Welcome Room

My Three Most Important Professional Goals

2006-10-05T09:54:00.000-04:00

I had to basically free write about my "professional" goals... So in case you are interested, here you go. If not, I highly recommend watching some Homestar Runner instead :).

When asked to define my top three career goals I have to take a step back and look at what I feel like God has given me a passion to do. I ultimately want to serve God in all that I do, which includes not only my personal life, but also what I do as a profession and how my attitude carries out in my work. I believe that my top three professional goals reflect the passions that God has given me in my life and tie into my desire to serve him.

My first and most important professional goal is to work in ministry vocationally for a church or Para church organization. I fully believe that we are called into ministry in the sense that we should ministry to those around us regardless of what vocation we work in. However, since becoming a Christian over ten years ago God has laid it on my heart to work in ministry vocationally. I have never sensed God calling me to be a head pastor in a church, but do feel like God has given me a desire to focus on the areas of marriage and family ministry, counseling, and/or community service outreach. I would like to reach this goal in the next few years and have been working hard to obtain the education and experience I feel that I need for working in these ministry areas.

My second professional goal is to work and contribute to a team environment in ministry committed to using creative and innovative ways to accomplish goals. I strongly believe that having a team approach to ministry is crucial for most of the areas I want to work in. I also believe that continuing to use creative ways to solve problems such as how to stay relevant in your teaching to younger generations is essential for success. Having this approach also fuels my creative side and keeps teams engaged in solving problems collectively.

My third main professional goal is to be able to financially retire from vocation by the age of 60. I don’t want to stop working in ministry at that time though. Instead I want to do this so that I can give more money away or work on ministry projects that can’t afford to pay me. Not having to accept a paycheck for my work down the road would provide me with a great amount of freedom. If I am financially stable from my lifetime of saving and investing wisely, then I will be able to pick and choose which organization to help based on where I feel the Lord leading me a little easier. I do not want to have to worry about getting a paycheck and the organization could use the money to reach more people for Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, my three main professional goals fit well with the man I am trying to become. I am working hard to continue seeking God’s will for me so that I can discern which vocational opportunities he wants me to explore and move in the direction he is leading. My plan is to always evaluate where I am at professionally and make sure that I balance my personal life with my career in ministry. If I am successful at doing this, I know that the Lord will take care of me.

good quote

2006-08-21T10:03:00.000-04:00

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant??
I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God....
I could be eating a slow learner."

--Lynda Montgomery

this song is stuck in my head and heart today

2006-07-20T08:03:00.000-04:00

Jars of Clay
Worlds Apart

I am the only one to blame for this
Somehow it all adds up the same
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride
I flew too high and like icarus I collide
With a world I try so hard to leave behind
To rid myself of all but love
To give and die

To turn away and not become
Another nail to pierce the skin of one who loves
More deeply than the oceans,
More abundant than the tear
Of a world embracing every heartache

Can I be the one to sacrifice
Or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow

Take my world apart
I am on my knees
Take my world apart
Broken on my knees

All said and done I stand alone
Amongst remains of a life I should not own
It takes all I am to believe
In the mercy that covers me

Did you really have to die for me?
All I am for all you are
Because what I need and what I believe are worlds apart

Additional lyrics:

I look beyond the empty cross
Forgetting what my life has cost
And wipe away the crimson stains
And dull the nails that still remain
More and more I need you now,
I owe you more each passing hour
The battle between grace and pride
I gave up not so long ago
So steal my heart and take the pain,
Wash the feet and cleanse my pride
Take the selfish, take the weak,
And all the things i cannot hide
Take the beauty, take my tears
This sin-soaked heart and make it yours
Take my world apart
Take it now, take it now
And serve the ones that I despise
Speak the words I can't deny
Watch the world I used to love
Turn to dust and fall away
I look beyond the empty cross
Forgetting what my life has cost
So wipe away the crimson stains
And dull the nails that still remain
So steal my heart and take the pain
Take the selfish, take the weak
And all the things I cannot hide
Take the beauty, take my tears
Take my world apart, take my world apart
I pray, and I pray, and I pray
Take my world apart

Worlds apart.

Big Day

2006-05-31T09:59:00.000-04:00

So today is a big day for me and Karen. I have a conference call with AMFM (Association of Marriage and Family Ministries) tonight to discuss more graphic design work. I've been helping them a lot for the last month with updating all of their graphics and even getting to design a few new pieces for them. It's been very exciting working with them and may be heading down a road that can lead to much larger work. I will be working on a piece for them that will be published in a book written by the founders of AMFM and will be distributed to all AMFM members for their use. This is a huge deal for me and Karen as we want to work in marriage ministry full time someday and this will be the foot in the door to several awesome ministries that we respect so much! We are rushing to put together our design company, which is Simply Seen Design, LLC (www.simplyseendesign.com). Once we finalize the paperwork, we'll be able to do a lot more work for AMFM members as a resource provider. We're excited about being able to help ministries get their messages out in a more professional way without being charged an arm and a leg for design services.

In other news, we finished our indoor volleyball tournament last night and finished better than we expected. We played the best team in the semi final round and almost beat them! I'm confident we could have beaten the other team in the finals, if we had made it. Either way, it was so much fun playing with this team. It's been the best season we've had with all the teams we've assembled over the last 3-4 years. Now we start the sand league season next week and we're all pumped up to be playing outside and sliding around in the sand. So much fun!!

been busy

2006-05-02T09:13:00.000-04:00

I appoligize for not posting recently. Karen and I went on vacation and I've been overwhelmed with design work to get done before we leave for our next trip, which is in 9 days. It's gonna be awesome! We are also working on our new websites for Simply Seen Design and Enriching Marriages. Some of our future blogging regarding relationships and couples ministry will go on the Enriching Marriages site.

Michael and Toni's wedding is this weekend! Be praying for things to go smoothly for this awesome couple.

life is good

2006-04-13T11:11:00.000-04:00

Things have been very busy lately, but for good reasons. I am working on my first full graphic design side job and it's been a blast! I'm learning a lot and feeling good about the project so far. This is a field of work that I greatly enjoy being in and learning more about as I go. I get to have my creative brain stretched again (it's been a while!) and get to help other people develop their business in the process.

In other news, Michael and Toni's wedding is quickly approaching. I told Michael that we should have gotten the white tuxes with pin stripes. They came with lime green ties and vests. We could have been pimpin' like a Sprite commercial! But seriously, I'm excited for the two of them and can't wait to see how God blesses them in their marriage.

