Fortune Cookies

2 1/2 years later

2009-01-22T14:51:00.002-05:00

I doubt anyone will ever look at this.....I quite the blogging world back in '06. Back then, things were starting to get complicated in my life. Very complicated. I may turn this into a series here, to speak of things, of complications, of life. Who really knows, I may just kill this right after I type it.

So, anyway, here it is 2009. I still am ambivalent about blogging. I often wonder who really cares about my thoughts. I also ask myself, "Am I so needy for attention, that I turn to blogging to make myself feel important? Hopefully people will comment on my thoughts, and somehow validate me." I often feel a distaste toward social networking sites for that very reason. You cannot log into Facebook without someone telling their network their agenda. I really am not that interest if you ware watching Grey's Anatomy and then turning in with a bowl of Rocky Road or whatever it is you eat. You see my dilemma, I type, i write about me, when i am so turned off by it in others. I am a dichotomy of actions.....writing about my exploits while being generally displeased about other's updates into their lives.

So, for now, let's just put on an update. Its 2009, and I am in South Point, married to Lisa. We were split up for the bulk of 2007.....my choice. Anyone who might find their way here, well, that story would have to come later (if at all). Those who know about it, well, you know. Most of the things said were true, I did act in ways that were not right. It does take two to make or break it. I quit long ago, and the wheels continued to slowly, bitterly, hurtfully fall off. That was a while ago.....and some interesting things happened since. So, in the very essence of Seinfeld, we were split up, yadda, yadda, yadda, we are back together.

So, we are happy. Its a commitment to happiness. I know the things that make her tick, make her happy. I knew them then, but didn't care to do any of them for a long while. She knows mine as well, and she works with them as I do now. So, as I said, we are doing well. It is good all around, good for all. Are there those who were and maybe still are disappointed? Yes, but things happen, and life does continue.

One thing I know, and have stated for years, is that you cannot depend on people. Especially those of us in the religious/faith community. We build our faith up in the people that are in front of us. They are no different than you. They are broken (I hate that word simply because it sounds trite to me). Leaders are as susceptible to sin as all of us are. Not just susceptible, but possibly more likely, because to lead is to put pressure from the enemy on one's self. So, i say this......you sin, sometimes very purposefully, and they are no different. Even the best things we do are dirty cloths in light of God's righteousness. So, appreciate leaders, learn from them, but do not consider them to be infallible. We are all clothed in this imperfect, sinful flesh and no one gets out of that until its over. So, while we live in this flesh, we are in battle (Rom. 7). Those leaders, they are in the same battle....maybe they have learned to fight them better, but its only through experience, they did not get a free pass. People have aligned against me in a church once.....what do you do? I left Norway like Paul in a basket, quietly. I left pain in my wake....I am fallible. Weak if you must know. I apologize to you for that. I can't make it go away, or even make it up, you just have to let me stand on solid ground and try again. If you don't want to do that, well then, I will always be a disappointment to you.

Back to Lisa.....I can speak in a flowery language, calling her out as my gift. Speaking in loud tones of our love, strong, renewed, better than I remember. But this i know. Disease is lurking around every corner....a blight that will drain the life out of our shared love if we don't watch out. So we watch out, we pray (much more is needed), we commit. We have failed in commitments before, but as I say, you have to start somewhere. She is grand, and I will tell her so, often.

Kids are growing up very well....Sloane is a lovely 14 yr old. Dakota, 11, and newly baptized (Jan17th, 2009). What a family. We have the problems with attitudes and breaking rules, just like the rest of them. But they are good, and I love them. I am not that great of a father, but I try to show them love. Often I show them anger because of my issues with it, I don't model that finest servant, the finest anything. I just try. But, I fail (see 2 paragraphs above this one for further explanation).

I play the guitar at a church in the west end of Huntington. I sing as well. I am really quite taken with it. I don't always consider the weight of it, leading worship. If you always considered the weight of every act, then you would be so pressed, I am not sure if you would move. Grace is a fluid thing, and God means to teach us its fluid rhythm. Yes, realize the great honor it is to worship, to even be a part of leading it, but don't get so caught up in precision and a heaviness of being right, to not enjoy it. God's said His burden is light, because He takes that on. So, in light of that, I enjoy it. Yes, people are worshiping together....and I am playing a part in the music of it, and it brings us all closer to God. Does this make sense....I don't abdicate all responsibility, but I know this....if I waited til my playing was good enough or til my life was right enough, I would never be participating in this. If you really considered all that you did sinfully, how can you sit in a church? Our righteousness is not from ourselves, it is from the one who carried and carries our burden, and we are not meant to dwell in it. East to west. It is gone, live and love and be joyous in Him, regardless of your week. He wants it that way, I know that to be true. I can feel it, often when i play with the team (band), I can feel that. I feel that lightness, and it becomes a moment of grandeur. yes, I often focus on the playing, to make it sound right. And I feed off of that, but the playing of the instrument in His name is an act of worship. Just the playing of guitar is an edification as the lyrics are. When I learned that, I realized that the joy I feel in our rhythm is not just out of it being a good rhythm, but out of it connecting with Him.

So, that is it for now. If I continue, this could be messy, I often have random thoughts on faith, some are very strong in me and they boil up from time to time. Get me started of what happened at Kenova (my old church), and I can go on and on and on. All is forgiven, but I still remember it, and learn from it. I am not even sure if I will keep this up, and I am somewhat sure that I will not be telling anyone else about this. We will see.

If you come across this, send me an email at rob.williamson@marshall.edu. Let me know if it means anything, or just that you ran across it.

Its been...One (month) since you looked at me

2006-06-08T14:26:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks. Softball and baseball are both winding down. Last night I saw one of the exciting girl's softball games I had seen in a long time (not that I am a purveyor of girl's softball or anything, it was just an energetic game, late at night, under the lights, playing through rain). All of the parents were really into it, just a bunch of fun...and no fist fights. At the girl's last game, there were actually two men who got into a bloody fist fight over a family issue (could be serious). However, it is the first time I actually saw that type of violence since my days with Fight Club.

We went on our annual Memorial Day Camping trip with several families, which is a good thing. We had a great time, although there were a few things that might have gone better. No camping outing goes as planned, but drunk rednecks augmenting fires with gasoline while blowing an airhorn goes beyond normal issues. As the song says "If you're gonna be dumb, ya gotta be tough"...these guys were the perfect examples of that sentiment. Mercifully, they were removed, and the rest of the weekend went without major incident. I made friends with a severely inebriated camper next to us, named George, which was pretty funny. That night, I went to bed and he was just a passed out blob in his camp chair sitting next to the dying embers of his fire. I imagined him waking at 4 a.m., covered in dew, freezing. However, I talked to him a few times later during the weekend, and he did well. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the Imlay planned outing next year. Cameron, Elliott, Alli, Kailey, Kacy, Taylor and "White Hot" Tyler were a fun group to be with. I got to lead worship with Elliott, which was very nice as well.

Been working on preparing our yard for an above ground Sam's Special pool. That's fun...let me tell you. I have an uneven yard, so it has to worked down to a certain level. Well, this yard was the home to two big maples, one of which was removed very recently, but the roots remain. Big roots, impressive roots. After a day of shoveling and getting nowhere, I splurged on a rear tine RotoTiller. Nice, always fun working with big equipment. However, I had to stop often to remove large roots with my axe...oh yeah, I have an axe. Anyway, I am trying to finish that before I goto AZ on the mission trip. So, if I don't have a game in the evenings, I work on that. I missed this past Wednesday due to games and the weekend looks dicey as well.

VBS, there's another thing. Beginning Sunday I signed up as transportation chief for some of the local kids who need it. Flyers were passed out (missed that because of a game), so we hopefully will get interest in our event. It would be nice to get a good group of kids we don't know. But, that takes out every evening from Sunday to Wednesday. I will have to get packed Thursday for the mission trip caravan leaves on Friday...early. Just a buch of responsibility with little time, all colliding in a two week long period. It will happen, some things will just be missed along the way.

From my last entry, you probably know that I am in a Christian acoustic band named ThreeFold Chord. Well, we had a nice time at the church we played, got a lot of applause, felt really good. Fun times for sure. Now, we have another gig, coming up this Friday. We are providing some entertainment for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Ashland this weekend. We begin at 11:30 on Friday night and go for 30 minutes of more. We have been practicing for more than a few nights this week. Let's see, we practiced Sunday til late, then again on Tuesday til very late (I went to bed at 3 a.m.) and then last night (Wed.) and I went to be at 2 a.m. Its fun, but don't think I don't feel it...it catches up...I am not as young as I used to be. We are not practicing tonite, so I hope to get to bed early. We've been doing well in our practices...every song sounded really good last night. I am taking on a bigger role in the singing department, which makes me a bit nervous, but my singing has improved, I have to admit. So...the Chord rides again this weekend. I think we will have a decent fan base there, as alot of the people Dino knows and has sampled some of our stuff to will be there. So, with prayer, we look forward to singing songs about our Father and enjoying our time together.

That's it in a nutshell, an broad update on me and all things RobWill. Talk to you later.

