This post is not about my new job
So I had spent the last ten months working for the Geek Squad at Best Buy. For those that don’t know what the Geek Squad is, it’s the computer repair services that Best Buy offers. The entire time I was working at Best Buy I was looking for a “real” job and hoping to get out before Black Friday. Why before Black Friday you might ask? Well besides the obvious reason of it being the busiest shopping day of the year, I did have another reason.
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Speaking of Writing – Part Deux
So… that last post about NaNoWriMo? Yea… Just ignore it. I kinda ran into a few dozen walls along the way that have kept me from being able to write and I’ve fallen WAY behind in the writing process. So I am going to concede for this year and try again next year.
But I have been inspired to get back into writing in my blog more often. I’d really like to become more consistent at writing down my thoughts. I’ve got a journal, but just like this blog I’m terrible at using it. So I’m going to endeavor to keep writing and get myself putting more of my thoughts down on paper or, in this case, on the Internet for the world to see.
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Speaking of writing
Why hello little corner of the Internet I call my own. It’s been awhile. (Cue “It’s been awhile” by that one band I can’t remember at the moment)…
I’m very tired but excited to be writing. Tonight marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), literally in about 10 minutes. I’m pledging to write 50,000 words in 30 days. It’s about to start so I’ll be writing more later!
Posted on October 31st, 2010 by howie | No Comments »Random video of a song I really like
I dig it. That’s all. 
Can’t sleep
For some reason tonight, my mind will not be quiet. I keep thinking about all the things that need to get done. Theresa and I decided to move into a different apartment on campus. While the cost is about the same, the school is paying for both Internet and heating. Removing those two things will cut about $75-$100/month from our budget.
The savings are AWESOME. No complaints there, but being on campus Internet means I lose access to one of the most consistent things in my life for almost five years: World of Warcraft. Yes… I know. It’s a game. Not that big of a deal. And you’re right, in a lot of ways it is just a game; but at the same time there is more to it than that. Whenever I’ve played WoW, I’ve always been able to interact w/ people. Having fun conversations and getting to know them and their lives. I’ve built relationships and have made friends through WoW. How deep those friendships go depends on the friend but there have definitely been several connections made through WoW over the years and it’s going to be hard to lose those. It’s a tough but necessary sacrifice. Besides, there are plenty of other games still out there for me to play like KotOR, KotOR II, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy IX, and Final Fantasy VIII just to name a few. I’m sure there’ll be more coming out that I’m gonna wanna play but those should hold me over for the rest of summer I think.
I think this decision has also been prompted by the book I’ve started reading. I picked up Dave Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover” awhile ago but never got around to seriously reading it. It took too much time and I was too busy w/ school/work to worry about it. But now that summer’s here and I have a lot of free time on my hands, I decided I needed to get serious about reading it.
I start reading through it this morning and I’ve read through the first three chapters. So far the book is very slow. It’s right now explaining about how I need to make an attitude change and change my belief’s regarding debt. I think Dave’s absolutely right when he says the biggest hurdle to financial freedom is me. I really need to put my big boy pants on and put in the time and effort it takes to start building wealth. Theresa and I can thrive on our incomes, if we manage them well. Most of his points about debt make sense to me. I’ve been trying to avoid going into debt as long as I can but things like school, unfortunately, I haven’t been able to pay for without taking out student loans… C’est la vie.
Hopefully we can get our collective butts in gear and start getting ourselves more financially stable. It’d be really nice to start being able to start putting money away for the future; for things like a house, a new car, baby products, a vacation, etc. This is going to be hard but the motto from the book is really awesome:
IF YOU WILL LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE, LATER YOU CAN LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE
So here’s to hoping things go well w/ this. I pray that Theresa and I can get our butts in gear and stay in gear and move forward w/ our lives.
Posted on June 20th, 2010 by howie | No Comments »Making some changes/updates
Just a quick note to say I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. I’ve been keeping busy w/ work and friends. Also getting ready to move into a different apartment in married student housing. The space is smaller which means I need to get rid of more crap!
Anyways, the site’s changed a little bit. Recently upgraded to WordPress 3.0 and I’m working on getting the site modified to exactly the way I want it. Don’t be surprised if things change around several times during the next few days.
Off to bed for now cause I’m tired!
Posted on June 19th, 2010 by howie | No Comments »On Birthdays
Today I turn 25. A quarter-century. It almost seems like 25 is the marker for being “older.” And I mean that at 25, you’re supposed to have your career figured out and be well on your way to making yourself the President of some Fortune 500 company. I dunno. That always seems the stereotype of what is expected of people my age.
