Josh o' Trades

Monday, September 25, 2006

Fall Has Arrived

Hey, Kids-

So, Saturday marked the first day of Autumn. And, just to make things interesting, Texas decided to crank up the dial to 100 degrees on Friday to send Summer out with style. And it wouldn't have been too bad as long as you had air conditioning. Right? Right.

So, of course, we didn't.

Around 8:30 Thursday morning, the city of Addison shut off the power here at Jo'THQ. Seems my boss didn't want to pay the bill, and TCU took offense to that. And rightly so. After getting the run-around for several hours from my boss and the power company, it ended up with a choice: Pay the balance of the existing bill, around $180, or work in the dark with no computers or phones. Oh, and did I mention that since this wasn't the first time we haven't made a payment, we were also encouraged to pay an additional "goodwill charge" of $2,700?

Yeah. So we didn't have power on Friday either. I mentioned the 100 degree day, right? Did I also tell you that we still had to go in? That we had to run extension cords from next door just to get the computers up? That we only had temp power to the phones? That my boss didn't want anyone to leave "in case a client decided to drop in?" Can I tell you how much fun Friday was. And how wonderful we smelled after 6 hours of roasting in our little steam cooker. Ah, good times.

But, as bad as the work week ended, the weekend was fantastic!

This weekend was the Plano Balloon Festival, and B and I got up early to watch the first launch. Around 7am. It was still muggy and hot from the day before, and a thunderstorm was looming on the horizon. But it was the wind that kept everything grounded. In fact, the wind and the approaching storm canceled the entire event around 8:45. But B and I had a wonderful breakfast fresh muffins and red grapes. We had a fun time talking and people watching up until the security people asked us to pack up and get out of the storm. We finished out the morning at Borders, talking and watching the rain.

Around 1, we headed over to HPPC, the church she works at, to help her change out some floor banners for their service project this past Sunday. The banners were B's design, and they looked great.

About that time, my sinuses started kicking in, so I crashed out on the couch for a couple of hours. After a late lunch, leftover rosemary chicken from Friday night, we spent the evening watching DVDs and relaxing.

Sunday was to be my week off from the cameras, but, alas, it was not meant to be. Ran the main camera for the first service, but was able to sit with B and the gang during the 10:50. We had lunch at Macaroni Grill, where Randy and I got caught up and I got to know B's friends, A and J better.

After going home to change, put on a load of laundry, and relax a little with the new Aaron Sorkin project, Studio 60 (VERY good, by the way), I headed back over to B's for our Sunday Bible Study, The 5 Love Languages. She was making oatmeal cookies (my favorite!). I just may have to keep this one. :) We ended the evening with a little Mystery and another great talk. Things are going really well.

Now, I'm back at the office. Well, at least the power's back on. For now, anyway......

Hope your weekend was fun. Thanks for stopping by.

-Jos

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." ~Stanley Horowitz

Monday, September 11, 2006

One Week's Time

Hey, Kids.

Sorry for the lull in communication as of late, but there are only so many hours in the day.

So, where to begin? So much has happened over the last few weeks - this past week, especially.

Let's see:

1) Kidney Boy - Last Wednesday and Thursday, I underwent a complete barrage of tests to see if I'm compatible to give Nathan my "extra" kidney. The tests were extensive and very tiring. And taking the time off has caused a strain on an already fragile working environment. I still have a couple of doctor/surgeon consults and need to mail in a couple more samples, but I should be done by next week. Then it's a waiting game to see what's next. If all goes well, I should know something by mid October.

2) Work - As always, eyes and ears are open to any and all possibilities. May possibly have something to report soon.

3) MZ-12 - Well, the AQ and I have decided to start our own writing and production company. Our first foray into the void is a massive collaborative graphic novel that spans some 100+ years. We're calling it "Centennial" for now. It combines several story ideas that I've had for may years now, a lot from my Hot Fish days, and a merging of ideas and characters from AQ and myself. We're breaking the outline now, and it's taking some time. It's going to be a LOT of work, but we feel that the outcome will be well worth it.

4) Pamie - Just finished reading Pamie's sophomore effort, Why Mothers Are Weird. Very funny and heartwarming. I've been a fan of hers for years, and she just keeps getting better. Go out and pick it up, you'll be presently surprised. And, if you haven't already, pick up her first novel, Why Girls Are Weird, while you're at it.

5) Jo'T's Browncoats - The costumes are almost completed for this year's Halloween competition. Several of the props are completed, or close to being done. Really, only one large prop is still in the works, Vera. Yeah, she's just a monster, and it's been a challenge trying to make it work. But, we're almost done. Once everything is completed, the finished outcome should be most impressive.

6) Granddaddy - Made the trip to Louisiana this weekend to see an old family friend who's getting married. Also got to spend some time with the fam. Got to meet GD's new wife and see their new place. Miss Frankie is nice and the townhouse is quaint, but it just didn't feel the same this time around. I'm sure it will just take time. Got to see Blondie for a little while, which is always good. She wasn't able to make it out to Big D this summer, so it was good to see her. We drove around Minden and marveled at all the changes that have occurred since last we were both in town (some 12 years or more). And the more things change, yadda yadda yadda. A lot of home is still just the way I left it. It's citizens may get older, it's businesses grow and expand or even close, but it's spirit is still the same. It will always be home to some degree, but the more time I spend and invest out here, the more I feel that Dallas is where I need to be.

That's a brief overview of the past several weeks. There is one more change. And it's a major one, but it's not one I'm going to discuss much here. There are some areas of my life that will not be talked about on this blog. Let's just say that God answers prayer, and leave it at that.

I hope all is well with you, my friends.

-Jos

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens." ~J.R.R. Tolkien