ThreeFold Chord

2006-05-08T14:45:00.000-04:00

Geez, it has been almost two months since my last post. Well...much has happened in that period, most of which I would not bore you with. Kids are in baseball/softball, I got through another grad semester with two A's. Lisa got a promotion. My brother got married, so all is good. Last Sunday we were at Hurricane, this Sunday was youth worship and graduation banquet, good, good stuff.

Now, tonight there is something special in store. About 3 or 4 years ago, I picked up a guitar in Dino's dental lab and strummed it a bit. I had played a short while in HS, mainly at my friends house for fun. I learned a few bass runs that I still remembered and played them at Dino's. He had a few and I would go and play with him. Well, he got me a used Galveston guitar for my birthday and I played it for at least a year. Then, he found a very nice Fender acoustic/electric that I play mainly now. I also got a hand me down Epiphone 12 string a few months ago, so my collection is a bit bigger.

One day, he and I were playing, early on, and I began to play this strange chord I had seen on a web site guitar tab, and we liked it. We put that together with a few more chords and had a melody. Then, we started to write lyrics. They came fairly easy to us, when we worked off of each other. We wrote a song called "Rescued Me". We wrote a few more songs here and there, just for fun. I liked writing songs, working creatively, its alot of fun to me, to hear it work. Soon after that, I met Dino's sister, Alicia...she has an amazing voice and also writes. We began to write and play/sing together. I started to think of things more in that mold. I had a long talk with my mother after Easter dinner a few years ago and that turned into a song. I wrote it in a day and when I read them to Dino and Alicia, he put music to it almost instantly. It usually works out that way, a group effort. I may play a riff or something, we like it, build from it and go from there. Dino is a more technical player that I am and I usually bring a better sense of rhythm to the table. Alicia hears great word melodies, and we all three write well with each other. So, one night I came up with the name "ThreeFold Chord" for us, playing on the bible reference. The three of us, our respective talents making a chord of music. We write Christian songs almost exclusively.

About a year ago, we had about 15 songs and decided to do an open mic thing in Ashland and Thunder Bay studios. It was terrible, mainly due to me. I was ridiculously nervous for the small crowd, lights on, sweating like a mad man (I was told I looked like Robert Hays trying to steer the shuttle from the sun in "Airplane II"). The setup, stagewise was all wrong for us. I could only hear my guitar coming back to me, I was looking at Dino's back, about a foot lower. I could not hear them, and we stunk. I thought I would never do that again. I knew I would be happy just to write for fun now and again. Well, since that night things have gone better. I have noticed more confidence in my playing...Dino and I did play at his church on morning and did very well. We have at least 5 more songs, some real good ones. We had made a pretty rough CD demo at a friend's studio before the Thunder Bay debacle, and Dino plays it for people. He knows alot of people in Kentucky, and everyone really likes it. He has had a few offers for us to play, and tonight we are going to do just that.

We are "headlining" a church function in Grayson Kentucky for a regional men's retreat facility. We are on their flyer, our first recognized poster for a performance. It sometimes brings in quite a few people, from alot of different churches, as it serves many areas. I am actually excited about it, and we have been practicing for a while for it. We are only playing 5 songs, three of our own and two traditional hymns, but hey, its a gig. So, I am praying that it goes well, not so much to get new gigs, but just so we don't sound stupid in front of people. However, we have some business cards made up and will be prepared to hand them out if requested. If we do well and gain interest, that would be nice...however, its not like I would ever want to make a living going all over the place on weekends to play music. Not my bag, but, for fun, if we play a few places and play well, I think it would be pretty cool.

ThreeFold Chord rides again.

Winterfest

2006-02-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

Another Winterfest has come and gone, and this one has left a special memory with me. Of course, I always look forward to Winterfest, if not for the event itself, the chance to spend long hours with the youth is always a good thing. Relationships grow in the wee hours, when the barriers break down. Its good to see so many of our post-youth kids become the new chaperones. You have to understand, I have been to Winterfest with Norway, 3 times I think, and these chaperones were all in the group, with the exception of a few. I feel like I have been here forever, seeing our new crop of youth workers emerge.

The event was as good as it always is. Jeff had a fervor for baptism and the altar call, more than I had seen in years. His lessons were really strong, with a real evangelical bend to them. Tait was pretty good, playing a few faves from the old DC talk days. Watershed, well, they were Watershed. We sing well with them, but let me say that Saturday night, being on the left of the stage looking at the big fella in red is a bit much..."Ladies!". Bob Stromberg is always hilarious, but I must say, I have seen it. He needs to get a bit more new material. Lost and Found, I liked them. Of course, I like that European humor, so it fit right in "Stein Auf".

Our group had a pretty strong international feel to it. We had Francesca, from Milan, Italy. She is a guest of the Kaiser's and is an interesting girl. She gets along with our group pretty well and has commented on how she likes us because we don't put any pressure on her. We just want her to some and hang out, enjoy the company. Hedvig, a friend of Whitney Adkins, is the first perosn from Norway to be with the group from Norway. I got to speak with both of them for a bit about the differences between their cultures and ours, and was somewhat embarrassed at times about our fair country. Not to say that I don't love America, I do, but, honestly, we are gluttons. Both of the girls were struck by our food portions at restaurants. Something we see as normal, they saw as ridiculous. You can look at it is a sign of our plenty, no doubt we have a great system in place for the most part, but the downside of having it all and more is just that, you just want more. Of course we have Greg, who is Kenyan, but has been here for several years now. Yes, it was a regular UN on our trip.

So, the biggest thing for me to remember this Winterfest for is that my daughter gave her life to Jesus. She was baptized at the ripe age of 11, on Sunday morning at about 1 a.m. She has been talking to us about this for a few years, and we have had good discussions about it. Lisa dn I both knew that it was a matter of time for her, not if, but when. She has been a Godly girl for many years now. She had previously told us that she probalby would be baptised this year at camp, but that was too long after Saturday night's lesson. She turned to her mother after the altar call, had tears in her eyes and said she wanted to be baptized. We went back to the hotel and had our own worship with Matt McDowell. It was amazing, the songs, the atmosphere, just amazing. Our honorary member, Craig the bus driver, prayed over us, and it was so heartfelt. We love Craig, and I think he loves us as well. Then, we went to the pool. Severla of Sloane's girlfriends joined us in the pool, with Lisa, George and myself. I went into a two minute talk/rant on letting our emotions get the best of us. Stop holding back when we are struck in the heart, like it doesn't count because we were emotional. So then, as I started to get choked up, I took part in my daughter's second birth, just as I had done in the first. Amazing and peaceful....that is what I felt, not so much enthusiasm and peace and calm. I watched her hug others, and realized that my little girl was growing up. I got to stand back and see her coming into her own. Serene, I was just serene about it, and I still am. I remembered when I baptized my own brother not 4 years ago, at my last Winterfest with Kenova. I was exuberant, Dino and I witnessed to him for at least a couple of hours that night, not to mention the time before the weekend. I never felt that we were pressuring him, just giving him assurances. That was quite an experience, and I was exciited. I think the main difference is that he was 30, and I never knew for sure if he ever was going to accept Christ, but with Sloane, I knew it was going to happen, and so, it was just a moment of peace, seeing it finally come to fruition.

So there you go, that was my weekend. Full of the fun and good times Winterfest always is known for, but this year, for so much more. My daughter is now a sister to most of you who read this.

Derek Webb

2006-02-07T00:31:00.000-05:00

I have to say, I am currently listening to my absolute favorite Christian singer/songwriter of all time...Derek Webb. I first heard DW (easier to type) when he was with Caedmon's Call, another of my favorite Christian artists, due in large part to DW. Songs like "Thankful", "Faith My Eyes", "Somewhere North", "Dance" and "I Boast No More" amazed me, not only in his delivery, but in their complexity both of lyric and music. The Call was definitely in heavy rotation for many years during his tenure.

DW then left the Call, mainly for the chance to get more of his material out. When you are in a group that has three lead singers, and several songwriters, your material doesn't always get played. So, much like the emancipation of Stevie Nicks on the Edge of Seventeen, DW struck out on his own. His first album, "She Must and Shall Go Free" is a killer. Now, some of you might not like all of his style. He definitely went around the way with different musical styles, but that is the album that contains what I consider the greatest song on the Gospel ever written, "Wedding Dress". When I first heard that song, I listened to it straight for about three or four days. I am not kidding. That was all that I heard at work all day long. It just was that kind of song, it struck me. He has had two more albums since his first solo release, "I See Things Upside Down" and "Mockingbird", and both are filled with such meaning, such strength in their songs. If you would like to hear a bit of DW, go to www.relevantmagazine.com and listen to their recent Podcast (middle of the page, near the low middle of the page). It is a long streaming broadcast, and you have to listen for a bit to get to DW, but it is worth it. He explains some of his thought concerning "Mockingbird" and two of the songs on it. You just need to hear him.

