Keepin’ Busy

So yeah, my week started out shitty. But I definitely bounced back by keeping mad busy.

Tuesday night had a killer show at The Anchor. It was the final tour/show for Life In Your Way. They of course killed it. Chad, BIll and I wondered why the good bands, the one’s with amazing hearts for the Lord and lyrics that actually mean something for the most part don’t ever break. There are a few that actually have. And it’s usually the bands with “scene” written all over them that do. It’s frustrating. The Glorious Unseen closed out the evening. And it was exactly what I needed. Ben’s songs have truly helped me this past year and no matter how many times I hear them or when I hear them I break down. I couldn’t even stand, I just had to sit with my face buried in my hands. Again, it was much needed.

On Wednesday I got to grab lunch with an old friend, David Lipscomb, or D-Lip as I like to call him. The guy had to battle pancreatic cancer this year but he’s ok. One of those few cases where they could operate. It was encouraging to talk with him. I then got to see a special VIP show for my bud Corey Crowder at the Basement in the evening.

My Thursday morning men’s group has been going good. It’s good to have a few guys to really open up with and also be encouraged by. It’s also good to know how to pray for them as well as they too have their own struggles in their lives. We’re trying to find a book to tackle together. I wish I had this kind of community years ago. In the evening the Storm The Gates Of Hell Tour was in town. It was killer to see Advent, The Famine, and Oh Sleeper. I’ve been wanting to see all 3 of those bands and they didn’t disappoint. Not to mention it was great to see boss Fitzhugh and the mighty LIving Sacrifice steal the show, though maybe I’m bias. It was just insane how tight they were live. Demon Hunter showed up in full force too backed by a killer light show provided by my ol’ friend Stemac. I only wish Ethan would have been jammin’ too. It was great to see and hang with so many friends that night. I had some great conversations and just simply enjoyed seeing so many old friends and talking with some new friends more than watching the metal mania. I closed out the evening with the DH guys and crew at Robert’s Western World on Broadway with a PBR in hand. Fun times.

I decided that I’d see a bunch of movies this weekend. And I did. I needed to vege out after a week full of late night shows. I watched In Bruges Friday night. It wasn’t what I expected but ok overall. Definitely some funny moments but also some weird dark stuff that didn’t sit with me too well for some reason. I caught a showing of Wall-E Saturday afternoon with the Boer family. It was funny, Pixar barely lets me down (Cars was the only time) and the CGI was insane. Wall-E, the robot, was cute as heck. It was even more fun since I had kids sitting next to me while watching it. I loved hearing their reactions, even some kid down the row who cried when (spoiler alert) it looked like Wall-E had died. Plus, Cade loved sharing his Hot Tamales with me. Later in the evening I went over to the Boer’s to do some laundry. I played some Wii with the kids and then after they went to bed Eddy, Debb and I took it outside for some smokes and brews. A clear night sky and good conversations. It was one of those moments that make you realize how enjoyable a summer evening with friends can be. Again, I can’t thank my friends who have supported me enough.

Church has been challenging lately. I have been experiencing more prophetic type teaching from the pastors that speak and spirit led Sunday mornings that don’t follow the normal church formula. And I like being stretched right now. It’s good for me to get out of my comfort zone. I have come to realize that I will never full agree with everything that goes on in a church, and that’s ok. As long as the pros outweigh the cons, which at Grace Center they do for me. I wrapped up my movie weekend with a showing of The Incredible Hulk in evening with the McNeely’s. I was blown away by how good it was. I needed another movie to be into since Indy and M. Night let me down. Yes anything could be better than the last Hulk movie but Marvel Studios did a really good job with this film. It’s definitely in my Top 5 of the year so far. I only hope Ed Norton returns for another film.

Overall at work I’ve been busy launching new web-stores for John Reuben, Parachute Band, and Tonex, as well as working with our designer on some killer new merch designs for The Showdown (Heavy Metal Til I Die & Thrash 24/7), Inhale/Exhale, (Ring & Wolf) and Since October. Unfortunately CMCentral decided to end all the online blogs, so there won’t be any more posts at “Want Salt With That?”. But I did finish some articles on The Classic Crime and Nevertheless for HM Magazine recently, so those should be out soon.

Well, that’s the latest. And if it bored you, too bad. You didn’t have to read it.