On my first flight

Today is my first of many flights to kansas city for my new job. I woke up at 5:15 and was at the airport by 6:30 am. After checking my bag and going through security I was at the gate by 7 am. Chris (a co-worker whom I also worked with at my last company) and I grabbed breakfast and then we boarded the plane. It is now 8 am and we are waiting for everyone to get seated. Let's hope this travel job isn't as bad as I have heard. More updates later in the week.

"Somebody's got a case of the Mondays"
-Peter Gibbons

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New job

Well it is my third day at my new job and I have officially done nothing. In the consulting industry everyone is assigned a project. When you are not on a project, then you are waiting to get on a project. Every company has a name for the waiting time. My old company called it "on the bench" which is a common name in the industry. My current company calls it "on the beach". Well, I was actually on the beach last week and this cubicle looks nothing like it...

Wishing life actually was a Corona commercial,
-Peter Gibbons

Sent via BlackBerry from Cingular Wireless

A quick recap

Yeah, I know I have been dormant for a while. And I am sure that every morning you all click with excitement to my blog just to find disappointment due to my lack of blogging. Well, I apologize. I have been pretty busy the last few weeks. Let's see if I can give a quick recap...

Jury Duty ended after 3 days with a guilty verdict and the defendant receiving 15 years in jail for two different counts of 'aggravated assualt with a weapon (gun)'. Basically it was a gang shooting between the 18th street gang and the Laraza gang. These are both hispanic gangs. For those of you familiar with ATL, the shooting occured behind the Advanced Auto Parts store at Clairmont and Buford Highway. The defendant basically shot at 2 different people and shot one of them at point-blank range in the chest with a 9mm. The shot went straight through the guy and he lived and showed us his scars in court.

So court ended on Wednesday and then Thursday was my last day at CGI-AMS. It was un-eventful... Just like any other day. I did nothing all day, went to lunch with Steve and Warren, and then packed up and left. I am going to miss the people at CGI-AMS and I owe a lot of them for the knowledge and experience I have gained over the past 5.5 years. However, it is time to move on.

Friday through Tuesday was spent running errands, cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc. Morgan got back from Montreat on Saturday and we spent some quality time hanging out and getting ready for Montreat West.

Wednesday we headed to the airport (via Ryan, thanks). Our plane had some trouble. End result was we were on the plane for 5 hours for a 2.5 hour flight while they fixed the plane. It sucked. After the flight to Denver and the 2 hour shuttle to Ft Collins, we finally arrived only about 1 hour late for the meetings.

Wednesday through Sunday was spent with the Montreat West Planning team getting things ready for the conference. Finally Sunday night arrived and we started the conference. I dressed up as Nacho Libre for the opening skit (will share pics later)and we were off...

The conference was awesome. Jeffrey Harper (Music), J Herbert Nelson (Preacher), Cindy Edwards (Keynoter), and Kenneth Slifer (Recreation) all did a great job. Our planning team (made up of 4 adults- Rick, Kari, Chris, and Myself, 4 youth- Missy, Rex, Alyson, and Matt, and 2 co-directors- Lita and Leslie) did a wonderful job. It was one of the best teams I have worked on/with in the past 10 years of volunteering with Montreat. It was a great conference and in the end, the 4 hours of sleep each night was worth it...

The conference ended on Friday night with worship. Saturday was spent packing up and flying home. We got back to ATL at about 11pm and after the taxi ride were in bed by midnight. We slept in and then started doing laundry and then packed up and drove down to PCB (that is Panama City Beach, aka "Redneck Riviera") and we are staying at Gulftreat (the church camp my dad is in charge of). Just Morgan, Miller, and Me. We will be here until Friday and then we will head back. I have been sitting in the shallow end of the pool and throwing a tennis ball and Miller will swim and get it and bring it back. A much needed vacation!!!!!

I start my new job on Monday morning. I am sure I will have more updates after that.

Gotta go get my airbrushed t-shirt,
-Robert

Planes are great, when they are working

Sorry for the delay since my last post. I will catch you up once I am at a computer again. Right now I am sitting on delta flight 1487 which was supposed to leave at 10:35am. It is currently 11:30. The flight was initially delayed for an 11am departure. We boarded and pushed away from the gate and got to the runway and then the pilot said that some computer wasn't working so we would have to go back to the gate to get it fixed. So we are sitting on the plane at the gate while they "fix" the plane. Hopefully they will get it fixed soon.

Ryan, thanks for the ride this morning.

Montreat West (ft collins, co) or bust!
-Robert

Sent via BlackBerry from Cingular Wireless

My Civic Duty

As you are aware, this upcoming Thursday is my last day with my current company. But instead of packing up my cube, transitioning my responsibilities, and trying to steal trade secrets and office supplies I am performing my civic duty. That's right, I was called to jury duty this morning.

It is an interesting process. I showed up at 8:15 AM as requested. By 8:45 AM I was in court room 5D with 47 other suckers. The lawyers for both the prosecution and defense proceeded to ask what they called "general" questions where were asked to raise our hands if we answered in the positive. This was followed by individual questions where each juror was asked to stand up and then the prosecution and defense asked individual questions to gain more knowledge of each juror. At 11:30 AM we had gotten through 12 of the 48 jurors. The judge let jurors 1-12 (who had already been interviewed) and jurors 25-48 leave for lunch while they continued with jurors 13-24. I was juror 26. We came back at 1:30 PM and they finished the individual interviews at around 2:40 PM. At 2:45 PM, I was one of 13 lucky jurors to be picked for the jury. They let the other 35 jurors leave and the 13 of us got new instructions and were sent to the jury room. When we came back (with our notepads) we had to be sworn in as jurors and then the lawyers gave their opening remarks.

