San Diego: Day 7: Thursday
This was the day that I was most excited about. This was the day that we were finally able to go to Disneyland...
My plan going in to Disneyland was to start by riding the Buzz Lightyear ride. When we got in and I saw how crowded it was already… I made the fateful decision to go to Fantasyland to start the day. My logic: Fantasyland rides are slower to load and the lines get longer much quicker. So, we rode the first ride we came to with a short line: Snow White. Bad decision. Bad, bad decision.
They should rename the ride to: The Evil Queen (plus one cut-out of Snow White). The first few scenes were nice and warm and fuzzy. Emily was looking around and loving it. Then we get to a dark room with lightning and thunder and the Evil Queen. The cutout turns as we pass and the Evil Queen turns in the ugly old lady with the apple. Emily started bawling. She cried throughout the rest of the ride. She buried her head in Melissa’s chest. I had a bad feeling about the rest of the day.
We decide we need to settle Emily down… so we rode the Carousel. She picks out a big horse to ride on and has a delightful time. She was smiling and laughing and waving. I began to have a good feeling again.
So, we decide to risk it and go on another dark ride: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. That doesn’t sound too scary does it? Bad decision. Bad, bad decision. Emily was already freaked out…but then we get to a scene when it’s completely dark except for a pair of headlights coming right at you and the sound system pumping out ear shattering noises of a car honking, screeching, and crashing... It scared the living manure out of her. She cried throughout the rest of the ride. I had a bad feeling about the rest of the day.
From then on, we tried to target non-dark rides. Emily liked the Jungle Cruise. She liked the Train. She liked the Dumbo ride. She liked the Tea-Cups. She liked most of the Tiki-room. At the end of the day, we tried our luck on Pirates of the Caribbean. She did much better on that one.
Keeping with tradition of my past Disney trip reports: Top 3 Attractions that I actually got to ride at Disneyland: Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Buzz Lightyear. Least favorite rides: Snow White and Storybook Canal. I have to say right here that I think the Indiana Jones ride is in my top five rides all time. It’s not scary… but it’s just so creative… and it takes elements from the movies and incorporates them into the ride. So, if you are a big fan of the movies… you’ll be a big fan of the ride.
I had a quick comment about Disneyland’s firework show. It was spectacular. They had the traditional fireworks over the castle, but also shot them off from different places around main street. They had walls of flame down by the castle… and the whole thing was choreographed with music. They used the Indiana Jones main theme, they used the Star Wars main theme… along with a few other famous Disney tunes… it was really, really, really good. I loved it! Very memorable!
San Diego: Day 8: Friday
Friday was our last day in San Diego. But before I get into the details of this particular day. Allow me to share a few stories that didn’t really fit anywhere else.
I can’t remember which day it was… but all of us went down to the beach to hang out and watch Emily play. We plopped down next to a family that looked like they had been there all day. We could tell because they had successfully dug a four to five foot hole in the sand. About ten minutes after we got there… they put a girl who was probably ten or eleven down in the hole and buried her up to her neck. It was very funny. What was even funnier was when they tried to get her out. It took ten minutes of digging and pulling to finally get her out.
Towards late afternoon, it was fun to go down to the beach as see all the sand castles that had been built during the day. There was one that looked like a stinkin’ palace. It must have taken them all day to build. It was massive. There was another that was much smaller… but they had built about three moats trying to protect it from the waves. It was fun to watch.
The beach itself was interesting. For how beautiful it was… it was also kind of disgusting. The waves brought in a bunch of seaweed that would sit out on the sand and rot. It would attract flies and insects… swarms of them. It was kind of gross. I couldn’t figure out why the city couldn’t just have a truck come by every now and then to collect it. Maybe they do and we went at the wrong time. Who knows?
Our condo was located very close to Sea World. Every night Sea World would do a fireworks show. A few times, a few of us would go up there to watch the show from our balcony. We could see the entire display without any problem. It was neat… we could see a fireworks display every night if we wanted to.
Another quick fact about California driving. You are allowed to U-turn on any left turn arrow at any stoplight unless indicated differently. It took some getting used to, but it came in handy several times!
Jeff brought his Playstation 2 for the trip. Emily loved watching Jeff play a game called Kingdom Hearts. It’s a game with Disney characters… so she would watch specifically for Goofy or Donald or whoever she would recognize. She also played a game called Contra. She hasn’t really learned how to push multiple buttons at once. Either she walks forward, or she jumps in place, or she shoots in place… but never all three at once. Needless to say, she died a lot in that game. My favorite game of the week was playing MVP 2005. It’s a great baseball game. I intentionally threw at Cub batters. It was great!
Well, we needed to be at the airport around 2:00PM if I remember right. So, we just hung out at the condo in the morning. We went down to the beach one last time. We packed up our stuff. We went looking for a fast food place. We didn’t find one. So my family dropped the three of us off at the airport and we ate there. The flight was uneventful and good. We got a nice snack-pack on the flight again. It was a great trip… I would go back to San Diego anytime! What a beautiful city! We are grateful to my parents for the invite and for footing the majority of the bill. We had a great time!
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
7 Down...
Today is my 7th wedding anniversary to my bride, Melissa Jane. It is hard for me to believe that it’s already been seven years. It just seems like yesterday that we were holding hands at the altar… getting ready to wander out into the great unknown called life. It just seems like a couple of hours ago that we were at the hospital holding our little Emily for the first time.
I constantly thank God for the gift that He gave me in this beautiful woman. Melissa is my best friend. I love talking with her. I love hanging out with her. I love sharing memories with her. She is a constant support. She is willing to confront me when my attitude isn’t right. She is willing to encourage me when I allow life to discourage me. She is there for me in all times and in all situations.
