Relay for life...

I'm a big starter. I get an idea...I get excited...I start telling people around me about the idea like I'm on an informercial...and then I get started. That's when it's not as exciting. It keeps me engaged as long as I can keep teaching people about the value of my idea and practical ways that it can be implemented. Then I get bored. At some point there just aren't any more people that I can find to tell about this great idea. So I go on to the next idea. I usually have reasons for this sudden apathy...but it's a pattern in my life.
Look at this blog. I started it as kind of a lark (yeah, I said lark) started getting a bunch of "hits" and comments either in person, e-mails or on the actual blog...and kept cranking. But then I moved to Cincinnati...didn't have a computer for 7 weeks (still don't have one all the way up and working) and felt guilty using the office computer to spend 3 minutes writing on this.
So I've gone from every day, to a couple each week...and today I noticed my last entry was a week ago. It's part of the pattern. I still have the no computer excuse...but clearly if I was as excited as I originally was - I would have found a way.
Oh well.
Maybe I need to be a full time "Idea" guy. Do a little problem solving....but mostly I need a staff of doers at my beck and call (not really sure if that's a real expression...but it sounds kindda right) to do stuff. I get an idea and call my graphics guy to make it look nice...and then my worker folks to get it going...and my teacher folks to share the vision. I'm like the guy who starts the race on a relay team. I get us going...and then hand off the baton to someone who's good at running the second leg of the race. Then the third guy keeps us going and hands it off to our anchor who closes strong.
Maybe we all want to be idea guys. (except you gals....you know who you are)
Maybe the world needs more of those worker people types???
hmm...
oh well, back to work...

hookin' up

I actually used some tools last night. I hooked up our dryer. The new mansion that we just moved into (and by mansion, I mean small house with enough room to keep most of our stuff) had a different, and less safe according to the dryer manual, electrical hook up for the dryer. So I had to rewire it. It sounds sort of impressive unless you've ever changed the cord on one of these. It's basically three wires. Unfortunately the manual indicated which wire to hook to which screw (tee hee...I just said screw) by their color. The cord we bought had three gray wires. It's almost like they were mocking me. So I guessed. Turns out I was right. Somewhere in the process though, one of the screws (tee hee) fell into the dryer. Not into the part where you throw your clothes...but into the part that would require me taking the entire thing apart to get it back.
I'm not going to do that.
I'd rather deal with three years of, "why is that dryer making that sound!?!?!".
So to test it, I attached two wires and left the third resting on the connection. And then I turned it on. And it worked. It's impressive that just touching a wire to a connector doo-hicky would create so much power. I know it would be better if it was permanently attached...but even just touching the source of power was enough to get it cranking. I even went out and bought a new screw so I could permanently attach it.
It's got me thinking about the things I'm attached to. Most of those things don't seem to bring me much power. Maybe comfort for a few minutes, fun, a sliver of satisfaction...but often it just fills a few minutes of my day. If I throw enough of those minutes together...then I can go to sleep...and start over the next day. But to connect myself to a real source of POWER. That'd be something.
hmm...

Clubbin'

I'd like to start a club with very specific member guidelines.
-
-The first rule of Flight Club (you need a catchy name for clubs) is that you have to talk about flight Club.
-The second rule of Flight Club is that there is to be no discussion of flying, having flown, in the future ever being in flight, current events involving others flying (e.g. the Nike executives this past weekend) or having flying based dreams (chemically induced or otherwise)
-The third rule of Flight Club would be that when asked what your favorite color is, you must reply "Tartan" or "Pencil Yellow"
-The fifth rule of Flight Club is we make no reference to four, fourth, quad, or any unit of time as referenced by Abraham Lincoln.
-The sixth rule of Flight Club is that we skip when we don't think people are looking.
-The seventh rule of Flight Club is that we constantly refer to the "Good Book" while not revealing that the Good Book is actually a compilation of the first 17 Hardy Boys Mysteries.
-The eighth rule of Flight Club is that our favorite sport must now, and forever more, be table tennis (never to be referred to as ping pong)
-The ninth rule of Flight Club is that all of our homes have at least one surface covered by berber carpet (preferable the floor)
-The tenth rule of Flight Club is that we officially are against third party candidates because, who are we kidding? Like they have a shot.....
-
These rules are to be written up, distributed to the members (who will be dressed in gray twill) and then ceremoniously shaped into origami cranes and then shipped to the motherland (Ireland of course) where they will be poured into a mural to be placed at the base of the Rock of Cashel (making no reference to St. Patrick, the shamrock, Trinity, or rocks of any sort)

you can't go back

I thought I'd be living the Amish lifestyle for a couple of weeks. We just moved into our house and found out they weren't coming out to install our phone, cable or internet for two weeks. I wasn't sure that I'd make it. I've come to depend on these few luxuries. I've always had a phone, had cable for two years in Pennsylvania and had high speed internet for two years. I was planning on hooking up my digital video player and renting 100 movies at Blockbuster....but it turns out that the cable from the previous homeowners is still hooked up....and I've got a cell phone....and I can use my laptop to get one of my neighbors wireless internet connections.
All is solved.
I'll be non Amish (a Namish) once again. It's nothing against the Amish, but I didn't want to have to grow one of those beards and I spent two weeks looking for one of their hats a few months ago and they're more expensive than you'd think. And who churns their own butter...seriously?