I can't tell you any specifics about the trial until it is over, but I can tell you that it is a criminal case and the defendant is charged with 2 counts of aggravated assault with a gun (they have eluded that it may be a gang related shooting, but that is yet to be determined). I will update you when the trial is over, but it should be interesting. The judge and lawyers said that they anticipate the trial to run through at least Thursday.

A lot of the people at the courthouse were complaining about having to be there today. I can see where if you have children that you are responsible for or if you are really busy at work how this could be really inconvenient. However, for me, considering I really have NOTHING to do at work this week, I actually am excited about the opportunity to see how our judicial system works and to be a part of it. Hopefully I will do a good job and hopefully justice will be done.

God Bless America,

-Juror #26

"Me Church"

Resignation is bitter sweet!!!!

Well, it is official. I officially resigned from my current job this afternoon. My last day here will be June 15th. I have accepted an offer at another IT Consulting firm and I will begin there on July 10th. The reason for the time in between is that I have to go to the Montreat West Youth Conference during that period as a planning team member.

Resigning is no fun. I was nervous and wasn't sure what to say or what the reaction would be. However, fortunately for me, my boss was out of the office today, so I had to resign via a phone call. The fortunate part was that allowed me to write down exactly what I wanted to say which made me more relaxed and confident. I believe she was surprised, but when I told her my reasoning she understood.

So, now you are asking why I quit one IT firm to go to another. Well, as you know I have been struggling for about a year now with what career path God is calling me to. I have yet to determine what God's will is, however I believe that this is a step in the right direction. I believe that before I just give up on this IT consulting gig that I need to get another perspective on this industry. There have been moments that I have loved my job and so maybe what I don't like is my current employer. Or maybe I will get to the new place and realize what I don't like is the industry. Either way, I feel like I need to go and try before I make a drastic change in my life, particularly when I don't know what that change would be to.

So, I am taking a step towards figuring out what this 'Quest' is all about. I haven't figured it all out yet, but I am praying to God and I am trying to listen and right now this is the step I must take.

Family, food, and heritage!

Memorial day is to honor and remember all of those who have died to protect the freedoms that we hold so dear. But for me, Memorial day has always been more. It has always been a time to enjoy the company of those that you love. So, this Memorial Day, Morgan, Miller, and I headed up to Montreat to visit with her parents and to participate in Montreat's Kirk'n of the Tartans. Here is recap of the weekend:

Friday night: Dinner at the mexican restaurant with my brother and Morgan's mom.

Saturday: Big breakfast on the porch with Morgan's parents. Morgan's parents then had to go to a wedding, so Morgan and I went into Asheville and saw 'The DaVinci Code' movie. It was good and had some twists that were not in the book. After the movie and the wedding, Morgan's dad had cooked a pork butt and we had their famous potato salad (YUM YUM).

Sunday: The Kirk'n of the Tartans is a celebration of Presbyterian Heritage that mainly surrounds around the presentation of all the different Scottish Tartans. I carried in the 'Hay' tartan, my cousin Lisle carried in the 'Craig' tartan, and Morgan's mom carried in the 'Anderson' tartan. In all, there were 60 tartans presented and probably around 1000 people in attendance at the worship service that included the Montreat Scottish Society Pipe and Drum band. It was a great service. It was followed by a huge lunch at Assembly Inn with Nana (my grandmothers), Andy (uncle), Lisle (cousin), Emelyn (cousin), Kevin (brother), Debbie (mother-in-law), Mike (father-in-law), Morgan (my bride), and me. Sunday night, Morgan's dad cooked steaks on the grill and Kevin joined us as we ate dinner on their porch looking at the mountains and trying to get the dogs (Fred, Barney, and Miller) to behave.

Monday: We headed home with full bellies and vowed to stop eating forever!!!!

One step closer...

I just completed a step along 'The Quest' that may take me closer towards figuring all this stuff out. Can't share details now, but I will when I can.

Let Thy will be done!!!!

Morgan is old!!!

Happy Birthday Morgan!!!!!

Morgan's birthday was yesterday and she is now officially 28 years old which is like the late twenties which is like almost 30 which is like over the hill (sorry, for all the likes, it is an inside joke between Morgan and I about when Jessica Simpson turned 23 and how she explained how old she was...)!!!

So, you ask, what did we do to celebrate? Well, we went to the GA Aquarium, had dinner catered by Wolfgang Puck, and spent the night at the Embassy Suites across the street overlooking Olympic Park!!! Sounds romantic, except that the dinner at the Aquarium was actually a work party and celebration and we spent 2 hours listening to managers talk. Good thing they had alcohol...

The hotel room was a gift from Uncle Jeff and was awesome!!!!! Thanks Jeff!

Happy Birthday anyways, Morgan!!!!

Charleston in May

This past weekend my friend Greg got married (finally). So, we made the trip up to Charleston for the weekend. Stew and Sue rode with us and we arrived early enough Friday afternoon to head downtown and have a few drinks. We then got all pretty and went to the Rehearsal dinner. It was really nice and the food was wonderful.

Saturday we slept in and then headed out towards Kiawah Island. We stopped at the shops right before Kiawah and had lunch at the old timey drug store. Then we headed to the church for the service. This was my first Catholic service experience. I was totally lost the entire time. As much as I know about Presbyterian and Protestant traditions, I am very uneducated about Catholic polity and process.

