Blue Lamborghinis

First of all, I got some very helpful tips about what to do with my scattered note problem, thanks for those.

Young Jeezy is a rapper. He's from Atlanta. He raps about a blue lamborghini. I saw it last night driving by North Avenue Presbyterian down Peachtree Street. It was pretty hard to miss. It's one of those cars that when he drove by the question wasn't "is that somebody famous?" but the question was "Who is that?". The Police officer standing next to me who works security for us told me who is was and then proceeded to give me background on what neighborhood he is from and how we was tied to one of the largest crime syndicates in the country. Really upstanding citizen. Sweet car though.

Surgery is next Monday. I had my pre surgery phone appointment with the nurse today to make sure they don't give me an anesthesia that will kill me. I'm pretty easy. No allergies, drug issues, alcohol, other health problems, etc. Very nice nurse who said my surgeon is one of the best. Nice to know, going into a surgery he's doing.

I had a meeting today with an official legislative lobbyist. We are planning a meeting to talk about some advocacy issues around sex trafficking, and North Avenue Presbyterian is hosting the meeting. I had no idea how lobbying works. I mean I thought I knew, but I really didn't know. You talk about politics involved. The more you learn about our democracy you begin to realize its not really a democracy the way we think of it. Its actually sort of depressing. Yes you vote for representative but after their in, you can kiss your voice goodbye, that is unless you have a whole lot of money to throw around.

I watched a little bit of the NFL draft this weekend. I'd like for somebody to grade the analysts on their grading. These guys can totally miss on their opinion, rag a GM or a franchise all weekend and in print and then not be held accountable when they are dead wrong. Tom Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots, has won 3 Super Bowls. He was drafted in the 7th round. Somebody graded him as a 7th round draft pick. They shouldn't have any credibility left. But in reality its not about accountability for correct picks, its who is crazy enough to rate 250 college prospects and sound like a know it all.

Finally, I found this show called Exterminators. Its a reality show following a guy named Billy and his family pest control business in Louisiana. He's a very tv friendly guy, and seems very genuine. He's also pretty eccentric. This show is wild. He gets called in on some stuff you wouldn't believe. In one show he goes to a house with a roach investation. It was so bad the people couldn't live in the house anymore. The footage from inside left me with two thoughts. First, this guy is nuts, and second, not everyone is qualified to be a home owner. Take out your trash, clean your dishes, and don't have holes in your walls. That's a good start in not having roaches. Seems like common sense. The show is on A&E. Its pretty entertaining so be careful or you'll get sucked in for hours.

Busting Scum

Props to my wife for making our yard look 1000 times better. She has a motivation in the outdoors I can't conjure up at this point.

One of the best parts of my new job is having lunch together each day. We have a staff chef that prepares a simple meal that we all partake in at noon each weekday. If you're there on site the expectation is to be in the dining room at noon sharp or face the wrath of chef. Its great to gather as a staff so regularly to fellowship.

I have gotten permission from a local Atlanta police precinct to do ride-a-longs with the officers. Oh the stories I will glean from that. As my Uncle Randy says, we'll be out busting some scum. Though I believe that downtown Atlanta may be a little more intense than Winfield, WV.

I've found this troubling issue. When you sit down to do necessary correspondence via phone calls or email, it creates a lot more work. Its a lot easier to not talk to anyone because there aren't any messages to return. Also when you schedule meetings with people, I'm finding it creates a lot more work because you really should have some action steps coming from the meeting...unless you're Presbyterian and you meet for the sake of meeting, how convenient for me.

In the category of weird habits, I've discovered that I like to make notes, but I have trouble making notes in one spot. I keep making notes on different pieces of paper and in different notebooks, and then I'm stuck with all these random pieces of paper on my desk and in my bags. I'm not trying to do this. Its a subconscious thing. Any suggestions?

Some thoughts

The surgery will be May 4th. Not looking forward to two elements. One intubation. Just not pleasant. Second, is the catheter. Even more not pleasant. I suppose those two things aren't big enough obstacles to not have the procedure.

I have the sweetest secret shopping job I can think of. A friend of mine is the president of a golf management company. He has be go out every week and play golf at his courses, then fill out a survey and reimburses me for all expense including food, drink, and cart. He told me the feedback I gave last year was really helpful. I took the job very seriously and really thought through my evaluations. Everybody wins.

My pleasure reading tends to be nonfiction leadership growth material. Books designed to give you help in taking things to the next level. My most recent read was Good to Great by Jim Collins. I tend to start quoting the books...a lot. I tend to quote them a lot at home. Stacey hates this. She would roll her eyes at every brilliant thought I would say. In life's great irony, she is taking a business in medicine elective rotation and it just so happens that her textbook is Good to Great. So far she is enjoying the read. I'm glad she is seeing the light.

Its a good thing I'm not in charge of the U.S. military because if I was I would have already wiped out every Somali pirate I could find. My idea is to take a cargo ship and turn it into a military fortress, but still having the look of a cargo ship. When that little speedboat approaches, boom no more pirate. I'd just drive that trucker up and down the coast taking them down one group of pirates at a time. Do you think they have parrots and eye patches?

I was talking to my Dad the other night about how from a professional standpoint, my brother is an unbelievable youth director. The events he's putting on combined with the online responses he gets from his kids point to a guy that is as good as it gets for youth ministry. I've worked with a number of youth directors at this point and he's better than all of them. If I was a Senior Pastor, I'd hire him tomorrow and pay him enough to keep him around.

I got a text message from my sister today telling me she did really well on a teaching exam. There was an education professor at her college that told her she wouldn't be a good fit for teaching. That professor is an idiot. If there is one thing my sister can do its connect with kids and educate them. The one big disadvantage with small colleges is if you have a moron professor, that can really ruin your major. I had two at my college who greatly influenced my Media choices. I chose not to finish my journalism minor because I knew I would kill somebody if I had to take the required courses from one of the journalism professors. The other moron professor caused me to shift away from performance to production. That professor is gone now.

Stacey's graduation is May 16th. That is coming up fast! I'll be married to a Doctor. Weird.

Finally, I don't get our need for celebrity news. Its so low brow. Seriously, it's not healthy for anybody, yet at 7:30 p.m. every network has a celebrity entertainment gossip show on and People magazine is alive and well. Seems like there is a lot of time, money, and effort people put into learning about celebrities that could be directed elsewhere.

An update...its about time!

You know your mother loves you when she ships you homemade chocolate fudge easter eggs. That was a pleasant surprise. They made it all the way to Atlanta fully intact.

For the record I called my brother and graciously congratulated him on the team that will remain nameless accomplishment. I felt like that showed just how mature I've become.

I've been really enjoying my new job. I've learned a lot about how difficult it is for people to get out of the margins of society once they've gotten in. The people that plan the system, don't necessarily live the system to think it through all the way. Its very eye-opening.

My job has also confirmed something I suspected...most politicians start with earnest intentions and then become callous idiots. Remember I said most. The good ones you know about deserve your praise.

I have confirmed the need to have surgery. I just have to get it scheduled. I'll let you know when that happens and where you can direct your gifts and money.

I have to admit that my wife was very right on something and I was very wrong. She wanted to accept a futon from a friend who was moving. I did not. Best piece of furniture we've gotten in a long time. I love sitting on it to read. Well done wife.

I noticed that AT&T is sponsoring commercials with Tom's Shoes during the Masters. That makes me happy to be an AT&T customer.