K-Dawg

One thing I don't regret about Anna being so far away at W&M is the huge number of close friends we both have now. They are all hilarious and great to hang out with. I have to say though that out of all of them one in particular sticks out. That's my good friend K-Dawg.

Her real name is Kerri but I will leave out her last name so you creeps out there wont stalk her. Anyway last night Anna and I decided we needed to see each other cause lets face it we can barely go a week without seeing each other. She had studying to do and so did I so we guessed we could do it together. Well I came over to the girl's apartment and we hung out there for a little while before we shot out to Swem library to study more there. Now take into account that Anna and Kerri were both tired, but honestly the three of us were dying laughin' at EVERYTHING. From me "clearing the table" to the proper etiquette about guy's facial hair (don't ask, but 'you need to shave') we were laughin so hard we cried. Then we decided we would head over to the library cause the girls decided to skip dinner. That soon ended after about an hour when the decision was made to send me out for grub. So I shot over to the nearby Food Lion to get some chicken tenders, potato wedges, and something to drink. I got everything and shot back. I gotta get the pictures off my camera but hilarity insued. We just had a good time hanging out and eating and trying to hack to soda machines. Best part of all was the fact that throughout the night K-Dawg sported my BIG Megadalon shark tooth necklace. It was funny the reactions that people were giving her when they saw petite Kerri with this HUGE tooth. Good times... Ok well back to work, just wanted to post this entry before I forgot about it. Later

New Headphones

I love when things break. It creates an opportunity for new things to arrive. Case in point, my iPod headphones. The ones that came with my iPod gave up the ghost prematurely. Apparently with all the jostling around and squeezing against my text books it finally decided to come apart. I should have seen the end coming when I noticed the metal screen was dinked and dented. That caused the overall integrity of the headphone to come apart. Well they finally gave way and popped out and yea it sucked. I had my HUGE Sony MDR-V700DJ phones but yea... they are massive. I also had some cheapo Sony back-of-head-wrap-arounds but my brother had taken them to school with him. I finally headed over to the local Best Buy to try and find a set that I liked and was a good performer. Well I saw the Shure E2C which are the dream of all audiophiles, though the E5C is even better. Either way I was looking for something that could go in ear for the sound isolation but I also wanted some good deep bass which is often lacking in earbud design (unless you shell out some serious change for something like the Shures). I spotted a 40 dollar set of headphones from Sony that seemed nice had a good design and touted deep bass reproduction, but I wasn't convinced. I spotted some KOSS buds but they looked like they would fall apart as easily as the iPod ones did. Then I saw this catchy looking Phillips ones. They had "virtual surround sound" at this point I was just tired of standing there (the time that elasped was nearly 1.5 hours) so I just bought them and walked out. I have to say... I like them. I didnt wanna seem all trendy getting white ones sinces these were "designed for the iPod"(meaning they are white). They actually do have really good sound reproduction and a very decent bottom end. The buds have these grated openings in the back of them that intially look like they are just stylish, but if you where them and have music going and cover those holes the bass drops out completely. I guess whatever they are using for the bass relies on the air delivered through that hole. So thats my little review on my Phillips headphones. Sorry I couldnt find a link for them but trust me they are at the Best Buy nearest you. Later.

Stranded

Had a nice lunch with my dad and mom and went to Costco to buy some DVDs. On the way home dad spotted a lady stuck on the side of the road so we decided to stop and help. She had run out of gas. Apparently she just thought she could make it with the fumes that she was running on but no. Anyway we drove her to the nearby Texaco and she got a small tank and filled it. Now we are on our way home and hopefully our help will be a good witness to this lady.

Sidenote, the DVDs i got were the Chronicles of Narnia that the BBC produced a couple years back and also The Kingdom of Heaven. I remember watching the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe a long time ago and thinking how awesome it would be if they used Hensonesque puppets and computers for the creation of the fantasy characters in the story. Now of course Narnia is coming out this Christmas and looks phenominal because of just that. The filmmakers are using a seamless integration of make-up and puppetry with CG characters to create a brilliant story. Well I just got home so I am throwing Kingdom of Heaven in so I am going to chill.

