I just realized that I've been walking around the office for a good two hours with my zipper down.
In black pants.
With hot pink underwear.
FANTASTIC!
Friday, August 8, 2008
oh dear
I just realized that I've been walking around the office for a good two hours with my zipper down.
In black pants.
With hot pink underwear.
FANTASTIC!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Envy of The Envy Corps
Hello everyone! This is Trevor. I forced that exclamation mark out because I am at home sick:( It seems like such a contradiction to be sick in the middle of the summer, especially in the south when it is 98 degrees with 90% humidity. The good news is it gave me some time to really dive into a new album I purchased a couple of days ago. I must preface my promotion with a few questions.
Do you like to dance?
Do you like to rock?
Do you like a bit of folk?
Do you like intelligent music that doesn't make you think?
If so, you will love the rock band from good ol' Ames Iowa (not Idaho, common mistake)! The name of my new obsession is "The Envy Corps". Very few times would I proclaim my absolute love for a band after so few listens. Athlete is one such band along with a handful of others. From the very first song "Wires and Wool" to the very last track "Story Problem", the album titled "Dwell" is packed full of hooky guitar, swooping synths, sexy strings, beautiful bells, (getting overboard with the alliteration) and crazy catchy lyrics. If you hear "Rhinemaidens" and don't like it than don't worry about the rest of the album (loser). Enough free publicity, if you get a chance please buy their album and support a very good band. They have a website and a myspace page so you can get a good healthy dose before you buy. On to other things.
My new band just put up a makeshift myspace page with not so professional recordings of three new songs. we are called "Be the General" at www.myspace.com/bethegeneral and we would appreciate your support so much. We are more rocky than the last project and we are still searching for a sound but getting closer with each practice. What I do need help with are some ideas for lyrics. This might sound like a cheap way to get out of writing my own but I just wanted to experiment. I have recently been checking out Kodak's picture of the day and making up a story for each picture. It has been challenging to say the least but very good for me as I progress as a writer. So if any of you have ideas of songs (it can be anything you want) or an amazing picture you could email or describe, I'm just trying to do this sort of pseudo non fiction type writing. Also, please remember that if we had access to a very good studio these songs would sound a bit different and hopefully we can get there sooner than never:)
Well, have a great day. You have to go though it so it might as well be great!
Trevor
Do you like to dance?
Do you like to rock?
Do you like a bit of folk?
Do you like intelligent music that doesn't make you think?
If so, you will love the rock band from good ol' Ames Iowa (not Idaho, common mistake)! The name of my new obsession is "The Envy Corps". Very few times would I proclaim my absolute love for a band after so few listens. Athlete is one such band along with a handful of others. From the very first song "Wires and Wool" to the very last track "Story Problem", the album titled "Dwell" is packed full of hooky guitar, swooping synths, sexy strings, beautiful bells, (getting overboard with the alliteration) and crazy catchy lyrics. If you hear "Rhinemaidens" and don't like it than don't worry about the rest of the album (loser). Enough free publicity, if you get a chance please buy their album and support a very good band. They have a website and a myspace page so you can get a good healthy dose before you buy. On to other things.
My new band just put up a makeshift myspace page with not so professional recordings of three new songs. we are called "Be the General" at www.myspace.com/bethegeneral and we would appreciate your support so much. We are more rocky than the last project and we are still searching for a sound but getting closer with each practice. What I do need help with are some ideas for lyrics. This might sound like a cheap way to get out of writing my own but I just wanted to experiment. I have recently been checking out Kodak's picture of the day and making up a story for each picture. It has been challenging to say the least but very good for me as I progress as a writer. So if any of you have ideas of songs (it can be anything you want) or an amazing picture you could email or describe, I'm just trying to do this sort of pseudo non fiction type writing. Also, please remember that if we had access to a very good studio these songs would sound a bit different and hopefully we can get there sooner than never:)
Well, have a great day. You have to go though it so it might as well be great!
