going.

My new job will require me to work in Houston mostly but I will have stations from Lake Charles down to Brownsville. We are not moving as my wife loves her church ladies and does not want to leave the support and fellowship she gets from those wonderful "chicks". I'll work out something in Houston and come home on the weekends. I still have my work at FCC Lufkin to do. I am also continuing as worship leader at Perritte Memorial UMC's Mosaic service. I want to keep working on those responsibilities as that is my calling right now. But I'll have to figure out a living situation. My boy is looking to find a job in Houston so maybe we can share an apt as we live in to this thing.. I may be staying with family while I'm down there. Maybe I can find a bedroom to rent from someone. It will work itself out.

I feel I will end up back in Lufkin with a full time job some day. I believe that is my future, but you never know what might happen. I hope that my future is at FCC Lufkin but I've got to get kids employed/out of college and bills paid off before that can happen. And you never know what God has in store for you as you walk down the path of life. I never thought I'd be here this long... but I'm thankful that I have been. I really don't know what lies ahead but I'm thankful for the opportunity that God and the Ex has given me. It will be hard not doing the same thing I've done for the last 15 years.. I will miss these people I've been working with for so long. I've hired or supervised the hiring of every person in this building. This place is a big part of me and I have been blessed by all those here. I hope that I am a big part of this building as well. I hope that what I have brought here and left here will give these people wings to fly on and the power and direction to achieve whatever it is they want to do in life. I love them and I want nothing but the best for them. I will see them again down the road...but our daily routine is forever changed as of today.

I've packed my office and put it in the car. All that is left is finishing out the day today. I have Friday off and I hope to have a nice weekend with my wife away from it all. Monday I will report to work in Houston. I'm anxious about that and I'm sure I will miss my 3 mile drive to and from work. I'm also excited and have great anticipation about what is down the road. I hope in all of this that my faith grows stronger and my relationship with God and with my family is made better.

Let's turn the page...

Key West...Key Lime....

Key West was an awesome place.. we really fell in love with it. We would love to go back again and again. Riding around town on scooters. Eating great food. Beautiful beaches. Beautiful water. Great people. Just a different pace of life.

One of the things we did discover was what you can do with Key Limes..

We started seeing many many things Key Lime somewhere around day 2. We started making a list.. Then a friendly shop owner said if we really wanted to flesh out our list we needed to go to Kermit's

Let me tell you..some of this stuff is awesome.. the barbecue sauce and the cilantro chip sauce is fabulous. Key Lime Margaritas...not so much. A tad too tart. The wine on the other hand even had us non wine drinkers singing its praises.

Well enough with the details... here is the list of everything we found Key Lime on Key West.
In no particular order... Key Lime:

Ice Crush
Coconut patties
Bark (as in candy coating)
Pie on a stick
Taffy
Ice cream
Cookies
Fudge
Juice
Coffee
Aide
Tea
Pie cookies
Coolers
Margarita Mix
Pretzels
Mousse
Shortbread cookies
Mojito
Cheesecake
Strawberry iced tea
Tea cookies
Candy canes
White chocolate cookies
Mango poppy dressing
Barbecue sauce
Honey
Hot sauce
Mango chutney
Wine
Datil pepper
Powder
Strawberry jalapeno jelly
Bath jell
Shampoo
Conditioner
Candles
Fruit Squares
Cocktail dipping sauce
Guacamole dip
Florida bay spice
Soap
Citrus salsa
Jelly Beans
Soda
Cinnabun
Smoothie

I don't proclaim that this list is all inclusive.. if you have had some other Key Lime "something" let me know and post it here...

Oh yes.. as like the pic says..

Key Lime Time

Miami for a day… + some

We did a quick run in to Coconut Grove Saturday night… pretty cool place. Walked around a bit but was an interesting evening… Burn Notice has a warehouse there where they do all their stage shooting. They also do most of their “on location” shooting in the Coconut Grove area.

Then Sunday we went to Miami Beach.. we walked and walked and walked.. Some fun observations, experiences and encounters during the day.

The beach is amazing!!!



Met a really great lady that was the bartender at the poolside bar and The Clevelander hotel. She has two beautiful daughters and she’s afraid of going in to the remote areas of Florida where there are not many lights. She has the same feelings that many people from my part of Texas have when they go in to a big city. I had 2 margaritas there… it was actually before noon….

Then had a cigar a little later while walking down Ocean dr.

Later as Hannah and I are standing outside the Ghirardelli's. chocolate store contemplating a hot fudge Sunday.. Donna walks up and says “what sin have you found now?” My favorite quote of the day from family.

Later on at the beach near the Key Biscayne lighthouse, a local asks Donna “Do you speak English or do you speak Spanish?” Just never thought Donna looked like a Spanish speaking person.

Coolest observation of the day: Donna says “You know, I’ve noticed something about the groups around here”. I said “There are no lines… not like the ones we normally think of .. color..”

We were also the minority as English speaking people in Miami beach.

We have also designated Miami as “Smokers Paradise”. Dang there are so many people that smoke there. I guess it’s all the Europeans. I’m not hating… since I had my cigar there..but still. Lots of cigarette smokers. Lots of scooters too.

About 10 percent of the people I saw in Miami look like models.

The lady at Key Biscayne was very nice too. She was very sociable .. asked Donna to take pics of her and her son. We had her take pics of us too.

