I could be brand new

October is almost over.

2009-10-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted in a long time. That's ok I don't think there are that many people out there reading this. But just in case here is an update.
I can't believe that it's already the end of October. Kara just had her birthday (even though she didn't want to celebrate it) and this weekend is the best ever Halloween costume party and daylight savings time. Wow! 2009 has gone by fast.
I'm halfway finished with my second quarter at school. Still pulling in the A's. It's only core classes right now, but maybe this winter quarter will allow me to get into some of my major studies.
Work has been sparse at best. I sat down to catch up on my paper work for the business and after all the deduction (not including miles) I have made a little less than $5,000 this year. There are some good possibilities on the horizon, but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch. This has given me some time to work on the business proposal for the snowboard park. I heard that the USNWC might be looking at moving into the action sports area to drum up some more business. Apparently whitewater rafting isn't making as much as they had hoped. I hope to have my proposal finished in a month.
I finally got to ride Snowflex up at Liberty. It was just as much fun as I had hoped it would be. It was awesome being able to get on my snowboard in Aug.
Since work has been non existent we haven't had a lot of money to do fun things. This could put a huge damper on my snowboarding this winter. My only hope right now is that I win this contest for two free season passes at Beech Mtn. If I win those I plan on selling them and then getting two passes at App. I also have some friends that moved out to UT. They offered a free place to stay out there. Possibly even some free lift tickets if they get jobs at a resort. I have some flier miles with US Air, maybe I can get out West this winter.
I was invited to go to Costa Rica with a friend. He is turning 30 and wants to go down and surf for a week. I did some work on his house in exchange for a plane ticket. There will be at least 3 of us going. Since I've been surfing Costa Rica has been on my "must travel to" list. We leave 3 weeks from today. AWESOME!
I keep trying to workout. A friend of mine got the P90X workout videos. He let me borrow them so i could put them on my computer. I thought it worked, but when I tried to start it only copied 15-20min of each video. bummer. I really feel the need to workout for some reason. I guess it's because I'm getting older and I know that with me doing all the "action sports" I don't bounce back from falls like I used to. Plus I'm sure Kara would love for me to have ripped abs. =) Plus I need to keep things up for the spring kickball season. I can't be slacking off.
Maybe I need to stop blogging right now and go work out.

Leak

2009-06-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

Monday I get home from working and I head to the bathroom. As I'm sitting there doing my business I hear a rather loud dripping sound coming from the tub. After I finish I start to investigate. Yep, there is dripping behind the freshly tiled wall. Go check under the house...yep a stead stream of water dripping into the crawl space. Great! I have to be at class in 40 min and I don't get out until 10:30pm. Lowes will be closed so I won't be able to start work on fixing it.
Tuesday morning. Get up, let Kara take a shower and then turn off the water. Fortunately there is a closet on the other side of the shower (where the leak is) so I don't have to take down the tile. Bust out the wall and there it is. Just as I guessed. One of the pipe fasteners is not doing what it's supposed to. Run to Lowes get a couple things and it's all fixed in like 40 min. The down side...a lot of stuff got wet. So I have to let it all dry out before I patch the wall in the closet.
At least it wasn't worse. And it could have been much worse.

BORED!

2009-04-22T08:03:00.001-07:00

So I haven't worked in 2 weeks. I'm going a little stir crazy. It's not the $ thing. I've always seen God provide and come through. So I have HUGE trust in that area. I just don't like not being productive. I hate sitting around.
Now I have been doing a lot of house work (laundry, dishes, building a garden, vacuuming, etc.) and taking Bella out for exercise. But I want to work. Ok, maybe just be productive, like building something.
I will be starting school soon, so that's kinda cool. Getting a Multi Media degree at ITT Tech. Oh yeah. That will start early June.
Ok, gotta go find something to do.

Another weird dream....

2009-04-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, I don't know what the deal is...but lately I have been having dreams. They say everybody dreams. If that's true then I don't usually remember mine. Ok....on to the dream...and it's a weird one.

