I’ll Be Home for Christmas

As in right here in my apartment.   It’s a bit odd that I don’t feel that bad about it.   I DO miss my kids and grandkids in Texas, but there is just no way I can swing a Christmas trip this year.  Other than missing them, I am good with laying low this year.

I have friends locally that are going to ask, “What are you doing for Christmas?”  and they might invite me by ’cause they feel sorry for me.  I appreciate it!  But honestly, I am good with some alone time.

It’s not usual, I guess, but I do very well in a crowd, one on one, and by myself.  When I first took the Myers-Briggs personality test when I was a teenager, I was right down the middle extrovert/introvert.  This surprises people I know, because when I am with people, the extrovert comes out.  However, I really need my alone time or I go a little crazy.  Of course, I need my hangin’ with the peeps time too or I go a little crazy.

I am looking forward to the two or three Christmas gatherings I have yet to attend in the next couple of weeks, but I am also looking forward to watching a little football Christmas Day and making some phone calls.  I’ll be home for Christmas.  Celebrating with my Savior on His Birthday observed :-)

Audio – On the Vic McCarty Show this Morning

Vic McCarty is a good friend of mine.  One of the best and funniest guys you’ll ever meet (if you ever meet him).  We used to work together at KBIM-TV in Roswell, NM.  I was directing the news back then and he was the Sports Director.  Eventually I became the Weather Anchor and I helped sports shooting football and directing the Vic & Van Show in between.  Vic and I were also part of the (almost) unstoppable media team at the annual Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament.

Vic moved on to Traverse City, Michigan and I am now in Tucson.  Thanx to Facebook and the internets we have kept in touch.  He invited me to be on his radio show this morning.  It was my 3rd appearance and always fun.

This morning we talked about the storm that blew through Tucson that is heading for Traverse City.  Here is the audio of the 6 1/2 minute interview: 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I Ate an Eel

Yeah.  I know!  Who knew that would ever happen?!

When I was a kid in Oregon and swimming in the Mollala River, running into eels wasn’t a good thing.  Not because they were dangerous, they were just kinda gross.

Flash forward 30 years to this afternoon.  Pastor Steve invited me to lunch and suggested sushi.  I’ve had sushi once in my life and that was just this past Summer.  I’m not even sure that counts.  It was sushi that you buy at the grocery store complete withe wrapped in plastic packaging.  Still, it was pretty good!  I do like just about everything, so I was willing to try sushi for real.

We met at Kampai Sushi located on the NE corner of Oracle and Orange Grove.  Pastor Steve had some good suggestions as did the waitress.  We ended up getting a platter that included two “rolls” and 9 chef’s choice pieces.  I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I didn’t tell my pastor this, but when I saw “rolls” on the menu, I was thinking, you know… rolls.  Like bread!

Anyway, we had a “volcano” roll and a “playboy” roll.  They both had crab meat, so I figured it was gonna be good!  It was!  Pastor helped me figure out the chop sticks (I wasn’t a complete rookie, but the pointers helped) and the wasabee and we were off.  The rolls were awesome!  The pieces were varying degrees of good to really good.  The shrimp was my favorite.  The eel, well, that was my least favorite.  A little bit slimy and very soft meat.

The rolls were so good we ordered an encore that had soft shell crab.  mmmmm!  Next time (and there WILL be a next time) I will skip the eel.  The eel sauce, on the other hand was pretty tasty.

North Coast San Diego

I’ve always loved the North Coast of San Diego.  As a teenager my brother Chris and I would visit Mom in Mira Mesa.  She would work near the coast and we would hit the beach!  I remember swimming all day body surfing.  The workout was incredible and it was just so fun!

My favorite places were Torrey Pines and Cardiff by the Sea, although Cardiff had some seaweed.  That’ll freak you out a little bit when you are swimming along and some seaweed brushes your leg.

I went to visit my brother this past weekend.  He is living in Oceanside which is even north of San Diego’s north coast.  I got there early enough to make a bee-line to Torrey Pines to watch the sunset and roll some video.  There is nothing like the smell of that salty air, especially when you haven’t been near the ocean in a few years.   Here’s a picture, although it doesn’t quite do the sunset justice:

Chris and I had a great visit!  The highlight was Sunday when he cooked bar-b-que and some of his friends came over.  Quality people and great food.  The Chargers even beat the Eagles.

On Monday morning when I left to come home to Tucson, I had to take the scenic route to the freeway.  I paused at the Pier in Oceanside and again in Carlsbad for these pics.  I can’t wait to visit again.  Just need the money and the time all at the same time.

