After 6 hours in a plane on last Friday morning I arrived in Portland, Oregon and was greeted at the airport by sign waving youth from the retreat I spoke at this past weekend. Two great gals named Aubrey and Samantha spent some arts and crafts time making me two sweet welcome signs, and I must say it's the first time I've been met with actual signs at an airport.
I felt pretty special! Those signs will soon adorn the wall of my office.
I jumped in a car with Aubrey, Samantha, and youth guy Paul Covey and headed to the great white (not so white but unseasonally warm unfortunately) north of White Pass, Washington, but not before a quick pitstop at Burgerville where I tried the pepper bacon burger and a pumpkin shake. How's the diet? Going well, thanks!
Then it was off to the retreat in one of the most beautiful locations I've ever gotten the chance to speak in. I took some pics with my new camera phone, but I'm really hoping that new friend and youth leader Andrea Covey will send me some of hers that she took with an actual camera, because my puny phone did not do it justice.
Where to begin . . . the folks at the retreat were just great people. We had a lot of fun in games, free time, and worship. The band was a youth band led by a great guy named Cal who had a little country flavor mixed in with his stuff and the guys in the band rocked it out pretty hard.
There were 50 or so of us there, and I always think that's about the perfect number for a retreat like that. I got to know a lot of the kids by name (Nathan, Josh, Ashley, Aubrey, Samantha, Val, Justin, Donny, Connor, Matt, MJ, and lots of others that I'm forgetting (about 40) as I'm sitting here at the computer, but I'm sure they'll email to remind me and I can drop them in.
Lots of great leaders too who all gave up their Thanksgiving Weekend to hang out with the kids which I thought was pretty cool. They really put on a fantastic retreat and I have to give a big thanks to Andrea who played host for the weekend. She and Paul are expecting their first little one in January after a long, and patient wait and I can't imagine two more loving parents.
I also got a chance to do a little song and dance with some of the guys. During the Saturday night talent show, Donny, Nathan, Josh, Tony, Paul, Connor, and I all did one of my favorite old camp skits which is hard to describe on a blog, but there was much choreography and choral directing involved. It was a blast and I'm very thankful that no video camera was around - or Troy and Dawn for that matter.
What else, what else . . . the food was fantastic. I had the first lemon bars of my life that I actualy liked - check that - LOVED. This great gal named Lynn cooked in the kitchen for us with her daughter (Sarah and I think) and Tony (her nephew I think) and the food was so good. I've always loved hot sauce, and this week I got turned on to Sweet Chile Sauce. Who knew of such things??? I'm buying my first bottle today, though.
I learned a great new dice game too. I can't wait to play it with my own kids. And just in case anyone asks, always roll for the big points! Don't ever stop. Turning the corner almost always comes around! I can say with confidence as I finished in a respectable 5th place after starting late and a little slow . . .
The jet lag was rough. With the two hour time difference, I was going to bed at midnight or 1am Washington time which was like 2am or 3am our time. The only problem was that I was still waking up between 6am and 7am Iowa time which was around 4am Washington time. Ugh. I felt like molasses when I got home last night after another 6 hours on a plane.
It was great to see Andrea and Carson though. In just the last few days it seems like Carson's speaking more clearly as he says things like, "I love you, daddy," and "Uncle Chris," and maybe even the clearest now is, "Cousin Isaac."
I'm sure other memories from the weekend will pop up and I'll make sure to add them. I had great conversations with people like Brandon, Henry, Dave, JJ, Bud, Tim, David, Valerie, Sarah, Jamie, Stephen, and lots of others who's names are foggy now. Why do I try to name drop when I know I'm going to forget people? I should take polaroid pictures and then write their names on the bottom.
If I missed anyone, I'm sorry.
Did I mention the scenery was amazing? The camp was nestled between moutains on three sides and a lake on the fourth.
I always get so nervous traveling without the rest of the Happy crew, but this group this weekend really took care of me well and made me feel like family.
You are known!
Till next time,
Jason
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Orland Park, Ill
Troy and I headed over to Orland Park, Illinois last weekend to help out at a CRC church youth rally/function/event/rock out. I'm not sure what to call it really. They had a crazy rockin' DJ. They had a crazy rockin' worship band. They had a really neat speaker who's a former bank theif and is now working as a secretary at a church. (I know, I know, typical church secretary.)
And then they had us, smack dab in the middle doing our silly songs and goofy jokes.
I had a ton of fun. We got to meet a band named S.H.A.R.C. We got to see old friend from NW Iowa, Matt Sharpe and eat at Denny's. We got to work with great Orland Park youth workers Becky VK and Caroline. (Caroline's a youth director's assistant btw . . . I wonder how I can get one of those in Pella. Hmm.)
There were somewhere between 100 and 120 kids who rocked out hard for four hours. Crazy. They sang loud, danced hard, and had a penchant for Johnny Cash songs.
And by the way, Troy, I did learn the trumpet part on accordian! Our next crowd has no idea what's in store for them.
Next weekend I head to Washington (the state) to speak for a post-Thanksgiving retreat and I'm really looking forward to it.
Here's the gold that came out of our breakfast with Matt S. on Saturday before we left:
If you want to make wine, you have to stomp on grapes. I'm glad that we don't have to do the same thing for all our drinks. Otherwise I would be drinking much less milk.
"What's that between your toes?"
"Snout."
And then they had us, smack dab in the middle doing our silly songs and goofy jokes.
I had a ton of fun. We got to meet a band named S.H.A.R.C. We got to see old friend from NW Iowa, Matt Sharpe and eat at Denny's. We got to work with great Orland Park youth workers Becky VK and Caroline. (Caroline's a youth director's assistant btw . . . I wonder how I can get one of those in Pella. Hmm.)
There were somewhere between 100 and 120 kids who rocked out hard for four hours. Crazy. They sang loud, danced hard, and had a penchant for Johnny Cash songs.
And by the way, Troy, I did learn the trumpet part on accordian! Our next crowd has no idea what's in store for them.
Next weekend I head to Washington (the state) to speak for a post-Thanksgiving retreat and I'm really looking forward to it.
Here's the gold that came out of our breakfast with Matt S. on Saturday before we left:
If you want to make wine, you have to stomp on grapes. I'm glad that we don't have to do the same thing for all our drinks. Otherwise I would be drinking much less milk.
"What's that between your toes?"
"Snout."
Monday, November 03, 2008
Dear Deer,
Was on my way up to Alton, IA last Wednesday night to speak for the My Choice Middle School group in Alton on Thursday morning. I was joining Troy and Dawn, and I was really looking forward to it. This middle school bunch is really fun, and I was really excited for Troy and Dawn to experience their fun for the first time.
Long story short, I hit a deer on I-80 about five miles from the Atlantic exit and totaled my car. It was a busy highway, and I was pretty lucky no one else got hit or hurt.
It jumped right out in front of me and I hit it dead on. Its head was on one side and it's rump was on the other.
The airbags went off, the hood flew up and smashed the windshield, and I pulled over immediately to the side.
One thing I didn't know about airbags is that they apparently use shotgun shells (sans bb's) to fire them off. This means they're really stinkin' loud, smell like gunfire, and immediately fill the car with smoke.
As soon as I found myself engulfed in smoke, I grabbed my Ipod and darted into the field from the car. After a few moments of observation, I realized the car was not on fire and called Andrea, then 911, then Troy to let him know I wouldn't make it to the event.
A nice sheriff from Cass County came to help me out. As we looked at the car, he asked if I would mind climbing inside to get my insurance info. As I did, I happened to step on a discarded beer can in the ditch. I looked down. There were several more nearby.
The officer said, "Those belong to you?"
"No, sir." The only thing I was under the influence of was a McDonald's Southern Chicken sandwich.
He reached into a pocket and pulled out one of those little, yellow evidence markers and dropped it by the cans. I figured that I was soon about to take my first breatalyzer test . . .
The wrecker truck came and towed my poor, totalled car away.
After explaining who I was and where I was going, the officer seemed satisfied that I had, in fact, not been drinking, and so we discussed how I knew the Schoenfeld brothers from Atlantic, and how they now did Improv in Omaha.
The sheriff was a great guy. I got dropped off at a gas station in Atlantic and waited for an hour or so for my brother to come and get me.
To add insult to injury, Troy let me know the next day that the Alton group was fantastic and they had an amazing time with them . . .
It didn't help my sour mood any.
We go to Orland Park, Ill. next week, and then I get to go to the great Northwest - Washington State, the day after Thanksgiving!
Till next time,
Jason
Long story short, I hit a deer on I-80 about five miles from the Atlantic exit and totaled my car. It was a busy highway, and I was pretty lucky no one else got hit or hurt.
It jumped right out in front of me and I hit it dead on. Its head was on one side and it's rump was on the other.
The airbags went off, the hood flew up and smashed the windshield, and I pulled over immediately to the side.
One thing I didn't know about airbags is that they apparently use shotgun shells (sans bb's) to fire them off. This means they're really stinkin' loud, smell like gunfire, and immediately fill the car with smoke.
As soon as I found myself engulfed in smoke, I grabbed my Ipod and darted into the field from the car. After a few moments of observation, I realized the car was not on fire and called Andrea, then 911, then Troy to let him know I wouldn't make it to the event.
A nice sheriff from Cass County came to help me out. As we looked at the car, he asked if I would mind climbing inside to get my insurance info. As I did, I happened to step on a discarded beer can in the ditch. I looked down. There were several more nearby.
The officer said, "Those belong to you?"
"No, sir." The only thing I was under the influence of was a McDonald's Southern Chicken sandwich.
He reached into a pocket and pulled out one of those little, yellow evidence markers and dropped it by the cans. I figured that I was soon about to take my first breatalyzer test . . .
The wrecker truck came and towed my poor, totalled car away.
After explaining who I was and where I was going, the officer seemed satisfied that I had, in fact, not been drinking, and so we discussed how I knew the Schoenfeld brothers from Atlantic, and how they now did Improv in Omaha.
The sheriff was a great guy. I got dropped off at a gas station in Atlantic and waited for an hour or so for my brother to come and get me.
To add insult to injury, Troy let me know the next day that the Alton group was fantastic and they had an amazing time with them . . .
It didn't help my sour mood any.
We go to Orland Park, Ill. next week, and then I get to go to the great Northwest - Washington State, the day after Thanksgiving!
Till next time,
Jason
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Quakers in Indy
Joined up with Happy the Dog friends Danny and David Fergen (the Sons of Thunder) and headed over to Indianapolis to the Jameson Camp to lead worship for a Quaker retreat.
For the first time, I wasn't the one who had to do the crazy driving - at least not most of it. Danny and David drove 5 hours down to Pella on Thursday night and got here around 10:30pm. They bunked down for the night and then we all got up Friday morning to drive the 7 hours to Indianapolis. When all was said and done, it was Saturday afternoon. We jumped back into the pickup and drove seven hours back to Pella dropping me off around 11:30pm. Then the boys headed home and arrived in Sioux Falls another five hours later.
Total time at the retreat = 12 hours.
Total time on the road for the Fergens = 24 hours.
Was it worth it? Oh, yeah. We had a blast. It was the first Quaker experience for all of us, and the kids and adults couldn't have been better.
The camp was amazing, they had a giant inflatable, bungee corded football game (I dominated Danny), and they had adult sized tricycles of which we took liberty and had a blast.
Plus! I got to see old Northwestern friend Katey "Pokey" Palmer who was arranging the retreat. She's doing wonderfully awesome things out east with the Quaker folks and it was a huge blessing to get to hang out with her and her friends.
Danny and I also took on a couple adults in Wii tennis. While my partner and I won several matches, we didn't win the entire game as Danny knew how to some sort of special move, super fire fast serve that the rest of us couldn't do.
As per usual, the ride home was spent laughing until we were all hoarse (and Danny once again complained of heartburn).