She is a wonderful mother. Emily adores Melissa. Melissa adores Emily. They get along great. Melissa is so good at giving Emily positive reinforcement. She always seeks moments to try and teach Emily something new. She does her best to make sure that Emily is safe and is in an edifying environment.
When I was younger, I remember hearing people say things like: I love my spouse more now than the day we got married. I always wanted to know what that would be like. Now I know. It seems like we barely knew each other when we got married compared to now. She knows immediately what I am thinking based on facial expressions and non-verbals. She knows what will bring me joy or what will anger me… sometimes before I know! It’s intimacy on a whole new level… something I’ve never experienced with anyone else!
She is so willing to be involved in my life. She’s made it a point to keep track and (more importantly) root for the Cardinals. She knows most of the Star Wars characters. She actually encourages my fetish for Disneyworld vacations. She goes to U2 concerts with me. She knows my hobbies and interests and makes it a point to know enough to be able to talk with me about those interests.
I really respect Melissa as well. She is a genuine person… what you see is what you get. She is the same at home as she is at church as she is at work. I respect her as a teacher. She always seems to be highly regarded by her superiors and well-liked by most of her students. I respect that she went to work when we moved here… in order to make ends meet. She is willing to sacrifice to make my life easier… and I am hoping to reverse that a little bit in the next year or two.
Most importantly: She loves God. She desires to know Him. She loves to worship Him. She longs to be like Him. She wants to understand and follow His will and plan for our lives.
To Melissa: Thank you for seven awesome years. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for helping me create this little family that we share together. Thank you for allowing me to be myself around you. Thank you for loving me despite my weaknesses. Thank you for your constant support and encouragement. I love you. More than words could really express… but I shouldn’t use that as an excuse for not telling you more often. I love you, my gorgeous bride… here’s to many, many more years of being married to my best friend!
I constantly thank God for the gift that He gave me in this beautiful woman. Melissa is my best friend. I love talking with her. I love hanging out with her. I love sharing memories with her. She is a constant support. She is willing to confront me when my attitude isn’t right. She is willing to encourage me when I allow life to discourage me. She is there for me in all times and in all situations.
She is a wonderful mother. Emily adores Melissa. Melissa adores Emily. They get along great. Melissa is so good at giving Emily positive reinforcement. She always seeks moments to try and teach Emily something new. She does her best to make sure that Emily is safe and is in an edifying environment.
When I was younger, I remember hearing people say things like: I love my spouse more now than the day we got married. I always wanted to know what that would be like. Now I know. It seems like we barely knew each other when we got married compared to now. She knows immediately what I am thinking based on facial expressions and non-verbals. She knows what will bring me joy or what will anger me… sometimes before I know! It’s intimacy on a whole new level… something I’ve never experienced with anyone else!
She is so willing to be involved in my life. She’s made it a point to keep track and (more importantly) root for the Cardinals. She knows most of the Star Wars characters. She actually encourages my fetish for Disneyworld vacations. She goes to U2 concerts with me. She knows my hobbies and interests and makes it a point to know enough to be able to talk with me about those interests.
I really respect Melissa as well. She is a genuine person… what you see is what you get. She is the same at home as she is at church as she is at work. I respect her as a teacher. She always seems to be highly regarded by her superiors and well-liked by most of her students. I respect that she went to work when we moved here… in order to make ends meet. She is willing to sacrifice to make my life easier… and I am hoping to reverse that a little bit in the next year or two.
Most importantly: She loves God. She desires to know Him. She loves to worship Him. She longs to be like Him. She wants to understand and follow His will and plan for our lives.
To Melissa: Thank you for seven awesome years. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for helping me create this little family that we share together. Thank you for allowing me to be myself around you. Thank you for loving me despite my weaknesses. Thank you for your constant support and encouragement. I love you. More than words could really express… but I shouldn’t use that as an excuse for not telling you more often. I love you, my gorgeous bride… here’s to many, many more years of being married to my best friend!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
My Name Is Josh. I'm Overweight.
Allow me to be a little transparent for a moment: For as long as I remember: I’ve had a problem with my weight. I was a fat baby. I was a semi-fat toddler. I was a very fat elementary student. I was a heavy Jr. Higher. I started growing taller in High School and all that fat kind of evened itself out all over… so when I look at pictures from High School, I see a thinner and younger version of myself. However, I never knew it at the time… because I thought I was fat even during High School.
I got to college and I just ballooned. Our dining commons was basically an all you can eat buffet, mixed in were late night burritos and Taco Bell runs, and finished off with many care packages from my Grandma Sands who sent many, many cookies. Believe it or not, I gained 60 pounds from the beginning of my Sophomore year to the time I got married the year before my Senior year. Unfortunately, the majority of that weight is still on. I am slightly below my ‘wedding’ weight.
Being heavy has it’s set of problems… to be sure. I remember after college being interviewed by a District Superintendent. This D.S. then went to get quick references from one of my professors. When the professor gave positive feedback about me, the D.S. looked at him strangely and said: “He’s overweight, so he appeared lazy to me.” My professor told me this in order to motivate me to work hard all the time… because as long as I was overweight, I would have to overcome the label that us hefty people get: lazy.
I will never forget how hard that lesson was for me to take. I’m a pretty genuine guy. When I meet people for the first time, I typically think the best of them. My problems with being judgmental come after I’ve gotten to know them a little bit. (Yes, it’s something that God is working on me about right now.) I was also very naïve in college. I never knew that I might not be considered for a job because I was over-weight. It was very surprising and hurtful…
I’ll be honest, though. Up until about three years ago, I really didn’t care about my weight. I liked being hefty. I liked being able to make fun of myself. I found that I could interact with a lot of my students because I was willing to make fun of myself that way. It was something that many people didn’t expect… it turned out to be endearing. I honestly remember joking about trying to get fatter so that I could say that I had broken the 300 barrier.