It started off with me and my twin sons (yes...in the dream I had twin sons) and the whole family lived close to the beach (I love the beach but I would never want to live full time there). I never saw Kara or anyone else in the family, but I felt like we had other kids. My twin sons were really good surfers and they were around 10-12 years old.
I remember finding out that something/someone was coming to be in charge of the area and everyone was freaked out. They kept talking about it being really bad and the description they gave me made me think they were like the Ringwrathes from LotR.
My twins and I were out at the beach when this thing showed up flying through the sky. All of a sudden this brick wall started forming in the water and cut off all the waves and made this big pool that looked like some immaculate multi-level swimming pool. Then this gigantic shark started swing in the ocean just off the side of the pool. It had spots all over it and then I noticed horns coming out of it's head.
The dream then jumps to my twins and I at a movie theater. They really wanted to see some movie. They went into the theater and I was in the lobby getting snacks or something when I heard that this Thing was coming to the theater. Everyone was freaking out that it could kill you just by walking by. All I could think to do was to completely surrender everything to God and keep my focus on him. I ran in to check on the boys and then this thing came past me.
At that moment it started looking like Gene Simmons of Kiss.
The next sceen I'm working for Gene in this crazy castle thing that was built on the beach next to the pool that had formed earlier. I had alot of influence, but I don't know what I was doing. The only thing that kept me alive was the fact that I constantly kept my focus on God.

So, if you have ANY interpritation on that...please feel free.

random stuff

2009-04-20T06:41:00.000-07:00

Well the other night I had a couple dreams. And since this is kind of a journal for me I thought I should put them in here. So if you get anything out of them let me know.
1) I was in a sort of military group and we were seen as the "bad guys" but we really were the good guys. We set an ambush for the police (were seen as the good guys but were really bad). It was an intense gun fight. I mean like crazy movie type. It seemed like the "set" (ambush area) looked like some sort of Roman architecture.
2) I was driving around a city. I don't know what city but the road was like 485 going around CLT but the condition of the road looked really bad/old and resembled 1-74 driving to Wilmington around Laurinburg (where I grew up). I remember stopping at some building that seemed like an art gallery, but there was a wedding going on there. Don't really remember much about that one.
3) I told Kara I wouldn't put this one up....so I will just say that it was a dream about us getting something we both really really want. It was a great dream.

I was recently given two motorcycles. They don't run, but with a little work I will be able to make one really cool running motorcycle. I have some pictures posted on my Facebook page so if you are friends with me on there go check them out. It will be awhile before any work is really done on the bikes.

Four years...

2009-03-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 4 year anniversary with my lovely wife Kara. The time has flown by.
For the celebration we went to dinner at a favorite of ours. Mac's BBQ. I know...really romantic huh? It's good food and we have fun together there. Then we went and saw "I love you, man". It's the latest Paul Rudd movie. This is one funny movie. It deffinitely has its awkward moments, but that's part of what makes it so funny.
There was nothing super "romantic" about the evening. Kara and I just enjoy hanging out together. What's better than that?
So four years...a lot has gone on in those years. We lived in Myers Park for the first 2 years in a great little condo just a couple blocks from Freedom Park (where we had our first "meet", where I asked her to start dating and where I proposed). We then bought a house and got a dog. I know...what a typical couple. Our house was broken into twice that first summer. We have gotten two "new" cars. We've enjoyed traveling. Mexico for the honeymoon, a trip to NYC (ready to go back), many trips to the beach and we have gone on solo trips. Kara has been to FL, NYC and on a Disney cruise. I have been out to CO and enjoyed places like Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breck.
It's been the best 4 years of my life and I'm looking forward to 80+ more years together.

Convicted...

2009-03-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever spoken poorly about someone or judged their ability to hear from God? I have. Today, God gave me a pretty stern rebuke. I judged people that were stepping out in faith. Something I had no right to do. I'm not even really sure why I did. Maybe I was jealous or maybe I just thought I knew what they needed to do more than God did.
Either way it was very wrong of me.

government spending...

2009-03-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

I lived in SC for awhile. I am now in Charlotte, NC and I love it. I had hoped (and voted) for Pat McCroy to be our (NC) governor, but he lost to Bev.
Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal. After reading it I am kinda wishing I could move back to SC. Gov. Sanford is an amazing man.

By MARK SANFORD

Columbia, S.C.

America's states are laboratories of democracy. They are both affected by, and relevant to, the larger national debate. What we've found in our own corner of the country is that carrying a substantial debt load limits our options when it comes to running government.

