New House

This is a bit outdated, but I did move into my first home about 3 weeks ago- after renting for over 4 years, it was time to make a purchase. Its a 3 bedroom/1bath home in Midtown Tulsa built in the early 50s. I had to do nothing to the house- everything was redone before I moved in! I feel like its a great first house- all refinished wood floors, granite countertops in kitchen, and i was blessed to get a new refrigerator, new stove, incredible front loading washer, dryer and even a lawn mower with the house, thanks to my aunt and uncle. I am not sure how long I will be in Tulsa, but for the time I am here, this house will be perfect for me. Here are a few pics before I moved my stuff in....

Ode to Bennigans

This week, a part of my teenage years died- I read that most Bennigans in the US were closing down for good. Bennigans equals 1990s to me. Right up there with Chili's, I spent a lot of my Aspen Diner work money at this place. One of my first memories of Bennigans was going to the one right by the ice skating rink at the Galleria. In 7th grade, my junior high choir sang at Macy's and Nick Beckham and I went to that Bennigans with our parent's money, then bought Christmas presents for our girlfriends afterwards.

I spent many nights of my teenage years at Bennigans on friday nights after high school football games. Many times, our group would fill up a quarter of the restraunt with my friends from Irving High. We had 2 Bennigans in Irving- one in Las Colinas off 114 and one right at 183 and Esters. In high school, we usually headed over to the one in LC- I don't know why- maybe because Las Colinas was more prestigous. Even after high school, I would still go to the one on 183 with my friends Daniel, Dustin, Thomas, and Justin many many nights during the summer. I really don't know why we always went to Bennigans....i guess it was a matter of convenience.

Does anyone remember the Monte Cristo- Glorious! Ham, swiss cheese, and deep fried in a thick batter, garnished with powered sugar and served with a side of raspberry jelly. It must of had 5000 calories, but it was so good!

Commitments of today's generation?

OK, this is a more serious post, but I've just been wanting to write down some things I have been observing lately and they have been in jumping around in my head. Ive noticed in my generation, there is lack of commitment or loyalty, whether its People feel a certain way and decide to do something, without regard to any people they affect. I've seen it from my friends and peers. I see people at work just quit randomly after our employer spends tens of thousands of dollars on them for training. I have tons of flaws, but have always tried to be a loyal person. I always try to honor my commitments, even if I didn't exactly like it at the time. If I say I am going to commit to a ministry, I do it and put my whole heart into it. I know in the end, God is going to take care of me, and has a perfect plan for my life (wife, future, family, etc). Its just so sad seeing people just fly from one thing to another, without regard for the people they hurt by breaking their responsibilities. I've noticed that both in Tulsa and Dallas-people just feel like they can show up and expect something catered just for them, the way they want it. If they don't feel like it fits their needs, desires, or wants, they just pick up and head somewhere else. I've even seen people walk into church, check the bulletin to see who is preaching, then get back in their car and head to the church on the other end of town for a little church buffet. Or go to worship at one church, and sunday school at another church. I saw that alot in college at Baylor, and even today. People think things aren't like they like them, and 2 weeks later, they just leave. I saw it occur working in youth. There were a couple of people who just left mid-year, not really caring that they had high school guys there that they were mentoring. Very sad. Its the kids who suffer, not the ones who jumped ship. I've seen it in other areas of the church too. Where is the commitment?

I think we have alot to learn from "The Greatest Generation", typically our grandparent's age. Many people think these people are just old and rigid, set in their ways. However, I have learned a lot from them .If you look at most, they are grounded. If you look in the church today, these people still are the people who are giving their all, even as they grow old. They committed long ago, and are still working for the kingdom. I know they endured trials and hardships over the years, but are still there, serving the Lord with a smile. I've been guilty of buffet church since moving to Oklahoma, and I have really been convicted of it lately. I never want my life to be dictated on whether I fit in with a certain group, or based on whether I'm being compleltly fed at church-I mean, we should be feeding all week through spending time with God. When its all about us, it takes the focus off the real person we are there to worship.

So what do you think? Do others see this too in our generation?

MBA

I graduated from college over 4 years ago, and i've been telling myself I want to get an MBA for the past 3. I honestly wish I would have just done it after undergrad....I'm so lazy when it comes to studying for the GMAT, and really out of study mode now. Last week, I finally took the plunge and got some info from OSU, since I live close enough from Tulsa . I have also been looking at Texas Tech. My brother just graduated from Tech, and several people I know went there for grad school. They have some weekend programs I could look at, and still work during the week. Its probably the best time of my life to do it before I get married and have kids.....i don't even know if it would benefit me in sales, but its one of those things I personally want to achieve.