Trevor
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Our new addition
We bought a chair today! You see, we've been blessed to receive very generous gifts of furniture for our wedding, Christmases, Birthdays and the like. We have all the essentials covered: a gorgeous dining room set and a set of couches with which I hope we never part. Last Christmas, we made our first official Lubiens family furniture purchase and upgraded from a mattress on the floor with stacking cubbies for clothes, to a dark brown bedroom set from IKEA. To finish things off, we have been looking for months for a arm-type chair for our bedroom (that would easily make the transition to the living room when I get a hankering to rearrange), deciding not to buy something just because it was inexpensive, but waiting for a perfect fit. Last night, while sorting through the weekly junk mail, Trevor found an add for the Summer Blowout Sale at a local furniture store. On page two of the add was this gorgeous little square chair. Not wanting to get our hopes up (photographers can do amazing things with awful furniture), we headed out to Cool Springs this morning to have a look around. Lo and behold, the chair was exactly how it was pictured in the add. After taking a few minutes to walk around the store and carefully consider our purchase, we came home with this:
A lovely reading/crossword puzzle chair with an even lovelier price tag - 80% off! Good find, T-rev!
A lovely reading/crossword puzzle chair with an even lovelier price tag - 80% off! Good find, T-rev!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Mrs. Pacman
Good Friday morning, my (2) loyal readers! Your long wait has come to an end. I knew when we started this thing that I would be terrible about writing often, but I figure I owe you all at least a snippet of something. And considering that you've been waiting, red-eyed and with baited breath at your computers screens since our last post in June, I'm delighted to oblige.
I am in love. Not just the pitter-patter-of-your-little-heart-can't-wait-to-sit-next-to-him-at-recess kind of love, but the head-over-heels-would-do-just-about-anything-to-see-you sort of thing. I cannot explain to you the depth of my feelings for...Mrs. Pacman. :D You see, never having been good at video games, I always felt that sitting in front of a tv monitor for 3 hours, pushing buttons and hollaring at some little character that doesn't do what I tell it to in the first place, was a tad...well...asinine. Until I met her.
A few weeks ago, Trevor came home with a Nintendo 64 which had been gifted to us by someone who was obviously way too cool and current with his Playstation57 to bother with such primitive entertainment. After scouring the country for two controllers and an AV cable, we hooked it all up and turned it on... I was quite literally unimpressed. You see, I hate video games. I hate the thought of wasting precious moments of my day on something so completely unimportant (Unlike watching Friends, for example) So you can imagine how thrilled I was when Trev Trev could barely pull himself away from his BMX racing game long enough to use the restroom for the day that followed. In one fell swoop, I had become like a lonely old widow, shuffling around the house with nothing to do, no one to talk to - whilst my husband sat on the couch, so fixated on taking first place on every track, that nothing else seemed to matter. Until the next day.
He turned off ExciteBike and began to play a strange and primative game in which you (the petite yellow circle shaped character with a big red bow) follow a line of dots around the screen, chomping at them as you go, and trying not to run into the multicolored dudes that look like ghosts. Now I, like everyother pure bred American in the 90's had seen this game in the lobby at Pizza Hut - but in my own home? And it didn't look too scary or complicated - just follow the dots and don't run into the colored dudes. How hard could it be, right? So I mustered up the courage to pick up the controller and give it a try. It started off easy. I thought I was golden. It got harder, but I persisted. The more I played, the more invigorated I became. Trevor, I think just excited that I was paying attention to the thing, sat behind, coaching me out of the path of the colored guys that were obviously on a crusade to erradicate me. I played on...sometimes dying and starting over, but each time, reaching a little farther. For 15.whole.minutes this continued. My hands were achy. I needed to stop, but I couldn't - something inside of me telling me to press on.
For a few days following, I couldn't wait to get home and turn it on. I was getting better and better. And more and more cocky. Now we all know what the Bible says about pride, and fall I did. I became terrible at the game, barely making it past the first two pink levels. After some experimentation with number of lives and bonus points menu, I decided I needed a break. I flew to Colorado for a cousin's wedding and some much needed time to clear my head.
I arrived back in Nashville Monday night with my head in the game and by Thursday evening, T-rev and I decided to sit down and play two player. I started up the machine, my breath catching in my chest as the opening music was drawing to a close. Mrs. Pacman began her chomping movements, and low and behold...I was good again! I passed the first two levels with unwaivering skill and precision; manuvering around obsticles and dodging colored dudes. Another level and a little trash talk later, I was back to my old self - my old Mrs. Pacman loving self. Victory again is mine - (if only for the 5 levels I can master before the dudes overcome me and I lose all my guys).