Most everyone we ran across was very friendly and nice. Now Donna had us marching all over Miami beach..the a little driving to Key Biscayne..then walked all over Miami beach again to get pics of the art deco hotels with their neon on at night…put blisters on my left foot. Wore us out. Felt like boot camp. It was about 15 kilometers.. Donna and Hannah named our day the Donna Anderson’s Miami Beach, 15K pro am fun run race for the cure (a la The Office). Still recovering..

We’ll have more observations from Key West..mainly how may different ways you can eat Key Lime “whatever”..

Oh..yeah..

Forgot that the lady at Key Biscayne also asked Donna if we were from Northern Florida..because we sounded like her in-laws.

also...

A guy in an al fresco restaurant ..the cafe at Books and Books..had a dog that was slobbering all over Austin.... He was too timid to say anything to them so Donna asked if they could pull their dog back..in a very nice way. One of the guys asked us where in the south were we from..he then pointed at his SMU business school cap (with his Princeton t-shirt on too). We tried to bond a little by pointing out that our daughter was going to TCU but he would have none of it...

My New Playlist

I grew up in the 70's. I'm an album guy. I didn't buy 45's (one song on each side of a small vinyl disc). I bought LP's (Long Playing records.. large vinyl discs that generally held 5 or 6 songs on each side...).
I used to buy some greatest hits LP's of artists I really didn't plan to get "that" in to but if I like an artist I like to listen to an album in context.. I see it as greater vision of the artist in how they present their music.
Because of that I usually make playlists in itunes that are simply albums. Complete CD's of music by an artist. I make some other playlists but they are usually regarding something I'm working on...new songs for worship for church... sets for an upcoming camp gig..something like that.

A few days ago I made my first itunes playlist..for my own personal enjoyment. I know..most of you are like... What? It's true. but it's a big one..it pretty much fills up my little..old...ipod nano. But it's for listening to while I ride my bike. I find the selection soothing as I work to push through challenges out on the road. I thought I might share it with you and see what you thought. So far I really like it. I guess that's a good thing...but I think it's accomplishing what I want it to when I go out on rides... it's reducing my frustration as I work to do frustrating things that challenge me to work harder...

Anyway..take a look if you want. tell me what you think if you want.

Anywhere You Go 3:53 Ross King Perhaps I've Said Too Much

The State 4:30 Derek Webb Stockholm Syndrome

First Look 4:02 Jimmy Buffett Floridays

I Need Thee Every Hour 3:47 Jars Of Clay Redemption Songs

Our God 5:28 Chris Tomlin Passion: Awakening

Asleep In The Desert 3:31 ZZ Top Six Pack

Rhumba Man 4:10 Jimmy Buffett Buffet Hotel

O God Where Are You Now (In Pickerel Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?) 5:02 David Crowder Band A Collision or (3+4=7)

Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On 3:17 Jimmy Buffett Take The Weather With You

My Enemies Are Men Like Me 5:20 Derek Webb Mockingbird

Sing Like Mary Sang 7:18 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

Love In The Library 4:40 Jimmy Buffett Fruitcakes

Please Be My Strength 3:33 Gungor Beautiful Things

Saturday In The Park 3:56 Chicago Greatest Hits Vol 1

Track 07 3:13 James Evan Songs You Can't Dance To

Rain Down 5:46 David Crowder Band All I Can Say

My Hope 4:16 David Crowder Band Can You Hear Us?

Stay 5:26 Robbie Seay Band Give Yourself Away

Woman In Texas 4:41 Jerry Jeff Walker Live At Gruene Hall

Wait For Your Rain/Grace Like Rain 15:07 Todd Agnew Grace Like Rain

Tryin' To Reason With Hurricane Season 4:22 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Can't Help Myself 6:15 Sandra McCracken In Feast Or Fallow

Open Skies 3:59 David Crowder Band Illuminate

All Creatures 5:16 David Crowder Band Illuminate

More Than That 3:26 Monk & Neagle The Twenty-First Time [Promo]

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For 4:38 U2 The Joshua Tree

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is 3:22 Chicago Greatest Hits

You Have Me 4:36 Gungor Beautiful Things

Feelin' Stronger Every Day 4:17 Chicago

Rich Young Ruler 3:57 Derek Webb Mockingbird

Samson 3:55 Regina Spector

The Spirit vs. The Kick Drum 3:08 Derek Webb Stockholm Syndrome

Lovely Cruise 3:54 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

passenger seat 3:44 Death cab for cutie

Mockingbird 4:15 Derek Webb Mockingbird

No Not One 3:58 Brandon Heath What If We

Navajo Rug 3:02 Jerry Jeff Walker Navajo Rug

Teach Me All Your Ways 5:43 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

Incommunicado 3:41 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Shine Your Light On Us 6:23 Robbie Seay Band Give Yourself Away

Viva La Vida 4:01 Coldplay Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings 2:50 ZZ Top Six Pack

A Pirate Looks At Forty 3:53 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Shadows [Acoustic] 3:20 David Crowder Band The Acoustic Songs

California Promises 3:40 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Call On Me 4:03 Chicago Greatest Hits Vol 1

Wishing You Were Here 4:37 Chicago Greatest Hits Vol 1

You Do All Things Well 4:44 Chris Tomlin Arriving [Enhanced]