Unfinished Work

Have you ever had that project that was a big one or a complex one that somehow you kept overlooking so that you could do other simpler more pleasing things? Then after some time that big project raises its ugly head and you end up in a stint. That my friends is what happened today. This was supposed to be my day off from school and such but a project I have been putting off caught up with me. I had to do some filming back in June of this past summer and I was supposed to convert those DV tapes to DVD. Now that usually doesn't seem like too big of a deal. But this was 9 hours of footage. Luckily no editing or anything was required but it was time consuming one way or the other. Now I have to babysit a machine as it goes file by file. I think the biggest thing is that the work is so tedious it drives a person insane. Actually I think I am goin to go now. I got a movie I wanna watch so I am going to check that out instead. Laters.

Fall Break Day Two

Spent some quality time with my girlfriend yesterday. I love just being able to leave after work and go straight to see her. Ok. Back to that stuff I wanted to write last time.

Luke and I are in discussion about tryin to maintain a blog or tech site that just keeps the pulse of the newest in Podcasting, Vcasting, and general technology. We both get excited about hearing about new technology that comes out. I def. would love to author a site that would answer all types of questions about new technology and of course get influential enough that the companies that I review start to sponsor me and give me free schwag. I can't believe people like Kevin Rose just started doing that kind of stuf and now he's established Rev3.

Sam and I are still in talks about how to setup BBQ Chutney. Mainly its trying to figure out how to record it best. I think that it might involve me and him to have our own recording devices and then talk to each other over the cell phone. After we finish our little 'cast we would send the audio files to each other and do a mix down. I am tryin to figure out if there's a simpler way that could record both right away because synching up the audio might be a bit tricky since there's some delay using cell phones. The big thing is of course that it would be one less step in the process. Any music interludes or other random junk would have to be added later, unless we used just our own stereos in our cars for music.

Fall Break

Today is the first day of my fall break and I decided to spend it with my wonderful girlfriend. As soon as I finished working I packed up my gear and headed down 64 on a drive that is so familiar to me now. I just zone out as I see exit by exit slide by. I decided to get a haircut since I had time before Anna got out of her class. I finished up a bit early and parked my car at Common Glory. Then I walked down to Tucker Hall so I could be waiting for her when she got out of class. As soon as she got out she and I walked down to the Cheese Shop to have some nice lunches. Unfortunately there was a serious set back, my idiotic tail decided to leave my wallet in the van. For those of you not familiar with the William & Mary campus, Common Glory is on the ENTIRE OTHER SIDE of the campus in comparison to the Cheese Shop. So yea, I was a moron for that one. Then after that she and I decided to go shopping so we went to the nearby outlet stores and just wandered through all that they had to offer. Anna had a great time when we got to the Gap Outlet store.

I love her so much. Over the past year and 4 months I have learned so much about her and her little mannerisms. I love that she LOVES sales. I mean when she sees those big red signs with 30-40% or banners that declare clearance sale, she just runs to them. I do not mean to poke fun at her. She just is such a thrifty shopper. She can spend hours hunting for just the right sweater to go with those pants or the perfect cut on a certain pair of jeans so she can look her best. I on the other hand never cared for how I looked. I always just wore what I wanted. If wearing socks with flip-flops was taboo, I was all over it sporting the socks proudly. Then I started dating Anna and she changed all of that. I dressed for Anna. And I started to realize, she began to dress for me. I love her for that. I know how big a thing it is for girls to change styles and such. Anna totally has for me. I mean she went from liking only silver to loving gold. I just cant believe all that she does for me. Ok well I gotta get back to Anna cause I am here with her now. I still got lots to write about though. I still havent talked about what I actually wanted to. I will in the morning.

