Wow, it had been almost a month since I posted.  Sorry for those of you who check in regularly, working and the end of our baseball season has tied me up more than I remembered.

So baseball is over finally.  My youngest won their first playoff game and it was their first win of the season.  Great news for them.  They had been steadily improving all year and I knew it was just a matter of time, I just wasn’t sure if it would be this season or next when it came.  But they pulled it off at the perfect time.  So they moved to the second round with their win.  And got beat by the team that finished second overall (with some very big 10 year olds).  Overall I was very happy with our season and with how well the boys did.

My older son’s team finished in third overall, and didn’t win their first playoff game.  It was a rough game and while there were a few missed calls by the umpires, the boys simply didn’t play well enough to win.  One of our pitchers was off, and the other team just played better than we did.  Lots of things contributed to a rough season for the team, but Christian had a good season.  He had a couple of rough games that hurt his average (and helped the strike out totals of the other pitcher), but other than those few, his on-base average was over .500.  And once he is on base, he is a terror to the other team.  He has an uncanny ability to force the other team to make bad throws trying to get him out.  He generally ends up on third and often scores on bad throws.  He is very good at that.

Lydia finished the year in second place.  They won their first playoff game, but the championship game proved a bit too much for them.  I am not exactly sure what happened (I was at Christian’s game while Mom was at Lydia’s).  I do know that Lydia improved as the year went on both in her fielding and her hitting.  She needs to work on her confidence playing.  (She could take lessons from her younger brother, he is sure he will have a home run every time he comes up to bat.)  While I wish Lydia could have won the championship game, I am glad that she got that second place trophy.  After 7 years of playing, she finally got to the championship game.

None of them made it to the all-star game, and while I’m not certain I agree with the decision, at least I didn’t have to make it.  That is one of the nice things about not coaching, I don’t have to make any of the hard decisions. :)  But now that baseball is over (except for the all star game I’m coordinating), it is time to start planning for Fall Ball, our fall instructional season.  Only Caleb (my younger son) will participate, because it is only for the kids in his division.  So the break is nice, but it is short, which is nice as well.

By the way, did I ever tell you that I love baseball? 

CC

I wasn’t planning to write this week, as my kids baseball season winds down and I get back into the swing of working, I’ve been VERY tired.  But as we sit here watching the Braves play the Marlins, I saw another notch in Braves and baseball history.

Chipper Jones just hit another rocket over the right field wall for his 400th career home run.  As the next step in what may end up being a career year for Chipper (he’s batting over .400), I was glad our busy schedule didn’t prevent us from seeing it.  It was great shot, and the announcers were actually talking about Chipper being that close to the milestone when he hit the shot.

So congrats to Chipper.  In a day and age where so many baseball records are tarnished by scandal, it is nice to see one that, at least, doesn’t appear to be the result of steroids.  Chipper, for all that other teams (like the Mets) don’t like him, he really is a home-town hero.

Congrats Chipper on number 400.

CC

Have I ever told you that my kids play baseball?

We play for Champion Baseball League where I am an assistant coach and a member of the Committee.  It is a ton of fun for the kids, and we love the distraction in the spring and early summer.  The league is designed to not be a competitive league, so we try to avoid the problems that other leagues run into when things get too competitive.  This is not to say we don’t encourage the kids to win, we do indeed.  However, as I’ve told all of the teams I am helping with, I’d rather have the team play their very best and lose than play slipshod and win.

We try to use the “Christian Winner’s Creed” to help teach the kids the proper attitude when playing.  “A true winner always does his best, never to the glory of self, but always to the glory of God.  With the Lord’s help, I will strive to be a true winner today.”  And while I am not naive enough to think that everyone who reads this will believe the same we do, I think everyone can appreciate the sentiment of the statement.  When you hit the field (or the books, or the office), you should give it your best.  If something is worth doing, it is worth giving your best to it.

I don’t pretend that we are perfect in our league, nor do I think we have perfect kids.  But we do hope that our focus will help avoid some of the bad things we see and hear about in other leagues.  I’m sometimes shocked when I see and hear what goes on in other baseball leagues.  I know there are areas that I want to see my kids succeed and especially areas where I may not have achieved.  But to be so focused on sports that I drive my kids batty and “show out” at their games, that doesn’t compute to me.