The reception was back at the hotel we were staying in. It was a buffet meal with a full bar and pretty cool band. After food, drinks, and dancing, we bid the happy couple farewell as they drove off in Nicole's (bride) dad's Rolls Royce. Then the party really started. We all headed downtown and closed down the bars. What I learned on this trip is that I am no longer 21 and I cannot drink drink after drink in smokey bars and then feel fine the next day. I woke up on Sunday and felt like a train had hit me and then I had to drive us all back to ATL. Whew, I am tired.

War Damn Eagle!!!!

Our new State of Georgia license plates arrived this weekend. As you can see, Georgia has added Auburn University license plates. I think it is the best thing the state of Georgia has done since adding the education lottery. War Damn Eagle!!!!

I have joined the iPod cult!!!!!

Yep, I finally have joined the dark side. I asked for and received a 30GB Video iPod (in black, as shown above) for my birthday (which was Saturday, I turned 28). I have basically spent every minute since I opened it playing with iTunes and my iPod. I am an "iPod Virgin" so if anyone has some advice, I would love to hear it. I am looking for advice on iTunes, helpful iPod software, and any tips and tricks you have picked up along the way.

-iRobert

PS- Also, any advice on the extended warranty that 'Best Buy' offers would be appreciated. My wife bought the extra warranty, but we have 30 days to return the warranty if we don't want it. Still trying to decide.

Fun at "Wedding Picardy's" Wedding

IMG_4888
Originally uploaded by rshayjr.

This past weekend, Morgan and I attended our friend's wedding. Thomas (the groom) is one of my fraternity brothers. Over the past 5 years, he has watched as all of his friends have gotten married. He normally is a very calm and controlled person, however at wedding receptions he opens up and gains some 'liquid courage'. It has been at the weddings over the past 5 years that we have come to know Thomas' alter-ego. We refer to his alter-ego as "Wedding Picardy". This past weekend we sadly laid to rest "Wedding Picardy" and welcomed a new chapter in Thomas' life; marriage.

You're my boy blue,
-Frank the tank

Calling all bloggers!!!!

As you can see I have a pretty nice list of friends on the sidebar that have blogs. Unfortunately, many of those people's blogs have been dormant for quite sometime. So, this blog is to thank those who have been blogging and to chastise those that have not.

Thanks goes to the following people for actually posting in the month of April:
Warren
Andy
Andrew
Alan
Sarah

And now to the chastising. The following people need to get on the ball and post some stuff so that I have something to read while at work (the last time they posted is in parenthesis):
Ryan (03/30/06)
James (03/18/06)
Amy (03/16/06)
Jeff (03/12/06)
Davis and Julie (03/06/06)
Melanie (03/03/06)
Elizabeth (02/24/06)
Morgan (01/15/06)
Chris (10/24/05)
Nick (07/13/05)

Thanks to those who help me get through the work day by posting. To those of you who haven't been posting, get on it. I am getting sick of reading CNN.com and the Presbyterian News Service.

Peace,
boredatwork

The Da Vinci Code Quest

Google, in cooperation with Sony Pictures, has started a game based on The Da Vinci Code entitled 'The Quest'. Essentially everyday between now and the day the movie premieres, you can try and solve puzzles and answer questions based on the book/movie. If you make it to the end of the game, you will be entered into a drawing to win prizes. Since I just finished the book and it is still fresh in my mind I thought that I would give it a shot. So, click here to go to the home page for the game.

Good Luck,
-Robert Langdon

PS- Yes, they did steal the name of my blog for the name of their game and I will be suing for copyright infringement!!!!!

Easter isn't about a bunny, it is about Jesus...

and the following video shows you exactly why no one should ever celebrate the Easter Bunny:

Thanks to Warren for the video link!!!!

Napa Valley

Wine Cellar at Robert Mondavi.

Regusci (where we had picnic).

Terrace at Sterling.

Mumm (duh).

After playing Bocce at Rubicon.

Mud Baths at Golden Haven.

Before dinner on Friday night.

Muir Woods

San Francisco: Golden Gate Bridge

Robert driving (note: my hands are at '10 and 2') across the bridge.


What it looks like from the car.


After we conquered it.

San Francisco: Barnes & Noble

Morgan doing some research and travel planning while we tried to get out of the rain and warm up with some Starbucks in the local Barnes & Noble.

Wine Part II

Here is the much anticipated recap of the last few days of our trip in Napa Valley (see previous post for the first 5 days).

Wednesday Night: We did indeed eat at Rutherford Grille. I had the best steak I have ever had and Morgan had a wonderful French Dip sandwich. We also brought a bottle of Merlot from Goosecross that we had purchased that afternoon and had it without paying a corkage fee (other than the food, that is one of the biggest pros for this restaurant).

Thursday: After another 'cooked to order' breakfast, we headed to the wineries. When we had checked into the hotel, Reynaldo (the General Manager at the Embassy Suites) had left us a bottle of wine (again, thanks to the Embassy Suites Uncles) to welcome us. It was from a winery by the name of Turnbull. So, we felt we should check this place out. The wine was okay and the winery was unimpressive, but we felt obligated. Next we went to Rubicon (formerly Niebaum-Coppola). This winery is owned by the famous Francis Ford Coppola who keeps his permanent residence on the back of the property. Although the entrance fee was steep ($25/person) it was my favorite stop of the entire trip. They do a very good history tour of the property including the caves and some Godfather memorabilia. The tasting included 5 very good wines and the entire property is exactly like what you think a wine Chateau should be. Thanks to the Umphletts (Lorinda and David) we knew to ask about the bocce ball set. It took them a few minutes to find it (apparently we were the first people to ask about it in months), but when they finally did, we had a blast playing bocce while drinking some really good wine. After Rubicon, we headed to Lake Berryessa and had another 'Tourist Lunch'. Then we went to Mumm to try the Sparkling Wine (aka. Champagne but since it isn't from Champagne they call it Sparkling Wine). Most of the wineries close at 4:30 or 5, but we had heard about Peju which stays open until 6, so we headed there for our final stop of the day. It was crowded (I think other people had the same idea about going there last as we did) but we tasted some interesting wine that was presented to us by a white man in his 60's who was either rapping (yes, like a gangsta) or reciting Monty Python movie quotes while telling us about the wines. Needless to say it was the most interesting delivery of wine tasting that we recieved the entire trip. Dinner tonight was from Joy Luck Chinese delivery which we ate as we watched 'The O.C.' in our suite.