I also found that I surprised many people on the tennis court. “This fat guy does not look like he would be good at tennis…” I like the look of surprise when they realize that I hit the ball pretty good and I actually move alright too. (My weakness is endurance… if they can get me to move A LOT for a LONG period of time… they might have a chance.)
Over the past few years, two major events have caused me to re-think my life and specifically re-think my health. One, having Emily. Two, going to the doctor and finding out that I have high blood pressure and being put on cholesterol medicine at age 27. I don’t want to miss anything in Emily’s life. I want to be there when she starts school. I want to be there when she finishes. I want to be there when she gets married, I think. I want to be there when she has her first child. I want to be around, even as her children get older.
The doctor’s visit kind of woke me up. It embarrassed me. It shamed me. It made me mad. It motivated me. But here’s my biggest problem: Motivation to lose weight only lasts so long because I like food too much. I’ve tried diet after diet. I did Atkins. It worked. But I got painful leg cramps at night when I was sleeping and I couldn’t give up pasta for very long. I did Weightwatchers. It worked. But it was such a pain to keep track of those points… especially when you wanted to eat out. I tried Slim Fast. It worked. But I feel so crappy all the time on that diet. It also seems like the moment you go off any of these diets… you’ve already gained the weight back.
It’s a constant battle. Maybe one of the hardest on-going challenges in my life. It can be really, really frustrating. Fact is… I’ve just come to a place in my life where I’m just tired of being overweight. I would be a much better tennis player if I could drop 60 pounds. I am tired of not being able to breathe when I tie my shoes. I am tired of seeing myself in pictures next to my beautiful wife and daughter. It’s like the game of: What in this picture does not fit in? Me. I’m tired of my knee hurting. I’m tired of getting winded by walking up my stairs from my basement. I’m tired of being tired. I’m tired of being overweight.
I’ve come to a major realization: The few moments of pleasure that I get each time I eat food is not worth how I feel right now. And it certainly isn’t worth dying of a heart attack in my mid-thirties and leaving my family behind. So, I am going to try really hard over the next few years to drop this weight and get healthy. I’m not entirely sure how to do it, but I just know that I will. I’ve allowed thousands of poor eating decisions to build up to what I am now… it’s time to reverse that. It’s time that I start making wise choices on a daily basis that will start building up towards a healthy lifestyle.
Be praying for me. This is one of those areas of my life where I’ve had no self discipline and I couldn’t hope to start having self discipline on my own strength. I’m going to need to rely on God for strength. Feel free to e-mail me and hold me accountable. Ask me how I’m doing. Yell at me or tell me to come back to my blog and read this entry.
In the meantime, I’ll allow a few faces and images to come to my mind to motivate me. I’ll try and envision what it might be like to fly around the tennis court (comfortably fitting into my old ‘Moline Tennis’ shirt that I wore in high school)… getting to every ball… and doing it for as long as I want. I’ll think of the little things: Like a life without knee pain.... or something as trivial as tying my shoe and breathing normal at the same time. I’ll think of that D.S. and allow the judgmental people in this world to motivate me. I’ll think of my call to preach and teach God’s Word my entire life… and how it would be better if that life were longer rather than shorter. I’ll think of Melissa and Emily and how I want them to be proud of me. I’ll think about how I want to be around them as much and as long as I can…
I got to college and I just ballooned. Our dining commons was basically an all you can eat buffet, mixed in were late night burritos and Taco Bell runs, and finished off with many care packages from my Grandma Sands who sent many, many cookies. Believe it or not, I gained 60 pounds from the beginning of my Sophomore year to the time I got married the year before my Senior year. Unfortunately, the majority of that weight is still on. I am slightly below my ‘wedding’ weight.
Being heavy has it’s set of problems… to be sure. I remember after college being interviewed by a District Superintendent. This D.S. then went to get quick references from one of my professors. When the professor gave positive feedback about me, the D.S. looked at him strangely and said: “He’s overweight, so he appeared lazy to me.” My professor told me this in order to motivate me to work hard all the time… because as long as I was overweight, I would have to overcome the label that us hefty people get: lazy.
I will never forget how hard that lesson was for me to take. I’m a pretty genuine guy. When I meet people for the first time, I typically think the best of them. My problems with being judgmental come after I’ve gotten to know them a little bit. (Yes, it’s something that God is working on me about right now.) I was also very naïve in college. I never knew that I might not be considered for a job because I was over-weight. It was very surprising and hurtful…
I’ll be honest, though. Up until about three years ago, I really didn’t care about my weight. I liked being hefty. I liked being able to make fun of myself. I found that I could interact with a lot of my students because I was willing to make fun of myself that way. It was something that many people didn’t expect… it turned out to be endearing. I honestly remember joking about trying to get fatter so that I could say that I had broken the 300 barrier.
I also found that I surprised many people on the tennis court. “This fat guy does not look like he would be good at tennis…” I like the look of surprise when they realize that I hit the ball pretty good and I actually move alright too. (My weakness is endurance… if they can get me to move A LOT for a LONG period of time… they might have a chance.)
Over the past few years, two major events have caused me to re-think my life and specifically re-think my health. One, having Emily. Two, going to the doctor and finding out that I have high blood pressure and being put on cholesterol medicine at age 27. I don’t want to miss anything in Emily’s life. I want to be there when she starts school. I want to be there when she finishes. I want to be there when she gets married, I think. I want to be there when she has her first child. I want to be around, even as her children get older.
