The sun is shining, the grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway
There's never been such a day
In Beverly Hills, L.A.
But it's December the twenty-fourth
And I am longing to be up north

The above, as some may know, is the verse to White Christmas. I can't help but think about it today (well, yesterday). As you will note my Twitter states:

The sun is shining, the grass is green,
the orange and palm trees sway.
There's never been such a day, in Los Feliz, LA.
But it's December the 24,
and I am thinking of those up north...

After an eventful evening, harkening back to the Reason for the Season, I bid thee all, a Merry Christ-mass.

Like I was saying...

Life is never boring, but some people choose to be bored.
~ Wayne Dyer

Life

I suppose with a title like that I could quote C.S. Lewis and say something real philosophical but I don't think I have the time to write it. As a dear friend of mine has pointed out: "Real life is never boring!" So, just so nobody starts worrying about me if I don't post for a while I'll give you an idea of what I'll be up to the next few weeks:

1) Thanksgiving - innocent enough one would think, but there's a catch... I'm helping with the meal for the church that day... which of course requires starting tomorrow. Wouldn't you if you had to make sure 50 lb of turkey was ready for the meal the next day?
2) The Saturday after Thanksgiving there is a wedding - guess what? I'm helping decorate the day before and get the food for the reception ready
3) the following Monday I'm helping my mom finish my dad's office because do to an accident we were unable to finish the other week (the said injury that resulted from the accident, is now well on the way to returning to normal... even if it is still incredibly sore)
4) December 1st is a big day - not only is this day of the big Christmas event in my wonderful little neighborhood, it is also the day all the Sunday School kids come to hear stories about St Nicholas and make cookies and of course see good ol' St Nick (not the one you would see in the mall mind you) This means that not only am I helping with kids that day, but also leading up to this date I will be helping to make the famous St Nicholas cookies.
5) December 9th - Not only is this day the annual visit for the Bishop, it is also the day that those from the Confirmation class are confirmed and... it is the day my dad is officially made the rector of SMA (yes I know he's been here nearly 9 months) This requires, you guessed it, more food preparation.
6) The Sunday before Christmas is the Christmas pageant, which I some how ended up having a part in... you'll never guess what part was assigned to me... (if you'd care to guess you can leave a comment) so I will be learning my part, helping with the kids and in general helping out.
7) Christmas Day - Yet another event that sounds innocent, but no, there is food preparation for the Christmas Day meal after twelve o'clock mass. (of course there is the traditional family things as well...)

These events are of course on top of my normal activities... but you know what? I don't mind a bit. Sure my life is topsy-turvy at the moment but whose life doesn't have those times? I am looking forward to finding out how they do Christmas around here. The holiday season will be different from what I'm used to, but I'm finding myself slowly getting into the holiday spirit.

Who says life is boring?

The Answer to Everything...

I've come to realize something in the short time that I've lived in the LA area... The answer to nearly every question can be summed up in two (or three depends on how you count it) words: "It's Hollywood."

For example:
• the prices on the menu at a restaurant are extremely high... It's Hollywood
• it takes an hour or more to get some where that should take a few minutes... It's Hollywood
• there's either a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf or Starbucks on every other corner... It's Hollywood
• the price for just about anything is way more than it should be... It's Hollywood
• when you see spotlights shinning up into the sky you know that either there is movie premiering or a new restaurant opening... It's Hollywood
• you see a movie poster nearly everywhere you look... It's Hollywood
• you see a equipment truck for Buena Vista sitting outside your grocery store... It's Hollywood
• you see a high number of Mickey Mouse and assorted Disney character shirts... It's Hollywood
• in one night you see not one but two red carpets at different theaters... It's Hollywood
• when going to the bookstore at Sunset and Vine you find yourself walking on stars that didn't get a spot on Hollywood Blvd... It's Hollywood
• you wonder why the highway splits are always right together resulting in a strange dance of cars as they try to get on and off the freeway at the same time... It's Hollywood
• when going down the street you pass a billboard that is entirely in Spanish... It's Hollywood
• when going down the street you pass a billboard that is entirely in Thai... It's Hollywood
• when going down the street you pass a billboard that is entirely in Armenian... It's Hollywood
• you get more nervous driving a buggy through Costco than driving on the LA freeway system... It's Hollywood
• you are more afraid of being run over by a buggy than a car... It's Hollywood
• when you can stand in one place and hear at least five different languages being spoken and non of them are English... It's Hollywood
• when you hear sirens nearly all the time... It's Hollywood
• when you hear someone screeching on their brakes you cringe and wait for the BANG... It's Hollywood
• when you know you can find just about anything you want as long as you are willing to drive to get it... It's Hollywood

It's Hollywood... You get the idea ;-)

Adventures with...

Well, this is a little late in coming but better late than never.

I would like to tell you a story...