Friday: Well, the chinese didn't sit too well with Morgan, so we got a slow start Friday morning. We finally made it to Calistoga around lunch time where we ate lunch at a little restaurant called Checkers (not the fast-food place) and we had a peperoni pizza. We then headed to Sterling Winery which is on top of a mountain and you have to ride an aerial tram (which is worth the price of admission alone) to get to the winery. Once there you do a self guided tour to an amazing terrace that overlooks the entire valley. I enjoyed the tasting, but Morgan turned a little green at her first sip. Good thing this was the only winery planned for today. After we came down from the mountain, it was time to be pampered. Morgan had been dying to have a couples 'spa day' so we booked a couples mud bath treatment at Golden Haven Hot Springs. We enjoyed a mud bath, Hot Mineral Spring Shower, Hot Mineral Spring Jacuzzi, and it completed with a blanket wrap. Morgan says her favorite part of the trip was seeing my face when I started to get into the Mud Bath (yes, I was very terrified). After the couples spa day, we headed back to the Embassy Suites for complimentary drinks and then got ready for dinner. Dinner tonight was at Mustards where I had an amazing Prime Rib and Morgan had very good pork chops. It was all followed up by some amazing dessert that I can't remember what it was except that it had lots of rich chocolate in it. Yum Yum.

Saturday: We headed to the Airport, turned in the rental car, scarfed down lunch, ran to the plane (carrying 11 bottles of wine), and arrived at the ATL airport around 9 PM. Kevin picked us up and we headed home to our dirty house (which we spent all day Sunday cleaning). Dinner tonight was Taco Bell (thank goodness the boycott is over) and then we tried to go to sleep around midnight (which was like going to bed at 9 PM Napa time).

So that was our trip. I will post some pics.

Rain, wine, wine, and more wine!!!!

Here is a quick recap of our first 5 days of our 8 day trip:

Saturday: We arrived to the airport (after riding Marta) over an hour prior to our flight. Much to our dismay, the AirTran line at the Marta entrance had about 50 people in it. So we opted for the main ticket counter. As we got closer to the main counter, we realized we had made a bad choice. Quite literally the main ticket counter line was close to a mile long wrapping around the corridor. We promptly headed back to the Marta entrance line. After waiting about 30 minutes we started to get nervous that we would miss our flight. Morgan used her charm and good looks to get us expedited to the front of the line where our bags were promptly checked in and we headed to the gate. We got to the gate after everyone else had boarded and we were finally on our way. (Note to self: NEVER FLY ON THE FIRST SATURDAY OF SPRING BREAK AGAIN)

After arriving we got our rental car (Dodge Durango) and headed to Fisherman's Wharf. We checked into the hotel (the Hilton in Fisherman's Wharf) and headed out to the Wharf where we had a hot dog and a beer while being attacked by seagulls. We strolled the shops and then decided to do a driving tour. We drove down Lombard Street and to Union Square. Finally, we headed back to the Hotel where our 'Amenities' (a nice bottle of Champagne and some strawberries, compliments of the hotel since it was our anniversary) was waiting. We ate and drank and watched the end of the semi-final games of the Final Four. Then we headed to an Irish Pub for dinner and called it an early night.

Sunday: We ate breakfast at a cute little place called Pat's Cafe that overlooked the Cable Car line. Then we headed to Alcatraz in the rain. After seeing Capone's cell we did a driving tour of Chinatown and then a walking tour of Chinatown (also in the rain, so we finally purchased a second umbrella) and then we at at the R & G Lounge (a local Chinatown favorite). Again we retired early.

Monday: Rain again (we are getting used to it). We finally actually rode the cable car to Union Square. After walking all over the place we settled in for lunch at a soup and sandwich place. Then we acted like we have a lot of money and walked in the nice stores around Union Square. Morgan tried on expensive designer jeans in Saks and we looked at jewelry at Tiffany's. Then we headed to the Cable Car Muesem (there is a reason it is FREE). We checked out of our hotel and despite Morgan's navigational skills, we did driving tours of Golden Gate Park, Haight-Ashbury, and Sausalito. We also did a walking tour of Muir Woods National Park. We arrived at the Embassy Suites in Napa just in time for the complimentary cocktails and then went to dinner at a local sports bar so we could watch the National Championship Basketball game.

Tuesday: After a 'cooked to order' breakfast at the Embassy Suites, we headed to the wineries (finally). Although it was still raining, that didn't stop them from pouring us all sorts of wine to taste. Today's wineries included Robert Mondavi, Plumpjack, and Clos du Val. Dinner was at the Bistro Don Giovanni where Morgan had a Pizza Margarita and I had a Pan Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatos.

