Compassion and Clarity

this week Saddleback Church had their Global Summit on HIV/AIDS and there were a lot of great learnings regarding HIV/AIDS and stigma; HIV/AIDS and injustice; HIV/AIDS and how the church can help...

Mission trip you are on my horizon...

Dont know where yet but its coming.

-RC

While we are on the topic of videos...

My great friend taffy has a baby girl and A. It's still weird to me that he is a daddy and B. She is growing so fast... check out the videos...



that is a proud asian daddy!

-RC

Little Lad

The other day I saw a funny video that is extremely stupid...but it made me laugh... so i wanted to share with you all the same video.



Enjoy

-RC

Razor-jacking

A few weeks ago one of my volunteer's son had his razor scooter stolen from the high school while we were setting up for church. We had thought it was long gone. The razor was very specific because it had custom stickers that say his name on it, "Jace". Well, yesterday, I was driving by Juice It Up in San Clemente and what do I see on the ground outside? A razor scooter with the name Jace on the bottom.

I stopped my truck right in the street, grabbed the razor and walked inside. There was one guy sitting down, around 35-40 years old and I asked him if the razor belonged to him. His response was yes, to my confusion I said, "Um, no its not. It actually belongs to my son Jace." (I referred to him as my son to eliminate any erroneous details that would have not matter in the situation.) Then I asked him, Is your name Jace? His response came back with a, "No". Finally, I said "Ok, I am taking this" and I walked out the door.

That's right, I jacked the person who jacked a friend…so I Re-Jacked the Razor… Here are a few pictures of my triumphant victory.

-RC

Checking out Office 2007 Word Blogger Option

In class tonight, Josh Griffin and I talked about the blogger option in word. He decided to test it and it worked so I decided to test is as well. Here it is my test.

 

-RC

Just finished first test...

So we just had our first test. Essay form. 5 questions. Approximately 10 pages written. 1 hour 20 minutes. Screwed up on a few points in one question but overall feel pretty good about it. A solid B+ in my eyes, but we will see what the professor thinks.

The problem:
My mind is pretty much shot and he is continuing on with lecture... yummy.


-RC

Ever had a toe cramp?

Quite possibly one of the funniest things i have ever seen in my life. Last night while sitting on the couch, Megan's toe decided to cramp up. Not only did it cramp but it would not uncramp, well it would for a minute but at anytime she released pressure from holding her toe, it would cram back up again. I told her that to get rid of it she should walk around. There are no real words to describe the comedy of watching Megan try to walk as her to was cramping. What was even funnier was the fact that she was constantly making noises every time she took a step. It was awesome and I was crying from laughing so hard. Just another night in the Craft Household

-RC

Would You...

Be afraid of mall security guard on a segway? What if he had a bicycle helmet on, how about then?

Yeah, me neither.

-RC

5 Things not to do with a 60" Plasma Television

5. Use it as a Frisbee
-----------------------
4. Use it as a picnic table
-----------------------
3. Teach it to surf
-----------------------
2. Use it as an Air Hockey Table
-----------------------
1. Drop it Like its Hot...or Heavy
-----------------------



















So yeah, the number 1 wins!!! DO NOT take a large plasma television and drop it on its top.



On a side note, I am selling a TV if anyone is interested...it has only been used for a few months.


-RC

Quote

In my Christian Theology class we were discussing thoughts on the bible as being inerrant and I heard a great quote by my professor's mentor:

"I go to the Bible with my whole heart and my whole life and it NEVER fails me."
- Paul Holmer



-RC

The smell of salt water...

This morning as I left for work i walked out the door and the smell of salt water was in abundance. I have never experienced a smell this strong in the two months I have lived in San Clemente. I love it! Often times I forget how blessed I have been and how awesome my life is. Regardless of the day to day things that go wrong, frustrations that I encounter, I am truly blessed to be living where I live and doing what I do.

A lot of people find God in nature and I agree. I look out my window and I see this vast ocean that goes for as far as the eye can see and then I see the waves crashing on the sand... a point where land meets water, where two massive bodies collide and it can be so peaceful. Sometimes I see that there are no waves and the two seem to be in unison and yet at other times I see the violent waves crashing and pounding on the gentle beach. How can you not see God in all of this? How can yo see the beauty that God created and think it as chance or coincidence that things have formed and grown as they have. Chance? God is so great and just and awesome. I love the beautiful playground that He has created for us!


















