Charlie Lehardy

Yep, I actually had a good Friday night! Really, it was a lot of fun. Started out with me watching “Good Night, and Good Luck” at 6:30 by myself. I’d been meaning to watch it for quite some time, just had not gotten around to it and man! I liked it a LOT. It’s one of those slower, thinking movies that has a moral to it. Plus there’s quite a bit of political things to it, but not Liberal/Conservative political (in my eyes anyway). More about the power of the press and how much good it can do if it’s used properly. Anyway, highly recommend that movie.

Then David called (I’d called him not long after I watched the movie) and we went to Fox & Hound to play some pool. I had done that a couple weeks ago with this Wednesday night Bible Study I’ve been doing (it was our monthly get-together), but I hadn’t played much pool. Man, I was just NOT doing all that well. But you know what? I didn’t care! I found a table in Yvonne’s section (one of the girls there that I used to talk to a lot) and just had a lot of fun. Chatting with David (and beating him at pool some, him beating me some), messing with Yvonne (we typically have at least once where we pretend like we’re gonna go outside and duke it out, she’s feisty and therefore a lot of fun

Overall, it was great fun. I got to unwind some, relax and not worry about ANYTHING. Just gotta hang out with people that I know and trust (IOW, David) and not worry about what anybody else thought because quite frankly, I didn’t care. It felt like old times at the Fox & Hound, which was great. Well, except that I didn’t drink anything but Coke (and Yvonne of course kept those coming… I must have had 7 or 8. Yikes!).

There WERE some guys that came over to our table during our first or second game and after watching us for a bit, asked to challenge us (I’d figured that was coming). Should have messed with THEM too (like you know, saying yes on the condition that they give me their number ;-), but I just said no and ignored them from there. They did stay around for quite a while wanting to play, but since we were paying for the table by the hour and having our own fun, there was no way I was going to let them ruin that.

Oh yeah, I forgot the part that put me in a great mood as I was driving over to the Fox & Hound. I put a CD into my car that said Christian & Soundtracks on the front. Wasn’t sure what it was, but I thought I’d check it out anyway. Know what the first song was?? Adventures in Paradise by Ace of Base (from their Cruel Summer album). Next song? Always Have, Always Will. And then it went on from there. It was AWESOME!! I’d not listened to Ace of Base for a long time (years?) and have always liked them in moderation. But for some reason, it just made me laugh the whole way there.

And so guess what? It made me laugh the whole way back too! And so here I am now at 1:00 AM listening to Ace of Base again because I am just weird. What can I say? But I’m loving life right now so that’s all that matters

Ok, enough for this post and subject. Next!

My car is NOT going to be totaled and they’ll be repairing it instead. Of course, I’ve got a $1,000 deductable, but that’s just money so it’s ok. I’ll have to talk to the body shop to find out how long it’ll take to get done and what they’ll be replacing (I’m curious about that). But yep, I’ll be having my car back in better shape than ever (maybe) fairly soon. So, not too bad!

Now just have to make sure that the other vehicles and people are taken care of…

So I was driving to work yesterday, looked to the right at some people walking/running, thinking about how I need to do that again, look in front of me and everybody’s stopped. And I’ve got about 2 seconds to stop myself. Well, I did stop, but not until AFTER I hit the car in front of me…

Yeah, not a very happy day. So that guy’s car isn’t happy (he hit the guy in front of him after I hit him) and mine isn’t happy at ALL either (hopefully gonna find out if they’re going to total mine today). The guy in front’s truck’s bumper got a bit bent and stuff, but that’ll be fairly easily fixed. The worst part of this is that the guy in the middle, the car I hit, had to go to the hospital for a few hours to get checked out (was having some serious back problems) and then I THINK was going to the doctor. So his day was pretty much ruined. My morning was ruined of course, but not NEARLY as badly as his (I didn’t sustain any injuries and even as I’m writing this, over 24 hours later, I have no pain at all). So that’s just not very cool at all.