And finally... This may come as a surprise to most people that know me (yeah right!), but I like coffee. Crazy huh? I am particularly excited about going to the City Dock Coffee shop in Annapolis, MD. in a few weeks. I'll be there sipping on a cup of toasted southern pecan coffee, if you are looking for me. You can watch a 2.5 minute video promotion about City Dock here: http://www.citydockcafe.com/home.html.

EVERYONE farts...

2006-03-28T08:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, my sister-in-law told me my blog has been sad recently... So let me tell you a good story.

What is it about dudes? Most of us barely talk to each other if you stick us in a room together without something we HAVE to talk about (especially if you say we can't talk about sports). However, when a man walks into a bathroom, he all of the sudden doesn't care what anyone thinks about him or what he's about to do regardless of how sophisticated he is outside of the bathroom. For example, while I was in the bathroom here at work the other day a doctor walks in and without any (and I mean ANY) hesitation at all he lets out this monstrous fart.

Bbbbbbuuuuuuuurrrrrrmmmmp!

How am I supposed to respond?? Congratulate him on a job well done? Thank him for his work as a fine doctor trying to help people? Laugh at him? Ask him if he needs to take a vacation day after birthing whatever that was out of his system??

I did what any other man would do... snickered like a 5 year old girl when her Ken doll proposed to Barbie for the first time. I tried so hard to hold back laughing at this well respected doctor that makes $200,000 a year or more, but all of the sudden reminds me of my kinda redneck uncle that sells cars at one of those classy establishments with gun holes in the "Buy Here, Pay Here" signs and grunts loudly after every meal.

You'd be surprised at how often this actually happens. Most of the time I don't bust out laughing, but this time I was feeling froggy.

Can you imagine if these doctor dudes would actually let go like this in meetings and presentations? Would they still get the same respect?

"So I'd like to tell you about our trial "A Randomized Phase II Trial of Pre-chemotherapy Leukine vs Leukine-Dexamethasone in Combination with..." Bbbbbbuuuuuuuurrrrrrmmmmp! Sorry, I had breakfast burritos."

How awesome would that be?

frustrating

2006-03-08T08:49:00.000-05:00

Karen has been dealing with a battle here at work recently with a co-worker that is giving her trouble. Many of you know the situation, so I don't need to go into too much detail, but it's getting worse. The co-worker has been causing trouble for several of us since she's been here because of the way she does business. She is unorganized and unable to accept when she messes up... Karen and I are usually the ones that have to fix what this person breaks and quite frankly, we're tired of it. Karen has to deal with it much more than I do and because she has such a good heart, she's trying to handle things as best as she can. Me? I would have snapped and yelled at this lady several times for the way she treats Karen. In fact, it's hard to hold back my emotions as a husband when I see someone treat my wife like crap. This is the difficult part of working with your spouse closely in an office environment. (Side note: I still love working with Karen every day!). Anyway, so Karen is now to the point where she told one of our two bosses that she is going to find another job if he doesn't assign her to a new project soon. Our other boss, who has more authority overall, has lined up another project for Karen to work for that would keep her here with us. However, the two bosses have not discussed this yet. It's getting a little nutty around here. So Karen is going to draft a letter today to our boss and tell him she's not going to deal with this any more and will find another job somewhere else if she has to, which I doubt she will need to do. It's going to be a very interesting week.

I just hate to see her have to put up with this kind of stuff.

Please read

2006-02-22T10:12:00.000-05:00

My friend Bryan sent this to me today. For those of you that don't know, Tony Dungy is the coach of the Indianapolis Colts. His son James took his own life back on December 22, 2005. Please read.

Dungy Makes Super Bowl Stop to Speak at Athletes in Action Breakfast DETROIT, Mich.

They were there for breakfast, and they were there to cheer New York Jets running back Curtis Martin.

And it was Martin who received the Athletes in Action Bart Starr Award Saturday morning, but the hundreds who gathered in fourth-floor ballroom At the Marriott Renaissance in Detroit, Mich., on the morning before Super Bowl XL were clearly touched by the featured speaker.
That speaker was Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy.

Two hours into the breakfast, emcee Brent Jones introduced Dungy, who was welcomed with a lengthy standing ovation. Dungy thanked the crowd, shared an anecdote about Martin, then told the crowd he was going to speak for about 15 minutes.

"It's great to be here," Dungy told the crowd, then adding with a laugh, "I just wish I wasn't here in this capacity so many times of being just that close to being in the game and just being an invited speaker.

"My goal is to have our team here one day and have a couple of tables with all of our guys here. Because we have a special group of young men, a great group of Christian guys. It'd be wonderful to have them here so you could see their hearts and what they're all about.

"It hasn't quite happened yet, but we're still hoping one day it will."

He told them he was going to talk about lessons he had learned from his three sons. The crowd fell silent. Then Dungy spoke.

And although this was a breakfast - and although at many such events speakers speak over the clinking of glasses and murmurs from semi-interested listeners - for most of the 15 minutes the room was silent except for Dungy's voice.

He spoke of his middle son, Eric, who he said shares his competitiveness and who is focused on sports "to where it's almost a problem." He spoke of his youngest son, Jordan, who has a rare congenital condition which causes him not to feel pain.

"He feels things, but he doesn't get the sensation of pain," Dungy said.

The lessons learned from Jordan, Tony Dungy said, are many.

"That sounds like it's good at the beginning, but I promise you it's not," Dungy said. "We've learned a lot about pain in the last five years we've had Jordan. We've learned some hurts are really necessary for kids.

Pain is necessary for kids to find out the difference between what's good and what's harmful."
Jordan, Dungy said, loves cookies.

"Cookies are good," Dungy said, "but in Jordan's mind, if they're good out on the plate, they're even better in the oven. He will go right in the oven when my wife's not looking, reach in, take the rack out, take the pan out, burn his hands and eat the cookies and burn his tongue and never feel it. He doesn't know that's bad for him."

"Jordan," Dungy said, "has no fear of anything, so we constantly have to watch him."
The lesson learned, Dungy said, is simple.

"You get the question all the time, 'Why does the Lord allow pain in your life? Why do bad things happen to good people? If God is a God of love, why does he allow these hurtful things to happen?''' Dungy said. "We've learned that a lot of times because of that pain, that little temporary pain, you learn what's harmful. You learn to fear the right things.