I guess all I really have to say now is, "Thank you Trev-Trev. Thank you for introducing me to my new love. Don't you worry - there's still room for you on the couch too. You just'd better not touch the remote." :)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Keep your pants on, if you can find some!
So my wife tried a new budget for us and it worked brilliantly. It worked so well we had enough money to do something we haven't done in a long time. We got to shop...for clothes...for me! I wear an issued uniform at work so getting to put on clothes without a flaming Gaylord Opryland "G" branded somewhere very noticeable is a rare occasion. There is just one problem.
No one makes GOOD and AFFORDABLE clothes for men.
Maybe I am too picky. I really just want to look nice. I don't need to make a statement. I just want a graphic tee shirt that doesn't have two huge eagles who have been set on fire while waging war over the number 8. I also don't really want to where a shirt that says "Real cowgirls ride longer than 8 seconds". As funny as that may be, I do bump into people who wouldn't see it that way.
"So just buy a plain tee shirt" you say. That is a great idea! I have tried. I have big shoulders and apparently the maker of all plain shirts has come to the conclusion that if you have big shoulders than you also probably look 11 months pregnant. If I go with a medium shirt than I do get a good fit around the middle but look like I am auditioning for the Hulk's body double when he is just starting to get mad.
Jeans aren't any better. You basically have two choices. Do you want to wear baggy, acid washed jeans that could carry an emergency hammer or do you want to use Bush's tax refund and put some Paul Smith Jeans on layaway. Want some shorts? Well, if you have 9 items you carry with you at all times but you HATE it when they are in the same pocket, don't fret. Just buy some ever popular cargo shorts. Don't worry, I have some because they are the only shorts that don't show off my man thighs. I know how you ladies love the man thighs and so does Ralph Lauren. I tried some Polo shorts on and my boxer briefs where showing out of the bottoms.
Could someone make some good clothes that fit, that don't have the name of the store in 50 inch letters and that don't cost my entire paycheck? I would be very appreciative.
No one makes GOOD and AFFORDABLE clothes for men.
Maybe I am too picky. I really just want to look nice. I don't need to make a statement. I just want a graphic tee shirt that doesn't have two huge eagles who have been set on fire while waging war over the number 8. I also don't really want to where a shirt that says "Real cowgirls ride longer than 8 seconds". As funny as that may be, I do bump into people who wouldn't see it that way.
"So just buy a plain tee shirt" you say. That is a great idea! I have tried. I have big shoulders and apparently the maker of all plain shirts has come to the conclusion that if you have big shoulders than you also probably look 11 months pregnant. If I go with a medium shirt than I do get a good fit around the middle but look like I am auditioning for the Hulk's body double when he is just starting to get mad.
Jeans aren't any better. You basically have two choices. Do you want to wear baggy, acid washed jeans that could carry an emergency hammer or do you want to use Bush's tax refund and put some Paul Smith Jeans on layaway. Want some shorts? Well, if you have 9 items you carry with you at all times but you HATE it when they are in the same pocket, don't fret. Just buy some ever popular cargo shorts. Don't worry, I have some because they are the only shorts that don't show off my man thighs. I know how you ladies love the man thighs and so does Ralph Lauren. I tried some Polo shorts on and my boxer briefs where showing out of the bottoms.
Could someone make some good clothes that fit, that don't have the name of the store in 50 inch letters and that don't cost my entire paycheck? I would be very appreciative.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Please shut your mouth!
I have been told I am a laid back person. I am totally cool with that. I am passionate about certain things and the older I get, the more passionate I become. However, for the most part I am a very relaxed guy. In order to retain my calm demeanor, something will have to change. I will either have to stop watching golf on T.V. or the people at these PGA events are going to have to SHUT THEIR IGNORANT MOUTHS!!!
I don't know when people started yelling, "Get in the hole" after a golfer swings. My guess is someone heard a golfer say it after said golfer hit a good shot and thought the ball might actually end up in the hole. Regardless of the origin, what used to be an occasional occurrence has now become a primitive and benighted ritual.