I was fortunate enough to hear DW twice. In 2002, we saw Caedmon's Call with DW at Ichthus. It was a rainy mess all day, but the rain stopped long enough for them to play their whole set. It was great, a really awesome memory, even with the rain and the muck (8 inches of sticky muck with sandals, YEAH BABY). I also saw him after the solo album, in a church in Columbus, just him and his guitars. He spoke at length, for 20 minutes one time, about the Gospel and Christianity. To hear that live version of "Wedding Dress", just him on stage, it was awesome and goes down as one of my favorite all time concert memories.

So, there, I felt he needed some props, so I give em. He is amazing, and I know that word is thrown alot, but to me, he truly is. His website is www.derekwebb.com. You should visit it, there are 4 songs from tne new album that you can hear on the main page. Good, Good, Good stuff.

*blaring "She Must and Shall Go Free" as I end this. "All her debts cast on me, She must and shall go free!"

Around the Office II

2006-02-01T09:21:00.000-05:00

This is another view of my office, a large plant that resides in my window. I am one of the fortunate ones who have a nice office with a window facing a real window, on the outer wall, so I get quite a bit of sun. This plant belonged to a co-worker, who was slowly killing it. I had bought a few small plants that were doing well, so she asked me to put it here for rehab. It began to do really well and I have kept it ever since. Its probably about 18 inches tall now, and keeps putting out newer leaves. There are actually 4 different plants in one planter.

OK, this is getting sad. Everyone else is putting down these wonderful, spiritual thoughts and meditations, and here I am taking office pictures. I mean, its just a plant, but I really enjoy it. Plus, its really easy to deal with. I mean, I have a perfect amount of sun everyday, so all you have to do is water, which I do a couple of times a week.

Maybe that is the slant. Imagine, if the plant decided to force out the water I give it. If it just did not want the thing that makes it thrive. What if it also was able to move, out of the window and under a shelf, out of the sun that gives it life. "Why" would be my question. Why do you want to live a weaker, frailer life than you could live? Why would you want to become dry and dead, leaves turning brown, stalks withering? I mean, really, if it were my kid acting that way, I would take them to the hospital, and maybe the psych ward. If Dakota or Sloane refused to take nourishment, you bet I would be concerned and show action. I mean, what, do they think that I, who has been with them since birth, would let them do that to themselves? No way.

Imagine how our Father feels when we just blatantly won't take in what he has to give us to live well, to grow and mature. Really, is our ignoring the walk of our faith any different than refusing to eat? If we refuse to pray, meditate, worship, study, will we thrive any more than the dying plant, unwatered, unsunned, withering in a place it was not meant to be? Again, I would be taking my kids to the ER, but we are given that choice. I would commit my kids against their will in a heartbeat, but we have a Father that desires us to desire him. There will be no rushing us to the ER without our permission, and if we want to sit and suffer and grow weaker and weaker, then, we have the ability to. Don't get me wrong, God pursues, God is in front of us, waving his arms, trying to get our attention. God is longing for us to eat and drink from Him...but not without us actually saying the word.

I know that I don't look like a guy who has fasted, with my love of food and all, but I have in the past. Let me tell you, it is something you have to experience to understand. After a certain amount of time goes by, your thoughts just center around that need to eat. Food becomes the be all end all. For some, it may take longer to get there, but you will. You cannot think about anything else, just nourishment. Fasting shows how drastically we need God. As much as I was consumed by the need for, and thoughts of food, my spirit is feeling the same for the nourishment of faith. The old song, "As the Deer" tries to make this though clear. "So my soul longs after you", that is a powerful line when you know true longing.

There are many, many of us, most of us, who commit a spiritual suicide every day. A hunger strike against living water. It is that drastic, and yet, we are still starving ourselves, dying of thirst. Nourishment is waiting, hot and ready, cool and quenching, ready for us to take it. Pray and receive it. Read the bible and eat. Worship and drink. Medidate and be filled. Think of what we could be if we just did those things. If we are anything like this plant I have, we will be tall and vibrant and beautiful.

Around the Office

2006-01-24T11:20:00.000-05:00

OK, this is certainly a stupid idea, no doubt about it, but, I was looking at my office camera and took this picture as a test.

This is my silly idea that goes with this pic. It is taken from the perspective of a coffee cup that serves as a pen holder, looking on at my travel coffee mug that actually serves the purpose of coffee vessel. I imagine the feelings of low self esteem and bitterness from the white mug. All this time, holding pens and markers, getting dusty, never getting any attention.

"Look at better-than-everyone Mr. Copper," says the mug, "I'll bet he is keeping some coffee hot for his owner, while I just hold pens, most of which never get touched. Look at him, he doesn't care about anyone but himself. He gets washed, carried to meetings...all I get is a stupid pen from a conference that he went to a year ago. If I could only once, just once, be drunk from, that is what I was made for, that is who I AM!! But NO, its not gonna happen. I have too many ink marks that will not be cleaned. If I could only move, I would show that thermal mug a thing or two."

OK, that was a bit strange. All that from just a picture. I spared you from the thoughts of coffee mug suicide, with the mug imagining how sorry I'd be when he was broken, letting all of my pens spread all over the floor.

I honestly don't know why I even posted this, but hey, there you go. Just call it my "Deep thoughts with Jack Handey" post.

Wow, has it been that long?

2006-01-17T15:28:00.000-05:00

Yes, it has been that long! I suppose most of the time I just feel I have nothing to say, though I check my blogmate's sites just about every other day, just to see what they might be saying. Its not like I have nothing going on, its just, I don't always feel that it is noteworthy.

However, here is just an update. We had a busy holiday season, as any parent should. We traveled twice, once on the annual trip to my brother-in-law's in Portsmouth, VA. This is Lisa's brother and his wife, who had a new baby girl in August. This year was disappointing. Her brother was pretty much a jerk in general, especially one time on the last night. Just not the fun we normally experience. He is one of those guys who just think they are a bit more important than anyone else, plus he is a policeman, so those two things go hand in hand. They feed off of each other. I am sure that not all officers of the law are like this, but probably a majority.

Then, just last week, Lisa's dad had knee replacement surgery in Columbus. So, we were up there and had a nice time, aside from the surgery, which actually was not bad and he made it through very well. Good eats, good time with my friends as well, we had it all. Came back on Wednesday.

Note on Tex, Lisa's dad...he is one tough son of a gun. He is going to be 66 this April, and you should have seen this guy. He makes it through surgery, and the next day is walking farther on a walker than most patients at his same level. Then, he is home on Thursday, exercising that new knee, and gets downgraded from walker to cane in two days. He will be golfing before we know it.

Kids are doing well, things have been alot more even keeled around the home. Upbeat. Not to say that things are bad by any means, but both Lisa and I are taking courses, and that puts a wear on things, just stressing mainly.

Spiritually, been doing better. I have my ups and downs, and lately, it has been down. Spoke Wednesday night Jan 4th at youth worship, and it was alright, a bit pressed though. Then, I was called by Toney to speak out at their own WInterfest warm up weekend. It was wonderful, a lot of what I needed. To think I was rushing to finish thoughts about an hour before. God put things the right way, and whether anyone was affected, I was affected by the response. Alot of attention for someone who might have gone over the 25 minute mark. It just seemed that everyone was there, we were all connected with what God was saying, and I was blessed tobe a part of it. Thanks Toney.

Norway has been pretty good as well. Let me say, I often am put off a bit by the production value. It just seems too slick sometimes. however, the last two Sundays, by the end, things just were clicking, and I actually felt presence for the first time in a long time. Praise and being able to be a part of people's lives go great together. I was also blessed and honored to baptize one of ouor younger sister's a few weeks ago, that meant alot. If you look at what this month, you might see an awakening. I think God is bringing me out of that place where I was, I just need to be aware and available. Good things.

So, I am now off to class, see you all soon. I have a lot of ideas to post and read and just be better. Resolutions. I am going to a gym at work two days a week to start with during lunch, taking vitamins and supplements. Who knows what is in store!?!?! I am excited about the possibilities.

Be good

Top 5 Ugliest Rockers

2005-12-12T17:12:00.000-05:00

This list began today whilst lunching at Benjy's HD. They have their own music video system there, and we were presented with some nice rock music. I can't remember who we saw, but this conversation started. I will try to provide picks.

5. Bryan Adams - This guy, something happened to him between his really cool, blue jeans and white T-shirt 80's til now. His music sucks now too.

4. Mick Jones - This is the guy who started the Clash, then Big Audio Dynamite. He exemplifies the stereotype of poor dentistry in Britain.

3. Rick Ocasek - The Cars front man, not a pretty picture, and this guy married a model that was the Sports Illustrated top pick for many of my formative 80's years. By the way, does he not resemble Patty Smith, the punk rocker? I think so.

2. Shane MacGowan - He looks a little bit like an extra from the movie "Deliverance". He is the former front man for the Pouges. Not a pretty picture.

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for. The number one, ugliest rocker is...

1. Geddy Lee - This guy, without a doubt in my mind, is the King of Ugly in the world of rock. Sure, there is Lyle Lovett, but the fact that he was once married to Julia Roberts gives him amnesty from this list. So, I present, the leader of one of my favorite bands of all time, Geddy Lee.