"Pain sometimes lets us know we have a condition that needs to be healed. Pain inside sometimes lets us know that spiritually we're not quite right and we need to be healed and that God will send that healing agent right to the spot.

"Sometimes, pain is the only way that will turn us as kids back to the Father."
Finally, he spoke of James.

James Dungy, Tony Dungy's oldest son, died three days before Christmas.

As he did while delivering James' eulogy in December, Dungy on Saturday spoke of him eloquently and steadily, speaking of lessons learned and of the positives taken from experience.
"It was tough, and it was very, very painful, but as painful as it was, there were some good things that came out of it," Dungy said.

Dungy spoke at the funeral of regretting not hugging James the last time he saw him, on Thanksgiving of last year.

"I met a guy the next day after the funeral," Dungy said. "He said, 'I was there. I heard you talking. I took off work today. I called my son. I told him I was taking him to the movies. We're going to spend some time and go to dinner.' That was a real, real blessing to me."

Dungy said he has gotten many letters since James' death relaying similar messages.

"People heard what I said and said, 'Hey, you brought me a little closer to my son,' or, 'You brought me a little closer to my daughter,'" Dungy said. "That is a tremendous blessing."

Dungy also said some of James' organs were donated through donors programs.

"We got a letter back two weeks ago that two people had received his corneas, and now they can see," Dungy said. "That's been a tremendous blessing."

Dungy also said he received a letter from a girl from the family's church in Tampa. She had known James for many years, Dungy said. She went to the funeral because she knew James.
"When I saw what happened at funeral, and your family and the celebration and how it was handled, that was the first time I realized there had to be a God," Dungy said the girl wrote. "I accepted Christ into my life and my life's been different since that day."

Added Dungy, "That was an awesome blessing, so all of those things kind of made me realize what God's love is all about."

Dungy also said he was asked often how he was able to return to the Colts so quickly after James' death. James died on December 22, and Dungy returned to the team one week later. Dungy said the answer was simple.

"People asked me, 'How did you recover so quickly?"'' Dungy said. "I'm not totally recovered. I don't know that I ever will be. It's still very, very painful, but I was able to come back because of something one of my good Christian friends said to me after the funeral.

"He said, 'You know James accepted Christ into his heart, so you know he's in heaven, right?' I said, 'Right, I know that.' He said, 'So, with all you know about heaven, if you had the power to bring him back now, would you?" When I thought about it, I said, 'No, I wouldn't. I would not want him back with what I know about heaven."

"That's what helped me through the grieving process. Because of Christ's spirit in me, I had that confidence that James is there, at peace with the Lord, and I have the peace of mind in the midst of something that's very, very painful.

"That's my prayer today, that everyone in this room would know the same thing."

two things...

2006-02-08T09:53:00.000-05:00

Two cool things have happened this week that have been great for me and Karen.

1. I finally got my raise and job promotion here at UK. The financial blessing is in the form of a 19.75% pay increase, which is really going to help us get out of debt faster! Karen's job also changed over earlier this month, which gave her a 12% pay increase. So God has blessed us financially this month by increasing our salaries by about $10,000 combined... not bad! Thanks God! With this extra money, we will also be able to increase our giving. The tithe amount from this will probably end up going towards our sister's mission work in Belarus. We haven't talked to her about this yet, but since she's reading this... Hi Kristi :).

2. Yesterday we met with the new minister in charge of overseeing parts of the couples ministry at Southland. He and his wife are very passionate about working with couples of all ages and marriage situations. We threw around a lot of ideas for how to move forward and begin doing more ministry for couples in the church, which is badly needed in our opinion. This is an awesome step for us in our ministry and we look forward to working on new curriculum, teaching more classes, and helping to plan for ministry. More to come on this later as things develop...

Surrender Chad...seriously

2006-02-06T08:50:00.000-05:00

This came in my devotional from church this morning:

"Surrender is simply casting your heart in all its humanness in faith to God the Father (in any situation, for any reason). Eyes closed, muscles tensed, we let go. As our fingers relax their hold on our situation, we exhale with relief and recklessly abandon worries and cares, small or great. God puts them up onto the Solid Rock and sees us through somehow. Our Father knows the 'somehow.'"

I'm trying to learn to surrender. Seriously. I don't want to be known as a man that has to have his own way and not God's. I have a running list in my mind of things that I need direction and guidance on from the Lord... now if I would just truly give that list up to Him and let Him become the master instead of me attempting to keep my grubby hands on everything.

Want a few specifics? Read on.

More than anything, I want:

to be a man of God.
to be a Godly husband
to really KNOW the Lord
to have a strong prayer life
to start a family sooner rather than much later
to be done with school
to be used by God to help strengthen marriages
to write new curriculum and market it without letting pride take over
to deepen existing friendships
to continue developing new friendships at Southland
to get in better shape physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually
to be a witness to my coworkers
to know why Krispy Kreme can't make a low fat donut

With that said, I've been listening to "Breathe" by Thousand Foot Krutch over and over this morning. Here are two sections of the song:

I've always been strong
But can't make this happen
'Cause I need to breathe, I want to breathe you in
The fear of becoming
I'm so tired of running
And I need to breathe, I want to breathe you in
I want to breathe you in
...
Took awhile to see all the love that's around me
Through the highs and lows there's a truth that I've known
And it's You

So God, this is my prayer. I want to surrender to you whole heartedly.

Chad with an afro

2006-01-20T11:57:00.000-05:00

FINALLY! The great picture of me with my afro back in 1995. I was a theatre major at SCAPA at the time and we were putting on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which our version was set in the 1970's. My director asked me not to cut my hair for 8 months... which I didn't. I grew it out to about 8 inches and because my hair was so thick and curly (when I had hair at all!) I was able to just brush it straight up in the air and it would stick. I didn't have to use hairspray at all. Now, please please please keep in mind that I didn't actually walk around with my hair like this every day, though looking back on it I probably should just for fun. After the show was over, I cut all my hair off.

Don't be jealous :)

People keep asking me who the girl in the picture is. It's my old friend (just friend) Clare that I went to school and worked in theatre with for a few years.

Two fun things to update everyone on this morning.

