Storage Shed Stallions

This beautiful quartet of studs is College Station's newest and most under appreciated band. Here they are "cramming" the night before their debut show at MSC's International Buffet. While they were aspiring of future band tours and fame (not really), I was thinking of jumping into the band-photographing business. I mean, how hard can it be? You line up the band members in some not-so-posed looking pose at some hip location (abandoned warehouse, old pier, empty field, etc.) and then snap away. Bada bing. Bada boom. Charge a couple hundred buckaroos per hour and I'm in business. Maybe those days will come. Who knows.

The Big One's 21st

I'm now an old man. I just hit the pinnacle of 21, and in no time I'll be 30. Uh oh. But what can you do? Here's a recap of my birthday day. I woke up before 99% of the B/CS population (@ 6 a.m.) and drove to work. I was there 'till 1 p.m. I drove home, had an interview with a manager of a job prospect in Colorado (more on that in the days to come), and ate some cereal for lunch (b/c I didn't have time for my usual breakfast of Frosted Mini Spooners). After that I went to class, went to class again, and then had a nice bike ride home. I then cooked me up some birthday dinner: scrambled eggs, summer sausage, a frozen banana, and a piece of my brother's birthday cake. Deeelish. What a splendid day it was.

My birthday is also the birthday of 1,000,000+ people around the world.

*Just a little revelation I had today. The joy of perspective.

The Little One's 18th

Happy day of turning 18 years of age, brother Trav! Or you could look at it as day #6570 of your life. In honor of this most joyous occasion, I have decided to dedicate this new web-banner to you. It's your lucky day! Happy 18th!

(now go vote in those mid-term congressional elections...woohoo!)

Tip Top of Texas

I have a daunting task before me. With just a few pictures and short paragraphs, I must share with you my extraordinary 2006 Spring Break. Of all the superb S.B. trips I've been on, this one tops them all (pun intended, as you shall see). This year 3 buddies of mine (Reese, Doug, and James) joined me for an excursion to the far reaches of the Lone Star State. Our primary destination was Guadalupe Mountains National Park, where we partook in some of the greatest backpacking Texas has to offer. Oh what a blessing it was...for the Lord was so good to us! From safety to scenery to fellowship to weather, He provided and blessed us with more than we could have asked for. I wish I could sit down with you at my computer and give you the full 180-photo slideshow (w/ voice narration, of course), but it just can't work like that. However, Reese in all his studness threw together a rockin' awesome interactive-map-website-thing with all my trip pictures. So, if this kind of stuff tickles your fancy, please jump over there and take in a bit more. With that said, may the baby tour begin...


The way Texas is set up geographically, one must travel many of miles to access the best of the best in outdoors (i.e. Big Bend & Guadalupe). This trip logged a good 1,300 miles on my truck, which come out to a $225 gas bill. But seeing that was our only major expense (other than peanut butter and tortillas), this trip was a steal. Driving 10 hours straight is never easy, but we made the most of it. We passed the time by listening to Hootie & the Blowfish's "Cracked Rear View" a couple times through, and by staring at the massive windmill turbines off I-10. Those things are fascinating. I want a miniature one over my bed that I can stare at while I fall asleep.


This is El Capitan. I would venture to guess most people have seen a photo of this at some point (maybe during 7th grade Texas History?). On day 2 we did an 11.3 miles hike around the base of this behemoth of a rock. The size of it is quite humbling. It was a marvelous sight!


This photo is the pinnacle (another pun intended) of the trip. It was a key factor in our choosing of a destination back in December. This here is the top of Texas. It is the highest point of elevation in the state, topping out at 8,749 feet. After gaining 3,000 feet in 8.4 miles, we 4 boys accomplished our special goal. Oh what a joy it was! The view was unbelievable! If it wasn't for the 60 mile/hr gusts of wind, we could have stayed up there for some time. Instead, we spent about 10 minutes savoring the moment, then began our decent.


The sun rising on morning #3. Yea.