Tin Cup Chalice 3:38 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Ocean 3:59 Ten Shekel Shirt Much

When The Coast Is Clear 2:58 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Mexico 4:07 Jimmy Buffett Barometer Soup

Pre-You 5:17 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

He Went To Paris 3:30 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Where The Streets Have No Name 5:37 U2 The Joshua Tree (Remastered)

Glorify 4:28 Todd Wright All The Freed

Beautiful Things 5:10 Gungor Beautiful Things

With Every Breath 5:03 Leigh Nash & Dan Haseltine City On A Hill

True Religion 5:47 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

No Plane On Sunday 4:18 Jimmy Buffett Floridays

You Were So Close To Me 3:29 American Blues The Roots Of ZZ Top

All Around Me 4:37 David Crowder Band Church Music

Stars Fell On Alabama 4:15 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Volcano 3:39 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Boy With A Coin 4:06 Iron & Wine The Shepherd's Dog

Master Of Sparks 3:31 ZZ Top Six Pack

Never Let Go David Crowder Band

Deliver Me 4:42 David Crowder Band Illuminate

Rodeo Wind 4:49 Jerry Jeff Walker Live At Gruene Hall

We Learned To Be Cool From You 5:55 Jimmy Buffett Buffet Hotel

Hot, Blue And Righteous 3:18 ZZ Top Six Pack

Creola 7:03 Jimmy Buffett Floridays

Speechless 5:07 Steven Curtis Chapman Speechless

Love Song 3:54 Third Day Third Day

O Come And Mourn With Me Awhile 4:05 Jars Of Clay Redemption Songs

Sing Alleluia 3:42 Jennifer Knapp & Mac Powell City On A Hill: Sing Allelluia

Eastern Hymn 6:26 David Crowder Band Church Music

I Heard I Was In Town 3:38 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Oh Happiness [Acoustic] 2:35 David Crowder Band The Acoustic Songs

A Beautiful Collision 3:57 David Crowder Band B Collision

On the Radio 3:26 Regina Spektor

One of these days 4:25 FFH

Power in His Blood 4:08 FFH

A New Law 4:46 Derek Webb Mockingbird

Track 02 2:46 James Evan Songs You Can't Dance To

Middle Of The Night 3:16 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

One Trick Pony 3:26 MercyMe Coming Up to Breathe

Obsession 6:00 David Crowder Band Can You Hear Us?

Six String Music 3:25 Jimmy Buffett Fruitcakes

Nautical Wheelers 3:36 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 1]

Matthew's Begats 2:18 Andrew Peterson Behold The Lamb Of God

Sheik 4:05 ZZ Top Six Pack (Disc 2) [Tres Hombres & Fandango]

Resurrection Fern 4:50 Iron & Wine The Shepherd's Dog

You Gave Sight 4:43 Todd Wright All The Freed

Shepherd 3:37 Todd Agnew Grace Like Rain

By His Wounds 3:24 Littrell, Brian; Powell, Mac; Chapman, Steven Curtis; Hall, Mark Glory Revealed - The Word of God In Worship

Meet mwith me 3:40 Ten Shekel Shirt Much

Poured Out 4:01 Marie Barnett Poured OUT - Club Vineyard Vol. 68

Tasting Forgiveness 3:08 RSB Better Days

Surely We Can Change 5:18 David Crowder Band Remedy

Sacred 7:27 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

Meet Me In Memphis 4:52 Jimmy Buffett Floridays

Pictures of Success 6:56 Rilo Kiley

On A Slow Boat To China 3:59 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Rescue Is Coming (B Walk Down Stairs) 6:38 David Crowder Band A Collision or (3+4=7)

Death And All His Friends 6:19 Coldplay Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

Unashamed Love 4:38 Ten Shekel Shirt Much

Little Miss Magic 4:02 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 4]

Ballad Of Spider John 4:28 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 4]

Nothin' But A Breeze 4:17 Jimmy Buffett Take The Weather With You

Running To Stand Still 4:17 U2 The Joshua Tree (Remastered)

All I Can Say 4:31 David Crowder Band All I Can Say

You Alone 5:37 David Crowder Band The Lime CD

Falling Down 5:02 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

With Or Without You 4:56 U2 The Joshua Tree (Remastered)

Only You 4:02 David Crowder Band Illuminate

Sea and The Rythm 5:36 Iron & Wine

Twelve Volt Man 3:58 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 4]

Track 01 4:18 James Evan Songs You Can't Dance To

all who are thirsty 3:46 Vineyard UK Surrender

Yeah 3:36 Among Thorns Among Thorns

The Twenty-First Time 3:16 Monk & Neagle The Twenty-First Time

Hey there Delilah 3:53 Plain White T's

Son Of A Son Of A Sailer 3:25 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Smartest Person In The Room 4:39 Ross King Perhaps I've Said Too Much

When Salome Plays The Drum 3:29 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 3]

They Don't Dance Like Carmen No More 2:54 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads

Off To See The Lizard 4:14 Jimmy Buffett Off To See The Lizard

Awakening 4:52 Chris Tomlin Passion: Awakening

Everybody Want To Go To Heaven 4:56 David Crowder Band B Collision

Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car 4:33 Iron & Wine The Shepherd's Dog

