ripsticks and cowboy hats

Today I crossed one more goal off my very lofty and lengthy "dominick's life to-do list."

I learned how to ride a ripstick.

"What's a ripstick?" you ask. Well, just reference the picture at the top of the blog. I'm sure you've seen the local twelve and thirteen year old boys shredding up your neighborhood streets on them. And I'm certain that the glint off their shiny clear coat has caught your eye in toys-r-us more than once. I was lucky enough to borrow one for the week from chandler, a freshman dude in my church's youth group. It's rad. Candy apple red just like the picture.

And yes, it only has two wheels. I'm pretty sure we got the technology from Area 51, probably martian.

I had an hour to kill this afternoon in between work and a take home test, and the weather was perfect. So I cruised that baby up and down my side-walk. Killer.

Ok, on a serious note I saw a guy today wearing a cowboy hat. "Big deal" you say, "You live in Fort

Worth." True.

The thing is, this guy was my height...in other words, not very tall. And he looked ridiculous in the cowboy hat because of his height. This is not the first time I've considered the height to cowboy hat ratio, but it confirmed my personal conviction; short dudes should not wear cowboy hats. We don't make cool looking cowboys even if we do have handle bar mustaches.

If you're not an actual cowboy you need to be tall to pull off the cowboy hat...or really stout...or mexican.

This guy was none of the above and neither am I, except in the middle of summer.

I have decided that if I were living back in the olden days when cowboy hats were less fashionable and more functional I would have been ok. Though, I probably would have opted for a hat more the style of Russell Crowes in 3:10 to Yuma; short brim, lower crown. You have to be a bad-a to pull that one off, so I most likely would have killed numerous men to get away with wearing it.

planned...attempted...and thwarted

This morning I had a great idea; I was going to begin a documentary of my typical week. I would carry my camera around and take pictures of all the things I do, then post them on the orange peel and document things. It all started off well, I got some great photos of my oatmeal and coffee. I considered photographing myself while shaving and then decided it would be weird.

Off I drove to work to take some great pictures of the Riley Center and of my co-worker rudy and I goofing around.

Maybe I could have captured some interesting guests too? Who knows, it would be an adventure.

So I pulled up to work and took a good snapshot of the Riley Center, then of myself walking up to the huge tinted window outside. Next I would photo the front desk. But no! I couldn't take one of the front desk because my memory was full!!! Never fear, I could delete a few pics right? Right.

I entered the office with the plan to delete the old or crummy pictures and then get some good ones throughout the day. As soon as I walked in though, much to my dismay, I was confronted by 40 registration cards.

That meant I was going to check in 40 guests that afternoon.

No worries, Rudy would be there to help me out. What's that you say? Rudy is out sick today? And I'm going to check in all 40 guests by myself? And they're all coming within an hour and a half of each other?

(40 guests is a LOT by the way)

As you can imagine I lost any desire to fool around with my digital camera. I was far too busy dreading the next eight hours of my life alone and up against a small army of middle aged men in a hurry.

At the end of the day I had survived the onslaught with little more than tense shoulders and a mild headache, though my brain was too dead to deal with the camera. No more pictures today.

Why am I explaining all of this? I don't know. I was going to put up the pictures I did take and press on, but my camera just ran out of batteries and I have no more double A's. Nuts. At some point this week I'll get some batteries and begin the documentary.

At the moment I'm recuperating. Recuperating means I can't do any school work.

So i'm recuperating and blogging.

george macdonald and other things...

I'm going to recommend an author to you. You may not have ever heard of him but I guarantee that you have benefited from his influence in countless ways. His name is George MacDonald, he has a killer beard, and the only book of his I have ever read is The Curate's Awakening. Other writers through whom we have unknowingly been acquainted with MacDonald are the likes of Francis Schaeffer, C.S. Lewis, and J.R. Tolkein. Lewis wrote a book on MacDonald aptly named, George MacDonald. McD's thoughts of God are clearly some of the highest I've read, certainly among the genre of fiction. I'm not knocking any of the others, I'm simply telling how great it is to read his writing. So if you're looking for the next book or author, he comes highly recommended.

Here I am six months later still in Texas, still in Fort Worth, still in seminary. Some of you may know that at certain intervals throughout those months I was about ready to throw in the towel and cruise back to Colorado. Or maybe I'd be better understood by saying that at certain intervals I considered staying in seminary. Well, I didn't act on the impulse to leave no matter how it lingered, and I am glad for it. I believe I've been comforted about where I am. It's a good place for me to be no matter how convinced I am at times that it's a bad place for me to be. The Lord has seen fit to strip me of nearly everything I clung to as desirable and pleasing; mountains, close friends, money, a church I completely agree with, and yes, ministry. Odd that he would strip me of ministry isn't it? None of these are bad in themselves and in fact I would say that most are good most, if not all, of the time. So why strip me of them? Because as I said a few sentences ago, I CLUNG to them. Not that I am entirely free and not that I ever will be ENTIRELY free while on earth, but I am less needy and more open to what He has for me now. It is good that I am here, though I can think of two dozen other places I would rather be. Though if I truly would rather be in those places why wouldn't I be, since I am as free as I wish to do so? I suppose I'm truly not that free because my desire has become to do what God wishes of me to do, and I have come to believe that means seminary, which happens to have ended up in Fort Worth. And throughout seminary I will learn what it means to do His will, which most likely will be through ministering to others through the love of the Jesus of the New Testament.

I have learned to be content.

It feels right. I pray that it continues because through contentment in God I can endure anything, right? How much better used will I be if I can work anywhere under any circumstance? (believe me I want to be used in a beautiful, interesting place, but you know what i mean)

The real reason I had not posted in three months; I had no idea what was goin on.

oh blog.

Alright, it has been nearly three months since my last blog. Why, you ask?

I guess I just didn't feel like it.

Plus I was busy during november and december, and so much time had passed by christmas that I figured no one would continue to check if i added any posts. Maybe I was wrong. So I've been contemplating a return to the blog...only I felt I needed to change a few things. You know how it is. So here I am under the new title, "orang peel." I like the title because it lacks any significance. Not that my posts will change in depth or significance (since I am too deep to avoid my own massively deep depth,) ( I'm kidding by the way.) (No I'm not.)

For my first post in three months I've decided to compile a list of things I've always wanted.

List of Things I've Always Wanted:
dreadlocks
a tattoo/multiple tattoos
a big beard
a motorcycle
a muscle car
a dog...i've had a few of these but i really want one again
real art in my house
personal theme music
soundtrack to life
a crazy asian friend that i can refer to as "crasian"
diabetes
that last one wasn't funny. people actually suffer from diabetes.

Ok, that's all I can think of. You probably expected super-spiritual things like the gift of prophecy or incredible exegetical skills. Maybe I'll put together my nerd seminary student list later...

It feels good to ease back into the blog. I am full of thoughts that follow themes that are far too large for me to grasp. I plan on expressing them here, yet if I were to express them now they would be half-baked at best. Maybe I'll begin tomorrow.