Catch Up

A lot has happened since the last post I made over a month ago. I had been thinking about whether or not I should keep the blog going, and now have decided to go ahead, but maybe with a little different purpose. The purpose was for parents to see what was going on in Jr. High Ministry at Harvest Fellowship. Here's some update to why that needs to change.
The Thursday before Thanksgiving, I was pulled into the executive pastor's office. In there with him was the senior pastor and the high school pastor. I had a great morning, and we had a great Wed. night the night before, and I was in a great mood. I knew the church was having some financial problems, so when I was called into his office, I knew it was probably going to be bad. I was preparing myself for a 10% pay cut, which they had done to me 2 years earlier. I was in such a good mood, that I really wasn't too upset about that.
The first thing they said to me was that they were having to lay off 4 people, and that I was one of them. I couldn't believe it. The junior high ministry was basically one of the only ministries in the church that was growing and the only one doing any kind of ministry outside of the walls of the church building.
The second thing I couldn't believe is that they let me go instead of the high school pastor who had only been there 2 months, who has no experience as a youth minister. He was a volunteer, and he's great, but he has no experience in youth ministry and leading a group the size of the youth ministry at Harvest.
Needless to say, I was pretty hurt by this and angered by it. I disagreed with a lot of the things the pastor was doing, and instead of speaking up, I kept quiet and focused on youth ministry. I think that was my downfall, because many of the other people didn't know me. The men who made the decision to lay me off didn't know what I had been doing for the last 3 years. The new high school pastor had been at the church for 10 years and knew everybody, and everybody liked him.
The crappy thing is that the pastor was responsible for the financial problems due to some poor decisions on his part. The executive pastor is just as responsible because he was just a glorified "yes man" who tried to make the bad decisions work instead of fighting against them. Because of their work about 25 people have been laid off in the course of a couple of months, because they closed the school down in October.
So, now I am looking for new ministry to be a part of. I think this is actually going to be a blessing because I'm getting out of there. It's been a while since I trusted the senior pastor's leadership. And really should someone be on a church's staff when they don't trust the senior pastor. I had been struggling with that for a while. The only thing is that I can't imagine a better group of youth or of youth workers. They were amazing. I know God is still going to bless the youth ministry because of the workers that are there. I'm going to miss the kids and the volunteers a lot.
So, now I'm a stay-at-home dad looking for a new ministry to become a part of. We're praying that God will lead us back to California. We haven't heard much yet because churches are super busy this time of the year with Christmas extravaganzas, so I imagine the job search will heat up after the New Year.
I'm going to keep this blog up, mainly for myself, to give me something to do. I'll talk about the job search and the things Parker and I get ourselves into. If you are reading this, I hope that you will become a follower of the blog, just so I'll know if anybody is ever reading the stuff that I post.
Hope you guys are having a great Christmas so far.

Weird Weekend

I had a pretty weird weekend, but it started last Wed. Last week, I called my mom to see how she was doing (she had surgery on her leg and was in the hospital) She was doing fine, but my dad got on the phone and told me that my grandma was not doing good and if we wanted to see her again, we should come up there soon. She had been on dialysis and said she wasn't going to take it anymore. So, we decided to go up there over the weekend. So, we were all ready to leave on Thursday, but on Wed. my car got broken into. And it was in the middle of the church parking lot. I just happened to see the guy so we made a police report, but he stole my iPod and a gift that I had in the car for my nephew and niece.
I had some other things go on that I really don't want to get in to that much (like I nailed a dog in my car somewhere outside of Wichita Falls). But we got up to Oklahoma City and had a pretty good tie considering what we were going up there for. We saw my grandma, but she didn't remember who I was, but she remembered Parker and Suzy. Weird! We hung out with my brother and his family a lot. He has a son who is about 6 weeks younger than Parker so they played a lot. We also took them all out to a Pumpkin patch that had a petting zoo, pony rides, hay rides, and a corn maze. They loved it.
We saw grandma again on Saturday, and she wasn't looking very good. She couldn't stay awake. We knew it was just a matter of time. She passed away on Sunday morning around 3 a.m. We had to leave around 7 to come back to Texas. It's sad, but she's been sick for years and we have been preparing for it for a while. I'm sadder about my grandpa having to be alone after being married for 60 or so years.
On the way home, we picked up Suzy's brother and sister in Dallas who decided over the weekend to come out for a visit, which added to the weirdness. I'm happy they came and think it will be a fun visit, but it was just all pretty sudden. Anyways, that's pretty much what happened over the last couple of days.

