The Morning Routine

My friend Wes Molebash (Legendary Cartoonish of Legend) has a web comic which is most excellent, and a blog on said web comic that I find very worthwhile of my RSS feed.

So yesterday Wes posted a blog entitled "The Morning Routine" (which you can go and read by clicking the linky-thing there) and not only was the blog post entertaining and thought provoking, but the responses (22 at present) were also great fun to read.

I started to respond, and whilst typing in that general direction realized two things… 
1. that my response was getting terribly out of hand, and 
2. that I haven't blogged in a really really long time.

Thus I decided to take my long-winded reply and turn it into a blog-post of my own, which I will refer to in the comments of Wes's blog for anyone who cares to read my rambling.

if you've read this far and not lost interest…

1. I commend you

2. Here is the good stuff

The Morning Routine

I used to be a morning person…  I don't recall exactly at what point in my life this changed, but I suspect that my discovery of alarm clocks with snooze buttons during while at college had something to do with it…

I (like many people, I think) use my cell phone (read iPhone) as an alarm clock.   I set three alarms, beginning at least 30 minutes before I need to get up, just so I can smack the snooze button a few times.   The times these alarms need to go off depends on whether school is in session, because I have to get up earlier and leave earlier if I have to drop Ellie off at school before getting to work.


The times pictured here are for summer, they are all 30 minutes earlier when school's happening.

I have different ring-tones set for each of these too… the first one is a very soothing, subtle, water trickling kind of noise, that if I'm sleeping really hard I don't even hear.   
The second one is a little less subtle, and the third is, well…  kind of like the alarm sound you think of if you're being warned of a bomb about to off in your general area.

This third alarm (the one that means business) prompts me to actually pick my phone up off of my night-stand, turn the ringer off, and reset all three alarms for the next day…  


So now with phone in hand, and alarms silenced, I can proceed to the checking of email and twitter before I ever toss the covers aside.

At this point I now have approximately 50 minutes before I need to be out the door… 


I grab my towel and head for the bathroom in the other end of the house where I go to the bathroom, and get in the shower.  


Now, unlike Wes, I don't subscribe to any particular shower routine…  I can typically wash my body, face, and hair in a about 10 minutes and that happens in whichever order I happen to grab the soap, shampoo, and face-wash out of the little cubby thing…  I typically take about 5 minutes also to just stand and let the water run on me because I just like those few minutes for waking up.

Following the shower I dry off, wrap the towel around me and head back to the bathroom attached to our bedroom (which has two sinks and is where we get ready, but no shower).I get out my clothes as a pass through the bedroom and put them on the bed, then finish drying off, brush teeth, apply  deodorant, etc and then back into the bedroom to get dressed.

at this point, mostly because it factored highly into Wes's blog (especially the comments) I feel like I need to have an interlude to discuss shaving…

I don't do it much. My beard (go ahead, laugh) doesn't grow very fast, and grows in mostly blonde…  I usually shave once a week on Saturday evening so that I don't look scruffy for church on Sunday, and I always shave my face when I shave my head (which is about every two weeks).   When I do shave I use a Gillette Mach 3 Power and shave cream in a tube from C.O. Bigelow for both my head and face.

Anyway… back to the morning thing… 

Once dressed I head out to the living room and my recliner which is the central location for the deposition of "stuff" when I come home in the evenings…


My wallet, pocket knife, rings, and fountain pen all get picked up from my coffee table and put back in/on the appropriate pockets and fingers.  My laptop, iPad, any cables, drives, etc I had out the night before go in my backpack, glasses go on my face and Silas usually brings me my shoes from by the door.  (Which sometimes lead to funny comments).

Shoes on feet, backpack over shoulder, I grab the keys from the hutch by the door and head out.

My morning commute is 35-40 minutes on non-school days.   I always stop at Tim Horton's in Waverly for an XL coffee with 2 cream, and an everything bagel double-toasted with butter.

I always listen to WOUB (our local NPR station) while I drive to work.

This puts me at my desk around 8:15-8:30 in the mornings where I unpack, finish my coffee, and begin tackling the day at hand…

So, what is your morning like?  Leave comments here, or on Wes's blog, or if you blog about it yourself let us know!

It seems fitting...

I have been slacking a lot lately when it comes to blogging... Life has just been so busy, and so many other things have been happening that blogging took a quick trip to the very bottom of the priority list.

Things haven't necessarily slowed down any today, but I've had this post in the drafts folder for a while and today (St. Patrick's Day) seemed like a fitting day to post it for reasons which will soon become obvious...

All of that intro out of the way here we go...

---

On December 18 I got a tattoo.

Much thought, prayer, and discussion went into it before I had it done with a very close circle of friends and confidants including Jenn.

I sent an email out to those close friends and family the day I had the work done, and since then have sent it out and shared it with over 100 other people who've expressed interest in the ink or wondered what the heck I was thinking.

The rest of this post is word-for-word the contents of that email I sent out on December 18, 2009.