Of course, insurance will cover everything (cars, hospital/doctor bills, etc, etc). But that’s not the point. The point is that I screwed up and as a� result, messed up two other people’s days/weeks/months? Yeah, not happy about that at all. On my part, I own another car that my parents were using (but didn’t need right now because they have two other vehicles), so I’ve got that now and will be driving it until I get my car repaired, or buy another one. So really, this whole thing isn’t so bad… On my side anyway.

So yeah, that’s about it. Just be praying for the other guy (Michael is the guy who went to the hospital) and that everything works out ok… I’ll post more (and about other things) whenever I find out more.

There’s various random things going on, none of which are really all that bad and some of which are quite good. So I guess you’d say I’m doing pretty well these days (you know, the last few months anyway). Lets see…

First off, I FINALLY got everything taken care of in terms of my new car. I got the auto-pay fixed for my loan (they screwed it up when I tried to have it done the first time… *sighs), got them the insurance information (well, they already had it, I just had to make sure they KNEW they had it) and got my permanent plate for my car (had to bug the dealer, who had dropped the ball and so they overnighted me the new one). So that’s all done and happy now, which makes ME happy.

Asked this really cool girl out recently too, but… she said no. That sucked of course but it’s ok because we’re still friends and stuff and there doesn’t seem to be many (if any) bad vibes going on cuz of it. I mean, she was completely honest with me and just was really cool, so it made it easy for me to take it in stride and be cool with it too. I mean, I’d of course have preferred if she had said yes, but that goes without saying

Hmm… I rolled my ankle pretty badly on Sunday night playing vball. NOT a good thing (never done that before, nor have I twisted it before… Always been pretty fortunate that way, until now!). It’s all swollen up now and so I’m going to be taking plenty of Advil (for inflammation) and icing it every night, as well as elevating it. Good times… Seriously though, it’s not painful so as long as I take care of it, I should be fine.

Oh, and my Aunt and Grandma from North Carolina (my Dad’s side of the family) have been here since Tuesday and are leaving on Wednesday. So I’ve seen them a few times which has been nice. Not as many as I’d have wanted to, but I guess that’s the way it goes. Seems like I’ve been really busy since they’ve been here. Ultimate on Thursday night, X3 Friday night, Saturday I went caving (more on that later), Sunday was Church, lunch with them, bbq that night and then vball later that night (which is where I messed up my ankle… *sighs). Then today (Monday) I spent most of the day working on cleaning the carpets here at our place.

So I went to Ace Hardware to rent a carpet cleaning machine and it had water in it still! Plus the wheels had lots of junk on them (almost like horse manure… but you know, don’t ask, don’t tell… :-). So I had to empty the thing in the parking lot before I put it in my trunk (so it didn’t spill all over my trunk) and clean the tires. Then went to WallyWorld (Wall-mart) to buy cleaning stuff, then went back to my place to start cleaning the carpets (got a good amount done anyway, but there’s more to do) and then left at 4:30 for a planning meeting for a camping trip I’m going on this weekend.

Of course, since I was up and moving all day, my ankle isn’t very happy with me. But I guess that’s life. So yeah, doing a camping trip this weekend. I volunteered to buy most of the stuff, so I’ve got a nice long list. Should be fairly easy to get most of it though, so it’s ok. Whatever I can’t, I’ll divvy up to others. There’s 16 of us going this time (9 guys, 7 girls) which is a LOT more than normal. So there’s of course a lot more than normal to buy too. Should be good times though.

Caving on Saturday (the 27th) was fun. Went to Cave of the Bells and had a grand time. However, it did take us a good-long time to find the place since the map we had wasn’t the best in the world. But now we know how to get there for the next time. We also didn’t get anywhere we wanted to, but that was ok. We STILL had fun (and I almost got stuck down there for ever and ever and are all willing to go again. Most important thing was that nobody got seriously hurt. Pictures of the cave (and some fun afterwords) are here.

