Befuddled Brain Cramp

Tonight starts the Glory of Christmas at NorthRidge Church. I am taking Sandi to the first show, then I will be volunteering on the parking team for the remaining 9 performances. It will be long weekends, but worth it.

So I got an email from Amazon today that I almost deleted. It had a list of top 10 Unbox video downloads. But over to the side was something I haven't seen in far too long. That familiar swoosh of the Farscape S! Yes, Amazon Unbox has seasons 3 & 4 available for purchase! Episodes are $1.99 each or the entire season is only $35.02! That's much more affordable than the $90 price for the DVD box set of season 3. What's interesting is the Peacekeeper War movie is $9.99 on Unbox or $8.49 to buy the DVD? Hopefully seasons 1 & 2 will become available, because $150 for season 1 DVDs is just too expensive for me right now.
Time to relive the drama of one of the best sci-fi shows of all time!

So I am reminded at how much life can change in one year. There have been many ups & downs in the last 52 weeks. Overall I hope that God is making me a better person through all my tribulations. I know that there are still some major hurdles I need to overcome. Hopefully the next year will bring more joys to my life. School is done, the job search is on, and I am in a new relationship. As the hill of 40 quickly approaches, I hope that more of my dreams come true.

Getting back into things on the parking team hasn't been as difficult as I thought. We are still in need of help on Sundays, as Saturdays are pretty light during football season. And the best is that you never know who is going to drive by and wave.

Yes, I finally did it. 2 weeks ago I got my tattoo. I went to bluz tattooz & body piercing in Waterford. Mike is a great artist, and I hope to return soon for my next design. It really didn't hurt, barely oozed, and has finished peeling. One reason I waited was because I wanted to be able to go swimming in Lake Michigan & Lake Superior on my vacations. Since I didn't have time to schedule it in early July so it would be healed, I opted for after graduation and vacations. Sandi sat and watched the whole time. Both of them rubbed me about the whole Mac vs. PC issue. And we talked about music & church. I also found the perfect design for my next one in their flash collection. I went to the racks and flipped it open to a great celtic cross. Not sure how long it will take me to save up the money for the second one. I guess that depends on how soon I find a new job making better money.

     Yes, I did it. I went Up North to Taquamenon Falls over Labor Day weekend anyway. It was like my boss at work didn't remember our conversation about not being able to change plans and it would only take me an hour to count inventory and I could do that Monday night after I got back anyway. So when I got back from Beaver Island and saw that he scheduled me Friday & Monday, I knew it was time to start looking at moving on from this job. So I found someone to cover Monday, couldn't cover Friday because he had the schedule so convoluted, so called in sick.
     And I was sick. not sure if it was the stress of finishing school or the anger burning inside that was causing me queasiness. But when Sam said she had the same exact symptoms, I knew it was more than psychological. I didn't feel better until Saturday afternoon.
     I am so glad we went. We took dad's truck, because there was no way we could have fit everything for 6 people in Sandi's mini-van, even with a car top carrier. Somehow we took 3 tents but only 1 folding chair. The bugs were not bad (no barking spiders), but we could have brought a screen room to help contain everything. We went through a lot of fire wood, and I should have brought some starters, because the wood was wet the first night. The state campground we stayed at was nice, but we decided right next to the bath house was not a good spot. Not because of the noise, but because of the lights. We were still able to see the arc of the Milky Way galaxy, and a shooting star one night. And we were close enough to hear the falls at night, just like the waves on Donegal Bay on Beaver Island.
     The falls were a real treat to see. The brownish water is different to look at, but the boardwalks built along the river with viewing areas give great vantage points. And for the daring, you can walk out into the river, play on the falls, or spend time on the island in the river. We didn't have the time or the proper gear to spend time in the water or on the small island.
     Went to Whitefish Point and the Shipwreak Museum there. Saw the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and the Fresnel lens from White Shoal lighthouse. I thought you could climb the tower at Whitefish, but was mistaken. There is another lighthouse farther west that you can climb, but we didn't make it there. We decided that we needed at least a full week in the area, so we want to return soon. That way we can also visit Munising and the Pictured Rocks there.
     I'll try to post some pictures from the trip within the next few days :)

Yes, I am back from my mini-vacation Up North. 2 years in a row with less than a week on the Island is very disheartening, but I am planning on at least a full week next year, maybe with the whole troupe. Taking the 5:30 boat yesterday and then having ice cream in Charlevoix while on the phone put me at getting back to A2 very early this morning. I'll try to get some pictures uploaded while unpacking & doing laundry. Had fun, but miss it already. Only did half of what I wanted to do and see. Watched the sunset over Donegal Bay, had a campfire, went to Cable's Bay; a very relaxing time. Camped at the top of the hill on uncle Harold's 40 with Kylee & Garrett in tents. It was very peaceful hearing the wind in the trees and the waves on McCauley's Point at night.
Broke the chain on my bike at the very end of the 1:30 bike ride through the Tunnel Road, around Barney's Lake, and along Kuebler Trail from Protar's Tomb to McCauley's Point. If it had been somewhere along Sloptown Road it would have been a long walk back.
Dad should have all the plumbing done soon, so there will be hot & cold running water! At least we had a real flush toilet this time. And there is a full size refridgerator, with freezer, so ice cream is a possibility now. If Dad gets the electric heaters installed in October when they go back up, we can get our temp occupancy permit!
Now a few days to finish up some school assignments, a short work week next week, then off to Taquamenon Falls for Labor Day weekend!
I'll try to get some more posted soon.

I can't believe I actually forgot what time the first service starts on Sundays at NorthRidge! I arrived half an hour after the service started...so I wasn't able to help with parking before service. But I caught most of the talk and helped for the critical in-between and after church traffic direction. My summer has been so busy with everything that I forgot how different Sunday with the buses is than Saturday nights without buses. But the weekend after Labor Day the buses return to Saturday nights. I'm unsure if I will make it to any services with everything planned through Labor Day weekend. Thankfully I can get any talk online that I miss. But missing the worship time is disappointing.

Well, I survived working a Sunday. It's been so long that I forgot how slow it was before 11:30, and how many people don't realize you can't buy alcohol on Sunday before 12... We went to the St. Andrews Highland festival on Saturday. That was fun, I got to wear my kilt again. Found some great socks to add to my collection! Didn't find the hairy Koos, but we watched the dog agility show and listened to the bagpipes.

Well, I'm disappointed that the Single Impact outing to the water park was canceled today. But I guess with the imminent threat of severe weather, they decided to be safe. So today I guess I'll do all those little things I've needed to get done for the past month but have been putting off.