I finally met with Greg Coppock today regarding crossroadstv.net. I’ve got some work ahead of me to get doing for the site. And, of course, I still need to get Brand up and running. I’m actually looking forward to sitting down and getting these sites done here fairly soon so that we can have something else to show off and then can move on.

I finally got things somewhat worked out with the credit card company (e-online data) today for CBC. Unfortunately, they are going to make us have two separate accounts – one for our hosting stuff and one for the rest of CBC. Oh yeah, and they aren’t going to allow us to run everything we want through the credit card at this point. Ready for the worst part? The put a max ticket value of $2500 on CBC for now… Who knows what we’ll be selling for less than that, but I think I need to fix the price of the Venice 160 so that you can get out the door for under $2500 on it, or maybe we will just treat shipping and tax as a separate transaction at that point. Fortunately, it’s only for six months and then we can have our account reevaluated for a higher per transaction limit.

After my meeting with Greg, I went to the school to put the laptop back in the marquee and see how things were running. Well, for whatever reason, things seem to be working now, which I don’t quite understand.

Then, Ryan came down and gave me the interesting news of the day… He found a financial backer for airbands… Ready for this? The one-eleven productions airband finals… ha ha ha… Maybe the San Diego Airband Finals, with financial consideration provided by One-Eleven Productions. Maybe we should just find someone who will just float us the loan like a normal loan and not want any promotional consideration. Maybe even Washington Mutual would be willing to do something with us… Or maybe one of the local home builders… Michael Crews Development or someone else… Or maybe we can actually get FHS to bankroll the production… I need to work tomorrow on getting a letter out to -all- of the ASB in SD to tell them what we are planning on doing – and more importantly, when!

Richie dragged me down to Fry’s today so we could get a modem for one of his clients who not only qualifies for Adelphia internet, but also SBC DSL! What is this guy smokin? Why get a 56k modem when he could get high speed? Anyways, after that he took me out to the Roadhouse where pyro met us. We had a good dinner and then it was off home…

We’ll see what tomorrow brings…

Come look at my auctions for a bunch of nextel stuff (i30sx, i90c, i95cl, i88s, chargers and batteries). Two nokia 5190s, a nokia 6190 and who knows what else….

So once again I am quite far behind in updating my journal, but I am blessed to finally have some time to sit down and do it on this Sunday morning.

I think I have accomplished quite a bit during this past week. Bouse, pyro and I have been meeting/discussing CBC and how we can make it grow and maybe actually make this business work. Pyro has been hard at work getting TWH online so that we look reputable to possible clients. I’ve been working on building a store where we can sell stuff online and just going through the mounds of paperwork that have piled up in the past year or so. I think I am finally pretty close to caught up.

I managed to go through the entire week without going out to lunch once – and only went out to dinner twice! I bet you all thought it could never happen. It’s a good thing too because I was looking at my finances the other day and was updating my budget and all of this frivolous spending money has got to come to a complete end immediately. It just appalls me as to how much money has been “wasted” in the last couple years.

It is time for me to readjust my priorities. I need to be working on saving up money for when I get out of school and I need to work on getting myself out of debt (truck, etc) so that I can not be limited by finances in the future. If I didn’t have bills to pay each month – even simple stuff like my cell phone – I could have gone to BYUI, but I made the choice a while back to spend spend spend and enter into as many monthly contracts as possible, so now it is time to pay for that…

So… anyone that owes me money… send it my way. Anyone that has work for me… let me know, cause my calendar sure seems to be fairly open lately. Yes, the Bank of Chester is calling in it’s loans…

For Thanksgiving, Susan’s mom and brother came over and we did the normal dinner… Turkey, stuffing, corn, cornbread, carmel cake, pumpkin pie… I thought I was going to explode and I didn’t even eat both of the desserts! I’ve been working hard on trying to eat them since Thanksgiving though, so I deserve a little bit of credit.

Yesterday, Batch and I went to go see Christmas with the Kranks with Alison. I liked the movie, but it wasn’t as good as I was looking forward to. Batch did find us a secret exit though which was pretty cool. If you’re at the top of the stadium seating (in at least theater 8 at Edwards Temecula) there is an exit that goes to the hallway by all the projection rooms. Well, you can go out that way and then go downstairs behind the concession stand! It was cool! After the movie, we went to Oscar’s for dinner – and all was fairly good there.

In the movie, they added up how much they spent on Christmas each year and it was something like $6,000. It really does amaze me how much we all manage to spend on Christmas and just so you all know… Don’t be expecting anything this year as I am trying to reign in the big spending… The bank of Chester is out of cash…

Now, I’m just not quite sure what to do with myself today… I haven’t had a Sunday off for way too long… Someone deleted Church off of my calendar, so I can’t even tell you when the last time I was at Church was, but it was a while ago, I know that much. Now I’m off to go beat up my little brother doing something… Anyone want to come to church with me today at 1 in Vista?

Mac Gifts

iPod Gifts

About the only thing I see on there that seems like a really great deal (like over and above normal edu pricing) is Office 2004 Edu. That’s about $25 off the normal price.