The Windy City- June 5-6

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Chicago for a few days for my job. I hadn't been there in 10 years, and really had never seen much of it. A couple of things I observed...

1) Chicago rush hour traffic makes Dallas traffic feel like a breeze. It took me an hour and a half to get from O'Hare to downtown. I now understand why so many people were walking downtown and don't even own a car. They take the train everywhere. Next time, i will ditch the car. It again made me thankful I work from my house most of the time in Tulsa and don't have to sit in traffic half my life. So much less stress!

2) Another thing I determined...if I were to move to Chicago, I would live in the Old Lincoln Park area. For those who have seen "Return to Me", its the same neighborhood they filmed the movie. Lots of huge trees and long streets of brownstones with lots of character. I've heard prices start at a very affordable $1.5 mil. I walked down Sedgwick St. and saw in some of these cool homes. They are like 3 or 4 stories tall, and reminded me of the Cosby home. Anyway, I actually ate dinner at the Twin Anchors Restaurant in that area. It was featured as the Italian-Irish restaurant in "Return to Me."

As soon as I walked in, I recognized it from the movie. There was the bar, and I even saw the booth where the "water lady" annoyed David Duchovny. The place is so famous- Frank Sinatra came a ton in the 40's, and Conan O'Brien had just visited a few weeks before I came. The bartender was really nice, and told me about the tons of celebrities who frequent the place, as well as showed me the pic of him and Conan.

It was a really fun, albeit short trip. I want to make it back to Chicago and spend more time in this historic city.

Shades of Brown

I live about 1 block from this incredibly cool coffee shop called Shades of Brown in the Brookside area of Tulsa (pictures to follow). It reminds me alot of Common Grounds from my Baylor years. Very eclectic- they often have live music on the weekends. I love walking to it about 4 times a week. Its been really nice weather wise for the past month, and its become a routine of mine to workout, go home, and later in the night go to Shades of Brown for a vanilla latte. Its served in a big homeade ceramic mug (see left). On top of the latte, the barista always makes the most interesting designs in the foam, like a leaf or other unique things. I love these local coffee places so much better than Starbucks. Ironically, I walk past the local Starbucks each time I go.

The place is so warm and inviting. It also seems to be a refuge for hippie children and college students home for the summer. People are usually smoking pipes/cigars out front. It also has the coolest artwork that they put out each month on the walls by local artists. There is also a cool community board that offers all sorts of classes and events. The only thing that makes me feel out of place is that I am not using a Mac, just a regular black thinkpad.

By the way, I've decided that I love living close to everything I need. In Grapevine, it took about 20 minutes to go to the grocery, church, work, etc. Now, I am about a 5 minute walk from just about anything. I have a Wild Oats grocery, Quick Trip, tons of places to eat, and the fitness center all within a very easy walk.

New Years 2008

In late December, I went with several of my Baylor BRH friends over to Great Britian and Ireland for New Years. It seems like forever ago....so much has happened since then. The trip was a blast. I have traveled over there several times by myself, which is also cool, but being with people you know can't be beat. We all got along great, all had the same mindset of what we wanted to do, and got to experience some incredible sights in England, Ireland and Scotland. I think about working at the IBM building in London and how neat that would be to do for a couple of years.

First Post

This is a first post for me in the blogging world. I have become somewhat of a blog stalker over the past few months. For some reason i love reading other people's life stories, so I thought I would start my own, even if no one reads it. My goal is to have a way of sharing experiences and pics throughout life's journeys. I have been fortunate to get to travel a lot, and hope to post these pics as I go forth.
I moved to Tulsa in early March, so this has been an interesting transition in my life. I grew up in Irving, and this is the first time I have been away from my family, friends, and church that I deeply love. So far, its been interesting. I love the area I live in. Its so close to all these cool places to eat and hang out. It reminds me of a cross between Deep Ellum and the M-Streets in Dallas. I can walk anywhere- to the store, coffee shop, lots of cool places to eat, etc. And I have become an avid fan of Quick Trip---they have ice like Sonic, and the stores have everything you could want. So clean too. I have to go there at least once a day for a 49 cent coke....just go in an get a coke if your thirsty (Guffman reference). Alright, well my first post is complete. I hope to stay active in doing this daily, and adding some pics as well. This first pic is me and some of my best friends from Baylor. I have stayed close with most of these guys, went on ski trips, and lots of fun memories. Me, Guinn, Alfredo, Greg and Davi at the Baylor BB game last year.