25 Or 6 To 4 4:53 Chicago Greatest Hits Vol 1

This is Our God 5:36 Chris Tomlin The Noise We Make

Mercy 4:57 Ryan Delmore The Spirit, The Water, And The Blood

The Nighted I Painted The Sky 5:32 Jimmy Buffett Barometer Soup

Come Thou Fount 4:32 David Crowder Band All I Can Say

Search And Know 3:37 Todd Wright All The Freed

Biloxi 5:39 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads [Disc 2]

Track 09 3:55 James Evan Songs You Can't Dance To

Little Bird 3:35 Jerry Jeff Walker Live At Gruene Hall

Wholly Yours 4:17 David Crowder Band B Collision

Stronger 4:26 Hillsong Live This Is Our God

False Echoes (Havana 1921) 15:55 Jimmy Buffett Banana Wind

Uncreated One 4:48 Chris Tomlin See The Morning

Take My Life 2:18 Third Day Third Day

New Day 4:07 Robbie Seay Band Give Yourself Away

Happy Ever After (Now And Then) 4:18 Jimmy Buffett Banana Wind

Barefoot Children 4:54 Jimmy Buffett Barometer Soup

Coldplay Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

Take Me To The Cross 4:31 Sheri Carr Fearless Now

I know it's heavy Crowder and Buffett..and if you know me you're not surprised. But..Those artist are speaking to me the most right now. If you have other ideas..I'd love to hear them. Riding my bike..I'm having more time to listen to tunes..and Romack..I'll get some Clairmont on there my friend.

Peace.

The evening bike ride

For weeks I've been riding around in circles in my neighborhood on what is called Broadmoor loop. It's a 1.5 mile loop that I ride my bike on and I also walk it... over and over till I get to my desired distance. I've been trying to get in better condition and to be honest I've been trying to get more confident on that big Giant DX Sedona I ride... Well yesterday I took off and rode through west Lufkin and Hudson on a 16 mile ride. It was great but it was late morning and it got kinda hot. Not bad... it was a fun ride and it was super to have some new scenery.

Well this evening I took off and did the same ride again. I got started around 7:40 p.m... and it was a joy. It brought back great memories of riding my bike up and down Ave V in Alta Loma Tx way back in the day with my friends David McMillian, John and Curtis Rosson. The breeze felt wonderful as I rode through the dusk... the cool of the night breaking though the warmth of the day.. it was like there were cool bubbles of air out there bursting over my body as I rode through the warm moist evening. It was a great ride.. feeling a little like a kid again, riding my old banana bike up and down that shell road in Alta Loma, Tx. What a blessing.

Before I'm 60

A friend of mine would have a 60 before 60.. 60 things he wants to do before he turns 60. I'm just starting this for the first time.. don't know that I have 60 specific things I want to accomplish before I turn 60.. I'm starting this and will add to it a little at a time... in no particular order..

1. Key West and the southernmost incorporated place in the contiguous 48 states.
2. Alaska
3. Snowboard
4. Surf
5. Parachute
6. Bungee jump
7. Hike the Grand Canyon
8. Canada
9. Parasail
10.Learn to sail a boat
11.Get a sailboat
12.Get out of debt
13.Be able to wear my Aggie Ring again (without having it sized)
14.Lose 100 lbs and keep it off.
15.Learn to fly a plane
16.Work on a mission trip on foreign soil.
17.Yosemite National Park
18.Hawaii
19.Costa Rica Canopy Tour
20.Cycle the Pineywoods purgatory
21.Ride my bicycle from Lufkin to Austin (camping along the way at night)
22.Give Jinx a BoB ring
23.Perform a wedding
24.Snorkeling
25.Own a Mini Cooper
26.Get an iPad
27.Re-establish my daily discipline of scripture reading and prayer
28.See my friend Warren Bird again.
29.Find and visit with 5 old high school friends I haven't seen recently
30.Play golf again
31.Go to a baseball game at Wrigley Field
32.AmTrak to the west coast
33.Baseball game at Fenway
34.Drive a car through a giant redwood
35.Tell my wife I love her everyday
36.See my children complete their educations and become independent,functioning adults
37.See the fall foliage in New England
38.See Jerry Jeff Walker perform again
39.Dance at Gruene Hall at least once a year
40.See Gary P. Nunn perform again
41.Go overseas
42.Scuba dive
43.baseball game at Yankee stadium
44.Canoe the Guadalupe again
45.See Jimmy Buffett again...and again.
46.Publish a song
47.Record my (and my friends) songs and post them on fb or myspace
48.Write 30 more songs
49.Post music videos of some of my songs on youtube
50.Make my music room more soundproof for good recording
51.Every time I say goodbye to one of my family, tell them I love them
52.Do this with regularity.
53.Begin funding my 401K again
54.Visit the Shiner Brewery
55.Eat at the Angelina County airport
56.Visit Mike O
57.Memphis in May
58.Hike to the top of a mountain in Summit County Colorado with Shawn

59.aurora borealis
60.Farallon Islands Whale tour...there ya go...60 before 60.

Salvation, Restoration, Redemption and Santa Fe, Tx

A couple of years ago I wrote a paper on Salvation.. a part of that paper is as follows..