Wednesday: After another 'cooked to order' breakfast, we headed to Copia (the museum for food and wine in Napa). We saw trashy art, I mean, uh, art made of trash and tasted a few different wines and cheeses. We then headed to a local grocery store where we picked up a typical 'tourist picnic lunch' (cheese, crackers, and summer sausage). Thanks to the wonderful people at Clos du Val (one of the wineries from Tuesday) we had free tasting coupons for several other wineries and, as you all know, we can't ever pass up anything free. Today's wineries included Hagafen, Regusci, Goosecross, and Cosentino. At Regusci they had picnic tables, so we ate our tourist lunch (see pic below) and then drank wine while admiring the two well-behaved yellow labs and the view. While we were there, the hogs got out of the pin and so the owner had to run off with a few farmhands to chase them down. Tonight we are headed to Rutherford Grille which comes highly recommended from ALL of the locals. Plus, we can bring our own wine without paying a corkage fee.

More to come later...

5 years??? I need some wine!!!!!

According to the engraving on the inside of my wedding band, March 31st is my wedding anniversary. Upon further investigation, THIS March 31st (which is Friday) is my 5 YEAR wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that I have been married for 5 years. And even harder to believe that in June of this year it will be 10 years since I started dating Morgan. Of course, we had our hiccups along the way, but essentially we have been committed from day one!

So, what does a couple do to celebrate 5 years of marital bliss? Well, it was a hard decision for us because we are a single income relationship currently due to Morgan's "Call to Seminary". Morgan really wanted a trip and I gave in pretty easily. We started out thinking we would do one of those 'all-inclusive' deals at some exotic beach location. After many hours of searching the entire internet, we decided that was a lot of money to just sit on the beach. So, we started to think of other places. DC, Skiing out west, NYC, Chicago... Finally, we settled on San Francisco and Napa Valley.

Fortunately for us, Morgan's spring break is next week which makes it the perfect time to celebrate our 5 years with a trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley. Here are the details:

We board an Airtran flight on Saturday morning and arrive in San Francisco around Noon (Pacific Time). We are then spending Saturday night and Sunday night and most of the day Monday in San Francisco. On Monday, we will drive our rental car up to Napa and spend Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights in Napa. Saturday we fly back to the ATL.

And so here is the point of the post. All we know about San Francisco is that Rice-a-Roni is the city's treat and that it is the home place of Uncle Jesse, Uncle Joey, Danny, DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle (Full House). Further, all we know about Napa is that they make wine there. So, if you have tips or suggestions about what we should do, please leave them in the comments.

"The San Francisco Treat",

-Uncle Joey

PS- The ONLY thing we have already booked is the Alcatraz tour. I am really looking forward to seeing the secret passage-way that Nick Cage and Sean Connery sneaked in.
PSS- I will of course have pictures and posts from our trip (hopefully during the trip).

Finally, a sabbath day!

Well, the last few weeks have been crazy around the Hay house. Before this past weekend, our last 4 weekends were:

• Thurs Feb 16 - Sun Feb 19: Morgan at Montreat Planning Team meetings while I helped her dad do his 'honey do' list at their new home in Black Mountain. Nothing like doing chores at someone else's house.
• Fri Feb 24 - Sun Feb 26: Morgan in Plymouth, NC with her 3 best friends from highschool while I was in Highlands, NC with all my buddies for a double-bachelor party. Details of both trips to be withheld to protect the innocent (and the guilty).
• Fri Mar 4 - Sun Mar 6: Morgan and I co-hosted a wedding shower for a friend (one of the bachelors from the party) in Birmingham. We also went to church at SHPC on Sunday with my family (see here for post about the sermon).
• Fri Mar 10 - Sun Mar 12: We went on a confirmation retreat with the youth from St Lukes Pres. Actually, Morgan helped lead the retreat and I was the "Cabana Boby" (cook, maid, driver, and anything else that they needed done). Then, when we got back on Saturday, Morgan and I spent a couple of hours in the yard. Then, on Sunday while Morgan was at church, I spent another 8 hours in the yard. I hate yard work more than anything!!!!!!

This past week wasn't much better. Morgan drove to Birmingham on Monday to meet with the CPM (Committee for Preparation of Ministry) for her annual review. Afterwards she drove back and had to work on papers (I think she had 3 due last week). By the way, her review went great!!!! Tuesday night and Wednesday nights were spent cleaning the house and getting food ready for the Dinner Party at our house on Thursday. My dad (one of the Presbytery Execs) and the new Presbytery Exec were coming over to Columbia for a tour and to eat dinner with all of the candidates and inquirers from PSL (Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley), so of course our house got volunteered to host that shindig. So, we hosted that dinner party Thursday night and then the Columbia St Patty's day party was also at our house on Friday night. This was a fun party complete with Green Keg Beer. Thank goodness the Juniors know how to party, because the other two classes (the middlers and the seniors) were not well represented and those that did attend don't know how to party as well as the Juniors.

So, that gets us to Saturday. Morgan and I finally had a day to sleep in (not sure if I was really sleeping or if I was passed out, but either way I didn't get up until noon). We spent a couple of hours cleaning up our house. We have decided that keg parties are easier to cleanup after than BYOB parties because there is much less trash. After the house was respectable, I got on the couch and watched March Madness while Morgan went to the mall. We cooked a nice dinner together and watched a movie. Sunday was a typical minister's family Sunday. We went to church, went to lunch, went home and rested, and then went back to church for youth group.

I know that we are supposed to rest on the 7th day and it only took Morgan and I almost 5 weeks to find time to rest. Thank God for rest!

The Luther Burger

Luther Burger: "a bacon-cheeseburger served on a Krispy Kreme doughnut bun"

To be a little more specific, they take the doughnut and slice it down the middle like it is a bagel and then they put the glazed side of each half on the grill and grill it for a quick moment. When they put the doughnut bun on the burger, the middle (non-glazed side) is facing out so that when you hold the burger you are holding it with the middle piece of the doughnut. They serve it with your choice of fries, tots, onion rings, or hush puppies.

