Home Sweet Home

I finally returned to Florida yesterday. It was quite a trip. I left the house around 5:30 am to head to the airport. My flight to NY left around 7:00 am. I got into New York around 8:30, had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast, and found a nice quiet place to sit and rest until my next flight at 11:00 am. I finally got into Orlando just before 2:00 pm. I got home around 3:00 and crashed on the couch (I wasn't feeling that well either) until bible study at 7:30.

I surveyed my apartment and everything seems fine. My clocks were all messed up which means that the power must have gone out at some time, but I don't know when or for how long. Everything was working by the time I got back, though.

Now it is back to work. It's not easy coming back after missing 3 days. I completely forgot where I left off and what I was working on. I'm just now starting to get back in the swing of things.

I enjoyed my extra time off. I was able to spend some quality time with my family. Now I get to look forward to Sonia's visit this weekend :)

An Extended Vacation

I made it home safe and sound friday afternoon. No problems. I got in around 2:30 and the wedding was at 4:30. I had just enough time to sit and relax for a moment and then get ready. The wedding was really nice. The ceremony was a bit entertaining. The priest (who had to be pushing 90) kept on messing up the bride's last name. He kept calling her Johnson instead of Jackson. Needless to say, it made what would have been a long, dull service, very interesting. The reception was nice as well. We partied until 11:30 (which is late for my parents - especially my dad). The good thing about Friday weddings (especially when your coming in from out of town) is that you have to take a day off of work and then you have the whole weekend to recover and relax. After we came home and everyone else went to bed, my mom and I stayed up until almost 2am talking. It's been a really long time since we've had one of these heart-to-heart, mother/daughter chats.

Saturday, Mom, Sonia, and I went to Greenfield Village while the men went golfing. We had a very interesting lunch at the Eagle Tavern. For those of you who have never been there, if you have less than 8 people in your party, you have to fill up a table with people you don't know. There were two other groups sitting at the table when we got there. On one side was a lady with her two young grandsons. On the other side, was this other lady and her friend. She was something else. We overheard her talk about her trip across Europe. Somewhere through the conversation, Michigan State came up. My mom chimed in with an, "Oh, I went to Michigan State". This just opened up a huge can of worms. This lady talked about how she was a representative for the Delta Zeta serority. She talked about how she meets with other representatives from other serorities and what they do. She was so proud about giving away 3 $500 scholarships this year. Neither my mom or I have been in a serority, but Sonia had, and guess which one. She kept going on and on about various things and when she finally stopped talking for a moment, my mom just got up and said, "OK, let's go." I really didn't do this story justice. You just would have had to be there.

Saturday night, we went to Pastor Tom Schroeder's church in Saline to hear a speaker talk about current missions in the LCMS. Afterwards we went over to Emily's house and I got to see her new baby, Sophia and I played blocks with Ella. Heidi & Scott also came over with Quinn and Avery. It's amazing how fast children grow. After that, I went over to Sam & Kristi's house. We were going to go to the movies but we rented a couple instead.

Now I come to the Extened Vacation part of my weekend. I was supposed to head back to Orlando sunday afternoon. But due to Hurricane Jeanne, the airport closed. So now, I got to spend a little extra time at home. I'm still here. The earliest flight I could get was for tomorrow morning. I have a 2 1/2 hour layover in New York and get into Orlando around 2:00.

Today has been a relaxing day so far. I got to sleep in and watch "The Price is Right". The weather here is beautiful. There's not a cloud in the sky. I almost don't want to go back.

More Hurricanes!?

It looks like Jeanne has made a little loopty-loo and is now headed towards Florida. I may actually miss out on this one. I'm going home this weekend. I shouldn't have a problem getting home. Coming back may be an issue. She is forcasted to hit between 2am sunday and 2am monday. So, I could very possibly be stuck at home for an extra day or so. That would just be too bad :)

A Perfect Weekend

I don't think I could have asked for a better weekend. The weather was perfect. The sun was still hot and intense, but there was no humidity in the air. I spent a lot of time by the pool this weekend (and I've got the sunburn to prove it). It was a very relaxing weekend. Friday night I went to Happy Hour with several of my coworkers to celebrate a fellow coworker passing the ARE exam (the test one needs to take to become a registered architect). I spent most of Saturday with my friend, Bryan. We were going to go canoeing, but the park was closed due to hurricane damage. Sunday, I sang with the choir in late service. The rest of the day was spent just relaxing by the pool followed by going to see a movie in the evening. All in all it was a good weekend. But now, it is back to work. I have a short week, though. I'm going home this weekend for a wedding. I love it when I get to come home. I miss my family so much.