Hmm… Jeremy was back for the weekend from San Diego, so it was nice to see him again. He’s re-joined the Navy and so he’s in training right now in San Diego and then will be going off to Kuwait. I’ll probably get to see him a few more times before he leaves, but it’s certainly quieter without him here (he was living on our couch for a bit). And another friend (Nathan) is leaving for the Navy tomorrow, but he’s just joined for the first time so he’s going to boot camp. Great fun!

Sarah (friend of mine from the Young Professionals group) left today for HER trip. They (her team) have a blog at trainingteachers.blogspot.com. So, pray for them and that everything will go well there. Good friends of mine (Wendy and Peter Smith) are heading to Thailand on Wednesday to work there (they’re missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators). And then other friends from Casas are coming back tomorrow from their China trip. *phew!* Lots going on for sure on that front.

And that’s about all I can think of. I’m probably missing stuff that I’ll think of later but this is certainly plenty for this blog anyway. Ooh, I’m thinking about doing a funny-a-day thing on here too with videos and pictures and stuff that I find funny. I’ve just gotta write some good code that’ll make it so people can watch it to their heart’s content, download the stuff, etc, etc… They just won’t be able to directly link to the videos from other sites. I think I know a good way to do it, just gotta implement it.

Until next time, have fun!

I have a bunch of friends that are in China right now (they left on the 17th and will be getting back on the 29th (I think)). I should have probably mentioned this earlier so you could pray for them and read about what they’re up to a week ago, but I’m lazy, what can I say?

Anyway, one of the leaders has a blog at http://fromheretochina.blogspot.com/ and he’s updating it fairly frequently. There’s also posts on there for other trips he’s been on to China (they’ve been a few times) since the blog is used ONLY for the China trips.

I rather like the latest post he has… Check it out!

Why is rush hour rush hour? Wait, that probably didn’t make sense, so let me explain it this way… My experience during rush hour is that most people drive UNDER the speed limit (sometimes as much as 10 MPH under in a 40 MPH zone… *grumbles*). But overall, it doesn’t seem like people are in a rush. Quite the opposite actually.

So, why is it rush hour? Where’d the term come from? I’d prefer to call it very annoyingly slow and frustrating hour, but I think that’s slightly too long… Maybe @$!* hour would work… naa, not that either. Do you have any ideas?

I feel as though I’ve gotten into a rut and I just can’t get myself out of it. I keep trying to push out on one side or the other and keep falling back into the middle again. The problem is that I just don’t have the energy I need to push myself further along. Well, lets back up a bit because that sounds very melodramatic and it’s not really like that at all.

The truth of the matter is that I’ve been doing quite well lately, in most areas. I’ve been hanging out with old friends some more and also making new ones. I’ve been going to Church a lot more, but beyond that I’ve started going back to a Bible Study that I really am getting a lot out of so far (both spiritually and in friendships). So all of that is going well. But that’s during the week when I’ve got regular work and don’t have time for much else.

The weekends however have been another story. I’ve felt depressed, lonely, and overall just felt useless. I’ve not been doing the things I’ve wanted to (clean up my room, the house, fix the TV, my car, my dresser, etc, etc…) and been doing the things I’ve NOT wanted to (slept in, played around on the computer, lazed around, basically, done nothing). So I changed this weekend up. I went to my parents on Friday night and then Saturday, woke up and worked with my Dad on my car.

That was a really good thing and I got it mostly done (finished it up today… just was installing new speakers and a stereo). I also went to a friend’s going away party and generally had a good day. Then today comes and I can’t even get myself moving in the morning to get to Church on time. So I’ve just felt kinda blah all day. Not good, not bad, just ok. Which is NOT good in my eyes.

When I think about it of course, I know that there’s a lot of good things going on in my life and that yes, there’s a few bad things, but that’s just the way it goes. However, being a perfectionist I tend to focus on the bad and not the good. So here we are. Another weekend where I feel like I just missed everything and I’m on to another week a work.

