Thanks for the Break Rita!

So, my power never went out at all. I didn't have any damage to MY dorm windows or anything like expected. I didn't need to ration any food or water. Really the only thing Rita did was open my schedule up. I didn't have church yesterday or class today. Now, some people didn't get off as lucky as I did, but alot of that was further south. The only bad thing Rita did that affected me was cell phone service, but it was nice not hearing my phone ring all the time. It gave me an opportunity to kick back and enjoy life. I haven't done that any lately.

Classes resume tomorrow and I am somewhat relieved. I have a political science test on Thursday, Wesley practice tomorrow, worship on Wednesday, band practice for Grace on Wednesday right after worship, and a whole mess of junk in between. This week, I am trying harder to keep a SCHEDULE of everything that HAS to get done. For instance, I found out last week I have to book the Ag Pond for our Outdoor Worship. I always forget that this is in my job responsibilities. I also am in the midst of planning a retreat for our worship team. We are really going in a different direction this year and I am not sure what I am going to do. Unfortunately, all that has to be figured out this week.

Well, I am going to go find something to eat and study some Poli Sci! YAY!!! Til' tomorrow...

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Rita...

Hello folks! So, the storm is rapidly approaching and they are predicting more drastic effects from it on our area. SFA is dead! Most people have packed up and headed home.

So a funny story: I was watching some TV and Angela came over and help me tape my windows (so when the glass shatters it, shouldn't shatter into too many pieces) and I slammed my door as a joke. THE DOOR WOULDN'T SHUT AFTER THAT!!!!! It kept swinging open and I finally called the office. They sent a maintanence crew out and fixed it within an hour. It was nice of them to do so.

Not much happened today. I was supposed to go and mixdown our recording from the block party HOWEVER, I was lazy all day. So, I guess tomorrow will be the day I do that.

I hope everyone is safe and sound and prepared for the hurricane. I hope to update tomorrow!

Hitting Home

I am by far, the least emotional person in the world, I think. I am really a solid rock when it comes to emotions, for the most part. When all the news hit the media about Hurrican Katrina, I felt compassion for the folks affected, but it really never got me "upset".

Three weeks have passed and we are now facing Hurrican Rita. I am fascinated with this storm because of a couple of reasons. First, it affects so many people. Not just the folks directly in its' path, but the evacuees still here from Louisiana. Secondly, I have never been surrounded by folks this chaotic. It's crazy! Stores are sold out of everything practically. Major roadways are limited to nourthbound travelers. Classes are canceled. I am baffeled by what's going on. Finally, this is the third largest and most dangerous hurrican ever recorded. That's amazing to be alive in a time when such events happen. However, my "stone like emotions" aren't holding up so well. I am looking at these people on the news and they are so devestated by this storm and it hasn't even hit. It's scary and confusing how much devestation this thing is going to cause. I am worried because this isn't normal. These kinds of disasters are becoming increasingly more common. This isn't normal...

God, I pray that You bless us with safety. I pray You watch over us and You cover us in Your protection. I pray that You bless us with the ability to pick up the pieces and move on. I also pray that we do not loose sight of You in times like these. Let Your love shine through even the darkest of moments. You are our only hope at this time and let us remember that...

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

THE GOOD:
Worship practice went REALLY REALLY well tonight. I am working with an ENTIRELY new team to transition Nicholas out of the team. First time these guys worked together (first time Carl led on guitar with a band) and it was quicker than regular practice. It wasn't perfect, but, it was GREAT for the first practice. Good thing being, John is leading our service tomorrow, so, we have another week to run stuff. I am looking at having Nicholas' last Wednesday to be late November. Carl and Adam are leading worship at Grace tomorrow and I think that will be great for them. John and I will lead at Wesley for our traditional service. We met this afternoon to talk about that and some church stuff. Apparently, we may be doing away with the organ and letting the band handle hymn arrangements. COOL! We also talked loops and synth. I am getting to do synth stuff now!!! DANG! I was excited when I heard that. I am very nervous, I am not a piano player, and I know you don't need to be, but it's just scary to have that keyboard in front of me. (Blake, any suggestions in getting started? May have a copy of Reason 3.0...and Abelton Lite Live....?) I also got asked to play percussion for Crosspoint. I am holding off. I don't want any commitment to leadership in Crosspoint, I just want to be a member for a while. My week consists of at least 30 hrs. of Wesley stuff, about 5 hrs. of Grace stuff, 16 hrs. of school stuff, and then barely any personal time. It's been rough and alot of things have had to change, but God's making it happen.

