That time of year...

Well, I guess it has been near forever since I last posted. I guess I will do a little updating. But, since this is my blog, don't be surprised if there are some odd things following....

I got me a job last March. I went from doing some contract audio/media work for Houston's First Baptist, to the Director of Production at First Methodist Houston, Westchase campus. It is not a new form of work for me, as I have done some media directing over the years, but it is a little new in the position I am in currently. When I was hired, I was strictly over the Production/Technology area of my campus. In the months to follow, I have moved to the Executive Director of Worship & Production. Big name, I know. But, what it boils down to is administratively over the worship and production departments, and part of the Executive Pastor's executive team. I am learning quite a bit, and am able to apply past experiences to situations to help this church grow. I also got me an employee. Back in late May, I hired Nathan Kolodziej (friend of mine for years) as my Production Associate to make things run a little smoother around the church. He has taken the burden of audio mixing/stage work/video shooting/video editing off of my back. It has been a great blessing to work with a friend who is so qualified. Overall, the job is going quite well. I am excited about my future here.

Also back in May, I bought my first house. No, this does not mean I am planning the purchase of my second house. I am excited that my job allowed me to buy a home and get some great things started. I could go on and on about new things I have learned being a homeowner, but I will only say a couple. First, I wish I could have a maid come in and vacuum and dust once a week like my parents. Unreal how messy life can be. Second, I love being only 2 minutes

away from my sister, Sarah. It's great to have someone to help/hang out with when we need it. Third, Having a place to call my own has been great. I love coming home at night, knowing it is my domain. If I want to paint a wall in a bathroom green, then dag-nabbit, I will. And I did. Lastly, I have learned, as every kid does at some point, that my parents are a huge blessing and know MUCH more than me. Having help from them to get settled and learn about home-ownership has been amazing. Thanks padres!!! Below is a picture of me signing my first closing. There are tons of signatures to be made.

So a duck walks into a bar and asks the bartender, "Got any duck food?" to witch the bartender replied, "No, and we don't serve ducks here. Get out." The duck left and came back the next day and asked the bartender, "Got any duck food?" The bartender got a little annoyed and answered, "No, and I said we don't serve ducks in here. Get out now!" The Duck left and came back the next day asking the bartender the same question, "Got any duck food?" The bartender was furious saying, "No, and if you ask me again or come in here again, I will nail your feet to the floor." The duck left and came back the next day and asked the bartender, "Got any nails?" The bartender replied puzzled, "No?" The duck quickly asked, "Then got any duck food?"

haha, I amuse myself.... and you all.

The fall semester has been crazy busy for me. Not only with normal family and life goings-ons, but fall/Christmas time at a church with a separate recreation department and academy is a busy place to work. I have done 5 events in the last week here at the church, and have 3 more next week. I am looking forward to getting some time off to sit around and simply be still.

The thought ran across my mind a couple weeks ago that I miss my labrador. To this I have begun to think about how soon I will get Labby, my next yellow lab. I am really close to deciding to get her this year. Here's what I mean. Labby, like Holly is to be a Christmas lab. Holly was a Christmas Eve lab and I don't think that will be possible to get one born then, but a December lab will do. So, we will see when February rolls around.

I have picked up a new habit. I love to grill and smoke these days. No, not cigarettes or weed... meat! I bought a great grill/smoker last month from my brother, Greg. It has been amazing. It is somewhat peaceful. I love being on my back porch with my grill/smoker hanging out. Life just doesn't get any better. Well, unless I am on a golf course. Here's a picture of my grill.

Alright, I think that's about enough from me now. I have better things to do than amuse any of you. I will try to check back soon for another post. I don't want to give you everything on my mind. Deuces nerds.

-Brad

When the kids are old enough, we're gonna teach them to fly...

I have been scared to make this post for almost 3 months.

Life has a way of changing whether you are ready for it to change or not. I was home for a weekend back in March and went to visit Nathan Kolodziej up in the Woodlands. I was giving him a hand at his work when I got the call. My labrador had been doing well, but was having a hard time getting up and laying down due to back hip pain. There was nothing particularly wrong with her, just that she has survived 14 years of age. My mom called and let me know that after her vet visit, the vet felt that it was time to put her down, as she was just in pain and would only get worse. I cried. I drove probably 80 or 90 mph down I45 to get home to see her. I spent my last night with my Holly dog. It was not until the next day that I really felt that it was right to put her down. I hated seeing her in pain. I was not going to be the owner to let her suffer because I did not want to see her go. ..... It was the worst day of my life at that point.

I just want to say some things here. She was my best friend. No matter what happened, she would always be there with a hug and lick. Words cannot express what she was and what she meant to me and my family. I am not even going to try. I will simply say that she will be missed for the rest of my life. I still love her.

She may be gone, but I can still spend some time with her. Willow, Sarah's new dog, loved her as the leader of the Rowe dogs that she was. We all miss her.

