TV Angst. I Hate Comcast Already!!!

WARNING: You are about to read an emotionally written blog.

Today we took a leap from our comfortable Dish Network that we have been with for several years to get Comcast (local cable company). Comfortable in that I can do the remote without looking at it and even set stuff up without looking at the TV, if I wanted to. After winning an HDTV ($500 gift card for a video and an ipod and other things) we found that it wasn't as exciting as we thought it would be when you don't have HD programming.

HD programming is more expensive and you have to commit to 8 months with Dish and Direct TV. (we didn't want to do that either). We got an offer that would drop TV, internet and pone by $50 a month so we went for it. And we get HD and onDemand!! I was pretty excited about it. It was installed this morning.

I just got off the phone from my 3rd call to Comcast already. Call 1: It says that onDemand is not available and to call Comcast and talk to them about it. Also the TV guide that shows you programming for the next 2 weeks said TBA after the next 2 hours. I was told to unplug the TV and it would be back ready in 30 minutes. I was also told it would take 2 days to get all the programming downloaded. 2 DAYS!!! What is this, 1994? Are we downloading this on a 9600 baud rate modem?

Call 2: 1 1/2 hours later...still no onDemand. "I am so sorry. It's not available in your area. It should be ready in March." (I live in the state capitol for crying out loud!) And she tells me that the program guide should take 24 hours.

Call 3: I just tried to watch Lost: Past, Present & Future. Basically the get you up to date episode that comes on before the 2 hour premiere. It's all glitchy and I can't hear anything. So I try Little House on the Prairie JA recorded earlier. Same thing. 2 other shows...SAME THING! It is now 9:15PM and the season premier of Lost has started. I call and am told that they will have to test it from the office and it will shut it down. I ask if it will interrupt my Lost recording. He says, "Lost is on the internet." Are you kidding me dude?! I couldn't believe he said that. Yes it is on the internet, but not until tomorrow and NOT ON MY NEW HD TV WITH BRAND NEW HD PROGRAMMING YOU.....ok, calm down...take a breath...

He runs the tests and he said they aren't making any connection at all. They are going to have to send out a new cable box! What? This is actually going to be the third one. The guy who installed it put in 2 as the 1st one didn't work. What kind of Mickey Mouse operation is this? (apologies to Walt)

we have friends who are coming over to watch the Patriots do the unbelievable on Sunday and this thing better be in full working order.

I already was upset that I have to relearn a whole new remote and program system that I don't like. I can no longer watch recorded shows in the bedroom, only on the main TV. Now this junk.

For those of you who are saying, "Why don't you just drop TV altogether and save more money that way and not rot your brain?" Get off your high horse! I am sure you have your own "vices" that you don't want to let go of.

Besides, I can't help that I love art.

Now I seriously need to take a cold shower and cool off. Goodnight and sorry again for my rantings...but you were warned. :)

Real Snowflakes!

Well, we were just watching the news on the snow this morning and they had a live in shot Portland where it was snowing so I turned on the light in the back yard and it is snowing hard here too! This is very exciting around our house. The kids ran next door to tell their friends and are screaming, "It's snoooowing!!!" Huge flakes. Here's hopin'!

Yes, I am a Cryer.

I have no problem admitting to you that I am a crier. I cry. I cry every time I watch Tommy Boy or Fletch. I cry when I am tickled for too long. I cry when I am around certain friends (Steve, Josh, Jason, etc.). I cry when I watch the Office. I cry when my son giggles. I cry.

Usually my stomach hurts so bad from laughing. I also am perhaps a little more in touch with my feminine side than other guys are. I have that tender spot that grabs at my emotions from time to time. Usually when I am not expecting it. Today it happened twice! Dangit.

First I was sitting with my daughter, who stayed home from school, and playing some games with her. I was taking a little break from working in the "home office." She was watching Extreme Makeover : Home Edition. (is there that other edition anymore?) Anyhow, I remembered quickly why I hate watching that show. There is always a tender story. There are always wonderful people that give of themselves. There are always cool, amazing ideas that the people have for the rooms, etc. (I want to do almost EVERY idea on there). There are always cool famous people who are willing to come out and lend a hand or a voice. The communities always come together. Then they move the bus...it's already welling in pools before this point. Then they move the bus and suddenly the dam breaks. Dam! always breaks at that point. Stupid dam!

Then there was this little video. I have seen it before, but I was reminded of it today.



good luck. Maybe you won't cry. (maybe you have a heart of bricks) but it is pretty cool.

Snow...School Closed!

Today we woke up to a nice wintry blanket. Now, it isn't a very thick blanket, but we will take it. The sun is out, but they say more is on the way tonight. Jeanne-Ann, who has spent A LOT of time watching the news and signing up for instant weather report emails, etc. has been very excited about the snow. I love it. It's like when we were kids and hoping and praying for a snowday. We would get so excited we would hardly sleep.

Anyhow, we woke up and school was closed. I would say there is less than an inch, but it is a total sheet of ice underneath. That's where it gets dangerous. I don't mess around with ice.