__________

December 18, 2008 - 11:50 AM

Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer — "the stone of help" — for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!" — 1 Samuel 7:12, NLT

After a long period of sadness and trouble, a consequence of Israel's disobedience, Israel repented under the leadership of a new priest and judge, Samuel. God restored their political security, and the people, for their part, re-committed their hearts and minds to their Lord.

Samuel placed a large stone at the place where this restoration began. He publicly dedicated it as a monument to God's help, God's faithfulness, God's eternal covenant. And as the people got on with their lives, the stone stood there, visible to all who passed that way, a reminder of judgment and repentance, mercy and restoration.

The Ebenezer stone represented a fresh beginning, a reversal of course for God's people. It also said something important about God: his mercies are everlasting; his covenant is forever.

Members of AA can tell you how long they have been sober. They keep alive the memory of the last drink they took, and with each new day, one day at a time, they move farther down the road of sobriety. AA is on to something important. Do they ask their members to count the number of years spent in drunken waste? No. They count the days spent walking in a new direction. All that went before is water over the dam.

Samuel was a wise man with a good idea. He recognized something that's true about human nature — we're forgetful.

At Ebenezer, Israel could stand next to that big old rock and remind themselves, "Yes, we serve a living and faithful God, whose mercies are everlasting."

__________

Today, I am raising an ebenezer...

It will be a constant, visible, physical reminder to me of God's work in my life, especially relating to...

• the changes in my personal theology and understanding of what it means to be a "Christ Follower" over the course of this past year
• the spiritual awakening I am experiencing and how that is leading me to spiritual formation stuff
• the community of RVCC and the ministries there I am able to take part in
• the friendships I have cherished this year
• Jenn, Ellie, and Silas who love me unconditionally, even though I make it difficult
• being the lay director of boy's chrysalis #24 (the process, the weekend, the team, the flight, the memories)
• turning 30, which was a much bigger/harder deal for me than I expected
• that God's mercy is everlasting and forever
• that regardless of how insignificant I feel that He will use me, if I will just get out of His way and let Him

My appointment is today from 4pm to 7pm at Wicked Sensations in Chillicothe...

I have a small suspicion that this is going to hurt... so, if you think to say a prayer during that time I'd appreciate it.

__________

A Prayer of St. Patrick

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Random - Manscaping

I couldn't resist playing with Schick's Manscaping tool this morning after seeing Marko's post about it.

Considering my long frustration of having no mustache growing ability what-so-ever, I found this fun and pretty funny.

Oh, and the animation is not only "intriguing and a bit weird"... but also completely freaky.

With that, I give you... Roogles - The biker.




(again, HT to Marko at his blog)

Called out...

This morning as I was getting ready to pull out of the driveway for work I twittered (tweeted?) as I often do...



This afternoon Corrine (a fellow twitterer, blogger, and Third Day fan) fired this at me...



Love it!

Here was the rest of our exchange...




I wonder if something gave me away... (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.)

Thanks for calling me out Corrine! Made my day!

(ht to Corrine and Twitter)

I can see this...

Well... That's a relief... I was afraid I might find out I was Stanley.

What NBC "The Office" character are you? Your Result: Jim Halpert You are the kind of person that everyone likes. You are funny, laid back, and not bad looking. You love practical jokes and having a fun time with your friends. However, because you are so laid back you often let the things that are most important to you get away. I miss Dwight. Congratulations Universe, you win.
Toby Flenderson
Ryan Howard
Pam Beesly
Dwight Kurt Schrute
Kelly Kapoor
Angela Martin
Michael Scott
What NBC "The Office" character are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

"Because right now, this is a job. If I advance any higher, this would be my career. And if this were my career, I'd have to throw myself in front of a train."

~ Jim Halpert

(ht to Evan Courtney on his blog)

Monday Morning Update

Monday* Morning Update - September 15, 2008

Where did the weekend go?

My crazy long weekend started on Thursday evening. I took Jenn to P.F. Chang's for her birthday, where the Chang's Spicy Chicken was most excellent! Then we stopped at Graeters in the mall for ice cream, wandered around Easton for a bit, made a stop in Target and headed back for the ranch.

By the time we got home it was well after midnight. Jenn baked cookies for college care packages, and I fished out some laundry and re-organized my backpack for the road trip. I think Jenn made it to bed around 1:15, and after getting all of my stuff together I ended up sitting up and reading until sometime after 2 AM.

Friday and Saturday were completely filled with a quick road trip to Wheaton College outside of Chicago. Marty typed up an excellent play-by-play post of the road trip here so if you want to know more I suggest scoping it out.

Getting back late on Saturday night made for a short night before a long day on Sunday at RVCC. I had the privelege of playing bass for Marty as he led worship at both services, which I thought went really well. Steve's message was an amazing start to what is sure to be a great series on the beatitudes.

On Sunday afternoon I stayed at RVCC for our Discover River Valley class, which is our version of a "new members" class... It is basically a crash course in RVCC history, and why we do things the way we do.