Last Friday (October 19th), my Mom, little brother and I were headed to LAX to pick up my Dad and Fr Beau in the church van (mini-van) at 5:30 pm PST. As we made our way across town, weaving through the ill-planned freeway system, we were laughing at jokes being made, and talking about the traffic and how it all ways seemed that they put the different freeway junctions in the strangest spots. At approx. 5:15 pm we had gotten through the thickest part of the traffic (we were sailing down the freeway at 15 to 20 mph) and were probably about 15 to 20 minutes from LAX when we heard a roaring sound. My mom said, "Is that one of the other cars?" So we waited and while we were waiting Mom dropped our speed a bit. The roar changed pitch. Once another car passed us, Mom said: "That's us." So she began moving us toward the side of the freeway. As she was changing lanes the roar was joined but a violent shaking of the van. What ended up be the side of the freeway was the V of an on-ramp onto the freeway. So she moved the car over the on-ramp to the wall. As the cars zoomed by us Mom said: "You call, Dad and I'll call AAA." I called Dad and told him of our predicament and told him that we would be late to pick them up. My mom meanwhile was getting AAA and her conversation went something like this:
"This is AAA how can I help you?"
"Hi, I have a flat tire on the I-110."
"ooooo."
"Yeah."
"Can you tell me which tire it is?"
"The front drivers side."
"Can you tell me where you are?"
"We are at Call Box 110 175."
"Great! I know exactly where you are I can see you."
"How long will it take the tow truck?"
"About 25 minutes."
"That's wonderful thank you."
"You're welcome."

So for 25 minutes we sat at the side of I-110 S waiting for the tow truck and watching the cars whip by us. 25 minutes later, the tow truck pulled up in front of us, and we could immediately see that the driver was trying to figure out how he was going to change our tire without getting himself run over. He was a friendly little guy, and we were quickly laughing when he told Mom to move to the back of the car without getting out of the car. As it turned out I moved and let Mom just slide to the passenger seat. Then our friendly tow truck driver tried to release the spare tire. Well, after he said: "No good." three times we all pilled into his tow truck which would seat two safely. Anyway, once we (the three Ks) were in the passenger side we quickly discovered that the truck door wouldn't close because it had wedged itself into the wall. Well the friendly tow truck driver put his back against the side of the truck, planted his feet on the wall and pushed, all the while trying to pull the door closed. When this didn't work, as we left he pulled away from the wall and were able to close the door.

We then made our way off the freeway and to a tire shop which was a good ways from the freeway but much closer to the airport and was in fact on the incoming flight path for the planes. So we could see all the planes lining up and shinning there lights so it looked like little fairies flying through the air. It was after they got the car off the tow truck that we first saw the tire. The tire was a shredded blown-out mass of rubber. We laughed as we watched the tire flop around on the rim as they drove up to one the lifts. It wasn't too long after that we were on our way to the airport again.

Now let me say this: we had a blow-out. Had we not been in rush hour traffic we could have lost control and well... one scenario is that I wouldn't be writing this post right now. Had we left at 4 o'clock like we had originally planned we would have been going a lot faster than we were.

That said, God was watching over us. How many times do you think He change our plans so that something bad doesn't happen?

A New Kelley

Yesterday, the Kelley family welcomed it's newest member of the family: Haven Marie Kelley.

(they say a picture is worth a thousand words)


FYI: this picture was taken when Haven was just a few minutes old. ;-)

The Opening Night

Wednesday night as my family and I were watching the African Queen, the church phone rang, at first I wonder who would be calling us at that time of night, but then I remembered the fact that since my dad is the priest, he can potentially receive calls at all hours, so I just stated talking to Mom and Drew. Then Dad started saying things like: Thursday, seven o'clock, four tickets, directions, etc.

As it turns out, the person on the phone was one of the leaders of the actors group that meets in our Parish Hall on Mondays (the ones who give us fruit). She had four free tickets to the opening night of the LA Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA.

We arrived in time to see John Vought going down the blue carpet with his wife. There were of course lots of people, many in suits and dresses. Then there were some in tuxes and such, they tended to be carrying music cases and looked like musicians.

It took a while to find the person with our tickets... or should I say he found us. Curious looking man, let me tell you, but I was so happy when I heard someone in the sea of unfamiliar faces, say: "Father!" Granted that could have been confusing for some, but when your dad is a priest and everyone calls him either "Father" or "Father Kelley" you get used it it.

We get in there and climb a few flights of stairs and then take an elevator we arrived on the fifth floor balcony. There was no one up there. Well, except for the ushers. The seats, while being very high, were excellent. The first instrument I looked for by the way, Mr W, was a bassoon, and as it turned out there were four.

For my musically inclined friends (specifically the W-s) here's what they played:
• "Love Scene" from Romeo and Juliet by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
• Shéhérazade by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
⁃ Asie
⁃ La flûte enchantée
⁃ L'indifférent
• Ritirata noturna di Madrid by Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) / Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
• The following are by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
⁃ "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi
⁃ Vissi d'arte" from Tosca
• "Ball Scene" from Romeo and Juliet

Shéhérazade and the music by Giacomo Puccini the orchestra was accompanied by Renée Fleming who is a soprano. She was excellent, and I should probably mention the song that was not on the list... she did "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady, which she had the audience sing along with her.

At the end of the performance, after we had clapped for several minutes there was suddenly a thunderous BOOM and blue and silver streams shot out the sides of the room and descended upon those below us.

Anyway, that was my adventure at the Walt Disney Concert Hall... and my first premier.

Will ya look at that...

I was sitting at my dad's desk last night grabbing a few minutes on the web when Fr Beau (the curate, aka Dad's assistant) came in. He then held up a church magazine for me to see, and as I looked, he turned it around to the back and pointed to something on the back...

Much to my surprise I found this:


I was very, very shocked, because you see, The Messenger Journal, is "a traditional Anglican communication" which is an international publication. It was actually published in Australia, and goes out all over the place.

So now, my dear friends, I can say that have had my work published in an international publication. While I'm not given credit in words, you will notice my mark in the corner of the "photo". Never in my wildest imaginings would I have thought that that picture would be sent around the world. And to think that it just started out as a way to humor a new friend...