Salvation as I stated before is a process. People may be immediately granted membership to the “Body of Christ” when they repent and believe. I also believe people will have eternity with their creator, but probably have not received salvation from all of the “issues” that block them from having a rich and full life. Christ said that he came so that “they may have life and have it to the full”. People will still struggle with issues once they become a Christian therefore I believe they must work through their salvation regarding those issues. Not that I think they are lost or their eternity is in question but true salvation is to be cut free of all those issues. Over time individuals can work through and with the love of community and guidance of the Holy Spirit can be freed of more and more issues over time.

I hope I haven't lost all of you starting you off this way but I have to share with you something very important...that's why I'm back here at my blog that I have pretty much abandoned since falling in love with fb and twitter.

We moved to Alta Loma when I was 5 years old...a part of the white flight of America when schools began desegregating. Can't desegregate a school district that's all white. (mind you I did not understand all of this until much later in life.. I was just living in a world my parents were creating around me)..

Now once we got to Alta Loma and I started in to the Santa Fe Schools...pretty much all I heard was how I was not given an even break because I was not a part of the "clique" or kin to the right people or whatever. Failed accomplishments by me were reasoned away by my dad because I wasn't part of the right group.

That stuff stuck with me. From not making the sale at the county fair to not making all stars in baseball to not getting an offensive lineman award were all laid at the feet of the fact that I just didn't belong in this community.

So...I had a negative feeling about the place I grew up. I felt like I had been shorted by people I grew up around. I just didn't know what to do with this feeling.. I enjoyed those folks I was around but in the back of my mind was this seed that had been planted about my town, my school and the people that were a part it all.

I then grew older and up and graduated and moved on. For many years I was really kind of happy to shake the dust of that town off my shoes and leave it behind. I did go back for a reunion in 88 and I was going through some transformations during that time that did not allow for that reunion to be that fun for me. Everyone was who they were but I had an arrogant feeling about myself and just didn't feel like I fit in.....still.

I heard about later reunions but easily passed on attending because I just didn't want to be a part of all of that. Sometimes it was for reasons of my new-found role as a Christian..

I don't know why I had this idea in my head that I had to give up certain things to be a Christian but it was what it was. I had a very fundamental ideal that I was striving for as I finally made the decision to be a follower of Jesus. I gave up drinking, cursing was dropped easily (and I still try to avoid it as I do not find it attractive as a representative of Christ in the world) and other things that were things that were important for me to do for me to truly believe I was making the sacrifice to follow my savior. Taking up my cross so to speak.

Hence the beginning statements from my paper. I had received salvation from my savior but I had not received salvation from myself. A friend I met years later taught me the redemption available in Christ. Finding God in all things. Loving God's creation. Loving all people...period.

Time went on and I began to find God in a good slice of pizza and a wonderful bottle of Shiner Bock. I had forgotten how great it was to sip gin and tonic....and with all these things many of my self imposed barriers to my home town and my school began to disappear.

I yearned for restoration to my people.. my people from my little community of Santa Fe Texas. Then came the gift of facebook. I began to find my peeps on there and what a joy it was. I was able to communicate with them and it was so great to be a part of their lives again. I watched in envy (forgive me Lord) as the class of 79 had their 30 year class reunion....wishing I could have been a part of mine..if there was one.


Then a long lost friend (won't say old..thanks Janet) throws a party and I get to go..

All I can say is my heart is full..nothing else explains how I feel.

Thank you Connie for your hospitality and your heart.
Thank you Cory for helping me in my redemption and restoration..
Thank you Donna for loving me for a long time through all my phases.
God Bless every one of you.. and those of you Fe'ers that were not there..I look forward to seeing you some day soon too.

Peace

And the next weekend..

Now we're getting in to some very touchy things. No long trips. No hotel stays. No shopping. Just some more very new and very special pastoral duties to perform.

You see the previous weekend I went to Dallas to visit a very special member of our church and his family. Well unfortunately that church member passed just a few days later. This was a giant of a man in our church and in the church in general. He was a business leader, a philanthropist, a tireless worker in our church up until he drove himself to Dallas. He sang in the choir, took care of money, has done just about anything you could do in the church. A patriarch.

Here's little ole me..just did my first funeral on a 16 hours notice. Now I was being asked to do another just a week later.

I got a lot of input from the family. They were a joy to visit with. I got input from my friends and former co pastors. I did visitation at the funeral home Friday night...then I spent a little time at the Lufkin Panther game.... then I went home, stayed up till about 1:00 a.m. and put together what I hoped would be a message that would honor this man and a message that would please his family and friends.

I was never really very nervous. I had so many of YOU praying for me. I also had a great man to speak about. A rich and full life and a joyous family that shared their love with me.

No doubt. Many people in the church were not sure just how well this green, part-time pastor would do. I did have that other funeral you know...but I didn't write the message for that. That one I was blessed to use the message of my co-pastor..who was suffering from double pneumonia.

So I got up Saturday, went through it a few times. Went up to the church to visit family at their brunch, came back home, put on my not so seldom worn suit and headed back to church.

It was a wonderful service. The singing was great. He loved to sing so I know that would have pleased him. I did what I was supposed to do and then we had a brief reception after.

From the feedback of those there I think I did ok. Something more happened there though. And this may be more inside me than anything that was thought by everyone else in church. I actually felt like I WAS their pastor now. I felt like I had served in an important pastoral role to someone much older than me and that part of the church community now saw me a little differently.. that was probably more my own perception than anything else. But even if it was...it was a nice feeling.