God IS Love

-Rev Run

Awesome Friends!!!

So last weekend Megan and I had two friends, Ryan and Ben, come visit us from Las Vegas. Other than having fun hanging out with these guys, a part of the weekends festivities was to watch UFC 76 Knockouts! I was super excited to go to my parents house and watch it on their sweet 60" plasma.

Little did i know that my friend Ryan had a better plan for me and Ben... Friday night as we were preparing to make a trip to the desert, Ryan made a comment on how we needed to be back so that we can be up in Anaheim by 4:30. To my confusion i said, "Why, we arent going to the fight." While I was saying those words, Ryan points to the table where 3 golden tickets were lying... 3 tickets to the sweetest event of the year UFC 76!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That awesome punk dropped $300 a ticket so we could all experience the event.

I think my favorite part of the whole surprise was when I was in shock and saying no way, he responded with , "You think I would come all the way out here JUST to visit you?"

I think if i had a 3 wishes from a genie in a bottle (not the Christina Aguilera song) one of my wishes would be that i had foresight... yeah should have seen that coming.

Anyway it was an amazing event, if you like that sort of thing.



















This is why everyone should have awesome friends!!!

-RC

Google is taking over the world!

If you didnt know, Google now has a feature called Google SMS. Using your cell phone, you text message a question to Google and they will text you back the answer. This feature hasnt been fully refined but it is pretty sweet. Using your phone text Google at 46653 (google) with a question and google will respond in a quick manner. **Disclaimer** Standard Text Message Rates Apply! Happy Texting!!

-RC

Jake As JT???

Yesterday after a great Sexual Harassment Training day, a few people from work went to chick-fil-a for lunch. First, on that day, I had the best dining experience of any fast food place i have ever been to. While dining, they provided us with refills, a tray of sample brownies, which taffy may have taken more than one, and a tray of sample chicken salad sandwich triangles which were amazing!

While dining, one of our friends serving us mentioned to Jake the he reminded her of Justin Timberlake!?!?

To my surprise, Jake responded, "Yeah, I get that all the time." You do? I mean dont get me wrong, I love Jakey, but you get that all the time? JT? Interesting... maybe its his musical genius... I dont know. But what i do know is that it was definintely an interesting moment...

here is a poor picture of our lady in question...

















-RC

Saved By The Bell!

Earlier today my friend Annie and I were talking about Saved By The Bell and it made me wonder just how strong my SBTB trivia is. So I searched a bit online and I found a few good websites that have different trivia questions...

Check them out and see how you do. Most importantly, tell me how you did on your quizzes.

Here is a fun site for trivia:
Saved By The Bell Trivia


Good luck!!! And let me know!!

-RC

...So I am pretty sure I dont impress my wife

Last night I was rocking out to my sweet new game "Guitar Hero" on Xbox 360. While i was deeply engaged in "Carry on Wayward Son" I hear my wife giggling to herself as she is taking photos of me...
















So there I am... no longer cool...not that I ever was...playing my sweet new video game!

-RC

Is it Fall already?

So yesterday we went to the ever so delicious Taco Bell for lunch and for the first time this year, I saw a girl wearing a sweatshirt, jeans, and UGGS!!!!!

I guess fall is here...

-RC

The Juice Is Loose...

Recently our staff received an e-mail from Rick with an article from USA Today talking about OJ and his current stint in prison... here is what it said he received.

"According to a press release from the police department, the former football star is being held in isolation and spends about 20 hours a day inside a standard 98-square-foot cell.

A judicial official said yesterday that Simpson will appear before a judge tomorrow morning.

Since he arrived at the facility, the jail says he has met with three private attorneys and two public defenders."

A minister stopped by to deliver reading glasses and copies of the Bible and A Purpose Driven Life, according to the release.

-RC

How baseball fights should happen...

Leave it up to the Japanese to do something like this....



Thanks taff...



-RC

McDonlads continues to give back...

