I'm on vacation this week. It's my first vacation that's not a mission trip in about 6 years. I'm headed up to a cabin off Lake Michigan... Should prove to be interesting.

This isn't going to be a typical vacation. Earlier in the year I began to feel that I was too connected - too plugged in, on-line, tethered to my blackberry, my facebook, my twitter and my email. My life is constantly bombarded by white noise. The same noise you hear when you're between channels. The noise that drowns out that still, small voice you're supposed to be listening for.

So I decided to take a vacation. I'm headed to a good friends family cabin for three days. Three days during which my phone will be off. Off and in the car. My only technological vices will be my laptop and my Kindle. I've loaded the Kindle down with the likes of 'Mere Christianity' and 'Crazy Love'. I've also got quite a stack of books in the bag too...

So now for the rules.
1) No internet for three days. Period. I'll still be blogging but they won't get posted until Thursday. Yes, this means FB, email and everything.
2) No cellphone. Period. It'll be off and in the car.
3) No radio in the car on the way to the cabin. It's the NIV audio bible (New Testament) instead.
4) I'm gonna write at least one blog a day while I'm there.

So those are the rules. I've got a camera and a large memory card, a laptop, a bunch of books and nothing other than unplugging and listening on my agenda.

So far, the vacations going well. I'm at my sister's hanging with my cat, Ohm. He decided to give me some kitty love so we're cuddled on the couch where he's putting me to sleep with the sound of his purrs... Night all!

I'll be back on Thursday!

In a bit of change of pace, yet in keeping with the theme of my last post, I've decided to post something my sister wrote way back in high school.

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Memories

They've been here many times before, the old man and the little girl. She's two, maybe three, and is dressed in a frilly, lacy dress and has dainty hair ribbons in her pale blond hair. On her feet are tiny white boots, so grown up for such a little girl. The man grasps her tine hand in one of his large ones, with a touch so gentle, she looks up with eyes full of a child's love and trust. They talk together in her limited vocabulary. She's always learning. Sometimes she'll sing, or laugh or simply smile in delight, as she does when she sees a new flower, bird or tree.
They'll stop, as always, in an ice cream parlor. He'll place her on the counter and simply order her favorite, unable to resist her childish smile. They eat their ice cream and the continue on their way.
There is a certain bond between these two, a bond of love and trust. A bond of innocence and wisdom. An unnatural bond between grandfather and granddaughter.
They've been here many, many times before, he and that little girl that I used to be. They've walked continually through the gateways in my mind that we call memories. He's not with us now but yet... He still lives on. Without my memories, he would truly be gone.

- Alecia Clark (James at the time...)

I got an incredible gift tonight. Something I'm going to treasure. It's a simple gift, but it means a lot to me. They're nothing fancy but they're priceless to me. They are a pair of my grandpa's cuff links.

Dallas Hines was a great man from what I can remember. He was my Mom's dad and even so was very close to my Dad as well. (Whom he affectionately called 'meathead') He died from a heart attack when I was 6 so my memory is a bit fuzzy. I have a few distinct memories of him though - the first is sitting in his living room watching an episode of Star Trek, which is probably the reason I still enjoy the show today. Another is riding with him to the hospital to have my ankle x-rayed after I jumped off the merry-go-round at school. Of these 27+ year old memories my favorite is this: Riding with him in his brown ford pickup while going to the store to pick something up.

Grandpa dipped Skoal. Wintergreen Skoal. I love wintergreen and have since I was a kid. So on this day grandpa left me in the pickup with a bright shiny can of skoal sitting there while he ran into the hardware store. I, being 4 or 5 at the time, decided I was going to try that Skoal. It smelled so good when I opened the can - I can still remember it today. I remember getting a small pinch - the same way I'd watched Grandpa do it - and placed it into my mouth.

The immediate burning that immediately erupted on my lips and tongue when it touched them was excruciating. I remember spitting it out immediately and it splattering on the dash of the truck. I scraped as much of it off of my tongue as I could... At that point I noticed the black flecks peppering the dash of the truck.

Uh-oh.

So I wiped as much of it off as I could - if I recall correctly the floor of the truck was black rubber and surely he wouldn't notice... Did I mention I was 4 or 5? Ever seen a 4 or 5 year old clean a mess hastily? I don't remember how clean I got the dash but I do remember this: Grandpa never said a word and I still have zero desire to dip Skoal.
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A few years ago I began a semi-permanent remodeling job in the basement of the house I own. Grandpa built this house for my grandmother and his family. While I was tearing down sheet rock I found a bunch of pay stubs, a speeding ticket (35 in a 25mph school zone), a receipt for 4 tires and various other stuff. My favorite find was a collection of Skoal cans in the bathroom wall. They still smelled of Wintergreen and brought back a faint memory of burning pain when I pulled them out. Apparently Grandpa hadn't quite quit when he told Grandma he had...
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So fast forward to tonight. I'm wearing a new shirt that has french cuffs - the kind that require the use of cuff links. I'd borrowed a pair from some friends when Mom mentioned that she had a pair of Grandpa's and asked if I'd like them. I put them into my shirt and almost felt as close to him as I did the day he didn't say a thing about the explosive remains of my brief Skoal experiment.

Grandpa, I know you're watching over us and I'm looking forward to the day when we can hang out again. I hope I'm making you proud. I love you and I miss you.

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When I get there don't let me try skoal again - no matter how great it smells.



MHJ

Life has been awesome...

Let me preface by saying those four words. I am so blessed I lack the words... But I'll try.

I'm writing this blog as a sort of journal entry. Something I can look back on when the stress mounts and the 'new job' smell has worn off. When I'm sick of the color of the office and my butt has gone to sleep in my now comfy chair once too often... So forgive me if I ramble. It's how my brain works.
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I started working for Faith Promise Church this week. I'm the new Video Director. Which means I'm using those 4 and 1/2 years of college to earn my living now. I'm still an electrician as long as I maintain my dues so there's always that to fall back on.

My last week out at the plant was a quiet week. I showed people how to do what I did and insisted that they actually do so. I was not going to be there to show them how the next week... During the evenings I cleaned out the new office (Previously referred to as 'Nolan's Old Office') got Drew hooked up with some High Def for the Super Bowl and painted. Sunday I added some can lights and a lovely remote control dimmer to edit by, because nothing is worse than trying to edit by the harsh glaring light of a humming florescent light. (Yes, they hum at a constant 60Hz.) Got the lights in, went home, slept and showed up excited for work the next day.

It was raining so I began the mound of paperwork expected of a new hire, moved a temporary desk into the office and started getting set up for some editing. Sometime during this the rain changed to snow. Like a thick, sitting on the ground, slushy, slick snow. So PC called in and declared it was a snow day... Fabulous first day. Snow day! (OK, so I stuck around and started working... I'm on the main drag and don't worry about getting stuck too much) After a full and productive day of work and some bonding with my new co-workers (Hereinafter named 'The Three Musketeers') I went home and chilled.

Today I sought out some early (though not as early as I used to have to go in) morning tea and a leisurely drive to the office. My one thought on the way in was that it was odd that no one was here yet... I neglected to check the radio for school closings. If Knox is closed, so are we. My second day - another snow day. So the Three stayed here today and got some work done... I've burned the 1's and 0's today watching my computer play with the DVCam deck. I've also got an errant tape deck packed and ready to ship for repair tomorrow and got my phone setup. So it's been another fabulous snow/work day...

Currently Reading: 'Mad Church Disease' by Anne Jackson, 'Tribes' by Seth Godin and 'The 360 Degree Leader' by John C. Maxwell.

Currently listening to: Music from Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valens. The Music died 50 years ago today.