Vacation...

Yeah so I realize its been a rediculously long time since I blogged! I just love saying the word "blogged". It's such a fun word. It kinda just rolls off your tongue...kinda like the word "crusty" or "fondled" (haha just ask Dmoney about the first word and the Shellster about the second one). Anyways back to what I was saying...

I'm officially on vacation now in Beaufort which is pretty awesome. Drove down last night at 12:30 a.m. and got here at 2:45 a.m. Now I don't want to brag but it's normally a 3 hour drive to get down here and...I made it in a little over 2...yeah i know what you are going to say and you're right...some people just are born with a natural talent for driving. I was just blessed with a great ability in that area so thank you for your compliments...you're too kind...really...stop ok now you're just embarrassing yourself (hehe) Looking forward to sleeping in everyday and relaxing on the beach or on the dock outside the house...eating LOTS of good food and watching a good stor....no wait Tropical Storm Danny is the most MISERABLE, PITIFUL, excuse for a tropical storm I have ever seen! I was getting pretty excited about having a tropical storm or hurricane making landfall on the NC coast this weekend and getting some good footage of waves/wind etc but NO...of course not. It would have been to perfect (haha) Storm chasing never works out like that. You have to work for a good storm. I wouldn't have it any other way though and there's still plenty of hurricane season left. I know it may not seem like fun to you...but to a weather freak like me there's nothing like being in the middle of a good hurricane. If you have ever leaned your full body weight into the wind and had it hold you up without any help from your legs then you haven't truly lived!

New things this week:

1. School...normally I would say bummer about this but it's my LAST CLASS EVER! I'm kinda pumped about graduating and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me after that. We had a long talk about that the other day and...let's just say I'm excited.

2. Tutoring. I am developing a sick nasty flier for my tutoring business. Once again, I'm not a bragger but this flyer would make Albert Einstein's parents think that he needed a tutor! It's poignant, heartwarming, and suspenseful all at the same time...ok well just so it gets the point across.

3. Workouts. Yeah so after 7 straight days of working out...I realized last night playing b-ball that I need a couple days rest badly! I felt like I was running in mud. If any of you were on my team last night I apologize for the missed jumpers because i was only getting 2 inches off the ground. Good thing I'm on vacation so i can get out of shape again.

Ok this post is quite long enough...I promise to update more frequently now (what a relief right? haha)

Till next time...

-D-Lev

Shout-outs:

Courtney Williams--You are my first blog follower and I commend you for that. May you be the first of many haha

Jarrod Davis--J-rod I have not insulted you in a while. Therefore let me be the first to say that you stink so bad that you smell like roadkill. And not just any road kill...I'm talking about a skunk, hit by a garbage truck carrying a load of crap, which then died and then came back to life just long enough to fart and then died again. There, now you have to read my blog just to get your insult.

OH BABY YOU!!....

Ok so I'm sure everyone gets songs stuck in their head but why can't it ever be a song that I actually like? Right now, I have that stupid song from the commercial (I don't even know what the commercial is for) stuck in my head...OH BABY YOU, YOU GOT WHAT I NEEEEED! Haha maybe if I type it out here it will go away because its driving me crazy!

This has been an interesting week so far. First of all, I thought I was going to be starting school this week, but yesterday I received an email from my prof telling me that he was out of town this week and so our class actually wouldn't be starting until next Tuesday (WOOHOO!) Last night, we had another goodbye dinner for Chris and had steak (really I need to find more excuses to cook steak). It was soooooo good even if I do say so myself. I used "The World's Best Steak Rub" to season it...if you ever find it in the store get it. You will not be disappointed. Tomorrow I am supposed to be looking into getting a job at the Y as a fitness consultant. I'm not sure whether I am going to take it or not because honestly if I can find a few more students to tutor I would be making a good deal more money tutoring than at the Y. The upside to the Y though is free membership (woot) and garanteed money. Hmmm....decisions decisions.

