News-els.
I’m getting married Sept. 27th. Hooray! Also, I now live in CT. Perhaps, once, the dust settles I may share here once again. We shall see. Until then, Ben.
dreamlike
This photo has gotten over 250 views on flickr. I’m sure that’s not a lot to most people, but it is to me. Pretty cool. It’s also featured in an article at photocritic.org called 100 amazing iPhone photos. Be sure to check it out! A lot of people are doing a lot of cool pictures and such with their iphone. I feel encouraged to take and share more pictures now! Be sure to check out the flickr widget on the sidebar for my most recent updates!
the academy awards
the academy awards, originally uploaded by toalston.
We watched the academy awards. Well, the 3 hours that the cable box recorded at least. Which means we didn’t actually watch the last three awards. Those are the big ones. Whatever.
Chick-Fil-A Day!
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008. 6:30 am
It was a cool morning. Cool in temperature, but even more so in coolness (the type of coolness that is synonymous with awesomeness). We arrived just in time to be numbered among the few. We exchanged our names for numbers. I became Qualified Participant #26. “A qualified participant of what?” you may ask. I’ll tell you…
Whenever Chick-Fil-A opens a new restaurant they give to the first 100 customers (i.e. Qualified Participant) free Chick-Fil-A for an entire year. This equates to fifty-two coupons for a Chick-Fil-A #1 combo (1 combo per week). People travel from hours away for an event like this. I think the furthest participant was from Arkansas. (*Correction: The furthest participant I know of was from Michigan. However, Arkansas takes the cake for furthest participant traveling strictly for the purpose of a Chick-Fil-A grand opening.)
It’s quite a big event. You bring whatever you feel would equip you for a day’s worth of waiting. What most everyone brought was their own tent. Your tent and where you choose to put it, becomes your real estate for the day. Some people brought their x-boxes and tvs, which really unnerved me. A whole day outside, and you bring your x-box and television? I’ll hold my tongue on that one. Some people brought a soccer goal and a basketball hoop! This to me seems like a much more productive line of thought. Also, some genius (in the respectful sense of the word) took tape and made a 4-square court. Now, I never really did four square too much in elementary school. Man, did I miss out! It was awesome! However, it got pretty competitive for my taste, so despite its addictive qualities, I had to step away.
There were random line checks throughout the day, as you were not allowed to leave the premises, or you were disqualified. They also had free Chick-Fil-A sweet tea all the day long. Numerous different competitions in which you won extra prizes and such. This company does it right!
All in all, it was probably one of the best days this year!
(click photo below for the flickr set)
EAT MOR CHIKN!
election day/morning recap.
So, I went and stood in line @ 6am this morning. Waited, and waited, and waited some more. For those unaware, I am on a 3rd shift schedule, so this was at the end of my night. Well, sometimes when people get tired, they get a little giddy. Which was the case this morning. It was a lot of fun. Standing in line w/ friends, waiting to exercise my vote. I really enjoyed the experience.
Lightrail. Chuck Norris. Barack Obama. John McCain. Kansas City. Peace sign hats. Renewable resources. Hovercrafts.
One of my favorite moments was a woman coming up to a friend and I, and quietly informing (so as not to embarrass) us that our group was being rather loud. Her closing words were actually, “You’re on the verge of being obnoxious,” while holding her pointer and thumb together to let us know just how close we were to reaching that oh so dangerously red “Obnoxious” level on her People-I-Have-To-Wait-In-Line-With-O-Meter. It was actually the nicest way I’ve ever been asked to quiet down and told I was being annoying all at the same time. And ya know what, she was right. Sometimes you forget the difference at 6am between people who are just waking up, when all the people you know are at the end of their evening.
Oh, Nightwatch!
I then got home and collapsed on my bed in all my clothes, jacket and all, proudly donning my “I Voted!” sticker, and fell right asleep. Leaving the windows up, blinds down, and curtains open. (Curtains open is a nightwatch no-no fyi.) Glad I did because I woke up to the sunlight flickering through the trees, and the sound of the wind speaking it’s spoken song amongst the leaves. It was quite lovely.
Someday…
all the more reason to vote!
Wear your “I Voted!” gear to the following establishments to receive a coffee, ice cream, chicken sandwich, or donut for free!
Starbucks.
Ben & Jerry’s.
Chick-fil-a.
Krispy Kreme.
Hmm. Give me some of that!
elections and the elect
Tomorrow is election day. And we, as a nation, will cast our vote as to who we believe is the best candidate to lead us. Our votes will set a man in place as President of the United States. I want to write a reminder that as we cast our vote (which importantly we should, while encouraging others to do so), that we should remember that regardless of whatever canditate comes out on top, that there is a higher citizenship to which we belong…
While men jostle for position and votes, seeking to set themselves, there is a person whose position is set. His name is Jesus. Though the kings of the earth set themselves (Psalm 2:2), the Lord says, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” It is God’s son, Jesus, who will literally and very realistically rule and govern the entire earth. All of the nations will be his heritage and the ends of the earth will be his possession. We must keep this at the forefront of our mind as we cast our ballot tomorrow. We must remind ourselves that it is His kingdom we must consider ourselves citizens of. This is our hope, and why no election should sway the security of our hearts.
Remember as you vote, that you are already in the best kingdom there is. And try your hardest to believe that it’s real, and that the King of this Kingdom is actually going to take over, and reign. Submit to Him and his kingdom first. Then cast your vote as best it fits with that kingdom.
“Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” Psalm 2:10-12
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