Some People Can Be So Rude

I had a pretty good day yesterday, until I was walking back to my car after work. There was a bit of standing water on the side of the road due to the rain from earlier in the day. I was almost to the parking lot when a car drove by and splashed me with the puddle water. They didn't stop to apologize or anything. They just kept on driving. I was not very happy after that. There weren't any cars coming in the other direction, so he could have avoided the puddle. Luckily it was somewhat of a "clean" puddle (not muddy, just wet).

Later on in the evening I had choir practice. We got a new piece of music "E'en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come." This is one of my favorite songs. I still remember it very well because we sang it in High School all the time.

Tonight, a few of us are playing sand volleyball (weather permitting) to "stay in shape" for next season.

It's Only Wednesday?!

This week is going by so slowly. I actually have to work a full week! No hurricanes this week. Last night was bible study. Eight people came :)! Afterwards, a few of us went out for a late dinner. Tonight is choir practice. We sing for the first time this weekend. We were supposed to sing two weeks ago, but Frances caused the cancellation of church. I'm ready for the weekend already. I actually don't have any plans for the weekend. The only free weekend I have this month. I'm just going to relax.

Thank You, Ivan

It seems that all I've been blogging about lately are these hurricanes. But if it wasn't for them, I really wouldn't have much to talk about because my life is pretty dull (get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, repeat). Good news on the latest hurricane: Ivan is steering clear of central Florida. Sure we'll probably get some rain and maybe a few strong storms, but nothing worse than what we get every other day. Ok, I was probably over exaggerating that my life was dull and boring. I did have a bit of an event filled weekend. Saturday night, I went with our church's youth group as an "adult leader/chaperone" to Rock the Universe. It's a christian rock concert festival at Universal Studios. It was really cool. I've always wanted to go, but never made it. There were 15 bands playing on 3 stages continuously from about 6:00 to midnight.

Tonight is bible study. Hopefully more than 3 people will show up.

Forever Frances

I thought this storm would never end. The first rain band came through around 11:00 am on Saturday morning and the last rain band ended around 2:00 pm Monday afternoon. Yes, this storm lasted more than 50 hours!! Of course it wasn't a constant storm. It just rained on and off the entire time with some strong wind gusts of up to 69 mph. This storm wasn't nearly as destructive as Charley (that is as it relates to me and the rest of the Greater Orlando area), but it still caused its fair share of damages. More trees fell and the facade of the Marriott hotel downtown completely fell off. But I, personally, did not suffer any damages. No more trees fell, my apartment didn't flood (it never even came close), I never even lost power. This storm wasn't any worse than any of the summer severe thunderstorms that pop up nearly every afternoon. It just lasted 50 times longer.

God is Our Refuge and Strength

"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most height dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth:
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
'Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.'

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress."
Psalm 46

This was our devotion at choir practice last night. It is also, coincidently, my confirmation verse (vs. 1). I thought it appropriate in lieu of the coming hurricane. I do ask for your prayers, not just for me, but for all who will be affected by this storm.

A Hurricane's A Comin'...Again!

A major hurricane hasn't hit Orlando in 44 years. Now, there is the potential for 2 within 3 weeks! We are having a company meeting this afternoon to discuss our strategy for dealing with this storm. It is still too early to know just where Frances will hit, but it is large enough (bigger than the entire state) that we will definitely feel the effects. It is just a matter of how much. A major concern is that all the debris left over from Charley has the potential to become missile projections. I've heard some rumors of the "E" word (Evacuation) for the entire state of Florida (non-manditory). I will know more after our meeting this afternoon.

In other news, last night was the first meeting of our young adult bible study. Four people showed up (including myself), but it still went really well. Afterwards, we all went to Tijuana Flats for a late dinner. It was a lot of fun. I didn't get home until about 11:30. It didn't help that even after I got home, I couldn't sleep. It ws about 3:30 before I fell asleep. I was extremely tired, but I couldn't clear my head and relax. I may lose a lot of sleep between now and Sunday. The hurricane is supposed to hit in the early morning hours of Sunday.