Hoops of Hope

On November 30, the junior high ministry is participating in Hoops of Hope, which is an organization that helps to raise money for AIDS affected orphans in Africa. It's similar to a walk-a-thon where people go out and get donations, but instead of walking, we take free-throws. In fact, we take 1,000 free throws. I'm going to participate with the kids, and my goal is to raise $1,000. I figure I'll make around 300 free-throws of the 1000, which means I have to get enough people to get $3.33 per shot. If you would like to support me and give a quarter or dime for each shot I make, that would be wonderful. If you would like to support by giving a set amount, like $10, that would be great. I put a link on my blog that you can donate to, and I've created a first givings account that you can donate to which is www.firstgiving.com/johncampbell. Or, you can just let me know and I can write it down, whichever way is easiest for you guys. But it's a great way to help people around the world.

Vacation

Suzy, Parker and I had a great vacation. Suzy's parents live in New Jersey, just outside of New York City, and we flew up there on a Wed. There is a lot of Asian food that Suzy misses, so the first thing we did after we got off the plane was go to this Korean community and eat some Korean food. We mostly just hung around Suzy's house that day, and saw some of her friends.
The next day, we went to New York and saw the Yankees play. That was awesome, because it was the 4th to last game ever at Yankee Stadium. We were in the same place where Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig had played. I don't like the Yankees, but it was cool to be there to see a game. They played the White Sox so I also got to see Ken Griffey Jr. play.
Early Friday morning Suzy and I left for Boston. I had never been up there, so we decided to take a little rode trip. Parker got to stay with the grandparents, and Suzy and I had a little getaway, so it was a win-win. We ate lunch at Cheers, and then did some of the tourist stuff. We ate with Suzy's cousin who goes to Boston College. Boston is now my 2nd favorite city of all time behind San Francisco.
Saturday we drove up to Maine. We stopped in New Hampshire for lunch in Portsmouth, which was a pretty cool little town. Maine was beautiful. We went and saw a lighthouse and hung out on the beach. I couldn't believe that they had surfers in Maine. The waves were about the size of waves in Texas, so nobody was riding them for very long, but there were a lot of them out there. I could have stayed there for a few days, I really loved it. We ate at this little seafood place that was recommended to us. Suzy had a 2.5 lb. lobster. It was humongous. And she ate it all. We stayed the night in New Hampshire and came back to Jersey that night.
The next day we spent the day in New York City. We went to the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs. Then we went to the David Letterman show. It was pretty cool, but if you ever go, just be prepared to stand in line for 3 hours. I was so tired of lines by the time we actually got into the theater. But Dave made up for it, he was hilarious. Bill Clinton and Chris Rock were the guests. Chris Rock is super-funny. Bill was pretty interesting too, but I wished Chris was on more. Bill took up so much time that Dave didn't even do a Top 10 list.
Later that night we went to Little Italy and ate with a kid who was in a church I helped out at in Novato, CA. He goes to NYU now, and that was one of the best parts of my trip, hanging out with him. He caught me up on everything going on in his world and with his family. It was great seeing him.
We got back to Jersey late that night, and we had to leave the next morning to come back to Texas. I wish it could have lasted another few weeks (not so much staying with my in-laws, but staying up in New England). The leaves were starting to change colors, the weather was awesome, and there is so much that I've never seen up there. It was a great trip.

Here are some pictures:

David Letterman

Suzy, Parker and I are going on vacation tomorrow. We're going up to New Jersey to visit her parents, but while we are there we're going to get to do some other cool stuff. Thursday night we're going to see the Yankees play. It's cool because it's the 4th to the last game ever played at Yankee stadium. Their building a new stadium for next year.

On Friday, we're going up to Boston to hang out. Saturday, we're going up to New Hampshire and Maine. Suzy really wants a fresh lobster. I want to go to Maine. I've never really been to New England. I've been into Connecticut and New York and New Jersey, but nothing else.

But, the best comes on Monday night. We got tickets to David Letterman. So make sure you look for us on Monday night. When I set up the DVR for it, the info said that the scheduled guest is Chris Rock. That should be pretty cool. Friday, Robin Williams is going to be there, so that would have been cool if he was there on Monday instead. Then Monday night we're going to eat with one of my old youth who goes to NYU. I think this guy is awesome, and I haven't seen him since my wedding, so it'll be cool to hang out with him for a little while and catch up.

Then we come back on Tuesday. It's going to be good getting out of Texas for a little bit and getting some rest. See you next week.

Random Thoughts

These are just some random thoughts I've been having lately based on some conversations I've been a part of.