Here are a few pics and vids from our outside play time. :)

This one pic is of the kids and the neighbor kids using hoes and shovels to scrap up enough snow to make snowballs and save some in a bag for the freezer. That's how sad the amount of snow is. Haha.

Karston's Precious Quote of the Day!

***I was parying with Karston in his bed tonight and he prayed, "Lord, please be with Kynzi who is in the business of throwing up."

Poor Kynzi puked yesterday afternoon. :( But she is much better today.

***Our friends came over for dinner and some Wii. We also played Pop 5 a cranium game. Lot of fun. Lots of laughing and that is the best part.

***Off to my indoor soccer game!

My Survivor Experience Round 1

This morning Steve and I left my house about 5:15AM and got to Albany for the Survivor open casting calls. I was number 5 in line. There was one girl who stayed overnight (she got there at 11PM and stayed with friends in their truck bed. She was the only one trying out. The other 3 got there just a few minutes before us.

It was so stinkin' cold! There was snow and ice on the ground from the day before as proof. Thankfully I grabbed chairs and sleeping bags before I left so we got inside of those. My friend Rick, who alerted me to this opportunity, came just a few minutes after us.

As is usual, I got to know several people in line, and that is always fun. There was a lot of "I may take off my clothes" talk in that line, but as far as I know, no one actually did it. There were some real nice people in line. Ruth, an "older" lady, had tried out 7 times before and this was her 2nd casting call. Another guy had a similar story (you can see some pics of him on here). He shaved most of the front of his head and left his pony tail in the back. then he painted "Survivor" on the top. He also had a giant fake tattoo on his back (his wife told us it was real, but I got a close look, as you can see).

They opened the doors at 8AM, which was nice, as we finally got warmed up. We got to stand in line in the back of the store. Then we waited some more. They were supposed to start at 10, but began at 9:30AM. While we were waiting I grabbed one of their clipboards and began to fill out the application. A guy walked up to me and began asking me questions. We all laughed because he thought I worked for them.

Then Karlie, the girl behind us, dared me to walk through the line with the clipboard and look at people and randomly write things down. I did. I can't handle not taking an easy dare like that. It was really funny,people were totally thinking I was working for them. I walked through the line again and brought Steve with me. I pointed at 2 ladies and told him he would want to talk to them. A guy said, "Her name is Stephanie!" Man did we laugh.

We finally got signed in and got up in line. The girl who stayed overnight suddenly disappeared!!! Someone said she was so nervous she almost threw up. I felt really bad for her. It was finally my turn. YAY!!! I had a few props with me. I talked about being a youth pastor and that I loved Jesus and pulled up a Jesus bobblehead we are using for our DYC conference next month. I had a picture of my kids and my Mac.

I also talked about breakdancing; flying a 747 over the Atlantic when I was 11; going to Africa and sitting on a crocodile; and a few other things I can't seem to remember. The 2 minutes went quick, but there was also a point I realized I forgot to say some things and didn't know what they were and was lost, but I regained composure quickly and got back on track.

We watched several others go after us. One lady was probably in her 70s and wearing scuba gear. She was adorable! Then we headed home and talked about doing a video for the Amazing Race and Deal or No Deal. We are in a mode...can you tell?

Now it is a waiting game. The second round is in Seattle and then LA and then wherever the 17th season will be! Hope you're watching!!!

Survivor Tryouts

I am heading off to bed soon as I am getting up EARLY to go to an open casting call for SURVIVOR!!! I can't believe it. I have dreamed of being on this show since the first episode I watched with Richard Hatch and crew. I know most of you know that I am a bit of a TV junkie. That being said it comes to no surprise that I have never missed an episode of Survivor.

I get 2 minutes in front of a camera (so I am told) and then they will let me know if I get a call back to Seattle. After that to LA and after that...to whatever remote area of the world the next season is at. (not fans vs. favs. That has already been shot)

I am totally stoked about this and am trying to put together my best 2 minutes worth of "why I think I should be the next ultimate Survivor."

It's gonna be cold and we may have freezing rain (uhggg) so think warm thoughts for me. haha.

I will try to update you from my phone.

I am going to change the world!

Tonight I went to our high school ministry's Grounded time. A place for high schoolers to connect and go deeper in God's Word and share their personal thoughts on different topics. This time around it was time for Paula, girl from Simpson University who is considering the 2nd high school pastor position at our church, to share with us. She talked about calling.

Paula shared a bit of her story and her interaction with this topic and then had us go through some questions in smaller groups. We had some great interaction on these questions and only got through 1...maybe 2ish. It was cool to hear one student share his journey and how his friend has been bringing him back to church. He is excited to explore calling in his life.

We got back together and Paula shared some more. It was cool. At the end she had us take 5 minutes to respond bye writing our own response out. I wanted to share with you what I wrote. I was inspired.


I am going to change the world.
Jesus came into this world. He changed it...radically.
He said we would do even greater things than him. (wow)
Do I have faith in that reality?
Do I trust him enough to say that is truth?
I am going to change the world.
One moment at a time.
One conversation at a time.
One act at a time.
I choose to bring heaven to earth by living like Jesus "called" me to.
...by loving...
...giving...
...accepting...
...caring...
I am going to change the world.