I am quite certain that this all comes down to me trying to get closer to God and really figure out what God wants from my life. I have not been sure for a long time, but I’ve been working at it and trying to do what He wants. I just recently finished up Wild at Heart by John Eldredge (Audio-Book version… really easy to do while driving to and from work) and I’ve started Waking the Dead (again by Eldredge). Like I said, I have also started going back to a bible study with some great people, but more than both of those… I’ve been looking at my life and God’s been showing me areas that I need to give control over to him.

A long while back, he told me to give him control of my job situation, and so I did. For the most part. I did keep some control (or maybe most?), but even with me keeping that control, God still used the bit I gave him and has been blessing me in that area a LOT. I love my current job and I truly believe it was completely a God thing that got me the job in the first place (read some of my previous posts for more info on that).

But there’s other areas that God has been nudging me about. One major one is girls. I have ALWAYS taken control of that part of my life into my own hands and so far, things have not gone well at all. I know it’s because I’ve not given control over to God but it’s not easy, so I’m resisting and continuing to fail. Do I think God will provide for me? Probably… but it’s that doubt that has kept me from giving Him the control.

But I AM working at it and I know it’s a process that will take time. Thankfully I do have time, but… I’m also tired of waiting, so here I am. Unsure of what to do in this area of my life. This is just one area though that I’m not sure about. There’s plenty of others. But right now I think that this one is the “biggest” for me because I’ve struggled with it the most.

So I guess I’ll keep trying to wait and see what God says. They say patience is a virtue, but it’s certainly not my strongest one. So, I’ll let that be my prayer to God. Give me patience and show me the way.

Well, this rant truly is quick and more a complaint. This time it’s about FedEx vs UPS. Which do I prefer? Brown of course… The reason is simple.

If I order something from say… Amazon. It will generally be shipped from California (Los Angeles area to be exact) and I live in Tucson, Arizona. So, that’s a 7 hour drive between the two. Pretty quick. Now, lets say I were to choose standard ground shipping (which is 5-7 business days for both carriers) and had it shipped via UPS. Guess when it’d get here? That’s right 2, maybe 3 business days. Because it doesn’t take very long to ship between two adjoining states.

However, if I were to choose the same ground shipping with FedEx, guess when it would get here? 5 business days. Even better is that I get to watch it sit in some storage facility (well, watch b/c of the tracking) while the days tick by. Granted, I AM getting the service that I paid for. But really, does it do FedEx ANY good to hold the package for a few days and therefore annoy customers? I think not, but apparently they do.

So, the moral of the story is that every time I can ship UPS, I do. FedEx is the bane of my shipping existence (ok, well… USPS would be if I shipped anything through them). Which is why I prefer Brown

Hmm, that’s a song actually, but I won’t bore you by typing the words here (especially since I don’t know all of them). But it HAS been a while since I’ve last posted. This is mostly because not much has really been going on. Well, a lot has been happening, but not much that I care to talk about anyway.

Not that it’s been bad really, I just am not done with dealing with everything and so I don’t want to talk about it yet. Something along the lines of going out with my gun half-cocked or something like that. Anyway, the point is that there’s various things going on in my life. Some good, some not so good (I wouldn’t go so far as to say bad though). However, through everything God is trying to teach me to be more reliant on him. So that’s a good thing.

It’s kind of funny actually because right now as I’m writing this, two of my “problems” are fairly close to me and it’s not really an issue to me. I mean, I’m able to just ignore it and go on. So I guess it’s not really a problem, huh? Bah, enough of that crap. How about some quick updates and then we’ll call it a night (for the blog-writing anyway).

First off, I’m still in training. ALWAYS in training it seems. That’s a good thing though because I don’t have a lot of work to do still (and won’t for a bit) and so it keeps me busy (sometimes). I took the second class for MSHA (Mine Safety and Hazard Administration), so that means I just need to do 8 hours of on-the-site training at a mine and I’m legal to work in an open-pit mine for the next year (then I’ll have to do a refresher course). So I’m getting there, it’s just taking a while.