Hype

Things that don't quite live up to the Hype (in my book)
-My book (that doesn't exist)
-Lord of the Rings
-The People that are now enraged that I dare to desecrate the Lord of the Rings
-Coccia House Pizza
-Any Christian comedian
-Led Zeppelin
-Most things political
-the O.C.
-Diddy
-The Olympics
-Pie that doesn't contain apple...and pizza isn't really pie
-Every tackle after a 5 yard gain where the guy who makes the tackle does a dance even though his team is losing the game by 23 points
-Parades
-actors with British accents
-The Def Comedy Jam
-figure skating
-Starbucks
-chalk boards
-George Carlin
-Seafood
-this list

3's a charm

I used to watch reruns of the show My Three Sons before school when I was a kid. I've always been a morning person, so I'd actually get up early enough to eat, grab a shower and watch some tv before school. I didn't really love the show, but I remember watching. So the big question is, Will our child that is due around June 19th (his or her old man's birthday) be a third son? I know that God loves me...but does he love me this much? My brother is pulling for a girl....not sure why...and my Aunt Peggy wants a girl (to be named after her....sort of...her real name is Margaret Mary and she wants us to name her that...even though she doesn't use that name, she wants us to). Anyhow, that's the latest. We're having a third child. This is a big day in the Murphy household. It's also Griffin's fifth birthday. Oh how the times they are a changin'.

Speaker Phone

I love the speaker phone. I love it.
As much as Dan Kalbach loves Amy Grant, that's how much I love speaking hands free on the cellular telephone. I love it so much that I can never bring myself to demand that others take me off their speaker phones. It comes down to this: You either want off speaker phone because it sounds like the other person is in a wind tunnel
or
You don't like not knowing who else is listening to the conversation.
I can relate to the former...but I embrace the latter. I like having people listen to me. It's just one more small piece of my narcissism. (that and using big words that I learned in 10th grade etymology class)
I love the speaker phone so much that I've written a haiku about it:

SpeakerPhone

a haiku,

-

Made to be on hold

My friend who doesn't have hands

how could we hold you?

Smitty

It's really been interesting to start listening to Christian music. I never have done much of that. I have a friend, Dan Kalbach who LOVES Michael W. Smith (he even calls him Smitty or Mike Dub). He's a self proclaimed "Smittiac" He thinks of him as Christianity's Clay Aiken.
"It's almost like God wanted me to have a singer I loved both secular and Holy" - Dan Kalbach.
I'm just not so sure. I've traditionally listened to singers like Jack Johnson, but Dan says that Jack is just a pretty boy surfer who doesn't have as much talent in his entire body as Smitty does in his left elbow "the same one he pounds the keyboard with when he's jamming at the end of Friends are Friends forever!!!" Maybe Dan Kalbach is right...Maybe I should burn my U2 C.D.'s and go buy the new D.C. Talk disc. Dan was talking up the "Jesus lives Strong" bracelet in the promotional pack. I hear they're going back to their early bee bop jams.
I'm just not sure what to think when I hear Dan say, "This is the single greatest album since Amy Grant's Baby Baby."

hmm...

There's something different about having to be at work by 8:30. In State College I'd generally start work by 7, but it's different when you have a target. You don't want to get there late (which is why there's a starting time) but you also don't want to get there too early. Part of that is because the alarm scares me. I'd rather just get here when everyone else does....and then start. Consequently, I tend to work late in the day. Anyhow, I used to kind of do my blog as I was waiting on something...and it feels kind of naughty when I do it here. I worked about 70 hours last week...but I still feel guilty writing for 3 minutes while I'm in the office.
Maybe I just need a home office again.
I guess we'll see about that once we move into the new house. It is ironic to me that because I have an office and actual hours, I work less.
I've been listening to Christian music lately. I'm more AM than FM, but feel kind of odd listening to talk radio in an office. It's almost like the views presented by the radio show become somehow attached to me. Nobody is giving me funny looks, and I'm desperate to keep that the case. So I just listen to music. Since I work in a church, I figure that Christian music might be the least risky. A friend of mine says he listens to worship music to "loosen the soil". It helps break down his natural callous, hard candy shell. I know I could use a bit of that myself. So far I like the David Crowder Band. We'll see how long that lasts...

Developing

Let's see what develops. That's my attitude. Not very proactive I guess. I want to be proactive. I'm impatient beyond belief. I want to get stuff going. It's just hard. I love helping to develop ideas, strategies, solutions, film...
I want to be about developing!
That's my new thing.
That and pottery.
No, forget that last one.
I want to help people. I want to listen. I desperately want to laugh. I want to encourage. I want to help people see themselves as God sees them. And I want to throw a pot. I'm not back on that pottery thing...I just like the idea of throwing a pot. Or a pan. Like a big heavy, "Fred Sanford, you ugly spasm!" Aunt Esther wielding a pan while threatening her no good nephew in law.
Who knows?

drifting

"nobody drifts into Godliness"
I've heard that said, and repeated it now for years. It kind of goes back to the question, do you believe that we all are flawed deep down...or are basically good? No matter how bad we get, we tend to think of ourselves as basically good as long as we're seemingly doing better than those around us. Even when we're not doing better....we know our motives...and they're good...or at least we thought about doing the right thing...so we're not that bad.
So I agree with the second law of thermodynamics...entropy...things tend to get weaker, watered down...or if left unguarded, worse. If I just sort of drift....or just sort of hope that I'll grow in a certain area...it doesn't happen. In fact, I usually drift away from good things. I gravitate toward what is easiest...or what serves me and my needs.
Nobody drifts into Godliness. We don't just wake up one day deeper, more in tune with God, better at loving people, nicer, kinder....we just don't. We drift away from Godliness.
We're not that great.
God's great.
We're kind of messed up.
Luckily, He allows us to be transformed. If we place ourselves in His path, and actively seek Him.
It's just pretty darn hard when you've spent your whole life seeking your own face...and your own needs. That whole, "not my will, but yours" thing we pray. It's pretty tough.