Speaking of decisions, I'm really not sure about what I'm going to be doing once I graduate. It's so hard to believe that I am actually going to be done with school forever at the end of December. That's a relief but also a bit of a burden because I really don't want to have to move away. Unfortunantely all the "weather jobs" tend to be in remote places like Idaho or Montana (perhaps because NO ONE wants to go there). So I am at a crossroads. I LOVE the people I am around here in NC and I know that Shelley really enjoys working at good old NLC. Shoot I would miss NLC as well even though I don't work there. I just don't know what I would do unless I got a "weather job"...kinda seems like a waste of a degree and $10,000 if I don't at least try to find one. If you get a chance, pray that I will make a decision that will allow me to maximize my God-given potential. After all, I should realize that this life is not all about me anyways. It should be about following my Lord and Saviour and investing in the lives of those around me. I feel like I am in a great place to invest in people's lives here but at the same time, investing in people's lives doesn't always allow me to pay the bills! Gosh I just don't want to turn into one of those people who work all there lives for the "American Dream" (a house, car, two kids and a dog...etc...) I don't want a "normal" life. I want extraordinary. I guess I'm just waiting for God to give me a dream that is impossibly big. Sometimes I think I expect to little out of God. Like I dream big but the kind of big that I could actually see myself doing. That's not really faith I guess because if I can see myself doing it, then it's not God doing it but me. I need a BIG dream. One that only God can accomplish. That's a little scary though. Hmmmm....decisions once again. To settle or not to settle. I feel like God wants me to be a pioneer. To go farther and do more than I could think possible. I would rather be a settler. Find a comfortable place and build a comfortable life. I also know that to settle is dangerous. When I settle, I cloister myself off from the world and ignore the hurt that is going on around me so that I can build my life. God help me to be a pioneer but also perhaps give me a little nudge in the right direction! I don't need to see the whole path...maybe just get me started?

On a lighter note, my refridgerator just pee-ed itself again! I don't know why it does this but every 4-5 days I will walk into the kitchen and there in the middle of the floor is a little puddle of refridgerator pee! I know its just water but still...I think it's doing it on purpose because theres just nothing like walking through the kitchen in my socks and stepping in a puddle of ice cold water...YAY!!! Anyone know how to house-train a refridgerator?

Till next time,

D-Lev

Shout-outs:

Josh Munroe--We need to come up with a cool nickname for you...hmmm I'll be thinking. It was good to see you at the house last night. Kick butt and take some names on Friday!

All you Appalaichian St. People-I will miss all of you a whole lot (except the ones I never see and don't even know)! You seriously need to transfer to State...but I can't really blame you...App's just cooler (literally).

Assorted thoughts...

So the last week has been one of the most fun weeks in recent memory for me! This past weekend we John Blanchard's going away party (and then another impromtu one on Sunday as well) where we had an epic game of ultimate spoons. If you don't know what that is, basically it is the game of spoons where the spoons are hidden in a different room of the house. In other words, you have to both find the spoons and make it back to the living room before someone....um...takes it. So, its pretty much an all out brawl once somebody find them. Sometimes things break. That's all I will say about that. If you want to know how to play the right way, I reccommend talking to Ashley...she's basically the Tiger Woods of spoons haha

Wednesday night, Shelley put together a suprise b-day party for me over at Chris Hughes' house. I have to say that it was the best birthday party I have ever had...so thanks for all of you that came! We ate chicken enchaladas (yum) and played catch phrase etc... I will miss all the guys that are going back to school next week (Chris, Eric, Nathan, Ryan...although you're a girl haha). It was an awesome summer hanging out with everyone...best one in recent memory!

Now school starts next week and it is supposed to be my last semester EVER! The one thing I am dreading is taking my final oral exam. What this consists of is me in a room with three professors who get to ask me whatever they want to ask me about any of the classes that I have taken in my NCSU career. I talked to my advisor to ask him what I needed to be studying or at least focusing on for my final and he replied with these words: "Oh, it's going to be kind of open-ended". What the heck is that supposed to mean? The other member of my committee replied with: "Just know that I plan to test the depth and breadth of your knowledge of meteorology" Once again, what the heck? I think in translation that means: "Your butt is mine!" but I'm not sure. So it looks like my study plan will consist of...oh I don't know...EVERYTHING!!!! Geeze I think all my professors took "Vague Language 101" followed by two semesters of "How to Say A Whole Lot and Not Really Say Anything at All 201" Oh well, if you find some time, pray for my final...I definitely need it.