First, why do people get so upset when somebody disagrees with them theologically (not something prime, but a secondary theology). People can think 2 separate ways on a specific outlook on God and they can be totally opposites. Both sides can back up their thoughts with Scripture. And instead of getting along, people get so mad and defensive. I know it's because they take their faith in God so seriously, but some things are spelled out word for word in the Bible. Maybe some things that we take so seriously in the Bible aren't in there because God would rather us take the things He did spell out in the Bible more seriously. For instance, that whole loving the orphans and widows thing.

Second, does my one vote really matter. More than likely, my state is going to go for McCain (I'm still not sure which way I'm going to go for this year). When I was in California, the state went for Gore and for Kerry. My vote or Bush really didn't matter. If you know already which way a state is going to go, and you disagree, does your vote really matter at all. It means more I guess in the states where it could go either way like in Ohio or Florida. This came after talking to a friend who said he didn't want to vote because he didn't like either choice.

Why do girls get perfume that smells like flowers. I've never really smelled a perfume fragrance that I liked. If they made perfume smell like rain, freshly mowed grass, or chocolate chip cookies, I think guys would like it better.

When do you get to that age when you don't get to say what you're going to be when you grow up. I have a friend who is 42 and keeps talking about what he's going to do when he grows up. I'm like, dude, you should be there.

I'm excited about college football starting this weekend. I just hope that it's as exciting as last year. Teams I want to win: OU, Cal, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers. Teams I want to lose: Texas, Texas Tech, USC, Missouri, Boise State, LSU, Florida, Notre Dame, Kansas.

Itunes Quiz

Go to the music player of your choice and put it on shuffle. Say the following questions aloud and press play. Use the song titles as your answers.



iTunes, how does the world see me?
Song: Dumb Reminders: No Use For a Name
Comments: That makes sense.

iTunes, will I have a happy life?
Song: If I Could Just sit With You: Mercy Me
Comments: Alright, pull up a chair

iTunes, what do my friends really think of me?
Song: Me and You Vs. Them: The Movielife
Comments: I'll take you all on

iTunes, do people secretly lust after me?
Song: We Need Jesus: Jeffrey Dean
Comments: That's what I thought

iTunes, how can I make myself happy?
Song: Big City: Operation Ivy
Comments: Which one?

iTunes, what should I do with my life?
Song: Insomniatic Sleep: Finch
Comments: I need to become an oxymoron (I got the moron part down at least)

iTunes, why should life be full of so much pain?
Song: How Can You Ever Face Me?: The Movielife
Comments: I have hope in Jesus

iTunes, how can I maximize pleasure during this life?
Song: Take Me: Only Crime
Comments: To California

iTunes, will I ever have children?
Song: From Here to LA: The Early November
Comments: Oh Dear!

iTunes, will I die happy?
Song: Saturn: Skillet
Comments: I'm going to take that as a maybe

iTunes, what is some good advice for me?
Song: 3rd Man In: Dropkick Murphys
Comments: Never be the first one to do anything?

iTunes, what is happiness?
Song: O Girlfriend: Weezer
Comments: Suzy does make me pretty happy

iTunes, what is my favorite farm animal?
Song: Hypocrite: World Wide Message Tribe
Comments: yep

iTunes, how will I be remembered?
Song: Everyday: Sky Harbor
Comments: Legends never die! So I gotta do something legendary.

Family Tree

Yesterday I started messing around a little bit on ancestry.com and start a family tree. A lot of people talk about their heritage and famous people that they are descended from. When I started, I only knew as far as my grandparents. I only remember one great grandma, and she died when I was young. I didn't know any of their names or anything about them, like where they were from. So, it was hard to get past my grandparents. Plus, a lot of the resources that they had weren't very accurate. For example, my great grandpa on my dad's side's name was Burnie. In the 1930 census, they had his name as Barbara, and my grandpa Mark's name as Maxene. I think it was just super-bad penmanship.

But eventually, after a call to my dad to confirm a couple of things, I began to find a few more. And once I got to one, that opened up a bunch more from research that other people did. So I got all the way back until about 1642. I already knew Campbell came from Scotland. My ancestors came from Scotland and Ireland somewhere in the 1720's and 30's. I haven't gotten very far on my mom's side. I need to talk to my grandma about it sometime.

So far, I haven't found any famous ancestors. It would be cool to be related to Patrick Henry or Adam Sandler. My luck it'll show that I'm somehow related to Brittany Spears. I would rather find out that somewhere in the 1800's I had a relative who was a mad scientist and he decided to try to mate his daughter with a walrus, and somehow he made it work. So in my DNA I am part walrus. In my old age, my whiskers are going to get super long and teeth are going to grow out of my nose. I would rather find out something like that rather than find out that I'm related to Brittany Spears.

