Two Absolutely Unrelated Subjects

For those of you who don't know or have forgotten, I am somewhat of a Star Wars fanatic. In the past few years, this fanaticalism (I just wrote it, so it must be a word) has grown to the point that I see spiritual references any time I watch Star Wars, sort of like when I watch Lord of the Rings or read Chronicles of Narnia. All these stories can be used to portray Christian ideals and ethics. Anyway, anytime something new Star Wars comes out or is on television, I feel a compulsion to watch it (ex: Family Guy Star Wars episode, Spike Channel's Tuesday night Star Wars nights, and just recently on How I Met Your Mother at the end of the movie that the two main guys have just seen it says "121 awesome minutes later, and I could totally relate). The newest craze for me revolves around a new video game called The Force Unleashed. I don't know if it's because we never really had a video game system growing up, but ever since I've moved out on my own, I have loved playing video games. In fact, some of my fondest memories of post-college in Athens involved having a poker and game night at my friend Billy's house. This game looks really awesome. The only downside is that it's only being released on actual video game systems like the Wii and Playstations, and I only have my computer to play video games on. I have been asking my lovely wife half-jokingly for over a year since I found out this game was coming out for one of these video game systems, and now that I've seen some of the game footage on YouTube, it makes me want to step up the asking even more. Christmas is only around the corner after all.

The downside to all of this is that I have a tendency when I get a new game to not bother with anything else until the game is completed. Not doing chores, not keeping myself clean, not furthering my mind, not spending time with my wife or daughter, not anything but the game. This is not something I consciously do, it's the same thing if I really get into a book; the story usually just hooks me and I have to find out how it ends. For this reason I can see why my wife does not want me to have a Playstation or a Wii or even a PSP, but the call of the game is growing stronger!

On a more serious note (Part Two of the unrelated subjects if you bother to read the title of this blog entry), Kayla and I have finally joined First (only) Baptist Church of Karnes City. We have attended this church since we moved down here last October, but we both have had to wrestle with the dogmatic act of "walking down the aisle" to become members of a church. After having been to Compass and taking a class where you are walked through what the church believes, how they feel you should live your life and represent their church among other things, to then do something as trivial as walking down an aisle without knowing any of that information had us both a little concerned. It's not like we weren't already a part of the church (if you recall we did a VBS class over the summer, and I recently provided the special music for a service), but we felt it was finally the right time and did it this past Sunday. The hard part now is the focus has shifted a little bit towards me, or at least it feels like it has; let me explain:

The lady that does the music at the church is a volunteer and has to be somewhere between 65 and 75. She has no formal music training, but she has been willing to lead the music and prepare the choir to sing every Sunday. This is fine and dandy (except she doesn't conduct a correct pattern, which causes me every Sunday to look at my feet instead of at her), except, since I sang those few Sundays ago, every time we've seen her she tells me all the reasons she can't lead the music for too much longer: her eyesight is bad, it's a trouble for her husband and her to drive from where they live to church several times a week, how she's exhausted from working with the choir, and so on. These conversations always end with what feels like to me that she's ready for me to take over all her duties on the following Sunday. Now, maybe that's just me and maybe it's actually true, I'm not sure.

I know I could do this job and I know I could do it well. I also know that I would get some satisfaction out of it because I would be able to guide the music into a more contemporary style. The stumbling block for me is where I'm struggling right now and that is the position is a volunteer one. For the work that I want to do, it would require at least 10-15 hours a week and I am a professional in the field, so I feel that I should have some compensation. At the same time, I realize that I wouldn't be working for myself or even the church, but for Jesus, and that's a position that requires no other payment. But, on the other hand, Paul tells us in the Bible that we are to pay our leaders in the church so that they might be able to live and support their families. On the other other hand, though, it's not like this would be my full-time job or that I'm not already earning a paycheck. But when I think about it another way, any little bit of money I could earn extra for my family would help us to live without having to go paycheck to paycheck.

And that paragraph right there is why I don't allow myself to think about the possibility of taking over the position right now, because I haven't found a way to sort out my questions or concerns yet. Any comments and help would be greatly appreciated, especially of the Biblical source. The reason I ask for them is just like I feel the call of that game drawing me closer, I feel the call of this position in the church drawing me closer.