As our season draws to a close, we are all looking forward to the free weekends again, but that is not to say we love baseball any less.  As with all things, our baseball season must come to a close.  We will be anxiously awaiting the fall when we start again with “Fall Ball” instructional baseball.

CC

“He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.” - Proverbs 27:14

Have you ever known someone with whom you were good friends, but their body cycle was opposite of yours?  Personally, I am a night person, and fortunately, so is my wife.  We have, on occasion, had friends that are morning people.  I can say without hesitation, there is nothing worse than a peppy, cheery morning person when you stayed up too late the night before.  Despite how much you love your friend, it is indeed easy to experience murderous thoughts.

I’ve often wondered what it is that makes someone a morning or night person.  I know that I can function as either, but I definitely prefer a lifestyle where I can stay up until midnight or just after and not get up until 8am.  I feel like I function better in that scenario.  Unfortunately, this isn’t the hours most jobs allow you to keep (including mine).  At MetLife, we were on “flex” time, but I still had to be in the office by 9am.  I was able to get closer to my “prefered” schedule.

I also have wondered whether or not my body “cycle” would adjust if I were to move to a different time zone, or would it be the same.  So, for example, if I moved from my Eastern time zone to Pacific, would my midnight to 8am sleep time adjust back to a 9pm to 5am schedule?  That might make a move to Mountain or Pacific more enticing.  But with the obviousness (is that a word) of jet lag and the reverse, it makes me wonder.  I know the one time I flew to Hawaii, I felt great when we were there, and I needed a day in bed to recover coming back.

It is nice to know that Solomon, the world’s wisest man, was a night person.  Even with all his wisdom, he didn’t like to be woken up by a cheery person in the morning.  I guess if I were a king, like Solomon was, I would outlaw loud noises before 11am.  I don’t think it would work, after all, I can’t keep it quiet until 10am on Saturdays in my own home. :)  Such is the life with kids.

CC

My parent’s came up to visit for Memorial Day weekend and since we didn’t have any baseball this weekend, we decided to head out to a movie.  Mom and Dad wanted to take the kids to see the new Indiana Jones movie.  It seemed a good idea, and we were wanting to see it anyway, so we set out this morning to the theater.  They started showing the movie at 10 am, but we went to the 11:15 showing instead.

I was very impressed with the movie on the whole.  I don’t want to give it away to anyone who has yet to see the movie, so I won’t go into details.  One of the main plot devices in the movie has been a problem with some viewers, but when we look back at the previous movies, is the current item any more unbelievable than the items in the predecessor movies?  Holy fire melting Nazi’s when they find the Arc of the Covenant, Indian priest’s chanting a word and burrowing into your chest, a Nazi collaborator rapid-aging because he drank water from the wrong cup?  Are any of those more “far-out” than axxxxnx?

So I didn’t have a problem with the plot device.  The movie itself didn’t have any of the blockbuster scenes that the previous movies had.  Yes, I know the wxxxxxxxx scene is there, but it doesn’t come close to the previous movies, especially with the cool scenes of the second and third movies.

Finally, the ending came, and I must admit that it wasn’t the “pass the legacy” ending I expected when I found out that Mutt was realy xxxxx xxxxx xxx.  I expected this movie was going to contain more of a setup for the new adventure star to take over, and while it was to some extent, it wasn’t nearly as much as I expected.

One thing I was very happy about came after the credits.  Yes, with the recent trend of putting a cool scene afte the end of the credits, we stayed for all of them to make sure we didn’t miss anything.  I was overjoyed that Spielberg and Lucas didn’t put a special scene after the credits.  Not that I have a problem with that method as such (I loved the one after Iron Man).  And not really that I have a problem with Lucas/Spielberg doing it.  It just seems to me that Indiana Jones wasn’t right for that kind of scene.  So, I’m glad they didn’t do it.