I spent the weekend sick with a bit of a cold, and apparently passed it onto David after he took a drink out of my coffee. Sorry David.
What else? I did craft time and made a neat truck for Carson that I forgot about until just now. I try to bring a little something back from every trip - a little trinket or what not. It's plaster, so he won't be able to play with it, but I suppose it can hang somewhere in his room.
I think the next trip I embark on is to the great city of Alton, IA for a 7am gig with Jonah's Wale on October 30th. Then we do Illinois and Wasthington in November.
Till next time,
Jason
For the first time, I wasn't the one who had to do the crazy driving - at least not most of it. Danny and David drove 5 hours down to Pella on Thursday night and got here around 10:30pm. They bunked down for the night and then we all got up Friday morning to drive the 7 hours to Indianapolis. When all was said and done, it was Saturday afternoon. We jumped back into the pickup and drove seven hours back to Pella dropping me off around 11:30pm. Then the boys headed home and arrived in Sioux Falls another five hours later.
Total time at the retreat = 12 hours.
Total time on the road for the Fergens = 24 hours.
Was it worth it? Oh, yeah. We had a blast. It was the first Quaker experience for all of us, and the kids and adults couldn't have been better.
The camp was amazing, they had a giant inflatable, bungee corded football game (I dominated Danny), and they had adult sized tricycles of which we took liberty and had a blast.
Plus! I got to see old Northwestern friend Katey "Pokey" Palmer who was arranging the retreat. She's doing wonderfully awesome things out east with the Quaker folks and it was a huge blessing to get to hang out with her and her friends.
Danny and I also took on a couple adults in Wii tennis. While my partner and I won several matches, we didn't win the entire game as Danny knew how to some sort of special move, super fire fast serve that the rest of us couldn't do.
As per usual, the ride home was spent laughing until we were all hoarse (and Danny once again complained of heartburn).
I spent the weekend sick with a bit of a cold, and apparently passed it onto David after he took a drink out of my coffee. Sorry David.
What else? I did craft time and made a neat truck for Carson that I forgot about until just now. I try to bring a little something back from every trip - a little trinket or what not. It's plaster, so he won't be able to play with it, but I suppose it can hang somewhere in his room.
I think the next trip I embark on is to the great city of Alton, IA for a 7am gig with Jonah's Wale on October 30th. Then we do Illinois and Wasthington in November.
Till next time,
Jason
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sons of Thunder
Had the Sons of Thunder (D&D Fergen) come on down for our youth group here in Pella last night. The Fergen brothers are good friends of Happy the Dog, and they are known well to many of our kids from when they did a couple middle school retreats for us way back when.
They rocked our little youth room pretty hard, and our group did their best to rock back at them.
Afterwards, we packed up the trailer and headed three blocks southwest to the Central college Sunday night worship "The Calm" which is led by Andrea's dad Joe. The Sons of Thunder played for a packed out group of college kids and afterwards, Danny Fergen commented on how much fun it was from the first song.
The Thunder brothers brought along a drummer (Tyler) and sister in law (Kelsey, who's in her own band with her sisters - Truemotion) and apparently they wiled away their five hour ride down by telling goofy stories about me.
The time I pulled a pair of underwear out of my pants during a business meeting.
The time I destroyed David Fergen's kitchen table by leaning one hand on it.
The time I put a ding in the door of David Fergen's brand new pickup by hitting a fire hydrant with it.
The time I cleaned off a pubic restroom toilet because there was someone outside and I didn't want them to think that I was the one who'd made the mess. . .
Man, you don't really realize what a complete dork you are until someone starts an impromtu goofy story jam session about you.
Till next time,
Jason
They rocked our little youth room pretty hard, and our group did their best to rock back at them.
Afterwards, we packed up the trailer and headed three blocks southwest to the Central college Sunday night worship "The Calm" which is led by Andrea's dad Joe. The Sons of Thunder played for a packed out group of college kids and afterwards, Danny Fergen commented on how much fun it was from the first song.
The Thunder brothers brought along a drummer (Tyler) and sister in law (Kelsey, who's in her own band with her sisters - Truemotion) and apparently they wiled away their five hour ride down by telling goofy stories about me.
The time I pulled a pair of underwear out of my pants during a business meeting.
The time I destroyed David Fergen's kitchen table by leaning one hand on it.
The time I put a ding in the door of David Fergen's brand new pickup by hitting a fire hydrant with it.
The time I cleaned off a pubic restroom toilet because there was someone outside and I didn't want them to think that I was the one who'd made the mess. . .
Man, you don't really realize what a complete dork you are until someone starts an impromtu goofy story jam session about you.
Till next time,
Jason
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Waupon (WAH-PAWN)
So, Happy the Dog just headed up to Waupon (pronounced WAH-PAWN, or as I prefer WHOOPIN') for a spiritual renewal week / half-week at the Central Wisconsin Christian High School.
What a good time. It was Troy and Dawn and I, and about 150 different middle school and high schoolers. They were into it too. It was the first time in a long time that I've seen kids doing actions to songs that I'd never seen before.
They were loud. They were happy. They were excited to worship. And so I found myself asking the question, "This is a Christian High School right? Indeed it was. I don't mean to knock Christian High Schools, but I've found that they can sometimes be the worst places to lead worship.
I don't know if it's because the students get "God stuff" so often that they're sick of it, or what, but I generally have a small feeling of dread well up inside when I see a high school coming up on the calendar.
Not for the folks at CWC, though. Those folks know how to rock.
We got to stay with Happy the Dog friends (and board member) Dan and Latricia Ten Napel and their beautiful new daughter.
I got to watch some Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe (sp?) which is always a real treat for me because we don't have cable at home.
We got to eat out at a Mexican restaurant called Dos Gringos which I have a feeling might be a derogatory name towards me, but I'm not sure why . . .
What else? Oh yeah. We gave a prize away to a cool guy named Jory (once again, sp?). When I handed him the shirt he wanted, he said, "How much?" I said, "What?" He said, "How much are your prizes?" I told him our prizes were free, but it made me wonder if there weren't some other, less scrupulous, ministries out there charging for their goofy prizes! For shame!
We got to take a Wisconsin detour, which was three left turns that brought us right back to . . . wait for it . . . the place we started. It was a little after midnight when we pulled over to the road construction worker and asked what we were doing wrong. We were told that we needed to turn right at that last left arrow.
I kid you not.
Till next time,
Jason
What a good time. It was Troy and Dawn and I, and about 150 different middle school and high schoolers. They were into it too. It was the first time in a long time that I've seen kids doing actions to songs that I'd never seen before.
They were loud. They were happy. They were excited to worship. And so I found myself asking the question, "This is a Christian High School right? Indeed it was. I don't mean to knock Christian High Schools, but I've found that they can sometimes be the worst places to lead worship.
I don't know if it's because the students get "God stuff" so often that they're sick of it, or what, but I generally have a small feeling of dread well up inside when I see a high school coming up on the calendar.
Not for the folks at CWC, though. Those folks know how to rock.
We got to stay with Happy the Dog friends (and board member) Dan and Latricia Ten Napel and their beautiful new daughter.
I got to watch some Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe (sp?) which is always a real treat for me because we don't have cable at home.
We got to eat out at a Mexican restaurant called Dos Gringos which I have a feeling might be a derogatory name towards me, but I'm not sure why . . .
What else? Oh yeah. We gave a prize away to a cool guy named Jory (once again, sp?). When I handed him the shirt he wanted, he said, "How much?" I said, "What?" He said, "How much are your prizes?" I told him our prizes were free, but it made me wonder if there weren't some other, less scrupulous, ministries out there charging for their goofy prizes! For shame!
We got to take a Wisconsin detour, which was three left turns that brought us right back to . . . wait for it . . . the place we started. It was a little after midnight when we pulled over to the road construction worker and asked what we were doing wrong. We were told that we needed to turn right at that last left arrow.
I kid you not.
Till next time,
Jason
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
A Few Updates
Preached in my home church last weekend. It went just fine and I got a lot of good comments. Like always, I sweat buckets since it was summertime, and since most of the home congregation doesn't see me do a lot of my speaking, they became concerned afterwards. I tried to assure them all it was normal.
This past recent weekend, I met up with Troy and Dawn and various other sundry Happy the Dog folk at the Lifelight Music Festival in Sioux Falls, SD to help man the Happy the Dog booth.
It was fantastic. The weather was beautiful. I got nice and pink. We had a lot of laughs and got a lot of donations for shirts. We made some contacts with folks about coming out to their events.
One of the coolest things was getting to see a few folks from the Sunshine Bible Academy where I spoke with worship band and Happy friend's David and Danny Fergen.
Come to think of it, the Fergen brothers were also at Lifelight, playing the coffee house stage. I didn't get up there in time to hear it, but word was that they rocked out.
I got to hear just about any and every big name Christian band around - albeit from several hundred yards away with the booths for two radio stations between us.
We had theblastfm.com right next to our booth, and we got to groove out to their edgy hard rock all weekend. Those guys are a little nuts, and seemed to attract a lot of young folk to their booth.
Saw Jonah's Wale geetar and bass man Matt Groen, along with Happy the Dog friend Jacklyn who's always a treat to see.
What else . . . what else . . .
Have I mentioned lately how fantastic Happy the Dog board member and Jonah's Wale piano gal Dawn Ryswyk is? Man is she great. She was at the booth with us all weekend to discuss bizness, have fun, and buy us a couple pork sandwiches. She makes everyday better for me.
Tons of other Happy the Dog friends showed up. Saw lots of old friends from Rock Valley.
I think my favorite moment came with the water truck. The festival is held on this big pasture outside Sioux Falls, and several times a day this big tanker truck would drive by with a guy on a water cannon on the back. He'd spray the ground down with water to keep the dust at bay.
Well, by day two, the water truck had a good number of kids following behind it even though it truly was a water cannon. That thing had all the pressure of a fireman's hose, but these kids weren't deterred.
As they went past our booth, the water cannon man was having fun playing cat and mouse with the kids behind him. Once, when the kids ran away to escape the blast, they happened to run right past two high school girls who looked all prim and proper, decked out in their best for the festival.
Well, the water cannon guy blasted them with his stream before realizing they weren't part of the fun. The looks on their faces were priceless to say the least.
I'm sure Troy or Dawn might have some more updates on happythedog.com eventually. As always, you can check out that site for the same blogs you see here, or you check out blog posts from my other ministry partners and see where I'll be traveling next.
Till next time,
Jason
This past recent weekend, I met up with Troy and Dawn and various other sundry Happy the Dog folk at the Lifelight Music Festival in Sioux Falls, SD to help man the Happy the Dog booth.
It was fantastic. The weather was beautiful. I got nice and pink. We had a lot of laughs and got a lot of donations for shirts. We made some contacts with folks about coming out to their events.
One of the coolest things was getting to see a few folks from the Sunshine Bible Academy where I spoke with worship band and Happy friend's David and Danny Fergen.
Come to think of it, the Fergen brothers were also at Lifelight, playing the coffee house stage. I didn't get up there in time to hear it, but word was that they rocked out.
I got to hear just about any and every big name Christian band around - albeit from several hundred yards away with the booths for two radio stations between us.
We had theblastfm.com right next to our booth, and we got to groove out to their edgy hard rock all weekend. Those guys are a little nuts, and seemed to attract a lot of young folk to their booth.
Saw Jonah's Wale geetar and bass man Matt Groen, along with Happy the Dog friend Jacklyn who's always a treat to see.
What else . . . what else . . .
Have I mentioned lately how fantastic Happy the Dog board member and Jonah's Wale piano gal Dawn Ryswyk is? Man is she great. She was at the booth with us all weekend to discuss bizness, have fun, and buy us a couple pork sandwiches. She makes everyday better for me.
Tons of other Happy the Dog friends showed up. Saw lots of old friends from Rock Valley.