Honorable mentions go out to Bill Berry, former drummer for REM.

Been a while

2005-12-03T00:43:00.000-05:00

Hey there, i'll bet you have been wondering about my where-abouts. Well, Mr. Rob has been in the doldrums up til a few days ago. I had many irons in the fire and much stress about expectations. A project at work, the Children's Ministry Christmas Extravaganza (it won't be an extravaganza, but it will be nice), two final projects and random homework due, general messiness, etc., etc. I was told on three occasions that I either looked worn out, bleary eyed or had been in a bad mood for too long. I was reminded that my bad mood affected others at the office, those who depended on me (this by a co-worker, not a manager, this was not a talkin' to or anything).

I was like, "Hey, just add some more guilt to the already ridiculous pressure that I was feeling (self-induced, at least part of it)". But, I needed it...I needed to think about things like that. Maybe those things are more important than I think. And he was right, I had not been myself in a long while. Mr. Happy Go Lucky had been replaced by a guy who has not had a hair cut in a long while and has put on about 5 to 10 pounds since Spetember (its not like I didn't weigh enough anyway). I no longer felt the desire to be funny, except with a few people at work. I just wanted to get through things. Yeah, it got pretty skanky there, I think I contracted emotional bird flu.

So, a breakthrough was imminent. I did pray about my situation, and the need for strength, deliverance, outlook, solutions, etc. This past week, the big sticky project at work that had been wearing me down finally gave way, and I was shown to know what I was doing. I have a problem with insecurity with bosses, always have. Even though I get great evals, I am always wondering (I was listed as an "Invaluable Asset" in my last eval). So, if I have a project that is failing, I take it personally. I get antsy. Needless to say, I was MAJOR antsy.

Then, I was presented with a small book of Christmas programs. For two weeks I had been trying to get the kids to put on a program of mainly songs and some verse reading. Not a great idea, it wasn't working out. So I found this very nice, short, easy program that is gonna work out great. Things are on the mend...which is good to hear. Jeff came and visited me in the office and we talked for a half hour, which was great. Things just feel like they are turning around. I finished a decent part of my final in one class (group project). Now, I am taking more of a lead in my two person group in another class (I won't yet go into how much I despise the setup of that class. Lets just say that I think about how miserable that class format is about every day!). So, busy weekend ahead, filled with class stuff mainly, but that is OK, it will go well, I am sure.

So, the moral of the story to me is, everyone spends time in the valley...emotionally, spiritually. I think I let it get to me too much, but we all have those times. God is faithful to reach us and show us the path, but the valleys are important. You often find the truth of relationship and faith in those difficult, trudging times. And, according to a Caedmon's Call song, when God baptizes the earth with the Spirit, the valleys fill first.

So, I got that going for me, as well as total consciousness on my deathbed (random movie reference).

RobWill

Thar She Blows!

2005-11-03T13:46:00.000-05:00

This post comes at the request of one of the readers of this blog. Funny thing is, I didn't think anyone read it! I mean, I was talking about it last night, then I get a comment from a certain someone wanting me to post again. How nice.

So, Trick or Trunkin' has come and gone. We had a great year, that is certain. We had 84 kids registered, and of that amount, we had 56 who were not form Norway. Add to that the stragglers who did not register and we estimate that we had close to 100 kids, with most coming from the community. That is AWESOME. We have been putting some effort into outreach with the kids. We had a carnival in August, and passed out flyers for it the week before. Its a pretty low income area, and we hope to do some good. Anyway, the kids who came to the carnival registered, we got their addresses and sent them invitations to our Trick or Trunkin. It worked well, along with flyers in bags of candy passed out by our college group days before. God seems to be working with this, and that is something to be a part of.

However, there was a side issue with Trick or Trunkin that deserves its space. Every year we have a trunk decoration contest...and I wanted to win it. We were 3 year veterans at this point, and I just needed to step up. We may have been the cinderella in the 2003 season and surprised the crowd by taking second place with "Fall Fantasy", complete with hay bale...but c'mon, anyone who was there in 2004 saw the sophomore slump that was "Winter Fantasy". We mailed that effort in, just not enough pushing of ourselves to do better. It definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth. Add to that the fact that last year, I volunteered for cleanup and you can just imagine what a bummer of an evening that was. Coming out of that dissapointment, on the way home that evening, I thought about what we would do next year. *Light Bulb* "Hey" sez I, "how about we turn our van into the whale that ate Jonah, and I will be Jonah in the trunk, handing out candy". Pandemonium is the best word to describe what went on. Everyone was into it, it was going to be ROSSUUMMM!

Flash forward to about 4 weeks before the event. I had been in thoughts on the design and knew the basics of what I would need. Lisa and I were at Lattas for some decorations for her office when I saw the perfect posterpaper "skin" for our whale. I mean, you would have thought that Chrylser has actually manufactured the poster, it was a great match. We bought 20 sheets and I felt pretty excited. Then I started thinking about the time involved, "No sweat" I told myself. HA, that was ironic, as I put forth more than a bit of sweat into this project.

Now, it is cleanup week inthe village (yes, I actually live in an official village). I had been fretting about the amount of cardboard I would need for a project this immense, and was very fortunate to see several large pieces which originally held storm doors on someone's porch for disposal. I asked and recieved the whole lot. I am so ahead of the game at this point (about 10 days away). Well, I set them out front only to get rained on. That was clever, everyone knows how strong cardboard is once it got wet. However, no worries, I salvaged enough. On Sunday, a week before, I began on the tail of the whale. Hmm, that took a bit more effort than first thought, lots of measuring, re-measuring, etc. By afternoon's end, I had a perfect tail and fluke cardboard skeleton just waiting on skin. Now, at this point, a week earlier, you are thinking that I am gonna get this stuff out of the way early. Ah, you must not know me very well, cause I be a procrastinator. Yes, after that initial burst, nothing happened until Thursday. That evening, I covered the tail in its "skin" and saw that this might look good. Friday evening I began the measuring process for the head. WOW, this is gonna be big. I finished about all of the skeleton that night, late, getting irritated about how long it was taking. You see this is the game. I put it off, then, when I finally start, I get mad at the project for taking longer than I wanted to allow it. Lets just say that, on Saturday night, I spent the time covering it in the poster board skin and that lasted til 3:30 a.m. But wait, I get to set the clock back an hour...its only 2:30 a.m. YEAH, that makes a heck of a difference! Not really, but I used it to psych myself up!

So Sunday afternoon, I finished it, and stowed it to hit the parking lot that evening (I think I finished everything about a 1/2 hour before we had to leave. Finally, set up time. As I was setting it up, I got quite a bit of oohs and aahs, that was what I was looking for in the first place, right? "Yeah, I know, it's good...hey, someone has to win, right". Right about now, you are thinking, "Man, this guy has quite a bit of...umm...tendencies". I know, I know. I like things like this, but I rationalize it by saying that everything is a craft, just on a bigger scale. Building a house, its just a really large craft project...yeah, keep telling yourself that. All the while, people are coming up to Lisa and saying, "You guys did a good job on that", and she is saying, "No, not me, all Rob". That's right, all me! So, after two complete rolls of packing tape, 1.75 rolls of duct tape, about 23 sheets of poster board and a lot of cardboard, the whale lived...and yeah, I got first place. A strong performance from the third year vet. The next day, Lisa is like, "Next year we could do this" and I am like, "Hey now, we are honorary judges next year who cannot win...we are NOT putting effort into something that won't get properly recognized...SHEESH!"

2007, you better watch out, cause here we come!

The whale in all its glory!

Bill Simmons

2005-10-21T23:26:00.000-04:00

If you know who Bill Simmons is, then consider yourself lucky. If you don't, then I advise you to go look him up of ESPN's Page 2 (everyone but Cory, although, if you can get past the topic of every article being sports, you would like it too). This guy is one of the funniest writers I know of...maybe it just has something to do with him making all of the older references that I so appreciate. Here is a part of an article on his NFL picks, with reference to one of his fantasy teams.

"Three things you need to know about our team. First, we have Daunte Culpepper, who has pretty much given us fantasy SARS at this point. Watching him on the Vikings every week is slowly killing my soul. I'm not even kidding. I am going to rob a liquor store or something soon. I'm filled with hate"

Fantasy SARS, now that is funny stuff. I went into a Tim Cotton silent laugh on that for about 10 minutes.

So, read his stuff, he is funny beyond reason. He makes me laugh like the Kevin James special "Sweat the Small Stuff".

Music II

2005-10-06T10:49:00.000-04:00

Well, here we go again, self-indulgence at its finest. My time to point out the music I am currently enjoying. If you have ever seen "High Fidelity", the backdrop is a record store, staffed by three music snobs. They, especially Jack Black's character, take pleasure in reminding people of their musical superiority. They make the patrons, at least the one's that they don't like, seem foolish to not know what is cool or not cool. I give you this exchange:

Customer: "Hi, do you have the song "I Just Called To Say I Love You?" It's for my daughter's birthday."
Jack Black: "Yea we have it."
Customer: "Well, can I have it?"
Barry: "No, actually, you can't."
Customer: "Why not?"
Barry: "Do you even know your daughter? There's no way she likes that song. Oops, is she in a coma?"

