Random Pics 7

The impact of power...













Climbing the ladder...












Josh came to Desi's 30th birthday party dressed like a coach...


















This is for Desi and Rose...

Snowboarding

So I am thoroughly exhausted and sore. Went to Snow Summit today with Mason and Helena for my very first snowboarding adventure. It was a beautiful, sunny day. I don't want to brag but I think I did pretty dang good. After a rough start that is. The guy in the board shop told me to skip the bunny slopes because I could learn just fine on the mile and a quarter long "beginners" summit run. Well that guy must have won some cash from his buddies because I listened to his advice. It took me almost an hour and more falls than I could count but I made it down that stupid hill and headed straight over to the bunny slope. I spent most of my day there learning to turn and gradually going faster and faster. By the afternoon I was ready to tackle the summit run again. And I did ok. I went down it another 3 times and on the last run of the day I only fell 4 times. Thats got to be some sort of record or something. All in all it was a good day and I am happy because I did alot better than I thought I would. But I am aching and sore and tired... Here's some pics. MasonHelena have some more that I'll download later.



Mason took these but my lense cover was only partly open so... Me on the summit run, with a fall at the end.

...

not too much going on... work alot... work tomorrow... and saturday... then i get 6 whole days off! Mason and Helena invited me to go snowboarding on tuesday. that should be interesting. i'm glad it's going to storm again the next few days. i like weather. hopefully the snow will hang around until tuesday.

"why does he smile when he wants to frown? why does he stiffen when he wants to melt? maybe one day he won't. maybe one day he'll break down and have a flood of words that explains why and what he feels in response to what you do. and he'll draw you in and wrap you in his words."

in the 2 weeks i've been a member of LAfitness I've gone a total of 2 times. not that i don't want to go more. i haven't had alot of consecutive days off and on the one-days i have little motivation to do anything active. and of course by not going and excercising i just feel more unmotivated and blah so the problem just compounds. but it's a nice place. i'd like to start swimming laps and playing racquetball. i run every once in awhile but my formerly sprained ankle still occasionally hurts and dissuades me. coincidentally, escondido just had another fire in the same building where i sprained my ankle, and another firefighter fell in the very same hole in the floor and broke a rib.

here is a picture of our aerial ladder on a recent fire. now that i'm assigned to the truck again, hopefully this will be me soon.














"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever." Ps 30:11-12




"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" Matt. 6:28b-29


i like the name lily. it's a good name.

escalator

i thought this was funny...

Oregon

Last October was the end of an era. Due to their mounting years and declining health, my aunt and uncle decided to sell there ranch and move into town. They have been on the ranch outside Mitchell, Oregon for over 40 years and I have been going there for visits as long as I can remember. Aunt Barbara is an excellent cook and Uncle Lucky would take us "out back" to hunt ground squirrels or feed his "pet" deer. Not that all the deer were his pets. Every season he would hunt for a buck so that there would be food for the winter. We were lucky enough to be there when Uncle Lucky got this years buck. (Sorry for the gruesome photos). Shooting guns is one of the highlights of the trip. But those days are gone. They now live in a house in Prineville. My dad and I made a very quick trip up there for a final visit in the beginning of October. (Some of the pics were taken with my dads camera and the date is wrong)





The house that they built themselves











Going out the feed the deer












Aunt Barbara and Uncle Lucky




































Uncle Lucky's Unlucky Buck(y)

the one-armed lady

So every morning when I'm driving home from work I pass this billboard and everytime I think "why doesn't that lady have an arm?". I mean, absolutely no offense to amputees, but you don't see alot of ladies on billboards with just a nub. Especially a billboard that is advertising someplace that is supposed to be fun. Unless they are trying to say "you may not have an arm but you can sure have fun here!". (At this point an obvious segway would be to look at how our backward society views the "abnormal" or those with disabilities and how that image is generally not something that inspires people to have fun or go to a casino... but I'm too shallow for such a serious topic.) Anyway, the other day I got off the freeway to investigate further. As it turns out, the one-armed girl actually has two arms but the black gloves can't be seen from a distance. Talk about a disappointment. Oh well, she'll always have one arm to me...




































The end of an era:
In their infinite wisdom the chiefs have decided to shuffle the shifts around for no viable reason. Evidently it's a bad thing for a crew to enjoy working together and, consequently, do their job well. This is a pic from our last day as 2C. Everyone is going to new crews and new stations. I'm back to Station 1.















Spring in the Grand Canyon

Random Pics 6

A few local pics:




































Winter on Tamarack Beach - Carlsbad















Oceanside Pier



























Oceanside Harbor



























This is a Serbian Orthodox Church in San Marcos. A very beautiful building with a priest that looked like he wanted to fight me when he saw me taking pics.

Go to iTunes and check out the Radiant Worship podcast by a guy name Richy Clark. It's a daily recording of "spontaneous" worship. He doesn't have the best voice, and it's not the best sound quality, but I really like it. He basically plays the piano for 15 or so minutes and sings whatever is in his heart. Sometimes he sings loud and his voice cracks. I really like "I Hope".

Other current podcasts include:
-National Geographic Atmosphere (check out "Soaring Over Yellowstone", it is amazing),
-Dog Whisperer video clips
-Strong Bad E-mails and More!

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
Romans 12:12

(And except Desi and Aaron, thanks to everyone else for the picture taking encouragement)