I think my favorite moment came with the water truck. The festival is held on this big pasture outside Sioux Falls, and several times a day this big tanker truck would drive by with a guy on a water cannon on the back. He'd spray the ground down with water to keep the dust at bay.
Well, by day two, the water truck had a good number of kids following behind it even though it truly was a water cannon. That thing had all the pressure of a fireman's hose, but these kids weren't deterred.
As they went past our booth, the water cannon man was having fun playing cat and mouse with the kids behind him. Once, when the kids ran away to escape the blast, they happened to run right past two high school girls who looked all prim and proper, decked out in their best for the festival.
Well, the water cannon guy blasted them with his stream before realizing they weren't part of the fun. The looks on their faces were priceless to say the least.
I'm sure Troy or Dawn might have some more updates on happythedog.com eventually. As always, you can check out that site for the same blogs you see here, or you check out blog posts from my other ministry partners and see where I'll be traveling next.
Till next time,
Jason
Friday, August 22, 2008
What I do on the weekends . . .
Some people ask what I do when not on the road. This is it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwcKeR5XPkA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwcKeR5XPkA
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Candy
I like trying out new kinds of candy when I travel. I always tell myself that when I'm in Canada and I reach out to try a Big Turk candy bar that I'm broadening my mind, but the truth is that I just like sugar.
The Big Turk, by the way, is a chocolate bar with a gummy, fruity filling that's not unlike a giant grape Dot - maybe not quite that chewy though.
The only other country I've really ever been to is Canada, so that's where most of my foreign candy experience comes from. I've had a few bits and bobbles of Asian stuff from foreign exchange students, but I don't remember much about it other than there was some sort of corn flavored Jolly Rancher-type thing.
No, Canada seems to have a much better assortment.
I notice that in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, and Neerlandia that if you want a Milky Way at a gas station, you have to settle for a dark chocolate one. It's fine by me since I prefer dark chocolate, but it seemed strange not to see a regualar Milky Way anywhere.
Kit Kat's only seemed to come in one large Kit Kat as well, instead of the four smaller connected ones. I've seen the one large Kit Kat here in the states, but I have yet to see anyone sell the smaller versions in Canada.
Don't even ask for Smarties in Alberta if you're an American. You won't get'em. At least, not the tart little treats that we know and love here. No, in Canada, Smarties are like giant M&M's except they have a little bit of a Sixlet's taste to them. Not all that pleasant. If you mention that though, they seem to get very defensive.
Our Smarties are called Rockets to them, and I think everyone can agree that that's just silly. They don't look like Rockets at all. Why can't they just call their Smarties "Rockets", and the whole thing will be settled?
What's even stranger right now is that I've typed the word Smarties so many times that it doesn't even seem like a word anymore. Stare at it. Say it aloud a few times. Smarties. What the heck does that even mean?
Andrea and I bought some Runts a few years back when we lived in Rock Valley. It was right after they discontinued the lime pieces for the larger watermelon ones. Don't get me wrong, watermelon was a great addition, but getting rid of lime? Those were my favorite and they were the easiest to chew! How many times have you grabbed a cherry or an orange and almost broke a tooth because it didn't have that give that the lime always had?
There was a 1-800 number on the back so I dared Andrea to call it and complain. She did without hesitation, and said the woman on the other side seemed quite interested in her tasting opinions. Two weeks later she got an envelope in the mail from the Wonka company filled with coupons for Carnation Instant Milk. I don't see the correlation at all, and I pity the poor child who might have tried the same thing only to recieve powdered milk coupons as a reward. It seems more like they were trying to discourage any further candy unrest.
I bought an Indiana Jones Snickers bar at Dollar General a couple days ago. I'd seen them on display for awhile. They boasted a special spicy flavor boost and coconut flavoring. I hate coconut, so I always passed right by. But then I realized that it wasn't the flavor so much as the little bits that get stuck in your teeth. Maybe I actually liked coconut flavoring?
I bought one, not for the coconut experience, but more for the chance to taste the special spicy flavor boost. Let's just say that the taste of the coconut kind of overwhelmed the entire experience, as it often does. I could barely even taste the chocolate and caramel compared to the coconut. End result: I dislike the flavor just as much as the little bits in my teeth.
The only coconut I eat willingly comes in those little chocolate and caramel Girl Scout Cookies. What are they called? I can't remember and I'm too lazy to look it up. But for some reason (Wait, I just remembered they're called Tagalongs while checking on Carson who was making crying noises during his nap) I don't mind the coconut bits at all. I think it's cause they've soaked up so much caramel, they're not quite as rigid.
And lets get this out on the table right now - orange has got to be one of the least desired flavors on the planet. It's a good flavor when you're chewing gum, or having a cough drop, or, let's say, eating an orange, but as far as candy goes, I tend to eat everything else first. (Except for Runts. With Runts I always eat the bananas last because I borderline loathe artificial banana flavoring.)
Andrea brought home one of those giant packs of super cheap Flavo-Ice freezer treat things with all the different tubes of fruity ice. Typically, our bag will end up with six or seven oranges left after everything else is gone. Sure, along the way you might grab an orange or two in an effort to keep the bag from becoming overrun with them - some sort of sham equality emotion taking over - but they're always the last ones left.
Not last week though. Last week I pop open a bright yellow Flavo-Ice all ready to enjoy my absolute favorite artificial flavor - LEMON - and guess what? B-A-N-A-N-A. I almost threw it away. Almost. It was Flavo-Ice afterall. After it was gone though, I grabbed a slightly less yellowed icee and guess what? Coco-freakin-nut. I kid you not. I go back to the freezer and look and low and behold they're not Flavo-Ice's but some cheap knock off. And no lemons to boot!
Let's get one thing straight: There are exactly six - count'em SIX - artificial flavors to be considered for icy pops - Cherry, Grape, Orange, Lemon, Lime and Blue. Anything else is a gross misjustice to the taste buds.
So for the first time in our freezer, there remain two oranges, four coconuts, and three bananas. I have a good feeling that someday when we move from this house, we'll open that freezer, ice pick past three inches of frost, and find those coconut icy pops right where they are right now.
Till next time,
Jason
The Big Turk, by the way, is a chocolate bar with a gummy, fruity filling that's not unlike a giant grape Dot - maybe not quite that chewy though.
The only other country I've really ever been to is Canada, so that's where most of my foreign candy experience comes from. I've had a few bits and bobbles of Asian stuff from foreign exchange students, but I don't remember much about it other than there was some sort of corn flavored Jolly Rancher-type thing.
No, Canada seems to have a much better assortment.
I notice that in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, and Neerlandia that if you want a Milky Way at a gas station, you have to settle for a dark chocolate one. It's fine by me since I prefer dark chocolate, but it seemed strange not to see a regualar Milky Way anywhere.
Kit Kat's only seemed to come in one large Kit Kat as well, instead of the four smaller connected ones. I've seen the one large Kit Kat here in the states, but I have yet to see anyone sell the smaller versions in Canada.
Don't even ask for Smarties in Alberta if you're an American. You won't get'em. At least, not the tart little treats that we know and love here. No, in Canada, Smarties are like giant M&M's except they have a little bit of a Sixlet's taste to them. Not all that pleasant. If you mention that though, they seem to get very defensive.
Our Smarties are called Rockets to them, and I think everyone can agree that that's just silly. They don't look like Rockets at all. Why can't they just call their Smarties "Rockets", and the whole thing will be settled?
What's even stranger right now is that I've typed the word Smarties so many times that it doesn't even seem like a word anymore. Stare at it. Say it aloud a few times. Smarties. What the heck does that even mean?
Andrea and I bought some Runts a few years back when we lived in Rock Valley. It was right after they discontinued the lime pieces for the larger watermelon ones. Don't get me wrong, watermelon was a great addition, but getting rid of lime? Those were my favorite and they were the easiest to chew! How many times have you grabbed a cherry or an orange and almost broke a tooth because it didn't have that give that the lime always had?
There was a 1-800 number on the back so I dared Andrea to call it and complain. She did without hesitation, and said the woman on the other side seemed quite interested in her tasting opinions. Two weeks later she got an envelope in the mail from the Wonka company filled with coupons for Carnation Instant Milk. I don't see the correlation at all, and I pity the poor child who might have tried the same thing only to recieve powdered milk coupons as a reward. It seems more like they were trying to discourage any further candy unrest.
I bought an Indiana Jones Snickers bar at Dollar General a couple days ago. I'd seen them on display for awhile. They boasted a special spicy flavor boost and coconut flavoring. I hate coconut, so I always passed right by. But then I realized that it wasn't the flavor so much as the little bits that get stuck in your teeth. Maybe I actually liked coconut flavoring?
I bought one, not for the coconut experience, but more for the chance to taste the special spicy flavor boost. Let's just say that the taste of the coconut kind of overwhelmed the entire experience, as it often does. I could barely even taste the chocolate and caramel compared to the coconut. End result: I dislike the flavor just as much as the little bits in my teeth.
The only coconut I eat willingly comes in those little chocolate and caramel Girl Scout Cookies. What are they called? I can't remember and I'm too lazy to look it up. But for some reason (Wait, I just remembered they're called Tagalongs while checking on Carson who was making crying noises during his nap) I don't mind the coconut bits at all. I think it's cause they've soaked up so much caramel, they're not quite as rigid.
And lets get this out on the table right now - orange has got to be one of the least desired flavors on the planet. It's a good flavor when you're chewing gum, or having a cough drop, or, let's say, eating an orange, but as far as candy goes, I tend to eat everything else first. (Except for Runts. With Runts I always eat the bananas last because I borderline loathe artificial banana flavoring.)
Andrea brought home one of those giant packs of super cheap Flavo-Ice freezer treat things with all the different tubes of fruity ice. Typically, our bag will end up with six or seven oranges left after everything else is gone. Sure, along the way you might grab an orange or two in an effort to keep the bag from becoming overrun with them - some sort of sham equality emotion taking over - but they're always the last ones left.
Not last week though. Last week I pop open a bright yellow Flavo-Ice all ready to enjoy my absolute favorite artificial flavor - LEMON - and guess what? B-A-N-A-N-A. I almost threw it away. Almost. It was Flavo-Ice afterall. After it was gone though, I grabbed a slightly less yellowed icee and guess what? Coco-freakin-nut. I kid you not. I go back to the freezer and look and low and behold they're not Flavo-Ice's but some cheap knock off. And no lemons to boot!
Let's get one thing straight: There are exactly six - count'em SIX - artificial flavors to be considered for icy pops - Cherry, Grape, Orange, Lemon, Lime and Blue. Anything else is a gross misjustice to the taste buds.
So for the first time in our freezer, there remain two oranges, four coconuts, and three bananas. I have a good feeling that someday when we move from this house, we'll open that freezer, ice pick past three inches of frost, and find those coconut icy pops right where they are right now.
Till next time,
Jason
Friday, August 01, 2008
Convention
Long time, no post.
MC'ed, led seminars, and did some late night entertainment in Bozeman, MT for about 1,000 teenagers and adults with Youth Unlimted's yearly Convention. I had a blast.
Met all kinds of great new people. Tiger McLeun, Chap Clarke, Shane Claiborn, Olive Aneno, and the worship band Pocket full of Rocks.
Got to know Pocket's lead singer and songwriter, Michaelf Farrin a bit. He was a lot of fun to hang around with. He's written about 1 bajillion songs that have been recorded by lots of fantastically famous folks in the record industry, but my favorite bit of info I gleaned from Michael was that he's a fan of country music. And not just a fan - but an old school country music fan.
So I put this info to good use and at one of the late night entertainment shows that I led, I grabbed Michael and Jonah's Wale leader Troy Kooima for a little impromptu Morgan Valley Social Club performance.
