Well, apparently, there is an oil tanker that overturned around my new office location, so I’m stuck here for a while. I might as well make a post on my blog now. =)

Let’s see… a quick update… my MacBook Pro got stolen, but I am decently confident I will get money for it from Continental. Claims form is in the mail, I just need to wait and poke at them. Before my trip to New Orleans, I went to the new Apple store at The Domain and picked up a new black MacBook. I’m actually liking it, except I do miss the Pro’s keyboard and large screen. I’ve always been a bit partial to smaller laptops though, so it’s not so bad.

Kathy cut up my very large Apple shirt I got for free from the new store and made it a smaller size. It’s pretty sweet, actually, and fits rather nicely. Thank you. =) I wish I had known about this before when I got a lot of huge t-shirts from E3 way back when… =)

Yesterday, we had a mini-New-Orleans-crew “reunion” at Kerby Lane because Kevin C. was going back up north. It was pretty fun, I think we were there for a few hours from 9-12. It seems like the Vox Veniae site is in store for another overhaul, hopefully more successfully this time. We’ve got plans/ideas, so we’ll see how they turn out. =)

I got to play with my work’s new foosball table today. Ahhhh, it’s been a while, but I’m still not too shabby. My Freescale days are paying off! =)

“In the economy of mercy
I am a poor and begging man
In the currency of Grace
Is where my song begins
In the colors of Your goodness
In the scars that mark your skin
In the currency of Grace
Is where my song begins” - Switchfoot

Yesterday we finished gutting the house which had a few large things we still needed to get out and a lot of little things. We brought almost the whole group and worked on removing nails, the bathroom, and other house stuff. =) We somehow managed to get a pretty large pile out in front of the house despite thinking we got almost everything out the day before. Afterwards, we headed over to the lake that overflowed over the levees and flooded the area.

Anyways, pics as usual… more on flickr.

Today we went to gut a house. The house belonged to an old couple that moved to Florida when Katrina hit. They passed away a few months after and no one has touched their house since it got flooded. We came in to clear it out and tear out the walls, etc. The children of the couple requested we look for a few items while we cleaned it out and we were able to find some of them I believe.

It was pretty crazy seeing how damaged the house was. It looks like the water went about eight feet high. In the kitchen, the fridge was horizontal and was resting on a counter or sink or something. I’ve got a bunch of photos (a few below) on my flickr, and Enoch has a bunch as well. Enoch had a wide lens that lets you get an idea of the overall damage done to the room.

Oh, and it was also Evan’s birthday today, so we celebrated at a Gumbo place. Was tasty. =)

Today we went to clean up a city park that had gotten flooded and overrun by weeds. All the plants that used to be there were wiped out as well as the trails and everything. Apparently people used to run/bike the trails, which reminded me of Town Lake in Austin. We had to clear a bunch of the wild vegetation that grew (weeds, vines, etc.) and hack away at trees/branches that were on the ground.

Here’re some pics:

For dinner, I had some lamb chops at a Lebanese place. It was awesome.

The rest of the pics are on my flickr.

So… I’m tired… I’ll try to post more later, but for now, here are pics from going to New Orleans and our first day. I will leave you with a picture of Harmon and a bunny:

Oh… and an angry Noah because it’s just too awesome:

I’ve been watching the show Heroes since it started due to somewhat mild curiousity. I wouldn’t say I would be terribly upset if it started being horrible or all of the sudden got canceled, but it was pretty entertaining. I also wouldn’t say I was a huge fan of the series… until last episode. So to me, that last episode made being caught up on the series entirely worth it and if things are going to be like that from now on, man, I’m pumped. The last episode was by far the best of the series in my opinion and just made the show for me. I am now very much anticipating the rest of this season now instead of just watching it whenever. =)

spoiler warning

What’s particularly clever about the way things worked out is that the ‘bad guy’ had a redemption of sorts and you actually feel for him, but at the end, he’s still the bad guy because he won’t remember a thing! I really like how that worked.

So… another thing… can the Haitian block other’s powers? Maybe just other’s powers if their powers are mental-based? Or he can’t, he just does the memory stuff and someone else is blocking powers? It seemed to be the case that he blocked the mind-reading guy’s powers, the verbal-control girl’s powers, and Sylar’s powers. But he didn’t seem to do anything against invisible guy and Peter’s powers… and maybe not the nuclear guy.