"High Fidelity" is one of my favorite movies of all time, and that kind of dialouge is what makes it. Music inspires that kind of talk, discussions on which is better, what is the top 5 of this or that. I can remember driving in a field on a late Friday night, and getting into inebriated, hours-long arguments over whether Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page or David Gilmour was the best guitarist. Important stuff back then.

Anyway, back to the original idea...my musical selections of late. Again, I have no intention of trying to show off about how cool I am, just making a list. Besides, who reads this blog anyway?

1. Embrace - Just one of those groups who are a bit Coldplay-ish. I think Coldplay started a cottage industry for this style of music. However, this is good. Props to my man, Glen Imlay, for introducing me to this band. I have successfully shared it with two others who dig it as well.

2. Sloan - Canadian band. In 1991, I caught a video for one of their songs on "Post-modern MTV" (yeah, they played videos back then). Killer song, so I went to this record store downtown, Davidson's. This was one of those great, hole-in-the-wall places that smelled of incense and had a lot of tie-dye around. My church-raised conservative self really envied this place and its people. I so wanted to be like them, and tried a bit for a while back in the day. It never took, but I have some good memories. Part of the problem was that the culture was changing. This latter-day hippy thing was winding down just as the hip hop culture was winding up. Even though I enjoyed MC Hammer, Rob Base, Kool Moe Dee and the like when we were at the...umm...establishments built for dancing and the like, I still wanted the alternative stuff more. Anyway, after seeing a reference for this band, I busted out my CD and remembered how much of a raucous, noisy, great band that they were.

3. Anathallo - I really dig this stuff sometimes. This is very much and indie style Christian band that utilizes horns as well as the regular geetars, etc. A lot of dynamics, textures, etc. Just really good stuff.

4. Kaiser Chiefs - Sort of in line with the Bravery, Bloc Party...British new wave type stuff. Hard to explain, I sometimes think of the Romantics when I hear this stuff.

5. DJ Shadow - Just a great DJ who mixes in mainly the percussion side of things, drums, pianos, xylophones, etc. Good is all I can say, smooth, mellow...good stuff.

That is a good list for now.

Dakota's 2nd Grade picture

2005-09-29T14:52:00.000-04:00

This is Dakota, my 7 year old. His latest picture is the bottom one, in 2nd grade. On the top, that was from last year, really, only one year ago. So, do I have a future hippie? Maybe. Is he trying out for "The Strokes"? Maybe. You know, I see his hair everyday but it wasn't until this pic came out that I realized how long it is getting. Lisa and I both like it, and are letting him grow it out. I don't know how long though. If we let it grow through the year, we could be looking at a serious headbanger. A new gentleman in our church asked about our "daughter". I imagine if Dakota knew that, he might want a cut. Oh well...I must say, it is amazing how much he has grown in a year, hair and all.

Andrew

2005-09-19T13:29:00.000-04:00

Well, Andrew Prisk is leaving Marshall University. Andrew is my co-worker, has been for several years. I mean, I have known him since we both started about 8 years ago, but we have worked in tandem for the last 4 years. I am one of the only people that he trusts and speaks with candidly.

You would have to know Andrew to see whay that is such a big deal...he has a rough demeanor at times. We have had our share of irritations with one another, but, when it comes down to it, I will miss him.

He is a bit of a blowhard, certainly fabricating most of his stories for his benefit, to make himself look better than he really is, in his mind. you might understand that if you knew his background like I did. It frustrated me, and I would call him on it from time to time, but still, I suppose we were close to brothers in the work sense of things. He had a penchant for dropping F-bombs, as often as possible, to show off or take people aback.

He was also one of the most technically astute employees Marshall has. However, that caustic personality with others has burned way too many bridges. It was getting worse, and something was going to happen. So, it did. There will be many memories that I will keep from Andrew.

- Pug Ball: We acquired an inflatable beach ball and began a volleyball game in our old office. This evolved into a ball fight, trying to knock the crap out of each other, hence the name "Pugnacious Ball". Highlights include busting his ear, watching him topple trying to get at a ball more than once, playing "suicide", where we just sit and took the hardest shots from each other. I actually busted a coworkers glasses and knocked his ballcap off of his head in one shot. This lasted until our neighboring coworkers had taken so much of our tomfoolery that we were forced to stop.

- Swords: We acquired several protest sign poles of wood,and with packing tape, created wooden broadswords and battled until the sticks became splinters. A good experience in case I ever try to join the cast of "Conan" the musical.

- Discussions: At times, we were, along with a few others, Seinfeldian in our breaking down of the banality of office life.

- Christmas: Andrew and I were the single driving force to have a redenck Chrismas decoration frenzy that began just after Thanksgiving and lasted through til January. In our first office, the enclosed office with a locking door, we raised the mean temp to, I would say 80 degrees. I wore short sleeves to work in those days, with 70's era outdoor lights inside. Last year was the best...it was everywhere. Duct tape ruled, with every bad light available.

- Ball Fights: See here

One time, our friend Vince had an old, non working internal CD drive and was offering the opportunity to punch it. Well, I took first shot, a cautious shot that put a small dent in the case. Andrew, well he had to do better. He hit the heck out of it and nearly scalped his knuckle in the process. A good amount of blood and laughter followed that one.

I also recall the time that, after acquiring a teen photo of me in my mulleted teens, he made an oversize printout of it, cut it onto cardboard, glued it on and proceeded to take "me" around campus, shooting pics of me in various locations with various people. He made a website of it just for me. Very nice. The head of that cutout resides in George's office to this day.

There were so many other memories that I am not listing, things that were single occurences, things that left me in stitches. I will just say, there are not many like Andrew, and I will miss him.

Diplomatic classwork

2005-09-19T13:10:00.000-04:00

So, grad school is actually school. I mean, they actually expect a large amount of work produced by their students, who normally have full time jobs. oh well, I took the class, I will do the work. I have one class that is working out well, but keeping me busy.

Take last week for instance, we have a group that is formulating a strategic plan for the organization of our choice, which turns out to be a no-kill animal shelter. Well, I volunteered to produce the Powerpoint, and when finalized, was asked to put in notes for the presentation. No problem sez I, I shall write out the entire script for our little production. I imagine after it was over, I should have put in a slide that said, "Executive Producer - Rob Williamson", "Screenplay - Rob Williamson".

Our group consists of a metallurgist from Special Metals, a help desk manager from the med school, a former HS teacher from Cameroon, and myself. The metallurgist has been in China for the last few weeks, so the med school manager and I handled the presentation. It went well, and she and I got an email that said we set the standard for the evening. Nice, and I got an acknowledgement from the group about the good work. I don't mind credit where credit is due, so that was nice as well.

Now, at the end of class, we get yet another presentation, to present our ideas on our grad program's evaluation matrix (yeah, yeah, don't ask). Well, everyone puts in their ideas, and since no one offered to combine the thoughts into one format, and it was the day before the due date, I assumed the responsibility. I pared down everyone's ideas to the commonalities and listed them in the matrix. I send them out with explanation and wait. Well, I got a call from the member from Cameroon. He wants to come up and discuss. Basically, he wanted to come up and lobby for his choices that were omitted from my finalized matrix. I spent a good 30 minutes with him, saying, "Well, now how do you see that as an opportunity?", or "Do you think these two can be combined?" In the end, it worked out pretty well. I think we will do fine.

Another Top 5

2005-09-15T18:52:00.000-04:00

For those who aren't "in the know" top 5 lists seem to be the pinnacle of my church peer group conversations. You cannot talk to this group, or a certain few members of it, without being thrown into one of these lists, followed by a "that changed my life". I sometimes wonder if they are designed to stimulate conversation, or tools to show others how cool and original your thoughts are in comparison to the Philistine who actually likes Aerosmith. Oh well, I digress...This time around, I will tackle my top 5 underrated movies. George (a purveyor of the top 5) started this topic just the other day with top 5 underrated bands, but I thought movies would be fun for this post...bands to come later.

There is probably some argument as to who or what started the idea of the top 5 list, but the movie at number 5 is certainly a contender for the originator of the list:

5) High Fidelity - John Cusack and Jack Black. This is a very good flick, and Jack Black is hilarious. Many top 5 lists here, including "top 5 songs I want played at my funeral", "top 5 cool jobs", "top 5 Side 1, Track 1's"

4) About Schmidt - Jack Nicholson retires, his wife dies, his daughter is about to marry an idiot and Kathy Baker does a *gulp* hot tub scene. However, I love this movie, especially the end.

3) 3 O'Clock High - One of the overlooked 80's teen films, this one is about a school newspaper reporter, pretty much a geek, student manager of the student store, who touches the new mysterious bully by accident and is then challenged to fight at 3 o'clock. Lots of cool camera action, really a good movie.

1) The Game - This is an all time fave...you never know til the end.

1) A River Runs Through It - Probably most of my co-bloggers would not like this one, but to me, it is one of the best movies ever made. Just a fantastic story about a family with two brothers that grow up and into different directions. I could watch it any time it comes on.