What do you know, these subjects weren't as unrelated as I thought. Also, if you have made it this far into the post, you are to be commended and I won't make you read any further. Hopefully, the post this weekend will deal with the exciting bus adventures I had today at school. Stay tuned!

Potpourri (Part II)

I was originally going to call this post: Hey Na, Hey Na, My Girls Are Back, but then we had so much stuff happen over the weekend, that it didn't seem to cover it all, so we'll go with the current title and no picture again. So let's get going:

My girls did make it back from their week-long excursion back East on Friday night, and it really brought a smile to my face when I saw them coming from the stands at the high school game. I hadn't really realized how much I had missed them until I saw them coming to see me. I knew that I had missed them, but I had also been so busy during the week with a re-scheduled evening rehearsal, getting fundraiser stuff for the band in, two pep rallies, and helping the band boosters run a concession stand, as well as changing the entire half-time show so the elementary school could recognize some students. It made me laugh out loud when I looked into the stands and saw my daughter dancing her heart out to the band's music on the field! I wish I had a picture; maybe next time.

So, I get home on Friday night, almost Saturday morning and have to turn right back around by 7:45 Saturday morning to get to the band hall so that kids can come and get their instruments for the parade the band had to march in for our little town. This is a parade we did last year, and I've got to say it was much easier this year, simply because I didn't have to drive down from San Antonio to attend it. It does make me laugh, though, because the parade route can't be more than 3/4's a mile long. And we have the whole town come out for it. When we marched by my house, we had a full crowd and it lightened my heart again because I look over and see my daughter dressed in a full cheerleader uniform for the Dawgs! It also made me laugh because we had a crowd out on our lawn, from our one family of friends here, to our drum major from last year who had graduated and her boyfriend, to the elementary music teacher and her family. It was just good to see that many people at our place to watch the parade. Once I arrived back home, I also saw that my wife had on a UGA shirt and she had gotten a new one for me in her travels. Before she left on her trip she told me that not seeing Brenna dressed for gameday on Saturdays somehow didn't feel right, so she remedied the situation while she was in Athens. It brought joy to my day, because I realized that after eight years I had finally converted my wife to the closest thing to a UGA fan that I'm likely to get. It only took moving to TX to get it! The rest of Saturday was pretty normal. Fortunately, Brenna took a long nap, so I was able to recoup some from the quick turn-around with band duties. We did get to go to the reason there was a parade: The Lonesome Dove Festival, where they did a jousting presentation and we saw a horse that was something like 22 hands high! The horse was huge, the presenter said within the next six months he was going to break the world record for the world's tallest horse currently held by his older brother. We rode a small "choo-choo train" in Brenna's words, we saw some llamas and some goats, and late that evening our neighbors even brought over some dove for us to try. It tasted like chicken to me, but I am by no means a food critic.

So, Sunday rolls around and Kayla is having a difficult time getting going because of what feels like a small head cold, so I take Brenna and we listen to music on the computer. She makes me laugh because once I played some of my movie music for her because I couldn't think of anything else to do with her and she was getting bored, so we sat in the chair and listened and now it's one of her favorite things to do with me. I love it because she gets to share in my life's passion and she loves it because she learns how to "play" all the instruments she hears, and Momma loves it because she doesn't have to watch Brenna. So, we all get to church and get to the end of the service and Kayla finally decides we need to join the church. We had actually decided this back over the summer, but she's adamantly against having to walk the aisle to do anything other than go to the altar to pray. But, we walked the aisle and spoke with the gentleman who is soon to be the interim pastor and joined the church. So we get home after all the excitement of hearing several of the older church ladies express how it was about time we joined and how now I need to help with the choir, and the choir director telling me again for the third week in a row that I need to take her job (More on that later this week), and Kayla immediately goes to lay down. Her little head cold has turned into a serious sinus infection, so I'm in charge of Brenna all day, which is fine because I haven't seen her in a week. So, we have a pretty uneventful day and we go down to see Kayla who only got out of bed long enough to go to the restroom and she tells me I won't have to stay home from school because she might feel better, and in the meantime she can't get out of bed. So, I'm staying home from school tomorrow to give her a chance to recover some energy because I don't think you can take care of a two-year old from your bed. I'll let you know how it goes, but now you're caught up on the lengthy and eventful weekend! Everyone have a great start to your week, I'll be watching my daughter!

