My Year in Review

Well, it's the final day of 2004. I spent it chillin' at my brother's apartment on the campus of Grove City College (I took the day off from work). My cousin Gary was over and since my brother was out visiting his girlfriend's family in the evening, we had the pad and Ketler Rec all to ourselves.
This year was a difficult year for me (probably one of the most difficult I have had). It's always good, however, to look back and take an inventory of yourself and experiences you have faced throughout the year. So while it wasn't a year I will look back on and enjoy a great deal, I am glad to say that I have made it through (and I thank God for that). So with 2004 about to come to an end, I am going to take this time to reflect on the past year and hand out some year-end awards.

Album of the Year: Chris Tomlin's "Arriving"
Sports Word of the Year: Cukka
Joe Paterno Stubborness Award of the Year: Joe Paterno (who else?) -- I find great joy in presenting "The Rat" with this award for another year. He can stay around as Penn State coach for as long as he wants with the Nittany Lions winning three and four games a year.
Riskiest Move of the Year: Julianne Cole giving me the password to her e-mail account
Super Hero of the Year: Captain Flute
Freestyle Song of the Year: The Larry Song
Most in Need of a Haircut and Close Shave Award: Gary Bonanno
Most Awkward Sunday School Discussion and Related Creative Word of the Year: Biblical Interpretation and "Lesbinos"
Smoothest Guy and MAC Champion of the Year: Rico
Geekert Award: The Million Dollar Man
Closest Brush with Death: Nearly coming face-to-face with a truck and the pavement on a Kentucky highway in January
Comeback Group of the Year: Soulscape
Shenango Valley Business Idea of the Year: Gourmet Putt-Putt
Quote of the Year: "When the wart smiles, God frowns..."
Reggie White Perseverance Award: The 2004 Pittsburgh Panthers Football Team -- After a shaky start with losses to Nebraska and Connecticut and near losses to Furman and Temple, the Panthers and Tyler Palko catch fire and earn a BCS bid against undefeated Utah.
Biggest Disappointment(s) of the Year: Davey Boy's predictions on anything related to college athletics -- Davey gets no revenge and finishes behind Shawn in ESPN's College Football Pick 'Em contest even after Shawn takes an entire week off. I expect Davey to win this award in 2005 and every year after that.

Advice for the new year: Besides making sure you talk to God and laugh or cry each day, remember to give Bill Mallonee, Common Children, or the Passion Worship Band a listen. Hoping 2005 holds great things in store for everyone!

A Christmas Song

WHERE HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS ARE -
Music and lyrics: Bill Mallonee

The angels sang the sweetest song ¦ That echoing refrain
The shepherds were up to something ¦ Or else drunk again
There probably wasn't any snow ¦ On the ground at the time
Although the cards depict that sorta thing ¦ Complete with warm and fuzzy rhyme
And the stable is neat and tidy ¦ And the hygiene is 5 stars
And the planet, it spins lonely ¦ As I step out of this bar

CHORUS:
And the Birth of births was like a death
Under that hallowed star
And every Father seems to know where His sons and daughters are

Some are lost in shopping malls ¦ Some on battlefields
Some are lost in suburbs ¦ Some on Capital Hill
Some are lost in terminal wards ¦ Or in a nursing home
Some are lost in I PODs ¦ More or less alone
But whatever the co-ordinates...On this map of shame
Whether close or faraway ¦ We're lost just the same

CHORUS:
And the Birth of births was like a death
Under that hallowed star
And every Father knows and cares where His sons and daughters are

You may wake up confused ¦ With the ache that's in your heart
Doesn't matter if you got there by choice ¦ Or got there by default
And every birth comes with tears ¦ And with youth there comes a cost
And sometimes you just grow up ¦ In the shadow of a cross
Where you take on more than you could know
And more than I'd ever wanna say
And I put you there once a long time ago
And again ¦ Everyday

CHORUS:
And the Birth of births was like a death
Under that hallowed star
Cause every Father knows and cares where His sons and daughters are

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Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Talk to you later. Peace.

Pure Craziness...

OK, so here goes nothing. I’ve witnessed such a great outpouring of commentaries on people’s daily lives all over the world wide web that I’ve decided to take my own little stab at this. Whether it will turn out to be worthwhile (to me or someone else), I don’t know. Maybe I’ll find time to type out an entry over my lunch break or on the weekends. Well, without further delay, here is my first official entry:

As you can see, I have caught on to this craze a bit late. As a matter of fact, I was thinking the other day that that is one of the typical traits of accountants: They are always behind on the latest things going on. Take fashion and hairstyles for instance. If you only saw how I dressed/looked in elementary and high school! Nooooooo!!!.......Haha. Just don’t ask to see any of my elementary or high school yearbooks. Language too. I am still using words that were “in” when I was high school. Butter. Sweet. Referring to people as “cats”. (That’s an odd one because shortly thereafter, people started referring to other people as “dogs”). What’s up, dawg? Hey, I came from the ghetto. If you aren’t up on your ghetto speak, just talk to me for awhile and you’ll catch on. As surprising as it sounds, I do know how to use proper English (I did ok in that class in school), but I just choose not to. LOL. I have other strange tendencies like buying “old school” Christian albums. My liking of Petra, Degarmo & Key, and Vigilantes of Love. How else do you explain that? I am left saying: “Old School, bring it back!”

One thing I am finally catching onto is the recent praise and worship emphasis in Christian music. The emphasis has been around for a few years now, but I am just getting up to speed on a lot of the newer songs and artists. It’s weird when you go to a contemporary worship service at another church and the choruses they sing are not “As the Deer” and “Our God Reigns”.

Well, I’ve finished up all of my Christmas shopping for the year. I had yesterday off, so that came in handy. One story I could share real quick was how I was about 15-20 seconds from having a Christmas tree come through my windshield this weekend. I have had a deer come crashing into my windshield. And let’s just say that’s not a fun incident to go through. Quick side note on that (you have to understand that I tell all sorts of side-stories before I get to my original point). While watching one of my favorite shows, Law & Order (Criminal Intent), I remembered one episode about a guy who had a delayed physical response to fear (he may have actually had no physical response to fear, but I can’t recall exactly). You know, like when people’s adrenaline starts pumping, their heart beats faster, their sense of hearing and sight becomes sharper, they get sweaty palms, etc (your typical “fight or flight response”). Well, I am starting to wonder whether I even get that response or not. LOL. I don’t know. Does that mean I am the epitome of a laid-back guy? I hope so, because acccording to Law & Order I possess one of the qualities of a good serial killer. LOL. Instead of screaming and hyperventilating, my response to hitting a deer was simply this: *out loud to myself in the calmest voice possible after about a four or five second delay*, “Umm...I think I just hit a deer.” LOL. Yeah, that was quite an experience. I crack myself up sometimes. I do some of the dumbest things that I can only look back on them and laugh. Well, back to my original story:
While driving on a four-lane section of 79 South, I found myself stuck behind a white mini-van with a nice-sized Christmas tree tied to the top. Going all of 65mph and watching the branches of the tree blow about on the vehicle in front of me, I figured it would be best to just move on past. Since I was blocked in on the left I passed the mini-van on the right. No sooner did I pull in front of the mini-van and look in my rear-view mirror was I able to see the tree come flying off the roof and onto the highway behind me. Let’s just say I never saw cars scatter like that before. I didn’t see a wreck and I was thankful nothing terrible happened.

Well, I am out for now. Stay tuned for more ramblings. Peace.