I had mine with a side of tots AND fries. I mean, if you are going to have a coronary, might as well enjoy it.

So, yes, I went to Mulligan's with my friend Stewart last night and we both had a Luther Burger. It has an interesting taste. Amazinginly, it tastes exactly like you would guess; like a hamburger with a sweet bun. It is like having your entree and your dessert at the same time.

Stewart and I also had a couple of pitchers of Stella beer (which was also a first experience for me). After the Luther Burger and Stella beer, we headed over to The Corner Pub to join the CTS team as they competed in Team Trivia. To be honest, I can't remember if we won or not. I remember that we were in first place before the final question, but I don't remember what the final outcome was. Needless to say, Stewart and I had a real good time!!!!

For more information regarding my obsession with weird fried foods, please see these links:

• The Hamdog
• Taco Town

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."
-FatDrunkStupid

Why do we confess?

I am no theologian (I leave that up to my dad, my wife, and my brother), but I did enjoy the sermon I heard yesterday. Morgan and I were in Birmingham this weekend to help host a wedding shower for a good friend of mine. We, of course, stayed with my parents and went to church with them on Sunday morning at South Highland Presbyterian Church. SHPC had a guest speaker named Wil Willimon who is apparently a well respected theologian.

Anyways, he preached about why we confess our sins. He referred to some churches who preach how 'good' people are and that their services are full of reminders of how 'good' the church goers are and the service is meant to build them up and make them feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He then wondered why Presbyterians (and many other reformed churches) start out our service with such a downer like openly confessing that we are sinners. He said that that type of openly admitting that we are not good is not part of our human nature. That we as humans always want to appear confident and in control and not focus on the bad things that we do, but to instead to focus on the good things that we do. So, why is it that we always confess our sins and admit how bad we have been.

As I said, I am no theologian, so I am sure that I cannot relay his sentiments exactly, but the jist of his sermon was that we admit our sins because we are sinners. We have been sinners "since Genesis, Chapter 3" as he said. But that the good news is that despite our sins, God still loves us and forgives us. God sent Jesus to be with the un-Godly and to save us. So, we confess our sins so that we can humbly go before God as sinners and then accept the divine Grace of Jesus Christ as our Saviour.

I am not good at putting these things together or always getting the exact right point, but I do believe that what he was preaching is exactly what I believe. I KNOW that I am a sinner and I KNOW that because of God's grace and through the love of Jesus Christ, that I am saved.

Thanks be to God!!!!!

Ma Bell back together again

As most of you are aware, I work for a large IT consulting firm. In our ATL and BHAM offices, we basically have 1 client; BellSouth. We have a few other small clients in these two offices, but the majority of the 350+ employees in these two offices work on BellSouth projects. Further, BellSouth is the single largest US based client my company has. So, you can understand why the acquistion of BellSouth by AT&T could cause concern around my office. See this article: AT&T agrees to buy BellSouth for $67 billion

What does this mean to me? Well, I am not sure quite yet. Most of you know that I haven't exactly been happy in my job and so this may be God working in a really weird way to help motivate me to determine what it is that I should be doing with my life (Warren and Steve, please remember that what I say here stays here and shouldn't go to our bosses). But would God really cause a $67 billion merger just to make me go do something more with my life? Probably not, but God may work through this to help kick me in the butt to go do something better.

I have a feeling that there will be an office-wide meeting (imagine the scene from Office Space when the 'Consultants' show up) this week to discuss what impacts this has to my company's business and bottom line. I will keep you updated on the company's solutions and my solutions (or I guess I should say, God's solutions for me).

"Mr. Watson, come here, I want you!"
-Pa Bell

Sorry to have been idle for so long...

Hey all you Quest-fanatics,

I apologize for the lack of posts in the past few weeks. My last post was right before I went to Montreat for a long weekend. Then I got back and the internet at my office went down (yes, that is right, at the Global IT Consulting Firm). It has only taken them over a week to get it fixed. I guess I could have posted from home, but by the time I get home from work, I don't really want to sit in front of a computer anymore. So, I am just now getting back into the swing of reading blogs and surfing the net. Hopefully, after I catch up on my surfing, I will have something worthy of posting about. Till then, peace out!

-Seacrist, out!

Who do I look like?

I found a link to My Heritage on another blog. On My Heritage you can upload a picture and they will use their face recognition software to search a database of 3,200 celebrities to tell you which celebrity you look like. So, here is the results of my test:

This is the picture I uploaded



My celebrity matches

My favorite match! - Matt Damon


Ok, a super-baseball star! - Babe Ruth


Um, a liberal movie producer? - Michael Moore


WTF? - Martina Navratilova


Morgan's celebrity matches

I love the OC! - Rachel Bilson


Me likey! - Eva Longoria


Well, not a huge fan, but I wouldn't kick her out of bed? - Demi Moore


Well, Morgan is a liberal, female, seminary student. - Hillary Clinton

Well, I guess I was wrong...

Well, my friend Warren felt it necessary to point out to me that my suggestion about Conan and Tarja (see "Conan O'Brien vs Tarja Halonen") being the same person was proven wrong today. See this article for more information: Finnish President Meets With Conan O'Brien

I guess everyone is wrong ONCE in their life. Don't expect it to happen again.

For me to poop on,
-Triumph

How many Weight Watchers points is a Taco Town taco?

If you haven't seen the "Taco Town" Saturday Night Live commercial parody of the fast-food industry, then please follow this link and check it out: "Taco Town"

If you know me, then you know these two things are true:

1. I think this commercial is freaking hilarious.
2. I would sooooooo eat that taco if I were given the chance.

For those of you who don't know me, let me address these two facts separately so that you may have some insight into the sick and deranged mind of me.

