Wakita, OK

One thing I really love is finding film locations of movies, especially my favorite movies. (an older post was dedicated to the Irish-Italian restaraunt in "Return to Me", the only "chick flick" I consider a Top Ten movie). Does anyone remember the movie Twister? Its one of my favorites- a 90's classic! I go to Enid, OK alot for work, and couldn't help but make a 30 mile trip north of Enid to the tiny town of Wakita, OK, the infamous town of Aunt Meg in the movie. Its about 15 miles south of Kansas. A lot of the movie was filmed in town or around the area. The actually have a museum dedicated to the movie I had read about. It figured it would not be hard to miss because there are only like 10 buildings in the downtown. Sure enough, it was on main street. I walked right into the "museum"- actually it was just an old general store. Two older ladies looked suprised to see me, and I noticed when I signed the guest book, I was their only visitor that day. But suprisingly, the book had people from all over the US who had visited. I got the VIP tour of the museum- they were really excited to show me several movie props, including a signed "Twister" pinball machine signed by Bill Paxton. Apparently, he was really popular on set because he was so nice to all dozens of the townspeople. Helen Hunt was not nearly as friendly, according to the ladies. Also, I learned that the town got the directors to use Wakita because they had a bunch of old buildings that needed demolishing, and couldn't afford to do it. So, the studio tore down several of the buildings and left them in piles on main street to make it look like a twister had come through. Anyway, it was a cool side trip in the flat, open plains of western Oklahoma. If you need a personal guide, let me know!!!! (Pictured left is the "Twister" Museum in Wakita).

Bearathon 2010!

I'm getting excited- in less than a month is my 3rd half marathon- the 2010 Bearathon in Waco, TX. My motivation of doing it this year was to lose some weight. I started training at 215, and am now around 193, so its helped me get in shape. If I wasn't eating so poorly recently, it would probably be more. I want to get down to 185 for the race so I can run faster. This half-marathon (13.1 miles) is a really pretty run through Waco, along the Brazos River, and into a very hilly Cameron Park. About 7 miles in is when you hit the hills, and let me say, it feels like you are climbing Mt. Everest. Last year, I breezed through the first 7 miles, and hit a wall, or mountain I should say, once the elevation started to climb. Maybe that had something to do with the fact I ran LaFortune Park only, which is very level--not many hills. Once I was out of the park in the race, I was able to recover. I did the first Bearathon in 2003 with a time of 2:10. Last year, I was 1:57:02. This year, my goal is 1:45. This is a really aggressive goal. I've been training currently at about 8:20 a mile, which is 1 hour 49 minutes. Maybe I'll get a good draft from the runners to pick up some steam. Last week I didn't train because my right knee has been hurting, so I feel someone out of shape this week. Tomorrow, I will be running 6.5 miles at the 8:20 pace and see how I feel. The good news is that I have trained alot more this year than last, so hopefully I can get close to 1:45. My running buddy Wes Cash is doing it with me again this year. I am really looking forward to it. I always get really nervous about a day before for some reason, but am ready for March 20th! The pic on the left is me crossing the finish line last year.

Gratitude

I think in our culture today, and specifically my generation, its really easy to lose a sense of gratitude for what we have and are given. Its really become such a "me first", self-absorbed society. I'm guilty of it. I'm sure there are times when I haven't expressed gratitude for things others have done for me. My mom and dad always went above and beyond in providing for me. I'm sure there are times when I've neglected to express appreciation. My grandparents always send me money on all the major holidays. I forgot to call my grandma and grandpa to say thank you for the Valentines' card. Grandma, if you are reading this, I owe you a call!

Two words go a long way: "thank you". Whether its a meal or coffee, or just when someone goes out of their way to reach out and do something for you, appreciation is a conscious acknowledgment of others' sacrifice. I am not always perfect, but strive to be thankful. I think a lack of gratitude, or a sense of entitlement, is one of the biggest turnoffs. When I see this attitude in potential girls I'm interested in, or just friends in general, I high-tail it for the hills. I just don't like being around people who don't appreciate others. Its pretty much an indication of how they think- "Me first, others second".

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, my favorite musical group in the world, did a song called "Thanks". Its lyrics are simple- "Thanks, thanks; I give you thanks, for all You've done. I am so blessed, my soul has found rest, oh Lord, I give you thanks." Its a simple chorus, but a reminder just to be thankful. Gratitude is not a fruit of the spirit, but I think it could fit under peace, joy, or goodness. We should be living everyday thankful for the gift of salvation that comes through Jesus. The appreciation of his sacrificial death for us should be reflected on daily, and seen in our lives- towards Christ as well as those God has placed us with in our lives.