Food. There is nothing quite like backcountry grub. After expending 6,000-7,000 calories a day on the trail, almost anything chewable is delish. So, when I took on the role of chef for the 4 dinners, I didn't have to do much to fancy our stomachs. The best dish was Mac & Cheese mixed with tuna and vegetable soup mix. If you're wondering about the picture on the left, that was a makeshift dinning room. In order to get my stove lit in the insane winds, we had to hide from them. The best hiding spot available was at the entrance of the men's room. It was cozy and did the trick. And the weird looks made for great entertainment. The right photo was my typical breakfast: 50 degree oatmeal with reconstituted milk and raisins. So good, trust me.


When our hiking days at Guadalupe N.P. had come to an end, we drove north into New Mexico to visit the Carlsbad Caverns. On the way out, we had some fun taking the touristy shots at the gate. Onward to New (and improved) Mexico...


Last but not least (I'm so honored that you've read this far) is Carlsbad, New Mexico. These caves are some of the best in the world, so I won't even attempt to do it justice with mere photos. One room we visited, aptly named "The Big Room", is 1,800 feet long and 900 feet underground. It's so massively big, it took a good 30-40 minutes to walk the perimeter.

Some other random tidbits, memories, and whatnot:

• Climbing about 5,500 vertical feet (over a mile straight up). My legs felt every bit of it.
• Reese writing a program on his TI-89 that could calculate our car ride's average speed and ETA (estimated time of arrival) at any given moment.
• Concluding that all the flat-topped hills along the highway were carved by Sam Cassell and his giant cake spatula (during his life as a space alien).
• Photographing James pee-peeing off the highest point in Texas.
• Beautiful Grecian calves.
  
• Meeting a husband/wife couple from Austin who could very well be characters on E.R.
  
• Debating (us 3 vs. Reese) whether or not the guy camping next to us was Asian or Native American.
• Doing a double-take while reading a sign that said "Planting trees is life's ultimate purpose."
• Hearing reports of 4 Wal-mart tent deaths in a single day. High winds and "Ozark Trail" quality do not mix.
• Playing fart tennis during our 11-hour drive home.

Poor Piggy

For those of you who are not frequent & dedicated readers of this world-class periodical, let me direct you to the September 27th, 2005 edition.
So, now that everyone is up to speed, I'll explain the tragic picture. The dearest and mostest belovedest pig, Miss Juanita Daisy, was in an accident. She was the victim of yet another foolish and childish prank. Apparently some hoodlum punks had a grand idea that included splitting the piggy in two, mounting the face end on the wall, and then proceeding to go next door (where the infamous girls live) and drop the butt end (where bacon comes from) on their porch. Witnesses at the scene described the murder as sounding like "the shattering of an obesely tacky piggy-bank. Hmmm. The crime has been a devastating blow to the community, so I will do everything I can to catch and prosecute the ringleader of these events. I'm sure he's right under my nose...

Perfect Leader. Perfect Direction.

Another photo of a brick wall. Another quote from Packer's "Knowing God." I know it's similar to the post two posts ago, but I promise is different (and just as good). I finished this book yesterday, and all I can say that that'll be a book I read many more times in my life. Here is an excerpt from the last chapter. I know it's long (I typed it!), but oh so worth it...

"You know what kind of life it is that Christ calls you, as his disciple, to live. His own example and teaching in the Gospels make it abundantly clear. You are called to go through this world as a pilgrim, a mere temporary resident, traveling light, and willing, as Christ directs, to do what the rich young ruler refused to do: give up material wealth and the security it provides and live in a way that involves you in poverty and loss of possessions. Having your treasure in heaven, you are not to budget for treasure on earth, nor for a high standard of living - you may well be required to forego both. You are called to follow Christ, carrying your cross.
We know what kind of life Christ calls us to; we often preach and talk to each other about it. But do we live it? Well, look at the churches. Observe the shortage of ministers and missionaries, especially men; the luxury goods in Christian homes; the fund-raising problems of Christian societies; the readiness of Christians in all walks of life to grumble about their salaries; the lack of concern for the old and lonely and for anyone outside the circle of 'sound believers.' We are unlike the Christians of New Testament times. Our approach to life is conventional and static; theirs was not. By being exuberant, unconventional and uninhibited in living by the gospel they turned the world upside down, but you could not accuse us twentieth-century Christians of doing anything like that. Why are we different? Why, compared with them, do we appear as no more than halfway Christians?"