Home and some rest... Up and to church the next morning. It's 8:45 and our guest pastor has not arrived. We had some announcements that morning..and they went a little long.. and I was ok with that. We also started just a few minutes late..that was on purpose. We still didn't have a pastor once I had done communion and so it was time for a message. I had been rolling ideas around in my head all morning in case our guest pastor didn't arrive.

I read the scripture..

Matthew 9

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. ²Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

³At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"

⁴Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? ⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." ⁷And the man got up and went home. ⁸When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

I said a short prayer...and fortunately we didn't have much time left..but I gave a short message.. and nothing that I had planned (in the last 40 minutes) came out of my mouth.. my message went to a place about the discussion of "which is easier" I've always wondered which is easier but hadn't thought it through. Now the Holy Spirit was walking me through. You see I had always thought it would be so easy to say "your sins are forgiven". I know I couldn't tell someone who couldn't walk to get up and walk... and make it happen. But I could always tell someone their their sins are forgiven. Then I started thinking about our modern technology and how we can heal so many things now that so many years ago would have killed us. We have computers and machines and advanced knowledge way beyond those days. We can heal people and make them walk but we are still fragile, imperfect, human beings. What is easier for us to do? Is it easier to heal a man or to forgive a man? So we are called to forgive. but it is difficult isn't it? It's also healthy for us.. for the others as well as ourselves. I said some other stuff but the part that truly enlightened me was that I finally learned what Jesus was meaning about it was easier to heal than to forgive sins... to for give those who sin against us.

Our guest pastor showed up in time for late church. We had a great service. A few hours later I gave the message and led music for the youth that evening. So...it was another busy but blessed weekend.

What's next weekend? Maybe I'll let you know.. after... got to go to bed.

Wow..what a weekend..

well..it started with the fact that we now have one full time pastor on staff... then..
A long time member of our church had a heart attack and had surgery and got very sick.
Another long time member of our church passed away.
Another church family member was having surgery.

I talked the situation over with Kathy..our only full time pastor and we thought it might be a good idea for me to go to Dallas and pay a visit to our church family member that had the heart issues. Kathy was handling a funeral and going to visit our member having surgery.. First I was going to make a day of it..run up there and back...Since Donna was out of town and all I have is a hot, un-air conditioned pick-up truck I thought..hmm might be fun to go with my son and then we could take that new nissan cube.. with a/c. I also checked in with my daughter to see if she might like to have a lunch or brunch with me/us but she was busy going to Tyler and couldn't make it.. oh well..

Spoke to Austin but he had to work Saturday afternoon. I decided to get a hotel Friday night to make the trip less hard and we could bum around together a little along with making the visit to our church friend.

He made arrangements to get off work Saturday night and he thought he'd be through around 6:30 Friday and we could leave then.. sounds like a nice relaxing Saturday with my son..

A party shows up at the FUMC CLC that they thought had cancelled their party.. but I guess they didn't...so he had to stay late.. I went to FCC and moved some things around to make room for Jinx to play on Sunday morning.. I then went to FUMC to help my son move things around so he could leave..

and I didn't plan on this part...but that whole moving red padded chairs around in the gym became an amazing spiritual flashback moment for me that night... hundreds of times I moved those chairs around to set up for Upward Basketball on Saturday morning (we didn't have bleachers) and move them around again to set up for church (Center Court Service) in that same gym. A long time ago I said that gym smelled like Jesus...still does smell like Jesus to me!!

Anyway..the unplanned working late got us out of Lufkin around 9:30 and it was raining. Not fun to drive in. We stopped a couple of times to eat and to wake up etc.. of course I'm doing some twitter/fb posts along the way and my daughter calls me to see if we can have breakfast together Saturday morning since we're coming up Friday night. OK...

I finally get in bed around 2 a.m...

I'm up around 6:30 to try and find out if I had decent service at the Ex and to see if I need to be on a conf call.. and I'm groggy and not moving too fast but we finally get going and pick Hannah up around 10 and have a brunch..well really just an early lunch.. then we drop her off for a meeting she has to go to at 11 and we head back to Dallas...FYI.. DFW does not fully impart how far apart the D and the FW are.. especially in rain and slow traffic.

We go and have a great visit with our church family at Baylor... we then decide that we need to find puma shoes.. we drive around Dallas for a while and finally get to the Galleria... we eat there and the Genghis Grill and it was great. One bowl filled us up.. I know it's just a dollar more for the all you can eat but we had all we could eat.. we hang around go to a couple of stores and it looks like the puma shopping is going to be a zero.. I mean we were leaving the mall and I decided to google puma's and the finish line (which we had never heard of) has them.. we go find it and Austin gets these.

We finally head out of Dallas for L-town and drive in more rain. By the way the cube drives great..rides pretty nice and handled the crappy weather very well. We roll in to Lufkin about 9 and I find out our only full time pastor...Pastor Kathy...has the flu.. Sunday morning was not an issue..really except now I was going to have to get up earlier.. but I now had a funeral to do too. My first one ever..

Up early Sunday..wishing I was still in bed... church was great in both services. I went home and read over some notes.. put on my seldom worn suit and performed my first funeral.. it was a blessing to be there and I was glad I got to be a part of that family's celebration of life.