Let me try to explain a little for those of you who don't understand golf. Every hole has a "par". "Par" is the expected number of strokes it should take to play a certain hole on the course. So, a par 3 should only take three strikes of a golf ball to coerce it into the hole. Subsequently, a par four would take four strokes and, you guessed it, a par 5 would take five. A "Hole in one" is when the ball goes in the hole on the first shot. This happens occasionally on par threes because they are close enough to reach the green in one shot. It has happened a few times on the longer par fours. A "hole in one" has only been recorded three times on par fives because of the long distance. So when a golfer, even Tiger Woods, hits his first shot on a par 5, the chance of it "going in the hole" is 3 to however many times people have teed off on a par five. Not very good odds.
I watched Tiger play the entire third round at the 2008 U.S. Open. After EVERY SINGLE SHOT (including his tee shots at all four par fives), some arrogant idiot who payed way too much money to come watch an intelligent sport they apparently know nothing about would yell, "get in the hole".
Golf is an amazing sport and I am very glad it is becoming more popular. However, for anyone who has attended a golf match and shouted those four mindless and idiotic words I refuse to repeat, I have some advice for you. "SHUT THE F...RONT DOOR". Buy some pork rinds and PBR with the money you saved NOT going to the U.S. Open and do whatever it takes to realize THE BALL CAN'T HEAR YOU!
I don't know when people started yelling, "Get in the hole" after a golfer swings. My guess is someone heard a golfer say it after said golfer hit a good shot and thought the ball might actually end up in the hole. Regardless of the origin, what used to be an occasional occurrence has now become a primitive and benighted ritual.
Let me try to explain a little for those of you who don't understand golf. Every hole has a "par". "Par" is the expected number of strokes it should take to play a certain hole on the course. So, a par 3 should only take three strikes of a golf ball to coerce it into the hole. Subsequently, a par four would take four strokes and, you guessed it, a par 5 would take five. A "Hole in one" is when the ball goes in the hole on the first shot. This happens occasionally on par threes because they are close enough to reach the green in one shot. It has happened a few times on the longer par fours. A "hole in one" has only been recorded three times on par fives because of the long distance. So when a golfer, even Tiger Woods, hits his first shot on a par 5, the chance of it "going in the hole" is 3 to however many times people have teed off on a par five. Not very good odds.
I watched Tiger play the entire third round at the 2008 U.S. Open. After EVERY SINGLE SHOT (including his tee shots at all four par fives), some arrogant idiot who payed way too much money to come watch an intelligent sport they apparently know nothing about would yell, "get in the hole".
Golf is an amazing sport and I am very glad it is becoming more popular. However, for anyone who has attended a golf match and shouted those four mindless and idiotic words I refuse to repeat, I have some advice for you. "SHUT THE F...RONT DOOR". Buy some pork rinds and PBR with the money you saved NOT going to the U.S. Open and do whatever it takes to realize THE BALL CAN'T HEAR YOU!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Prison
As many of you know, Trevor is leading music for a service at our church that attempts to bridge the gap between our recovery ministry with lifelong church-goers. His involvement has touched me so deeply and I can see the Lord working in powerful ways in his life.
I didn't realize how much it was affecting me until I read a letter we received from a prisoner at work today. In the letter, he spoke of how he got messed up with the wrong crowd, went to prison, lost his family, his wife, and thought his life was over. There in prison, someone told him about the Lord and his life was radically changed. He believes that God intervened and after serving only 8 months of his 5 or so year sentence, he was released. God restored his family, his marriage and his life. He began to attend church services with his family, desiring to live out his days in service to the Lord. Until, because he was an ex-con, he couldn't find work. They lost their home and moved into a motel. He still couldn't find work, and they lost their car. He and his wife were forced to send their two young sons to live with a grandmother so they could go to school and have some kind of a normal, stable home-life. His wife was still working, but they were barely scraping by. Pretty soon their marriage fell apart. Still unable to find work, he was forced out onto the streets with no where to go; no way to get there; nothing to call his own. He said in the letter that he dropped 30 pounds in 4 months for lack of food...he had hit the bottom. Pretty soon, he was in trouble again and now back in prison. No one comes to see him. No one writes him letters. He feels utterly hopeless and alone. He is remorseful for what he has done and feels that even the Lord can't forgive him for what he has done. Says that God gave him his chance and he blew it.