I have some honorable mentions: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels/Snatch, Silverado (great western), Searching for Bobby Fischer, Big Trouble in Little China, American Flyers (bike racing).

Well, there you have it. Let me know what you think.

Working for the Weekend

2005-08-29T16:51:00.000-04:00

Who out there does not LOVE this song? This is classic 80's...but not my reason for posting. We had another one of those DubDub weekends (double W) which stands for WHEW and WOW. It seems that anytime WOW is involved in your work, WHEW is always a part of it. We had some great oppotunities to work for God this past weekend.

Saturday was a big event for our Children's Ministry...we had a big back to school carnival. Leading up to this event, we did alot of promotion...basically by going door to door in our surrounding neighborhoods with flyers. That was quite an experience in itself. One of our missions is going to Mexico to work in the communities. I have never personally been there, but we had more than one of our kids compare the passing of flyers in the Marcum Terrace housing project to passing out flyers in Mexico. We talk about the abject poverty in Mexico, and we have what look like similar situations in our own backyard. Now, our poor are rich compared to the situation in Mexico, but still, the kids have similar traits. I know that the best time I had was kneeling down in the playground of the projects and havings kids just all over you, dying for your attention. I hated to leave.

My wife planned the carnival, which is to say, she had a three ring binder with a heck of a lot of info, including a map of the parking lot where everything would reside. I was pressed into service for making signs, picking up random things, etc. Well, Sat. came and, even though some worried about rain, we had it outside without a drop. It was wonderful, with many kids from the neightborhood. I think over 50 kids, with their parents, grandparents, etc. I took over the kool-aid and lemonade station and created what is now known as "The Greatest Drink Ever", or the "Rob Special" or the "Fruit Punch Sunrise". I was as smooth as Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Many people were repeat customers. Dusty the magic man was there. He is amazing. Good stuff, prizes and general good feelings all around. One tip from the weekend, cleaning up the cotton candy machine is difficult.

Sat evening was spent recuperating and putting together our display board for the Ministry Fair that was to go on the next day. On Sunday, I had a good class with the middle schoolers. Then, we had a big recognition for our ministries and volunteers. That was good, and a call to get working. Then, dinner and info tables. Good times were had by all.

Sun evening, area worship at Hurricane. That was great, as always. It is always good for our groups to get together. I so enjoy Tony, Mike Cleveland and the Hurricane family, as well as Paul and the other groups.

Oh well, all good things must come to an end. Work happened today, including just a busy, busy day. Class now, but thankfully, UCF tonight. That will save the day.

Later

Two lovely ladies

2005-08-28T01:34:00.000-04:00

These are two pictures that I took on our vaction in July. My lovely daughter Sloane and my beautiful wife Lisa. Not too bad for a doofus with clothespins in his hair!

Blogs to consider

2005-08-24T14:15:00.000-04:00

You need to take a look at Fred Peatross' blog. He is a member of Norway and has a lot to say about the state of things. He can be found Here.

Toney Stowers is a great guy with some great thoughts. Look for him in my links section or Here.

Of course, you need to check out George Welty as well, he is a great friend and "ute" minister.

Music

2005-08-12T15:17:00.000-04:00

I think I am going to have a recurring post concerning the music that I have been listening to lately. This is nothing but self indulgence....but I guess blogs are built on that concept. It is as if what I have to say is so important, it belongs on a webpage. I like writing about conceit while I take part in the very conceit I am writing about. Hypocrisy at its finest. So, here it comes, what you have all been waiting for, a short list of my latest music selections.

1. The Bravery - One in a number of UK type, new new wave music using electronics.

2. Bloc Party - See above, one of my favorites.

3. Wilco - "Remember the Mountain Bed" is soon becoming one of my faves.

4. Coldplay - See my post on Colplay if you have any questions about them.

5. Lake Trout - Baltimore based...not really sure how to explain it. Some fusion of jazz, rock, electronica, ? Who knows, but I like it.

That is about enough. Let me know what you are into lately.

Coldplay

2005-08-10T15:16:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don't know, I am a BIG Coldplay fan. Very big, one of my favorite bands of all time. Well, last night, a friend from work and I went to Cincinnati to see the one and only Coldplay.

First, at this concert they played all of this really good interim music. Some marvelous songs that I will never know. Makes me realize that there are whole geographic countries of music that I do not know. I consider myself a decent music fan, and this is somewhat sad to me. However, I enjoyed the music.

The opening act was a band from Vancouver, Canada named "Black Mountain". Stoner rock was my first impression, which is not a bad thing. I like the old 60's rock psychedelic stuff. They were a mix of rock and heaviness, some truly killer guitar, and maybe Floyd or other folky, druggy type stuff. A bit of the Dead maybe. Splendid is what I would desctibe the experience as. Their set was splendid, and I found myself wanting to see them again.

Now, breaking down their stage, more interim music that is great but without name. I did recognize an cover of the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows" from the Revolver album.

Then, they guys came on, starting off with "Square One", first track off of the new album. WOW! Fantastic light show, great sound and energy. The crowd was huge and everyone was into it. I love live music. I will steadily lose my hearing over it, but the total hugeness of a good concert is something I love. The sound waves that actually move your body. I think I should pack up and just follow the band. Some highlights:

"Yellow". Huge yellow balloons filled with yellow confetti were dropped onto the crowd. Chris Martin, the singer, says that the song will not finish until they are all popped. He help out the last note until they were all burst, and they ended the song.

"God Put A Smile On Your Face" just cause its a favorite.

"The Scientist" and "Everthing's Not Lost" are two of my favorite piano based songs. the second one sparked a big singalong.

"Speed of Sound", another great one from the new album.

"Clocks" was one of the songs where the crowd literally went nuts. It was just crazy stuff. They played it so well. At the end, we were clapping along and the steadily sped it up. If you know the song at all, Chris Martin was playing the piano hook so fast and our hands were getting beat, but man, it was so cool.

"In My Place" was another song that, as soon as the drums started, we went crazy. It is a great sing along song. Big, big fun with that one.

"Fix You" was the final song of the night. A great one off of the new album. They all sing the second verse together, which makes it very nice.

All of the songs were great, and the concert was one of the best I have ever been to...a great experience.

Master in The Mountains

2005-08-10T14:01:00.000-04:00

What a weekend our group just had. For those of you who don't know, we take our high school students and anyone who has already graduated on a hiking weekend in August. It serves as the last big thing of summer and the offical sendoff event for our new college freshmen. Well, we had a great time, an awesome time, full of laughter and tears. This is my short summary of the weekend.

Friday - We left the building in a bus that was a bit dated. Unfortunately, it was so warm that we had to pull over due to overheating about 4 times on the way down. Now, don't take this as complaining, because it is not. That bus situation could not be helped, so we dealt with it. On the second breakdown, it was getting rainy, so we were stuck on the bus until the engine cooled. Let me say that it was really, really hot in the back. Mad hot, sick hot. I think if we had a pile of rocks in the center of the aisle and poured water on them, we could have taken a good steam. You know how I am with heat anyway....needless to say, it was really "fun".

Well, we finally got there, and the cabins were just the sweetest places you could imagine. Nice, NICE beds and bedrooms. We were living it up. So, I unpacked, put my water bladder of the hydration pack in the fridge for tomorrow's hike and, after several visits from other people in the group, went to bed.

Saturday - We hiked "Charlie's Bunion". Not exactly a great name for a hike. Who were the marketing geniuses that came up with this one? Why not "Charlie's Wart" or "Charlie's Boil". Getting there was a bit of a chore, about 8 miles round trip. It was fun, tiring, hard at times. I took many breaks, you know the great shape I am in. However, the destination was very nice. Big views. Really something special. Tip from Rob, those hydration packs are fantastic. However, I think a 3 liter might do better for me :-) Plus, a hand towel can be your best friend in the world.

Sat night worship was probably one of the top 5 worship experiences in my life. Full of power and praise and glory. Cousin John is a man gifted to lead worship, no doubt about it. It was the first time that I was honestly driven to my knees in I don't know how long.

Then we had put ups. Each senior takes a turn in the "Hot Seat" and is complimented and sent off knowing how they have effected their own group. let me just say that I, along with many others during the weekend, was reduced to tears. I am not a man given to tears. But this weekend just tore me up. Both my feelings and witnessing the feeling of others took hold of my emotions in ways I cannot describe. I will only say this. We quit at about 3:30 a.m. I was asleep by just after 4 a.m. By 8:45 the next morning, I was watching "Spiderman 2" and in the scene where he stops the subway and is carried on top of the passengers to the floor, I got very, very weepy. Its was like the switch had not been turned off yet.

Sunday - We got up, and after overcoming my emotions for Spidey, we eventually went and had worship. Great again, not Sat night, but great. We had a nice time of communion, and afterwards, when everyone is talking again, a mention of one of last night's put ups forced me to leave the conversation. Overcome again. for someone who does not get overly emotional, this is good. It is good for me to have the shell cracked.

