Change of scenery

Here I sit. The last Saturday in my current living quarters after the last Friday night as a bachelor. I went out with a couple of my mates to Lincoln. The night ended with a massive sandwich from Jimmy Johns...perfect. Rumor has it that Sunday will see the arrival of a few friends. It's not really a rumor though. Anywho, as I get ready to leave this house for good, I must warn that internet access will be gone for the next week or so. Due to the lack of internet connection and the overall craziness of the coming week, I will most likely be taking a break from blogging. Don't worry, I will return...with some pictures! I can't wait to see all of you who are coming into town this week, we are gonna have a wicked time. Cheers!

p.s.- Say a prayer or two for me this week. Heart, thy name is anxious.

I'm in the war of my life

Saturdays in Seward this summer mean one thing and one thing only...work...with the prospect of getting done early. Perhaps you noticed my status a few days ago in which I expressed my disdain with the current situation at work. Let me first take a moment to let everyone know that Michael Palomaki and I are just fine. I harbor no ill will toward him and he knows that. He also knows how it makes me feel when he ignores me at work because he is busy texting everyone in his phone book. But alas, I digress. Today was exponentially better in terms of how I was relating to our boss. She caught me reading the architecture magazine Dwell and asked if I had found anything interesting. Well in fact...I did. I showed her this really cool article about an architect in Poland who built a home that had a 7 inch layer of sod for a roof...I know, awesome right? I took the liberty of finding the article online for you all to check it out:

http://www.dwell.com/articles/highly-sod-after.html

Anyway, boss must have been impressed with my limited knowledge of architecture because she sat there next to me whilst I paged through the rest of the magazine, commenting here and there on various structural things that interested me. This is progress my friends. I guess the lesson learned is that the path to impressing your boss is getting really geeked about something that you aren't even an expert about. Hopefully the trend continues. The fight to gain boss's approval might be a long battle, but I can't just sit back and let Michael be the favorite because he knows how to get out of trouble better than me. Oh, and we did get out of work early...by two hours!

In other news, the house has carpet now! Let the furniture transfer begin!

Cheers!

p.s.- After a brief bout with Bieber Fever, I feel as though I am finally getting well again.

Movies of Myself

Do you ever play that really sweet game with yourself where you listen to music on your headphones while doing something else and pretend that you're in a movie? (Imagine that I just said that sentence with the voice of a 16 yr old girl). I played today at work and it was epic. The scene was as follows: A young man standing in his kitchen (which was an actual kitchen display at the furniture store), he stares aimlessly outside the window (which was really a mirror), wondering how things went so wrong with his relationship (Cue "All we ever do is say goodbye" by John Mayer). The movie clip didn't last too long, but needless to say...it was heartbreaking for all of the imaginary people who were watching. My favorite part about this scene were the flashbacks that my imagination created whilst the song played and I lamented the lover who left me once again. The most emotional part is during the chorus when the layered harmonies of John and himself singing "All we ever do is saaaaaaaaaay goodbye"....just painful. As a matter of fact, go listen to that song write now...I dare you to keep your heart from breaking.

In other news, I started moving things into the home where Jessica and I will be living in exactly two weeks from today. It's a cozy little spot the seems more like a scene from a pioneer movie than an apartment. Everything is wooden. I like it for the most part, minus the weird smells that we will have to eradicate as soon as. So far the bed is set up. Once I get some carpet laid down in the living room, then the real moving will begin. Exciting times indeed. I look forward to showing it off to those of you who will be in town in a fortnights time. Cheers!

Coincidence or Fate? You decide

Today at work, I found myself in the peculiar situation of being at work in the warehouse while Michael was running errands for our boss. I had my ipod with me so I decided to listen to some tunes while I swept and walked about the warehouse. I had a really cool moment when John Mayer's "Perfectly Lonely" came on while I was dancing around. I sort of had this weird "Hey, that's nuts" moment when I realized that I was perfectly lonely while listening to "Perfectly Lonely". On a slightly related note, I'm a sucker for a well written song. Anyone who knows me is well aware that words are the most important part to any song I listen to for the most part. I guess that explains why I love the clever songs of Jason Mraz and John Mayer to name a few. As I was listening to John Mayer's latest album, "Battle Studies", I found myself really listening to the lyrics of his songs and thinking, "This guy is an absolute genius!". Whether it's weaving together a painful love ballad or relating himself to an assassin, he has this amazing gift to wrap my attention with his use of words. I love it.

Anywho, Michael eventually showed up so I stopped listening to music for a while. However, the damage was done on my mind and I could not stop thinking about how great it would be to live as a song writer. Imagine making a living simply writing beautifully crafted songs? I for one would love it to the max. Now that I think of it, there are fewer things that bring me more joy than listening to a great song with great words and then listening to it over and over trying to figure out what the artist was thinking of or applying it to my own life.