We all took turns telling stories and singing songs. Troy and I thought we were bringing Michael along to class the show up a bit, but that guy's crazier than we are. His road stories, self written music (Ghetto Christmas, I want to tinker with you) had us rolling in the aisles and we had a great time. I lamented to Troy afterwards that I really wish we could have recorded it.
Shane Claiborne was fantastic. I had fun getting to know seminar leader JR Pittman who's just as funny as a guy can get. Getting to hang out with Dawn, Troy and Happy the Dog friend Danny Fergen was just a real blast.
We were in Montana, so the scenery was great. I got to see the new Batman. I got to sneak in to a Casting Crowns concert for free! I got to hang out with a lot of cool friends from Neerlandia and some folks from Pella, Brooten, MN, and all sorts of places we've been blessed to travel in the past.
Troy spoke at Monday night's worship and knocked it out of the park. Truly the most spirit moving Convention main stage I've been a part of in three years with the group.
My flight got delayed on the way home, but that was fine as I got to spend some quality time with YU's own Carrie Ypma at the airport. We had a great conversation about family.
What else. . . lots of YU folk there. Millie, Les, Lenny, Kristen, Jeff, Carol, Bob, and many, many others that I'm sure I'm forgetting.
I got to dance on stage with Pocket's crazy tune, Now I Sing.
I got to sing Momma, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys with Troy at a mainstage. It didn't rock as hard as Ring of Fire did last year, but it was definately a highlight for me.
Jet lag knocked me around something awful. Carson's got my inner clock waking every morning around 6 a.m. Iowa time, so I was waking up at 5 a.m. like clockwork out in Bozeman. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I wasn't going to bed until between 1 and 2 a.m.
What else, what else?
I led some seminars on journaling and poetry and then emcee'd a late night entertainment session open mic for creative writing. Wow! What great stuff we heard from so many kids and a even a few adults. Original music, poetry, and hilarious stories. I hope they let me do the same thing again if I'm asked back next year.
There's probably a ton more I'm forgetting.
My reading for the weekend was The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz which won the pulitzer. It's about a Dominican family and their trials over the last fifty some years. Just fantastic, sad, hilarious, and thought provoking all at the same time.
Thought the new Batman was great, but not quite as good as the hype. It should have been two movies, with Two Face dominating the second. With everything shoved into one, it felt rushed in some scenes.
okay, signing off for now. I'm sure Troy and/or Dawn will write more about the event on happythedog.com if you're interested.
Till next time,
Jason
MC'ed, led seminars, and did some late night entertainment in Bozeman, MT for about 1,000 teenagers and adults with Youth Unlimted's yearly Convention. I had a blast.
Met all kinds of great new people. Tiger McLeun, Chap Clarke, Shane Claiborn, Olive Aneno, and the worship band Pocket full of Rocks.
Got to know Pocket's lead singer and songwriter, Michaelf Farrin a bit. He was a lot of fun to hang around with. He's written about 1 bajillion songs that have been recorded by lots of fantastically famous folks in the record industry, but my favorite bit of info I gleaned from Michael was that he's a fan of country music. And not just a fan - but an old school country music fan.
So I put this info to good use and at one of the late night entertainment shows that I led, I grabbed Michael and Jonah's Wale leader Troy Kooima for a little impromptu Morgan Valley Social Club performance.
We all took turns telling stories and singing songs. Troy and I thought we were bringing Michael along to class the show up a bit, but that guy's crazier than we are. His road stories, self written music (Ghetto Christmas, I want to tinker with you) had us rolling in the aisles and we had a great time. I lamented to Troy afterwards that I really wish we could have recorded it.
Shane Claiborne was fantastic. I had fun getting to know seminar leader JR Pittman who's just as funny as a guy can get. Getting to hang out with Dawn, Troy and Happy the Dog friend Danny Fergen was just a real blast.
We were in Montana, so the scenery was great. I got to see the new Batman. I got to sneak in to a Casting Crowns concert for free! I got to hang out with a lot of cool friends from Neerlandia and some folks from Pella, Brooten, MN, and all sorts of places we've been blessed to travel in the past.
Troy spoke at Monday night's worship and knocked it out of the park. Truly the most spirit moving Convention main stage I've been a part of in three years with the group.
My flight got delayed on the way home, but that was fine as I got to spend some quality time with YU's own Carrie Ypma at the airport. We had a great conversation about family.
What else. . . lots of YU folk there. Millie, Les, Lenny, Kristen, Jeff, Carol, Bob, and many, many others that I'm sure I'm forgetting.
I got to dance on stage with Pocket's crazy tune, Now I Sing.
I got to sing Momma, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys with Troy at a mainstage. It didn't rock as hard as Ring of Fire did last year, but it was definately a highlight for me.
Jet lag knocked me around something awful. Carson's got my inner clock waking every morning around 6 a.m. Iowa time, so I was waking up at 5 a.m. like clockwork out in Bozeman. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I wasn't going to bed until between 1 and 2 a.m.
What else, what else?
I led some seminars on journaling and poetry and then emcee'd a late night entertainment session open mic for creative writing. Wow! What great stuff we heard from so many kids and a even a few adults. Original music, poetry, and hilarious stories. I hope they let me do the same thing again if I'm asked back next year.
There's probably a ton more I'm forgetting.
My reading for the weekend was The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz which won the pulitzer. It's about a Dominican family and their trials over the last fifty some years. Just fantastic, sad, hilarious, and thought provoking all at the same time.
Thought the new Batman was great, but not quite as good as the hype. It should have been two movies, with Two Face dominating the second. With everything shoved into one, it felt rushed in some scenes.
okay, signing off for now. I'm sure Troy and/or Dawn will write more about the event on happythedog.com if you're interested.
Till next time,
Jason
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
A conversation I overheard on the road in front of my home.
10 yr old girl #1 on bike: I don't want to play anymore!
10 yr old girl #2 on foot: Why?
#1: Because your mom is going to play!
#2: So what?
#1: I don't want to play hide and seek with your mom. (Rides off)
#2: Have fun playing by yourself! (Storms off the other way)
#1: (Over her shoulder) Have fun being a stupid idiot!
A conversation in the hall where I work.
(Mother and six year old son coming off the elevator.)
Mother: Your shoes are on the wrong feet.
Son: (Looks down at his flip flops which are a good three sizes too big and CLEARLY on the wrong feet, pointing outwards.) Oh. They were ouchy.
10 yr old girl #1 on bike: I don't want to play anymore!
10 yr old girl #2 on foot: Why?
#1: Because your mom is going to play!
#2: So what?
#1: I don't want to play hide and seek with your mom. (Rides off)
#2: Have fun playing by yourself! (Storms off the other way)
#1: (Over her shoulder) Have fun being a stupid idiot!
A conversation in the hall where I work.
(Mother and six year old son coming off the elevator.)
Mother: Your shoes are on the wrong feet.
Son: (Looks down at his flip flops which are a good three sizes too big and CLEARLY on the wrong feet, pointing outwards.) Oh. They were ouchy.
Lots of stuff
Behind on blogging again. . .
A couple weekends ago I went and did some worships with RISE on the Road with good friend Rob Rozeboom. Rob got abotu thirty kids or so to come to Knoxville, IA and work a service project and then had a big music festival on Saturday night.
Improv buddy Steve Hydeen came over from Omaha and we got to do some drama/talks together. I love working with Steve and every time we get together, we get to experiment a little more with biblical drama stuff. It was a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, I never made it to the music festival for my emceeing part due to a small flare up with my past illness. But I heard it went great.
On the topic of illness, I'm almost fully recuperated with just a hint of spleen swelling now and again. I had some blood tests done two days ago, and things looked really good. The doctor seems to be labeling it as a mono-like illness that just didnt' show up on the tests.
I also just got back from Sioux Falls SERVE and had a great time. I can usually go on and on about my SERVE weeks in big long posts, but I don't have a ton of time today as I'm leaving in a few hours for a three day service project with my own youth group.
But I will say this, Sioux Falls SERVE continues to be one of my favorite weeks of the entire year. So many good friends coming together with lots of new faces to work, worship, and have fun.
I took a good share of ribbing from a few people about my "weak spleen" since I was on doctor's orders not to rough house or lift much. But other than that, it was fine.
Good friend Jacklyn Punt had challenged me to do more talks about women from the Bible, so that's where I spent most of my talks. It was far easier than I thought it would be and I really liked the results.
What else? Man, there's so much. I'm going to just have to make a longer post when I get back from Kansas City. Although, I hear there's a blog at sfserve.blogspot.com about the event, but I haven't checked it out yet.
In a crazy turn of events, I was only gone one week and Carson learned how to eat with a spoon, say new words like eat and bubba, and make the sign for "more" when he'd like more food to eat.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Correction
Yes, everything in the previous post happened, but as I feared, it was not in that order. What do I know? I had a 103 fever at the time and was on painkillers and sleeping aids for most of it!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Missed two shows cause I was sick. . .
Woke up a couple weeks ago on a Sunday and had a bit of a fever. Didn't think much about it. I had a church meeting that morning and my nephew's birthday party that afternoon, so I figured I'd trudge through the day. Afterwards, I wish I hadn't as my temp had reached 103 and I felt just plain horrible.
Woke up the next day with the same fever and now a pretty severe headache. Since it was Monday, it was my day to watch Carson so that Andrea could work. I figured I'd trudge through the day. Afterwards I wish I hadn't as my temp was still around 103 and I still had a bad headache.
This is where everything starts to get a little fuzzy for me. I remember going in to work on Tuesday morning for a couple hours but heading home right afterward because I felt so rough. I think it was at this point that we decided Andrea and Carson should spend a night at her folks because I was going through some pretty severe sweats and chills with the bad fever and headache and we thought I was probably contagious.
If I'm remembering right - aw forget it. I'm not remembering anything right. The whole first week was just one long day for me as I had the fever and couldn't really sleep.
One night in there, I hit 104 degrees and decided I should probably make a trip to the emergency room. They drew blood, did chest x-rays, checked for pnemonia, mono, lyme's disease, strep, and menengitis, and came up with nothing. They told me it was a bad flu and sent me home.
I think it was at this point I called Troy and told him I wouldn't make our scheduled youth rally the next night in South Dakota.
Two days later, I visited my doctor after the symptoms hadn't passed. They did more blood work, checked for everything again, and came up with nothing. I had to wait a few days to find out about hepatitis though. My white count and platelets were low, and my Billy Rubin and liver enzymes were off. They scheduled an ultrasound and more blood tests for the next week and the doctor seemed a little nervous. It was at this point, he prescribed me some medication to help me sleep as I was averaging four or less hours a night because of the fever and headaches.
I made the mistake of taking one pill. I had the most crazy, vivid dreams I've ever had. When I woke up, some of the things from my dreams were still in the room with me. As I tried to crawl out of bed to get a drink, possessions, ideas, and people began to pour out of my ears onto the bed. After about 30 seconds, I realized it was a hallucination, and it was actually sweat that was pouring off of me. I made the decision to never take those pills again. I still only got four hours sleep that night.
The next night (I think), I woke up with pretty bad pain right under the bottom of my ribs, right where the doctors had been feeling my liver, gall bladder, and spleen. I tried to ignore it for a while, but finally decided that since the doctor had been worried about those organs, I should probably go in.
I headed into the emergency room for the second time in three days around 2 a.m. maybe? They took some blood work and asked me how bad the pain was on a scale of 1 to 10.
Now, I've had bad back problems for a long time. I've had mornings where it hurt so bad, I couldn't roll out of bed. I've had days where I had to let my legs drip dry from the knees down after a shower because I couldn't bend over to dry them. I've had one or two times in my life where someone else had to tie my shoes for me. I would say my back pain has reached a 10 on several occasions. So, in all honesty, I had to tell the lady that my stomach area was only around a 5 or 6.