We then left. 5 miles and 2.5 hours later, we arrive at O'Charleys to eat. Lets just say that this trip took what seemed like forever. I felt like Sysiphus, doomed to ride an uncomfortable bus for an eternity. Well, we did finally get home at around 11 p.m. WHEW! I was never happier to get out of a vehicle in my life. I think my rear end needs to be serviced after that trip.

All in all, a really amazing trip. I am extremely grateful to be a part of this group.

Rob Will

I'm Back

2005-08-02T12:28:00.000-04:00

Alright, I have been back since Saturday, so this headline is not exactly news, but hey, I needed something to put in the title bar. Vaca was good, great at times, pretty exhausting at others and sometimes irritating at others. I got to: play with the kids a lot, do the Dirty Dancing lift with my wife in the pool (I'm no Patrick Swayze, but she was held aloft), play golf a few times, view a school of 30 Mahi right under our boat in the Gulf Stream, eat some nice steamed shrimp, hang out with my brother for more than 10 minutes on Sunday morning, hang out with other sundry relatives, and generally just get a good rest.

Probably my favorite part of vacation is coming home though. The same house that you fuss about when you are always at home looks so good when you return from an absence. You forget the blessings you have right here at home. Even more so, I miss my church. I miss my God family. Being away puts that into perspective too. I miss those folks. It is good to be back. Of course, how cool would it be to take the whole church and just rent a beach, several houses, everyone sharing, etc.

A few of us, about 5 families went camping back in May over the Memorial Day weekend. It was fantastic. There are always a few issues you deal with when you tent camp, but my favorite feature is the nightly gathering around the campfire. Cabins give you a place to hide away, but tents aren't like that. You have to be around each other, and it is a good thing. Now, with those people, memories have been made, and Sundays are not just a 10 second hello, but a genuine "Good to see you"!

Ahh, maybe that is the future fix for churches, camping. I think I am onto something here. WWJC (Where Would Jesus Camp), the new thing in church relationships. Maybe I will start a side business, Christian Camp Outfitters...camping gear, clothing, site planning, bibles and portable communion portions. Who wouldn't want this?

Speaking of camp, we are at the junior camp week at Howell's Mill every evening, with yours truly leading the evening worship. What I lack in singing ability I make up for in crazy antics. Hey, I may not be Matt Hayes but can he do Jeba's Love like I can? There is something about an overweight guy doing jazz hands that just makes people happy. I think the sweat adds something it. Anyone that knows me for a bit of time knows that I perspire at about twice the rate of others. Its nice, like a personal shower! I mean, if a woman refers to her own perspiration as "being aglow" well then, I glow like the freaking SUN!

But hey, that is me. And this is me, glad to be home, happy to be at camp for some of the time, working feverishly on some projects for MU.

I'll be seein ya.

Vacation

2005-07-15T14:08:00.000-04:00

Well, this is my last day in the state for a few weeks. Family vacations, with both sets. It is a blessing that we get along so well, and can enjoy spending extended time with each other. So, I will generally be away from electronic communications for two weeks. I may just leave my phone off. While I am at it, think I will take my watch off as well...I could care less what time it is down there. That is what is good about vacation, a break from the schedules of life. When Lisa and I were first married, vacations were events filled with the need to do things. Finally, after several years and a particularly brutal DisneyWorld vacation two years ago, we relish the vacation that is less crowded, less busy. That is what we did when I was a kid. Play, play, rest, eat when hungry, etc. I like the less commercialized places.

Intersting thing I read once about vacations. This is it in a nutshell. The change from holiday to vacation has more meaning than just in name only. Holiday has its origin in Holy Day. It was time of reflection, a time to reflect on God. We now take vacations, where we vacate from everything, responsibilities, stress, which are good. But we often put God on the back burner as well. We lump God in with the rest of the daily detritus we are trying to escape. If anything, the blessing to get away should be counted as such, and thanks should be given. I need to consider such things. Maybe I am not taking a vacation, but a holiday. Taking time to get connected with God without the clutter of the noisy lives we lead. Spending time with family...swimming, golfing, sandcastles, fishing...all good things, Godly things. We fall into a trap in our thinking on things secular and spiritual. We lose out on enriching spiritual experiences, when we head into something with our secular blinders on. God does not see such distinctions.

So anyway, see you guys on the flip-flop.

Let's Get Ready to RUMBLE

2005-07-13T14:02:00.000-04:00

DISCLAIMER: For those of you who think I work really hard at my job, please, stop reading. I don't want to change your opinion!

That old saying that, "When the cat is away, the mice will play" was never any truer than yesterday. Seems that both my immediate supervisor and the manager of our department were out sick. Well, that does not happen too often and it became the impetus for a legendary event. All was well until after lunch, we were working happily, things quiet, etc. What happened next started a squeezie ball fight of epic porportions.

One of the said squeezie balls (see picture, upper left) flew into my cubicle. Well, I am too close to the wall to be hit from that angle, but I knew that this was an overture for battle. Then, about 4 more is succession came over, lobbed shots, but shots none the less. I quickly gathered up the ordinance and checked out the competition. My coworker Javey had started something he would regret. Andrew, sensing some action, wanted a piece too. Our cubicles are quardened off, 4 square cubicles forming a larger square, then another, etc. A regular cubicle village, with neat square blocks. Anyway, Andrew circled around the right, I went to the left, Javey in the corner facing us both. A small skirmish, we all took a bit of hits, and then some others joined the fray. After that, I sat back in the cube and proceeded to check out this laptop I was working on. Then, "BOOM", a very hard shot is volleyed at the office, then a few more. I am not hit, but the game is afoot. This time, Andrew, whose bloodlust had not been sated, fires at me. He's a mercenary...he has no loyalties.

This battle is a vertical battle. I get on my desk to see above my walls. It is Andrew, waiting. We circle one another, throw a few shots (Andrew throws like he is trying out for the Yankees AAA club). It gets more involved, with others in the mix. He nails me in the ear and as he runs, I climb my desk and hit him in the neck and ear, in what can only described as the perfect shot. A half second more, he is hidden behind a wall. I narrowly miss the wall and bust that big head of his. The highlight of this battle is when I circle around, find him on the desk in the cube next to me, ready to surprise me in my office.

Now, you are thinking he is dead to rights. I was. I threw 6 shots at him and went high everytime. I mean, I had just made an incredible shot, and I am missing these like Rick Vaughn without glasses. I was trying a sidearmed approach, around a windowed wall, so it just didn't work. He begins guffawing at me, but, in kharmic revenge, falls off of the desk and into the floor. He is fine, but, man, that was funny. So, this match is over. All is well.

At least, that is what I thought. Ken, a suck up from across the carpet street, begins to volley into my office again. Only thing is, he is at the perfect angle, hitting me from the door side of my office. I am in his sights, and he hits me, my coffee cup and my plants. Well, this is war. I am beginning to feel like Al Pacino in the last Godfather..."Just when I think I am out, they PULL me back in!" I loft into his office, and then the battle is street side. Andrew, not liking Ken, gets into it as well. Ken, well, he is a suckup. He visits his supervisor's and upper manager's office at least 5 times a day. The manager loves him, Ken the yes man, the brown nose...etc. He is not despised, but he is the Newman to our collective Seinfeld. We all say his name in the same sardonic tone. So, that battle rages. I am telling you, it was like the Gaza Strip yesterday.

So, there you go. A bossless day and there will be some play. My favorite shot of the day happenend when I left. As I walked past Ken's office, he was on the phone. I lobbed a shot over his wall...I heard things falling and Ken being struck. That was the sweetest shot of the day.

Another Pic

2005-07-09T00:34:00.000-04:00

This is Dakota, me boy!

First posted picture

2005-07-08T15:44:00.000-04:00

This is my lovely daughter Sloane, last fall.

Three Day Weekend

2005-07-05T14:53:00.000-04:00

Nothing like a three day weekend to lift your spirits. Course, they honestly seem to go by faster that the two day variety, but, all good none the less. Let me see if I can break this down.

Friday Night - Saw Tim Wilson at the Funny Bone comedy club. Lets just say my face hurt....he was HeeLarryUs. One of my favorite lines, "When we captured Saddam Hussein in that farm, I thought, when did the Oak Ridge Boys get to Iraq?" That had me going for a bit, I think it ended in a bit of light headed coughing. Good stuff

Saturday - house cleaning (always fun), playing with kids, a cookout at Tex's. Yes George, we had grilled meat, and yes, it was fantastic. Watched quite a bit of Live 8. I remember fondly the Live Aid show of '85. I remember "We are the World" in that same vein. I thought it was amazing, and wanted to see this one, for the acts and the history. Pink Floyd was reuiniting for the first time in 24 years. That is huge my friend, at least to me it is. The whole thing just didn't have that feeling of Live Aid. Live Aid felt like a difference was being made. Probably wasn't, but it felt like it. Live 8 felt like a big show of a lot of people. I think probably it is me more that anything. When you are 15, you believe a lot can be accomplished with the government. I think as you grow older, you lose those ideals. Seems that things are more jaded, you learn more than you want to know. Pink Floyd rocked though, although VH1 cut off the end of Gilmour's guitar solo on Comfortably Numb.....dumb move. ColdPlay and U2 also were amazing. Practiced our worship service at 10 p.m. til 11:30 p.m., all went well.

