4 Hours of Panic

Last night, I updated my ipod with the latest firmware that fixes some bugs and added a max volume setting (google apple lawsuit deaf). I also updated my iTunes in the process. Everything went so smooth until I updated my ipod. Then my computer hung. I left it in this state for a couple hours thinking maybe it will come out of it.

Eventually, I killed the updater program for the ipod, disconnected my ipod and tried to run it again. However, I checked my ipod and all my songs were gone. It actually reset. Doh. So, with the computer rebooted, I connected my ipod to my comp and loaded up iTunes. iTunes didn't recognize my ipod. Oh great. I disconnected again and re-connect...still nothing. I uninstalled iTunes and re-installed, still nothing.

I posted on the Apple forums. People tried to help me but nothing worked. Oh man...what's going on? At 12am, I said, I'm going to head to bed. Maybe someone will figure it out by morning. Please God!

Praise God that someone did figure it out. Whew. My ipod works as normal now. =)

jos

Worth It All

(wrote this at work...weird eh? i think it was because we were talking about Songs of Solomon this past Sunday in SS...lol...without the "imagery"...)

at the end of the day
when all is said and done
the moon rises and the stars shine
will you be right here by my side?

when the clock strikes 12 and
a new day waits to begin
the air is filled with sweet fragrance
will you be right here by my side?

my heart is set on you
set apart for you, my love
i am yours and you are mine
with you, it'll be worth it all

when my mind thinks of you
my soul soars with love for you
i am yours and you are mine
with you, it'll be worth it all

and i'll be here waiting
and i'll be here waiting
and i'll be here waiting
for with you, it'll be worth it all
you're worth is all

Mexico Memories

Well, now that I'm fully back (I was totally sleepy last night), time to share about my time in Mexico. We got there around 4:30ish Cancun time. We got off the plane via the staircase and onto the tarmack. Loaded up on the bus and onto customs. I haven't seen lines for customs this long since going to China. Anyhoo, we got our driver and van and headed to Playa to get some food. After our food stop, we made it to Akumal and our condo, Luna Azul. Upon opening the door, we ooo'ed and awe'ed at how nice it was. Pictures to come.

After that, the days went like this: get up, eat breakfast, lie on the beach, snorkling, eat lunch, lie on the beach, snorkling, go out and eat dinner, take a shower, watch tv, and then sleep. The only change to that was an afternoon in Playa for some shopping and a day in Cozumel for some snorkling and shopping.

Some funny memories which I probably have shared with you in random order:

- While snorkling, Ron and I were following some parrot fishes and then did a 180 when one of the parrot fishes dumped. I must say, the colour of the water did not look the same after that. LOL!

- Ron and Janice laughing so hard that they made me laugh even though I didn't even know what was funny. Ah, Christopher!

- Kathleen laughing all the time which really brightened up the place and her persistent "am I tanned yet? am I tanned yet?" LOL!

- All you can eat ribs at La Buena Vita. Enough said.

- Trying on fin after fin after fin. I think Ron got tired of me asking him, "do you think it fits?"

- Salsa, coke, and pina colada!

- Janice insistenting to go eat at the "cheap" place. Not only was it cheap, it was good! Yummy burgers and beef tacos!

- Gracias...Luna Azul...

- 1-2km walk from the entrance to Akumal to Luna Azul. Don't ask me how but Chris and I always talked about Xbox games...everytime we do those walks.

- No water on Thursday night, Friday morning...which means no shower, no toilet, and no dish washing! Ahh...see there was a benefit. Not to mentioned that me and Chris believed the security guy who said we'd get water in 2 hrs. We waited until 1am and guess what...no water! At least we got in a few big 2, uno, and Texas Hold'em games! All In!!!!

- Seeing turtles...and keeping up with one of them! Ahhh...flippers are awesome!

- Climbing over Chris and Kathleen on the back seat of the Collectible...and warping the seat in the process...gotta cut down on the beans eh? LOL!

- Riding in a taxi with 5 passengers...."DUCK KATHLEEN!!!"

- Cutting my hands and shins on my first day of snorkling. The currents were strong and I had no fins. I basically smashed into the coral and rocks.

- Lots of wind...lots of it.

- Sparking power lines...I never quite understood why they sparked...but we didn't have power for about 2 minutes...hmmm...

- Jose and Carlos...

- Waking up every morning at 5:30am because the birds were chirping. Turn on the ipod!

- The broken blender and mug.

- Did someone throw a water balloon?

- "I'm going to go dig some holes..." (I guess that's what happens when you got nothing to do at the beach...LOL!)

- Little Jackie Chan!

- The snot that came out of my mask on my last snorkling run. Man, that was gross.

- Coming up with different games with a couple of paddles and a rubber ball. Did somebody say "Whack the ball at the man with the towel?" LOL!

- Soaking in what God created and what He's blessed me with. It was just nice to relax and chill. Sigh.

- Hearing everyone say "Wow, you're tanned" when I went to church today. LOL!

blessings,
jos

Back from Mex!

Well, I'm back. I'm dark. I ate a lot. I snorkled a lot. Didn't shower for one day because we didn't have water in our condo. And a bunch of other cool things happened. I'll post sometime later. It's 1am for me right now. LOL!

Missed you all,
jos

Now I'm excited...lol!

Couldn't sleep last night. I don't know how much sleep I got but I'm wired right now. Ask me in 3 hours when we take off, it'd be a different story. LOL!