I couldn't find the Brooklyn Tab version, but here's a clip from the Gaither's doing "Thanks". Its a great clip below....have a great week, and THANKS for reading!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi8cdWynAK0

Downgraded to coach!

I'll admit it. I'm an airline snob. Over the past two years, I've been a member of American Airlines Executive Platinum status for the traveling I did with them 2007 to present. The lure of arguably the best marketing program in business (AAdvantage) made be 100% loyal to American Airlines. I would avoid Southwest Airlines like the plague. After reaching 100 flights in a year, I was bumped to ExecPlat in 2008 and got to sit in first class every time I flew. It was awesome! I saw and sat next to some famous people. I loved the great breakfasts, sitting in a big leather chair, and getting drinks in an actual glass. Sometimes the attendant would address me by "Mr. Moss". Is it wrong to say I'd secretly laugh as I saw the masses walking past me in first class to their cattle car in coach? Flying to Europe in a seat that folded out to a bed, not to mention the incredible food, was an experience in itself. I also enjoyed getting to upgrade friends who traveled with me, or give upgrades to my friends who got married (Kim and Brett). I became obsessed with checking my miles to see when I had my next free flight. Well, I had a rude awakening yesterday. In 2009, I flew 92 times- 8 short of the cutoff for ExecPlat. I've officially been downgraded to Platinum, and what a difference it is! I went to check in yesterday, and when I looked at the ticket that printed out, it said 21F. Back of the plane! As I walked past the people in first class, I was thinking "Are they looking at me like I'm some commoner going back to the sardine can?" I enjoyed my coke in a plastic cup, not a nice crystal glass. And no gourmet nuts as a snack. I think I have a new goal this year of getting back to my ExecPlat status. Its amazing how a marketing program can change behavior. I was trying to figure out the fastest way I can get back to status- 10 trips to Frankfurt equals 100,000 miles. Or maybe 25 round trips to Austin.....I say all this tongue-in-cheek and really halfway kidding on all of this... I'm not that devastated. I've been able to see some incredible places over the last few years. Only this year, I'll be doing it from the back of the plane.

Olympics and more

I watched some of the Winter Olympics for the first time this year....i even you tubed "Olympic Fanfare" to get in the spirit. I watched the mens' luge and some speed skating. It reminded me of the days back in elementary when me and my friend Chris Dupree would take his 2 skateboards and "street luge" down Hackmore Loop, his street. It was kind of hilly, and made for a good time. We never thought about cars that could have easily taken us out. Secondly, I remembered today thatI had this fascination with ski jumping in middle school, and wanted to take ski-jumping lessons. I think I just wanted to feel like I was flying...kids are weird. Today it snowed again, but melted pretty fast. Tomorrow I go to Austin through Wednesday, then back to Tulsa. Should be a fun week----I get to hang out with some of my co-workers that I rarely see, so it should be a great time.

There's this ringing in my ears....

Its been a while....life has been good lately. This past week, my boss was in town, and also filled with lots of customer events and meetings. I think I set a record for client meetings this week- it literally flew by. Tuesday night I went over to Amira and Emily's to watch "Lost", which has been my favorite show over the past few years. Jay brought some of his favorite pizza and we watched the show. Its really hard to remember everything that has gone on in the show, but its turning out to be a great next couple of months to end the series. Wednesday, after traveling about 300 miles, and five customer meetings, I went to the TU game with a customer and business partner. The game was actually really fun, and TU beat Southern Miss. I may try to go to more of those games. I hadn't been to Shades in a while, so after the game, I met Jay up there and had some great lattes. I love that place!!! I miss going there everyday when I lived in Brookside. Thursday evening I spent eating sushi at Fuji with Oliver Bergmann, an awesome co-worker. Afterwords, we went over to Cosmos for some coffee and hung out there for a while. After that, I headed up to Caravan for some country dancing. Friday night, I met some friends up at Starbucks in Brookside and we played several games. It was really good to see some of the friends who I hadn't seen in a while. Today I woke up at 10, went to the Flea Market to look for fishing stuff, and back home. I went to dinner tonight at Carinos and then had a great dessert time back at Lindsey's house. Finally, back to "The Van" tonight and just back......and there's this ringing in my ears...