Potpourri

As the title suggests, this post covers all sorts of things and as such I couldn't think of any one picture to put with it. Without further ado, here we go:

As I sit here typing, I'm reminded how fortunate I am that Hurricane Ike chose to not pass this way and my wife was largely spared the worry about how the pets and I would handle our first hurricane by ourselves having never been through one before. On the other hand, her parents and Nena live in Houston, so she still has some worrying left to do, I'm sure. Both Kayla and Brenna are safe and sound in Georgia, although in different areas from one another. Kayla is with Billy and Stephanie, helping out with Baby Elijah, and Brenna is having a grand time with Nonnie and G-Daddy, and BJ, Matt and Tasha in the north Georgia mountains. They will be reunited after the weekend to finish out their trip.

The strangest week I've ever worked is finally over, and possibly the strangest part of all occurred last night, when the KC Badgers won their first game of the year after having their backsides handed to them for two straight games. Maybe they should play every Thursday. Key word being "they," just let the bands show up on Fridays still and have an exhibition, without all the mediocre football getting in the way. We did play against one of the stronger band programs in our district last night, though. I always like to hear them because they are able to produce a "wall of sound," which is something easy to talk about and incredibly difficult to put into action. It's good for our kids to hear bands of that caliber, I just wish there were more in the district.

I'm still envious that Kayla gets to go to Compass this Sunday. They are slated to baptize somewhere in the ballpark of 100 people over the next few weeks, and Kayla gets to be there for the first service. I just wish that the church we attend here would show some fire in the way we do church. There is a sweet spirit in the church, but there is no real urgency to reach lost people, or to make the service applicable to everyday life. That's not entirely true. Over the next few weeks, we have a person filling the pastor's spot who does George Washington re-enactments. In fact, he attended the RNC as George Washington and was asked to give the opening Invocation at the start of the convention. He is a very good speaker, and tries very hard to give an applicable message. He will probably be the only reason I'll go to church on Sunday.

My Movie Music classes took their first "Quest" for me today (combination Quiz and Test), and so far have scored really well. All have shown marked improvement over the first quiz I gave them. They weren't able to take the entire test, because we had an early release day today due to the hurricane threat. That meant that I only had my kids for around 30 minutes each period. In that time, however, they were able to complete 3/4 of the test. Really excited that they've done so well, and super excited that hopefully next week, barring water pumps breaking down, or football games getting switched, or hurricanes coming to tear everything apart we should be starting actual movie music!

I'm trying to decide whether or not to stay another year here in KC after this year. When I first took the job, I was considering it to be a 3 year job, that way I could take an initial 6th grade class, and move them all the way through Junior High. I thought this would give me a good gauge as to how effective I had been with them and if they were learning the skills I wanted them to learn. What I was not planning on was having to deal with my co-worker. The first year together, we had such a difficult time together, that at the end of the year, I was contemplating making this year my last year. She was not the only reason, there's also not a lot of cultural or social opportunities for Kayla and Brenna here. The new plan was to put my resume out to a few schools over the Christmas break, and start at the TMEA Convention to begin looking for a job in earnest. The only thing that has changed about the situation is my co-worker has been much better this year and we have gotten along a lot better. Now, I realize it's only 3 weeks into the school year, but we've been working day in and day out together since the beginning of August. So now, I'm trying to decide whether or not to go back to the original plan of 3 years, or continue with the new plan of ending my time at KC this year. Any prayers for guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I think that's about all I have. I've taken care of most of the things on my list for hurricane preparations, and I'm ready to ride out whatever comes this way. Although I think it will only be above average winds. I'll keep everyone informed of all the goings on this week with Kayla and Brenna being gone. Should be an interesting time. Go Dawgs!

Batten Down The Hatches!!!

This has got to be the strangest week I have ever worked in my entire life. So we get to school this morning and it's already going to be a packed day because of the unexpected half-day yesterday as well as other reasons we'll get into in a moment and we get an e-mail from the higher-ups that states that due to possible inclement weather (see the picture to the left) on Friday night, that the Varsity football game will be moved from Friday night to Thursday night and the JV and JH games will be either cancelled or postponed for this week. Heaven forbid that here in South Texas we actually cancel a football game for the 0-2 HS squad.