Resonate: Leaders Meeting 1

This weekend is the Resonate Conference here in Williamsburg at CLC (Annas church while she's here @ Will & Mary). I have had an awesome time so far and have been freed of some things that made me have a hard time being a leader. Now I am sitting in a leadership meeting that is being led by Doug Lasit. He's an excellent pastor who had come to my Youth Retreat a few years back and he still remembers me. Either way this is a phenomenal conference that has a serious impact on anyone that attends. Ok anyway onto the notes.

SATAN IS A NERD!!
The World Trade Centers were attacked on 9-11. These great buildings fell down and were turned to nothing but rubble. Some people say nothing was left, but in reality the foundation still was intact. "If your foundation is strong, you are a comeback waiting to happen"

Doug Lasit ~

Understand the responsibility that you have as a youth shepherd

Luke 14:28-30 ~ building
John 10 - hireling (agenda and an office or title & kids suffer cause they aren't truly fed) vs. Actual shepherd (when enemy attacks they will run in with whatever they have)

Family and ministry are together, one does not steal from the other. Live in the calling so your family is there together with it.

For which of you intending to build a tower, does not first site down and count the cost and whether he has enough to finish it. lest after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish all who see it begin to mock him saying 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'

Great intentions wont pay the cost (Time pays the cost)
The cost will be paid by someone, it should not be the youth
One mans entire vision is another mans foundation
You should not be the one that causes a student to mock the church
People are watching you build
God decides when you are finished. Your responsibility is to finish everything that you begin

Develop a plan that you cannot possibly build in the time that you think you have

Never allow young people to suffer cause of your vision for your life

Understand the vision of your senior pastor
You are there to serve the vision of church and the vision of the senior pastor.
What is your vision for your youth?
What is my role in this church?

Commit to growing in your youth ministry gifting and skill
Learning stage - initial beginning where people don't know what they are doing <10% style="font-weight: bold;">Vision stage - finally grab ahold of what you wanna do with the kids
Equipping stage - parents suddenly come to you to ask what to do with their kids Keep your youth ministries resolve intact

Resolve= in action, value or direction that you are commited to regardless of the cost or difficulty to have resolve is to continue beyound what your mind can accept

The resolve of NEVER forsaking my family for the sake of the ministry - if you do you will lose both family and minsitry
The resolve to give up on any young person
The resolve to serve my senior pastor and his vision
The resolve to maintain my personal prayer life - Dont get so busy you cant pray
The resolve to never place my ministry over the welfare of the church
CHURCH
Pastor
church is a boat and you must stay within the wake dont try to swing out or you will lose momentum and you will
The resolve to serve and love the families of the church
The resolve to never forsake the preaching of the word for fads or trends
Bible gives a frame for you to preach on
AND
its the frame work or skeleton
The resolve to value the ministry of the __ in my ministry
The resolve to have a __ even when it is difficult
The resolve to never take credit for the things that God has done

What are the whats that will lead to our purpose with philosophy behind purpose. Philosophy of the church must match up. Strategy needs to be brought in to explain the "How". Then "Implementation" needs to be done.

Carry a GUN ~ Doug Lasit said so (Especially if you have a daughter)

Embracing Helsinki & BBQ Chutney

Well Luke will be on his way to Finland very soon. He has received his Visa from the Finnish Government for yet another year so he is departing tomorrow for his current home in Helsinki. I def will miss his presence here but we hope to do better at keeping it touch. After some new developments we have decided to do a better job at keeping in touch as well as tryin to work out some kind of tech new site or something. The both of us are so into new tech and want to keep on the pulse of things so we decided to do some sort of collaborative project to maintain that pulse.

Now onto the second part of that strange strange title. BBQ Chutney... yes that reads as Barbeque Chutney. Ok we dont really have a website up for it yet. Basically Sam and I have decided that we want to start a podcast that is all about the Indian-American view on America the world and such. I acutally will start podcasting sooner than our expected start time because I am headed to India this Christmas to spend some time with family friends and to show my girlfriend all of the cool places I have seen and that I want her to see. Actually speaking of which I am with her now so I better get off of my compie and head out with her. Later.