The doctor’s visit kind of woke me up. It embarrassed me. It shamed me. It made me mad. It motivated me. But here’s my biggest problem: Motivation to lose weight only lasts so long because I like food too much. I’ve tried diet after diet. I did Atkins. It worked. But I got painful leg cramps at night when I was sleeping and I couldn’t give up pasta for very long. I did Weightwatchers. It worked. But it was such a pain to keep track of those points… especially when you wanted to eat out. I tried Slim Fast. It worked. But I feel so crappy all the time on that diet. It also seems like the moment you go off any of these diets… you’ve already gained the weight back.
It’s a constant battle. Maybe one of the hardest on-going challenges in my life. It can be really, really frustrating. Fact is… I’ve just come to a place in my life where I’m just tired of being overweight. I would be a much better tennis player if I could drop 60 pounds. I am tired of not being able to breathe when I tie my shoes. I am tired of seeing myself in pictures next to my beautiful wife and daughter. It’s like the game of: What in this picture does not fit in? Me. I’m tired of my knee hurting. I’m tired of getting winded by walking up my stairs from my basement. I’m tired of being tired. I’m tired of being overweight.
I’ve come to a major realization: The few moments of pleasure that I get each time I eat food is not worth how I feel right now. And it certainly isn’t worth dying of a heart attack in my mid-thirties and leaving my family behind. So, I am going to try really hard over the next few years to drop this weight and get healthy. I’m not entirely sure how to do it, but I just know that I will. I’ve allowed thousands of poor eating decisions to build up to what I am now… it’s time to reverse that. It’s time that I start making wise choices on a daily basis that will start building up towards a healthy lifestyle.
Be praying for me. This is one of those areas of my life where I’ve had no self discipline and I couldn’t hope to start having self discipline on my own strength. I’m going to need to rely on God for strength. Feel free to e-mail me and hold me accountable. Ask me how I’m doing. Yell at me or tell me to come back to my blog and read this entry.
In the meantime, I’ll allow a few faces and images to come to my mind to motivate me. I’ll try and envision what it might be like to fly around the tennis court (comfortably fitting into my old ‘Moline Tennis’ shirt that I wore in high school)… getting to every ball… and doing it for as long as I want. I’ll think of the little things: Like a life without knee pain.... or something as trivial as tying my shoe and breathing normal at the same time. I’ll think of that D.S. and allow the judgmental people in this world to motivate me. I’ll think of my call to preach and teach God’s Word my entire life… and how it would be better if that life were longer rather than shorter. I’ll think of Melissa and Emily and how I want them to be proud of me. I’ll think about how I want to be around them as much and as long as I can…
Saturday, July 16, 2005
San Diego Trip: Part 3
San Diego: Day 5: Tuesday
This was the day that we were supposed to go to Disneyland. Melissa never was able to go to sleep because she was in so much pain from her sunburn. We ended up not going to Disneyland this particular day because Melissa would not be able to walk as much as is required there. We felt bad about the whole ordeal: Most of the family was up by 5:30AM to leave, when they could’ve slept in that day. It was a mess.
I normally don’t have anything bad to say about the Disney parks: But I’ve got a complaint about Disneyland. They put on a show called Fantasmic… and it really is a memorable show. Laser lights, pyrotechnics, live actors… the whole works. Anyway, all of us were looking forward to seeing the show… turns out that they only do the show Friday through Tuesday. Yeah, and the only two days we had left to visit Disneyland: Wednesday and Thursday… the two days that they didn’t show it.
Quick question: Why, oh, why in the middle of the summer… in the midst of one of the highest attendance times for theme parks around the nation… right smack dab in the middle of June… Why, oh, why would they choose to not perform that show everyday of the week? If that isn’t stupid enough… I find out that on every day that the DO perform the show, they go ahead and perform it TWICE. TWICE. Does that make any sense at all? TWICE A DAY for everyday except Wednesday and Thursday… when they don’t do it at all? Brilliant.
Anyway, we found an urgent-care for Melissa. She was in a tremendous amount of pain. Turns out that her burn really wasn’t that bad. She has been taking a blood thinning medicine called Hepburn. Hepburn has sulfite or something like that in it and it caused the burn to sting and hurt much more than it should have. We never would have known any different. The doctor prescribed some steroid crème. (Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi would be jealous.) By the end of the day… Melissa was feeling much better.
Jeff and Sarah decided to go to Seaworld. The rest of the family went on a brief sightseeing adventure. We went across the Coronado bridge, which was very cool. We looked around the Coronado Island and then started heading towards downtown San Diego when Jeff and Sarah called to tell us that they were ready to be picked up.
That night, Melissa and I meandered our way down to the beach to watch the sunset. It was pretty amazing. I included one of the pictures that we took here in this post. Enjoy. Quick funny story: While we were down there, we saw an older couple staring at the sunset. As soon as the sun was completely hidden by the clouds on the horizon… they both started clapping and hooting.
At first I rolled my eyes and probably made some wisecrack. But the more I thought about it… the more I was reminded of an old Family Circle comic strip that I’ve had hanging in my office. The little boy was watching a beautiful sunset and said: “God outta win an Oscar for that one.” Maybe that old couple had it right: The beauty and majesty of a sunset that reflects orange off the water. Coupled with the never-ending roar of the waves hitting the beach. The creativity and power of God were on display. The least I could do is stand and applaud. Amazing.