My Birthday Present

My birthday was last Wed. and I told Suzy all that I wanted was a babysitter so that we could go and do something, and actually eat a relaxing meal at a restaurant. So, she got our friends, Janie and Adrian, to come and watch Parker. They got their pretty early, and we left. We went to tube the river up near Spring Branch. I had done it a couple of times last summer, and thought it was fun. Plus it would be relaxing and something we could do without having to see a movie or wait in long lines at Fiesta Texas.

We got there, and hardly anyone was on the river. It was great. But about 2 minutes after we got in, 3 guys got in behind us. These three guys were the stereotypical dumb rednecks. When I picture rednecks, these are the guys that came to mind, and now I got to see them in real-life. It was about 10 in the morning and they were already drunk when they got into the river. They had a couple of flasks and a couple of cases of beer. It was about 100 degrees already, and they were just getting trashed.

We couldn't help but overhear their conversations, because they were yelling at the top of their lungs. One guy, Bobby, was the worst. He was the drunkest, and the dumbest. At one point it came out that it took him 6 years to finish high school. He was 20 when he graduated high school. Once, he dropped his beer into the river, and then went in after it. He wasn't a good swimmer, but he got his beer. The problem was that he couldn't get back to his raft. He was struggling and struggling. I was watching this for a while, because he was about 200 yards ahead of me. Then I started thinking, this kid is going to drown. His friends didn't care; they were throwing rocks at his head. I paddled over and kicked the raft to him. The first thing he said was, "Got my beer." A little after that, he mentioned that he was in trouble with the law and that he had a baby on the way. Suzy and I joked, that I bet the mother of his baby probably isn't a college graduate and that was going to be one stupid, ugly baby. I know that's a mean thing, but this guy looked like the bad guy from "The Green Mile."


The funniest thing of these dumb rednecks was when two of them were way down river from Suzy and me, and Bobby was way behind us. They were yelling at him to catch up, and he honestly thought he was in front and they were way behind him. He was so drunk. We ended up being by these guys the entire trip, and the bus ride back to the tube rental place. It was a fun day.
The rest of the day was a lot less entertaining. We went shopping for some clothes for a wedding I'm going to this weekend. We had dinner at Dave and Busters with some friends and played some games. It was a good day and a good birthday present. She also got my Rock Band for XBox too.

Today's My Birthday

I'm 32. I could have my Driver's License twice now. The first 16 years went by so slow, and the next 16 years flew by. I can't believe I'm already this old. Here's a funny kid trying to sing Happy Birthday/

13 Things I would do if I won the lottery

I don't even play the lottery, so for me to win, I would have to find a ticket, or maybe Suzy would buy one on a whim. But right now it's up over 100 million dollars, and it's fun to think about what to do if you had that kind of money.

1. Build a Library for my college. I went to a small college in Arkansas and the library was awful. It didn't have anything, and the books it did have were super-old. I would love to give them a state of the art library. I would also build them a big fountain in front of it because I think every college should have a fountain somewhere on the premises.

2. Build a school in Thailand for former girls who were in slavery. I don't know how much this would be, but I think it would be worth it. I would love to give some these girls a chance to come out of that life and break some family cycles.

3. Travel. I would go to Ireland and Australia. I still don't think I could stay in a $500 a night hotel, even with that kind of money. I think I would still feel funny about it.

4. Buy a house in Marin County, California. I think this is where I would love to retire if I could. It's beautiful there. Sure, there's a lot of weird stuff there, but that makes it interesting.

5. Help Suzy's sister start her own bakery. She's a pastry chef, a mighty good one at that, and it would be cool to help her with that. Plus I'd let her make me carrot cake a lot. Mmmm. Carrot Cake.

6. Help my brother and his kids out a little bit. He jumped in to a family head first getting 2 kids almost immediately after getting married, which is great, but I think they could use a little bit of a buffer in their bank account. As long as he doesn't spend it all on chimichangas.

7. Adopt a few kids. I would love to have a ton of kids, especially ones from third world countries. I think it's cool to be able give somebody a totally different direction in life by giving them a family who cares as well as a family who could provide education and resources they couldn't get. Hopefully, it would protect them from a hard life, and then they can go on and make a deeper impact in their community as adults. Did you know the guitarist from Korn became a Christian and this is something he did. He adopted a lot of kids to give them a better life.

8. I would like to buy a VW bus from 1967-1976. I would restore it and make it awesome. This would be the only car I would buy. I like my Expedition, and I don't need to get any super expensive car for the name of it. Plus I get so mad at people who drive BMW's and super expensive cars because they drive like they own the road. They cut people off more than anybody.

9. I'd help support some of my friends who are missionaries. I know they have a hard time raising money for specific projects they want to do. It would be cool to help them spread the love of God throughout the world.