The World is Getting Smaller

With all the technology we have now days, it seems to me that the world is getting smaller. I can be sitting in LA but see my brother's study in TN. I can call friends in MI and help them decide on cameras. I can go on the web and find people I haven't seen since my last mission trip to México. Who knows, in the coming years they may figure out how to the telaporting that we thought would only be in the Sci-Fi stories.

Once upon a time I thought running into someone I knew while I was at the store made the world small... now I know what that ride at Disneyland means... "Though the mountains and oceans are wide, it's a small world after all!"

Life in a Church

The life of a PK (Preacher or Priest take your pick) is always an interesting one. They generally end up spending a good deal of time at their father's church...
I've always found that that statement didn't quite fit me. No, from the time I was born I've found myself actually living in the church. Seriously, when I was born my parents were living above the church my father was serving at, so when I was brought home from the hospital it was to a church.
Over the years, since my dad hasn't had a church to pastor, I found myself not in churches that much, until NCCC that is. I quickly discovered that I did "live" at NCCC for the majority of my time there. In fact, I agree with my friend who said: "This is home [NCCC], I just sleep at my house."
Now, I find myself being a PK again. Granted I've always been one, but I realized that everyone would again recognize me as the PK when I hear them refer to my dad as "Father". The first couple of times threw me for a minute, but now I've gotten used to it.
Also, I find myself living in a church... again Yes, I'm living in the Dodd Cottage behind the church, but it's only six feet from the back door of the church. And since we're still settling in, I find myself over at SMA (Saint Mary of the Angels) more often then not. They have a fully equipped kitchen (including professional ice maker, and washer and dryer), where we find ourselves when we need to bake things, since our oven doesn't work. We jokingly call the Parish Hall our formal dinning room. Being in a ranch style one-bedroom cottage, we make up for the lack of stairs, by daily walking to the church office for our dose(s) of internet.
SMA rents out the parish hall during the week, since we aren't using it. So we have a variety of people who we see that don't go to our church. On Sunday nights, we have a choral group, who are spectacular; on Mondays we have an actors group; and on Wednesdays and Fridays there are AA groups that meet. It makes getting into the church interesting at times, I don't have all the keys I'm supposed to have yet, so I can't go through the less noticeable passages, but hopefully I will be able to get them soon. Often times, these groups will leave goodies and such for us, the actors regularly give us fruits such as watermelons.
Last Saturday, I found myself up on the roof of the cottage cleaning out the gutters that hadn't been cleaned in some time. I was the subject of attention by the parishioners (church members) who came. The choir director saw me up there when he arrived to practice the organ, and said: "The auditions for Peter Pan have been delayed." The treasurer came out and commented on the mess I was making... though when he first came out I had gone to the other side of the house, and Drew was there trying to sweep up the mess I had made. So when the treasurer said: "Look, at the mess you've made." and Drew replied: "She did it!" and pointed to the roof, I wasn't seen. It was a rather humorous day.

Anyway... that's life in church.

Communication

In a world of technology, being unable to communicate is frustrating. When you're a computer person and used to being on the internet, and having instant access to e-mail, friends and family, the world wide web in general, being without it is very, very annoying. Having been one the major techs at NCCC and having done stuff right up until I left, being without it suddenly is rather well, vexing. When the e-mail and various internet websites (i.e. FaceBook, Blogger and the like) are the only way you can keep up with what your friends are doing being cut off from it is really hard.

Really, though, I was doing well until a few days ago and started going stir crazy being cooped up in the Dodd Cottage. I started realizing just how cut off from the world I was. By the way, I don't have any TV at the moment either. How much more cut off can you get? The only way I can find out what is happening, is to hike through the church to my dad's office.

Don't think that I'm implying that "I don't like LA" or anything like that, I'm really enjoying it. It's just kind of boring at times. Trying to get settled in, get things going, figuring out what my place is exactly. At NCCC I knew what my role was and could do it very well; here they do not have a projector and really they don't have that many computers either. They aren't making flyers for events, they aren't making movies to help illustrate sermon points... I suppose you could say I'm out a job.

Anyway, back to the main point. Let's face it. The world revolves around instant communication now days, and when you're out of the loop, well, it can get rather boring.


PS ~ I will be getting my cable and internet soon. Hopefully tomorrow. :-)

Welcome to Hollywood...

I suppose a bit of me has been un-able to believe that I'm actually living in Hollywood/LA. I think it finally sunk in the other night as I watched a film crew turn the next block over into mini-studio. How often do you see that in Michigan?

Anywho, yes, I watched a crew film a few scenes of The Shield. We even got to stand with the crew and talk to the Location Manger who told us about what they were filming. It was fun to watch them setting up the lights and the equipment. My mom made the comment at one point: "I see a lot of interesting things, but where's the camera?" Watching the crew do there job, hearing the classic: "Rolling!" Be on "set" was just cool.
The crew themselves were interesting to watch because they were characters themselves, you just don't see them on camera, watching them do there job in a very devoted way... reminds you just what goes on behind the scenes of a movie or film. It also shows you why tickets for movies are so expensive, they have to pay all these people that are never seen on camera (unless it's one of those behind scenes documentaries). They were all having a good time and joking around (when they weren't filming); doing last minute things the director decides to to...