THE BAD:
I made the toughest decision of my entire "drumming days". I turned my best friend Todd down as the drummer for FUMC Lufkin's youth. Reasons being, I have ZERO time. I am very involved with my church home and my worship team. I have no more time for anything else. It hurt my heart so much to say "no" because I know it's hard to have to change plans and arrangments. I couldn't even make a phone call it was that hard. I emailed both Clay and Todd to thank them for all that they have done. I believe God placed me in that situation and allowed me to sacrifice time for the last 3 years so that I could work with my team better. Today was a prime example of that....I learned to transpose from Todd and helped Adam transpose almost all of his music....COOL. Still, it hurts to say good-bye and sadly I know it will be that. I am pretty sure this will affect alot of things. But, if that it, then well....I guess it's out of my hands. I also failed a test today. Physics is kicking my butt! It's going to be somewhat easy to make up the grade, but still, kicking my butt. Also, can't find any time to go home this weekend. With the threat of the storm coming, I may stay indoors and work loops and whatnot this weekend.

THE UGLY:
Umm....it was just a saying, I don't really have to put something here, do I?

Ok, so, lifes been a bit better here lately. Honestly, without traveling to Lufkin every Sunday is going to make school easier and less stressful, though, it's sad I have to do that. I am leading worship at Perritte this Sunday with Nicholas, Carl, and Adam on Sunday. Then, Adam and myself are going to Grace for the 2nd service. It's going to be a long weekend, but, I am feeling really good about alot of things. DUDE, Wesley Worship is going to rock with all the changes that are coming up!!!! PRAISE GOD!

On the Back-Burner

It's been a while since I wrote in my blog. I have been super-swamped with life, school, Wesley, etc. I have a lot to fill you all in on.

About three weeks ago, when everything else started going wrong, my laptop died, leaving me very frustrated. All my loops, software, and drum tracks for Todd were GONE! And of course, like the idiot I am, I never had a backup. Since then, I snagged the Wesley laptop to handle school work and Wesley work. Since I blogged last, Wesley has changed a bit. Sierra, that new vocalist I filled you all in on, has lead a couple of times. She has done really well, and her attitude and respect of myself, the team, and worship is GREAT! I worked with a freshman vocalist, Stephanie, who has also led since then. She's done remarkably well also. Carl Hanke, a drummer/guitarist friend of mine, has since stepped up and help with a new project I am working on. We have an overwhelming vocal group and its a shame to rotate everyone so much. We (Nicholas, Carl, and I) have determined we would like to bands to be responsible for leading worship. It allows for people that either (a) can't commit every week (b) aren't as experienced OR (c) need some help in certain areas....these folks will work with Carl and Khea (another female vocalist) to develop abilities while we still have Nicholas available. What's exciting about this is, Carl will take over for Nicholas in the spring possibly. Carl has really impressed me over the last month and even when we picked a set for his team to lead next week, he had a great prospective of what needed to be done (including transitions and whatnot).

Let's see, classes are rough! I have a lot of studying and alot of it is no fun. The classes themself, are actually entertaining. I have Physics, Business Communications, Radio/TV intro class, and Political Science. Alot of things have had to be moved and shuffled in my life. Gas has gotten REALLY expensive and money is tight as is in college. I have been to Lufkin a few times since school started, but not near as much as I used to. I am even in the process of phasing out of OSM at FUMC Lufkin. Something that has always been a huge priority of mine, even when the adults and leaders questioned why I even bothered. I enjoy leading worship with Todd, don't get me wrong. But, gas is just too dang expensive. Since I haven't traveled to Lufkin as much, school has taken a higher priority. Even cooler, last week, I didn't do OSM due to making 2 trips (1 tank of gas ... $46.31), I attended Crosspoint at Grace. I ended up that afternoon, being asked to play that night. I was somewhat unsure because it had been quite a while since I played percussion with a drummer. It went really well. What made me smile and really appreciate the church and the students was at dinner (which is provided by the elders and adults of the church in the fellowship hall) I was following Angela and got left behind (it was stinkin' crowded)....a student saw me stranded and without me asking, guided me to where she was. I said thank-you, and that was that. What strikes me as impressie as it was a guy....and guys, sadly to say, don't typically grab another guy's arm and assist him. It's, unfortunately in our culture, viewed as something more than friendly....

Next week is going to be really busy. Sunday, I'm on percussion because Kurt (bass player) has the week off. I am debateing doing a pandiero setup or not. Then, I am heading to Lufkin to do youth with Todd. I am not sure how much more I can afford to do youth without another job (which I need anyways). I am having to rush straight home after that to study for a physics test. YIKES! Wednesday, John Rolf will lead worship at Wesley for our "traditional worship" service. The entire team, including my technology folks, get the week off. I was going to do percussion, but I want a week of too. I may or may not.

I forgot to mention, Tracing Mason had a gig last week. I recorded it to my Roland and the mix turned out well. Drums could've been hotter, but they worked for a rough mix. I will upload mp3's to the Wesley site pretty soon, so be watching here for the link. Also, one more thing....John showed me this new program that works alongside with Reason (anyone else who may know more, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE enlighten me)...it's called Ableton Live. It supposedly more powerful than Reason and works BETTER than Reason in live applications. I have had ZERO time to get a demo copy, but I want to check it out. Anyone know anything about it?

So, as the title said, my blog has been on the back-burner. As you can see, I am hardly a flakey college kid anymore. I am really developing better habits and friendships from being more involved. I will try harder to keep you all updated, but no promises. Later!