10. I would adopt a village in Africa. For $10,000 you can adopt a village in Africa through World Vision. This helps them get animals for farming, clean water, medicine, clothing, and education.

11. I'd send Suzy's parents on a trip. They help us a lot, and I don't think they get back to Korea or Japan as much as they would like to see their family. It would be fun to help them out with that.

12. I'd pay off all of our debts. This would be a relief off of Suzy.

13. I'd have a big ol' party, and have Flatfoot 56 come and play at it and have In & Out cater it.

Hopefully, if I ever won the lottery, I wouldn't change that much. I don't think I would need to buy super-expensive things. I don't think I would move into a super-big house. I would like to live life normally, and give a lot of it away to things that Suzy and I believe in and would like to support.

13 Reasons I hate Driving in San Antonio

I just got back from lunch, and I had to drive all the way to the East side. I got by some of the worst drivers ever. I read an article a few months ago that said San Antonio had the worst drivers in the city...and I believe it. This is why I decided to do this post...while my road rage is still fresh.



1. The highway system is stupid. A lot of the interstates and major highways don't connect. Instead you have to exit and stay on access roads to get from one highway to the other. Somebody wasn't thinking or they were just too lazy to do anything about it.

2. Access Roads. Anytime you get off a highway there is an access road. They only go one way. So if you're not exactly sure where you are going, you miss what you are looking for. Then you have to drive 2 miles, do a turn-a-round, and come back to do it again. I think oil companies own most of San Antonio, because people are burning thousands of gallons of gas doing turn-a-rounds for missing their exit.

3. People don't use their blinker. I've never experienced anything like it. Nobody in San Antonio ever uses a blinker. I guess they assume people will just make space for them.

4. Drivers don't know how to enter a highway. When you are entering a highway, they give you an entrance ramp to get up to speed. Usually, the highway speed limit is 65 or 70 mph. People go 40 mph on the entrance ramp and then try to jump over onto the highway. This makes me want to shove something into their muffler if you know what I mean (actually, I don't even know what I mean).

5. Drivers who don't know how to exit a highway. The same as above, but opposite. People begin slowing down a half a mile before the exit comes up...with no blinker. Pretty soon the whole lane is doing 50 because some moron isn't sure how to slow down on the exit ramp.

6. People cut other drivers off. I know this happens everywhere, but I've never seen it so bad as in San Antonio. People don't even look, they just come over. If there is half a car length space in another lane, they come over. No blinker, no look, they just steer into your lane like an idiot. Then flip you the finger for being on their bumper. I'll give you a finger...right in your eye socket.

7. Drivers who wait till the last second to jump in front of you at a turn only lane. This happens all the time. There will be a long line of cars waiting to turn right onto another access road. Some moron, usually in a BMW, comes up and jumps right in front of somebody at the last minute. To me this should be punished by death.

8. Drivers who get in the fast lane and drive slower than the other lane. If you're getting passed by the inside lane, then move over. I think you should be going 5 mph over the limit in the fast lane. If you want to go slower, stay on the access road. (My road rage is increasing as I write this blog).

9. Drivers who don't know the difference between a Yield sign and a Merge sign. Because of the one way access roads all over this freakin' city, there are a million yield sign. I think I'm the only person in this city who abides by them. I'll be coming off the highway at 70 mph, and somebody going 32 misses the yield sign and jumps in front of me. I slam on my brakes and they look at me as if I just ate a baby. I want to say, "You're the one who ate the baby, dill weed!"

10. Drivers who see that you are trying to pull out from a parking lot, and then they change lanes into the inside lane right in front of you so you can't pull out. This is infuriating. They see me trying to pull out, and then they change lanes right in front of me, instead of waiting 2 and a half seconds until they have passed me, which would give me ample amounts of time to get out.

11. Trucks. Trucks are the reason that traffic gets backed up. They do all of the bad things that everybody else does, but they do it slowly. They will block up all the lanes and never pass each other. I think it should be illegal to drive a truck on the highway in the city.

12. Every time it rains, it's as if it's the first time anybody has ever seen water come from the sky. "Oh my, water from the sky. What should we do. Let's drive 40 mph under the speed limit. Oh, these things on my windshield are to pull the rain away. I always wondered what that stick was for by my steering wheel." It really doesn't rain here that often, but come on, it's never raining hard, you can still drive normal.

13. Rednecks. Let's just blame rednecks for all the problems of our world...especially driving.

13 Things I want to do before I die

1. Skydive. I know this will probably be the thing that kills me. Even thinking about it kinda makes me anxious. My luck, the parachute won't open, and I'll be one of those people who bounce twice and live to tell about it...from a wheelchair that I have to move with my mouth

2. Build a tree house. I would have to definitely get some help on this because I'm about as handy as a donkey. But it would be fun to build a super cool tree house, like the one in the movie "Jack" or "The Sandlot."