2006-01-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

First:

Our premarriage class started last night and went better than expected. Karen and I are trying out a new format by taking an 8 week course where all 8 sessions are 1 hour each that meets on Sunday mornings and moving it to a 4 week course that lasts 2 hours each night and meets on Wednesday nights. I enjoyed the change of pace and felt like it will give us more flexibility in our teaching time.

I rewrote our first two sections of material yesterday (yes, it was kinda last minute) and added a full section dealing with marriage expectations. This turned out to be a hit with the class as it allowed for honest discussion time as well as some goofy teaching regarding common expectations where Karen and I jokingly battle over stereotypical expectations.

We met Allan Conner who is the new Care Minister in charge of overseeing all premarriage ministry at Southland. He sat in on the class for the first hour and was very pleased with how it went. He told us before the class that he has a passion for marriage ministry and wants to talk to us more about our interests and ideas to see how he can help us minister to couples. This is extremely exciting news for us because we weren't sure what level of involvement he was going to really have outside of just the premarriage stuff, but from what he said he wants to do a lot more and expand our focus to more couples such as young marrieds. Again, it's definitely a God thing because we have been pushing to have Southland step up it's efforts in ministering to all couples, not just engaged couples.

One funny side note to mention... before the class started, a Korean girl approached me and said "Hey Chad!" It took me by surprise because I didn't immediately remember her name, but I recognized her. Then I remembered it is my cousin that I haven't seen in years! Yes, I know what you're thinking. No, I'm not Korean no matter how much I look like it ;). But yes, I have a few Korean cousins. So yeah, I've never been responsible for any family member's premarriage counseling. This will be interesting.

Second:

Many of you know Michael and Toni got engaged at Christmas time and are planning on getting married this summer. Karen and I are so excited for these two awesome believers. They have an outstanding relationship and are a pure joy to be around. Well, Michael and I went out for coffee this past weekend and he asked me to be his best man. What an absolute honor to stand next to a Godly man like Michael on his wedding day! I was just excited that I could go to the wedding and witness a beautiful marriage beginning, but now I'm actually in it! I secretly think he asked me because he didn't want to have to pay to have my hair done ;). More fun commentary to come on this later...

updates

2006-01-13T08:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm starting to get back into the swing of things. Having the week off between Christmas and New Year's Day can spoil someone like me that tends to stay so busy that I don't have a lot of free time. This is the first year Karen and I stayed home for the full 10.5 days we had off instead of skipping town. I must say that we got a lot done around the house! Other than that, here's an update on the happenings of me:

I consented a patient at 5:30am this morning and was actually awake enough to speak coherent sentences (4 cups of coffee will do the job pretty well!). While going to pick up the blood that had been drawn, I was mistaken for a doctor by a nurse simply because I had my magic white lab coat on. I laughed and wanted to tell her "Yeah, my real job is in marketing and graphic design... I just consent patients about once every week or two. SOOO FAR from being a doctor."
My graphic design skills are growing as I learn more and practice more. I've been given several nice, higher profile design projects here at UK. I've completed 2 of them and gotten good feedback. The biggest project is going to begin next week, which I'm a bit nervous about because it's a website that tons of people look at every day and I don't want it to suck. I'm also designing an exhibit booth that will be used by several UK departments and it's been a blast to work on so far. I like the creative part of my job. It's great to sit back, loose myself in my CD collection, and design for a few hours.
The premarriage class Karen and I teach begins next Wednesday. We are trying a new format out that we think may work better for everyone involved, but will have to adjust the teaching to fit the format. We've really enjoyed working on curriculum and trying out new ideas. Engaged couples are fun and challenging to work with because they have expectations that have yet to be discussed or disputed. Ohhh but there will come a day when one of them can't figure out why the other is so upset about the way you get ready in the morning or which way the toilet paper is supposed to go on the bar. Side note: It's supposed to go over the top, not under! Thankfully Karen and I agree on that one.
I'm excited about our cooking club tomorrow morning. Breakfast foods are some of my favorites when done right.
I highly recommend the documentary "Beyond Gates of Splendor." I have it if anyone wants to borrow it.

Michael and Chad at the cooking club...

Longhorns

2006-01-05T08:45:00.000-05:00

I'm back from vacation and all I have to say is GO TEXAS! I've been telling people all year to give Texas a shot at USC if you want the USC winning streak to end... Finally, I was right :).

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2281000

Merry Christmas

2005-12-23T09:41:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas friends and family! I pray that you have a wonderful weekend full of rest (avoid the crazy soccer moms) and time well spent with family. Karen and I will be going to my parents tonight for dinner and gift exchanges. We will leave tomorrow morning for Harlan County, which is the place "Hee Haw" must have originally been created. I enjoy going there for Christmas and seeing my family, but each year has gotten a little more awkward with several of the family relationships dealing with major issues. My hope is that those people are able to set differences aside and enjoy celebrating Christmas together.

Karen and I are really trying to make Christ the central focus of Christmas. We plan to read the true Christmas story from the Gospels each year to make sure we have our focus in the right place.

I'm praying that we all enjoy any gifts that come our way without being materialistic. I also pray that we have all done our best to help others that aren't as fortunate as we are this season.

By the way... this picture I took shows one more reason why I love my job. One of my bosses bought 5 toy dart guns for some of my coworkers to battle our other boss, who is constantly shooting us with his dart guns. It's just plain awesome. They ambushed him with 30 darts in an all out battle for 5 minutes! When you have bosses that do everything possible to make your job both productive and enjoyable, it makes a huge difference. We have tons of fun and are able to goof off while still getting quite a lot done. In our environment of dealing with cancer patients and research, it's good to have people around you that can keep things positive.

Faith Miller Cole

2005-12-19T10:28:00.000-05:00

I had intended on posting this morning about the wonderful weekend I had baking all the food for Christmas presents. I had intended on telling everyone how much fun it is to make food for others and how much I truly appreciate my friend Michelle for helping all weekend long even though she didn't have to. She's just cool like that... very giving friend that doesn't ask much in return. I had intended on telling everyone how much I love my wife for being the only person in the world that can make a bowl of cereal and still manage to get flour all over the house and probably even on the roof. She is a trooper and busted her butt all weekend to get the cooking done. These were my original intentions this morning.

Now I intend on telling you why today is a sad day for me. While I was a freshman in high school, I met these two wonderful Jewish twin sisters and have been friends with them since the first conversation. Catherine and Aaron (yes, she spells it like a boy) brought me into their world of friendship and included me as part of their family as a brother. As part of the family, I met Faith Miller Cole (a.k.a. "Momma Cole"). The sad news... Momma Cole passed away last night.