A recent report by the American Legislative Exchange Council ranked us 47th worst in the nation for annual debt service as a percentage of tax revenue. Our state dedicates nearly 11% of its annual tax revenue to paying debt. On top of that, South Carolina has another $20 billion in unfunded, long-term political promises for pensions and other liabilities. The state budget has already been cut four times in recent months as the national economic downturn has impacted South Carolina and driven down tax revenue.

President Barack Obama recently signed a "stimulus" bill that will spend about $2 billion through "programmatic means" in South Carolina. In other words, the federal government will put this money directly into existing funding formulas and programs such as Medicaid. But there is an additional $700 million that I as governor have influence over, and it is the disposition of this money that has drawn the national spotlight to South Carolina.

Here's the background: Before the stimulus bill passed, I asked for states not to be bailed out. After it was signed into law, I said that a state bailout would create more problems than it solved, and that we shouldn't spend money we don't have. That debate was lost, so I looked for a reasonable middle ground. I asked the president for his support in using the $700 million to pay down state debt.

If we're going to spend money we don't have at the federal level, it becomes all the more important that our state balance sheet is in good order -- particularly if this is a protracted downturn. But many people do not realize that the stimulus money runs out in 24 months -- at which point South Carolina will be forced to find a new source of funding to sustain the new level of spending, or to make sharp cuts. Sure, I could kick the can down the road; in two years, I'll be safely out of office. But it would be irresponsible.

If South Carolina could use stimulus money to pay down debt, in two years we will be able to spend, cut taxes or invest even if the federal government can no longer provide more money -- not a remote possibility. In fact, paying debt related to education would free up over $162 million in debt service in the first two years and save roughly $125 million in interest payments over the next 13 years -- just as paying off a family's mortgage early frees up money for other uses.

When you're in a hole, the first order of business is stop digging. South Carolina is in a hole, and it's not a shallow one. Spending stimulus money on ongoing programs would mean 10% of our entire state budget would be paid for with one-time federal funds -- the largest recorded level in state history.

Also, spending stimulus money will delay needed state restructuring. General Motors recently found itself in a similar spot. It needs to be restructured if it is to prosper, but a federal bailout enabled it to put off hard decisions. Likewise, taking federal stimulus money will only postpone changes essential to South Carolina's prosperity. Though well-intended, it forestalls hard choices we must make.

One of Mr. Obama's central campaign themes was his pledge to do away with politics of the past. In his inaugural address, he proclaimed "an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

This idea connected with millions of voters, myself included. I've always believed ideas should rise and fall on their merits. In fact, I saw such historical significance in his candidacy and the change he spoke of that I published an op-ed on it before South Carolina's presidential primary last year. It was not an endorsement, but it did note the historic nature of his candidacy and the potential positive change in tone it represented. That potential may now be disappearing.

Last week I reached out to the president, asking for a federal waiver from restrictions on stimulus money. I got a most unusual response. Before I even received an acknowledgment of the request from the White House, I got word that the Democratic National Committee was launching campaign-style TV attack-ads against me for making it.

Is this the new brand of politics we were promised? Instead of engaging with me and other governors on the merits of our dissent, I am to be attacked in television ads? In the end, I just don't believe a problem created by too much debt will be solved by piling on more debt. This doesn't strike me as an unreasonable or extremist position.

Nevertheless, the White House declined my request for a waiver yesterday afternoon. That's unfortunate. But in coming months we'll continue advancing the debate at the state level about the merits of debt repayment. The fact remains that while we'd all like to spend unlimited dollars on the very real needs that exist in our state, we must spend in the context of what is sustainable.

Mr. Sanford, a Republican, is the governor of South Carolina.

First post

2009-03-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

I've thought about doing a blog for awhile. Sometimes there are too many thoughts bouncing around in my head, but I have no idea of how to get them out. I'm not that great at writing or being articulate. I can't even spell all that great (thank God there is a spell check on this thing). Seriously...ask my wife. She gets a good laugh when she reads stuff I've written, whether it's a post on Crackbook or Myplace or an email.
Anyway, I think I'm going to use this as kind of a journal, but I'm going to leave it open for anyone to check it out. I plan on posting dreams I have (ones I get at night and dreams I have for my life), things I read in the Bible or other things that for whatever reason get stuck in my head. Who knows. This is just an experiment. Yeah, I know "blogger" has been around for awhile so this is not really a new concept...it's just new to me.
Let's see how it turns out.