So it has struck me recently just how "domesticated" we have become as Christians in this country. It's like when we accept Christ, we either expect to live a life of peace and tranquility, or we do it just to escape going to hell when we die. It's like we have a set of rules for what a "good Christian" should look like and as long as we follow them and are a little different from the world, we are pleasing God. That's not what the early followers of Jesus were like at all. In fact, I was just reading about John the Baptist today...talk about a barbarian! This guy was crazy! But at the same time, his entire life and everything he did was to direct people to follow Jesus. He did whatever it took to point people to Christ...even if it made him look like a fool. The part that struck me today when I was reading about him was when John was in prison (not a safe and tranquil place) and sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was really the One who was to come. Even John had doubts. I mean...I can definitely understand...here is the guy John was preparing the way for...the one who was doing all these miracles and people were flocking to Him and here's John now thrown in prison. Perhaps John was thinking: "When is Jesus coming to get me out of this place?" It is interesting that Jesus replied (paraphrase) "look at all the miracles...the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are healed, but don't fall away because of all this!" Why would anyone fall away because of hearing about Jesus' miracles? I think maybe what Jesus was telling him was: "John, I have a different path for you. I'm not going to get you out of prison. In fact, you are going to have to give your life. But you will be blessed if you do not fall away because of me." God doesn't always call us to lead a life of peace and safety. Sometimes, our path is uncertain, dangerous (maybe even barbaric...like John). Maybe our path is not always understood by the mainstream. But at the same time, following Jesus is the only way that we can live fully alive. We are called to an adventure. Not to a life of domestication. I'm not sure exactly what that is for me yet, but I pray that God will an adventure to live. A dream that is so much bigger than me that only He can accomplish it.

Till next time...

-D-Lev

Shout-outs:

John Blanchard--I really think you need to choose a Korean name now. Like John Kim maybe haha j/k. I miss you man! Who am I going to play disc golf with now?

Daryl Munroe (DD, derizzle...geeze you have so many names)--You are finally getting your shout-out :) Now I want my watermelon shake from Cook-Out! Triple K forever...you KNOW!! haha

Welcome to.....Moe's?

Ok so I just feel like I need to blog on this story because there is something about Moe's that has been bothering me for quite some time now. First of all, I would like to preface this by saying that Shelley and I are VERY regular customers at Moe's...I mean we are as regular as they come...as regular as turbo lax you might say. Yet to my knowledge, I have never, EVER received a "Welcome to Moe's!" when I enter the restaurant. I mean, aren't these people paid to say the words "Welcome to Moe's!" over and over again? It's not that hard. Trust me. I've tried it (under my breath...to myself...after walking in the door and not being greeted in the aforementioned way...it kinda makes me feel better). So after all these years, I can only assume that I am actually NOT welcome at Moe's and that in reality they would prefer that I eat at another place. This thought was confirmed last night as Shelley and I ate there for the second time this week.