I guess it's like the song says: There's No Business Like Show Business

Funny Stuff on Road Trips

I've noticed that there tend to be some funny stuff that happens on road trips. Either you see a sign or someone says something funny, or then of course there are those random moments when something random happens. So here's some things that we thought were funny.

Directions
Here's an excerpt from our directions we got from the AAA trip-tic to go from Pulaski, TN to Frisco, TX:
2. Go STRAIGHT to get on US­64 W. Drive for 34.8 miles.
3. US­64 W becomes US­64 E. Drive for 6 miles.
4. US­64 E becomes US­64 W. Drive for 42.6 miles.
5. US­64 W becomes US­64 E. Drive for 4.8 miles.
6. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT to get on US­64 W. Drive for 3 miles.
7. Go STRAIGHT on US­64 E. Drive for 1.9 miles.
8. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT to get on US­64 W. Drive for 4.5 miles.
9. Take exit. Drive for 0.2 miles.

Signs
I saw some signs on the way that I thought you all might find interesting:

Quartsize Town Limits - really? that would be a pretty small town, I mean, how many people can you fit on a quarter? ;-)

Green Burrito - I don't know about you but that doesn't sound very appetizing (That might gag a buzzard...)

or then of course, we saw a PT Cruiser that said: Oversized Load. This might have been more convincing if it had actually had an "oversized load" in the area.

Warning Dust Storm May Exist Next 20 Miles - It was a thunderstorm the entire time

Random
Ok, so we're going down this road in Tucson, AZ and the street is being repaved as we're going down the road (I'll point out that it was around 9 o'clock in the morning) so we're going down the road heading toward the Mission San Xavier Del Bac and the next thing we know we're passing a mini-van that had fallen off the road and right into wet concrete. It was hilarious. The construction workers were digging out the concrete feverishly cause it was already super hot and the concrete was drying fast. But anyway, the van was up to its axles in concrete, with three wheels firmly planted in the concrete it was a funny sight. On our way back from the Mission we saw a couple standing nearby, we figure it had to be the owners of the van cause the woman was yelling at the man and the man looked rather sheepish. Also by that time they had gotten the car out of the concrete and on to a tow truck.

So, this didn't happen on the trip but it was while we were unloading the truck so it kinda counts. Anyway, I went to Costco to pick up some water for everybody. So I get three flats, and head to the check out. The guy at the check out asked me if I was doing a movie shoot. ;-)


Anyway, that was just a few of the things that made us laugh on the trip. James Herriot, did the majority I think, but you'll just have to hear his stories yourself, because it would take me a lot of blogs to cover his funny stories.
Ta-Ta for now... pray that I can get some internet in the Dodd Cottage soon.

Of Deadlines and Blackouts

I'm not a big fan of deadlines. I see their purpose but I don't like them at times. Like Friday for example. We arrived in LA early (as in 1 am) on the 30th. Once we got up the next morning we got up and started figuring out the arrangements for unloading the trucks... to make a long story short we ended up having 12 hours to unload the trucks, pack the storage stuff, move the things going to the cottage to the cottage, and get the Immanuel Banners stuff where we needed it to go. Oh, and did I mention that LA is having a major heat wave so that it's actually over 100 the past couple of days? In fact on Friday we heard that it was 109 and we estimate that it was probably in the 120s in the truck. We were outside all day, so we were very tired, and very very hot. So anyway we did get the trucks unloaded and most of the stuff got where it needed to be. Because it was a Friday there weren't a lot of people from the church who could help, but a few did come and we hired professional movers to help unload and pack the storage unit and they took the IB stuff to its new location.

As of right now, the majority of the furniture is in the Dodd Cottage. We all have beds (a very, very good thing) the boxes on the other hand, or mainly out on the patio until we can sort through them for what we need or get them situated in/on the furniture.

Blackouts. Sure in Michigan we had one occasionally, have the power go out, but here... as I mentioned earlier, we're in the middle of a heat wave. So, I'm not sure if it's just the amount of power being used or if the power company is doing it to prevent the grid going out, but we have had blackouts for the past four days. Last night, it was out for so long, that we were about to go to sleep on the patio in our camp chairs and we ended up coming inside sometime in the middle of night, but the power didn't come back on until after 6 am. By the way, it's out again, for the fifth time. I might add that when the power goes out so does our AC, fortunately the power has been going out in the evening when the air temperature is cooling down.

We're all extremely tired (we've crashed), and we miss everyone in MI. But I'll remind everyone: I'm only a phone call or e-mail or Instant Message away.

Of Caverns and Cars

(*This was written on Aug 30, but due to having no internet access at the Dodd Cottage yet, and having no time to go to the church office for an extended period of time I am just now posting it*)

My time in Texas was very good. I saw my aunt, uncle, and four cousins. The time was well spent, I set up the stereo system for my aunt which she was very thankful for. It was nice to see my cousins and enjoyed the time with them, they are significantly older than I am, but it's always fun we're together.