San Diego: Day 6: Wednesday
Today was my first experience with Emily in a full-fledged theme park. I really thought the day was going to go O.K. But then we went to the dolphin show. She was pretty intrigued by everything until ‘splash time.’ That’s the time when the dolphins used their back fins to splash the front fifteen rows of people. Mind you, we were not actually IN splash zone. When people started screaming about getting wet… Emily freaked out. She just started bawling.
It was then that I began to sense that it might be a long day. Eventually, she settled down… but she still talks about the ‘sharks’ that want to get her. She is sleeping with her door open now because she believes that a shark lives under her bed and will get her when, and only when, the door is closed. Ah yes. The night terrors have begun. I remember being scared of shadows when I was a kid.
Anyway, it was a pretty fun day overall. This was the first time that I’ve been to Seaworld in a long time. I was pleasantly surprised by a few things: One, it wasn’t near as crowded as I thought it would be. The longest we waited for a ride was about twenty minutes for a Rapids Ride. Two, it wasn’t all animal shows: there were several thrill rides, a 3D show, and several creative exhibits. It was a very pleasant day.
Here’s a few thoughts about some of the rides: First, there was a 4D show called The Haunted Lighthouse. This was great. Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown from Back to the Future) played a part in this film as an old fisherman. They had all kids of neat effects… both 3D (where it appears the images from the screen are coming at you) and 4D (where they have special effects off screen that augment what’s happening onscreen – for instance, one time Lloyd was taking a drink and heard something shocking that made him spit his drink out… they 3Ded the droplets of water… AND they 4Ded it by spraying water in your face from hidden nozzles located in the seat in front of you.) Haha!
There was another ride called: Journey to Atlantis. It was a water coaster, which is exactly what it sounds like… a roller coaster that left you soaking wet. It was different than anything I had ridden before… not altogether scary or anything… just fun. Melissa got soaked and had worn jeans to help keep the sun away from her burns. She was uncomfortable for the next couple of hours.
There was a raft ride there that was pretty fun. Needless to say, Melissa didn’t ride it. It was Mom, Dad, and me. She waited on a bridge that overlooked part of the ride. She took a great picture of us getting drenched. I might be able to scan it and post it sometime… it wasn’t on our digital camera. There was a motion simulator ride called Wild Artic that was good… but it didn’t compare to some of the other ones I had ridden, like Back to the Future (best motion ride I’ve ridden) and Star Tours (just plain fun).
The Pet show and the Shamu show were excellent. There was a shark aquarium in which we were put on a moving walkway right underneath the water… with a great view of a bunch of different sharks. The park was creatively laid out and the attractions were great. I would definately recommend it.
This was the day that we were supposed to go to Disneyland. Melissa never was able to go to sleep because she was in so much pain from her sunburn. We ended up not going to Disneyland this particular day because Melissa would not be able to walk as much as is required there. We felt bad about the whole ordeal: Most of the family was up by 5:30AM to leave, when they could’ve slept in that day. It was a mess.
I normally don’t have anything bad to say about the Disney parks: But I’ve got a complaint about Disneyland. They put on a show called Fantasmic… and it really is a memorable show. Laser lights, pyrotechnics, live actors… the whole works. Anyway, all of us were looking forward to seeing the show… turns out that they only do the show Friday through Tuesday. Yeah, and the only two days we had left to visit Disneyland: Wednesday and Thursday… the two days that they didn’t show it.
Quick question: Why, oh, why in the middle of the summer… in the midst of one of the highest attendance times for theme parks around the nation… right smack dab in the middle of June… Why, oh, why would they choose to not perform that show everyday of the week? If that isn’t stupid enough… I find out that on every day that the DO perform the show, they go ahead and perform it TWICE. TWICE. Does that make any sense at all? TWICE A DAY for everyday except Wednesday and Thursday… when they don’t do it at all? Brilliant.
Anyway, we found an urgent-care for Melissa. She was in a tremendous amount of pain. Turns out that her burn really wasn’t that bad. She has been taking a blood thinning medicine called Hepburn. Hepburn has sulfite or something like that in it and it caused the burn to sting and hurt much more than it should have. We never would have known any different. The doctor prescribed some steroid crème. (Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi would be jealous.) By the end of the day… Melissa was feeling much better.
Jeff and Sarah decided to go to Seaworld. The rest of the family went on a brief sightseeing adventure. We went across the Coronado bridge, which was very cool. We looked around the Coronado Island and then started heading towards downtown San Diego when Jeff and Sarah called to tell us that they were ready to be picked up.
That night, Melissa and I meandered our way down to the beach to watch the sunset. It was pretty amazing. I included one of the pictures that we took here in this post. Enjoy. Quick funny story: While we were down there, we saw an older couple staring at the sunset. As soon as the sun was completely hidden by the clouds on the horizon… they both started clapping and hooting.
At first I rolled my eyes and probably made some wisecrack. But the more I thought about it… the more I was reminded of an old Family Circle comic strip that I’ve had hanging in my office. The little boy was watching a beautiful sunset and said: “God outta win an Oscar for that one.” Maybe that old couple had it right: The beauty and majesty of a sunset that reflects orange off the water. Coupled with the never-ending roar of the waves hitting the beach. The creativity and power of God were on display. The least I could do is stand and applaud. Amazing.
San Diego: Day 6: Wednesday
Today was my first experience with Emily in a full-fledged theme park. I really thought the day was going to go O.K. But then we went to the dolphin show. She was pretty intrigued by everything until ‘splash time.’ That’s the time when the dolphins used their back fins to splash the front fifteen rows of people. Mind you, we were not actually IN splash zone. When people started screaming about getting wet… Emily freaked out. She just started bawling.