First, I like to laugh (see my profile). I appreciate all types of humor, particularly smart humor and 6th grade humor (most of the time, these two types of humor are mutually exclusive, but there are a few instances where these two types of humor come together). This commercial exemplifies both types of humor. It is funny cause it is like something a 6th grader would come up with, but it is also funny 'cause it is true'. It in general just makes me laugh out-loud every time I see it. The subtle sarcasm used by the announcer and the immature facial expressions used by the actors all get to me. It is like watching Will Ferrell. The guy just makes me laugh by looking at him. He doesn't have to say anything, he just has to make a funny look and I laugh. And it isn't that fake laugh I make when my boss makes a stupid joke and I laugh cause he is my boss.

If you are a new reader at 'The Quest', then I will point you towards my post titled 'The Hamdog', which recounts my trip to eat a "hot dog wrapped by a beef patty that's deep fried, covered with chili, cheese and onions and served on a hoagie bun. Oh yeah, it's also topped with a fried egg and two fistfuls of fries".

I love Mexican food, so any kind of mexican food sounds yummy to me. Further, I love the Chalupas that Taco Bell makes. Why, you ask? Because they are FRIED!!!! The PCUSA boycotted Yum! Foods (parent company of Taco Bell) and did I participate? Hell no! Why? Because I love fried mexican food!!!!

And I am a sucker for the marketing scams that is the "New combination..." My wife makes fun of me every time a Pizza Hut commercial comes on that is advertising the newest weird pizza because she knows the next time we order pizza, I will fall for it. We have tried all of them; the pizza with cheese in the crust, the pizza that breaks into bread sticks, the pizza that is cooked square, the pizza with dipping sauces, the pizza with extra cheese, the pizza with a taco cooked into the crust (ok, they haven't done that last one, but if they do, I will order it).

And finally, why would I eat that Taco Town taco? Because I am on Weight Watchers and anything that fattening looks REALLY GOOD to me right now!!!!

Peace and bacon grease,

-Fatty McGee

My new "cubice"

Well, today I finally got an office, but it isn't really an office. It is more of a cube. Well, actually it is an office with 2 cubes in it. So, I finally get an office and I have to share it with someone else. It is better than a cube, but not quite as nice as an office. Therefore I have deemed it the 'cubice' (cube + office).

In my office, an office is reserved for those members who have been promoted to 'Senior Consultant'. I was promoted to Senior Consultant a year ago, but never received an office. I just recently changed to a new project and, simultaneously, the entire office was being renovated, so everyone is changing locales. Over the weekend, everyone moved from wherever they were sitting to a new location. So, I received a 'cubice'. At first I was a little frustrated that I wasn't receiving an office when all of the other Senior Consultants were. Then I realized that I am the least 'senior' Senior Consultant on my project. Although I was promoted to Senior Consultant at the same time as many of the others, I have been working here for 5 years and all of the other Senior Consultants have been with the company at least 6 years. Also, with regard to the new project, I am the new kid on the block (please, no jokes about NKOTB-cause if you know what NKOTB is, then you are in no position to mock me), so I am also the least 'senior' person on the project.

So, yes, the grass is greener in the real offices, but I am content with what I have been dealt. I could be one of the 175 people in a cube or one of the 50 people in offices, but instead I get to be one of the very few select people in a 'cubice'.

How does killing a guy in a frozen pond make people want to buy a Chevrolet or watch the Olympics?

Have you seen this commercial? You know the one where the three guys have painted 'U' 'S' 'A' on their chest and are at the Winter Olympics cheering on the USA Olympic team. Then, the 'S' guy walks out onto a frozen pond as he is cheering and falls through the ice. The 'U' and the 'A' then use their Chevrolet SUV to pull him out of the pond. They then wonder if they should take their friend to the hoospital because he is frozen stiff with his hands straight up in the air, but they decide they still need an 'S'. So, they strap their friend on the top of their Chevrolet SUV and go to another Winter Olympic event. At the next event the guys are cheering on another event next to some attractive girls with the 'S' guy still frozen. The girls ask what the deal is with their frozen friend and say "he's kinda cute". The guys then strap their friend on top of their Chevrolet SUV again and follow the girls (who are also driving a Chevrolet SUV) to another Olympic event. The voice over tells you that Chevrolet is a proud sponsor of the Winter Olympics that will be on NBC.

So, how does killing a guy in a frozen pond make people want to buy a Chevrolet or watch the Olympics? Now, I appreciate comedy as much as the next guy, but I just am having a hard time finding the comedic appeal of this commercial. I just don't find any humor in this. I believe that I have that immature sense of humor that begins forming as a 6th grade boy and doesn't fully develop until your senior year in college. However, despite that frat boy sense of humor, I just don't even crack a smile while watching this commercial. I am honestly confused about the approach the advertisers are taking in this commercial. I just don't get it.

Can someone explain this to me?

-Cornholio (see, I have an immature "Beavis and Butthead" sense of humor)

PS- I searched diligently for this commercial on the internet and could not find it. If anyone knows a URL that has this commercial, please let me know.

Conan O'Brien vs Tarja Halonen

Is Finland laughing at Conan O'Brien?

So, do you think Conan looks like Finnish Presidential Candidate Tarja Halonen?

I have a theory: Conan isn't just poking fun at her, but that Conan IS her and that he is poking fun with fake campaign ads so that she (he) will actually win and then be successful in his plot to take over the world.

What do you think?

Actually sounds like something Conan might do.