Then, we hit the road again. Off into the TX plains, it felt like I could reach up and touch the clouds at times. Though I must admit that I did not feel very good. But I am better now, so you needn't worry. We drove a long time and found ourselves in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Arriving around 2:30 pm mountain time, we put some stuff in our motel (Inn), grabbed some sweat shirts and walking shoes and then headed, about 20 miles away and then proceeded to go 750 feet underground. I know you're all wondering why in the world I went 750 feet underground, so I will tell you: Carlsbad Caverns.
The Caverns were really cool, literally and figuratively. It was a nice break from the heat outside. Anyway, we had the cats with us... the park had a kennel were we kept the cats while we went into the Caverns. The thing is, we were going to go see the bats come out that night. The thing is, is that the kennel closed before the bat show, so we took Fiesty and Braveheart with us to the bat show. I'm not sure if they saw them, because they never seemed to react to them, but we were the novelty of the night. How often do you see two cats at a bat show? Everyone kept looking at us, so Mom and I kept moving about to try and minimize our distraction factor for the other people.
One reason we were more of distraction is because Fiesty kept meowing. But not just any meowing, if one has a trained ear to understand him you could distinctly here him say: "Anrew" which is "An(d)rew". He wanted Andrew but Andrew was not with Mom and I, so he kept calling his boy. Braveheart only meowed when he thought I had had him sitting in one place to long, so occasionally I had to get up and walk around with him.

We arrived back at the motel, called up Chili's on my laptop and then ordered to go. After eating we all slept... a long time. We were later getting out than we would have liked, but I drove most of the day that day. Going through (around really) El Paso and off through the desert where we seemed to be surrounded by thunderstorms. The lighting striking around us off in the distance the sun making clouds a variety of colors made for an interesting drive. The wind was blowing making it difficult to drive at times, and other than a torrential down pour at one point the drive was fine. We arrived in Tucson, Arizona with the lighting striking in the distance. We stayed at Holiday Inn Express that night. ;-)

The next day, we headed out our purpose clear: arrive in LA. As it was we had a few stops. We stopped at an old mission, Mission San Xavier Del Bac, it was nice, they're in the process of restoring it, so it was interesting to look at. We then went to Casa Grande an ancient american indian ruin. It was baking hot and we had to have the cats with us or they would have cooked in the car. It was still very very hot. So I came up with the idea of putting ice in zip lock bag and putting it in the cats' carriers. They were leery of them at first but quickly realized the benefits to the cold bag. Fiesty realized that it was great source of cold water and Braveheart took to sitting on it. While we were sitting in the visitor center after exploring the ruins Mom said: "The ice bags was a really good idea, Elizabeth." I replied: "Thank you, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." My mother laughed uproariously at this and so did the others when they heard. What can I say? How often do I get the chance to actually say that and mean it? ;-)

Anyway we drove to Phoenix, AZ where we saw an old friend of the family how hadn't seen me since I was 3 or 4 or maybe younger I'm not sure. After visiting with him we drove on to LA were we found that I10 had been closed... all for lanes of it. Let's just say that it wasn't a very easy to change lanes on to a freeway that would have taken us to San Diego if we had let it. As it turns out we ended up in Ontario.
Yes, Ontario.... California. We then were able to get on to the 60 without much fuss and arrived at our new home around 1 am locally. We then proceeded to unpack the car cook some food and then collapse into bed were we slept till about 8 something locally... or at least I did.

So there we are. We are in Los Angeles now, and enjoying it. Now we just have to unpack those trucks... Where's the Man from Kalamazoo when you need him? ;-)

On the Road...

(*This was typed between West Memphis and Little Rock. At the time of the posting to Blogger, I am in Frisco, Texas*)

While there's a song I could start typing out, I have a feeling that you all would be far more interested in what is actually going on. Currently (at the time this is being typed) we are going through west Memphis. It for the most part has been an uneventful trip thus far, though I'm sure by the time this trip is done there will have been something of interest.

Since the last paragraph we stopped at the Arkansas Welcome Center. My impression of AR is not what you would call, good, it never has been really. I was met with a curious sight while in the restroom. The toilet paper was pad locked to the side of the stall. I was rather amused, especially after discussing this with my family, where my dad said that it was pad locked to keep it from being ripped off. While I knew what he meant it sounded strange, toilet paper is to be "ripped off".
In addition to the curious restroom, what also caused humor was that Fiesty insisted on getting out at the rest area, so with his leash on he went outside the car. Semis roared down the highway, and Fiesty became quite a sight. He was leaping about frantically in his attempt to get away from them. He has since collapsed in my mothers lap entirely spent from his frightful ordeal.

Well, I'm sure you would like to hear about the last few days... they have been pleasant. Long days spent in the car can be tedious at best when crammed into a small space. Fortunately we have found a way to release a large portion of the boredom... James Harriot. I highly suggest reading (or listening to) his stories. James Harriot for those of you who don't know, is a vet in Northern England in the 1930s I believe. His stories are greatly amusing as he describes his various adventures in the northern dales of England. As he recounts his tales you can't help but be entranced by the world he lived in... going to the farms in the Yorkshire Dalls, examining the cows and horses. Of course, who wouldn't be humored by his car that always seems to break down at the most inappropriate moments, or when ever he tries to impress Helen it always flops horribly. The humorous characters that make-up the small town he lives in, such as his boss who forgets everything he says. If I was ever to suggest a book series I would suggest this one. All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonder, The Lord God Made Them All. His stories are wonderful, I highly suggest them.

Anyway, after half-a-book we arrived in Pulaski, Tennessee at my brother's house. The time spent with my brother and his wife was enjoyable. Being able to spend my younger brother's birthday with them was a wonderful. Having free time was something that almost seemed foreign to me, it was wonderful to have the time, just strange. I was able to get 48 pictures up on my Flickr site, so be sure to check it out. You can find the link on the right. I would suggest after you bring up Flickr, clicking under my username (DigitalDreamn) on the "map" button. When you click on it, it will show you a map of the US. On it you will see pink dots with various numbers, i.e. 63. You can more or less track our path across the country by following the dots.