It was then that I began to sense that it might be a long day. Eventually, she settled down… but she still talks about the ‘sharks’ that want to get her. She is sleeping with her door open now because she believes that a shark lives under her bed and will get her when, and only when, the door is closed. Ah yes. The night terrors have begun. I remember being scared of shadows when I was a kid.
Anyway, it was a pretty fun day overall. This was the first time that I’ve been to Seaworld in a long time. I was pleasantly surprised by a few things: One, it wasn’t near as crowded as I thought it would be. The longest we waited for a ride was about twenty minutes for a Rapids Ride. Two, it wasn’t all animal shows: there were several thrill rides, a 3D show, and several creative exhibits. It was a very pleasant day.
Here’s a few thoughts about some of the rides: First, there was a 4D show called The Haunted Lighthouse. This was great. Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown from Back to the Future) played a part in this film as an old fisherman. They had all kids of neat effects… both 3D (where it appears the images from the screen are coming at you) and 4D (where they have special effects off screen that augment what’s happening onscreen – for instance, one time Lloyd was taking a drink and heard something shocking that made him spit his drink out… they 3Ded the droplets of water… AND they 4Ded it by spraying water in your face from hidden nozzles located in the seat in front of you.) Haha!
There was another ride called: Journey to Atlantis. It was a water coaster, which is exactly what it sounds like… a roller coaster that left you soaking wet. It was different than anything I had ridden before… not altogether scary or anything… just fun. Melissa got soaked and had worn jeans to help keep the sun away from her burns. She was uncomfortable for the next couple of hours.
There was a raft ride there that was pretty fun. Needless to say, Melissa didn’t ride it. It was Mom, Dad, and me. She waited on a bridge that overlooked part of the ride. She took a great picture of us getting drenched. I might be able to scan it and post it sometime… it wasn’t on our digital camera. There was a motion simulator ride called Wild Artic that was good… but it didn’t compare to some of the other ones I had ridden, like Back to the Future (best motion ride I’ve ridden) and Star Tours (just plain fun).
The Pet show and the Shamu show were excellent. There was a shark aquarium in which we were put on a moving walkway right underneath the water… with a great view of a bunch of different sharks. The park was creatively laid out and the attractions were great. I would definately recommend it.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
On Family, Growing Old, and God
I visited a lady today who lost her husband unexpectedly two weeks ago. They had been married for 42 years. I was supposed to be the one ministering to her, but it turns out that she was the one who ministered to me. As she tearfully described the emotions that she had been feeling over the past several weeks, I was reminded of how precious life is. I was reminded of how precious my loved ones are. I was reminded of how compassionate God is.
She started by looking at me and the other pastor that was visiting her and saying: “You both are young. You probably never think about how life might be without your mate. Cherish the moments you have with them now, because you just don’t know how long you might have with them.”
I had to ask myself after meeting with this woman: Do I tell Melissa that I love her enough? Do I invest enough time into my family? I either Melissa or I had to leave this world soon, would I regret the amount of time that I have spent with her?
We continued to talk about the funeral and how the service was structured. My mind wandered to what I would like to see happen at my funeral. It made me think about what I would hope is said about me. What things would be most meaningful to me? I hope it’s a celebration of a life well spent. I hope people say: Josh really loved God. Josh really loved his family. I don’t really even care if they say I was a lousy preacher, or whatever about my ministry skills… as long as they say that I loved God and I loved my family.
I don’t know why, but God has put these types of thoughts into my mind many times over the past year or so. I even blogged about it once last year. And I haven’t handled it well. I would like to confess something: I have a fear of growing old. I know that might sound weird to some of you. And I mean no disrespect to those of you who are reading this and consider yourself to be old. I just have a fear of it. I scared of growing obsolete. I am scared of losing my mind and memories to disease. I am scared of losing mobility. I am scared of letting go of loved ones. I am scared of being alone. More than anything, I guess, I’m just scared of losing control.
Maybe I have a trust problem. Maybe I’ve watched the news too much. Maybe I’ve watched too many sad movies. I’ve just noticed more and more that ‘happily ever after’ does not happen all that often on this earth. But as I listened to this woman, I was reminded of an important truth: God will never abandon me. I’ve always known this, of course. But life and stress both have a way of making you forget certain truths. God will never abandon me.
So, when I become obsolete in this world, I can know that God will always consider me precious. I can also know that my unchanging, all-powerful God will never become obsolete. If I lose my memories… if I lose my mind… if I lose my mobility… I can know that someday in eternity, God will restore those facilities. I can also know that my omniscient God will never forgot and His knowledge and wisdom will never fail. When I lose loved ones and when I feel alone, I can know that God will never leave me, and hopefully I’ll have the chance to see my loved ones again. When I feel like I’ve lost control, I can remember that God is love… and that I can absolutely trust His motives and His plan.
"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea." (Psalm 46:1-2; NLT)
She started by looking at me and the other pastor that was visiting her and saying: “You both are young. You probably never think about how life might be without your mate. Cherish the moments you have with them now, because you just don’t know how long you might have with them.”
I had to ask myself after meeting with this woman: Do I tell Melissa that I love her enough? Do I invest enough time into my family? I either Melissa or I had to leave this world soon, would I regret the amount of time that I have spent with her?
We continued to talk about the funeral and how the service was structured. My mind wandered to what I would like to see happen at my funeral. It made me think about what I would hope is said about me. What things would be most meaningful to me? I hope it’s a celebration of a life well spent. I hope people say: Josh really loved God. Josh really loved his family. I don’t really even care if they say I was a lousy preacher, or whatever about my ministry skills… as long as they say that I loved God and I loved my family.