Really there were only two problems I had with the movie.  First, the opponent isn’t Nazi, it is Russian, and we aren’t pre- or during WWII, but during the cold war.  To me, that just didn’t seem like Indy.  Indy should be facing off against the Nazi’s.  Second, during the scene where Indy was being interviewed, they refer to him as Colonel Jones.  While it wasn’t a huge deal, I didn’t like that he was in the military in the war.  Everyone is more than welcome to their own opinion of Indy, but I don’t see him (at least the movie version) as someone who would fit in well with the military.  Now don’t get me wrong, I think he would fight the Nazi’s any and every way he could, but just not in the military.

One last thing.  I read today that the Russians are upset that this movie is portraying Russians in a bad light.  Well, I was very surprised that anyone would say this after seeing the movies.  Granted, the “Cold War” era russians are the bad guys, but there is much more disparagement of the American McCarthy-ism.  In fact, if it weren’t close to true, it would have been funny.  But the bad portrayal of Russians pales in comparison to the light shed on our own ugly past.

Call for help:  If you’ve seen the movie, I’m trying to remember the conclusion of the following quote:

“When academia descends into hysteria…” - If you remember it, please pass the info along (TIA).

CC

I’d forgotten how much I hate computers.  Why can’t they just do what they are told?  What is it about programming a computer that creates mental blocks against the simple solution, and such extreme frustration!!

Now don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that I am working.  But here I am just a short time over a week into working, and I’m fighting with a stupid printing program because it won’t just do what I tell it to do.  Computers will work so much better when we figure out how to make them respond to our thoughts.

The good news is that I have already found one bug in the system and I am finished with 3 other work-orders.  The one that has frustrated me was really only a bother today, and despite my “griping” above, I am loving it.  This is the reason I love programming computers.  There is a solution to this problem, and I will find it.  I love finding the solutions.

So frustrating as it is at times, I’m so glad to be working again.

CC

Wow, has it really been almost a week since I posted.  I’ve been busy for a few days trying to finish my son’s room, then I started work yesterday.  I probably had some down time at work when I could have posted (while the progress bars of the installs were going), but that probably isn’t the best way to start a new job.

So, for a new topic, I’ve got a “Quote of the week” to post.  Not sure how many people who read my blog watch American Idol.  We started watching after the writer’s strike put the kibosh on our other favorite shows.  So while I was putting together a closet system for my son’s closet last night, we caught up on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s American Idol.  That’s where this week’s quote comes from.  Seen on a poster in the audience:

“Simon is my third favorite judge.”

I found this to be very funny.  For those of you who are not aware, the format of American Idol (at least at this point) is that the contestents sing, and the three judges comment on the song.  The judges are Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell.  Generally, Randy is a moderate judge.  Occassionally he will pronounce something as great or as horrible, but most of the time he is down the middle with a comment about the performance being good.

Paula is the positive judge.  She almost always has something positive to say, even if it doesn’t sound like it.  She is sometimes known for her inability to accurately articulate what she is wanting to say, often providing Simon and even sometimes Randy with an angle to pick on her.  But for the most part, even when she doesn’t like something, she tries to keep her comments positive.

Then there is Simon.  Simon makes the arrogant bully from high school look like a really friendly, nice guy.  Simon will often complain about how amateurish the contestent sounds, and has at least once this season said a performance was horrible.  (It wasn’t great, but horrible was an overstatement.)  To say that Simon is caustic is putting it mildly.

So that is what makes the sign very funny to me.  There are only three judges, but Simon was this person’s “third” favorite. ;)  Wink, wink, nod, nod.  Reminds me of when my parents used to tease me by saying I (their only child) was their most “favorite of all our kids.”  Or similarly when I tease my son telling him he is my “favorite son under 11 years old. 

CC

Well, it finally happened this morning.  I accepted a position at a company this morning.  I start on Wednesday.  So here I sit, shortly to join the ranks of the gainfully employed.