Not only does McDonald's a great Angus mushroom swiss burger but no they are starting to give back. According to Channel 4 news in the UK, McD's will be transforming their rubbish to energy! Awesome! Here is a clip from the article.

"Buildings such as hospitals and theatres will be powered by rubbish from McDonald's restaurants in a new pilot scheme.

Eleven fast-food restaurants in Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley, South Yorkshire, will take part in the initiative, which will turn waste into electricity and heating for 130 buildings in the area.

The scheme will save each restaurant from sending 100 tonnes of refuse to landfill each year and could be rolled out across the country if successful.

The restaurants will become the first in the UK to send no waste to landfill. Instead, any rubbish will be collected, treated at a state-of-the-art energy recovery facility and converted into electricity and heat."

-RC

iTunes

I recently received an iTunes gift card so i figured i would share a few of the songs I purchased...I got this idea from Griff...

1. Ayo Technology-50 Cent feat. Justin Timberlake
2. Our God Saves- Paul Baloche
3. How Far We've Come- Matchbox 20
4. Everlasting God- Lincoln Brewster
5. Never Wanted Nothing More- Kenny Chesney
6. Mighty To Save- Hillsongs
7. The Pretender- Foo Fighters
8. Over You- Daughtry
9. Gangsta's Paradise- Coolio
10. So Small- Carrie Underwood (for Megan)

I still have a few more bucks left but that is all i bought for now...

-RC

City Workers Have Fun Too...

While I was setting up for church in San Clemente I saw two city workers out in the street who appeared to be playing ring-around-the-rosy with a pole stuck in the ground. It made me happy to see that you can have fun no matter what you are doing... "The majority of people are as happy as they choose to be." -Abe Lincoln

Here are a few action shots of them running around in circles while a third guy is waiting for someone to be out so he can jump in.



























Take a chapter out of these guys' book and take joy in all you do! Complaining will do nothing but stoke the fire of bitterness.

-RC

Good Food

Here are a few pictures of a meal that my wife and I ate while in LA at Pink's Hot Dogs...

Dog # 1 (in background, left) typical Chili,-Cheese Dog
Dog #2 (background, right) "The Ozzy Dog" polish dog, chili, nacho cheese, american cheese, diced tomato, guacamole, and grilled onions
Dog #3 (foreground) "The Planet Hollywood" polish dog, chili, nacho cheese, american cheese, grilled mushrooms, bacon, and jalapeños!

Megan and I finished 2 1/2 dogs together. They were pretty awesome, but I definitely felt the repercussions later on...Sorry Megan!


















-RC

Popular Videos...

Recently I heard of this youtube video that was super popular with over a million hits in a week... Its called Chocolate Rain and I want to share it with you... This song was so popular that John Mayer jokingly covered it while on VH1's Best Week Ever. Check them both out...but **Warning** this song will take over your life!

-RC

Josh Griffin Blog Counter...

I decided to tally how many times my co-student JG would blog while we participated in our first OT seminary class...the count is at 6 right now and I know he has it in him to break a record of 7. I told him that blogs written to be released in the future do not count as blogs for the day... Lets do this Josh! Do work son, Do work. You can check him out here or on the Saddleback Church ETV blog

-RC

OT 1 Intensive Part 2

The day is about 2/3 complete and I have come to the conclusion that my attention span does not last for 8 hours...to be honest it doesn't even run 4 hours...Professor Yates lost my attention before lunch while talking about Pentateuch and I for sure thought that coming back from having a full belly would make me set for the rest of the day...Nope. Right now I cant wait for our last break to arrive so i can run and suck down an Iced coffee drink of some sort.


-RC

Old Testament 1 Intensive

Currently in my OT class...so awesome...the beginning of 4 intensive classes...8 hours a day of learning about the Old Testament... here we come.

Things to look forward to:
1. Learning more about the OT
2. Learning sweet new tricks for my computer
3. Hanging with Josh G, BD, and Jimbo Baggins
4. Sitting in class for 8 hours with my horrendous cough.