The time before our departure from Lansing was an emotional time. I know without a doubt that I was to leave, but leaving is the hard part. Since we missed our intended departure time by at least 12 hours, I found myself one last time at NCCC before departing for LA. I was unable to get out of the car do to cats, but my friends gathered around the front passenger window leaning in over my mother (who was holding Braveheart) so that they could tell me good-bye and give the closest thing to a hug they could... hold my hand. It was a all I could do to keep my tears back, watching my dear friends who did not want to see me go... especially my dear B. She I knew, was having a hard time letting me go, to be quite honest I'm going to miss her greatly... as well as a great many others. I miss everyone already. How could I not? Each person had impacted my life and helped me get through many hard times in my life, providing my with humor and support whenever I needed it. I find myself wondering often when I'll see these friends who are really more family to me now than anything else. I know that when it is time, I will find myself crossing paths with them, a thought that allows me to look to the future. To a time when I can hug those dear to me... though, I'm not sure I'll be able to let them go.

The Count Down Begins...

So it begins... in approximately three weeks I will finally be leaving Lansing, MI for LA. Hard to believe huh? It's been interesting/hard to tell people that the time has finally come... granted we all knew it was coming and now that it is... it's hard. I gave my "three weeks" notice to my youth pastor, soon I won't be doing the tech stuff at CCYM. It's a weird thought for me, I've been doing this for four years.

The adventure is about to begin...

Balance

Have you ever tried to balance, say a pencil on a table? Then once you got it balanced, maybe you felt daring and tried balancing something on top of that. Well, this was an exercise I had the other week in my drawing class with Iain McCaig. We were to balance crazy things a top a "pencil". It was a good drawing exercise... but I realized something. I'm a pencil. My life is currently a lot like this exercise. Trying to balance this, then, oh, lets put this up there... and I soon feel like I'm losing my balance.

Balance is so important.

Surprises

Surprises are interesting things. My mom's birthday was Wednesday, and my brother and I tried to make it special, but we couldn't do anything about Dad being so far away. Mom understandably missed her husband, and was rather sad that not only were we still on opposite ends of the country, it was highly likely that they would be spending their anniversary apart. A first for them.

Anyway, I received a call from my mom that Dad wanted Drew and I home by ten that night so that he could give Mom her present. I did my best to get home by then, but I had to stop by Mijer to get her flowers, so we were a little late. That ended up being fine, because Dad wasn't actually available until 11:30. Around 11:30 Dad appeared on the web cam, and thus started what would end up being a very long night.

Dad kept talking about string and that he needed the string before he could tell us what Mom's gift was. Mom and I tried to guess, and we made Dad laugh a number of times. And so this continued for some time.

Around 2:30 in the morning (MI time), he finally started to tell us... he asked if it was possible for us to go to Detroit on the 27th (of June). We asked him why. Then he told us that we had airplane tickets to LA on the evening of the 27th.

So that was my Mom's present, the church vestry is flying us out to LA for about eight days. Which by the way, include my mom and dad's anniversary.

Surprises are always good.

Have you ever...

(been scared, real scared inside, shaking to your roots... sorry, couldn't help it. It's a song from a little kids play a few years back, and it likes to be remembered on occasion;)

Anyway, have you ever either heard someone say they want to be a superhero, or have you ever wanted to be a superhero?
Today I was at the NCCS Kindergarten graduation, and one of the little guys said that was what they wanted to be. Well, you might be wondering why I was at the K graduation. Last night I received a call from the teacher of the Ks, and she asked me if I could tell her how to set up the projector, with sound. To get straight to the point I ended up saying that I'd come in at 9:30 this morning and set it up/supervise the projection.

I don't know about you, but when I was little, and some times even now I wish I was a superhero well... Over the years that I have been the resident tech at NCCC/S, I have had more people tell me that I'm saving the day. "Here comes Elizabeth to save the day.", "You have just made my day, I owe you." So en-light of all the people at NCCC/S and even some of my family members I present the following:

I'm here to save the day!

Perseverance

"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did." ~ Newt Gingrich

This quote has gotten me through some pretty tough times in my life, and continues to remind me to keep going. It's a good summery of what the word means and also reminds that things aren't always easy. It's when you get tired of doing something, yet keep at it, that you persevere. As I keep walking down the road God has called me to I realize more and more that perseverance is the key to getting anywhere (and a large dose of determination doesn't hurt).

Looking Up

Ever notice how things can have a double meaning? Take my youth groups name for example: Cross Culture. Seems simple enough right? But if you've been in the youth group long enough, one should know that it's not so simple. It has two meanings. We are to cross into other cultures but also live the "cross" culture (Luke 9:23).

So take a look at the title of this post again. "Looking up" This has two meanings; I shall explain the first.

1a) The house recieved a very good report from the realtor. There isn't a whole lot of handyman/handywoman things to do, which is good. Our handyman J.L. is going to be doing somethings around the house that I have no experience with (such as wiring/electrical). There are somethings that I can do... if my shoulders will let me, they are still giving me trouble. But our neighbors are willing to help me out with them if they bother my arms which is good.
1b) I finaly took the time to get my driver's licence. Anyone who knows my schedule would most likely question my sanity for taking my driver's test on a Wednesday, but that was the only day the tester could do it because he was going to be out of town the day I wanted to do it (Thursday). But I got it done, and I wasn't at all surprised that my first solo drive was to NCCC/S (they needed someone to tell them where/how the Pentecost streamers were hung). My little brother enjoys the fact that now he can sit in the front seat when I'm driving.
1c) God has opened the doors for me to do a program called Pixel Corps this summer. What it basically is, is a group of people who work on the techy end of movies (i.e. 3D animation, mattes, graphics, etc). It is very cool and I am really excited to have the training in what I want to do. Some of the "instructers" are from ILM (Industrial Light and Magic)!