Texassize Weather

Keith Monday tells me this picture is 1999ish.  That fits about right.  This is the combined ABC28 and CBS13 (Texassize) weather team at the time.  Good times!

Matt Hines, Matt Miller, Keith Monday, Ron Roberts, Mike Shaw and David Young.  There are a few folks here I don’t remember their names.  My apologies.  I’m not good with names.  I really need to work on that.

Lubbock TV

CBS 13 & ABC 28

Yes, that’s the President. As for my camel hair jacket with purple spot tie? It only proves that I had (have) no fashion sense :-) This was taken when President Bush was running for Governor of Texas.

Roswell Gus Macker

Gus Maker 3-on-3 Basketball came to Roswell, New Mexico in the 1980′s. At KBIM TV we had a media team in the Maker. There were hundreds of teams coming in to town from all over to brave the heat for 3-on-3 basketball glory! It had great economic impact on Roswell. Hey, teams gotta eat!

Snowkids

Taken in Roswell, New Mexico in late 1992 (I think). The kids came over to my small place on Kentucky Ave. and we made a snowman. Michael’s mittens got soaked and he managed without them after that. Great job kids!

The Soundtrack of My Life

I’m singing along with the iPod this evening.  Amazing how almost every song is one of my favorites!  :-)  It’s also amazing how certain songs can instantly transport me to time and place gone by.  To people I’ve known.  People I’ve loved.  Experiences I experienced.  “The Soundtrack of My life!”

“Anything For You,” by Gloria Estefan is in my ear and I’m singing along much to the chagrin of my neighbors, for sure!  (apartment living)  A time in Roswell when I was hurting over love lost.  I wish I could find the English/Spanish version, but so far no “luck.”

Here’s Godly and Cream with “Cry.”  Great break-up, drown in your sorrows song!

There are hundreds of songs on this iPod.  Each with it’s own story, feeling, person, place, experience.  Some stories I may tell here someday.  Most, probably not.  But they are ALL mine to cherish.

Funny.  Since I love weather, many of them also have a season, or even a specific type of weather, associated with them.  That is a really funny thing about memories.  Experiences are all lived through our own set of “bents.”  Those things that God has put in us that make us us.  You may not associate weather with most of your memories!  You aren’t wired that way.

The other thing about looking back.  While a song may bring back strong feelings of a person, or a place, or a time, it’s now filtered through my life in Christ!  What did I learn from that?  How has God changed me since then?

Life is an adventure!  Much more so when you know the God who created you!  Plug into Him and watch Him not only change who you are, but watch Him change how you look at who you were!!!

iTunes vs. Amazon mp3 Downloads

A few months back I went to Yuma to visit my Dad.  My sister Karin was visiting from Oregon along with her kids.  We had a BLAST!

One of the fun things we did was put together a DVD.  My MacBook Pro has wonderful software for editing video and audio and burning a professional DVD with iDVD.  It’s great!

After we shot our interviews and edited it all down it was time for the credits.  We needed some closing music.  No problem!  I have a zillion (or maybe a few hundred) of my favorite songs in iTunes!  Awesome.  Imagine my surprise and utter disappointment (I’m exagerarting here for slight comedic affect) when most of my songs were REJECTED by Final Cut Express.  Every song that I downloaded from iTunes was not accepted.  I had a handful of tunes I could use that I had imported from CDs that I owned.  We ended up using some Hall & Oates song I had from “The Wedding Singer” CD.  (don’t judge me!)

Ever since this somewhat tragic event (OK.  Mildly unfortunate maybe) I have switched tactics.  I can find all of the same music at exactly the same price and quality at Amazon.com!  Best part is, I can use the tunes in movies and videos, even iTunes and it’s no problem!

Well.  If I have some music on a video that I upload to say, YouTube or GodTube, and the artist tells me to cease and desist?  I will.  But, for videos for my own personal use and distribution among my friends and family?  No problemo!

That’s why Amazon.com beats iTunes for music.

Now.  iTunes is amazing for Podcasts!  My favorite Pastor, Pastor Duane Sheriff has a must listen too Podcast in audio, or if you prefer, video.  All of his sermons are uploaded the same day, I believe.  Listen and be blessed!

Of course, you can download thousands of God inspired messages at the ministry web site, or subscribe to his podcast:  www.dsheriff.org

See ya on YouTube and Facebook :-)

Mike

« Previous Page — Next Page »