Anyways, speaking of heroes… 300 was pretty hot. =)

Hm, it’s been a while since I’ve made a blog post. I took some weddings pics a little while ago and just finished processing some of them in Lightroom, which I still need to fully get the hang of. The internet/wireless at my house is a bit choppy though, so I haven’t been able to upload them, otherwise I’d post a few.

Let’s see… there was a midnight pillow fight thing at UT a while back I went to take pics of, but it turned out to not be as awesome as I had hoped. I didn’t really get any good shots, so I’m not even going to bother posting any.

I got sick on TH/F and developed a fever on Saturday. It was not cool. I’ve been at home just kinda bumming, sleeping, and eating, but I think I’m recovering now. This means I’m missing Vox Veniae’s first Portals (gotta love the fancy names =), which I was looking forward to, but what can ya do. =(

Hmmmm… oh yeah, I have decided to go on a missions trip to New Orleans during spring break. I hadn’t really thought about it until recently, but I have never actually gone on a missions trip before. There were a few times where I almost went, but something always came up that stopped me from going. I’m hoping this will be a good experience for everyone involved. =) When I was going to ask off that week from work, I thought the chances of me actually getting it were pretty slim, but it turned out to work itself out rather nicely, so I’m taking that as divine “thumbs up” sign. ;)

I’ve been reading The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical for Vox and it’s been pretty good I think. I’ve had some thoughts on topics it talks about, but I’m going to let them fester for a while before blogging about them (if I ever do =).

In the mean time, I leave you with my past few days in pictures:

Another picture of Wes:

 

Post-grad Elements (+ Brook and Melinda’s Elements) dinner:

 

 

Darn PatSun:

 

 

 

Gid announced Portals last Sunday:

 

“Try to climb a broken ladder
Grip the missing rungs
And fall down down down down
Seems some time ago you said
This wouldn’t last
And now you sit here crying, yeah

Beside your bed
You feel left for dead
You kneel in the dark” - Jars of Clay

Pics from yesterday and this morning:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMP this morning:

 

Home, new flooring!

 

 

 

So Toshiba launched their ratings & reviews on ToshibaDirect.com today. Toshiba is my first client that I’ve worked with from pretty much start to end to have launched, so it’s pretty spiffy.

I noticed that I haven’t posted lyrics at the end of my posts for a while, so it’s about time I do so. =) I’ve been listening to some JoC again recently, and I think a lot of their songs grow on me. Oh My God didn’t really hit me the first few times I listened to it, but I was playing it in my car alone today and the end gets pretty intense. One of those songs you have to pay attention to I think.

“Oh my God, look around this place
Your fingers reach around the bone
You set the break and set the tone
Flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain
All fools say, “Oh my God”

Oh my God, Why are we so afraid?
We make it worse when we don’t bleed
There is no cure for our disease
Turn a phrase, and rise again
Or fake your death and only tell your closest friend
Oh my God.

Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief and graft my soul upon your grief
Weddings, boats and alibis
All drift away, and a mother cries

Liars and fools; sons and failures
Thieves will always say
Lost and found; ailing wanderers
Healers always say
Whores and angels; men with problems
Leavers always say
Broken hearted; separated
Orphans always say
War creators; racial haters
Preachers always say
Distant fathers; fallen warriors
Givers always say
Pilgrim saints; lonely widows
Users always say
Fearful mothers; watchful doubters
Saviors always say

Sometimes I cannot forgive
And these days, mercy cuts so deep
If the world was how it should be,
Maybe I could get some sleep
While I lay, I dream we’re better,
Scales were gone and faces light
When we wake, we hate our brother
We still move to hurt each other
Sometimes I can close my eyes,
And all the fear that keeps me silent
Falls below my heavy breathing,
What makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder
We all feel the need for wonder
We still want to be reminded
That the pain is worth the plunder

Sometimes when I lose my grip,
I wonder what to make of heaven
All the times I thought to reach up
All the times I had to give in
Babies underneath their beds
Hospitals that cannot treat
All the wounds that money causes
All the comforts of cathedrals

All the cries of thirsty children - this is our inheritance
All the rage of watching mothers - this is our greatest offense

Oh my God
Oh my God” - Jars of Clay