I am the complete opposite of that right now. I don’t have a ton of career aspirations and I have just started “real” school this last year. All I really know is that I enjoy leading worship and that I want to do that for as long as I can. We’ll see where that takes me.
My ultimate goal in the end is to be a follower of Christ in wherever He leads me. If that means turning left when the world says right, I’ll turn left. If that means I drop school right now and go live in Africa, I will. I want to be caught in the center of God’s will, chasing after those things that make Him smile.
I guess you could say that’s my birthday wish (I know I’m not supposed to tell 
) but that is the desire of my heart; to chase after the desires of His heart. I hope I can get there some day. I need to work harder at it. More discipline to keep focused on Him and His desires. More time spent in prayer and in the Word… Lots of changes I need to make in my life. I pray for the discipline to be the disciple I want to be.
So here’s to 25 years of life, and to hoping I have another 85 left in me :p
Posted on June 10th, 2010 by howie | 3 Comments »About Life
So… it’s been almost exactly two months since the last time I wrote in my blog. What’s been going on in my life? Not much. Still working at Best Buy as a Geek Squad agent and loving it. Great people and lots of fun to work there. There’s hardly ever a dull moment at my job.
Theresa still hasn’t moved down here sadly… she’s interviewed for a couple of jobs but nobody has hired her yet sadly… So I have two roommates living w/ me til school starts or until Theresa gets a job, whichever comes first.
I am trying to start studying through the book of Ruth through the methods I learned in my Bible Study Methods class this last semester. I’m excited to start applying the same methods to my own personal study; maybe it’ll help prompt my own reading and quiet times. We’ll see.
As for now, I sleep. I’m hoping I’ll be able to write more. I am slowly getting the motivation again and I want to be able to become a much more consistent writer. Here’s to hoping for something more!
Posted on May 31st, 2010 by howie | No Comments »An Unusual Source of Inspiration
I recently stumbled across some of the latest music of rapper Eminem. While I know he has had an interesting history in the public eye, I have found myself come to a place of respect for him. I think it first happened when I found out that he played a lot of his songs with live musicians and not just loop machines and a DJ. I’ve also come to respect how honest he is in his music. He speaks his mind, regardless of what people will think. That amount of vulnerability is rarely found in a famous musician.
I stumbled across this video recently and it resonates really deeply within me. He details a lot of the fears, dreams, and struggles of being a famous dad. I think it’s a great thing to know that the fears that I know I’m going to have as a dad are shared by others. Even someone as infamous as Eminem has those issues.
I really appreciate the first part of the first verse. Talking about being willing to protect and do anything for his daughter. I know that’s how I’m going to feel about my kids. I know they’re going to be the best things that ever happen to me. I can’t wait to have kids. I hope I can be the dad they deserve…
Posted on March 31st, 2010 by howie | 5 Comments »Lent
Lent, a somewhat odd spiritual practice of some of the more liturgical denominations, has come around again and I have decided to partake of it this year. I decided this year would be a good year to give up pop, more specifically caffeine, and see if I can go 40 days without it. I have admitted to myself several times that I am a caffeine addict and lent has given me an excuse to try and get over my addiction. The hardest part in all honesty is going to be after lent is over. I am fairly certain I can go 40 days without a pop, but it’s the time afterwards, what do I do with pop now that I’ve gone without it?
I know I’ll still enjoy pop and a large part of me is sitting here waiting for the Monday after Easter to come so I can go buy a Dr. Pepper and enjoy it like I never have before. But is that really what I want or should be doing? Lent is a time where we reflect on life and see how something that we physically do can interfere with our relationship with God. If I have gone through the practice properly and I see that pop for whatever reason is interfering with my relationship with God, should I really go back to it after Lent is over? Am I giving it up for the right reasons?
Lent really is an extended fast from certain things. I don’t agree with some of the weirder rules about not having to fast on Sunday’s and such. Fasting really is a time where you can remove something from your life and focus instead on God. But what happens when you discover that that thing really is interfering with your life?
I think in an ideal world you would be able to completely give it up. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world. I know for me personally, I don’t think pop directly interferes with my relationship with God but it can indirectly affect things. It can cause me to gain weight and not be as healthy as I could be. Not to mention, spending money on pop is not the best way to spend my money. How better could it be used? Could I use it for things like tithe for church? Maybe put it in savings? I’m sure I can find much better uses for money I would normally spend on pop.
So here’s to 40 days (or more) without pop. I am excited to see what God will show me about myself as I go through this journey.
Posted on February 20th, 2010 by howie | 2 Comments »
RT @branthansen: No one expects the 44 Fake Sit play.