Seasons

It's interesting -- seasons in Santa Maria don't depend on the temperature, but rather on whether it's rainy, windy, foggy, or just plain nice. Right now, we're in the windy season. The temperature is still nice enough (in fact, we actually sat out by the pool and took a dip in the hot tub this morning), but the wind can really pick up at times.

Just interesting, that's all.

Quick movie update: we rented I Heart Huckabies a few weeks ago .... VERY weird. I didn't feel like there was a resolution to the issues going on, even though the characters apparently did. Kind of left me feeling unsettled. We also went and saw The Interpreter last weekend, which was a pretty good flick.

Elbows

If you know me, will you please help me out with something? Be honest ... are my elbows too big for my body? Do they stick out in an odd way? Because without fail, I hit my elbow on something daily, and often times more than once! What's up with that? It hurts, man!

Also, does anyone have any suggestions of how I can or should begin learning web design on my own (books, programs, website recommendations)? I hope to take classes eventually, but it wouldn't hurt to get my feet wet in the meantime ... I just don't know where to start, and I don't know if it's really possible to teach yourself certain things without hands-on training or experience.

I don't really have anything else to say right now. I have tomorrow off, yippee!

Small Group

About a month ago, we joined a small group with 3 other couples our age, which has turned out to be a reallllly good thing for me/us. I really like all the people in the group and am finally starting to feel like I have true friends here instead of just acquaintances. We just finished going through the book of Genesis together and I did something I've never really done before - I memorized what happened in each chapter of the book! The motivating factor behind this was a game we played tonight as a group to see who could answer the most questions the fastest. I came in second :) The competition and my coming up with memorization techniques made me miss being a student for the first time in a long time! The "game" was actually a lot more fun than it sounds, and although I wasn't looking forward to it, it turned out to be really cool.

Tomorrow we're going to Santa Maria's strawberry festival. I hope it's fun. If nothing else, I can't wait to get a strawberry shortcake or something like that. I'm not a big fan of fruit, but I know I should eat more since it's good for you, and strawberries are one of my favorite kinds. 4 high school students are getting baptized Sunday night at our monthly "Common Ground" service, so that should be a fun night. Other than that, nothing much to tell at this time.

April 14th, take 2

Happy Birthday Madelyn! You share a special day with a special man. Can't wait to see you for the first time :)

April 14th

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you and think of you everyday. Can't wait to see you again.

A Day at Universal

On Saturday, we went to Unviersal Studios themepark in Hollywood and had a great time! The weather was beautiful and it wasn't terribly crowded. In fact, the longest we had to wait for any ride or attraction was about 25 minutes. It was different than any themepark I've been to because it was less about "rides" and more informative and entertaining in nature. Here's a rundown of the day for those who care:

First we went through "Van Helsing" which was a lame haunted house type thing. Then we watched a 3-D movie/live action segment of Terminator 2, which was awesome! Then I suffered through Back to the Future (even though the signs said not to go on it if you suffer from dizziness *me* motion sickness *me* or claustrophobia *me*) ... it's weird because most of the rides and attractions are hidden from view until you are in the very front of the line, so you don't really know what you're getting yourself into.

We also watched "Waterworld" which was an amazing stunt show with special water and pyrotechnic effects starring semi-movie stars (like a soap opera star and an extra from Pirates of the Carribbean). Pretty cool! Then we saw Shrek 4D, which I personally found extremely neat. A 3-D Donkey sneezed on screen and the audience got a mist of snot (water) on their faces! Our chairs bounced up and down as they rode through the forest on horseback. Air spurted from our chair backs onto our necks when a ghost appeared. Talk about a fun experience for the whole family! Another attraction I really enjoyed was the Jurassic Park River, relaxing and pretty until halfway through when it becomes more of a ride.

Jason went on the indoor Mummy roller coaster and then we saw some cool special effects shows (which showed us how monsters are made and controlled on set, more about how the green screen works, and insight into sound effects) and also a sort of live documentary on the movie Backdraft. The last thing we did was tour Universal Studios itself. It was cool to see the clock tower from Back to the Future, which was also shown in Bruce Almighty and other movies that the tour bus showed us clips of to see how different they could make the same area look. Pretty amazing how all of Universal's movies and TV shows are filmed in the same places over and over again, made to look like New York or Italy or Mexico. We saw the cabin from the Great Outdoors which was also "Hayden's" house on the show Coach and other cool stuff like that. All in all, it was a really good time!

Sick

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been leading a very hum-drum life these past 2 weeks. I've been sick ever since I got home from Wisconsin. It began as the flu then turned into a cold. It's gotten tons better, but I still have this cough that won't go away -- I probably caught something from someone in one of the six airplanes I was on that weekend. One of the planes held around 300 people, as the rows were 2 seats on each side and 5 in the middle. Now I'm no rocket scientist, but breathing recirculated air of 300 strangers for 4 hours might breed disease.

Youth events were cancelled these past 2 weeks because of spring break, so I literally have not done much. Lots of naps and TV watching. The weather has been awesome though, so I've taken some walks and just enjoyed the warm air. Today we're planning on going to "Montaña de Oro State Park" which is apparently a beautiful hiking area near the ocean about a half hour north of here. We might take the motorcycle or else drive it and pack a picnic of sorts (you know, ham sandwiches and a bag of chips :)) ... If it's worth writing about, I'll post a description after we go.