I don’t know why, but God has put these types of thoughts into my mind many times over the past year or so. I even blogged about it once last year. And I haven’t handled it well. I would like to confess something: I have a fear of growing old. I know that might sound weird to some of you. And I mean no disrespect to those of you who are reading this and consider yourself to be old. I just have a fear of it. I scared of growing obsolete. I am scared of losing my mind and memories to disease. I am scared of losing mobility. I am scared of letting go of loved ones. I am scared of being alone. More than anything, I guess, I’m just scared of losing control.
Maybe I have a trust problem. Maybe I’ve watched the news too much. Maybe I’ve watched too many sad movies. I’ve just noticed more and more that ‘happily ever after’ does not happen all that often on this earth. But as I listened to this woman, I was reminded of an important truth: God will never abandon me. I’ve always known this, of course. But life and stress both have a way of making you forget certain truths. God will never abandon me.
So, when I become obsolete in this world, I can know that God will always consider me precious. I can also know that my unchanging, all-powerful God will never become obsolete. If I lose my memories… if I lose my mind… if I lose my mobility… I can know that someday in eternity, God will restore those facilities. I can also know that my omniscient God will never forgot and His knowledge and wisdom will never fail. When I lose loved ones and when I feel alone, I can know that God will never leave me, and hopefully I’ll have the chance to see my loved ones again. When I feel like I’ve lost control, I can remember that God is love… and that I can absolutely trust His motives and His plan.
"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear, even if earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea." (Psalm 46:1-2; NLT)
Monday, July 04, 2005
San Diego Trip: Part 2
San Diego Trip: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sunburn: Sunday
We had planned on attending Skyline this morning, but I think all of us were tired from traveling and bustling around. We decided to sleep in, hang out, and just be lazy in general. I had been to Skyline before and quite honestly… when you grow up and have connections in a church like Heritage, nothing is really impressive: Heritage has such great worship experiences… last time I attended Skyline, it really didn’t compare.
In the morning, a few of us went to get groceries at a local food chain, Ralph’s. It was the first grocery store that I knew of that had a parking garage underneath the store. That’s how much of a premium space was there. There was absolutely no unused space anywhere along Mission beach. If there was any empty space, it was because they had torn down an old condo and were in the middle of building a newer and better one.
We had decided from the beginning that each couple would be responsible for a dinner on one particular night. Mom made her famous tacos, Melissa made her famous grilled potatoes (along with chicken and other grilled food), Sarah made her famous spaghetti. It was a pretty cool system. We were very well-fed all week long. In this trip alone, I put on eight pounds. I couldn’t believe it! Back to the ole Slim Fast diet.
A fateful decision was made on this day. Melissa visited the beach for two hours. She wore no sun-block. She laid on her stomach for too long. She got fried. The beach here is deceiving. With the temperature hovering in the 70’s and a cool breeze coming off the ocean, she had no idea that she was even getting burned. She told me later that she was cold enough to have goose-bumps most of the time out there.
She didn’t really, really feel it until Monday… but she knew by Sunday night that she was going to be in a lot of pain. We tried aloes and other non-prescription medicines through-out the week, but nothing seemed to touch it at all. She was pretty much miserable from Sunday night till Tuesday night. More about that later.
I was able to get a bunch of reading done. I got three books finished: Revenge of the Sith, The Final Prophecy (Star Wars), and a gem of a book called ‘Three Nights in August.’ It was the best baseball book I have ever read. It made me think, it made me laugh, it made me appreciate the game more, it made me hate the Cubs even more than I already do, and it even made me cry during the chapter about the events surrounding Darryl Kile’s death. I’m always reading stuff… but had more time to get huge blocks of reading done. It was nice.
I’m sure I’ll have more to write about the beach community, but I’ll wrap up day three by sharing an experience we had with a beach bum. Melissa and I were out walking one night and we watched a guy that smelled drunk and walked drunk walking along the beach picking up beer cans and bottles of all kinds. At first we thought he was just collecting them in order to make a few cents by recycling them… but then we watched him a little closer. He would pick up half empty containers, finish the contents of the can/bottle… then put it in his bag. It was disgusting and sad all wrapped up together.
San Diego Trip: Episode Four: The Zoo Strikes Back: Monday
Today we visited the San Diego Zoo. It is a huge zoo that is very well done and has lots and lots of exhibits. My big complaint about the San Diego Zoo: The terrain is so steep and hilly that you get tired about an hour or two of walking around. Thankfully, our tickets included a round the park bus tour that allowed us good looks at most of the cooler exhibits.
The zoo had a little Children’s petting area that we let Emily go into. It mainly had goats. It was fun to watch Emily interact with the animals. One goat starting chewing on my shirt and another starting chewing on a camera cover strap. It was weird. We walked in, it seemed like every goat decided to either start pooping or peeing all over.
We also took Emily on a Sky-way type ride. I thought that it would freak her out, but she actually enjoyed it. In fact, it freaked us out more because she liked it. She wanted to sit and look over the edge… and our stomachs just couldn’t take it. Melissa held on to her very tightly.
The reptile house was pretty cool. They had a huge yellowish python… very cool. They also had an anaconda, which was also very, very huge. We also attended a Sea Lion show. I really love Sea Lions… they are so much fun to watch. There were several parts that were very funny.
I’ll be honest, I think that I enjoy the St. Louis Zoo more than the San Diego Zoo. It is not so hard getting around St. Louis, the exhibits are more creatively laid out, there are better viewing areas, and you can get in for free. In San Diego, you had to pay for your admission, THEN pay for several other additional things. I was pretty surprised they didn’t charge for parking!
I think all of us got either tired or bored or both by mid-afternoon… so we went back to the condo to rest and hang out.