Ok, just dropping a note and saying goodbye. See y'all in a week. Whatever you do, keep smiling. Smiling has a way to light up the area around you.

blessings!
jos

Not Excited...

Hmmm, for some reason, I'm not that excited about going to Mexico. I think a few things happened today that just kinda zapped the zip of excitement. Hopefully, I'll be able to let things go for just a week and just enjoy it down there.

Anyhoo, don't worry about it me. I'll be fine. I think things will turn out well.

blessings,
jos

Getting more excited!

I haven't been sleeping well the last couple of days. The night before, some guy kept calling us in the middle of the night. This past night, I had way too much stuff going through my head...and maybe a tad excited about Mexico. Hehehehe.

Anyways, I hope I can check in and post some updates for you while I'm in Mexico. I highly doubt it but hey, who knows. There might be free internet connection down there. Whoot!

Well, nothing much to blog at the moment. Seems like everyone else doesn't have much to blog about these days too. Oh wellz.

blessings,
jos

After two years of waiting...

I finally have an iPod Nano. It came today in the mail. Here's a picture of it:


At my computer's rate, I should be able to put around 7 albums a nite on to this baby. LOL! Oh well. At least I'll have something for Mexico and Gautemala to listen to. =)

blessings,
jos

How Can it Be?

How can it be that You'd love someone like me?
How can You see the person I'm yet to be?
And take me in, and hold me in the hollow of Your hands?

Why forgive me when my sin makes me guilty?
What do You see when I feel gross and filthy?
You take me in, and hold me in the hollow of Your hands

Here I am, just as I am
And with open arms You come
I'm embraced, I'm surrounded
By the loving arms of grace

Why do You say that I am filled with beauty?
All I can see is myself as dull and ugly?
You take me in, and hold me in the hollow of Your hands?

Here I am, just as I am
And with open arms You come
I'm embraced, I'm surrounded
By the loving arms of grace

I don't understand the reason to Your ways
I feel so useless and I have no words to say
But You entered in when I opened up this door
And You've blessed me with more and more

Here I am, just as I am
And with open arms You come
I'm embraced, I'm surrounded
By the loving arms of grace

Here I am, just as I am
And with open arms I run
I give my life, I give it all
To my Saviour God of grace

Blessed

I mentioned how financing the trip to Gautemala would be tough. It's expensive. Well, guess what? God provided. My trip to Gautemala will mostly be financed by a bonus I received from work. Praise God! It was one of those things when I just sat back...wondered...and like...hey, thanks God! =)

So, just wanted to share that with you. =)

blessings,
jos

Cervelo...

I had one of those weird dreams that is too good to be true. In my dream, I hung out with Gérard Vroomen, the co-founder of Cervelo (www.cervelo.com). Now, I'm a big fan of Cervelo. Their bikes are awesome. What I find different about them is that they engineer the bike for the rider and don't hype up their products like some companies do. They let the riders do all the talking (like me!).

Anyways, in my dream, I was just chatting with him about bike design and stuff and then at the end of the chat, he said, hey, want an R3 frame? LOL! Funny because that's the latest giveaway that Cervelo is doing. Go figure. I must really want that frameset to dream about it.

Here's a picture of the R3:



So, work is finally done. I'm relaxing a bit but I gotta work tomorrow and probably for the rest of the week. I need to do some training on some new stuff so, no rest for the weary! But come this weekend, PARTY TIME!!!!!!!!

blessings,
jos

Burning the midnight oil...

I realized something today at work. The more stress I have, the less sleep I have, and the more demands placed on me, the more pessimistic I become. That was a wake up call and something I need to change. I think I need to be more positive and be real in these situations especially working in a team. At least be more hopeful. =)

Anyways, two 16 hour days in a row. I don't know how I managed. I was already tired before that and still I stayed here until 12am or so. Man. I missed so much too. Missed Nanci playing guitar on Friday. Missed a movie with Cindy, Kerry, and Andrea yesterday. Today, I missed church and I think I'm going to miss a dinner. Sigh. I guess it just part of life.

Anyhoo, back to work I go. You can always encourage me by emailing me, msn'ing me, calling me, or visiting me. =) Ok, maybe not the last one but if you do, you need to call me first! LOL!

blessings,
jos

I should be working but...

hehehe...I clicked on a link on Shelaine's site and got:

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this world So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all... But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you. Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses. Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others. Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

The part about following through with your dreams being difficult is totally me. I dream alot and get those dreams started but they hardly go to completion. Hopefully, this will change this year because I'm dreaming big!

blessings,
jos

It's a GO!

Well, I think it's pretty much settled that I will be going to Gautemala now. Things are shaping up and hopefully, things will be set in stone after I get back from Mexico. I'm really excited about this. It's something I always like to do.

It's kinda cool that this trip is low key. I don't really like being in the limelight and stuff. Man, it's hard enough to lead worship...I like being the behind the scenes kinda guy.

I won't be doing any fundraising. I feel kinda bad asking anyways. I'm just going to save up as much as I can and then make it up when I get back. Should be interesting! It is kinda costly now that I look at it. I guess this is where faith comes in, eh God?

So, I'm looking forward to Mexico in a few weeks. I just need the R&R. I'd lie on a beach and read a book or just go exploring...snorkling...whatever, just to get my mind and heart ready for what's next. Ahhhh...I can feel the sun now. =)

blessings,
jos