Youth on Sunday night was small group and we chatted and played a few games which was very uncomplicated, but a good time.


Where I am right now -

I obviously failed at getting this posted yesterday morning... When I started putting my thoughts down though, I was my desk, at the office... There was no electricity at work most of the day yesterday due to the high winds and storms of the weekend, so most of the day was spent in the dark with no AC and no coffee maker.

I am at work again now, taking a few minutes to finish this up before lunch.

This week at a glance -

Tonight Jenn and I are going to see the Lion King on broadway at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus. It should be fun.

We also have a home football game on Friday night, followed by a Fifth Quarter which we need to get plans nailed down for early this week.

Other than those two big ticket items I suspect this week will be fairly "normal".

Procrastination report -

I have notes from a meeting last Wednesday that I need to type up and get mailed out to our Youth team. I also have blogs to work on, and a lot of personal reading I would like to accomplish.

Book(s) I'm reading -

I started reading The Shack on Sunday afternoon last week and finished it on Thursday night after we got back from Jenn's birthday dinner. It is an incredible book, and I'm still not finished mulling it over. I am hoping to start Rob Bell's new book today if I can get my hands on it.

How I feel about the week ahead -

I have a lot of things to do, but this early in the week I haven't started to stress yet. I'm excited for The Lion King this evening, and looking forward to seeing how the rest of the week unfolds...

---

* by Monday, in this case, I obviously mean "Tuesday" or whenever I can get this thing posted...

Monday Morning Update

Monday Morning* Update - September 8, 2008

Where did the weekend go?

Except for a few sprinkles, Friday night was excellent Football weather. We didn't think Silas should be out in the rain so after heading home with Jenn and the kids I returned to the Waverly -v- Wellston football game. The band did great! I think the football team did a good job as well, but who has time to pay attention to such things...

Friday after the game we had another very successful Fifth Quarter with the cooperation of some of the other Waverly churches. It is great to having churches working together in the community for the good of the students!

Getting home late on Friday, I slept in some on Saturday morning and then spent a whole day of supreme laziness at home with the kids while Jenn attended an Emmaus team meeting and did some shopping. We were so lazy that I didn't even make the kids change out of their PJ's.

We had a great day of just loafing around the house though, watching TV, movies, playing on the floor, etc. I need days like that more often.

Sunday was a full day at River Valley. I found Steve's message about measuring the day to be one of the best one's in this current series, and worship with Marty Ford is one of the best parts of my week.

We did some relaxing on Sunday afternoon and grilled burgers for lunch, just in time to make it back to the church for a massive photo-scavenger hunt at Youth. Great stuff! Look for the photos on facebook (and later on this blog!).

Where I am right now -

Well... I have now officially worked on this post from five different locations, and am now back where I started... the recliner in my living room.

This week at a glance -

Well... I have a crazy busy week at work with 101 projects to work on.

Jenn has "water aerobics" (hehe) on Tuesday, we have a Youth planning meeting on Wednesday (to plan activities, etc for all quarter), and Jenn's birthday is Thursday for which we are going out to dinner. I may be going out of town this weekend, which would mean leaving Friday morning and coming back Saturday evening.

This coming weekend is also the Men's Emmaus Walk in Chillicothe, which means I have all the little pre-Emmaus weekend things to wrap up before Thursday.

So yeah... it is pretty much crazy...

Procrastination report -

Wow... where did all that lack of procrastination go from last week? I really need to work out babysitting for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week so that someone can watch the kids while Jenn and I go out for her birthday, and so that she doesn't have to worry about them on Saturday while she is doing Emmaus stuff. (If you are interested in the babysitting gig(s), call me)

I also have two other half-finished blog posts that I need to wrap up.

Book(s) I'm reading -

I started reading The Shack on Sunday afternoon and am completely sucked in... The book was a recommendation from the friend of a friend who said it is a must read. I'm hoping to knock it out this week and then get back to some non-fiction.

How I feel about the week ahead -

Stressed.

* oh... I almost forgot the footnote... by the phrase "Monday Morning" I, of course, meant that I intended to post this on Monday morning, and am just now getting around to it... on Monday evening... when I should probably be going to bed...

I never leave home without...

I'm totally swiping this idea from Terrace Crawford's blog.

Here is the entirety of his post from July 17.

---

What do you NEVER leave home without?

"Ever since I was 18, I've read a chapter of Proverbs every day. I carry a real small bible-The New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. I'm a nut for organization."

Mike Huckabee in People Magazine earlier this year.

John Edwards- "My ipod. I love Dave Matthews and Bruce Springsteen. It's nice to have a little time to yourself."
Mitt Romney- "A gallon-size bag of his wife's homeade oats-and-almond granola," and a Dora the Explorer bowl to remind him of this grandkids.
Barack Obama- "A webcam" to keep in contact with his family.
Hilary Clinton- "My blackberry."

For me its definitely my cell phone, money for lunch and most recently my man bag.

---

If you know me well, you already know what my answers to the question will be (don't worry, I'm going to hit you with them anyway) but it was something at the very end of Terrace's post that made me want to follow up on this...