Now for most people in the school, the change of a game to one day earlier is not that big of a deal. The football team has one less day to practice, but they're out there every day, and you've got to arrange for all the concession stand food to be delivered one day earlier, as well as make sure all the fans know of the switch. All of these things are relatively easy to deal with. The hard part comes when you're in the band and you only practice one night a week, and you're preparing a feature for either the "drill team" or the twirlers that has to change because we were going to involve some elementary kids that won't be coming, AND it's Band Parent Night! Things are just a little tense here in the great Karnes City. Add to that the fact that a huge storm is projected to hit land 80 miles away from us and it's a wonder we haven't just called it quits for this week!

As if this weren't enough on the plate of a band director this week, we also had our band drive today. This is an event that is called something different in GA, although I can't remember what we called it, where the 6th grade students come and pick up their instruments and books so we can begin the long process of teaching them to play their instruments. This is a lengthy process of meeting with parents and answering as many questions as we can about a great many subjects, as well as keeping the excitement of the 6th grade student under control, compounded with keeping the other JH/HS students out of the band hall in order for the band drive to go smoothly. Added to this chaos are a sound board training for an hour in the middle of it in the auditorium, and after school HS marching practice and the threat of inclement weather and you've got one pooped assistant band director. As if that wasn't enough, at the conclusion of HS practice after 9 pm tonight, we somehow got a huge bullfrog loose in the band hall tonight. You know you teach in the sticks when you look out your office window at a student trying to keep a bullfrog from leaping his way underneath the keyboard instruments!

And oh, by the way, this is the week I chose to surprise my wife and child with their trip to Athens to visit friends and help with their newborn child! At first I thought I had put them on a plane on the 11th, but they go out on the 12th. Not that I think anything would have happened anyway, but it still just feels wrong to get on an airplane on the 11th of this month. I wonder if it will always feel that way. So anyway, I'm trying to get the house and belongings hurricane proof as well as flood proof should it come to that. Any suggestions on how to accomplish that efficiently and speedily would be greatly appreciated. Remember I've also got two pets with me as well. I just hope that I don't have to evacuate and have to load the pets into the Honda that has no air and minimal space for anything at all, not to mention a leaky trunk! Ah well, that's the excitement that comes with living here in the beautiful sweltering wasteland that is this particular part of Texas, I guess. I'm really rather envious of Kayla and Brenna who get to look forward to evening lows in the low 70s and 60s next week, while I'll continue to die in the low to mid-80s at night. I'll keep everyone informed as best I can from my little corner of the world through this site, Facebook, and if you're lucky enough a phone call or two.

Now I'm off to bed so I can prepare for the end of my week hoping you'll join me in saying prayers that nothing else out of the ordinary happens this week.

Two 4-Day Weeks in a Row?!

That's what you get when the water pump in your town decides to go out overnight, leaving your school with no water. Technically it's a half-day because most of the kids were out of school by 12:30, but I'll take it any way I can get it. At the same time, I'm a little torn, because I have a lot of things going this week that I need to work on the kids with, not least of which includes the beginners getting their instruments and giving a test to my music class on Thursday. Not to mention Kayla and Brenna leaving for Athens this week. Not the most opportune time for water troubles, but maybe the kids will be in better moods this week because of it.

The weekend went pretty well. No broken instruments or students, although I did get a scare when the bus in front of the Suburban/trailer full of instruments I was following slammed on their brakes and I wasn't sure if I would get my load stopped in time to avoid an accident. The bright side is I'm the only one who knew how close it was. No one else in the vehicle seemed to notice. Saturday was great because the Dawgs won in impressive fashion, although I was very disappointed in ESPN's highlights that didn't show Mr. Moreno doing his best Superman impersonation (Able to leap tall defenders in a single bound!). Sunday was a fabulous day! I got to sing at church (A Casting Crowns song called "And Now My Lifesong Sings," or as Brenna calls it the "Hallelu" song.), then our friends the Djzuiks' (sp.?), sounds like Juke's took us out for lunch and we had an excellent time with them, followed by an exquisite nap of two and a half hours. Then Brenna and I came in to the computer room and listened to movie music until dinner, and Kayla and I finished out the night watching Coach Carter as well as some extracurricular activities (wink, wink). All in all a very good day!