For me to poop on,
-Triumph

"The most powerful booster in college sports"

So, I called out Ryan's alma mater because one of their wealthiest alumni members is supporting another school (see 'This one is for you, Ryan'). I guess what goes around comes around. Today, the cover story on ESPN.com is a story about how Bobby Lowder is "the most powerful booster in college sports." It is not the cover story on the College Football page of ESPN.com, it is the cover story on the main page of ESPN.com. That makes me soooooo proud to be an Auburn Tiger (note my sarcasm).

Anyways, here is a link to the article: A Tiger of a trustee

War Damn Eagle,

-Coach Dye

This one is for your, Ryan...

Riding the Trojan Horse

Story on ESPN.com about the head of Movie Gallery (and a Mizzou grad) who donates all of his money to Troy University and helps them become D1 so that they can embarrass his Alma Mater on ESPN Thursday night in 2004.

Why doesn’t he give his money to Mizzou?

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm

War Damn Eagle,
-Robert "Cadillac" Hay, Jr.

The Book of Daniel

So I just finished watching NBC's newest drama, The Book of Daniel. In case you didn't see it or haven't heard about it, the show centers around an Episcopal Priest named Daniel and his family. Of course with clergy being the 'family career' in my family, I was interested to watch this show.

So there is Father Daniel, who is a pain-killer popping Priest. He's wife is very fond of the martinis. They live in a very nice home that we learn is a family home of hers. Daniel's father is the Bishop and Daniel's mother is suffering from Alzheimer. Daniel's father is also having an affair with another female Bishop who works with Daniel. Daniel's brother-in-law is a thief and his sister in law has been having an affair with a woman whom is suspected of helping to kill her husband.

And we haven't even started on the children yet...
The oldest son is gay. The daughter is selling drugs to support her animation habits. And the other son is an adopted chinese boy who is having sex with the most influential man in town's daughter.

Oh yeah, and then there is the Jesus figure. Probably the only character that I really liked. He was a very laid back Jesus with a sense of humor.

So, I am not sure what I think of this show yet. On the one hand it has the potential to show that clergy are just people like everyone else. But, on the other hand it seems to be playing up all of the vices of humans and almost making the church and clergy look very bad. I think I need to see a few more episodes before I form a complete opinion. Like I said, I like the Jesus figure and I liked the interactions the main character had with the Jesus figure. But I am not sure those few moments outweigh the negative picture that is being painted of the church.

The jury is still out.

What do you think?

-PK Hay

Thanks, Pat

Robertson suggests God smote Sharon

Thanks Pat for being the voice of Christians!

I wish someone would put one of Sharon's sweaty socks in Pat's mouth and then use those 700 clubs to beat some sense into him.

Peace
-Robert

Disclaimer- Please don't read this as me in support of Palestine or Israel or in support of physically beating someone. Read this as me thinking that a public Christian figure shouldn't say such stupid things and give the rest of us Christians a bad name. I don't really want to beat him with 700 clubs, but I would enjoy sticking a sweaty sock in his mouth...

What the hell is Scientology all about???

So, Moose (aka Governor Bryson) made us watch this episode of South Park about Scientology. The Episode is called "Trapped in the Closet" and it features such famous Scientology members as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. I think the funniest parts of the episode include the scenes where 'Closet Expert Analyst', R. Kelly "pulls out his gun". You will have to watch it to understand.

Anyways, the episode essentially was calling out Scientology for the fraud and cult that it is. Before watching the episode, I didn't know much about Scientology, and I still don't. However, I spent the better part of my day today (yes, at work - I am very bored) researching it online. I have read websites controlled by the CoS (I learned that stands for Church of Scientology) and I have read websites that are controlled by critics and 'defectors' of the CoS.

My opinion... It is a cult that brainwashes people into believing mythical science fiction. They use 'fixed donations' to provide quack 'services' to rid your body of 'thetans' (alien souls that are in everybody that were put on earth by Xena 75 million years ago). The whole farce is a well-designed scam to make some people very, very, very rich. I am ashamed to live in a country that allows this cult to hide behind the protection of a 'religious institution' for tax fraud. I am ashamed that we allow this brain-washing organization to exist and to prey on people for their money. I wish there was some way to stop it.

Some quick resources for your own research:

• You can download the South Park "Trapped in the Closet" episode here *This is a 174 MB download that will take a long time to download* (If the video doesn't show up after you have downloaded it, then you will need the XviD codec to play it which you can download here)
• The official CoS website is here
• Operation Clambake can be found here (a website dedicated to telling the 'Truth' about CoS)
• A 1991 article from Time magazine about CoS can be found here
• "The Truth About Scientology" website here and its sister-site "Scientology Lies" here

So, what do you think?

You're my boy, Blue!

Some memorable quotes:

Mitch: Who's this guy?
Beanie: Oh, that's Blue. An old navy vet who hangs around my store a lot. Don't worry. He's legit.
Mitch: He looks like he's one hundred years old and he wants to pledge?
Beanie: You kidding me? Old man river can't shut up about it.


Frank: *Spanish*! Do you trust that we have provided you with enough rope so that your cinder block will fall safely to the ground?
Spanish: Y-Yes sir.
Frank: Blue, do you trust that I do not want to see you die here tonight?
Blue: Yes, sir.
Frank: Blue, you're my boy!
Blue: Thank you, sir.


[two girls are topless in the pool of KY jelly]
Frank: Are you sure you're ok with this, Blue?
Blue: Just ring the fucking bell, you pansy.


Frank: I see Blue, He look's glorious.


Nicole: I heard one of your pledges died. Is that true?
Mitch: Well, yes but Blue was really old. And I feel pretty confident when we get the autopsy back it'll say natural causes.


Blue, thanks for the laughs. We will miss you!!!!!

View the story here.

Love,
-Frank

PS- You're my boy, Blue!