However, if someone really wanted to buy me a new 60 GB iPod Photo ($578).

SDUT Article

OK, so I’m just a little behind in my blogging and I’m not even sure I can remember what it is that I’ve been doing… Let’s see what we can come up with:

Last Saturday I did the drama strike at the bob. Lots of standing around waiting for things to happen. I guess I should have just been happy that there was indeed lots of parents, etc. to help with the strike. Once they finally got the set out of there, we got to work on restoring house plot and cleaning. It was when I was mopping that I had the happiest event of the past couple weeks! I found paint (not black) on the stage! Flo is paying to repaint the entire stage cause they got paint on the stage – and we’re not just talking about one little spot either! Gee…. if only people would listen to us in the first place! Thanks to Richie, Ryan and Batch for all the help on strike. We hit the Bar after strike, but we were all too dead to have any fun and everyone was gone so that didn’t last too long before we got kicked out at 2…

On Sunday I drove to San Marcos to get a chair dolly from Batch which totally saved the day for the Music Society gig that day. I also got ASB’s new fax machine which seems to be pretty decent… Music Society went well and nothing much more to report from there.

Monday I went down to ASB and started playing ASB Director to help Travis out as he is busy being an AP now… I think that was the night that I stayed there for a while talking with pyro about webhosting stuff and then Bouse, Mike (Harley), Batch, Pyro and I went to Outback for dinner.

Tuesday was more of the same I believe… Wednesday I went in, but got an email from Travis saying that he wanted me to take some time off and that he wanted to stay in control of things so I went over to the theatre and worked on a client database for events in there… It’s going to take a lot of work as I am seeing to complete, but I think I can make it happen with enough patience on my part. I also remember that we went and tortured Jessica at the firehouse for lunch. Bouse did just about whatever he could think of doing to the cash we left on the table. He made a boquet out of ones and folded up the 20s into a little cube.

We went back to torture Jessica some more on Thursday, but she wasn’t there. Bouse tried to torture Sam, but it just wasn’t the same… That evening Bouse and I went down to NC GMC to pick up his truck and we attended their customer appreciation dinner (or whatever it is called). The food was actually pretty good and it wasn’t all that bad of a time… It was something different for a change which was good.

I think it had something to do with having the Firehouse for three days in a row and realizing how much weight I had gained this week from eating out and figuring out how I don’t have any money left… but Friday I said enough was enough and when Bouse wanted to know where we were going for lunch, I put an end to it. He came up with a good idea and we barbequed at his house for lunch… It was so much easier… and so much cheaper… We really need to do stuff like that more often and forget about this eating out for every meal stuff… Unfortunately, it didn’t last long and Bouse dragged me out to The Roadhouse for dinner, but I threw a kink in the plans… When we were about to park for the Roadhouse, I decided that we should try Johnny Carino’s! It was pretty good and reasonably priced. I’d say that we need to throw it in the rotation, but I think we really need to get out of the rotation! I miss Idaho!

I really don’t have a good clue what I did on Saturday… I think I worked on stuff on the computer… who knows…

Sunday it was raining/snowing outside when I woke up and the wind was blowing like crazy, so I made the decision not to drive to Vista to battle with everyone else in the stake for Stake Conference… I probably should have gone, but it’s in the past now and there is nothing I can do about it. I did spend some time reading this months Ensign though, so the day wasn’t totally wasted… Again Bouse wanted to go out for lunch, but I was starting to get hard set against it… and convinced him and pyro to come to my house instead of going out. Pyro brought some precooked chicken and then I made some chicken fetticuini (sp?). Then I got this really crazy idea to make some dessert. I made a crumb cake which actually turned out rather well in my opinion. A day later it is still nice and soft (cake) and crunchy (crumbs).

We talked about web hosting and other company stuff until 9:30 or so before I finally kicked Bouse and pyro out. They got this crazy idea in their heads to go skiing today – which they did even after Bouse had to go to the dentist to get his tooth fixed after it popped out eating caramels yesterday. In any event, our new hosting products will be coming your way shortly, along with maybe some more new dedication to promoting CBC Tech…

I also found out yesterday that the south side of the marquee says “no data.” I’ve never seen that before and have no clue what it means… The north side still seems to be working though, so who knows what is going on there! I called Advanced Safety today to see what they had to say about it, but the tech still hasn’t returned my call.

I also spent some time today trying to figure out this whole credit card thing… It’s just so complicated and rather expensive, but I think we need to do it… Nova is going to be $25/month minimum plus $180 for windows software to do the transactions… I’m also going to have to go through more hoops if I want to be able to do online processing… So maybe the place that pyro found e-onlinedata is going to be a better deal at $45/month min. with no setup charge…

Can’t think of much else to report… I’ve been pretty lazy today… Only left the house to take the mail out today and see the marquee for myself. I think it’s time for bed now so I can get up tomorrow morning and wait for a phone call again from the marquee guys…

Lisa Beamer on Good Morning America – If you remember, she’s the
wife of Todd Beamer who said “Let’s Roll!” and helped take down the plane
that was heading for Washington, D.C.