Then came Monday morning, and I felt like the kid in the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day," because I woke up a little on the late side, which caused me to change my ringtone on my phone by the time I made it to the shower. I jump in the shower expecting to take a 7-minute-er in hopes of getting back on track, only to instead be met by a small trickle of water and had to fill up a Houston Astros cup several times before I could wash my hair and body completely. All this time, I've got a shirt in the dryer because I didn't have time to iron it, and it didn't look that bad. I bring this up, because the dog wanted to go outside when I went out to put the shirt in and I wouldn't let her because it was still dark and I didn't want her barking or getting into a tussle with whatever might have been out in the back yard. So, I get out of the shower and grab a pop-tart to sit down and scarf it before I have to get dressed and out the door, I make my way into the living room and there is a beautiful smell that greets me of doggy-poo all over the rug. Apparently she either really needed to go, or was really mad at me for not letting her out. So I clean up the doggy-poo and finally get out the door just in time to make it to school. The band hall is a disaster because we got in so late from the game on Friday night that people just dropped their stuff and went home (including me), so I didn't have any time to clean it, I didn't have any time to work on the other forms I was getting ready for the day, or time to work up an outline for my movie music class, so I was geared up for a bad day.

Turns out even the bad ones can be alright, all it takes is a broken water pump.

Missing Athens

I couldn't decide if those not from Athens would be able to tell that the famous Redcoat Marching Band over on the left was making the Arch from Athens. Here's a little history lesson courtesy of wikipedia about the UGA arch:

"Perhaps the most notable North Campus fixture, though, is the cast-iron gateway that stands at its main entrance. Known as "The Arch" (but often erroneously pluralized to "The Arches"), the structure was patterned after the the Seal of the state of Georgia, and has faced historic downtown Athens ever since it was erected in the 1850s. Although the Seal's three pillars represent the state's three branches of government, the pillars of The Arch are usually taken to represent the Georgia Constitution's three principles of wisdom, justice, and moderation, which are engraved over the pillars of the Seal. There are multiple legends about walking through The Arch: one has it that if you walk beneath it as an underclassman, you'll either be a 5th year+ senior or you will never graduate from UGA. Another legend claims that should you walk through The Arch as a freshman, you will become sterile (as told in some freshman orientation tours)."

This is just one of the few things I miss about my hometown due to being so far away from it. Athens will always be my home, it was where I was raised, where I met my wife, where we found a church, and where we had Brenna. I have lifelong friends there that I miss dearly, and of course there's the college. Now, when I talk about the college, some of you would say, "he's about to wax poetic about the football team," wait and hear me out. While I am quick to remind everyone here of the virtues of the athletic department of UGA (men's basketball SEC champs, gymnastics champs, #1 football team, 2nd in college baseball, etc.), what I really miss is the feel of Athens. It was a funky little town that had its own vibe about it that can't really be explained. People were always friendly, if a little wierd downtown. We also had the opportunity to take in some of the best culture around for rock-bottom prices, whether it be a show, a concert, or an art exhibit. These are some of the things that we just don't get here in the little 3,000 person town of Karnes City, and if I go to San Antonio, those rock-bottom prices are nowhere to be found.

I was reminded (as I normally am around a holiday) of how much we gave up when we left Athens. I called one of my friends (Hi, Billy!) over the Labor Day holiday to see what was going on with our friends, and everyone was gathered in the small town of Comer for a cook-off between two of our friends (Hi, Jake!). It sounded like everyone was having a great time cooking, laughing, and growing closer together. We talked about how church was going and how they are doing church in new and creative ways, which is hard to hear when I'm stuck doing all 6 verses of "Just As I Am" every Sunday and listening to sermons that have exactly three points that I could come up with on my own. Not to say there's something wrong with that, it's just not as easy to get excited about. That coupled with not being around when the town comes back to full life with the return of students after a short summer break just makes me sad. Not to say that I don't think we're right smack in the middle of God's will being here and doing important work with the kids from the great KC, but I wonder if I'll ever not miss my home.