Momma Cole was once the Director of Communications for Kentucky Utilities and was full of great ideas that she was often awarded for. This was until she was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, a horrible disease of the colon. She was put on many different medications, which over the course of the last 10 years have reacted with each other causing the need for more medications to be mixed in. She eventually was basically bedridden and fell into a deep depression. One disease or illness began leading to another.

This death is a tough pill for me to swallow as I spent a considerable amount of time with the Cole family and watched as they had to deal with the pain of watching their mother battle through life so much. Catherine, Aaron, my sister Heather, and I all identified with each other so well during those first few years because my mother was battling cancer at the same time. The difference today is that my mother is alive and well (praise the Lord) and we are left here mourning the loss of Momma Cole. We all knew this day would come for many years, but it's never easy to accept when it finally happens.

This will be a new corner to turn for all of the Cole family. Catherine and Aaron have spent so long worrying for their mother and taking family trips rushing to the Mayo Clinic at least once every few months for some kind of emergency. John, the husband and caregiver, can now start the process of moving on past the day he's known would eventually come (I can't even begin to imagine how hard this is for him).

So I guess this blog today is my way of releasing my emotion out into the world. I'm waiting to hear about the visitation and funeral, which will be extremely difficult to handle as I will hug and cry with my friends and old family.

Please pray for the Cole family as they deal with this and that I can comfort them in some way this week. Thanks for listening, friends.

If it's good enough for my paint thinner, it's good enough for my cat??

2005-12-06T08:35:00.000-05:00

Ok I know that sounds really bad, but hear me out.

Since painting our cabinets in our lovely new home back in the summer, I've had a paint can full of paint thinner sitting in my garage wide open for 4 months. As I understand it, you are supposed to fill the can up with sand or cat litter and then close it off before throwing it away. I've been too busy (busy= lazy= real truth of this story) to get a paint can top and bag of sand to take care of this mess.

So I'm walking through Target the other day with Karen and all of a sudden I hear this "THUUUD" from behind us. When I turned around I saw a bag of Tidy Cat laying in the isle behind us. I could just imagine God standing in Heaven after a long hard day of making the world go round stopping for a moment to help:

God: "I have been watching long enough. It is time for me to intervene. Oh Tidy Cat, your destination will be different from that of other cat litters. You must help Chad instead of being pooped on by kittens. Come forth from thine spot on this retail shelf and make yourself known!"

I got the point and picked up the cat litter. I had to double check to make sure it was the cheapest available, which it was. There were several other options that cost anywhere from $3-8... but not Tidy Cat. That crap was only $1.89 for a bag! Having never purchased cat litter before or held a bag of it, I assumed you are supposed to carry it like a dirty diaper (hands way out in front as if it's on fire). After all, it's sand that holds pooh... really. I quickly changed my carrying style after I start getting strange looks from people, but this didn't help.

I finally realized that people were giving me the looks because I was going to purchase the cheapest generic brand of cat litter I could find and THEY thought it was actually for a cat... not paint thinner. I know I know, can you believe that?? Great, now I'm actually starting to feel like a cheap pet owner WHO DOESN'T EVEN OWN OR LIKE CATS. As I walk around the store deciding if I should take it back and get the next step up instead a thought occurred to me... I don't really care. I just hope I don't offend the paint thinner because that's some mean stuff. I purchased the junk, added it to the paint thinner, and watched it desolve. Much fun.

On a side note: We stopped at Magee's Bakery this morning on the way in to work and got some coffee and cinnamon rolls. After eating my cinnamon roll at my desk, I was working on a newsletter when I noticed a small white dot on the corner of my finger. Strange, what's this? It looked a piece of leftover icing, but you never know. It could be a piece of tissue paper leftover from blowing my nose.

Only one way to find out, right?

Ahhhh, I'm glad I won this battle!

Moral of the side note: Maybe it's time to go on a diet.

Starbucks... How do you do it?

2005-11-18T09:37:00.000-05:00

For me, waking up in the morning without some kind of coffee is like trying to start a chainsaw without any gas in it. No matter how many times I try, I'm still not moving without the fuel. What happens when I forget to make coffee at the house in the morning or am running behind? I walk across the street at work to Starbucks.

I recently got my 9th punch on my Starbucks card here at UK, which means I get my next drink free. This usually means that I go out and get the most expensive drink there I can. Pardon me, but I feel so totally rewarded and jazzed about my free drink. And why not? Let's stop and think about this... To get 9 punches on my card means that I've purchased 9 overly priced drinks to the tune of almost $4 each. For all you math nerds, that's $36 "worth" of drinks. Are you kidding me? I deserve a free one for that.

So what makes me run down the halls screaming "Oh boy! Now I get a free one!"? I would have to say it's due to a mystery substance that they must put it the drinks to keep us coming back in droves. Let's just call it "Buck-crack," not to be confused with... errrr nevermind. In conclusion, remember children that toffee nut lattes on a cold Fall day are well worth the price of my arm and leg, which flow freely with Starbucks.

Random Thoughts

2005-11-17T09:40:00.000-05:00

Donavan McNabb is injured and out for at least one game. His backup? 3rd string QB Mike McMahan. Apparently, the 2nd stringer is Koy Detmer, but he is only listed as the 2nd stringer because he catches and holds the ball for the place kicker on field goals. Here's a thought... teach Mike McMahan how to do this and there won't be confusion when Donavan gets hurt. Poor chunky soup boy :(

This is a great time of year to be a sports fan. Every day is filled with a nice mixture of college basketball, college football, NBA, and NFL with no baseball highlights to crowd SportsCenter highlights...

Don't you hate sweaters that bunch up around your stomach and make it look much bigger than it should be? Oh wait, that could be the large cheeseburgers and beer that cause that. Never mind.

If I had to listen to one band all day, I'd have to give the Counting Crows a serious shot at that spot. I never get tired of listening to those guys.

Christmas stockings are awesome to have when you finally get a house with a fireplace. Yes, I know you can have them without a fireplace, but it's just not the same.

Speaking of Christmas stockings, check this out: Scooby-Doo Plush Stocking. Frightening or just plain genius?

I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing my friends become addicted to Homestar Runner. (Jill: "In cwosing, I wook good in wed").