It all started (yes the first paragraph was only the begining) when Shelley decided that she wanted the chicken nachos (or the Billy Barou for all you Moe's connessuers). Let me add that it was about 7:30 in the evening and that Moe's closes at 9:00. As it turns out, the girl behind the counter informed us that there was not enough queso dip for an entire plate of nachos. This was true because I saw that there was only about enough for one of the side cups of it (it was also a sickly yellowish color). I was a bit annoyed because it was 1 & 1/2 hours before they closed and they were out of queso and it did not look like they really wanted to heat up some more either, but I could live with that. I'm not an argumentative guy for the most part. So Shelley ordered something else and we got to the register to pay for our meal. Shelley requested that hers be made a combo (which means she gets a little cup of queso dip) and I asked the guy for the side of queso. I was then informed that they were completely out of queso. This was interested because no one else was in line ahead of us and I couldn't help but notice that there was the SAME AMOUNT OF DIP IN THE CONTAINER THAT THERE WAS WHEN THEY REFUSED TO MAKE THE NACHOS! I was good though and held all this in and did not make a big deal over their obvious lack of desire to provide good customer service. Well Shelley and I sit down and as we do, over my shoulder I see the next guy in line get their food. It just so happens that he also asked for queso dip with his meal to which the guy behind the counter PROMPTLY PROVIDED HIM! Ohhhhhhh.....you do not want to even know how....um....we'll just use the word "upset" I was at that action! So many words and phrases went through my head at that time (none of which I will use here). Shelley tried to be my voice of reason but I would not be denied my queso dip. I marched straight up to the counter and simply asked them (very nicely I might add) why they saw fit to deny me something and then turn around and serve it to the guy behind me. I also asked them how they proposed that we fix this obvious problem. In the manager's defense, he was very apologetic and in the end refunded us our entire meal as well as gave us a coupon for a free meal next time we came in! Although I probably would have settled for a simple "welcome to Moe's" when I came in, this did make me a lot happier!

In conclusion, I still think the people at Moe's have something against me. Maybe they can sense that I'm jewish? I don't know. Maybe I'll never know...but the food is just so darn good!

Till next time...

-D-Lev

Shout-Outs:

Emily Jackson--Glad you perused my blog at least once...I hope I can keep it interesting for you.

Eric Herbert--Although you never send me any uber long text messages...I still love you haha

Tired...

So today was a very long day....which tried my patience to the max. I have been working at the North Ridge Basketball Academy over the past several weeks and up until this point had been working exclusively with high school age kids. This week I have had the opportunity to work with a group of 7-9 year-old boys and girls that seem to want to do everything they can to cause me to go prematurely bald. I was trying to think back to when I was that age and I really don't think I was that ADD. I mean seriously...these kids cannot even focus on what I am saying for two seconds (not even joking about that). And up until now, I considered myself pretty good with kids...maybe I should rethink my high opinion of myself. I had to come home and work off some frustration and pray about how God wants me to approach the next two days I am there.

It's really funny that this should have happened because recently I have been convicted that I do not rely on God enough. I was reading a couple of weeks ago about faith and how most Christians in America have only a very small understanding of faith simply because we have so much. This statement jumped off the page at me: "What are you doing right now in your life that requires faith?" Honestly, I had a hard time thinking of anything that I was doing in which I had to COMPLETELY rely on God. I'm such a control freak and it's sad but most of the time I rely on my stuff instead of on the Source of all my stuff. When you read about people of faith in the Bible...it always changes peoples lives drastically. Abraham had to pick up and leave everything he knew and go to a place that God hadn't even told him yet. Peter, James and John left their livelihood and immediately followed Jesus. Now that is faith. And I feel good about myself when I tithe? Maybe my faith is not a strong as I thought. I've asked God to help me trust Him completely and to rely on Him even when it may seem like I do not need to. I have been looking for ways to exercise my faith in places where I can get out of my comfort zone (kinda like NRBA!). I'll tell you that it has been scary and I'm not quite there yet. At the same time though, I don't think I have ever lived as exciting a life as I am right now. I don't know where I'm going yet and I don't know what I am going to be doing even as early as next week, but I do know that every day is an adventure. I just pray that every day I can set my mind and my focus on using everything God has given me to make Him look good. Yeah some days are an "epic fail" but on other days even though I'm tired and ready to poke my eyes out with a sharp object because kids aren't listening, I can feel God pushing me to maximize my impact for Him.

'Till next time!

-D-Lev


Shout-Outs:

Chris --Harry! We need to play disc golf soon and eat some burgers with seasoned salt on them.

The Guy in the 1988 Izuzu Pickup Who Pulled Out in Front of Me and Cruised Along At 25 mph on Falls Of Neuse Today--God bless ya! Just remember to turn on your headlights when you have a gray vehicle and its 9:00 at night...you kinda blend in with your surroundings there buddy!