She said it’s the little things that she misses most about Todd,
such as hearing the garage door open as he came home, and her children
running to meet him. She’s now the Mom of a beautiful little girl, Mary.

Lisa recalled this story:

I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose
husband died suddenly of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she
shared some of her insight with a classroom of students. As the late
afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the
class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk
and sat down there.

With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and
said, “Class is over. I would like to share with all of you, a thought that
is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important.

“Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love,
appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic
experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is the
Powers way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single
day.”

Her eyes beginning to water, she went on, “So I would like you
all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way
home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn’t have to be something
you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of
someone’s house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling
the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn
leaf as it falls gently to the ground.

“Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although
it may sound trite to some, these things are the ’stuff’ of life. The little
things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for
granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at anytime it can all
be taken away.”

The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and
filed out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my
way home from school than I had that whole semester.

Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what
an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those
things that sometimes we all overlook.

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour
today. Go barefoot, or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home
tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it’s not
the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn’t do.

If you like this, please pass it on to a friend. If not just
delete it and go on with your life!

Remember, life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.

From Sarah Ussher:

You all know that I am in Nutcracker, and that I have started my ticket sales. You’re getting this email b/c u asked me about it, or your family has asked me about it, or b/c I want you to come! Also, if you get tickets through me, there’s an automatic 10% off, and if I sell enough, 20% off. Heres all the info:

* spp= sugar plum party, which means i come out into the audience in costume to sign autographs, if there isnt a sugar plum party, you have to find the artists entrance and ask for me at the back door!

Poway Center for Performing Arts
Saturday, December 4th- 1:00 (spp) 5:30 (spp)
Sunday, December 5th- 1:00 (spp) 5:30 (spp)

Tix: $39, $29, $20 (kids) – without discounts

San Diego Civic Theatre (w/ orchestra)
Saturday, December 18th- 2:30 (spp) 8:00
Sunday, December 19th- 1:00 (spp) 5:30 (spp)
Tuesday, December 21st- 2:30(spp) 7:00
Wednesday, December 22nd- 2:30 (spp) 7:00

Tix: $55, $45, $35, $20 (kids)- without discounts

Anyone interested in going?

4th & 5th are out for me.
18th could work – or 21/22.

Anyone looking for the discussion on the audio rack, it’s over here:

http://schester.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=15

A Funny

John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an
even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude,
obnoxious and laced with profanity.

John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently
saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could
think of to clean up the bird’s vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled
back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder.

John, in desperation, threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him
in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and
screamed.

Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a
minute.  Fearing that he’d hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door
to the freezer.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto John’s outstretched arms and said “I
believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I’m
sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully
intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable
behavior.”

John was stunned at the change in the bird’s attitude. As he was about
to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior,
the bird continued, “May I ask what the turkey did?”

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wal*Mart is now doing digital prints in an hour – you upload them from home and by the time you get there they are printed and waiting for you… Kind of nice… I just wish Costco would do it cause they are still a little more expensive than Costco, but in a pinch…

Fallbrook High School is looking for a new ASB Director…

Any ideas why my trackbacks don’t seem to be working anymore?

The url isn’t showing up…

The following story may not be true, but it is funny nonetheless:

It was a huge wedding with about 300 guests.

After the wedding at the reception, the groom got up on stage with a microphone to talk to the crowd. He said he wanted to thank everyone for coming, many from long distances, to support them at their wedding. He especially wanted to thank the bride’s and his family and to thank his new father-in-law for providing such a lavish reception.

As a token of his deep appreciation he said he wanted to give everyone a special gift just from him. So taped to the bottom of everyone’s chair, including the wedding party, was a manila envelope. He said this was his gift to everyone, and asked them to open their envelope. Inside each manila envelope was an 8×10 glossy of his bride having sex with the best man. The groom had gotten suspicious of them weeks earlier and had hired a private detective to tail them.

After just standing there, just watching the guests’ reactions for a couple of minutes, he turned to the best man and said some profanity. Then he turned to his bride and said, “I cant believe you! “. Then he turned to the dumbfounded crowd and said, “I’m outta here.” He had the marriage annulled first thing in the morning.

While most people would have canceled the wedding immediately after finding out about the affair, this guy goes through with the charade, as if nothing were wrong. His revenge…making the bride’s parents pay over $32,000 for a 300 guest wedding and reception, and best of all, trashing the bride’s and best man’s reputations in front of 300 friends and family members.

Elegant wedding reception for 300 family members and friends………………………………..$32,000.
Wedding photographs commemorating the occasion……………………………………$3,000.
Deluxe two week honeymoon accommodations in Maui……………………………………….$8,500.
The look on everyone’s face when they see the 8×10 glossy of the bride humping the best man……….Priceless.

more…

I know that you guys wouldn’t believe it if I had nothing in my inbox, so I decided to leave one message in there for the picture…

Can you believe it? more…