This is when I got my very first I.V. and shot of morphine. The pain ebbed away. I awaited the ER doctor to come in and take a look at me. He decided to push up the ultrasound to the morning, and I settled in to wait the next four hours in a hospital room.
The ultrasound showed an enlarged spleen that seemed to be causing the pain, so the doctor gave me a prescription for painkillers and sent me home.
The pain killer was interesting. I can see how people might get addicted, and not for the reasons you might be thinking. I didn't get that rush of a high like the morphine had given me. It didn't mellow me out, and make me goofy. In fact, the only really good thing it did was make me wake up for the first time in ten years with no back pain what-so-ever. I rolled out of bed that next morning and it took me about 10 seconds to realized my back pain was gone. Completely gone. And for about the next four days I remembered what it felt like to move as I pleased without shooting pain in my lower back. I went off the pills a couple days ago, and am now back to the realization of what that pain is, though.
My favorite part of the pain pills came with the instructions. I always have a morbid curiousity with any medications I recieve to see what kind of side effects are listed. This one was a doozy, and the hands down all time winner:
Possible side effects - anxiety, constipation, diarrhea (How can they list both? That's just covering your bases if you ask me.), dizziness, dry mouth, gas (with constipation and diarrhea, no kidding), headache, heartburn, increased sweating, loss of appetite, nausea, nervousness (I'm guessing any and all nervousness begins after reading listed side effects), stomach pain (THAT'S WHAT I'M TAKING THE STUPID PILLS FOR!), upset stomach, trouble sleeping, vomiting, and weakness.
But it doesn't end there. I'm supposed to call my doctor if I get any of these side effects which have been known to occur:
Bloody, black, or tarry stools; blurred vision; change in the amount of urine produced; chest pain; confusion(one of my symptoms already); dark urine; depression; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; fever, chills (already have fever and chills), or blistered peeling skin, seizures, severe headaches or dizziness (already have both), severe or persistent stomach pain (again, isn't this why I'm on the medication?) or nausea, sever vomiting, shortness of breath, slow or shallow breathing, stiff neck (another symptom I already have), sudden or unexplained weight gain (yeah, yeah, doctor, ever since college), swelling of hands, legs, or feet, unusual bruising or bleeding, unusual joint or muscle pain (already a symptom), vision or speech changes (I'm now speaking french in a dutch accent. Is that bad?), vomit that looks like coffee grounds, (WHAT???) yellowing of the skin or eyes, rash, or itching.
I had a Morgan Valley Social Club show that night (at least I think it was that night) at the home church in Pella, and I was really bummed that I was going to miss it. We had a ton of extra music lined up besided just me and Kyle, and I knew it was going to be a great crowd. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend, and like I feared, the show was apparently fantastic. I'm really sore that I missed that one. . .
I went in that afternoon and had some more bloodwork done. I finally got some good news. My white count, platelets, Billy Rubin, and liver enzymes were all almost back to normal. That meant that the more serious tests the doctor had mentioned, like bone marrow sampling, wouldn't have to happen.
He told me they were gonna check for the three viruses that cause mono, check my mono spots, and do the hep tests and get back to me.
They all came back negative. This meant they have no idea what went wrong in me, but the blood work was all coming back much better. I was finally diagnosed with an unknown virus that settled in my spleen and messed with my liver, gall bladder, and blood, that may or may not have caused mono, which they didn't catch if it did.
I spent another week recuperating at home as the fevers and headaches faded away, and Andrea and Carson were able to return home after spending most of the week with my folks.
After two weeks, I finally was able to return back to work (two days ago, Tuesday) with a giant pile of work on my desk.
That's all for now. If anyone actually made it through this post, you're probably suffering confusion, irritation, heachaches, and depression. If so, call me immediately and I'll give you a few of the pills I have left. Just let me know if you have constipated diarrhea that looks like coffee grounds. I'd like to see it for myself.
Jason
Woke up the next day with the same fever and now a pretty severe headache. Since it was Monday, it was my day to watch Carson so that Andrea could work. I figured I'd trudge through the day. Afterwards I wish I hadn't as my temp was still around 103 and I still had a bad headache.
This is where everything starts to get a little fuzzy for me. I remember going in to work on Tuesday morning for a couple hours but heading home right afterward because I felt so rough. I think it was at this point that we decided Andrea and Carson should spend a night at her folks because I was going through some pretty severe sweats and chills with the bad fever and headache and we thought I was probably contagious.
If I'm remembering right - aw forget it. I'm not remembering anything right. The whole first week was just one long day for me as I had the fever and couldn't really sleep.
One night in there, I hit 104 degrees and decided I should probably make a trip to the emergency room. They drew blood, did chest x-rays, checked for pnemonia, mono, lyme's disease, strep, and menengitis, and came up with nothing. They told me it was a bad flu and sent me home.
I think it was at this point I called Troy and told him I wouldn't make our scheduled youth rally the next night in South Dakota.
Two days later, I visited my doctor after the symptoms hadn't passed. They did more blood work, checked for everything again, and came up with nothing. I had to wait a few days to find out about hepatitis though. My white count and platelets were low, and my Billy Rubin and liver enzymes were off. They scheduled an ultrasound and more blood tests for the next week and the doctor seemed a little nervous. It was at this point, he prescribed me some medication to help me sleep as I was averaging four or less hours a night because of the fever and headaches.
I made the mistake of taking one pill. I had the most crazy, vivid dreams I've ever had. When I woke up, some of the things from my dreams were still in the room with me. As I tried to crawl out of bed to get a drink, possessions, ideas, and people began to pour out of my ears onto the bed. After about 30 seconds, I realized it was a hallucination, and it was actually sweat that was pouring off of me. I made the decision to never take those pills again. I still only got four hours sleep that night.
The next night (I think), I woke up with pretty bad pain right under the bottom of my ribs, right where the doctors had been feeling my liver, gall bladder, and spleen. I tried to ignore it for a while, but finally decided that since the doctor had been worried about those organs, I should probably go in.
I headed into the emergency room for the second time in three days around 2 a.m. maybe? They took some blood work and asked me how bad the pain was on a scale of 1 to 10.
Now, I've had bad back problems for a long time. I've had mornings where it hurt so bad, I couldn't roll out of bed. I've had days where I had to let my legs drip dry from the knees down after a shower because I couldn't bend over to dry them. I've had one or two times in my life where someone else had to tie my shoes for me. I would say my back pain has reached a 10 on several occasions. So, in all honesty, I had to tell the lady that my stomach area was only around a 5 or 6.
This is when I got my very first I.V. and shot of morphine. The pain ebbed away. I awaited the ER doctor to come in and take a look at me. He decided to push up the ultrasound to the morning, and I settled in to wait the next four hours in a hospital room.
The ultrasound showed an enlarged spleen that seemed to be causing the pain, so the doctor gave me a prescription for painkillers and sent me home.
The pain killer was interesting. I can see how people might get addicted, and not for the reasons you might be thinking. I didn't get that rush of a high like the morphine had given me. It didn't mellow me out, and make me goofy. In fact, the only really good thing it did was make me wake up for the first time in ten years with no back pain what-so-ever. I rolled out of bed that next morning and it took me about 10 seconds to realized my back pain was gone. Completely gone. And for about the next four days I remembered what it felt like to move as I pleased without shooting pain in my lower back. I went off the pills a couple days ago, and am now back to the realization of what that pain is, though.
My favorite part of the pain pills came with the instructions. I always have a morbid curiousity with any medications I recieve to see what kind of side effects are listed. This one was a doozy, and the hands down all time winner:
Possible side effects - anxiety, constipation, diarrhea (How can they list both? That's just covering your bases if you ask me.), dizziness, dry mouth, gas (with constipation and diarrhea, no kidding), headache, heartburn, increased sweating, loss of appetite, nausea, nervousness (I'm guessing any and all nervousness begins after reading listed side effects), stomach pain (THAT'S WHAT I'M TAKING THE STUPID PILLS FOR!), upset stomach, trouble sleeping, vomiting, and weakness.
But it doesn't end there. I'm supposed to call my doctor if I get any of these side effects which have been known to occur:
Bloody, black, or tarry stools; blurred vision; change in the amount of urine produced; chest pain; confusion(one of my symptoms already); dark urine; depression; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; fever, chills (already have fever and chills), or blistered peeling skin, seizures, severe headaches or dizziness (already have both), severe or persistent stomach pain (again, isn't this why I'm on the medication?) or nausea, sever vomiting, shortness of breath, slow or shallow breathing, stiff neck (another symptom I already have), sudden or unexplained weight gain (yeah, yeah, doctor, ever since college), swelling of hands, legs, or feet, unusual bruising or bleeding, unusual joint or muscle pain (already a symptom), vision or speech changes (I'm now speaking french in a dutch accent. Is that bad?), vomit that looks like coffee grounds, (WHAT???) yellowing of the skin or eyes, rash, or itching.
I had a Morgan Valley Social Club show that night (at least I think it was that night) at the home church in Pella, and I was really bummed that I was going to miss it. We had a ton of extra music lined up besided just me and Kyle, and I knew it was going to be a great crowd. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend, and like I feared, the show was apparently fantastic. I'm really sore that I missed that one. . .
I went in that afternoon and had some more bloodwork done. I finally got some good news. My white count, platelets, Billy Rubin, and liver enzymes were all almost back to normal. That meant that the more serious tests the doctor had mentioned, like bone marrow sampling, wouldn't have to happen.
He told me they were gonna check for the three viruses that cause mono, check my mono spots, and do the hep tests and get back to me.
They all came back negative. This meant they have no idea what went wrong in me, but the blood work was all coming back much better. I was finally diagnosed with an unknown virus that settled in my spleen and messed with my liver, gall bladder, and blood, that may or may not have caused mono, which they didn't catch if it did.
I spent another week recuperating at home as the fevers and headaches faded away, and Andrea and Carson were able to return home after spending most of the week with my folks.
After two weeks, I finally was able to return back to work (two days ago, Tuesday) with a giant pile of work on my desk.
That's all for now. If anyone actually made it through this post, you're probably suffering confusion, irritation, heachaches, and depression. If so, call me immediately and I'll give you a few of the pills I have left. Just let me know if you have constipated diarrhea that looks like coffee grounds. I'd like to see it for myself.
Jason
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Refusing to Take Their Money. . .
Let's say you're a pilot. Maybe small, single engine planes. You do a lot of independant work, here and there, for whoever calls. One day a major airline phones you up and says, "We need you to fly our 747's for us."
You politely decline. You don't fly 747's.
They say, "Come on. You can do it! We'll give you this big wad of cash!"
You again politely decline. You even point out that the last time you tried to fly a plane that big, you had to make a crash landing and the plane was ruined.
They say, "Come on! We've heard good things about you! What if we add another big wad of cash to the first big wad of cash?"
This is tempting. Isn't a risky plane ride worth that much cash? But in the end, you must decline because you really shouldn't be flying that type of plane. The airline folk hang up in a huff, and you can tell you've made them mad.
Can you even imagine that scenario happening? Of course not! There isn't an employer in the world that would hire a prospective employee if that employee specifically said, "You shouldn't hire me for this. Not only am I not qualified, but the last time I tried to do this specific kind of job I messed it up royally!"
Yet, that doesn't seem to be the way it works in stand up comedy. I can't tell you the amount of times I've had to tell someone that it would probably be better if I didn't do their show.
250 elementary aged girl scouts in the wilderness for an hour? Hmm. While it sounds interesting, and your GIANT check looks nice, trust me when I say it's probably not my crowd. Five minutes of polite arguing later, and double the money turned down, and all of a sudden I'm the bad guy.
Would you hire a firefighter in inner city New York if they said, "I don't perform well any higher than a first floor house." But what if we double your salary?
I'm sorry, I can only work in your veternary clinic if I spade and neuter cats. I've never been trained to do dogs. But if we offered you enough money, wouldn't you be willing to give it a shot?