Dgroup Overnighter

Tonight I am staying overnight in the youth center with my dgroup! We are having a blast. I learned a new pool ball game called Crum. Very fast action and lots of laughter. My style. We played the Wii. Finally, something I can beat high schoolers at. Halo? That's a different story. We grubbed up on a bunch of snacks and are hittin the hay here shortly. Then tomorrow we hit the slopes! I will post pictures later. Snow biking baby!!!

Teaching Myspace, Facebook and Blogger

Tonight we had some old friends over. Josh and Becca. No not that Josh and Becca, the other Josh and Becca. Anyhow, Becca has a dream of doing a ministry for girls in middle school and high school. It is all about an open and honest discussion about all things girls. She dreams of being a place where girls can ask questions and get honest answers.

So we set up a myspace site, a facebook account and a blog. It's called ChickChat247. I think it's going to be really cool. The big dream is to have a podcast from a radio show where people can call in. We are working on all that later. For now we are going with the free route and seeing what happens from there.

There is still plenty to do...logo, learn how to do a podcast, etc. Tonight I taught someone who is not very internet literate. It's hard having to go to that point where I was so many years ago. but, it was fun.

It will be really fun when this ministry is up and running! I'll keep you posted.

For now, bookmark www.chickchat247.blogspot.com.

Snow? Yup.

The last 3 days we have had freezing fog. This afternoon I walked outside and it was snowing!!! I couldn't believe it...it was snowing! I took a picture from my office, but you can hardly tell there is any snow. I missed the bigger flakes, but I was stoked that we had some snow nonetheless. I am still hoping for a significant snowfall this year...

This morning we woke up to icy conditions again. Yesterday we had freezing rain and the schools had a 2 hour delay. JA has just started to sub, so I am home the 2 mornings a week that she goes in so I can take the kids to school.

Yesterday we played. Baked cookies and had a friend over. It was a lot of fun. There was no delay today though. I walked outside to go to work and almost fell on my backside. (thankfully I have cat-like reflexes!) It was all icy again. The roads were OK, but my driveway sure wasn't. A little scraping off my window with my Starbucks gum box and I was off and good.

Turns out we had freezing fog! Weird.

My Inspiration

Tonight Jeanne-Ann shared with the family that her mothers' neighbor had gotten hurt. She is an elderly lady and someone had called my mother-in-law to see if she could go check on her. She knocked on the door and no one answered. All the doors were locked. She called the police and it turns out she had fallen and broken her hip and leg. they took her to the hospital and it turns out to she had pneumonia and a heart attack.

She is doing much better now. She does not have any family around. My mother-in-law stayed with her at the hospital.

So this is where my inspiration comes in. We prayed for Mrs. White together. When we were done, Kynzi was crying. Kynzi has met Mrs. White a couple of times, but does not know her well. The deal is she has a heart so deep for people. Especially people who are hurting. I love that.

I know that I am not always the most compassionate person in the world. I have an amazing family!

god has blessed me beyond what I deserve.

You, Me and Wii

I was driving through Seattle the other day and saw a sweet Ferrari. I was about to pass it so I thought I would take a pic. You don't see these cars every day and it looked like it was a new one. I put my phone down and looked at the driver. It was the guy who invented the Wii!!! I yelled out to him thank you (for my painful Wii arm).
BTW, Super Monkeyball and Mario Party 8 rock!

Hit and Run? Sorta

Today my neighbor came over and asked me if I thought he should call the police. It turns out that someone ran into one of the tiny trees on our street. Took it out completely. But whoever it was left their car on the street. What?! It was someone who delivers the Statesman Journal. There were a whole bunch of papers in the back seat and a bunch of rubber bands around the stick shift.

The police were called and they said no report could be filed because we were not the owners of the property. How stupid. It looks like someone either fell asleep at the wheel or drank. I don't know. Another neighbor called the builders, who I guess would be the owners of the tree. Either way I think it's stupid that they wouldn't come down and look at it or anything.

About 30 minutes later the car was gone.

Who takes care of replacing that tree?

A Free iPhone?

I just signed up for this free iPhone. It is one of those sign up for one thing and then get 11 other people to do the same and they hook you up. You can get a free iPhone, $599 apple gift card or $580 cash. I actually signed up for the cash and then will buy the iPhone after the cash is here and have extra money left over. you just need to click on this link and I will be credited. Then you pass it on to others with your own link, once you sign up and you get credited.

The way they can do this is that you are introducing others to new companies who pay them for the advertising. It is a legit deal. I have a friend, Jon, who got a couple of iPods through this program.

I paid $4.95 for a trial with google ads.

http://www.YourFreeiPhone.com/index.php?ref=4539292

copy and paste the link above into your browser and check it out today! let me know if you do it.

How Much is Your Blog Worth?

This is kinda weird, but I would be happy to sell my blog for a few bones.

My blog is worth $2,258.16.
How much is your blog worth?