The Big City

So, for 13+ years, we lived in Tyler, Texas. Tyler is what I call a big town/small city. Last I heard, the population was slightly over 100,000. It's a great place to live, and we still have lots of friends there.

For the past 2.83 years, we've lived in the Marietta area, just northwest of Atlanta. It's actually a lot like Tyler. Similar weather, similar mixture of commercial/residential real estate, both near a large metro area. Like I've already said, Marietta is just northwest of Atlanta, and Tyler is near the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.

In fact, one of the things that I always told people when extolling the virtues of Tyler was that it was just 90 minutes from Dallas. Culture, music, fine dining, all close enough to take in during a day trip. The only problem? We never did.

Okay, not never. We took a mini-vacation one time and hit the Dallas Aquarium and the West End. We went to two Ranger games and I took Cheryl to see some figure skating. But for the 13 years, we probably averaged 1 "cultural experience" every 3 years.

Now, after less than 3 years in Marietta/Atlanta, we've been to a Thrasher's games (pro hockey), to the Georgia Aquarium (twice for me, 3 times for Cheryl), the World of Coke, Underground Atlanta, seen two musicals at the Fox Theater, and a half dozen Braves games.

(We've also made a half dozen trips to Stone Mountain and a trip up to the mountains to go apple picking, but those places aren't in Atlanta, per se.)

So what's the difference? Do we have more disposable income? I don't think so. More time on our hands? That's funny. Maybe it's just a matter of accessibility.

So, to sum up:

Living near the big city is awesome, because there's a lot of cool things to do.

Thanks for reading. I think my next post will be called "Atlanta Traffic or a Root Canal...Which Would You Rather Have?"

And...Scene!

Well, after a year at the Hut, I'm done. I spoke with my manager this afternoon and turned in my 2-week notice, which turned out to actually be 2-minute notice. She's got plenty of drivers, so I'm just done.

Of course I'm a little sad, because I became friends with many of the people at the Hut. On the other hand, I skipped down the hallway when I got home!

I've got a couple of ideas (actually, just one right now) of ways to generate some extra income that don't require me giving up my weekends. I'm looking forward to giving them a go.

I think my year at the Hut was good for me. It got us through a financial pinch, caused me to "get out of the house", introduced me to some cool new people, and taught me all the back streets. Cool.

Next time you order a stuffed crust, remember me!

Concert Anyone?

I heard on the radio today that Journey was going to be in concert in Atlanta next weekend. To top it off, Night Ranger is opening for them. Two bands I would like to see, but never have.

That got me thinking. How many concerts have I seen over the years? So, without further ado, here is a list (in no specific order, other than how I remembered them) of all the big-name (and some not-so-big-name) groups I've seen.

The Thompson Twins - at the Astroworld amphitheather

T'Pau - opened for the Thompson Twins

The Cars - great concert

Sting - Dream of the Blue Turtles tour...Branford Marsalis on sax = awesome

R.E.M. - front row seats with my friend Kip...I was deaf after this concert

Randy Stonehill & Phil Keaggy - Phil reached over and tuned Randy's guitar during a song

Twila Paris

Petra - saw them a couple of times

Carmen - couple of times, first time actually changed my life, believe it or not

Monsters of Rock 1987:

Tesla

Whitesnake

Poison

Aerosmith
Boston

Monsters of Rock 1988:

Kingdom Come - yes, they sounded just like Zepplin

Dokken - sound quit during the show, singer threw down the mic and stormed off stage

Metallica - had hardly heard of them at this point

Scorpions

Van Halen

Boston - again, on the same album tour as the '87 Monsters of Rock

Newsboys

dc Talk

Bleach

Third Day - couple of times, got to stage manage for them once

7 Day Jesus

Ghoti Fish

Stavesacre

PAX 317

FFH

Grits

O.C. Supertones

Philmore

David Crowder

Pocket Full of Rocks

100 Portraits

Delirou5?

Grammatrain

There are probably more, but that's all I can think of tonight. But, I saved the best for last: Audio Adrenaline

I saw AudioA twice. Both times were fantastic! The first time I saw them, they were opening for the Newsboys at the Oil Palace in Tyler, Texas. The drummer was playing on a stripped down kit: just kick, snare, 1 tom, hi-hats, crash, and ride. They rocked!

I only knew one of their songs before that night, but I was on my feet for their entire set. Sadly, their lead singer had "ongoing vocal problems", and the band officially disbanded in '06.

Of course, some of you have seen more concerts than me, some less. But let me ask you a question. Who put on your favorite show?

A Little Wood...A Little Glue...

A few weeks ago we had our Back to School Bash. It was a (Back to School) Blast! You can read more about it here.

While the event was going on, I was working at the booth passing out the free backpacks. Also at the booth was our friend Kristen. She and I were chatting (along with our spouses), and I learned that she was trying to find the right TV stand/entertainment center for their new house. They weren't having any luck finding one that combined the right price with a design they liked.

So I, being the genius that I am, volunteered to build them one.

What was that you asked? Have I built a lot of TV stands?

Let's see...at THAT time I had built...umm....zero. Zilch. None. Nada. Nil.

But I had a plan and the will to see it through!

So, after getting the go ahead from Nick (Kristen's husband), and Cheryl (my wife), I wasted no time in moving ahead with my plan. My plan revolved around one key ingredient, without which I was pretty much doomed to failure: Tom Little.

Tom was also at the BtSB, so as soon as I saw him I told him that I desperately needed his help...more specifically, his tablesaw. Tom, being the good friend that he is (not to mention a mastercraftsman in multiple disciplines) said, "Sure! I'd be glad to help."

Now my success was assured. With Tom on the team we were good to go.

After hearing Nick's Kristen's desires, I had formulated a plan and drew up some rough plans. To make a long story medium, we arranged a time on a Saturday a few weeks later, and Tom, Nick, and I met at Tom's house.

Well, three hours later, we had it fabricated (except for the back, we took the picture before we added that)! Nick Kristen was going to paint/stain it, so we were done!

Later that day, I dropped it off at their house. A few days later, Kristen sent me a picture via phone of the finished project. Wow! They did a great job on it.

Below is a picture of it all set up. What a fun project. I had a great time fleshing out the design,and Kristen has been very gracious and complimentary. Fun all around.

The next project Tom and I are tackling is a bunkbed for Nathanael...but it won't be just any bunkbed. I've got some ideas for that too...

Thanks again, Tom!