Then home..sat still for a few minutes then went and did music for the youth.. got done around 8:00 p.m....

and then...do you ever get so tiered and keyed up you can't go to sleep? I was up past midnight.

Ugh!!!! and when that alarm went off this morning I did NOT want to get out of bed...I drug my self out.. a little late and got to the Ex around 7.

I am looking so forward to a quiet restful evening tonight...maybe even a nap when I get home. It was a great weekend.. no doubt about it... but hope I don't have any more like it in a while. I do need a day off now and then.

Hello again everyone..

My name is Artie Anderson.. I'm 49 years old..I work for a fortune 100 transportation company and I'm also an associate pastor at First Christian Church in Lufkin Tx and I lead contemporary worship..

Ok, so I've been gone a while. Life has been a little stressful..crazy..depressing at times...joyful at times but this has been one of the most eventful seasons in my life over the last few months and I didn't have the time, energy or desire to blog. Facebook and twitter are my outlets most of the time but I would still like to keep this avenue open for communications that are a little more involved..

I don't want to make this too long.. and Lord knows I can but I'd like to recap the last few months.

Hannah graduated

I had to fire someone that I hired over 10 years ago and cared a great deal about

I was very anxious about my own work situation because of what had gone on with my employee

A friend of mine had that female surgery and experienced some very bad things..got very sick..

My wife had that female surgery... I was of course very anxious about what was going on with her because of what had happened to my friend. (She is doing very well by the way)

I found out that 2 of my closest friends and confidants were going to leave my church and become pastors in other churches

I had to take my baby girl to TCU to start her college career

We had a big send off ceremony for my two friends/co-pastors/

I'm a guy that is not afraid to cry..I find it healthy and cleansing for me...I'm also a big baby and can't help it.

It's strange...I've been very guarded during this time... not on purpose.. I just haven't been weepy.. that's weird for me. Hope I'm not getting old and crusty..

I haven't been very good about my eating during this time..too much stress. Donna is making me get back now.

Fortunately I haven't gained back too much.. a visit to my Dr. let me find out that I was still lighter than when I started this a while back.

I won't be as rigid as before but I've got to get back on the program. I have things I want to do and enjoy doing.

This isn't a blog about dieting but food is a part of all that we do. I hope I don't let it control me.

I'll share more about more as time goes on..

Going shopping for a birthday gift for my son... it won't be too big.. he did get this because of the cash for clunkers program.

Peace folks..

334

Grr..

I had my struggles with food last week. I tweeted my bad day early in the week..then I had a celebration at work that brought CAKE in to the building and I had some.. enjoyed some Bock's in Gruene this weekend. I did a lot of walking.. walked in Lufkin, hiked in New Braunfels, walked all around the outlet mall in San Marcos and then danced a lot Saturday night..

Oh well.. I'll just keep at it and hope for the best next Monday..

330

Did a lot of traveling this week but was very disciplined. Did not indulge in sweets or bread. Walked a lot in airports...didn't even use the moving sidewalks. In Chicago where I had a 2+ hour delay I walked around the airport.. I also walked at the hotel in Pittsburgh.

When I got home I weighed 336.. man was I in a bad mood. I was so tempted to blow it off but maintained my cool and stayed the course.

Didn't exercise this weekend but was good with what I ate... dropped 6 lbs from Saturday to Monday.

I weighed 330 this morning..That's 9 lbs since we started the friendly competition and 32 lbs since I started this whole deal back in January. Clothes are very loose, I feel very good.. I walked again today.

How I feel is how I want to continue to remind myself what is so good about this. I have good energy, I feel alert, I want to move...in fact I'm parking farther away at places so I can walk more to get to my car. I look forward to continued success.

Excuse me..but did you give me the right room??

Had to fly to Pittsburgh Pa for a meeting that folks at the Ex wanted me to attend..

I'm staying at the Crown Plaza..along with everyone else and it's where the meetings are being held..

After an evening with my nephew and his wife and kids catching up and visiting Jason dropped me off here..

They gave me my room key and my room #.. and I found this....


















You can imagine my surprise when I walked in.. I was wondering who really had the room and I was barging in.. but no.. it's my room.

Too bad my family is not here to enjoy it with me...

I guess some times it really pays off to be added to the meeting a few weeks late.. Only thing I can figure happened is that they had booked all the rooms but this one and then I got added to the meeting and this was all they had left..

I'll suffer through it I guess.

336

It kind of bums me to type those 3 numbers up there... but I have to look at this in the big picture of things.... I will eventually get to where I want to be.. where I want to be changes every now and then..actually I'm already where I wanted to be.. at one time.. but now I look forward to another place I hope to be.

I feel better. I have greater energy. I go up and down stairs much easier..

I don't have to shove my body in to the booth at Cheddars like I'm stuffing a sausage. I actually have a little space between me and my table now.

Anyway... I will eventually get to where I want to be..and I have to know that I will have weekends like this...visiting family, Sunday School class parties, festive holiday time food all around... and instead of putting unreasonable demands on my psyche I want to fully enjoy and revel in those times..

...and then I want to return to my norm..lose the pound I gained during that weekend/holiday and contine living a thinner healthier life.. I have to practice that along the way to know that I can do it when I get there.