I got the call Thursday afternoon with the offer after interviewing with them on Monday.  I was at the ballfield, waiting for my son’s baseball game to start.  I had gotten some information from them about benefits and such.  The main difference between my last job and this one as far as benefits is that the new company only allows 2 weeks of vacation rather than the 3 I was used to.  With my parents in Mississippi and my in-laws in Kentucky, we generally used all of my vacation.  So with only 2 weeks, I knew it would take some getting used to.

The offer was not as much as I was making at my last job, but at the same time, I will be working with newer technology, much more current.  That has to be one of the best reasons for getting laid off.  Working for a financial institution like MetLife, there is little chance to be anywere near the cutting edge of technology.  That is a good thing for a finance company.  After all, who wants their money being handled by a company that jumps on every new technology that comes around.  All those financial companies are gone with their data after that technology messed everything up one too many times.  So I get to work with newer technology, which is a plus. 

So after the call yesterday, I told them I needed to talk it over with my wife before I said yes, but that I would call them today.  I had every intention of taking the job, after all “employed” is far, far better than “unemployed”.  But I didn’t want to seem so desparate that I said yes right away and I did want to talk with my wife to see if she had any specific questions.  She didn’t, so I made my plans to call them this afternoon (Friday) after I was up and awake.

Then I get a call this morning on my cell phone.  My soon-to-be boss is letting me know that there was an HR policy change that took place this morning.  Seems my new employer is giving new employees 3 weeks of vacation instead of just 2 weeks.  This was really great news for us, and simply confirmed the fact that this was the job God had for me.

So I made the call, and I’ll have Monday and Tuesday to finish my son’s bedroom and closet before starting on Wednesday morning bright and early.  More about this new job as it progresses.

CC

What are your dreams?  I’ve got plenty of dreams, including dreams for my kids and myself.  But the thing about dreams is that they grow and evolve as our beliefs change and as we grow older.

For example, I used to have a dream to run a Christian campground where churches could send their teens and young people for a weekend retreat, or a weekly camp in the summer.  But now, my beliefs have changed, and I don’t find anywhere in the Scriptures the consistent breaking up of families that we see in churches.

Families are not literally broken up, but when we hit the doors of the church, we are sending everyone to their own Sunday School class based on their age.  When that is done, we send them to children’s church, junior church, youth church or regular service.  We send our kids to children’s ministry activities during the week, while the teens are going to youth activities and the adults might meet for their activities (but generally they don’t).  We are tearing our families in every direction to keep up with the activities of the church.

We visited a church on Sunday that is more family oriented than a traditional church.  My parent’s church is the same way.  The families stay together during the service, and the activities that the church may have are for the family as a whole, not for individual age groups within the church.

This may seem an odd stance coming from someon who was a Youth Director in four different churches.  But as I study the scriptures, I find that splitting up the family in order to minister to them independently doesn’t match the teachings of the scripture.  True, we have the admonision to have the older women and older men teach the younger women and younger men, respectively.  That, however, does not preclude an environment where families are kept together.  More importantly, the idea of “turning the hearts of children to their fathers and the hearts of fathers to children” is a vital part of the ministry of Christ.  We also see the teaching for women to remain silent in the church, but to learn from their husbands at home.

I do want to clarify that last point.  I don’t think the Apostle Paul was a woman hater.  I think he was expounding God’s order for things.  God created Adam to be the head of his household, and that is the way God designed the family to exist.  The husband is the head.  That does not give the husband the authority to be an unrelenting dictator.  In fact, quite the opposite.  The husband is to show the same love for his spouse that Christ showed for the church.  Christ died for the church despite the church being unfaithful and disobedient to Him.  In addition, the husband is not to “provoke his children to wrath.”  This precludes any sort of evil dictatorship, and requires a humble, Christ-like leader.

So, my dream has changed.  Rather than a youth and children’s camp, I want to have a family camp.  A place where families of all sizes can come to get away and spend some time with God.  Most specifically, I’d like to offer family camps for churches.  A time for a church to get away as families and learn more about God.  A place where fun and worship can meet.  A place where families can grow more close to each other as well as closer to God.  Also, a place where families can learn from one another how to better worship as a family.