-RC

Carzzz II

If you saw my previous post labeled Carzzz you have a bit of history as to why I am posting random pictures of cars... well once again my truck went into the shop to have it detailed and this is what they gave me as my loaner car...not to shabby...It was fun to drive around for a bit.



































-RC

Do you know what type of school your kids go to?

The reason why I pose this question is because I may have concerns about our beloved San Clemente High School. Recently I was dropping off one of our trailers on the schools "freshman campus", which the high school performed a hostile takeover of an elementary school to expand their ever growing student needs. And I digress...After dropping off the trailer, I noticed the schools announcement board was welcoming incoming freshman. However, according to whomever made the sign, freshman was spelled "fresman" Now above the sign is the San Clemente High School Blue Ribbon sign.

I may have overlooked this minor spelling glitch, however this error occurred not once but twice. Now this leads me to one of two assumptions:
1. The school is too poor to buy "H's" to put in their signs, or
2. Our education is going down the pooper!

What do you think?

-RC

Top 10 things of Endless Summerfest

This top 10 is dedicated to Taffy for being Filipino

Top 10 things of ESF:
10. OneRepublic canceling because of inclimate weather, although by the time they were supposed to do sound check the entire school was completely dry...
9. Riders4Christ jumping with Kyle Loza who won Gold at the X Games and Dan Norris (Nad) jumping for the first time in a show since his accident...Great job Dan!
8. Bounce house slides in the rain which makes for extremely fast rides
7. Food! Carls, Hot Dog on a Stick, Archies Ice cream, rockstar energy drinks, cotton candy, shave ice, kettle corn, funnel cakes a sugar lovers dream!
6. Avner playing as "OneRepublic"
5. Sleepless me continuing to play despite the deluge that was occuring!
4. Sleepless me hanging out and playing a second time as "Avner"because a previous mentioned band didnt show
3. The ability to win Truth Soul Armor stuff just by making a few putts Tiger Woods would have broke the bank...or would he?
2. Having people show up to the event despite the weather...and in said people, having Tony Hawk show up for the festivities
1. A 1000 ft water spout forming a mile off the coast of San Clemente at the beginning of the event creating a scene that I still to this date refer to as "A scene from Ghostbusters."

Carzzz

Basically I wanted to share with you exactly why, when you buy a car, it should be from a high end dealer... Now I dont mean you need to buy a high end car, just buy a car from a high end dealer.

Allow me to explain.

Recently, I was looking to trade in my awesome camry for a truck. Looking around I was introduced to a friend of a friend that owns a business called MotorCars Direct. I talked with him and after telling him what I was looking for, he went hunting. He found me the exact truck i was looking for however, it need a few interior things done. The previous owner of the truck took out the passenger bucket seat and replaced it with an aftermarket bench and the great thing about that is he knocked $5,000 off the price.

So the deal was that he would give me the truck and then take it back and work on it once the parts came in. Well the parts came in and I dropped my care off yesterday.

Here is the "Loaner" car they gave me:


































Basically the whole point of this Blog is that if you purchase a car from a high end dealer and they need to give you a "loaner" car, they dont have crappy cars to give you!!! So you get to drive sweet cars for a while while your not-as-sweet car is getting worked on!!

-RC

Bathroom Awesomeness

I was recently at my grandmother's country club in Los Angeles where I saw what could be quite possibly the most amazing invention since uncrustables. If you are like me and you hate using those weak eco-friendly, air hand dryers, then you will LOVE this new hand dryer. It was created, no wonder its so awesome, by Dyson. Basically what you do is you stick your hands in these slots and a sensor is activated. Shooting out room temperature air at a whopping 400 MPH, the Dyson Airblade takes merely seconds to dry your hands to an almost perfect dryness. After you stick your hands into the drying device, you slowly pull your hands back out and the air acts as a squeegee wiping the water off your hands. They say that it takes about 10 seconds to dry your hands. After seeing this sweet dryer, I wanted to test a normal dryer to see how long it took. The specific one i tried was at the Laguna Hills Mall. After pushing the button multiple times, my hands were dry in just a shade under a minute (54 seconds). So, the Dyson being 5X faster has definitely won me over as one of the best bathroom features around!

-RC

I'm Back!

After taking a short time off, my bro Taffy has slapped me around and I have seen the light.