He said "man bag."

Anyway... more on that later.

Here's the deal... I never go anywhere without my iPhone. Period. I'm completely addicted to being connected. Sometimes this is a problem (more on that later as well).

In addition to the iPhone I also (nearly*) always have on or near me the following:

• a fountain pen
• my wallet
• a moleskine pocket cashier notebook
• a pocket knife
• a tooney
  

There is one more thing, and this is where Terrace's comment struck me. I never go anywhere without my backpack**. Now, if you know me or see me around you know about the backpack already. It is huge, and I take it everywhere.

I have post in the works explaining the backpack.

Maybe I will get it posted tomorrow.

---

- Footnotes -

I've always wanted to do a post that needed footnotes.
This is them.

* - that list of five items (plus my phone) are what I have on my person anytime that I'm wearing blue jeans and a pocket t-shirt, which is my normal M-F 7:30 am-6:30 pm attire. If I am in weekend or evening attire (which means I've traded my jeans in for shorts) then I typically put the moleskine, the pocket-knife, and the tooney in my backpack.

** - I felt the need to explain the comment "never go anywhere without my backpack". For reasons which may become apparent later, the backpack can't go with me everywhere. It obviously goes to work with me, stays at home when I'm there, and rides in vehicles that I ride in. I can typically access the backpack within a few minutes from wherever I am.

---

Anyway... What do you never leave home without?

Monday Morning Update

Monday Morning Update - September 1, 2008

Where did the weekend go?

I took Friday off from work to create a four-day weekend between two four-day work weeks. Friday we didn't do much except bum around the house all day. Some friends stopped out on and off through-out the day, and I stayed here with the kids while Jenn went and did the major grocery run for the month.

Friday evening we went to the Waverly home football game against Jackson. It was very hot, humid, and crowded at the game. The football team lost to Jackson, but the band did a great job! After the football game we had a Fifth Quarter event at Grace UMC here in Waverly. The 5Q was a joint effort between three of our area churches, and was a great success! The Luke Francis Experience did a great job with the worship and Zack Pfiefer did a great job with the devotion.

After getting home and to bed really late on Friday night, we all slept in on Saturday and then had another day filled with mostly just hanging out around the house. I made chicken fried rice and crab wontons for lunch on Saturday. The wontons were good, but the chicken fried rice is the best batch I have ever made here at the house.

We went to the Waverly soccer game on Saturday evening, and after the game a couple of the Youth guys came out to play some Mario Kart and hang out.

Sunday morning we were at RVCC for both services and then came home for a lunch of left-overs and a nap before going back into town for Youth. For Youth we went down to Walnut Street Park in Waverly and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and played on the playground. It was a great evening, perfect weather for a cook-out in the park, and the evening was filled with great conversations, fun fellowship, and building relationships with our kids.

While we were at the park Silas bumped his leg coming down the sliding board and hasn't wanted to put weight on it since then. He doesn't act like he is in pain at all when he is sitting or laying down, and played on the floor last night quite happily. However, whenever he puts weight on his leg he whimpers holds onto his calf. He doesn't have any swelling or bruising, so we decided to wait overnight to see how he treated it this morning. Since it still hurt him this morning, Jenn packed him up and took him to Adena.


Where I am right now -

Since it is a holiday weekend I don't have to work today. I'm hanging out at the house with Ellie while Jenn is taking Silas to the hospital. At this moment I'm sitting in my recliner with my laptop and we are watching a movie. I've promised Ellie that I will make her a chocolate milk when this post is done.

This week at a glance -

Because of the holiday weekend, I have a short week at work this week... Fabulous!

Other than the normal work type things, Jenn is starting water aerobics this week on Tuesday and Thursday so I will be at home with the kids on those evenings.

We're fixing brinner tonight for one of the Youth who is moving off to college this week. Looking forward to hanging out with Caitlin and hoping that the good-bye won't be awkward.

Procrastination report -

I can't think of anything that I am particularly procrastinaing about this morning. There are a couple of books I would like to read, which I haven't managed to break into yet. Maybe I will have time to get on those this week.

Book(s) I'm reading -

I am still trying to make it through Jesus for President, and I started reading Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller this week. I have to admit that I picked BLJ back up as a result of Don Miller's prayer at the DNC last week. I have read BLJ once before, and it really didn't excite me or keep my interest. Only two chapters in this time I wonder what I was thinking. This is great stuff!

How I feel about the week ahead -

Excited for the short work week. Hopeful that the weather will stay cool, and that fall will actually get here and stay.

Dear Tim... A rant about customer service

It is no secret that I'm basically a whore when it comes to a good cup of coffee.

It is also no secret that I put Tim Hortons at the top of my list when it comes to getting a good cup of good coffee.

If you don't know me well, or are doubting the accuracy of those first two statements, please see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

So, Tim... Why is it that when I walk into your restaurant (and can watch the nice lady behind the counter) and order a bagel double-toasted that you put it through the toaster 2 times, just like I ordered.

