I've been getting a lot of free stuff lately...well...trying to get free stuff. See, I don't consider myself a wealthy man. I don't get to spend money very freely right now, so I've been scheming a different way to get things besides paying for them. No, I'm not stealing things. I am not a pick-pocket like Matt Damon in Ocean's 11, although his stealthy abilities inspire me in a non-criminal sort of way. Anyway, I've tried a few different things like enrolling in a few rewards programs which have kind of backfired on me. I spend a lot of our church's money (which is really fun) so I enrolled in a rewards program with my check card except I have to spend like 4 whole dollars just to get one stinking point to spend toward my prestigious reward. Bollucks, that'll take forever. I want a 10 dollor gift card to Best Buy now!

So, my engenious free-stuff schemes (with the exception of a few free trial offers I signed up for for downloading music, which was awesome!) have flopped leaving me in a state of free stuff dispair. To make myself feel better, I went to starbucks today to get a drink and grab one of their free songs they have on their counter. Mystery Zone by Spoon. Although I've never heard the song before, I'm sure it'll grow on me.

Whoa! Pizookie!

OK, this is a link to everything you need to know about life and how to be happy (at least for about 15 minutes). That's right, I'm talking about pizookie. What's pizookie you ask? Well I'll tell you. It's only the best 500 calories you'll ever take into your body!! Here's the deal, you take a big blob of cookie dough and bake it in the oven until it's a big gooey pile, then you dump ice cream on top of it! and it melts and you smile! So if you want your life to finally make sense, just click on the link below.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/08/how-to-make-a-pizookie-or-a-pizza-cookie-recipe.html

Avatar

Yes, I finally went to go see Avatar. I don't know why I waited so long, I guess I was just waiting for the right moment. Fortunately, that moment came for me last Thursday when we decided to go out for a little City Church staff bonding time. It was good because we haven't bonded in a while besides heckling each other in the office.

I think it had been about a month since it came out and still the theater was packed! It must be the 3D aspect of it that's attracting so many people. Let me tell you though, this 3D is so awesome! It's worth going to even if you don't have a thing for sci-fi or aliens or things blowing up (in 3D!). And of course, we all got our nerdy little 3D glasses that we all wear confidently into the theater. I for one wore mine before we even got into the building. Me colleges were slightly embarassed, but that didn't bother me. I wore them proud. The movie and popcorn (thanks rick) were great. I was fully enjoying the movie until the sex by the tree scene. Not because it made me uncomfortable, but because these three stooges came into the theater talking really loud to each other as if we were at a football game. One says to the other "Dad! sit right there! No, right there and then I can sit there and you sit by me!" Loud, right? And annoying. So this guy, about middle-aged, tells his father where to sit and further instructs him to climb through the metal railing in order to access his seat. It sounded like military training was going on. Finally, after the two blue amazonian aliens had got done making out (or whatever they do on Pandora), the main stooge says, "oh, the movie isn't over. Dad, let's go!" So I responded by saying, "I can't even believe it!" and I said it kind of loud too. In fact, I think the guy heard it and glared at me. I didn't see him glare, I more or less felt it. I hoped he wasn't crazy.

zombies and texting

I've recently been doing a lot of killing in my spare time. Don't worry, they're zombies and they don't have feelings (unless an intense lust for my blood and flesh is an emotion). My favorite is the shotgun. I won't go into detail, but I can feel the stress melting away when I cause virtual wanton destruction everywhere I go. Almost the same effect as a lavender candle, but a little better and more manly. Anyway, I just got the game and find it consuming my thoughts lately, especially the first day I got it because I bought it right before I went to work and didn't really get a chance to play it. The thoughts consumed me to the point where I was driving and didn't see another car slowing down to turn in front of me. I actually almost hit them. I guess it's kind of the same thing they're talking about right now with texting and driving only with me it was thinking about killing zombies while driving. I've never had a problem with texting and driving or talking on my cell phone or shaving or anything else people normally do behind the wheel. Maybe my problem effects more Americans than we care to admit. Maybe we should all bad together to create a law against the cognitive reenactment of the slaying of undead. Maybe we can all make the world a better place; freeing it from alluring daydreams that bind our thoughts as we command our automobiles. Or maybe I'm the only one and I should stop playing so many video games.

Taken

I was so excited when I got back from North Dakota. My loving mother had lavishly provided me with all the Christmas treats that were left over from the season (in reality, it was only a couple sandwich bags full and it was also because she didn't "want" to eat them). I was so sad leaving and when I got settled back into my bedroom in Bend, OR, I though to myself "these tasty things will be a nice way to have a little piece of home with me for a while." So I went to work the next day and came home. I had laid my laptop bag down at the foot of my bed, taken off my jacket, and sat at my desk to plug in my computer. I looked down and my stash (which also included half a bag of doritos) was gone! huh... I looked around and they were nowhere. Then I remembered that the dog (that belonged to the family I was staying with) had a terrible habit of taking things. It definitely took my snacks! I was so mad, but realized it was partly my fault for not closing my door when I went to work. I told my house mom and she said that Jenny (the dog) had probably taken them outside. Well, it was dark and the backdoor was already locked for the night, so I decided to look in the morning. So at dawn, I sent myself as a search party to locate the destitute delicacies. I hadn't taken three steps out the door when I saw my bag of chips untouched but lifeless and covered with frost. Two steps beyond that was a sandwich bag completely torn to shreds with no trace of a cookie in sight. Bad Dog! I then took my chips inside in order to resuscitate them. I later ate them galdly, but my relationship with Jenny may never be the same.

memories from my train trip

I just got on the train and I kind of don't really know where I'm sitting because the whole time I was boarding I was talking to my friend Lisa on the phone. I seemed to be in my own little telephone world talking to Lisa. A man who looked like a train attendant directed me to an area where I would have two seats all to myself. Yay! I lay there talking for a while on the phone. Toward the end of my conversation, I noticed that I was the only one talking on the whole train car and I was talking in my outdoor voice too. Somebody just sneezed as I'm writing this and it sounded like a baloon after you let go of it and all the air coming out of it sounds farty as it shoots around the room. Anyway, at this point, I am talking liberally on my phone as I realize that many people (who have probably been on the train for hours already) are trying to sleep all around me. People would stir and shift in their seats still with their eyes closed and some would even turn around and look at me. I seem to have disturbed many people's drifting sleeping patterns. dang. I hate being the center of attention. She sneezed again.

crazy dream

I had a dream last night that I had to use a fire extinguisher for the first time. I was very hesitant and whenever I had gotten done putting out the fire, it would start up again. Then I was eating strawberry yogurt with my friend at a sidewalk cafe. For some reason my winter hat (or touque for you Canadians) was in my yogurt and I thought it was funny. Then after I was done eating at the cafe, we left, but I forgot my hat in the empty bowl of yogurt. I went back to the restaurant looking high and low for my hat. I became very frustrated when I couldn't find it and eventually resorted to digging through the garbage for it. Fortunately, I found it and then I woke up.