On Saturday I had a chance to join our Droopy's (junior high small group) for a round of bowling. As everyone was preparing for a fun-filled hour of bowling, one of the Droopy's who we call "Virus" comes running in like he had just won a million bucks. Before we could ask he starts shouting that he just won an iPod nano from a $1 arcade game.

Can I say what the crap? What happened to things like stuffed animals or basketballs??? iPod Nano? Really? Anyway, he was excited and didn't really care about bowling after that. I am pretty sure it showed when at one point, after spinning in circles, he managed to throw his bowling ball across his lane into the lane next to his.

Another funny part to the story is that when Virus was passing his new toy around, one of the girls said, "Oh, it's only a 2 Gig. It's not even a 4." Wow! I'm pretty sure it is still a nano! Anyway It was a fun time, its too bad i couldnt stay the whole time.

-RC

Rob & Big

Most people seem to have some sort of "secret" guilty pleasure. Take my friend Lance for example, his guilty pleasure is Justin Timberlake. Now this could bring on a barrage of questions in regards to Lance as a person, but before you go there, know that i was referring to JT's signing ability. Which brings me to my "I'm not sure if it counts but here I go secret" guilty pleasure. MTV's Rob and Big. For some reason watching these two guys going through life and doing the things they do, is highly addicting to me. I find myself using terms like "Do work son" and who doesn't love that little dog "Meaty" or even the most recent addition to the team, their miniature horse "Mini". I crack up every time i watch an episode. If you haven't seen it yet check it out. If you love it let everyone know!

-RC

What would you do with $75 Million?

Well you could buy this house in Corona Del Mar... This house on Brighton Rd in CDM was for sale for a whopping $75 Million. This buys you over 30,000 sq. ft. a glass bottom jacuzzi that you can walk under, 3 pools, bowling alley, movie theater, cafe, and much much more. These videos tell it all. You can watch the long version (8 minutes) Here or you can watch the edited version (2 minutes) Here I'll let you choose. All i know is some people have way to much freakin money.

-RC

Food Review Take 1

Tonight for my fathers 60th birthday party, we went to Agora Churrascaria. Agora is a Brazilian Steak House where the waiters, who are dressed as Gauchos, roam from table to table bringing different varieties of meats around. The waiters know when to stop by your table by these wonderful green and red coasters. The green coaster says...Bring me meat until i am stuffed beyond my wildest dream and when you are full up to your neck with delicious meats, you flip it over to the red side. Contrary to the picture, there is one coaster, two sides. The Steak House serves 12 different kinds of meat. Tonight, I had the pleasure of experiencing: fillet wrapped in bacon, fire-smoked and bacon wrapped chicken, skirt steak, leg of lamb, parmigiana pork, chicken wings and pork sausage, beef kabobs, sirloin tip steak, and a few others that i cant remember. In addition to the wonderful meats, they have a hot and cold salad bar, cinnamon and sugar bananas and bread rolls filled with cheese. I have two words to describe this dining experience: Simply Amazing. The service was impeccable and the food delicious. We spent a good 2 hours at the restaurant.

Randy's restaurant rating (RRR- for future preference) on a scale of 1-10:
9.5 (There is no such thing as a perfect experience)

Price $$(25 and under), $$$ (26-40), $$$$ (41 and over):
$$$$ (Around $50 a plate)

Service:
A (based upon a normal A+ through F grading scale)

I highly recommend this restaurant

-RC

What Not To Do...

When you get a brand new truck...


So my friend Tom bout a new Toyota Tacoma. Two wheel drive, stick shift, 4 cylinder engine. I think he believes that he owns a 4-wheel monster.

Yesterday Tom was leaving the office and decided to try and conquer a hill that is right by our business park... It actually starts at the end of our parking spots.

