The Life of Mike

I've been really bad at updating this thing. My last update was three months ago, and much has happened since then, hence the no blog posts.

I didn't make it to see TSO in December, but I think they'll be back out here in March or April. I'd like to go see them then. I did see SHEL in Fort Collins in January, and that was fun. I didn't like hanging out at a bar for 3 hours until they got to play. I've been playing bass at church quite a bit, and that's enjoyable.

I was sick for about 2 weeks in January, and I didn't make it to work for a week (besides a few hours on that Tuesday). While I was sick, my room got very messy. I got the chance to clean my room (after 3 weeks), and I even got a taller bookcase. This definitely helped with my organization.

I've been hanging out at a friend's house on Friday nights, playing games and talking, and that's been wonderful. Different guys show up each week, and it is a pleasure to spend time with all of them. We talk about things like church life (including pastor swaps within Calvary Chapel), family, games, and music. We usually play Settlers of Catan, but occasionally play Family Business, Ticket to Ride: Eurpoe, and Rockband 2. Those nights are very enjoyable.

It's been about two months since I've written anything, so I must have been busy doing stuff for that long.

I was trying to get my passport since August 26, and that was such an ordeal. I filled out the paperwork and gave it to the person at the county clerk. She said it was good and I could go, so I did. About three weeks later, I got a letter saying some part of the application was not signed (I think by the county clerk), so I had to fill out the application again and resubmit it. I did that, and asked the lady (a different one, and much prettier, too) if all was well, and she affirmed it was. She even signed the application and showed it to another lady. A week later, I got a letter saying the state needs more proof that I'm me besides my birth certificate and driver license. I organized materials like junior high school ID cards, military IDs, and other cards, checks, and stuff to prove I'm me. I wrote them a letter, too. I mailed all this stuff to them, and a week or two later, I got my passport. What a mess.

I think I'm done with my church shopping. Still due to security reasons, I will not say where I fellowship at this moment, but the time will come when I won't have some dude seeking to destroy me. There are ministry opportunities at the new place, and there is a group of people my age. I like the services, and plan to make this my home. Out of the eight other churches I visited, this is the one that works for me. If you have questions about my church shopping so you don't have to do the research I did, please contact me and ask me about it.

I found out Trans-Siberian Orchestra is playing in Colorado again this December, so I'm hoping to go to the Pepsi Center December 26 to see them. If you want to join me, let me know. I'd rather not go alone, but it is a bit expensive for a concert with one band.

I made a RSS feed at work, and also a reader that can be accessed from any web server. I'm working on making this blog into a RSS feed, but still need to actually do it. It's nice being able to use someone else's tools for feed creation, but as I am on my own on this one, I'll have to make my own tools, and use them on other sites when necessary.

I haven't been taking pictures for the past two months, so I don't have visual fluff to add at this point. I did just switch some back-end stuff on my website tonight, so it should load quite a bit quicker. I'll try to get pictures the next time I blog.

The last several days have been quite eventful for me. On Monday night, I sold my car. On Thursday morning, I crashed with my bike. You can read about it here. I met some guys at Justin's house on Friday night, and we played games. God is fun.

The car sale situation was weird. A lady emailed me and said she'd contact me Sunday. She did, and we met on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 for her friend to see my car. Her friend liked my car, said she'd work on getting money together, and maybe she would get it on Monday or Tuesday. At 6:00 that night, a guy called me who had a car like mine, and he came to see it at 7:00. He liked it, and like the lady, he needed to get his money together, then he'd buy the car on Monday or Tuesday. They both mentioned the same price to me. This left me in a predicament. I called the lady, and left a message. I received a call about half an hour later from the lady and she told me she would give me the cash on Monday. We agreed, and after miscommunication, we met, and I sold the car. I am so glad that car is finally gone. It wasn't a bad car, but since my horrible experience at Go Nissan Arapahoe with John DeWees, I wanted to get rid of it. It's gone from my life now.

On Thursday morning, I went to the urgent care place, and they took care of me. I left my phone there, and Broberg took me back to Parker at night to pick it up, after he took me to the pharmacy. For now, I'm still healing, and I don't think I can drive yet. I tried working on Friday, but I could only handle being at the keyboard for two-hour increments. I have an abrasion on my face, between my nose and my lip, and I'm not sure what to do about that one. I think my teeth got messed up in the process, too.

I started thinking on Friday that maybe I crashed because I was careless, and maybe it was because God was helping me understand a concept. Recently, since all the other stuff in my life (you can read about it below), I asked God to help me to depend on him completely, and not rely on myself to live my life. I've been still relying more on me and my knowledge than on God and his wisdom. After the crash, I have had to depend on people, such as Broberg and Brian, and I don't like having to do that. I want to be able to support myself and care for myself, not needing or wanting anyone to help me; I want to be self-sufficient. What I've realized is that no matter how self-sufficient I might be, there are still times when I will need assistance, especially spiritually. Yes, I have much head knowledge of God and the Bible, but I do not always apply it to my life in everyday situations. This wake-up-call lets me know that I am not alone and I do not need to do things alone. God needs to be my strength and the one who leads me. My job is to follow him and rely on him.