So I had some major indulgences this weekend and I gained a pound (over last week). I was very busy and church and at work last week and didn't walk a single day. I forgot to eat my breakfast when I should have which is not good for my metabo either... busy, busy, stressful week (which I ended Friday at 332 lbs) but then had a fun weekend, laughing, drinking, eating, and enjoying myself.

This probably is not good for me in my race agains Katie and Cory but in my overall scheme of things.. it's how I have to live every now and then. Now I must get back on task.

335

Did a little walking this week and a little working in the yard.. 4 lbs.. I'm happy with that.

Oh yeah..Cory Glover is in the mix now..

one more person that I can ridicule when I win!!

See his picture..he's eating ice cream.. I'm just sayin'!

Follow his progress here

339

Ok, that's 23 pounds as of this morning that I have lost..

It's also very important because it the starting weight for my weight loss contest against this girl..

Katie such a funny sweet silly girl, she thinks she can lose 30 pounds before I lose 60 pounds.

Heck, she doesn't have 30 pounds to lose..when I drop another 60 lbs I'll still weigh 279 lbs. I'm thinkin this is a slam dunk..silly little girl.

Now she has posted her weight loss progress over here. Check it out if you want...

Silly little girl..

A pic from Hannah

Hannah is traveling in Italy during spring break.. something I have not gotten to do.. She's loving it. Here is a pic she sent via text of the Vatican.

Houston we have a problem....

Today we went to Space Center Houston.. Man this place touches me way down in my inner child. I grew up watching people blast off in to space to try and get us on the moon. I was a little over a year old when Yuri Gagarin had made history by being launched in to space.. Alan Shepherd made the trip not to long after that and yada yada yada when I was 9 Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon (see more here)... it was that yada yada yada that was a part of my growing up.. tang, the space race, coupling that space race with the cold war, bomb shelters in peoples back yards and the fear of just what the russians would do to us from the moon if they got there before us made the whole space thing very important to almost all of us growing up back then.

I also used to lay on my back in the yard at night and use our binoculors to look at the moon.. believe it or not it always looked closer and more detailed than by the naked eye..

I had a map of the universe when I was in first grade and I would pull it out and look at it over and over again. I used in school for presentations several different times as I grew up. Space, NASA, all that stuff was just a part of me as I was growing up...

Also..schools in the Houston area went to NASA often.. Not every year but we went pretty often.

So...going to Space Center Houston today was something I was really looking forward to. The last time I had been to NASA.. it was just the Johnson Space Center.. there was no Space Center Houston. I had heard a lot of good things about Space Center Houston (SCH) so I was looking forward to today..on many levels.. I had a real good time.. you can see the pics I took here.

Unfortunately... it wasn't nearly as good as when it was just JSC... probably because I imagine how great it could be. Basically me and my family stood in line for over 3 hours today to go on 2 tours.. shop a little and go home. I studied recreation and parks in college and so did Donna. Donna even worked at Disney in Florida and knows how important it is for things to go right for there to be a quality experience for visitors....guests..whatever term you want to give to those poor suckers that come in the gate in the morning and hand you a pretty decent stack of cash to spend the day on your property..

Here are just a few things that need some attention Houston...

Tour guides or hosts do not need to be texting friends while guiding your group.
Tour guides or hosts should not make sarcastic comments about the place they work while on duty in front of guests.
Tour guides or hosts should not bob their heads to the music on the guide video no matter how sick they are of "The flight of the bumblebee".
Videos used on tour buses should be less then 10 years old.
Audio files used on tour trams should be less than 10 years old.
Security screening should be done at the beginning of the que line while people are waiting to get on trams..not at the end of the line so that people are delayed boarding their trams.. It must have taken at least 15 minutes (Donna's guess.. I think more) to load a freakin tram.. 3 minutes tops to get everyone on...maybe a tad more if you have physically challenged guests. This was insane!!
Don't tell people to return to the tram at the end of a tour and then tell them they should be sitting in the same seats they left AFTER they return to the tram.
If you are going to have flight simulators in the flight simulator part of your facility you should have more than 2 of the 10 working.

We didn't get to see anything else because it took so freakin' long to do these two tours. I'm sure I would have seen more that needs attention.

I know that JSC specializes in rocket science.. but this isn't rocket science.. it's hospitality, expectations, follow-up, leadership and respect....but then again this is a government agencey (NASA) and I'm sure SCH is the lowest bidder.. I really don't know how this was put together...it could be so much better..

and bobble head host told us today they were only expecting 6000 guests but would have over 8000 tomorrow with all the parking lots full including the staff parking lot.. good luck folks..the tram lines don't go too fast...and the security people that are going through your stuff and scanning you with a hand held metal detector are in no rush..which wouldn't matter except that the tram is waiting on you and the 80+ people behind you to get on... yawn..

I really hope to go back some time soon so I can spend more time in the main facility and skip the tours because they took forever but it was what I wanted to do today. I didn't get to look at any space capsules up close like I have every time I've been to JSC. I didn't get to see any rocks like every time I've been to JSC. Again.. it was the choices we made, they were long slow choices with a lot of standing still but I'm ok with that.

I'm not mad..I love the place.. I want to see more.. I just know with some minor changes that would cost nothing so many more people could be serviced with no extra effort put fourth by any of the underpaid, under motivated hosts on staff.