Nothing else going on in the work area really. Everything else is about the same too. Friends, Church, etc… Well, I’m getting to know some people at Casas more, so that’s a good thing (you know, more friends and such). I went to a fund-raiser for a China missions trip that the college/young adult group is going to on the um… 18th of May through the 30th. The food wasn’t all that great, but I didn’t expect much either so it was perfect. I did donate to the group though. Not something I typically do, but I’ve felt God pulling on my heart to donate to a few groups like that.

Another one is the KICY radio station up in Alaska (www.kicy.org). They’ve got a great mission up there and so I’m planning on giving a bit of support to them. They’re having a salmon dinner on Friday night for that at my Church (Grace Community Covenant Church) and are flying the salmon in fresh from Alaska just for this deal (or that’s what I’ve been told). So it should be VERY good. They’re actually charging $15 for the dinner and then doing a silent auction for donated food baskets during the thing too. Plus of course taking straight donations (I think). All of which (well, paying for the dinner up-front) was what Casas should have done for their China thing (makes for a better meal when you have money for it already instead of “borrowing” it against what you plan to get). But I guess that’s just one of those things that you’ve gotta learn the hard way. Maybe I’ll mention it to people there for the next dinner fundraiser they do

So yeah, that’s about it. Pretty boring really, which is why I didn’t write before now. Hopefully something fun and exciting will happen soon, but we’ll see. I think it’s about time for another rant though. Probably tomorrow since I’m tied up with a concert Thursday. Until then though, have a great time!

Yep, it’s that time again and this time it’s about my favorite topic… Driving!

First off, lets start with the basics. I consider myself to be a fairly good driver. Agressive, yes. But good anyway. I’ve never caused any accidents, have avoided numerous people who have tried to hit me (having a small car like I used to and driving on the interstate lends to people NEVER seeing you and trying to pull into the space you’re occupying… SCARY!), and have not had any driving violations for 5 years (I have had two tickets since then, but both were due to my registration being expired so… not driving issues).

I have hit one car once and unfortunately it was parked. In my defense, it was a dark night, black car and I was in a bad mood and NOT paying attention. So pretty much, it was COMPLETELY my fault, I admit that, but it was also an isolated incident that had never occured before and has not since.

Ok, with that out of the way, here’s what my major problem with many drivers (especially older ones…). I HATE it when they drive on the fast lane, otherwise known as the left lane. If they’re making a turn in the next 1/4 mile, ok… I can understand. Or of course, if you’re passing people, then by all means drive in the left lane. But for goodness sake, do NOT drive the same speed as the people in the lane next to you. ESPECIALLY if you’re driving at or under the speed limit. (oh yeah, that’s another thing I should have said up top. I do speed… but still I don’t get tickets for it so I guess it’s OK

This behavior is what causes people to get mad and start doing the whole finger-flipping, getting out of the car to pummel you kind of thing. NO, it’s not your fault they’re hot-heads (for the record, I don’t get mad like that, I just get annoyed and wait until I can get around while calling you nice names… :-)), but if you’re driving badly, then you’re certainly not helping the situation.

I was in Colorado a while ago and found out that they passed a law in Denver area that basically states that you can’t drive in the left lane. It’s reserved for passing ONLY. No ifs, ands or buts. I LOVE this law and I wish it would be passed everywhere else. Because that’s the point of multiple lanes. Letting the faster traffic move along faster than the slower traffic. Not so that the slower traffic can take both lanes and block everybody else up!!

So yeah, that’s my rant for today. If you’re one of those “bad” drivers, please think about it this way… If you were behind two people going under the speed limit next to eachother and couldn’t get past, what would you be thinking? Well, that’s what the people behind you are thinking about you… Just remember that!