My sister-in-law is heading to a foreign country today for a mission trip. I can't wait to see how God users her while at the same time teaching her! Sis', thanks for taking this step of faith. I'll be praying for you.

I'm anxious for Christmas and Thanksgiving to get here! I'm sort of a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving dinners. I think all of us should stuff ourselves silly with turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, salad, brocoli cheese casserole, anything pumpkin, wine, and a truck load of desserts. I look forward to the day when I get to cook the big meal.

Random thoughts really are quite random.

Nashville

2005-11-08T15:38:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was awesomely fun coolness. First of all, Karen came home safely from her business trip (Karen had a business trip...never realized how funny that would sound). I was ecstatic to see her! We got up early the Saturday morning and headed for Nashville a.k.a. "Nashvegas" to see our friends Shayne, Aarron, and Crystal. Hanging out with these guys is always so encouraging. They have such a passion for life and ministry for Christ. It's also easy to say that they know how to have fun as Christians and live life to it's fullest. This is something I strive for so desperately!

We watched plenty of football, went shopping, cooked out some great burgers, and went to church. I was impressed with how God is working in this church. Shayne is working with the media ministry and will be on staff full time as the Assistant Media Minister starting in January. If you've met Shayne, you know how awesome this job is for him. He is able to use his talents to further the ministry at the church... and he's darned good at it!

Listening to Aarron preach on Sunday morning was quite encouraging. He kept hitting on the point that we are in Christ and driving home our need for Him. What I notice the most about Aarron and Crystal is how much they want to engage you in conversation about your life. They love discussing how God is moving in their lives and ours. Again, very encouraging.

We as Christians need to be engaged in each other's lives and build each other up in Christ. Let's stop holding back and start running after Christ together as ONE body. If we think we can do it without the help of other believers... we are arrogantly incorrect. What do you think?

From Here to Eternity

2005-11-03T09:13:00.000-05:00

From Here to Eternity

by John Fischer

Where can a dead man go? The question with an answer only dead men know.But I'm going to bet they never really feel at home.If they spent a lifetime learning
how to live in Rome."
- Nickel Creek (popular Blue Grass group)

Christians spend a lifetime learning how to live somewhere else. It's true. We may not always be conscious of it, but our destination is somewhere else. We were made for eternity. We were made to dwell with God, making this life but a shadow of the one to come.
At the same time, we don't just unplug here and sit around waiting for the Holy Helicopter to take us there. God has uniquely connected this life to that one. Our lives here, and in eternity, are related. What we do here matters there.

Jesus once said that those who are faithful in a few things here will be put in charge of many things there (Matthew 25:23). Paul said that when we pass from here to there, some things will stay with us -- those things that were done here by faith -- and the rest will burn up (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Paul also said that our bodies go into the ground as a seed here and spring up new there (1 Corinthians 15:37). The key is to learn what translates from here to eternity and concentrate on those things. What's important both here and there?

Be careful. This is not as easy as it might seem at first. That's because most of what we do here is tangled up in eternity and hard to unravel. For instance: Money won't matter there, but what we do with it here will. Job position won't matter there, but being responsible here will. Material possessions won't matter there, but what we do with them here will. Winning won't matter there, but playing hard and working at the top of our abilities while we are here will. Like a gold thread running through it, we will pull eternity out of our present experiences.

Not to leave out the stark contrasts. If you lived in prison here, you will live free there. If you were sick here, you will be well there. If you were abused here, you will be cherished there. If you were deformed here, you will be whole there. If you were poor here, you will be rich there. If you were outcast here, you will belong there. If you were nobody here, you will be somebody there. If you mourned here, you will dance there. If you struggled with depression here, there, you will leap for joy.

Remember, we spend a lifetime learning to live somewhere else.

Desktop Calendars

2005-10-25T10:17:00.000-04:00

In this great world there exists mighty people that are responsible for creating what many individuals use as their daily avenue for gaining nuggets of wisdom... desktop calendars. Take a trip to your local Barnes and Noble and you'll see that you can purchase these things in a variety of styles (2006 Cynthia Hart's Victoriana Wall Calendar... Anyone? Anyone?? Bueller?). They also come with varying types of content that are meant to show some sort of glimpse into your personality while it perches itself on top of your cluttered desk (maybe more of a sign of your real personality). For example, my desktop calendar is packed full of pictures of Italy. I've never been to Italy, but would like to go someday and I do enjoy travel. However, I have discovered the reason why they only make these as a one year calendar instead of more. You see, as we get closer to the end of the year, we start becoming apathetic and sometimes down right hateful about our beloved desktop calendar and its content. Here's an example of the short conversation I have had in my head as I walk into my office at work over the last year after I got my calendar for Christmas:

-So I says to myself "SELF!" (shout out to Emeril):

January 05- It's time to open this beautiful calendar and see what awesome pictures there are of Italy. I hope this will remind me of my desire to travel and see God's awesome earth.

April 05- Oh how I love the hills of Italy. Rome, Positano, and Sicilia!

July 05- So today is Friday, but my calendar says Tuesday... I need to keep better track of the days and peel these off more often. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday... Ahhh Venice, you are gorgeous for a Friday picture.

October 05- Italy. yeah whatever. You're pretty, but I'm getting tired of gondolas and ancient ruins. Where's my coffee??

November 05- I fully plan on being more intrigued by the sticky goo that holds all the pages together at the top and when pulled off makes an interesting snot like substance that I think the Keebler Elves create when taking a break from cookie baking.

December 15, 2005- I'm tired of Italy. Maybe I won't get a calendar for next year...

December 25, 2005- Ohhhh boy!! 365 days of New Ways to Eat French Fries! I've gotta see this.

Quote Worthy

2005-10-20T08:32:00.000-04:00

"Men always want to be a woman's first love; women have a more subtle instinct; what they like is to be a man's last romance."--Unknown. Quoted in A Father's Book of Wisdom

"Like a towering oak tree, lasting love needs time to develop strong roots." -- Tommy Nelson

"Burn!"