Justin started a game night at his place on Friday nights, and I've been to all but the first one so far. Last night, I brought my desktop (though I wasn't the one carrying it most of the time), and many people were there, eleven, I think. The younger guys started playing Minecraft, but I didn't like the graphics or understand the concept, so I played Team Fortress 2. The older guys played TF2 for a while, and then the younger guys joined us. Ten of us played together on one server, and it was very enjoyable. We had 3 desktops and 8 laptops. Justin's WiFi speed was amazing, too, since he installed a new router. I am looking forward to these game nights. We played Settlers of Catan one week I was there.

The things God gives to his people are amazing sometimes. God, the loving, forgiving, gracious person who created the world, is good.

I am saddened to have such a negative topic in my blog, but it's part of my life, so that's what I'm sharing. I received a phone call on Friday from my former girlfriend's dad. He was quite emotional while he was speaking with me. He accused me of some things and threatened me. He even called at least one (former) pastor of mine talking about me and my sin. Unfortunately, during our conversation, I let him know about my walk with Jesus and asked him for forgiveness, and he accused me of being a liar and deceiver and told me he would not forgive me. What is so sad is that he professes to have a relationship with Jesus, yet he is not one to love, forgive, show grace, or accept people for who they are. If you are looking for a person/family to pray for, this is the one. Please pray for their salvation and for them to understand who Jesus is, what he is like, and how they can be more like him.

For the past few months (even before the girlfriend thing), I have been unsure of what God has for me and my life. I hadn't been seeking him as diligently as I should, but I'm doing much better now (though I still have my issues). I started attending one church because when visiting Castle Rock, a friend went there, and I loved the teaching. Over time, the teaching didn't seem to help me anymore, so I left. Where I am currently has amazing Bible teaching. I got involved with sound, worship, and junior high. As of now, I am done with sound and worship, and am taking a break from junior high. God has called me to all three of those areas of service (from what I know), though it seems like doors are closing there.

I've started church shopping, something I have never done before. Most of my life as a follower of Jesus, I have been part of Calvary Chapel. Though Calvary Chapel has great Bible teaching, there's something about it that doesn't seem right. No, I'm not sure what it is, but I think I'm supposed to not be at Calvary Chapels. Not being fond of denominations, I prefer to go to a non-denominational place. I have 10 places in town on my list, and we'll see what happens. I do trust that God will show me the right place for me, and will get me involved where he sees fit. Since I am one who likes wearing shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops, I am looking for a place that accomodates that style of dress. Besides clothing and strong biblical teaching, music will be another aspect I will consider. As a bassist/guitar player, I want to be able to use my God-given talents where I am fed. People are fine, and it'd be nice to go to place where there are people my age. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

I realized, again, I have very few friends. I haven't been one to have many friends for all of my life (up to now), but I'm at a point in my life where companionship is needed. Yes, I'd love to be married and have my wife be my companion. That takes time. For now, I am very interested in finding people who I can communicate with whenever, people who want to go do things with me (and others) without much notice. Yeah, friends would be nice.

What I lacked in my life over the past 2 years or so is a strong desire for the things of God. Losing my girlfriend, a good friend, helped point me to Jesus. I've realized how much of a sinner I am, and how much I need to depend on Jesus to get me through everyday living. What's so good about Jesus is that He loves and forgives no matter what.

During the past week of being single again, I realized I need Jesus more and more in my life. My life needs to glorify Him in all I do. On Saturday, I decided to put-away the old man, and put-on the new man. I began studying the Bible, specifically Jesus. I want to know how Jesus was with people and what He said so I can do likewise. No, I'm not trying to be God or even like God, I want to be like the man Jesus, a loving, kind, compassionate man. Yes, I've read the Bible and know about Jesus and know Jesus, but for now, I want to dive into the Bible, learning as much as I can about the character of Jesus, savior of the world.

Today I learned that my girlfriend no longer wants to be my girlfriend. Were we supposed to be together according to her parents? No. For us, it was good. We had our struggles for the past 6 months, not communicating, trying to communicate, dealing with parents, changing our lives, and talking about the Bible. We met with pastors to try to figure out how to be living according to God's will. Well, things didn't work the way either of us wanted, hence the separation. From the text message I received, being friends in 10 years isn't even an option. It's quite sad for me, but I understand her reasoning, and do not blame her at all. I would like to speak with her in person at some point, but we'll see what happens.

For the last six months, I have been working on the friendship, and trying to be a more godly man. Now that she is done with me, I need to move on, and seek God even more. My life already isn't as good as it should be, but it is getting better. I need to spend more time with Jesus, and make my life even more about Him than it already is. I've been much closer to God than I am now, and I want to be there again.

When I haven't been working or at church, I've been thinking about this girl situation. Now, I need not to think about it, but let God do His work. My mind will be free to focus on God. Please pray for me when you think about me, and seek God in your life because life is all about Him anyway.

I went to California to see my friend, Sean, get married. I've known Sean since I was 10, so that event was one I did not want to miss. Since that was my first time back in California since I left, I had much to do.