(Btw I totally am not liking my G4 Powerbook right now, the screen has glitched out and all the colors look inverted as if I am looking through a film negative... grr need Apple Care Service now)

Where's the sunrise?

I used to see a beautiful sunrise every single morning on my way to work. As the earth slowly slips around in the inky expanse known as space it tilts this way and that so the climate changes. And with the tilting it moves the earth into different angles from the sun causing different times before the sun shines its glory down on this humble piece of rock. So instead of seeing a beautiful sight like the one to the right. I drive into the darkness... Ok anyway that is the intro to the rest of this entry.

Ok first off... read the comment for the "Ceaseless Journey" post. Actually here it is...

Devthedevastator said...

Well if you want my honest opinion I believe your doing an excellent job. You do go out of your way with the teaching thing compared to even the most experienced teachers. They throw a book at us and tell us to read but you actually go through and tell us what we NEED to know and make sure we get it all down. And we get to tear open sloppy drives with pliers, bwhahaha. I have made a mental note to myself to NEVER EVER try to steal your attendance cards. O.O Fo real though, been my favorite class so far and learned more in this one than I will ever learn in one of those other fools classes. And don't worry about the time thing, once you're out of college your gonna be able to see your girl and have the time to do everything you been wanting to do. Why else would you have been spared in all those close calls ;) surely not to waste away under all the stress

Dev I know you arent a brown noser but thanks for that comment it helped out. Ok moving along to what I want to talk about.

I have started to listen to podcasts again after a couple months away. All I gotta say is that Adam has been crazy busy with Ron Bloom and is doing alot of things. I see that some of the podcasts have moved over to Sirius Satellite Radio. Thats awesome!! I want to find out more about this "Unlabel Record Company" that will be starting up through the Podsafe Music Network. In fact I have just a deluge of podcasts on my pod right now. What's a boy to do with a pod that has 60 gigs with only 20 gigs of music... download tons of next gen radio content!! Here's a current list of some of the podcasts I got: DSC, Dawn and Drew, MK show, Fly With Me, Tips from the Top Floor, Diggnation, and a few others. Needless to say I have lots of 'casts to listen to. Well after gettin re-interested in the podcasting I have been listening like crazy and dont have anytime for anything else. Actually I dont have time now cause I have to goto class but will write more later..

The ceaseless journey

I have just been so weary from work and from school. Its so hard to do both. I know I prolly have nothing on some people who work all night and goto school during the day or vice versa. I gotta say though that teaching is hard on a person. For so long I gave a hard time to teachers, saying that they had no concept of time and that they never worked hard enough. Truth of it is, I work part-time and I can barely keep up with it. Honestly I do goto college full-time as well and that def. takes alot of time and energy. But this teaching thing takes alot out of a guy. The downtime I do have is split between lots of different wants. I want to spend time with my beautiful and loving girlfriend. I want to spend time doing some photography. I want to spend time just relaxing and doing more reading. But even the free time away from college and work is split again between housework and church stuff. Sigh... days slip by and already its getting close to Christmas. It seems like time takes on an accelerated speed the older I get. I remember when I was younger in elementary and middle school vacation seemed so much longer. I thought that Spring Break was a month or even longer. Now I look and it was only a week long. Somehow everyday was so much longer. I think it just is a wierd phenomina that happens where perspective makes things look different. Example, when you walk through a maze it might seem like forever to cover the distance, but once you get a larger perspective the distance doesnt seem so far. I dunno... See now I am not even sure why I am making a post. I basically found that cool ASCII guy and want to create a post about it. I wanted to talk about the endless journey that we all go on. We constantly tredge on. For what goal? For what reason? That is what I hope to find one day. I will let you know when I do....

In My Bag

In My Bag
Originally uploaded by jtalaiver.

I decided to join the "Whats in your bag?" group on flickr. Just random...