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School is out for me. I finished in the middle of May with my last full semester of school. I have one online course to complete this summer, then graduate August 7th. I was sad to leave school, but also excited at the same time. To avoid myself going in circles and not coming up with a clear thought, I will simply state two sides. I am excited to be done with school and go on to something I really enjoy. On the other side, I am a little scared of life without school. For 23 years, my life has been school and summer break. When August rolls around, I will realize that I am a grown-up. I don't know how that will feel until I see others in school and have only to go to work. Work is the other side of things. God has always been great to open doors a little ahead of my expectations pertaining to job opportunities. For the first time in my life, I am able to go full speed ahead, but do not have a job lined up. Although there are some possibilities starting to open up, I just do not have that excitement in my stomach. I know when He opens that door I will know and have that peace. But, I just feel anxious.

In the mean time, I have been enjoying life with family and friends. Here are some clips of life the last few months:

I got to spend some time at the lake.

Going to the lake, there is no option to avoid the last lab standing. Baylor has been great to carry on the legacy of Lab and be the joy and comic relief of her family. I love her and hope I get to see her soon.

Three words..... Dave Matthews Band...... yes.

I got on a plane a couple days ago....

Caleb and Whitney were getting married and I had the privilege of being Best Man.

They are an amazing couple and I wish them well.

The first dance.

Other than that, I am excited about Blake's birthday this week. I get to go to an Astros game when he comes to town. I am also very excited because Sarah's birthday is on Friday and we are going to the lake to celebrate. It should be fun.

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You and Me

I was more than a little excited about the new Dave Matthews album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. I ordered the special edition so that I would get the bonus t-shirt and DVD. When the album released, I was really surprised. Not only is it an amazing album, but it also went a different direction than I thought it would. The music is great, but some of the lyrics are awesome. For example.... You and Me is a song he wrote for his wife, but is a love song for the masses. After being at a wedding this weekend, I took a look at the song with different eyes than I would have last week.

"Wanna pack your bags, Something small

Take what you need and we disappear

Without a trace we'll be gone, gone

The moon and the stars can follow the car

and then when we get to the ocean

We gonna take a boat to the end of the world

All the way to the end of the world

Oh, and when the kids are old enough

We're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby

You and me together yes, yes

You and I, we're not tied to the ground

Not falling but rising like rolling around

Eyes closed above the rooftops

Eyes closed, we're gonna spin through the stars

Our arms wide as the sky

We gonna ride the blue all the way to the end of the world

To the end of the world

Oh, and when the kids are old enough

We're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby

You and me together yes, yes

We can always look back at what we did

All these memories of you and me baby

But right now it's you and me forever girl

And you know we could do better than anything that we did

You know that you and me, we could do anything

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby

You and me together yeah, yeah

Two of us together, we could do anything, baby

You and me together yeah, yeah

Two of us together yeah, yeah

Two of us together, we could do anything, baby"

I found this song great portraying lives starting together this weekend, and also looking at those who have been together for decades. And in a strange way, it reminds me that someday I will be able to look back much as the songs paints the picture of. For whatever reason, this is my jam song for the week. Random I know, but it is my blog....

That is all that is on my mind for the moment.

give me a dollar

In honor of Sarah, here is a little fun time-filler.

Google: "(your name) needs" and copy the first ten results that come up. Considering how common a name Brad is, it's interesting how many of these top 10 needs are also needs of mine..

1. Brad needs protection.

2. Brad needs love.

3. Brad needs babies.

4. Brad needs a haircut.

5. Brad needs a pair of wrestling shoes.

6. Brad needs a therapist. 

7. Brad needs a place to sleep.

8. Brad needs a nap at The Insider.

9. Brad needs your help.

10. Brad needs this helmet. 

Interesting stuff.  Now that I am done with that, let's talk about something different.  Dogs!  Let's talk about dogs.  I really miss my labrador.  she is the best dog you will ever meet.  here is a picture of her as of wednesday:

Spring break starts next Thursday...  countdown is at 5 days and counting.  what are your spring break plans?   let me hear them!

Sitting in the apartment doing homework is not what I want to be doing.  So, I decided to blog instead.  I have really enjoyed spending some time at the lake last week with the parents (shout out to you mom & dad).  It was great to relax one last time before homework started.  Church is going great.  I really think I have found my groove with my mix on Sunday mornings.  All in all, things are going well.  here is a picture of the lake last week, and me at 11:45 p.m. today.

boat

I am at the houseboat for some R&R.  I do believe that there is nothing better than to sit back and watch the waves on Lake Travis.  Rocking back and forth instead of sitting in an apartment on campus just makes the week feel right.  So, here is to you...  wherever you are, just not at the boat!!!

Over time, changes and traditions... you figure it out.

So I spent some time reading old posts from a xanga account I have that I used to post to when I was at HBU...  very interesting stuff in there.  It is funny to see how much your life has changed over the last 5 years or so.  So, here are a few comparisons from those old posts and now.

First, I used to talk about how fun it was to stay up late and go to Taco Cabana late at night with friends and be in college.  Now, I have a hard time staying up past 12:30 and don't want to leave anywhere after 10 pm.

Second, I used to talk about how difficult some of my entry-level classes were at HBU, now I have made it through accounting classes, marketing classes and now know that managerial statistics will be the hardest class I will take in college... I had it so easy back then.  sad....