2005-10-19T13:56:00.000-04:00

On our way in to work this morning, Karen and I took the back way and drove behind "Lexington Mall." This is usually a nice shortcut to drive through because the "mall" is vacant and has been for many years. As a child, I remember going to this mall full of all kinds of stores to do Christmas shopping or just to get some new clothes. Not anymore. The owners have been letting the original leases run out and not allowing stores to renew them... not that they would want to anyway. This supposed "mall" is as empty as my wallet and hasn't drawn in customers for decades. What? You mean you DON'T want to shop in stores decorated with 1970's tile and carpet with 8' ceilings?? Gasp! Anyway, so as we drive through the parking lot, we notice that an entire part of the building has been knocked down and is being removed. In fact, they are tearing the whole thing down and replacing it with a strip mall full of actual stores with merchandise (say it ain't so!). Karen and I couldn't help but chuckle at the site of this decrepit building in a prime real estate area being shredded to pieces. We felt like that old bitter couple in the movie "What About Bob." You know, the couple that was supposed to buy their dream house after saving for years and years but then had it snatched away from them by Dr. Leo Marvin. Throughout the movie they sit in their fishing boat on the lake and heckle the Marvin's with it coming to a head when the house starts to burn down at the end. In that scene, all they do is throw their hands in the air and yell "BURN! BURN! BURN! HAHAHA!"

Well Lexington Mall, "BURN! BURN! BURN!" Bring in new property with worth-while merchandise... like a Ben and Jerry's or something.

(Disclaimer: if something you should happen to Lexington Mall, like ACTUALLY catching on fire instead of figuratively, I swear I had nothing to do with it! This is just a joke and the writer has no intention of setting stuff on fire except wood in his fireplace... I just enjoy seeing the demolishing of this crappy building.)

Aren't disclaimers great? So take THAT to the stupid lady that won millions of dollars from McDonalds when she spilled hot coffee on herself and complained that the product didn't warn her it was hot! It's coffee... enough said.

Children are weird, right?

2005-10-04T16:22:00.000-04:00

Last week my sister Kristi ran across this article that discusses single life vs the need to be married. It's an interesting read and much food for thought. So if you're interested, take a look:

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001135.cfm

There is also an article from Boundless that defends the original article here:

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001145.cfm

I won't go into the details or my thoughts on the articles themselves, but I think it's well worth reading as food for thought. I did, however, want to point out one quote that stuck out at me as a D.I.N.K. (Dual Income No Kids). My wife and I babysit our nephew Noah, which is a complete joy for us, but I must admit that we are still baffled by children at times. We've come a long way and are wanting to start a family of our own in the next few years... but still. They are such odd creatures :). Back to the article since I know I am beginning to ramble... The author is talking about how a single friend of hers deals with children when she comes to her house to hang out.

"When visiting friends who have small children, she might smile at them or politely bat them away or ask questions about them as if they’re a species of plant and she’s not someone particularly interested in botany."

Ha!! I remember feeling the same way when I used to see babies! Hopefully I've gotten better now that I have a nephew. I've stopped asking my species of plant questions like:

1. What is THAT coming out of their nose??"
2. So how fast do they grow?
3. Can it do any tricks?
4. Is it supposed to be that color all of the time or does that change too?
5. Do they really sleep all day and only bloom for 15 minutes at a time?

Ahh, maybe someday I'll have my own little plants to raise.

The Green Lights Must Be Sleeping

2005-09-29T10:14:00.000-04:00

I barely slept last night. First, it seemed like going to sleep early seemed like a peachy idea since I had to get up at 4:30AM this morning to go to work quite early. But I kept tossing and turning all night. My dog Bailey seemed to understand my discomfort and decided that the most effective remedy would be to make me get up and take her outside at 3AM. Bully good idea. So I finally fell asleep at about.........fighting... urge... to... sleep...must... keep... typing...

Why 4:30AM?? It seems like I'm the only one awake at that time except for the owners of the cars parked outside of the Arby's that's open 24 hours a day (yummy roast beef at 4AM?? Who the crap eats roast beef at 4AM?). Anyway, I decided to begin getting more experience consenting patients for our tissue bank at the cancer center. They don't know that I am coming to see them... I just show up in my magic white lab coat before they are about to go into pre-op for surgery. The early rounds of surgeries start at 6AM, so the patients show up at about 5:30AM. So I have to get there before they do or I might miss out on consenting them for research.

I don't mind getting up that early every once in a while. It's really not too bad when you consider that I can leave work sometime around lunch time and go home. Of course, I have to come back and pick up Karen, but hey, did I mention I can leave at lunch?? The other upside to coming in this early is getting to feel the cool morning breeze while I sip my cup(s) of coffee and see the sun come up by the time everyone else gets to work. It's a nice change of pace sometimes.

One thing that drives me crazy is the green lights on the way. Normally, we don't get stuck at lights much on our commute. But at 5AM, I get stuck at every single light on the way! It's as if the green lights are sleeping and the red lights are on call. I must point out how funny it is that we sit at lights when NO ONE else is around us, but we have been conditioned to just sit there and wait (unless you are my older sister who I can't imagine waiting at lights too long). Is there some kind of force holding us back while we scream at lights trying to persuade them to change? I'm not Catholic, but I've probably had confession at least once or twice trying to convince the priestly traffic light to change from red to green in exchange for my repentance from all my mistakes. My penance? Wait 5 more minutes at the light... then drive 1 more block before getting stuck again. Grrrrr.

Did I mention that I'm leaving at lunch???? Thought so.

lessons from "Good Will Hunting"

2005-09-25T21:10:00.000-04:00

I sat down and watched "Good Will Hunting" last night and quickly remembered why it is one of my absolute favorite movies. I decided to copy this scene and post it on here for two reasons. First, it's one of the best monologues I've seen Robin Williams perform... so full of emotions! Second, and most importantly, it reminds me of how much I desire to live and experience life! I want to explore the world around me and see God's creation. I'd love to meet people of different cultures and share a cup of coffee with them. Stuff like that...

This scene reminds me of those desires. It also reminds me to take off my mask and let people know the real me. Anyway, here it is:

SEAN:
I was thinking about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. I stayed up half the night thinking about it and then something occured to me and I fell into a deep peaceful sleep and haven't thought about you since. You know what occurred to me?

WILL: No.

SEAN:
You're just a boy. You don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about.

WILL: Why thank you.

SEAN: You've never been out of Boston.

WILL: No.