Three months ago, I would have struggled to find a ton of compassion for this man. "He's paying for his crimes," I would have said. "He must face the consequences of his actions." But today as I read his letter, my heart was stirred. What would I do if because of wrong choices in my past, my future looked completely hopeless? If I had nothing - not a roof over my head or food to eat or a warm place to sleep...What would I do if I believed that not even God could love or forgive me for what I had done?
To be honest, I just want to run to that prison cell and embrace him and tell him about a Loving God who cherishes his very being, wants to forgive him for what he has done, and invites him to come back to the table.
I think of the women and men that I have had the privilege to meet through our recovery ministry. I only know bits and pieces of their stories, but I know that some have been addicted to drugs for 20, 30, 40 years. Some have walked the streets, sold themselves, done terrible things - and today rejoice at what God alone has done in their lives. I am humbled because these folks know what it is like to be in the very pit of despair and to allow the Lord to come in, take over, and lift them up. I don't have enough adoration in my being for what God deserves...He is truly the awesome, loving, almighty God. May I never forget what He has done for me - my sins, like filthy rags can be left at the foot of the cross where Christ hung so I can walk free, clean and blameless to the throne of the Father. As it is written: "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18
John 8:36
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." I pray that this man will encounter someone this very day who will share with Him the message of glorious redemption that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I didn't realize how much it was affecting me until I read a letter we received from a prisoner at work today. In the letter, he spoke of how he got messed up with the wrong crowd, went to prison, lost his family, his wife, and thought his life was over. There in prison, someone told him about the Lord and his life was radically changed. He believes that God intervened and after serving only 8 months of his 5 or so year sentence, he was released. God restored his family, his marriage and his life. He began to attend church services with his family, desiring to live out his days in service to the Lord. Until, because he was an ex-con, he couldn't find work. They lost their home and moved into a motel. He still couldn't find work, and they lost their car. He and his wife were forced to send their two young sons to live with a grandmother so they could go to school and have some kind of a normal, stable home-life. His wife was still working, but they were barely scraping by. Pretty soon their marriage fell apart. Still unable to find work, he was forced out onto the streets with no where to go; no way to get there; nothing to call his own. He said in the letter that he dropped 30 pounds in 4 months for lack of food...he had hit the bottom. Pretty soon, he was in trouble again and now back in prison. No one comes to see him. No one writes him letters. He feels utterly hopeless and alone. He is remorseful for what he has done and feels that even the Lord can't forgive him for what he has done. Says that God gave him his chance and he blew it.
Three months ago, I would have struggled to find a ton of compassion for this man. "He's paying for his crimes," I would have said. "He must face the consequences of his actions." But today as I read his letter, my heart was stirred. What would I do if because of wrong choices in my past, my future looked completely hopeless? If I had nothing - not a roof over my head or food to eat or a warm place to sleep...What would I do if I believed that not even God could love or forgive me for what I had done?
To be honest, I just want to run to that prison cell and embrace him and tell him about a Loving God who cherishes his very being, wants to forgive him for what he has done, and invites him to come back to the table.
I think of the women and men that I have had the privilege to meet through our recovery ministry. I only know bits and pieces of their stories, but I know that some have been addicted to drugs for 20, 30, 40 years. Some have walked the streets, sold themselves, done terrible things - and today rejoice at what God alone has done in their lives. I am humbled because these folks know what it is like to be in the very pit of despair and to allow the Lord to come in, take over, and lift them up. I don't have enough adoration in my being for what God deserves...He is truly the awesome, loving, almighty God. May I never forget what He has done for me - my sins, like filthy rags can be left at the foot of the cross where Christ hung so I can walk free, clean and blameless to the throne of the Father. As it is written: "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18
Glory be to God alone for all that He has done!
John 8:36
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." I pray that this man will encounter someone this very day who will share with Him the message of glorious redemption that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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