Now for the second meaning: I am "looking up" to God for a lot right now. The house(s) are something that we are all looking to Him for because the housing market is not real good right now. Finding a house in LA is a real challenge, finding something within a desent distance and price is really hard to find.
I'm also looking up to God, and the matter of a new computer for me. My current computer is fine for surfing the web and doing documents, but when it comes to doing graphics it's the pits. So in order to do what I need to do, I find myself in desperate need of a computer that will handle the animation and graphics programs (currently I'm using my mom's for graphics and such, but she needs her computer, too). This means that I need a top of the line computer, but to do classes at college I need a laptop. So I'm looking to God to provide the means for said laptop.
I'm also (well all of us) are looking "up" to God for strength and such to get through this time. It's not an easy time right now, with being on opposite ends of the country. Mom and I are bone-tired, from packing and such and it's not done yet. We're all stressed by the way we currently have to live and like nothing better than for this time to end.

So yeah, things are looking up... ;-)

The Important Things in Life

Approximately a year ago, a big graduation ceremony, with a nice open house were top on my list. Almost six months ago that began to change. We were going to be moving and I was not going to still be in Lansing... well, I'm still here. I'm getting invitations to open houses and such, and people are asking if I'm going to have one, but I've realized something. The big ta-do and everything I wanted a year ago is no longer something I want. Now all I want is to reunite my family which currently live in to very different areas.
Yes, an open house would be nice, but I don't care how big it is. In my eyes, it would be nice to just have one last little get together with all of my friends and "family" here in Lansing before I go, because who knows when I'll see them again. And as one person said, they'd like to be able to "congratulate me". What I'd really like is just a chance to spend time with them (and take a few pictures probably). The people here at NCCC are very special to me and I will miss them when I finally go.

Life

Sorry for the lack of updates. Life has been hectic. Not only have I had no rest in the recent month, but I have had a cold for the majority of the month which I haven't been able to shake until the last couple days because I haven't done anything basically. I've stayed home for a number of things and simply slept, which has put my cold on the run. Life is still pretty hectic, but doing a little better. All going well, we'll have the house on the market soon, and can finally head to Hollywood.

Where I apparently have my own studio already. Don't ask me how. I must be commuting back and forth to LA and not know it. Maybe that's why I'm so tired. ;-)

Anyway, that's what's up with me.

Of Hobbits and Fence Parts

Have you ever known someone who was almost consistently reminding you of a Hobbit? I know one such person... my little brother. For some time he has reminded me of scene in the Fellowship of the Ring movie:

Strider: "Gentlemen, we do not stop 'till nightfall."

Pippin: "What about breakfast?"

Strider: "We've already had it."

Pippin: "We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast?" [Strider walks away.]

Merry: "Don't think he knows about second breakfast Pip."

Pippin: "What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them doesn't he?"

Merry: "I wouldn't count on it."

[From over the bushes, Strider tosses an apple and Merry catches it. He hands it to Pippin and pats him on the shoulder. Another apple flies through the air, hitting Pippin in the head. He looks up bewildered.]

That is my brother for you... or his more recent incident. He bought this large mug, which looks like a pint. Which reminds me of this scene from the Fellowship of the Ring:

[Merry sits down at the table. He is holding a huge stein of beer.]

Pippin: "What's that?"

Merry: "This my friend, is a pint."

Pippin: "It comes in pints? I'm getting one."

[Pippin rushes to the bar.]

Sam: "You had a whole half already!"

My brother's attempt at this... filling the mug with Dr Pepper, which he had already had some Dr P already. Besides his Hobbit eating tendencies, he also has feet the size of a Hobbits, size 9 men's to be exact, and he's only 11.

Anyway, enough about my little bro. On to "Fence Parts". Did you know that old fence parts make excellent pallets? My mom and I went out to our garage on Tuesday morning to straiten it up so we can put things from the house that we don't need. Well, we discovered the most curious phenomenon... the floor of our garage was wet, yet when we moved the boxes the floor was dry, yet the bottom of the boxes was either very wet or damp. So, my mom and I removed nearly all of the boxes and put the old fence parts down on the floor of the garage and then a tarp over that, which made for some interesting foot work, but it was fun.

Hopefully, this will keep our stuff from getting super wet.

That's life right now... speaking of which... I just found out that I'm going to be an Aunt. :-)

Ramble

Have you ever found yourself simply staring out a window, yet not really seeing anything? The movement is outside and some part of your mind acknowledges it, yet doesn't at the same time. You simply become lost in thought, yet you aren't really thinking about anything in particular.
I find myself doing that lately. I find that there are times when I simply can not keep my mind on a task. I know that there is change coming and my mind does not want to stay on the tasks that I used to do with great ease. Perhaps this is because I won't be doing these tasks once I move. Or perhaps I simply have to many things fighting for dominance in my mind.
Hopefully once I get out of here my mind will return to it's normal clarity. Who knows. I certainly hope it does.