I'm a pediatrist. I'm not qualified to do open heart surgery. But we've heard such good things about you! I bet you'll do just fine.
I don't know, maybe it happens in more professions than I know.
I do my best to have something ready for every age group, gender, club, church, youth group, and gathering. But there are few key demographics that I just don't do well for. As time goes on, I try to be a little more honest with my employers about what I can and can't do, but they just don't want to hear it most of the time.
Are we that desperately short on clean, low income, midwestern, Christian speaker, poet, storytelling, comedian, youth directors in America?
For all of our sakes, I hope not.
Jason
You politely decline. You don't fly 747's.
They say, "Come on. You can do it! We'll give you this big wad of cash!"
You again politely decline. You even point out that the last time you tried to fly a plane that big, you had to make a crash landing and the plane was ruined.
They say, "Come on! We've heard good things about you! What if we add another big wad of cash to the first big wad of cash?"
This is tempting. Isn't a risky plane ride worth that much cash? But in the end, you must decline because you really shouldn't be flying that type of plane. The airline folk hang up in a huff, and you can tell you've made them mad.
Can you even imagine that scenario happening? Of course not! There isn't an employer in the world that would hire a prospective employee if that employee specifically said, "You shouldn't hire me for this. Not only am I not qualified, but the last time I tried to do this specific kind of job I messed it up royally!"
Yet, that doesn't seem to be the way it works in stand up comedy. I can't tell you the amount of times I've had to tell someone that it would probably be better if I didn't do their show.
250 elementary aged girl scouts in the wilderness for an hour? Hmm. While it sounds interesting, and your GIANT check looks nice, trust me when I say it's probably not my crowd. Five minutes of polite arguing later, and double the money turned down, and all of a sudden I'm the bad guy.
Would you hire a firefighter in inner city New York if they said, "I don't perform well any higher than a first floor house." But what if we double your salary?
I'm sorry, I can only work in your veternary clinic if I spade and neuter cats. I've never been trained to do dogs. But if we offered you enough money, wouldn't you be willing to give it a shot?
I'm a pediatrist. I'm not qualified to do open heart surgery. But we've heard such good things about you! I bet you'll do just fine.
I don't know, maybe it happens in more professions than I know.
I do my best to have something ready for every age group, gender, club, church, youth group, and gathering. But there are few key demographics that I just don't do well for. As time goes on, I try to be a little more honest with my employers about what I can and can't do, but they just don't want to hear it most of the time.
Are we that desperately short on clean, low income, midwestern, Christian speaker, poet, storytelling, comedian, youth directors in America?
For all of our sakes, I hope not.
Jason
Thursday, April 24, 2008
My Choice, Alton, IA
Drove up to Orange City, IA yesterday to speak at a My Choice event early this morning at the middle school in Alton. My Choice is a middle school youth group that started a few years back with one guidance counselor and four kids. Now it's one guidance counselor and about 175 to 200 kids.
It's a pretty amazing group run by a pretty amazing guy - Scott Starkweather. It's a secular school. It's at 7am on Thursday mornings. Its attendance reaches 200 at times. That's just amazing. I have enough trouble getting 9 kids to show up on a Sunday night, let alone 175 on a Thursday morning.
We had fun. I even got to stick around and give a message to a home room class during second period. Good friend from RISE Ministries, Rob Rozeboom was there pitching his RISE on the Road that I'll also be speaking at come June in Knoxville, IA.
On the way home I broke out the old Willie Nelson and Family Live CD, and had a honky tonking good time grooving out. Willie's sister Bobbie Nelson plays a pretty mean country, honky tonk piano, and it reminded me of a story that I just shared with the Fergen brothers a few weeks back.
Last year, Troy, Dawn, and I all went up to lead a retreat in Oh Canada. We were staying at a camp that's made up like an old west town - including a worship room that's set up like a saloon.
Well, long story short, Dawn (Happy the Dog's resident piano player) obviously can't pack a piano to bring along, so she's at the mercy of whatever the host has to offer. We walk in, and they show Dawn her electric piano. A little casio jobby that's still in the box, kind of like one you'd buy at Walmart to learn how to play.
Dawn just stood looking at that box with her arms crossed for a bit with a look on her face of, Dawn not happy. Which, if you know Dawn, can be pretty amusing as long as you're not the one Dawn's not happy with.
Well after a bit of hemming and hawing, Dawn looks over at the saloon piano in the corner. It's a real old honky tonk job. Barely tuned. The "ivory" on the top of the pressboard keys is coming off of several keys. But Dawn bangs away on it a bit and finally declares it usable.
Now, I don't know if Dawn was completely satisfied with the sound, but I loved it. It added a real honky tonk sound to the songs that weekend, and I felt right at home.
I think my next show is May 7 in Dell Rapids (South Dakota?) with Jonah's Wale, and then I have a Morgan Valley Social Club show in Pella at the home church on May 9.
I also have my own middle school overnighter tomorrow night, and . . . I'm . . . not . . . quite . . . ready for it. I don't know how I'm going to stay up all night. I stayed at the Dutch Colony Inn last night after eating dinner with one of Happy the Dog's best friends - Jacklyn Punt - and the motel was a bit cold and noisy.
My room was right next to the door, and lots of people came and went all night. I would have switched rooms, but I'm lazy that way. Seeing Jacklyn again was great though!
Till next time,
Jason
It's a pretty amazing group run by a pretty amazing guy - Scott Starkweather. It's a secular school. It's at 7am on Thursday mornings. Its attendance reaches 200 at times. That's just amazing. I have enough trouble getting 9 kids to show up on a Sunday night, let alone 175 on a Thursday morning.
We had fun. I even got to stick around and give a message to a home room class during second period. Good friend from RISE Ministries, Rob Rozeboom was there pitching his RISE on the Road that I'll also be speaking at come June in Knoxville, IA.
On the way home I broke out the old Willie Nelson and Family Live CD, and had a honky tonking good time grooving out. Willie's sister Bobbie Nelson plays a pretty mean country, honky tonk piano, and it reminded me of a story that I just shared with the Fergen brothers a few weeks back.
Last year, Troy, Dawn, and I all went up to lead a retreat in Oh Canada. We were staying at a camp that's made up like an old west town - including a worship room that's set up like a saloon.
Well, long story short, Dawn (Happy the Dog's resident piano player) obviously can't pack a piano to bring along, so she's at the mercy of whatever the host has to offer. We walk in, and they show Dawn her electric piano. A little casio jobby that's still in the box, kind of like one you'd buy at Walmart to learn how to play.
Dawn just stood looking at that box with her arms crossed for a bit with a look on her face of, Dawn not happy. Which, if you know Dawn, can be pretty amusing as long as you're not the one Dawn's not happy with.
Well after a bit of hemming and hawing, Dawn looks over at the saloon piano in the corner. It's a real old honky tonk job. Barely tuned. The "ivory" on the top of the pressboard keys is coming off of several keys. But Dawn bangs away on it a bit and finally declares it usable.
Now, I don't know if Dawn was completely satisfied with the sound, but I loved it. It added a real honky tonk sound to the songs that weekend, and I felt right at home.
I think my next show is May 7 in Dell Rapids (South Dakota?) with Jonah's Wale, and then I have a Morgan Valley Social Club show in Pella at the home church on May 9.
I also have my own middle school overnighter tomorrow night, and . . . I'm . . . not . . . quite . . . ready for it. I don't know how I'm going to stay up all night. I stayed at the Dutch Colony Inn last night after eating dinner with one of Happy the Dog's best friends - Jacklyn Punt - and the motel was a bit cold and noisy.
My room was right next to the door, and lots of people came and went all night. I would have switched rooms, but I'm lazy that way. Seeing Jacklyn again was great though!
Till next time,
Jason
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Comedy in Lincoln, NE
Buzzed down to Lincoln, NE last night for a stand up show for a church volunteer appreciation night. Had a great time and met lots of new people. It's crazy how small of a world the Reformed Church really is. Pastor PT (I'm not sure what it stands for) at Hope church knew my Pella pastors and my Pella Pastor's father, and he'd also come out of Northwest Iowa and knew ministry guy Bob Cleveringa and several others. PT and his wife had also gone to Iowa State University just like I had. So many connections.The show went well.
The crowd laughed at all the laughy parts. Great food was enjoyed. Prizes were given out. Puzzles were solved that seriously hurt my brain to look at.
As my portion of the show ended, I thanked all the volunteers for having me out and for volunteering their time at the church. I asked how many of them volunteered with children or youth and about 1/3 of them raised their hands. I asked how many of them volunteered with adults and got about another 1/3. It certainly made me wonder what the last 1/3 did. Animals perhaps? Maybe that's why the pastor's name is PT . . . they have a circus ministry!
In all seriousness, they were a fantastic church and it looks like they've got a great ministry going on in Lincoln. PT shared some really cool stories with me about their recent relocation and how the old church is now being used for a Hispanic ministry.
******************
On a side note, I'm always looking for new things to keep my mind occupied on LONG lonely car drives. Music can only take me so far. Ricky Gervais podcasts can only take me so much farther. Last night though, I downloaded about eight hours of NPR's comedy news quiz show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! What a fantastically funny show. I listen on Saturday's whenever I get the chance, but to have it as a free down load is just superb. Thanks NPR and itunes!
In two weeks I'm in Alton, IA for the My Choice youth group at the middle school in Alton. I may blog before then, but we'll see what the week brings.
The crowd laughed at all the laughy parts. Great food was enjoyed. Prizes were given out. Puzzles were solved that seriously hurt my brain to look at.
As my portion of the show ended, I thanked all the volunteers for having me out and for volunteering their time at the church. I asked how many of them volunteered with children or youth and about 1/3 of them raised their hands. I asked how many of them volunteered with adults and got about another 1/3. It certainly made me wonder what the last 1/3 did. Animals perhaps? Maybe that's why the pastor's name is PT . . . they have a circus ministry!
In all seriousness, they were a fantastic church and it looks like they've got a great ministry going on in Lincoln. PT shared some really cool stories with me about their recent relocation and how the old church is now being used for a Hispanic ministry.
******************
On a side note, I'm always looking for new things to keep my mind occupied on LONG lonely car drives. Music can only take me so far. Ricky Gervais podcasts can only take me so much farther. Last night though, I downloaded about eight hours of NPR's comedy news quiz show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! What a fantastically funny show. I listen on Saturday's whenever I get the chance, but to have it as a free down load is just superb. Thanks NPR and itunes!
In two weeks I'm in Alton, IA for the My Choice youth group at the middle school in Alton. I may blog before then, but we'll see what the week brings.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Justin
Had a very busy long weekend with Happy the Dog. We started last Thursday in Estelline, SD, and ended up on Monday in Rock Valley. If you want to read all the details, you can. I'm in a little bit of an awkward spot right now as I'm currently blogging on three different sites right now for three different reasons . . .
I'm updating Happy the Dog Trips right here: http://happythedog.com/index.php?page=blog for the ministry. But I feel it important to keep updating this site because I know there are a lot of you out there who come here for the non Happy the Dog engagements. So until it becomes too big of a burden, I'll be doing some double posts. I'm short on time today, though, so I'll just comment on a few things, and then you can check out the Happy site for all the crazy details of the fun stuff.
Yesterday, the Happy the Dog crew had a very solemn morning as we attended the celebration of life for Justin Bousema. Justin, as you'll remember, was a guy from my former youth group in Rock Valley that had become a pastor. Happy the Dog had the privelage to go up and do a benefit for him a couple months back while he was in the hospital battling aplastic anemia.
Unfortunately, last week, Justin lost his battle and passed away early Thursday morning. Jonah's Wale led worship at the funeral, and it was nothing short of an amazing experience. Justin's wife Bethany not on spoke, but sang - even singing a song that Justin was supposed to sing on CD until the CD skipped! It was a powerful and moving testament to her faith.