SEAN:
So if I asked you about art you could give me the skinny on every art book ever written... Michelangelo? You know a lot about him I bet. Life's work, criticisms, political aspirations. But you couldn't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling. And if I asked you about women I'm sure you could give me a syllabus of your personal favorites, and maybe you've gotten lucky a few times too. But you couldn't tell me how it feels to wake up next to a woman and be truly happy. If I asked you about war you could refer me to a bevy of fictional and non-fictional material, but you've never been in one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap and watched him draw his last breath, looking to you for help. And if I asked you about love I'd get a sonnet, but you've never looked at a woman and been truly vulnerable. Known that someone could kill you with a look. That someone could rescue you from grief. That God had put an angel on Earth just for you. And you wouldn't know how it felt to be her angel. To have the love be there for her forever. Through anything, through cancer. You wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in a hospital room for two months holding her hand and not leaving because the doctors could see in your eyes that the term "visiting hours" didn't apply to you. And you couldn't know about real loss, because that only occurs when you lose something you love more than yourself, and you've never dared to love anything that much. I look at you and I don't see an intelligent confident man, I don't see a peer, and I don't see my equal. I see a boy. Nobody could possibly understand you, right Will? Yet you presume to know so much about me because of a painting you saw. You must know everything about me. You're an orphan, right? Do you think I would presume to know the first thing about who you are because I read "Oliver Twist?" There's nothing you can tell me that I can't read somewhere else. Unless we talk about your life. But you won't do that. Maybe you're afraid of what you might say. (Sean stands and begins to walk away)

It's your move Chief.

Family Man

2005-09-23T21:38:00.000-04:00

Here are the lyrics to an Andrew Peterson song that I'll try to comment on later this weekend... I'm too tired tonight as I've been awake since 4:30 and need to sleep.

Family Man

I am a family man
I traded in my mustang for a minivan
This is not what I was headed for when I began
This was not my plan
I am a family man

But everything I had to lose
Came back a thousand times in you
And you fill me up with love
Fill me up with love
And you help me stand
'cause I am a family man

And life is good
That's something I always knew
But I just never understood
If you'd asked me then you know I'd say I never would
Settle down in a neighborhood
I never thought I could

But I don't remember anymore
Who I even was before
You filled me up with love
Filled me up with love
And you help me stand

So come on with the thunder clouds
Let the cold wind rail against us, let the rain come down
We can build a roof above us with the love we've found
We can stand our ground
So let the rain come down

Because love binds up what breaks in two
So keep my heart so close to you
And I'll fill you up with love
Fill you up with love
And I'll help you stand
'Cause I am a family man

I'm saving my vacation time
For Disneyland
This is not what I was headed for when I began
This was not my plan
It's so much better than

Man in the White Lab Coat

2005-09-20T20:34:00.000-04:00

So I work in a cancer research center/hospital, which means that I see a metric-butt-ton of people walking around wearing white lab coats. They look important and official with their names embroidered on the coats (for some reason usually in blue cursive letters put there by the magic lab coat fairies). It's also a prerequisite that your job title has to be something that no sane human can figure out what it is you do... for example, "otolaryngologist." These doctors treat head and neck cancers, but who knew? Otololy, otololy, jolly what a day.

Anyway, so why I am blogging about this? Well, I had to go out and get a white lab coat to wear when I go consent patients for research studies since it's part of my newly revised job. It was explained to me by one of my bosses that apparently people take us much more seriously when we come in wearing white lab coats. THAT'S IT??? There's no other explanation like, "Well Chad, you see, white lab coats help to save lives because they absorb the heebie-jeebies in the patients room..." or something like that. But no, that's really the reason. People think that I'm more important and better educated, so they are more comfortable with signing a consent form for research with me. I just have to say how crazy that is to me. IT'S JUST A COAT! Of course, I'm sure Joseph said that when his brothers beat the snot out of him and sold him into slavery, but hey, who's counting? I definitely thought the whole world was laughing when I walked into the store to purchase this coat. All I could see was racks of hundreds of scrubs in different colors and with stupid characters on them. I guess people get really bored from wearing the same thing every day and thus choose to wear pink scrubs with funny farm animals on them or something equally as goofy. Anyway, when I went to pay for the coat, the lady asked me if I needed it embroidered. YEAH right. What would mine say??

Chad B.,
"graphic designer who also consents patients for research studies and can order supplies for you, if needed."

That screams TAKE ME SERIOUSLY. So I do have to admit that while it is a little odd, it's also kinda fun to have this magic coat and get to do various cool tasks around the cancer center. Anywho, maybe I'll post a picture of me in the coat someday so you can see how ridiculous I look in it considering how far from being a doctor I am and how the thought of being one causes me to laugh uncontrollably like kids do when they try to hold back laughter at a birthday party, but inevitably end up shooting Sprite out of their nose when they can't hold it any longer.

The Imitation of Christ

2005-09-15T13:22:00.000-04:00

Karen and I have decided to read "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas à Kempis in the mornings. If you're not familiar with the book, the chapters are only about a page each, so it's manageable in a 30 minute commute. This should serve the purpose of allowing us to get our minds going on something spiritual rather than early morning talk radio or Air1 (God bless them for what they do, but I'm tired of hearing the same 5 songs all the time!). So here are the main things that stuck out to me this morning after reading chapter 1:

"If you want to understand Christ's words and relish them fully, you must strive to conform your entire life to His."
"Esoteric words neither make us holy nor righteous; only a virtuous life makes us beloved of God. I would rather experience repentance in my soul than know how to define it."
"It is vanity to give thought only to this present life and not to think of the one that is to come."
"It is vanity to wish for a long life and to care little about leading a good life."

I think these statements stand alone and need no attempted explanation from me. I would, however, like to mention that the line "I would rather experience repentance in my soul than know how to define it" rocks my world.

So feel free to give me your thoughts on these 4 statements!

Starting Over

2005-09-14T13:09:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my new and improved blog. See how shiny and spiffy it is? It's ready for many postings full of random things from Chad. Yes I know... I've tried several times to keep up a blog and have largely failed. The main reason for this was accidentally pointed out to me by my brother's best friend who was telling me that he loves reading other people's blogs, but can't imagine why anyone would want to read his because he thinks his life is boring.

"Who the heck wants to spend 5 minutes reading about MY life?? It sucks. I don't do anything THAT exciting!"

Well, that sorta explains my thinking. I know my life isn't boring and I don't feel like it's mundane, but I still never thought anyone would want to hear about it. However, I've come to the realization that since I've already managed to sucker (brooohahahaha....my plan is working perfectly) a few people into loving me for who I am... maybe they'd like to know what I think about things from time to time. Who knows. So Chris, if you're reading this... CONGRATULATIONS! I'm officially a blogger again :).