That is one of my dreams.  I would like to find someplace for the camp with several thousand acres and a seasonable climate.  I know that this dream is likely not to happen unless God graces us with either a benefactor or a large sum of money.  But that is what a dream is all about.  Sometimes it doesn’t matter whether you actually ever attain your dream, just that you have it.

CC

I’ve been tagged.  Ron who is Retired in Delaware tagged me and here is my reply. I don’t generally reply to these kinds of emails when I get them (I don’t like clogging up mailboxes). But this is a bit different, because it is a blog. And Ron has been more than friendly and supportive through my recent layoff. The rules seem to be simple:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Like Ron, I will follow all the rules except rule number 3.  My reason is because I don’t have very many people to send this to.

So, here goes…

Ten years ago I was working for Halter Marine in Gulfport, Mississippi.  I had recently purchased my first house and enjoying my third son who was just about 3 months old.  I had been programming for about a year by then and was really enjoying it.  Little did we know we would be dealing with our first hurricane and watching Mark McGuire surpass Roger Maris’ single-season home run record.  (Can I get an asterisk, anyone?)

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?

1. Interview at 2:00 (It went well, but we shall see.)
2. Take my sons to see Iron Man (It was pretty good.)
3. Pay the bills (still to do.)
4. Finish the report for my fantasy baseball games (still to do.)
5. Reply to my “tagged” blog (in progress.) 

3) Snacks I enjoy:

I’m a sucker for sweets, much to my waistline’s dismay.  I have a need for chocolate every once in a while, but that is different because it is a biological urgency, not just a tasty snack.  Other than that, I will munch on chips or other sweets.  I’ve done a lot more snacking since I’ve been home.  I didn’t snack much at work.  I have also enjoyed smoothies and “mixed” drinks more since I’ve been home.  I have to clarify, because I don’t drink alcohol, but I do like “virgin” “mixed” drinks.  I’ll post some of my favorites soon.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire (in this order):

1. I would immediately invest enough to be able to live off the interest at slightly above our current standard of living.  I would do this for my family, my parents, and my in-laws.  I would also set up a trust for all four of my kids for college and weddings (if necessary).

2.  I would purchase some land (50+ acres) and allow my wife (with some input from me) to design the house of her dreams.

3.  I would purchase a 1968 Karmann Ghia which I would work to restore with my father.  Actually, I would probably buy two, one for him and one for me.

4.  I would take my dream vacations to Europe, Australia, and a whirlwind tour to every baseball stadium for a game within a season, including the All-Star break and the playoffs/World Series.  I would take my family, of course.

5.  I would consider buying a share of a Major League (or Minor League) baseball team.  Enough of a share to get my family and my future generations permanent seats behind (or in) the dugout or in an owners box.

6.  I would pay to see some of my favorite novels made into movies.

7.  I would donate several hundred thousand to both the CLA (Christian Legal Association) and the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association).

8.  I would invest in a bucking bull ranch to provide bulls for PBR (Professional Bull Riders) events.  I would take my family to Vegas for the two weeks of PBR finals.

I think that my cover about 200-300 million, so I would spend several years deciding what I wanted to do with the rest.

1. Talking too much about me and my experiences.  Although I don’t intend for it to be, I sometimes talk about stuff and it seems (to me at least) that I’m getting into a one-up discussion.  (As in I have a better story about that than you do.)

2. Keeping too much junk.  I don’t throw things away that I should throw away.  Yes, I’m a packrat.

6) 5 places I have lived (in order):

1. Diamondhead, Mississippi
2. St. Martin, Mississippi
3. Greer, South Carolina
4. Mauldin, South Carolina
5. Simpsonville, South Carolina

7) 5 jobs I have had (in order):

1. Buyer (Halter Marine)
2. Programmer Analyst (Halter Marine)
3. Programmer Analyst (Rockwell Automation)
4. Programmer Analyst (MetLife)
5. Production Support Analyst (MetLife)

8) 2 bloggers I want to know more about (well, sort of)

1. Patti’s Originals - my mom

2.  Scott W. Kay - one of my best friends from my teen years with whom I recently was reunited.

So there are my answers.  I need to go post a comment for Scott and mom so they can fill it out as well.

CC