Uh oh...it's time to go to the taste test for the wedding reception...I have to cut this post short!

Cheers!

On love in sadness

Sometimes in life...all you need to do is listen to Jason Mraz. You know you're really lucky when you also get to watch a dvd of him. You have hit the jackpot when you listen to him, watch him, and then read his blog. I have been fortunate enough to experience the jackpot more than once in my life. You can rest assured that I will call upon the jackpot once more before too long. If you too would like to experience the jackpot, listen to any of his albums (which I own), watch a dvd of him playing live (which I also own)/check out some live clips of him on youtube, and then go to freshnessfactorfivethousand.blogspot.com and read something that will make you think a little bit. That's all for now...hopefully Jason will come across this post and feel compelled to talk about me on his own blog. Wishful thinking? Maybe...but if he won't answer my fan mail, then I have to try something else right?

Cheers

The week that was...

What an incredible week! It feels like so much has happened in such a short time. The highlight was certainly watching my friend Peter get married and getting to debut a song that I wrote specifically for the occasion. It was a beautiful ceremony and I definitely did my fair share of crying (tears of joy of course!). The reception was awesome! I ate about 6 lbs of twice baked potatoes and danced my tail off all night long. It was my first wedding as a groomsman and I couldn't have imagined a better night to experience the whole thing. Thank you Peter and Charista Baye for letting me be part of your day. God bless you both.

This past week also included other wedding festivities...well, the bachelor party. We played paintball in Lincoln and it was AWESOME! It was the first time I have played since high school so I was pretty rusty, but I managed to light up a few of my friends at days end.

Last night was one to remember. I went to see "Inception" with a few friends last night after getting my first skateboard since high school (it must be a week for doing things for the first time since high school). The movie was awesome...minus the fact that I am now questioning if anything is real anymore or if I am constantly dreaming. Well done Leo. Despite the fact that Inception seemed similar to Shutter Island with all the flashbacks, I still sat at the edge of my seat (that might have been because of the score, Hans Zimmer does it again!). Go see it if you have a chance. I dare you to be disappointed.

T minus 19 days...

Cheers!

p.s.- Thanks for the birthday present Steph! I love the tie. However, make sure you pay postage next time, I had to pay the mailman 51 cents in order to get the package. I had a good bubble about that one.

SPAIN WINS

Congrats to La Furia Roja for winning their first ever World Cup Title yesterday! It was a thrilling match to watch. All the drama and exciting truly made for a great cup final to view on a lovely Sunday afternoon. This victory is personally satisfying for me because not only did I win 100 bucks from finishing second in my WC pool, but Arsenal's own Cesc Fabregas (on the right) provided the assist on the winning goal. A truly brilliant end to a wonderful month of football. I miss it already. I can't wait for 2014 in Brasil!

In other news, my good friend Peter Baye gets married this friday! I can't wait to witness the great moment for him and Charista. The best part is that I get to play paintball with a bunch of friends for the bachelor party and then eat lunch at the Old Country Buffet!

We are now less than four weeks till I also get hitched. Time is flying by it seems. I get to move into a new house (which looks more like a log cabin) and prepare for life as a married man. Jessica is getting pretty pumped to make the new place look like a comfy home rather than an abandoned lake house. Exciting times!

Well, it seems like my roommate Michael is ready to go grocery shopping so I must be off now. Go out and play some football in honor of the beautiful game. Congrats again Espana, you mesmerized us all with your brand of football. Cheers my friends. I love you all.

p.s.- Doesn't the guy on the left in the photo look like Michael Werner a little bit. We all thought so.

It's Canada day?

Who knew it was Canada Day? That's odd. In other news, I am currently celebrating life as a 24 year old. After having tea and biscuits for breakfast, Mother and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. The weather has been so nice today that we would be remiss if we did not take advantage. Later on, we made our way across town to a small sandwich shop for lunch. I figured it would be a good idea to get one last taste of crabcake before I head back to Nebraska. We then stopped for a visit at my grandparents house before picking my brother up from work. So far, it's been a very splendid birthday. Speaking of birthdays, you can say what you will about facebook...but I don't know if there is anything that humbles you more like seeing all the birthday wishes fill your wall all day long. I truly feel very loved and honored to have such wonderful friends around the world. Thanks to all of you for making me feel special today. I look forward to finishing out the day with one more family supper before I leave (STEAK) and then we'll head to the local theater to see a movie. All in all...a smashing good time. Cheers!

p.s.- A friend of mine from home thought it would be a good idea to start a Team Theron group on facebook. I'm not saying any of you need to join...but why not right?

p.p.s.- Thanks for your love