BUT, when I go through the drive thru and order a bagel double-toasted that you invariable hand to me out the window a bagel which is not only not double-toasted, but that obviously hasn't been in the toaster long enough to get warm?

Why?

Does it have to do with getting my order out to me quickly? If so, I'm not in a hurry. I am aware when I order said double-toasted bagel that it take twice as long to run it through the toaster twice. I'm happy to wait.

Does it have to do with keeping me from slowing up the line and making other customers wait? I typically go through the drive-through well after the "morning rush", and doubt this is the case... but if that is the reason, please just tell me that if I want my bagel torched I need to come inside.

Or does it have to do with the fact that I'm going through the drive thru and you know that it doesn't really matter what you hand me out the window because I'm not going to go to the trouble to turn around and complain about a bagel which only cost me a buck twenty-five.

I have a deep seated irritation that this might be the case.

Now... before you go accusing me of having "one bad experience" or "just hitting you on a morning that you were off", let me just go ahead and say that this happens to me almost every time I go through the drive-thru and order a bagel at ALL of the Tim Hortons in a 20 mile radius of my house.

IF I

• Walk in. AND
  
• Order a double-toasted bagel.

THEN I

• Receive a bagel which is crunchy and slightly charred
  (just how I like it)

BUT, IF I

• Go through drive-thru. AND
  
• Order a double-toasted bagel.

THEN I

• Receive a bagel which is chewy, and possibly warm.
  (still very edible... just not what I ordered).

Am I going to stop going to Tim Hortons? No, obviously not... Despite the bagel fiasco, they still make the best cup-of-coffee on the block.

Am I going to stop ordering bagels through the drive through? No, probably not. There is nothing wrong with a slightly warm, chewy bagel... It just isn't as good as a slightly charred, crunchy bagel.

Am I actually going to complain to Tim Hortons? Call the manager? Send a nasty email? No, probably not. My frustrations are pretty much worked out now that I've vented.

The coffee was great this morning. The slightly warm, yet chewy bagel will hold me off until lunch.

Rant over.

Back to shaving the yak.

On shaving the yak.

There is a chapter in one of my favorite books... I won't mention the name of the book here out of the simple desire to not have my solar plexus caved in by an atomic elbow...

Anyway, there is a chapter in one of my favorite books in which the two main characters, Joshua and Levi, are living in a monastery, and the abbot is giving them instructions and the following occurs...

"Monk Number Twenty-two," Gaspar said to Joshua, "you shall begin by learning how to sit."
"I can sit," I said.
"And you, Number Twenty-one, will shave the yak."
"That's just an expression, right?"
It wasn't.

A yak is an extremely large, extremely hairy, buffalolike animal with dangerous-looking black horns. If you've ever seen a water buffalo, imagine it wearing a full-body wig that drags the ground. Now sprinkle it with musk, manure, and sour milk: you've got yourself a yak...

The yak provided just enough milk and cheese to remind the monks that they didn't get enough milk and cheese from one yak for twenty-two monks. The animal also provided a long, course wool which needed to be harvested twice a year. This venerated duty, along with combing all the crap and grass and burrs out of the wool, fell to me. There's not much to know about yaks beyond that, except for one important fact that Gaspar felt I needed to learn through practice: yaks hate to be shaved."

So, that is where this whole thing started (for me at least)...

The dismissive to "shave the yak" became sort of inside joke among my close friends (especially the ones who are also fans of this book).

Conversations would end with telling one another to shave the yak, emails and notes would bear yak shaving dismissive, and more than one time I have advised someone to shave the yak when what I really meant was that I wanted to be left alone.

How was I to know that the phrase "to shave the yak" was not only in common use among computer geeks and technophiles, but that the phrase actually describes an activity in which I am almost a daily participant.

During a random google search a few weeks ago I discovered that The Urban Dictionary offers the following definition for yak shaving.

Any seemingly pointless activity which is actually necessary to solve a problem which solves a problem which, several levels of recursion later, solves the real problem you're working on. origin: MIT AI Lab, after 2000: orig. probably from a Ren & Stimpy episode

Seth Godin on his blog, expounded on the concept of yak shaving with this post...

Don't Shave That Yak!

The single best term I've learned this year.

Apparently turned into a computer term by the MIT media lab five years ago, yak shaving was recently referenced by my pal Joi Ito. (Link: Joi Ito's Web: Yak Shaving)

I want to give you the non-technical definition, and as is my wont, broaden it a bit.

Yak Shaving is the last step of a series of steps that occurs when you find something you need to do. "I want to wax the car today."

"Oops, the hose is still broken from the winter. I'll need to buy a new one at Home Depot."

"But Home Depot is on the other side of the Tappan Zee bridge and getting there without my EZPass is miserable because of the tolls."

"But, wait! I could borrow my neighbor's EZPass..."

"Bob won't lend me his EZPass until I return the mooshi pillow my son borrowed, though."

"And we haven't returned it because some of the stuffing fell out and we need to get some yak hair to restuff it."

