photo by Warren Thiessen Copyright 2005

photo by Warren Thiessen Copyright 2005

Liane and I went for a little hike at the lake yesterday. It was a most beautiful evening. In fact, it was almost as perfect as it could have been...no mosquitos, no ticks, nice sunset...trees still need a few leaves yet. And to cap off a near perfect evening, we went to Warky's for ice cream with my parents & Dusty, and then to their place for a fire.
photo by Warren Thiessen Copyright 2005

Anyone up for a hike this evening?

LOTD, VOTD, NOTD, JOTD, etc.

Yes, that's right, Lyric of the Day, Verse of the Day, Joke of the Day, and News of the Day all in one massive post!

The last couple of days have been a lot of fun, and even a bit of work! Monday evening, after work and worship team practice, Liane came over, and we began to tackle my yard. Hadn't mowed the grass since last summer some time, and it was rather long to say the least. First I had to take off half a foot or so with the weed whahacker, then I mowed the lawn with the blade at maximum height, and then again at the regular height. A big thanks to Alex for the mower! Liane overhauled the flower bed which really looked exactly like the rest of the lawn, except for a couple of shrubs peeking out from between all the weeds. I think I'll wait another week or so to plant the flowers...who know what the weather's gonna be like! After a couple hours of hard work, we sat on the deck eating ice cream and looking at the stars. What an awesome evening! Liane came over again this morning and we baled all of the hay we cut last night :) Went to pick up a wedding license. $90!! Hokee Dinah! And then they want to sell you a couple of "wedding cards" for another $25 each. They look like a credit card or id or something, but are really totally useless. Crazy government.

So Ron told a hilarious joke at work today. I'll try and re-tell it (I am the absolute worst at telling jokes!).

Ok, so the concrete steps to the parliament building in Ottawa are in need of a serious face lift, so the the government guy in charge calls for a couple of quotes. A guy in Winnipeg says "16,000 for materials, and $2000 labour". A guy in Halifax says "16, 000 for materials, $2000 labour, and $1000 transportation fees". He calls one more guy in Quebec. "118,000." The government guy goes "what!?" Quebec guy says "50,000 for you, $50,000 for me, and we hire the guy from Winnipeg".

I laughed pretty hard. Then I cried.

Well, all day long it was looking like rain was a-comin'. A strong wind from the east and that smell in the air convinced me to throw the rain suit in the backpack before I went to work. But the evening came and went, and 9:15 I was home and still no rain. So I grabbed a ziplock bag for my iPod in case it started to rain, and set out for a run. It was absolutely perfect. Just enough wind for a good workout, 18 degrees, and no bugs! And would you believe that I didn't come across a single person walking, roller blading, running, or biking! (unless you count the couple making out on the park bench) Was everyone sleeping by 10:00?? I guess I shouldn't talk...I haven't exactly been out there every evening either. Maybe they all have weddings to plan too.

Anywhoos, as I was running, listening to some Bleach tunes, the song "Race" came on. One of my all time favorite competition/motivation/whatever songs. So here's the Lyric of the Day:

Bleach
-Race-
from the Self Titled (Couch) album

You've not seen the white smoke for years
It seems to me you've stripped out
Stripped out all your gears

You know it will whip you a bit
Don't know if you can handle it
But you can taste it
You can taste the thrill
Come on come on just one more mile
You can make it if you will

I want to race
I wish you'd race
I want to race you there
Step on out
Step on in
To a race that never ends

Drop it out you know it drags you down
Rather turn your head than to see a blurry crown
But then you've been here before
And now it's sounding better
Better more and more

I want to race
I wish you'd race
I want to race you there
Step on out
Step on in
To a race that never ends

This thing
The call
Decision based on knowing
You've joined
The race
And now its got you going
Bloodstream is pumping
One hundred miles an hour
You're set
To go
You know it's now
Or not at all

The race is on
Let's get it started

If that song doesn't get you going, nothing will! Mind you, the lyrics sound rather drab without the rockin' music!

During, and shortly after a run, I often have some of my most profound, deep thoughts.

Thought number 1:
I was sitting on the toilet clipping my toe nails (hey, when you're a busy guy, you've got to multi-task!) when I wondered: why do we have toe nails? What purpose do they serve besides being something to paint when you're bored, and something to break when you stub your toe? Finger nails I can understand...they're quite versatile...scraping food off of dishes that sat on the counter too long, and the obvious, but somewhat embarrassing scratching one's self, and picking one's nose.

Thought number 2:
As I was getting into the shower I realized I was really really hot from running, and the water I was getting into was really really cold, and I thought: what if I have one of those freak heart conditions, and the cold water sets it off and I die in my own bathroom? Hopefully my boss would realize after a few days that I'm not at work, and maybe they'd try calling or send an email. And Erika knows I check my email at least once a day, so when I don't reply, maybe they'd send a search party or call the cops, and the would kick down my door, unless I remember to leave the back door open, in which case they would knock my bike over 'cause I leave it leaning against the back door almost like a burglar alarm, and then I'd be all mad 'cause my bike fell over except it really wouldn't matter 'cause I'm dead but I guess Dustin would probably want it and hopefully the grip didn't get cut when it fell over. Wow, that was a long sentence. If I had written that in German I bet it would fill a whole book 'cause they have so many long words that have like 30 letters each! And if you don't believe me, check out wednesday, May 11 on Liane's blog...she's got a couple real doozies on there! I try to say them and I have to stop for a glass of water half way through!

Okay...I'm tired...can you tell?

So here's the Verse of the Day:

Romans 3:22-24
"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace though the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

Actually, why not read chapter, 3, 4, 5 and 6? Doesn't take too long, and there's so much in there! Every time I read it there are things that become so clear...things that make this whole Christianity thing make sense.

Owww! The auto-jack-sensing thingy on my speaker card just made a program pop up, and my music started crackling, so I climbed under my desk and plugged the stereo cable back in. As I was getting out, my keyboard drawer (which broke when I moved back into my house) fell on top of my head.

Anywhoos, I should hit the sack...right after a bowl of ice cream :) Love you guys.

Oh yeah, one more thing...anyone know an easy way of putting on of those fancy-dancy-automatic-countdown-clocks on a blog? I need two...one counting down 'til June 24th (the Big Hike), and one for August 13th (the Big Plunge).

SUNSHINE!!!! YEAH!!!!!

Warren wants me (Liane) to post something on his blog (he doesn't have time, because he is making lunch). And I have no idea what to write down!
So I'll leave it like that! IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH WARREN???????? ;)
You guys have to be a little more patient until he has time to post :)

Liane

PS. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL outside????!!!!