The time difference took some getting used to. California is two hours earlier then Missouri. So when we woke up at 6:00AM in San Diego, it was really 8:00AM our time. When we went to bed around 10:00PM in San Diego, it was really midnight our time.
Emily loved hanging out with her uncle Jeff. She was always trying to get him to play with her. There was one time when he was napping and she was insistent on seeing him. So she snuck in his room. I’m not sure what happened next, but she just loved hanging out with him.
Living on or around the beach certainly has it’s set of perks. Every morning there were people that would run right along the shore… dodging the waves as they came in. Every day the beach was packed with people who were laying out, playing in the sand, having a picnic, etc. At night, very few people were actually on the beach, but many people were walking or riding their bikes on the street that ran parallel to the beach. It was neat.
We had planned on attending Skyline this morning, but I think all of us were tired from traveling and bustling around. We decided to sleep in, hang out, and just be lazy in general. I had been to Skyline before and quite honestly… when you grow up and have connections in a church like Heritage, nothing is really impressive: Heritage has such great worship experiences… last time I attended Skyline, it really didn’t compare.
In the morning, a few of us went to get groceries at a local food chain, Ralph’s. It was the first grocery store that I knew of that had a parking garage underneath the store. That’s how much of a premium space was there. There was absolutely no unused space anywhere along Mission beach. If there was any empty space, it was because they had torn down an old condo and were in the middle of building a newer and better one.
We had decided from the beginning that each couple would be responsible for a dinner on one particular night. Mom made her famous tacos, Melissa made her famous grilled potatoes (along with chicken and other grilled food), Sarah made her famous spaghetti. It was a pretty cool system. We were very well-fed all week long. In this trip alone, I put on eight pounds. I couldn’t believe it! Back to the ole Slim Fast diet.
A fateful decision was made on this day. Melissa visited the beach for two hours. She wore no sun-block. She laid on her stomach for too long. She got fried. The beach here is deceiving. With the temperature hovering in the 70’s and a cool breeze coming off the ocean, she had no idea that she was even getting burned. She told me later that she was cold enough to have goose-bumps most of the time out there.
She didn’t really, really feel it until Monday… but she knew by Sunday night that she was going to be in a lot of pain. We tried aloes and other non-prescription medicines through-out the week, but nothing seemed to touch it at all. She was pretty much miserable from Sunday night till Tuesday night. More about that later.
I was able to get a bunch of reading done. I got three books finished: Revenge of the Sith, The Final Prophecy (Star Wars), and a gem of a book called ‘Three Nights in August.’ It was the best baseball book I have ever read. It made me think, it made me laugh, it made me appreciate the game more, it made me hate the Cubs even more than I already do, and it even made me cry during the chapter about the events surrounding Darryl Kile’s death. I’m always reading stuff… but had more time to get huge blocks of reading done. It was nice.
I’m sure I’ll have more to write about the beach community, but I’ll wrap up day three by sharing an experience we had with a beach bum. Melissa and I were out walking one night and we watched a guy that smelled drunk and walked drunk walking along the beach picking up beer cans and bottles of all kinds. At first we thought he was just collecting them in order to make a few cents by recycling them… but then we watched him a little closer. He would pick up half empty containers, finish the contents of the can/bottle… then put it in his bag. It was disgusting and sad all wrapped up together.
San Diego Trip: Episode Four: The Zoo Strikes Back: Monday
Today we visited the San Diego Zoo. It is a huge zoo that is very well done and has lots and lots of exhibits. My big complaint about the San Diego Zoo: The terrain is so steep and hilly that you get tired about an hour or two of walking around. Thankfully, our tickets included a round the park bus tour that allowed us good looks at most of the cooler exhibits.
The zoo had a little Children’s petting area that we let Emily go into. It mainly had goats. It was fun to watch Emily interact with the animals. One goat starting chewing on my shirt and another starting chewing on a camera cover strap. It was weird. We walked in, it seemed like every goat decided to either start pooping or peeing all over.
We also took Emily on a Sky-way type ride. I thought that it would freak her out, but she actually enjoyed it. In fact, it freaked us out more because she liked it. She wanted to sit and look over the edge… and our stomachs just couldn’t take it. Melissa held on to her very tightly.
The reptile house was pretty cool. They had a huge yellowish python… very cool. They also had an anaconda, which was also very, very huge. We also attended a Sea Lion show. I really love Sea Lions… they are so much fun to watch. There were several parts that were very funny.
I’ll be honest, I think that I enjoy the St. Louis Zoo more than the San Diego Zoo. It is not so hard getting around St. Louis, the exhibits are more creatively laid out, there are better viewing areas, and you can get in for free. In San Diego, you had to pay for your admission, THEN pay for several other additional things. I was pretty surprised they didn’t charge for parking!
I think all of us got either tired or bored or both by mid-afternoon… so we went back to the condo to rest and hang out.
The time difference took some getting used to. California is two hours earlier then Missouri. So when we woke up at 6:00AM in San Diego, it was really 8:00AM our time. When we went to bed around 10:00PM in San Diego, it was really midnight our time.
Emily loved hanging out with her uncle Jeff. She was always trying to get him to play with her. There was one time when he was napping and she was insistent on seeing him. So she snuck in his room. I’m not sure what happened next, but she just loved hanging out with him.
Living on or around the beach certainly has it’s set of perks. Every morning there were people that would run right along the shore… dodging the waves as they came in. Every day the beach was packed with people who were laying out, playing in the sand, having a picnic, etc. At night, very few people were actually on the beach, but many people were walking or riding their bikes on the street that ran parallel to the beach. It was neat.
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