The main sermon was from Justin himself. It was recorded from a Sunday message he'd given quite a while ago. Hearing his voice and confidence as he delivered the message was very emotional, and we send out our love and prayers for the entire family.
Justin will be sorely missed.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
New CD and Book
So the Church of the Brethren show was recorded, and Pastor Tim was nice enough to send me a CD of the show. The audio quality was great - for one of our shows, anyway. And overall, it was a great show.
Long story short, I used a freebie web audio editor and came up with pretty good CD for the show. The plan right now is to include it in the back of the new poetry book (as of yet untitled because Andrea didn't like my last title) as a bit of a freebie, although the book will cost a little more anyways. The book is in the final stages of development, and we hope to bring it and the CD out at our next show at Second Reformed Church on May 9.
The show is a fundraiser for a group our pastor works with during the year, and we're going to have a TON of great music. Lots of extra high quality down home bluegrass musicians are coming on board for the show, and it should be great. When I get a specific time, I'll post it on the blog to let you know.
We've also done a major revamp on our ministry site - happythedog.com - so check that out. Soon you'll be able to navigate our ministry a little easier, and there'll more than likely be another blog attached to that site where several other cohorts I work with will post. Not to mention that the donation and merchandise buttons will be a lot slicker to use. Troy said he just got some great new stuff in, so in about a week when the site is fully operational, check it out and support some great worship.
Jason
Long story short, I used a freebie web audio editor and came up with pretty good CD for the show. The plan right now is to include it in the back of the new poetry book (as of yet untitled because Andrea didn't like my last title) as a bit of a freebie, although the book will cost a little more anyways. The book is in the final stages of development, and we hope to bring it and the CD out at our next show at Second Reformed Church on May 9.
The show is a fundraiser for a group our pastor works with during the year, and we're going to have a TON of great music. Lots of extra high quality down home bluegrass musicians are coming on board for the show, and it should be great. When I get a specific time, I'll post it on the blog to let you know.
We've also done a major revamp on our ministry site - happythedog.com - so check that out. Soon you'll be able to navigate our ministry a little easier, and there'll more than likely be another blog attached to that site where several other cohorts I work with will post. Not to mention that the donation and merchandise buttons will be a lot slicker to use. Troy said he just got some great new stuff in, so in about a week when the site is fully operational, check it out and support some great worship.
Jason
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Yeah so. . .
I stink at all things computer related, as I spent the better part of tonight trying to figure out how to add music to the blog. Instead, I just did this:
http://www.myspace.com/themorganvalleysocialclub
It's a myspace page for the Morgan Valley Social Club with a little audio up. It includes the audio from These Boys in the Car (The Great Story) poem that I posted earlier along with a few songs from the fundraiser show we did at the Brethren Church a few weeks back.
One song is Kyle and Brian singing "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard. See if you notice when Kyle forgot the lyrics.
The other is "Life is Like a Mountain Railroad" with the whole crew that was there. The audio is not quite a loud as they weren't on the main microphones. But it give you the flavor of what we do.
I accidentally redid the template, so the links are in the lower right now, below the archives. You'll see The Morgan Valley Social Club's site is now earmarked. Whoop Dee Do.
Jason
http://www.myspace.com/themorganvalleysocialclub
It's a myspace page for the Morgan Valley Social Club with a little audio up. It includes the audio from These Boys in the Car (The Great Story) poem that I posted earlier along with a few songs from the fundraiser show we did at the Brethren Church a few weeks back.
One song is Kyle and Brian singing "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard. See if you notice when Kyle forgot the lyrics.
The other is "Life is Like a Mountain Railroad" with the whole crew that was there. The audio is not quite a loud as they weren't on the main microphones. But it give you the flavor of what we do.
I accidentally redid the template, so the links are in the lower right now, below the archives. You'll see The Morgan Valley Social Club's site is now earmarked. Whoop Dee Do.
Jason
Daren Streblow is funny. . .
This is a link to a comedian I've had the blessing to work with a couple times. They're cartoons he makes, and they're funny. FUNNY.
http://www.darenstreblow.com/toonplayer/
If the link doesn't work, it's because I don't know how to use a computer.
http://www.darenstreblow.com/toonplayer/
If the link doesn't work, it's because I don't know how to use a computer.
Some fresh ideas. . .
Here's what good friend Nathan thinks I should post about:
1. What every young person should know about gastropods.
2. How your choice of socks can make or break your ministry.
3. Should the 11th Commandment be "Thou shalt not speculate about any additional commandments"? (Classic Nathan humor. This type of joke sums up the genius of Nathan's humor.)
4. The top four and a half Bible stories about public speaking.
5. Home-made ziplines - a fool proof recipe for fun.
(I actually tell a homemade zipline story while speaking.)
6. Why does God allow cool things to have stupid names like "walkie-talkie"?
(More classic Nathan humor.)
7. People named "Chris" should be able to cut hair without any special training.
(Referencing the time in college when I let my older brother cut my hair and I actually looked worse than Jim Carrey on Dumb and Dumber.)
8. Why you shouldn't take suggestions for blog topics.
9. Lederhosen?!? Lederhosen.
10. Rocky Mountain High, Colorado. COLORADO!!!!
(Another inside joke to college where we'd call up good friend Mike and procede to destroy the John Denver classic into his answering machine. Nathan would hit the highest, most off pitch "COLORADO" on the echo. We made sure that each message went on for three or four minutes minimum.)
1. What every young person should know about gastropods.
2. How your choice of socks can make or break your ministry.
3. Should the 11th Commandment be "Thou shalt not speculate about any additional commandments"? (Classic Nathan humor. This type of joke sums up the genius of Nathan's humor.)
4. The top four and a half Bible stories about public speaking.
5. Home-made ziplines - a fool proof recipe for fun.
(I actually tell a homemade zipline story while speaking.)
6. Why does God allow cool things to have stupid names like "walkie-talkie"?
(More classic Nathan humor.)
7. People named "Chris" should be able to cut hair without any special training.
(Referencing the time in college when I let my older brother cut my hair and I actually looked worse than Jim Carrey on Dumb and Dumber.)
8. Why you shouldn't take suggestions for blog topics.
9. Lederhosen?!? Lederhosen.
10. Rocky Mountain High, Colorado. COLORADO!!!!
(Another inside joke to college where we'd call up good friend Mike and procede to destroy the John Denver classic into his answering machine. Nathan would hit the highest, most off pitch "COLORADO" on the echo. We made sure that each message went on for three or four minutes minimum.)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Fairly new poem. . .
These Boys in the Car
I’m thankful for the conversations you have
with the people who talk to you first
because I am the worst
at being the one
who has to talk first
And so this is the story
told to me
in the back of a church sanctuary
from the very last pew
by a woman I knew
through her husband
and because I didn’t get up the nerve
I almost never heard
the greatest story
that I’ve ever heard
she says,
“These two boys!
These two boys!
High school age
come flying over the hill
by our place
these boys are driving
90
just flying!
Over the hill by my place
And as they come over the hill
what do they see standing right in the middle?
Right on the double yellow line?
But a bull
a full sized, brown bull with horns no less
and they hit that bull head on,”
she says
“Boom! The bull drops dead in the middle of the road
and the boy’s car goes
and skids into the ditch
an front of my home
and now over the hill comes a semi
from the other way.”
“No, way,” I say, “No way,”
“Yes,” she says, “This semi
now it comes flyin’
over the side of the hill
and there is the bull
still
lyin’
right in the middle of the road
right front of my home
and the semi just annihilates this poor bull
launching it into the air
and this mass of blood, meat, and hair
comes crashing down
where?
Right on the hood
of the car
of the boys in the ditch
it’s just staring
through the cracked windshield
with it’s big, dead, bull eyes
blood dripping
as both boys try
to get out of the car but they can’t
because the doors are stuck
and then the semi,” she goes on,
“Slides over the ditch
and it skids onto my lawn
and tears through the grass I just mowed
until it comes to a stop
just feet from my picture window.”
As she’s talking
I’m leaning more and more forward
on the pew where I sit
and I think this story is so freaking fantastic
I can’t wait
to steal it
“There’s more,” she says
but I don’t know if I can take any more
there’s speed, and wrecks, and blood, and gore and stupidity galore
what more
could you need in a story?
She says, “I’d been asleep
and I hear this crash
so I make a mad dash
to the living room
I throw open the curtains and look outside
and staring back
are the eyes
of a man of a man in surprise
behind the wheel
of an enormous semi
just three or four feet away, maybe five
so I run over
and throw open the door
and see the boys with the bull on their hood
screaming in horror
for someone to open their doors
and I think for sure
this is the end of the world
and the bull. . .
starts. . .
to moan. . .
Arrrruuuuuuuuu!
And those boys fly
into that backseat so fast
as the bull raises his head and looks right passed
them
almost like he’s looking at me
and thinking
This isn’t how I thought my day
was going be
and now the semi driver is out on the lawn
between the truck and my home
standing there
stretching out his arms
as if measuring the distance
from his grill
to the window glass
as if it were the distance
from his first breath to his last
and I just called 911
and by the time I get done
telling them what I’ve seen
all three town cops come
because this story’s too good to believe
and as the first cop car approaches the site
the guy gets so excited
that he immediately slams on his brakes
and the two cars that are behind
can’t stop, and they collide
with his backside
causing the fourth and fifth wrecks of the day.”
and so she finishes her story
this wonderful story
with such bravado and blazing white glory
and I cannot think of the words
to show appreciation for the story I’ve heard
so I just give her a hug and say
thank you
I’m thankful for the conversations you have
with the people who talk to you first
because I am the worst
at being the one
who has to talk first
And so this is the story
told to me
in the back of a church sanctuary
from the very last pew
by a woman I knew
through her husband
and because I didn’t get up the nerve
I almost never heard
the greatest story
that I’ve ever heard
she says,
“These two boys!
These two boys!
High school age
come flying over the hill
by our place
these boys are driving
90
just flying!
Over the hill by my place
And as they come over the hill
what do they see standing right in the middle?
Right on the double yellow line?
But a bull
a full sized, brown bull with horns no less
and they hit that bull head on,”
she says
“Boom! The bull drops dead in the middle of the road
and the boy’s car goes
and skids into the ditch
an front of my home
and now over the hill comes a semi
from the other way.”
“No, way,” I say, “No way,”
“Yes,” she says, “This semi
now it comes flyin’
over the side of the hill
and there is the bull
still
lyin’
right in the middle of the road
right front of my home
and the semi just annihilates this poor bull
launching it into the air
and this mass of blood, meat, and hair
comes crashing down
where?
Right on the hood
of the car
of the boys in the ditch
it’s just staring
through the cracked windshield
with it’s big, dead, bull eyes
blood dripping
as both boys try
to get out of the car but they can’t
because the doors are stuck
and then the semi,” she goes on,
“Slides over the ditch
and it skids onto my lawn
and tears through the grass I just mowed
until it comes to a stop
just feet from my picture window.”
As she’s talking
I’m leaning more and more forward
on the pew where I sit
and I think this story is so freaking fantastic
I can’t wait
to steal it
“There’s more,” she says
but I don’t know if I can take any more
there’s speed, and wrecks, and blood, and gore and stupidity galore
what more
could you need in a story?
She says, “I’d been asleep
and I hear this crash
so I make a mad dash
to the living room
I throw open the curtains and look outside
and staring back
are the eyes
of a man of a man in surprise
behind the wheel
of an enormous semi
just three or four feet away, maybe five
so I run over
and throw open the door
and see the boys with the bull on their hood
screaming in horror
for someone to open their doors
and I think for sure
this is the end of the world
and the bull. . .
starts. . .
to moan. . .
Arrrruuuuuuuuu!