Pallet Jigs and Charlie Brown

"Some days I wake up early to watch the sunrise, and I think how beautiful it is, and how my life lies before me, and I get a very positive feeling about things. Like this morning for instance; the sky's so clear and the sun's so bright. How can anything go wrong on a day like this?" ~ Charlie Brown

That was today for me. The sky was clear the sun was unusually warm at a California temperature of 60 something and I was unusually happy. I found myself in a very Charlie Brown mood and put my little brother's You're a Good Man Charlie Brown CD on in my boom-box and put it in the sun-room and pointed it out the window. I have sung Charlie Brown most of the day as I've worked outside on our pallet jigsaw puzzles. Since we are sending the majority of our books via freight we have to pack them on pallets and then wrap them in layers of plastic wrap.

Anyway, good ol'Charlie Brown is keeping my spirits up and my parents home-group is starting to arrive to help out so I'll sign out for now.

Of Monkeys and Boxing

When I was much, much younger (say 4 or 5) ;) I earned the name "Monkey toes" from my mom. I received this title because I would climb the kitchen cabinets to get things that I wanted, such as cups (I suppose I wanted to be somewhat independent). When I became a little older and climbing the kitchen cabinets posed no challenge, I moved on to climbing my family's numerous boxes. By the time I was of age to do this (say 8 or 9) we had the majority of our possessions packed up in storage units, but you see, if we need anything out of there (when I was old enough) I was sent up the boxes to find what we needed.
It was honestly quite fun. You see I have kept the name "Monkey toes" through out the years. Now we try to get Drew to do it (Monkey toes Jr) but he doesn't like to do that much. I still find myself climbing up high on towers of boxes. Such as last night I found myself climbing through our garage in my full snow gear in search of the empty boxes that had inadvertently been buried behind boxes of packed boxes (such as Christmas decorations). One such tower was quite wobbly. I was reminded of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland where a drunk pirate sat drinking a bottle (presumably rum) on a very wobbly stack of barrels.
After having my fun on the unstable boxes, I jumped into the depths and rescued the empty boxes. Then of course I had to get out, but that was just as fun as getting there.

Then of course there is the boxing. No we are not fighting (well maybe a few verbal punches now and then but nothing drastic). If anything we have fists full of books and papers. My father, who happens to be: a priest, a teacher and last but not least a scholar has more books and papers than I can shake a stick at. Of course my whole family tends to be rather "booky", we like nothing better than to curl up with a good book and just read the hours away. Sadly we don't have a lot of time for that at the moment. But anyway, packing up our numerous libraries is a major job.
Of the course of our many moves we have come to use what we call "the tape gun" what it does is dispense the packing tape and cut it off. A very handy devise. Over the years I have become quite good at putting together boxes (I'm also good at collapsing them but that's another post).
Over the course of many years we have moved so many times that many of our boxes look more like tape than cardboard, but what can I say? We use them until they are of utterly no more use. For example I saw a box in the garage the other day that was very, very squashed and the sides were split open from the pressure on the top. That I say is no box. It is simply cardboard, and is destined for the recycle bin by the river.

So that my friends, is what I am up, too. Monkeys and Boxing...

Catch-Pharses

There are times that when I think of someone I can hear them saying something they always seem to say. For example: "Sweet", "Cool beans", etc. When I hear those phases I think of the person who says it.

Now, I think, that when people think of me they hear in their mind: "I don't know." At one point I knew that a number of people thought of computers when they thought of me. While they may still do that, they probably now have added, "Don't know".

While I now know that I'll be moving to Hollywood, I don't know when it will happen. Or where I will live. For all I know I may end up living in the church... which wouldn't be all that odd. When I was born my parents where living above a church that my dad was serving. So living in churches isn't that odd to me. I'm not sure that Vesper (the church cat) wouldn't like Braveheart and Fiesty being on her turf... or the bird for that matter.

Life has much uncertainty. The last few months have been full of uncertainty, and I still don't know what will happen in the more immediate future. When so much is unknown, it would be very easy to lose one's sanity, but through it all, you have lean on God, and just wait for Him to get all of the pieces in place.

As years go by

Time is a curious thing. I recently found this quote from :

"Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived."
~ Captain Picard (from Star Trek)

Another year has passed, and here I am getting ready to move. Two years ago I was moving into my new home and spent the evening at my youth group. This year I will spend the day packing up my room and preparing for my next adventure.
Time is a curious thing. God's timing is far more curious than men's and I wonder who can understand time?

The Road Goes Ever On...

Over the past few months I have come to realize how true Tolkin's "The Road Goes Ever On" is. For those of you who are not familiar with it:

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
~ JRR Tolkin

A few months ago, I did not want "the road to go ever on" but now, as Bilbo said: "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure!" I intend to go where ever this road called life may take me, "pursuing it with eager feet".
The song Mountain of God by Third Day has caught my attention over the past months and I realized that it really resounded within me. But considering all that has happened to come to this point, these parts now carry a great deal of potency to me...

Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God...

...Sometimes I think of where it is I've come from
And the things I've left behind
But of all I've had, what I possessed
Nothing can quite compare
With what's in front of me...

The journey is long, and the road is hard, hard times come and go and through it all God is there and if I press on I'll find myself on the "mountain". Soon I will be heading off down the road to sunny California with my family, where we will be starting a new phase in our lives. I don't think I'll meet any elves or dwarves but one never knows what they will encounter when they set out on an adventure.

I decided to start this blog so that people can keep track of me, hopefully through the rest of my life. As I continue on the road that has been assigned to me I will do my very best to keep this updated.