3. Hunt a Grizzly bear. I'm going to go to Alaska and hunt a Grizzly. I'm not going after deer, ducks or squirrels...I want something that, if I miss, will kill me. If it does attack me, then I'm going to try to stab it in the eye with a stick and kill it with my bare hands (get it...bare hands. Hilarious).

4. Run a marathon. Just kidding. I think I can make it through my life without ever putting myself through that. A marathon seems more like torture than fun to me. Plus, it would take me a week and a half to run 26 miles. I don't think I can get that much time off work.

5. Be on David Letterman. I don't know why he would ask me, but I think it would be fun to be a guest on his show. Maybe if I kill a bear with my bare hands he'll ask me to be on his show.

6. Go into outer space. Maybe in the future, trips to outer space will be a lot cheaper and I could afford to go. "Forget about Italy, I'm going to the moon," I'll say.

7. Write a book. I get ideas, but I never follow-through. I started a book called, "Don't eat the Meatballs." I've been thinking about another book called "Replaceable." I just don't ever finish them, so I don't know how they turn out.

8. Be on the news for witnessing something historical. I don't want to be on the news for doing it, unless it's good (but usually the news can care less about the good stuff and only focus on horrible tragedies). Maybe I'll get to see a lion escape from a zoo and kill some penguins on something. ( I realize that's not historical, so maybe the lion can attack Hilary Clinton...she doesn't have to die or anything, maybe the lion will just lick her and tickle her, and I'll get to laugh because the lion is tickling her so hard...but deep down, I'd be concerned).

9. Go on a safari. I want to see monkeys and hippos in the wild.

10. Go to as many MLB stadiums and watch a game as possible. So far, I've got 3. I think I have 29 to go.

11. Learn to play the guitar well. I know the chords, but getting my fingers to go where I tell them to is another thing altogether. My fingers are all toddlers when it comes to the guitar. They go wherever they want with no rhyme or reason, just like Parker. This morning the kid was trying to climb into the dishwasher. I kept telling him to get out of there. He doesn't listen, just like when I tell my fingers to go somewhere on the guitar.

12. Adopt a kid. I want to adopt a bunch of kids, preferably after they have been potty-trained. I'd like to get a kid from Africa, a girl from Asia (to protect her from what a lot of girls without families have to go through there) and some foster kids from the US who nobody really wants. My heart dies when I think about kids who are unwanted. I wish I could take care of them all.

13. Learn to surf. Of course we'd have to move back to the West Coast near the ocean. It was a lot of fun, and I think if I worked at it, I could do it. Plus it's a workout and a half. I was so tired after it was all over from paddling out and trying to get over the waves. Some people make it look so easy. I make it look as hard as it really is. Also, I make getting in and out of wetsuit look as hard as it really is too. I struggle at it.

13 Days I Wish I could relive over again

This is going to be a list of days that I wish I could experience one more time. Some of them are going to be because they were so great that I just would love that experience again. Some of them are because there is something that I would like to change about that day.

1. The day we finally beat the Stingers in soccer. The Stingers were my arch enemies when I was a kid playing soccer. I played against them every year from when I was 6 to 12. When I was 11, on Halloween, we finally beat them 2-1. Then I went trick-o-treating with some friends off my team. It was the best day ever (at least to that point).

2-4. The days I graduated. This includes high school, college, and seminary. They were just such fun days. I liked walking across the stage. It was fun to have the cap and gown. It was cool to have a ceremony for all the hard work and studying that I did (even though I didn't do hardly any work or studying in high school).

5. The day I sprained my ankle on the snowmobile accident. I would relive this day to prevent me from flipping the snowmobile. I was showing off to some friends and almost ran into a tree. Instead of letting off the gas, I just jumped off the snowmobile. I'm an idiot. It was fun day with a couple of my best friends, Jay and Jimmy, and then I had to go and hurt myself super bad.

6. Parker's Birthday. It was a fun and exciting day. I mean the delivery was pretty disgusting, and I almost passed out, but after that, getting to hold Parker and seeing him for the first time, was amazing. I can't explain it. I had a lot of friends there too, who just happened to be visiting us. Suzy had a bunch of friends that came out. It was a fun day. Plus I would be able to tell the doctor to do a better job, and hopefully Suzy wouldn't have gotten sick and been in ICU for the next 2 weeks.