And the next thing you know, you're at the zoo, shaving a yak, all so you can wax your car.

This yak shaving phenomenon tends to hit some people more than others, but what makes it particularly perverse is when groups of people get involved. It's bad enough when one person gets all up in arms yak shaving, but when you try to get a group of people together, you're just as likely to end up giving the yak a manicure.

Which is why solo entrepreneurs and small organizations are so much more likely to get stuff done. They have fewer yaks to shave.

So, what to do?

Don't go to Home Depot for the hose.

The minute you start walking down a path toward a yak shaving party, it's worth making a compromise. Doing it well now is much better than doing it perfectly later.

Hah! Who knew?

Where I work we tend to refer to yak shaving as "putting out fires", but regardless of the phrase I spend an incredible amount of time solving little problems in order to find solutions to the big ones. Often times we will intentionally break a large problem up into smaller ones just so that we can tackle it little bits at a time without getting overwhelmed by all the things that need done at any given time.

So, any other yak shavers out there?

If so, give a shout. I'd love to hear your yak shaving tales.

Monday Morning Update - August 25, 2008

With his permission, I've decided to swipe a concept from Marko and try to get back into blogging.

The plan is to post a new one of these at the top of every week. If you aren't interested or don't care then I'm not offended. This is mostly for me, so here we go...

Monday Morning Update - August 25, 2008

Where did the weekend go -

Jenn posted an excellent blog about how busy our weekend was. I won't repeat all that she had to say (you should go read it) but I will add that I also had a fantastic weekend!

Church was amazing on Sunday morning. The special music (go watch it here) along with Steve's message about the Liturgical Year made for one of the best services I can remember in recent months.

Also the entire weekend (football Friday night, through-out the day on Saturday, church on Sunday, lunch on Sunday afternoon, and the church's pool part/baptism celebration on Sunday night) were all filled with great conversations and great conversations (and the relationship building, which invariably follows) being two of my favorite things, I would have to rate the weekend as fantastic!

Where I am right now -

Unfortunately, this Monday morning like many others, finds me sitting at my desk, in my office at Horizon Chillicothe Telephone. This morning has been busy with phone calls, emails, meetings, and finding time to read blogs and news from the weekend. (as well as work on this one)

This week at a glance -

As far as I know we have no out of the ordinary plans this week. (Which means work during the day, and hang out at home with the fam in the evenings...)

For the past several weeks we've been having teens over for dinner and to hang out almost every evening, but with school starting and folks moving off to college that trend is slowing down.

This coming Friday night is our first home football game of the year, which means our first Fifth Quarter of the season as well. I also need to get into the church one night this week to update the MacPro.

Procrastination report -

I have been procrastinating about blogging for far far too long.

I am also quite the slacker in getting the church's podcast up to date. Hopefully admitting that here, will elicit some nagging and I will make time to do that today!

Book(s) I'm reading -

I have a horrible habit of picking up and re-reading books that I really like... I guess with that kind of habit, it is good that I'm a fast reader. Anyway... Now that you know about that habit, I have to admit that I picked up and read Lamb by Chris Moore again on Saturday (finished it last night).

What?!?! It's a great book!

I'm also reading Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne, which I'm sad to say is struggling to keep my attention... Also, I finished The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs while on vacation a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't gotten over it, or stopped leafing through it on an almost daily basis.

How I feel about the week ahead -

Relaxed about the week in general. A little stressed about getting the plan for Fifth Quarter in place soon enough to make it work.

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Well, that wraps up my first Monday morning update. I have lots of blogs in the hopper, which I'm hoping to get published soon. For those of you who have been bugging me to get them done, please don't stop. It really is working.

The Adventures of Friday the 13.

First of all some back story... Who would have dreamed that it would be so difficult to get American currency changed into Canadian currency in Southern Ohio??

In preparation for the RVCC Summer mission trip, the Youthworks staff has suggested that we get as much of our money changed to Canadian before we head into the great North. Local banks gave us very mixed responses about changing currency, which mostly went along the lines of "It is too much hassle, so we'd rather not".

After a failed run to the Columbus International Airport on Thursday... ( "I'm sorry, we just ran out of Canadian Currency"... doh! ) I called the 5/3 Bank currency exchange center at the Cincinnati Airport on Friday morning and was told that changing US currency to CN would be "no problem" even in large amounts.

I was at work on Friday morning, because things at work always tend to be a bit crazy when I'm going to be out of touch for any extended period of time. By the time I touched base with Cincinnati and decided they would be our best bet for currency exchange, it was already 11 AM.

Jenn was pretty tied up in Chillicothe for the afternoon, so I decided to make the trek to Cinci solo, despite it being a crazy boring drive and at the minimum a four hour round trip.

Twitter to the rescue!



I wrapped up at work, managed to split by 12:45 and met up with Luke at RVCC.

That's when the real adventure began...

The drive across The App was relatively uneventful as far as drives go. Luke and I haven't had a lot of opportunity to hang out prior to yesterday, so the round trip to Cinci gave us an opportunity for epic conversation.