Third, I used to think that my dog Holly was the best thing ever, now I know she is.

Finally, I liked to be home, but knew it was always 45 minutes away so it was just another place to visit in college.  Today, I value everyday that I get to come home and be with family instead of in an apartment with books, TV and people coming in and out.

I just thought it was fun to read through some of those posts...  moving on to better and more important things........

Thanksgiving was great.  All the brothers and sisters came to Houston, and we just had a great time with family.  We continued a new tradition of playing guitar hero, discovering this year that we wanted to get the full band version.....  one problem, it is more expensive than we cared to play it.  So, we jammed out to guitars and Bon Jovi.

When I went back to school, it was time for 2 things in life....  school projects and the installation of the new sound system that I have been working on the last year and a half.  I got to work on the projects right away and actually stayed ahead of things for the first time in a while.  Aside from taking the final exams, I was caught up with everything up to a week before it was due.  It's a nice feeling.  Next I began to tackle the new sound system.  I could say a lot....  no, I mean A LOT!! about the sound system, but I will leave it at the following:  I learned a ton from being the project manager for a project of $200,000+ and I think although there is a lot of stress and time required, I know God used me and will use that experience very soon in my career.  It is still being completed, but it sounds amazing.  If any of you who have not heard it or seen it would like to, please let me know and I will arrange a private screening of the system.  I finished finals well, and the First Baptist Irving Christmas Events went well.  

After passing all classes and spending a few days cleaning the apartment for winter break, I headed home to Houston.  I told the parents I would come home Monday (Dec 22) in the afternoon.  But, after coming home from the last Christmas event at the church on Sunday night, I decided to pack and just hit the road.  I left at about 10:30 pm to arrive at about 2:30 am at Sarah's house.  Willow, her dog, was not too happy I woke her up that late, but she got over it soon, giving me licks and letting me pet her before crashing for the night.  I got up the next morning and went home 10 minutes away.  The parents were surprised, I think.  I enjoyed a few days at home before family came for Christmas.

Christmas Eve came on time (sometimes it does not, I bet you didn't know that), and we went to Uncle Mark's house for the Rowe Family Christmas Eve Dinner held every year.  Steak, mashed potatoes and 3 lbs of sweets later, we went home to get ready for Christmas.  Dad, Sarah and I watched National Lampoon's Family Christmas (a tradition) and went to bed.  Now, Christmas is not like it used to be these days.  Everyone used to wake up before even God would declare it day and bug the parents to get up.  This is not the case these days.  I happened to wake up somewhat early this year, though.  Christmas was great.  I got Planet Earth on Blu-Ray among other great stuff, and really enjoyed being with family one last time while I am still in school and on 'break' before the real world makes me work.  

A few days later, my dad and I took a Corvette ride to Conroe to help my grandparents with some easy yard work.  Yeah, it didn't turn out that way.  So, 3 bushes and 3 trees later (even the stumps were dug out), we went back home.  I have to say that there is something about a nice Corvette ride in the country with the top down that is just calming.  

This week the family (brothers and sisters) all came back for the Rowe family Christmas in Fulshear.  I has been a great time just hanging out with them.  The semester is going to start soon and life will get really busy, and I will never be on winter break again...  I am ready for the challenges and trials that 2009 holds for me.  It should be a good year, so let's party like it's 2009.

There goes the country, Texas can now secede.

I watched the end of the election last night, and man was I sad.  I did not expect McCain to win, but I was just hoping that someone who was pro-choice would not make it to office.  And in case you were wondering, 'pro-choice' is really 'pro-murder' to put it in today's terms.  Biblically speaking, it is a guarantee that it will get worse as end-times get nearer....  I just don't like the decisions to come.  There will be more rants to come, so I guess that I should save it for later.

I have been busy doing things for the last few weeks.  catching up....  I went home a couple weeks ago to vote and hang out with my lab, Holly.  Then back to school to work on school stuff and make the occasional trip to  America's Best Coffee to get come hot chocolate.

I am an uncle for the third time as of yesterday.  Greg and Gina had their first daughter, Ava Claire Rowe.  Scott and Jessica just had their second daughter, Hayden Kathryn Rowe.  I have spent some time with both of them, but have to post a couple pictures of them.  I do not have a picture with Hayden yet, but I do have a picture of her.

Ava Claire Rowe

Hayden Kathryn Rowe

Other than school and family.....  I have been really excited for the church (FBC Irving).  They are puting in their new sound system, and I helped design it.  Although I don't think I will be able to be there for the first Sunday, I am really excited to be able to run it for a while when I do get back.  They will probably have to hire someone to get through the first Sunday.  Either way, I am really excited to see the outcome of over a year of hard work.

On Monday I had the privilege to go to a product demonstration for the Midas Pro 6.  It was a 2 hour demonstration with a rep from Bosch (Midas's Owner).  It was amazing.  Not a bad console for $100,000.

I am headed to Houston to go to the Worship FX conference at the convention center.  400+ exhibitors that are all pro media companies.  It should be fun.  I will try to post details after I go.