Memorial Day, Soccer, MI3

I woke up really early on Memorial Day and drove Ben and Travis to the Bolder Boulder. The event is one of the largest 10K's in the country (slightly smaller then the Peachtree). The run ends in the CU stadium. I ran/walked it last year with Jennifer. I haven't been running lately, so this year I skipped it. After the race they have a quick ceremony and a couple of people parachute into the stadium representing each area of the armed forces. Last year it was overcast, so this was the first year I got to see them. After the ceremony, we watched the elite races and had lunch at Illegal Pete's.

I also had a soccer game that evening; however, the other team didn't show up. We ended up scrimmaging against ourselves for an hour instead. I believe we are now in 4th place in the league. The regular season is over so on to play-off games.

I went to see Mission Impossible 3 after the soccer game. I think it was the most action-packed movie I've ever seen. I liked it better then the second one. It was surprisingly long - 2.5 hrs, but very entertaining.

The Da Vinci Code

I saw the Da Vinci Code on Sunday. I agreed with most of the reviews. It was a decent movie that kept me entertained, but I do think the book was better. I think there was just too much information to try to cram into a 2 hour movie.

Cru

I picked up Benjamin late Saturday night at the airport, and we went straight to the wine bar, Cru, in downtown Denver. We met up with Emily and Kerri. This picture of all of us was from April when Suzanne was visiting.

Porch Furniture

I'm attempting to finally get my apartment decorated. I remember thinking when I moved in May of last year how much I would enjoy sitting out on my porch in the evening. That didn't happen, so I've determined I won't let another summer go by without sitting on the porch.

I had narrowed the porch furniture choice down to Lowe's and Bed, Bath & Beyond (or as Eileen calls it Bed, Bath & BodyWorks). Lowe's had a pair of chairs for $250 but no matching small table. Bed, Bath & Beyond had a chair/ottoman combo for $100, plus you could buy a small matching table. I had noticed the BB&B chair a few weeks ago, but they were all still in boxes. I stopped by the store this evening and had a guy build one for me. If anything, I figured they would probably sell more if they had one built. I had a coupon for BB&B and went with their chairs. Plus, I had the fun of putting them together myself (not sarcastic, I actually enjoy stuff like that). Lowe's would have required borrowing a SUV or paying for a delivery.

Now, I just need to get an outdoor rug and some plants.

I need to make the wise choice.

I signed up last week to volunteer in Pathways children's ministry for the summer. I got a call from the coordinator and was invited to check it out this Sunday. I mentioned that I was from Atlanta and talked a little about my volunteering in the past. He asked where I went to church in Atlanta, and I responded North Point. It turns out Pathways gets their curriculum from NorthPoint - so it was back to "Upstreet" again for me. I visited on Sunday. It's pretty cool to see how far North Point is spreading their strategy. It amazing to me that I moved over one thousand miles and I can still hear kids saying, "I need to make the wise choice." Of course it is a little different, try about 15 total kids versus 1500. It's fun to see how Pathways took the same information and made their own environments. The big group area is in the basement. They turned the building support poles into palm trees and hung colored lamp lights from the ceiling.

Brooke had emailed me that a new North Point strategic partnership is starting in Colorado Springs, RedRock Church. Colorado Springs is about 60 miles south of Denver; a bit too far for me to drive every Sunday. I'm hoping it's just a matter of time before one pops up in Denver.

Paramount Cafe

I had lunch today with some members of the Alpha Chi Denver alumni chapter. We met up at the Paramount Cafe downtown. I had never been downtown during the week at lunchtime; there were so many people walking around. There just aren't that many good places to eat where I work, so I never go out to lunch. This group is the "downtown lunch group" and meets every other month for lunch. It's a bit of a drive for me but I doubt there will be an interest in an Aurora lunch group anytime soon. There were 4 other alums: 2 older (a retired teacher and accountant) and 2 younger (law office administrator and lawyer who passed the bar the day prior). Megan - if you're reading this, you need to come meet us next time.

Happy Mother's Day!

On this Mother's Day, I'd like to reflect upon my mother's creativity. I believe my bunny hat was made out of a plastic carton, and I was wearing pink pajamas. And who could forget my red corrective shoes? In the words of Nins (the festive clown on the left): "classic".

Happy Mother's Day!

The World is Flat

I just finished reading the national bestseller "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman. It was the book I mentioned in my GMAT essay although at the time I had only read about 20 pages of it. I thought it was a fascinating book and a hint about what to expect in the next 20 years or so as the world is globalized. An updated and expanded version was just published and Georgia Tech is mentioned:
http://gtalumni.org/buzzwords/may06/article528.html

Friedman writes:
...so my advice to them [Friedman's daughters] in this flat world is very brief and very blunt: "Girls, when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, 'Tom, finish your dinner - people in China and India are starving.' My advice to you is: "Girls, finish your homework - people in China and India are starving for your jobs."

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Retirement and Happy Birthday Dad! A little retirement cartoon for you:

Vote - the winner

Thanks for the votes - this wine rack is the winner.