Down 32, around 275, enter Kentucky, nearing the air port.... no problems! Then BOOM! Crazy pouring rain started pounding on us, causing some quick brake application and the engaging of the windshield wipers. Well, that worked OK, until the passenger windshield wiper pealed off of the arm and started flopping around in a very dramatic way.

Thankfully the downpour was quick, and we made it into the airport parking garage safely.

Quick park, quick walk, right up to the counter at the 5/3 Bank.

"Hi, we would like to change some currency to Canadian."

"No problem, are you the guy who has been calling all day?"

Reassuring smile to persuade that I'm not a crazy person... "Yep that would be me".

Ten minutes later Luke and I were standing back at the van packing a large envelope of Canadian currency... It struck me as amazing that several days of stress had culminated in a less than 10 minute extremely painless experience, that was obviously no big deal at all for the girl behind the counter.

The exchange rate was $1.05 US to $1.00 Canadian. We started with almost $1200.00 American ( almost entirely collected from Youth going on the trip, who wanted their spending money changed ahead of time) and ended up with $1140.00 in pastel pink and blue bills.

Anyway, where was I...

Oh yeah, we managed to re-affix the errant windshield wiper and pull back onto the highway.

We had pre-decided that it would make no sense at all to visit Cinci without having Skyline Chilli. ( An obvious conclusion, I think anyone could agree ). Now that our main objective for the trip had concluded, our secondary objective [Destination SkyLine] was in high order.

No problem.
Punch up the NUVI.
Nearest Skyline, 3.2 miles.
Go there!

The NUVI, I've noticed since we've had it, really doesn't care how crazy or indirect the route is to get your from point A to point B. It has never really failed in getting me where I was headed though, so I tend to just trust it and move on.

An immediate turn off of the highway, and a crazy, curvy, steep, road through the woods brought us to a stop sign.

The NUVI says "Turn right".
No problem.

The NUVI says "Turn left".
No problem.

The NUVI says "Proceed 300 feet and board ferry".

WHAT??



Who knew that you could cross the Ohio River on a ferry? Luke and I certainly didn't know it was an option until yesterday.

Here are some other iPhone shots of our experience...





Although extremely cool, the ferry crossing was pretty uneventful. The lady in the car next to us was obviously a regular ferry rider and looked quite bored as she relaxed during the crossing. We surmised that she was probably on her way home from work.

Quick gas station stop. Skyline was right where the NUVI predicted it would be.

Half-a-dozen conies, a large three-way, an order of fries, and a few sweat teas later we were both quite content and ready to head back home.

The entire ride was filled with great conversation, and trying to get from the out of the way Skyline back onto the NUVI's recommended route home proved a little distracting to me. I missed several of our turns heading out of Cincinnati, but we eventually found our way back to route 32.

Traffic leaving Cinci was crazy around 5:30 on Friday afternoon, but great conversation prevailed as we made it back into familiar territory.

We tried stopping at the Starbucks in Batavia, but lack of electricity stopped them from being able to serve anything. A few miles later we tried a McDonalds to get a couple of coffees, but brewing a small, black, decaf proved too much for them and after having us "pull up to the curb", so they could bring it out, Luke finally had to go inside to track his coffee down.

We pulled back into RVCC a little after 8PM.

It was a great day, a grand adventure, phenomenal conversation, and a fantastic way to spend a Friday afternoon.

Luke, thanks dude for keeping me company, for the conversation, and going along for the ride.

Another hair post.

Hopefully blog posts about my hair will not become a normal feature on this blog.

It seems to be generating lots of discussion and commentary lately though, so why not roll with it.

It was suggested earlier this week, that when the humidity gets to me, and the product has worn off, that my hair (which is very bushy and wavy ) makes me look like Syndrome, the villain from The Incredibles.



I'm not sure I see it... I mean, the man has great hair, but it is
definitely going to take me a few more weeks (months?)

What do you think?



Once I've given the hair a few more weeks, does anyone know where I can get a black and white spandex suit?

Yes, I was bald (expounded)...

I made a quick post over on my tumbl blog today, about the weirdness of people noticing that I am letting my hair grow out. You can go there and read the quick version, but I wanted to expound on those thoughts a little here...

First, some background... When I was in fourth grade dad was getting his hair cut at Weaver's Barber shop on Water street in Chillicothe. I guess Josh and I must have been getting our hair cut there as well.

One time we were in there, and I really wanted to get my head shaved (bald). I don't remember what the motivation was, or why I wanted to get it done but mom and dad said they didn't care, so when it was my turn to hop up in the chair that day and Mr. Weaver said, "What'll it be" my response was "shave it off".

I seem to recall that he chuckled, got the clippers out, attached the number four guard, and gave me a "buzz". After that he spun me around to the mirror and said "How's that?"

"Can you make it shorter?"

Glance at mom. She nodded. Number 2 guard.

"Can you make it shorter?"