7. One day Suzy and I had nothing to do. We were sitting there in her apartment one Saturday, and we couldn't come up with anything that would be fun. So I suggested we drive up to Oregon. So, we borrowed her roommate's convertible, and drove up to Oregon. It took us about 6 hours to get there, then we ate dinner, and drove back. It was fun driving through some of the most beautiful parts of the country, right along the California Coast. Suzy and I had a great time that day.

8. The day I decided to get my hair styled curly. I didn't have much money, so I went to the beauty college. The guy butchered my hair and gave me a Jerri-curl (not sure how to spell it). I told him I didn't want old woman little curls. I want a white boy fro like the guitarist of Incubus. Instead I got old lady curls and it was bleach blond. I just saw a picture of it last week, and there are a lot of times in my life when I thought I looked bad...This one takes the cake, with a brownie on the side. It was awful. Then instead of shaving my head, I kept it until my hair grew out enough for me to cut it and it look somewhat ok.

9. In college I went to see a couple of bands: Chevelle, Fold Zandura, and The Insyderz. Chevelle was great, and this was their 2nd show outside of Michigan. Nobody knew who they were yet. Fold Zandura was awesome, and I met some random girl and danced with her. Then The Insyderz were freakin' amazing, and during my favorite song, "Sacrifice," they pulled me up onto stage to sing with them. It was a good day.

10. The day I drove into San Francisco. It was raining. I saw the ocean. Everything was so cool. My first impression of San Francisco was beauty. I felt at home.

11. My brother's wedding. I married them, but I called his wife the wrong name. I would go back and call her the right name. But in my defense...I had only met her one time, the day before. But I feel real bad about that.

12. The day Ryan and I went surfing in San Diego. We had just flown into town and went and ate at the In & Out. Ryan is so much fun, and we were just joking around and having a good time. I looked ridiculous in the wet suit. It was exhausting, but it was still a super fun day. Then we went and ate at some place right on the ocean.

13. Suzy and my wedding day. I was upset with Suzy for most of the morning, but when I saw her, it all pretty much went away. She was beautiful. All of our friends were there. We ate a lot of Korean BBQ (even though it wasn't the good stuff). It was a fun day.

Anniversary

Today is Suzy and my 3 year anniversary. It's amazing how much has changed in the last three years, which have seemed to fly by. So, today I'm going to do 13 things that have changed since April 2, 2005.

1. We were living in San Francisco, not we live in San Antonio.

2. Parker Silas Campbell

3. I don't have a gall bladder any more

4. My brother has had 2 kids

5. I've changed jobs

6. I bought a new car

7. I've been to Hawaii

8. We live in a house now

9. I dress better

10. My tongue and eyebrows are no longer pierced

11. I've lost a lot of weight

12. We have a pool in our backyard

13. The Juliana Theory, Vendetta Red, Five Iron Frenzy and a million other bands have broken up.

Here are some things that are the same.

1. I drive too fast

2. I listen to punk rock super loud

3. I work with teenagers

4. Suzy's still Korean

5. Suzy still gets upset with me for playing Halo (although now it's Halo 3 instead of Halo 2)

6. I have intentions of exercising that get pushed aside by laziness and television watching or Internet browsing

7. I still dye my hair.

8. I still have a tattoo

9. The Simpson's is my favorite show

10. I would rather watch cartoons than the news

11. I like monkeys

12. I love the ocean (and wish I lived near it again)

13. I still love Suzy more than anything.

OK, so some of them are dumb (well most of them) but it seems like a lot has changed in 3 years, even though the wedding seems like it was just the other day. I remember hanging out with my friends. I remember playing soccer the night before I got married (I scored twice). I remember singing karaoke with the entire wedding party. And now I have so much more responsibility with Parker, Harvest, and the house. I'm not complaining about my life now, I love it (except that I wish it was closer to the ocean and mountains and old friends) but it's just so different and it changed so much in such a short period of time. But I still love Suzy.

13 Last Meals

If it came to the place where I knew that I only had a few days to live, and I only had 13 meals left to eat, here would be what I would order. I'm going to count down on this one from my 13th meal to my final meal.

13. Vegetarian Quesadilla from Taqueria El Castillo. -->

12. Pepperoni Pizza from Zachary's Pizza.

11. Fajitas

10. Lasagna

9. Chili Dogs and tater tots.

8. Kalbi and Bulgogi--no rice, just meat

7. Ribs, w/ potato salad and baked beans

6. My Special Chili

5. Hawaiian BBQ from L&L's.

4. Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich from The Chuck House, w/ tater tots

3. Spaghetti

2. Vegetarian Quesadilla from Taqueria El Castilla

1. Macaroni and Cheese w/ Chicken Strips.

100th Post

Words that I like to Say

Here is a list of words that I like to say. I will probably be adding to this often.