And those boys fly
into that backseat so fast
as the bull raises his head and looks right passed
them
almost like he’s looking at me
and thinking
This isn’t how I thought my day
was going be
and now the semi driver is out on the lawn
between the truck and my home
standing there
stretching out his arms
as if measuring the distance
from his grill
to the window glass
as if it were the distance
from his first breath to his last
and I just called 911
and by the time I get done
telling them what I’ve seen
all three town cops come
because this story’s too good to believe
and as the first cop car approaches the site
the guy gets so excited
that he immediately slams on his brakes
and the two cars that are behind
can’t stop, and they collide
with his backside
causing the fourth and fifth wrecks of the day.”
and so she finishes her story
this wonderful story
with such bravado and blazing white glory
and I cannot think of the words
to show appreciation for the story I’ve heard
so I just give her a hug and say
thank you
Friday, March 14, 2008
Brooten, MN
I've fallen a little behind in updating since my last post. Andrea's had a nagging flu, and my office time has suffered a little bit. So when I've been at the office, I've been doing . . . well, office stuff just to keep up.
Went up to Brooten, MN last week Thursday for a one night worship with Jonah's Wale for a little church there. Lots of old friends from Prinsberg, MN made the trip up as the band had played for their chapel that morning.
Had an interesting experience finding the place as instead of using my directions, Mark decided we should use his fancy-smancy GPS device.
Oh, it was fun at first. This beautiful British woman's voice guided us along our route for two hours, saying things like, "Turn left in four miles," and "Destination in 75 miles." Her voice was so pretty, it was easy to take directions.
That is, until she said, "Turn left now," and it meant leaving the blacktop for a gravel road to nowhere. We took the turn anyway, and heard our lovely guide advice, "Destination in five miles."
The only problem was that we could see for five miles and there was no town in sight. Eventually, right there in the middle of this gravel road, right in the middle of nowhere, she said, "You have arrived at your destination."
Right. . .
Mark did a little reconfiguring and we eventually got to our destination, but I think I'll stick to yahoo maps for a while.
Had a bit of a disappointment last week as well as I had a poetry show canceled because of weather on Monday. It was an especially big disappointment as it was the last one on my calendar at the moment. A bolt of fear ran through me that no more may come.
While I don't have another on my list yet, Pastor Sophie at the home church asked if I'd get some musicians together for a fundraiser - date to be determined! So that was great news. Pastor Tim, and choral director Jim from the Brethren show have already agreed to be onboard, so this may be the MVSC's best show to date, we'll see.
On a side note, I've been thinking a lot lately about the blog and how I wish it was a bit more interesting. I don't feel that I've ever really found my voice on it yet. So if you're game, feel free to shoot me a comment in the comment box about any ideas you have. For instance, "I really liked it when you talked about this. . ." or, "Enough talk about this kinds of stuff, I'd like to hear about this. . ." Anything you want I guess.
And yes Kyle, Nathan, and Mark, that's you're cue to start leaving wildly sarcastic comments now.
Jason
Went up to Brooten, MN last week Thursday for a one night worship with Jonah's Wale for a little church there. Lots of old friends from Prinsberg, MN made the trip up as the band had played for their chapel that morning.
Had an interesting experience finding the place as instead of using my directions, Mark decided we should use his fancy-smancy GPS device.
Oh, it was fun at first. This beautiful British woman's voice guided us along our route for two hours, saying things like, "Turn left in four miles," and "Destination in 75 miles." Her voice was so pretty, it was easy to take directions.
That is, until she said, "Turn left now," and it meant leaving the blacktop for a gravel road to nowhere. We took the turn anyway, and heard our lovely guide advice, "Destination in five miles."
The only problem was that we could see for five miles and there was no town in sight. Eventually, right there in the middle of this gravel road, right in the middle of nowhere, she said, "You have arrived at your destination."
Right. . .
Mark did a little reconfiguring and we eventually got to our destination, but I think I'll stick to yahoo maps for a while.
Had a bit of a disappointment last week as well as I had a poetry show canceled because of weather on Monday. It was an especially big disappointment as it was the last one on my calendar at the moment. A bolt of fear ran through me that no more may come.
While I don't have another on my list yet, Pastor Sophie at the home church asked if I'd get some musicians together for a fundraiser - date to be determined! So that was great news. Pastor Tim, and choral director Jim from the Brethren show have already agreed to be onboard, so this may be the MVSC's best show to date, we'll see.
On a side note, I've been thinking a lot lately about the blog and how I wish it was a bit more interesting. I don't feel that I've ever really found my voice on it yet. So if you're game, feel free to shoot me a comment in the comment box about any ideas you have. For instance, "I really liked it when you talked about this. . ." or, "Enough talk about this kinds of stuff, I'd like to hear about this. . ." Anything you want I guess.
And yes Kyle, Nathan, and Mark, that's you're cue to start leaving wildly sarcastic comments now.
Jason
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Prairie City Church of the Brethren and the MVSC
The Morgan Valley Social Club descended on the Prairie City Church of the Brethren this past Saturday night, and we had a great time. New poems were read. Kyle sang a song he'd never heard before. And we were joined onstage by Pastor Tim Peter playing the mandolin, worship leader Jim Jones playing guitar and singing a little Joan Baez, and Brian Gumm playing guitar and making Kyle look a lot better than he probably is. (Note to Kyle: insert sarcastic snipe in comment sections now.)
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We were raising moolah for the new playground equipment for the church, and I haven't heard a final total yet, but I'm hoping they got a lot.
For those who haven't seen the show, or saw it for the first time past weekend, I introduced everyone to the MVSC with some quotes from people who've seen our show in the past.
For instance, a guy at our last show in a big Pella church commented after a show:
"When the show started, I didn't know if I was going to like it or not. But when it was over, I think I did."
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Or the teenage boy who heard my poems as part of a two hour show of gospel music and commented:
"My parents had to drag me here tonight, but I wanted to tell you that you were the only thing that was halfway decent to listen to."
Or my personal favorite, from an orgainzer at a church we performed for:
"We have a lot of elderly and shut ins that don't get out much, and they really loved your show!"
So I guess what it comes down to is this, you might think our show is halfway decent if you don't get out much.
A big thanks goes out to all the family (Brummel's, Kain's, and Taylor's) and friends (Kyle's friends really, as I don't have many) who came out in support of the show and the kids of the church.
Where am I next . . . ? I'm not really sure. But if you really want to know, as I do, you'll just click over on the Happy the Dog link and check the calendar as I am also going to do momentarily.
Until next time, I remind everyone that I will no longer be posting pictures of Carson on the blog.
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Jason
Monday, February 18, 2008
Brethren Church Show This Saturday!
For all (both) of you that read this blog, we've got a big Morgan Valley Social Club Poetry/Music show this Saturday, February 23 at the Prairie City Church of the Brethren five miles south of Prairie City. Lots of new poems and songs debuting.
There's a baked potato supper fundraiser at 5pm, and then we go on at 6:30. It's going to be a good time, I promise. And it's for a good cause! Playground equipment for kids! Come on! Get the coal off your heart and show up! Who doesn't want to help kids?
There's a baked potato supper fundraiser at 5pm, and then we go on at 6:30. It's going to be a good time, I promise. And it's for a good cause! Playground equipment for kids! Come on! Get the coal off your heart and show up! Who doesn't want to help kids?
Friday, February 15, 2008
Rock Valley, Sioux Falls, Influenza A
Got real sick a couple weeks ago and had to miss a poetry show in Sully, IA. I was pretty disappointed as I'd been looking forward to it for a long time. Poetry shows don't come up all that often, but I do have another one in a week. For any and all that read this in the area, the Morgan Valley Social Club will be playing a fundraiser at The Church of the Brethern five miles south of Prairie City on Saturday, February 23rd. There's a potato supper at 5pm, followed by Kyle and I at 6:30pm.
I'm hoping there's a good chance the show can be taped for CD as I'm planning on including it in the back cover of the next book.
Went up to Rock Valley, IA for a benefit for an old youth member named Justin Bousema who has aplastic anemia. What a blast! Jonah's Wale played, they raised $15,000+ dollars, and Justin's health updates have been steadily improving over the last couple weeks!
Just got back from Sioux Falls, SD where I spent three days speaking for Sioux Falls Christian High School Bible Days. Once again, I was with Jonah's Wale, and we had a grand time.
Got to stay with Wale's leader, Troy Kooima, and read a few books to his young daughter Sage. They were interesting to say the least.
My favorite was one called Worm Gets a Job. What it basically boiled down to was a worm ruining everyone's life until he stumbled into winning an art show by stealing supplies. The last pages of the book had someone saying, "Look at worm, now he's rich and famous!" You turn the page and worm is giving the old wink while saying, "And happy!" I don't think I'd ever read one quite like it.
We finished up with one about a little boy who goes on a picnic with his mom in the woods. The boy insists there's a bear. The mom disagrees. Mom leaves the boy alone because she forgot dessert and guess what appears? A bear. Mom returns and they're both chased screaming out of the woods. The end. You may think I'm just doing a quick summary and leaving out the important parts or valuable lesson, but I'm not. I guess the lesson was, "Don't listen to your mom. Monsters exist, and they're coming for you."
And no, no more pics of Carson this week.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Getting back into it. . .
My first post of the new year, I believe. Also my first speaking event of the new year.
Sunday night, Happy the Dog led worship for youth in the Pella area. It's a monthly worship held at Central College called Deep and Wide. We had a great turnout and a great time of worship together. Troy came down with his brother Eric, drummer Jason Baartman, and bassist Matt Groene.
I talked about trying to figure out transformers when you're a little kid and how them make the instructions WAY to hard. For example:
You can see in the upper right corner it says: Age 5+, but the instructions contain a small novel's worth of words in three different languages - complete with diagrams in varying shades of gray.
If you could read the note on the top left, it would read: Some parts are meant to detach when excessive force is used.
Some parts. That's always good to tell a five year old.
After the worship, the band and I played a little Eskimo poker. A game we made up which turned out to be pretty stinking fun. If you want, I'll teach you.
Someone posted a while back about posting more pics of Carson on the blog. Well . . . I apologize, but this blog is supposedly solely dedicated to information on speaking shows. But here's Andrea's blog where she writes and posts about our beautiful baby boy:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=38241049
Heading to Sully at the end of January to do a poetry show. Then I head up to Rock Valley, IA for a fundraiser for former youth member Justin Bousema. I'm pretty excited for that show as the rest of the Happy the Dog crew will be joining me, and we're just going to have a rocking good time to hopefully raise some money for Justin.
Till next time,
Sunday night, Happy the Dog led worship for youth in the Pella area. It's a monthly worship held at Central College called Deep and Wide. We had a great turnout and a great time of worship together. Troy came down with his brother Eric, drummer Jason Baartman, and bassist Matt Groene.
I talked about trying to figure out transformers when you're a little kid and how them make the instructions WAY to hard. For example:
You can see in the upper right corner it says: Age 5+, but the instructions contain a small novel's worth of words in three different languages - complete with diagrams in varying shades of gray.
If you could read the note on the top left, it would read: Some parts are meant to detach when excessive force is used.
Some parts. That's always good to tell a five year old.
After the worship, the band and I played a little Eskimo poker. A game we made up which turned out to be pretty stinking fun. If you want, I'll teach you.
Someone posted a while back about posting more pics of Carson on the blog. Well . . . I apologize, but this blog is supposedly solely dedicated to information on speaking shows. But here's Andrea's blog where she writes and posts about our beautiful baby boy:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=38241049
Heading to Sully at the end of January to do a poetry show. Then I head up to Rock Valley, IA for a fundraiser for former youth member Justin Bousema. I'm pretty excited for that show as the rest of the Happy the Dog crew will be joining me, and we're just going to have a rocking good time to hopefully raise some money for Justin.
Till next time,
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