Sean got into dancing a while back, in college, and hasn't stopped. He took me to Atomic Ballroom on that Tuesday, and I danced with his wife, Judy. It was Tuesday that I got to meet some of the dance team Sean is a part of. I went back on Friday night and briefly danced with Natalia. I watched the team perform, and it was a good performance.

During the days, I would try to find a Starbucks with a decent Internet connection so I could do my work. There were a few times I had to use my phone for Internet capabilities, and my work time wasn't as productive as it could have been. I ended up working only about 16 hours last week (instead of 30). I am glad I now get paid time off.

At night, when I was not out with Sean or at church, I was at my parents' house, in the garage, going through my old junk. Having realized that if I had not seen or used something in a long time (6 months or more), I probably don't need it. After 2 years of being away from California, I didn't think I would find much to take home with me. I ended up bringing a few guitars, a couple computers, a sword, some knives, music stuff, several boxes (out of the 20+), books, and more junk. I threw away some of the junk already, and most items have found their new homes.

On Saturday, we left for Las Vegas, Nevada, for the wedding. I followed Sean and Judy, and we stopped at Tommy's for lunch. We met some of the dance team members there, and then drove together (somewhat) to Treasure Island in Las Vegas, where we stayed on floor 31. The guys had one room, and the girls had the other; there were a couple couples who stayed in their own rooms. We ate at a food court, and I went to Hot Dog on a Stick. I wanted to go there in California, but did not make it, so I was very glad to go there in Las Vegas.

Sunday was the wedding day, and after breakfast at Denny's and drinks at Starbucks, we headed to the chapel. The ceremony lasted a few minutes, and pictures took a few minutes longer. We went to a German restaurant to celebrate.

I left Las Vegas on Monday morning, and arrived at home late Monday night. I am very glad to be home. Seeing Sean married and happy means much to me, though we only communicate about twice per year (our birthdays). He truly seems happy, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to be there with and for him on that very important and meaningful day.

I'm really starting to dislike creating my own blog software. I failed to include a vital line of code, and forgetting about that, I tried to save my blog, only to get an error. When I went back, the entire blog post was gone (since I am using Firefox), and now I get to type it all again. This happened with my second post, too.

I left Castle Rock for California on Friday around noon. After a few stops, and many hours, I made it to Holbrook, Arizona, and stayed there for the night. In the morning, I was greeted by Aliberto's, and warmly welcomed that greeting. After longer than one year, I finally had a quesadilla with carne asada and guacamole, a wondrous sight, and pleasure to the tongue. This was the best part of the drive.

I crossed the California border around 2:00 PM on Saturday, and traveled to Barstow, where I stopped at Bob's Big Boy for a Hot Fudge Sundae Cake. The cake and the service were not good, and gas was very expensive, $4.34 per gallon ($1 more per gallon than in Castle Rock when I left). I quickly left Barstow, and headed to Anaheim.

I arrived in Anaheim around 5:30 PM on Saturday, and went to the service at Calvary Chapel Anaheim. I finally got to my parents' house around 10:30 PM on Saturday night.

Monday was the toughest day of the trip; I am supposed to be working while I am in California, but I cannot work at my parents' house. Verizon has some sort of restriction for the network traffic that doesn't allow me to connect to work. I tried Starbucks, but the speed was so fast that after I typed a character, I would wait for about 4 seconds to see it on the screen. Having no decent option, I didn't work on Monday, and need to solve that problem soon.

Back in October, 2010, I started attending massage school. I took classes in Swedish massage, anatomy, deep-tissue massage, and physiology. After having a difficult time with the context, I quit the program 51% into it. When I originally started massage school, I worked 20 hours per week, and had time. My work scheduled me for 30 hours per week, and the homework was so intense, that I was behind since the middle of the second quarter. I quit after 2 weeks into the third quarter (end of April 2011), and my quality of life increased drastically.

In February, I bought a 2007 Toyota Tacoma SR5 Access Cab, and love it. It is very nice to have another Tacoma, especially with four-wheel-drive. This one is a six-speed manual, and has a V6; I like this one much more than my 1999 Toyota Tacoma SR5 Extra Cab, though that is a wonderful truck, too.

I started my current job on June 14, 2010, and love it; it is my dream job. Why is it my dream job? Well, I work in a Christian environment (though not all employees are Christian), I do what I love doing (working on websites), and people are friendly. I liked my former job, though the pay wasn't all that great, I had no benefits, and I drove for work without getting paid for all of it. I used to drive an hour to work and an hour home, and earned very little for it. My current job is half as far, and I get paid more than at my previous job, except for half the time. Well, that was when I only worked 20 hours per week, and now I work 30.

I attend Calvary Chapel, and am involved with Enkaio (junior high school). I do not do much in Enkaio, but God has told me to be there, so that is where I am. When there are special events, I will play my 1997 Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass V with the band. I would love to start some sort of music ministry within Enkaio, but for now, that is my thought, and not a plan of God's. I attend the young adults group, Abide, too, some of the times.

I do not know for sure yet, but I am planning on going to California and Nevada for a few days soon to see my parents and go to a friend's wedding. I am still waiting to hear from my boss about it. I would go to Knott's Berry Farm, but their annual pass sale ended June 30.