1. Donkey
2. Walkie Talkie
3. Boom-a-rang
4. Deputy
5. Duty
6. Snuggle
7. Shank
8. Francisco (thanks to Elf)
9. Montague
10. Hula
11. Booty
12. Baboon
13. Mushy
14. Yellow
15. Honky
16. Stool
17. Protrude
18. Optical
19. Sinister
20. Velvet

Words I don't like to say

1. Loaf
2. Moist
3. Rampant
4. Jerky
5. Snake
6. Barb wire

13 Places I want to Visit

I love traveling and seeing new places. Here are my Top 13 places that I would love to visit.

1. Ireland--I think it would be fun to go to a pub and watch a soccer game. I hear they get pretty intense. I'll drink some water and sing songs with the drunk Irish people as we yell for whatever soccer team is playing. I'm sure they'll be invested in the outcome of the game way more than I will be.

2. Australia--A few years ago I had a guy come and stay with me from Perth. His mom had e-mailed me if I knew of any cheap places he could stay, and I said he could stay on my couch, and so he did. He was so cool and we hit it off quickly. I'd like to go and see Australia and visit him. And maybe we could catch a kangaroo.



3. Brazil--I just think South America would be cool to visit, and it'd be fun to see the Amazon. I like monkeys.






4. Italy--I want to see all the ancient Roman stuff. I want to eat good spaghetti.








5. England--I want to see if I can get those guards who can't move to move and recognize that I am there. I think I'll see if I can back as close to them with my butt without touching them...and see if that'll do it. If not, maybe I could fart real loud. I think even British people would think a fart is funny.


6. Amsterdam--Not to smoke pot or go to the Red light District, it just seems like a cool place to go. I also like windmills and wooden shoes.





7. Turkey--2 things. I have a friend, Mudd, who lives there and it would be fun to see him and his family that I have never met. Second, it's where a lot of early church history took place and it would be cool to see all of that.


8. Israel--Just to see where Jesus walked and talked would be cool.





9. Greece--I know some Greek, but Greece just seems like it would be beautiful.




10. Costa Rica--I have always heard that it was beautiful down there, and they have beautiful beaches.





11. Alaska--I want to do the Alaskan cruise. My parents did it last summer, and they said it was nice. I want to see a grizzly bear eat a fish.




12. Korea--It would be good to see Suzy's heritage a little bit. I will eat my weight in Kalbi.



13. San Francisco--I miss it there. I'm reading a book right now, Tweak, and it's set in San Francisco and a lot of the places it talks about I know, so it's making me miss it. I also have a lot of friends that I would like to visit and see. I have a hankering for a Vegetarian Quesadilla from Taqueria El Castillo on Church St. (If you look in the lower right hand corner, you will see a red neon light, right off of Market St. That's Safeway. My old church is about 2 blocks up Market, but there is a building blocking it from this view) It's beautiful isn't it.

Ducks

This morning Suzy, Parker and I went to Brackenridge park. Parker has started really loving animals. When he gets upset, I take him outside and show him the birdies, and he calms and down and gets happy. So we went to the Park to feed the ducks. The river runs right through the middle of the park and usually there are a million ducks around there.
So we parked and walked down to the river and we saw several ducks down there, so we started to throw bread at them. A couple ate a piece and then spit it out, and then they swam away. The ducks here are picky and didn't want to eat the HEB generic bread. (A couple of weeks ago we tried to feed a swan some french fries, and the swan didn't want them either). The sea gulls in California would eat anything that was edible. So it was a little disappointing that the ducks didn't want any of our bread. I was hoping they would come close so Parker could see them better.
We walked along the river and saw several groups of ducks and geese, but none of them wanted our bread. Parker didn't seem to care, he still loved seeing the duckys.
Then we saw a group of ducks and one of them started freaking out. It looked as if he was caught up in a tree branch, and he was splashing around and just really going nuts. At one point he looked like he shook himself loose, but he just went upside down and kept on convulsing in the water. We were watching this happen, and we are on the other side of the river, but even the people on the duck's side weren't trying to help either. And there were about 10 ducks around that didn't try to help their friend. Eventually, the stuck duck stopped moving and went belly-up and died. It was sad for me and Suzy. Parker didn't know what was going on. He was watching the other ducks and a puppy that was near us. I'm not much of an animal lover, but seeing that happen seemed unreal and weird.
People are hurting all around. People are dying. People are starving. People are so sad and depressed and hopeless. And sometimes, I'm oblivious, just walking by and not even noticing that somebody is struggling right next to me. I pray that God opens my eyes to see the hurt, and I pray for the courage and strength to do something about it.