Longer glance at mom. Grin and nod. No guard.

"Ummm.... Can you make it any shorter?"

Question to mom. "Is it really ok with you if I shave his head?".

Smile. Nod. Head shaved. Spin to mirror. Tentative feel.

Satisfaction!

If I recall, Mr. Weaver didn't even charge us for the cut because he was so taken back by having a fourth grader wanting all of his hair cut off.

After that, Dad bought some clippers and from then on he just shaved our heads at home with the clippers as short as they would go. Once a week or so, the whole time we grew up dad cut our hair.

When I got in college, I bought my own clippers and every Saturday morning I went down to the bathroom and just clipped my hair (again, as short as the clippers would go) right into the trash can.

Sometimes, in order to make it more neat, I would use shave cream and and a razor to actually "shave" my head after the clippers had done their job.

Ok... Enough background. I'm bored and I'm sure you are.

Sometime back in late February or early March, someone in the Youth group challenged me to see if I could grow my hair long enough to put it in dreds before our summer mission trip in mid-June.

I don't remember if it turned into a bet, a wager, a dare, or exactly how it panned out, but by the time the discussion was over I had agreed that until July 1 there would be no cutting of the hair.

This coming Saturday (June 7) will be 12 weeks since I've cut the hair.

About two weeks ago Jenn got me some stuff to make my hair stand up. Now it doesn't look like a shag carpet is stuck to my head.

Here I am pre-hair, and currently.



Some interesting observations I've made since the hair started to grow, and people started to notice.

• Many people tend to assume that if you shave your head, you must be naturally bald and/or unable to grow hair... They seem to be shocked to discover this is not the case.
• Many of my friends claim that I look friendlier, am more approachable, am not as intimidating, blah, blah, blah, since I've let my hair grow out.
• Jenn prefers the me with hair, as opposed to the bald me.
  

I guess the hair is growing on me, pardon the pun.

I've decided not to get it cut after the mission trip, and just to let it keep going until I simply can't stand it anymore.

I think it would be really cool to let it get long enough to pull back in a short pony-tail.

Anyhoo... This post has gone on far too long.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the hair, no hair issue?

My Other (Other) blog...

Ok. So you already know about my other blog, right ?

http://eli.roogles.com is where I post those things that just don't really go on a "real" blog, whatever that means. You know, web surveys (What kind of fish are you? What is your super-power? How many three year olds could you take in a fight?) That sort of thing...

It is also the site where I test concepts, toss around blog design ideas, and don't worry about how it looks, how it feels, or who looks at it. Nothing that goes there is really important. If you 're not already reading it, you're not missing anything.

BUT...

Now I have another blog...

I know, I know.. I don't post often enough on this one to warrant one more, but hear me out.

A couple of weeks ago, Mark Lee introduced me to the concept of a Tumblelog.

The W defines a tumblelog like this :

A tumblelog (or tlog) is a variation of a blog that favors short-form, mixed-media posts over the longer editorial posts frequently associated with blogging. Common post formats found on tumblelogs include links, photos, quotes, dialogues, and video. Unlike blogs, tumblelogs are frequently used to share the author's creations, discoveries, or experiences while providing little or no commentary.

See full article here - Tumbleblog on the W

There are a variety of sites (like http://www.tumblr.com) for setting up tumbl blogs.

Mark Lee's tumbl blog (which again, is the first one that I ever saw ) is located here - http://markleerocks.com/

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Now, I really like this idea for a couple of reasons.

1. I love blogging. I like reading them, writing them, commenting on them, and getting comments on mine.
   
2. I don't have the time to write great blog posts, and I'm obsessive about them when I do write them. This particular post, which was meant to be a quick ad for my tumblr site, has been in process for 30 minutes...
   
3. Numbers 1 and 2 on this list are in HUGE conflict with one another.

So... without further ado, let me point you over to my very own tumbl blog.

This is where I (s)tumbl(e)... http://tumbl.roogles.com/

If you do the whole RSS reader (or Google reader) thing, then you can simply add the RSS link to your reader, and you'll know when I post to it.

They will likely be short, random, and possibly silly.

Looking forward to the journey,

-E

My Tweet Cloud

Just thought this was interesting.

Click for larger image.

See it online HERE.

See all of my tweet stats HERE.

A Good Morning

This has been a really tough week at work.

Things like a hot cup-o-Tims keep me going though.

Thanks Jenn!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Almost Time...

Getting very close... Possibly this week or early next...

Confused?

See here and here.

That book thing...

This one really should have gone on the other blog, but I found Marty's result of this quiz really interesting, and then was even more surprised by mine...

You're A Prayer for Owen Meany!

by John Irving

Despite humble and perhaps literally small beginnings, you inspire
faith in almost everyone you know. You are an agent of higher powers, and you manifest
this fact in mysterious and loud ways. A sense of destiny pervades your every waking
moment, and you prepare with great detail for destiny fulfilled. When you speak, IT
SOUNDS LIKE THIS!


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

( ht to Marty for posting this first )