Sunday - Got there at 9 a.m. to go over the worship 1 more time. Still working fine, everything looks like it will go well. Getting into worship, Nick Taylor is working the media shout, I am working the sound board and giving Nick queues for working the PC stuff. We have a few others in the room, my daughter being one of them. Another young man there as well. We start practicing our song to record in Spanish. I have Nick getting ready to press record to make the mp3, and he is so focused on that, he is late with slides. However, we get it recorded, the church did very well. All is on point. Now, Rob D tells me that he will reinitiate the video conversation at communion time. He tries to, I see it, but it will not work. Hmmm, that is odd, it has worked well for the last two times. Try again, now answer. I check our wireless connection status, which is down from 11 to 1 - not good. It actually is fading from nothing to 1, neither of which is good. I am getting a bit nervous now. Generally, I would get tense, which I did. I would also let it show, which I kept in check. Jay begins and is made aware of the glitch, he begins with Sean Nine instead,with rolling pics from Afghanistan. Me, in the background, leaning over a Nick Taylor who will not move, trying to jumpstart the connection. I even turn the router off and back on, no luck. I have one helper following me closely, which is also not a good thing. Sloane had backed up to give me room, its like she's lived with me for almost 11 years! Now, Jay is done with Sean, I can work on the PC. I decide a reboot is in order. I probably should have done a release renew, but, I was not as clear as I could have been. One thing I definitely should have done was kill the projector, but no, I didn't. Now everyone is seeing the process of the reboot, and luckily, the password is not too difficult. I am aglow (code for those who know me). The connection kicks backup on reboot, and we get it going again. Jay gets the signal, we do the conversation with George, which looks like the trailer for "The Hulk" as George's camera shows only green. In the end, it worked. It was really cool, even with the technical difficulties. I retired to the men's room for some paper towels. Good stuff. Sunday evening was canceled and we just chilled out at home. I went and played some geetar later on that night.

July 4th - Began with some more relaxing. Cleaning followed, with a trip to the inlaws for some burgers. Nothing amazing at all about this day. Sloane went to spend the night with a friend, Dakota, Lisa and I want to see the fireworks at Camden Park....well, across the river, in the "S" curve of Burlington. Great views, good show, etc. Saw some stellar examples of parenting, as you often do at public events, but nothing major.

Anyway, that was it. Some relaxin', some work, all good.

Not being on the Mexico Mission Trip

2005-07-01T15:09:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I am not going on the trip. I am not really thrilled with that. I had a wonderful time last year in Arizona, and had planned on doing the same in MeHiCo. It just did not work out, mainly because of my dwindled vacation days. I could miss my wife and kids for two weeks, one while on mission, and the other when they went on vacation that I did not have, or miss the mission trip and be with my wife and kids (although my wife probably wouldn't have minded it that much!) I chose family....I sincerely believe that the number one mission of a man is to be a husband and father first, a family builder. I've known too many PK's whose fathers were there for so many others and not their own.

Now, onto my small help with the mission trip. The group needed to be in Columbus at 5:30 a.m. this morning for their flight. We arranged for sleeping quarters last night at the McGuire's new church (miss them much). I got to sleep at their house. So here is the timeline, as I remember it.

Thursday, June 30
6:30 p.m. - Met at the building, picked up the van, got ready to go.
7:30 p.m. - Left the building
7:45 p.m. - Stopped at 16th street road Chevron for gas and snacks
8-9 p.m. - Has a spirited political discussion with a few of the teens in my van and George. At one point, they thought I was mad....passionate I say :-) Really, a nice conversation, all good, respectful, etc.
10:00 p.m. - Stop at a Pilot quick mart for essentials
11:00 p.m. - Torrential downpours while on I270. Good fun there, with some kickin' windshield wipers.
11:30 p.m. - Safe at the building. The have a sanctuasium, or a gymuary, whichever is best. We played some ball, met the McGuire's, ordered a pizza.
12:ish - Dana getting ready to follow Melinda to the house to get some sleep. I tell her, "Hang on, let me get my bag". I come back, she is gone, thinking I was coming home later with John, which I did.
1:00 a.m. - Sitting on the porch with John, Melinda and a sleeping aid, knowing I am gonna get about 3 hours, tops.

Got to add this. I called home when we got to the church. No answer. I am talking about 30 rings, no answer. Now, both Lisa and I are sound sleepers, but, I got a bit flustered. I kept trying for a bit and then quit. I was at the McGuire's, took a shower, called one last time. Still, no answer. Now, my mind tends to wander in situations like this, and I tend to think bad thoughts. So, I lay in bed, praying out loud. "God, I am getting uncomfortable with this. I just need to not worry. Let me know, help me out..." RRIINNGG, my cell phone goes off. I pick up, and it is a slightly peeved wife saying, "I am trying to sleep". I was never so happy to hear her get on my case!

4:30 a.m. - Up and at 'em, none too happy.
5:30 a.m. - they are dropped off at the airport. Hugs and disappointment as I know I am not leaving with them.

John had mentioned that maybe I should go back and get a bit more sleep before making the lonesome journey back to Huntington. I did need to get to work, but I took him up on it and slept from 6:30 to 8:30.

9:00 a.m. - Leave the McGuire's
9:15 a.m. - Almost take the wrong exit, make a quick cut back into traffic. In a 15 passenger Ford van, quick is relative, but I made it relatively smoothly.
Noon - Back in Huntington, taking the van back, getting lunch, going to the 1 p.m. meeting I was about to miss, etc.

That was my experience. Not anywhere near as cool as their's will be, but thought I would share.

"What a Week I am Having" - Walter Cornbluth

2005-06-26T23:05:00.000-04:00

I will give props to whomever can tell me the movie from whence that quote was taken.

Seriously though, its been quite a busy week. It started last Monday with words that fill all husbands with dread. My wife called me while I was driving home from work to tell me that I had some work to do. I considered driving my Oldsmobile on, past my exit, as far as 3/4 of a tank of gas could go. No, she surely would find me, and have more lists to complete. I chose home, and the awaiting project, which turned out to be a 12 foot trampoline, with safety net. A nice addition, and the kids are thrilled.

The middle days of the week saw our backyard morph into a community center, with kids from the block rejoicing in our purchase. I know I saw at least 8 in one sitting, but it is all good, and happiness reigns........ generally. Two boys, playing with my son until about 9 pm told me that their mom said they could stay until Dakota had to go in. I informed them that time was now. They left....thankfully. I didn't want to turn into gruff dad, but I held that persona in the wings, ready to strike at any moment.

Friday night and Saturday were pretty uneventful, playing in the backyard, fixing a few things, cooking. Went to watch a pay-per-view fight with my brother late Saturday night. That was fun.

Today, however, was a big one. Learned to run the sound for worship in prep for next week, when the three who could do it will not be able to do it. Had a big church fellowship/picnic thing, a fellownic I suppose. We had a large slip-n-slide, and let it be known that I perfected a technique that shall forever be referred to as "The Penguin". It involved sliding only on the stomach, with the arms pulled back and legs up, head first. Good speed, and at least a 5 foot run into the grass, after finishing the 20 foot of soapy wet black plastic. George has a video, and I am sure it will be seen, as everything that is vaguely embarassing about me comes to light. Then, a big youth worship night at KC. Good times, good pizza, good to see everyone, especially Tony, Brad, Paul and Steve. I had Brennan riding shotty with me in the minivan, so that just made it even better.

Now, I am home, writing this, listening to "the Church", a post modern 80's band with one cult hit that George and I agree might be one of the better songs ever made. Jay told me that, on my solo run at sound next week, we will be doing the most complicated worship we have ever done. Glad I got my practice today. Evidently, we will be linking up with astronauts at the international space station for a joint worship. Well, maybe not that dramatic, but we will be linking up with George in Mexico, and recording a praise song in Spanish for the group down there. I am gonna be as busy as the one armed guy from "The Fugitive" in a DJ'ing contest.

Well, until next time, "Vaya con Dios".

Rob Will

Hello

2005-06-16T15:09:00.000-04:00

Well, here I go again, on my own...goin' down the only road I've ever known...like a drifter I was born to walk alone.

Nothing like a good section of Whitesnake lyrics to start us off. I honestly believe that David Coverdale might just be a genius. Imagine if he were the nation's poet laureate....that would kick some major buttocks.

So, here I am, Rob Williamson, and this is my second blog. Like any new blogging partner, I am going to do my best to keep up my end of the relationship. I will be there for this blog, I will be the blogger it deserves. I know, I have a bad history in blog relationships and I am currently paying alimony to a certain blog known as Livejournal. Hey, we all make mistakes, but guys, I am in love with this blog. How can fight the feelings I have? This blog is the best thing that has happened in my life, you just don't know. I quote Tupac in saying, "Only God can judge me". A wise saying from the most prolific post mortem artist of our times.

Anyway, enough with that. This is my blog, hope you enjoy.