Since I never had a little brother i like to be the instigator of Tom's escapades. As he was leaving the office he asked if I thought that he could make it over the hill. Of course I said yes. So he crept over the curb and proceeded to try to clear the hill and start down the slope. At about half way he asked if he was going to clear and I said, "Well, your frame is about to touch but it is going to be close. You've gone this far you might as well try for it. So he did and the next thing we knew is that his front tire was hanging over the slope with nothing to grab on to. We tried everything from sticking 2x2 blocks of wood under his left rear tire (which was also in the air) to me siting in the bed on that side of the truck to get the tire some traction. Nothing worked. Thankfully there was a guy that had just gotten off work and he had a truck that could possibly help out. 30 minutes later, a pissed office leasee (our neighbor who stated that we were ruining his F-in flower garden) and a nice guy with a truck and Tom was free. By the way, the "flower garden" has been driven over at least a half dozen times before Tom even made an attempt... and its not his, its the building parks. Anyway...

3 things I learned:
1. I think I can get Tom to do just about anything
2. Little trucks aren't made to off road
3. Our neighbor is a tiny bit if a douche.

Here are some pics from this wonderful event.

What is happening here...

Myspace... some people like it, a lot of people hate it. I personally have one, however, i know the dangers that could arise from too much information being shared. Well, recently i have noticed that myspace is also a tool to recruit seminary students... Lately I have seen that in between adds for scantily clad women wanting to talk with YOU, there is an advertisement for the Talbot program up at Biola University... I guess good Christians like us use myspace too... I just think that the amount of people who would think about Talbot as an option in relation to the amount of people who could care less would be an extremely lopsided... heavier toward the side of not caring... I would bet that these ads are area specific and arent going out to the entire world, I just think it is interesting.


-RC

El Libre Pollo Loco

Yesterday evening, after finishing up a few things at the office, I decided to stop by the ever-so-delicious El Pollo Loco. I pulled up to the drive through and ordered a spicy chicken casadilla BRC burrito and a lemonade, I was excited. I hadn't eaten since noon-thirty and by now it was almost 10:30pm. While in line, I noticed that things were moving rather slow. Were these workers taking their sweet time? Was there someone new being trained? I didn't know and I didn't care, all I wanted was to be eating my dinner while driving home.

Time passed on slowly but finally i was at the window. My new friend Carlos greeted me and read me my total. I handed him my debt card and watched him repeatedly swipe my card through his machine. I knew there was a problem when, who seemed to be the supervisor, Angela walked over to the register. By now he had closed the drive-through window and they were discussing the problem. He poped his head out of the window and asked me if I had any cash. I told him no and he closed the window. A rush of thoughts were buzzing through my mind...Is there enough money in my account? I know there is. Is my card demagnetized? I hope not. Finally, with a defeated look, he opens the window and hands my card back to me. Angela then pops her head out and hands me my food. "I'm sorry but our machine's no working now."

Success! The time in line has paid off and I am getting a free meal. Then I decided to say something that I have never said before, "I will bring you the cash tomorrow." She looked at me like I was crazy, "Excuse me?" she said. Either she truly didn't understand me or she was taken back by my proposal. I said again, "I will bring you the $8 tomorrow." She agreed and I drove off.

Now, after I left, I thought to myself; they probably don't really think I will bring the money back. They wont even remember me tomorrow... Well it's tomorrow and I have the $8 in hand ready to bring it down to the Crazy Chicken. I am going to give them that money, they don't need it, but I said I was going to do it and I am!

You may disagree with me or think that I am a fool. You might be right but I am a man of my word and I said I would bring it back to Angela and to Angela my $8 will go. :-)

God IS love. -Rev. Run

-RC

San Clemente or Bust????

So... my wife and I have been toying with the idea of moving to San Clemente in the next few months...there have been a few deciding factors as to why we would chose S.C.

1. It is beautiful... or as Jim Carey would say B-E-A-Utiful.
2. My work is in San Clemente which means low mileage, low gas, short drive
3. Megan's family is in San Clemente
4. It is beautiful.
5. They have these cute little beach cottages that are 2 bed 1 bath that we can rent... ok so maybe that was more of Megan's reason.








Yeah it looks like this most of the year. Anyway, there are a few things that suck...

1. Housing is expensive.

I thought i would look at a little 1960's 2 bedroom, 1 bath, carport, 900 sq. ft. house for sale... thinking well maybe it will be some what reasonable in price. It had no view (back yard faces another back yard) it is a small lot... etc. Boy was I wrong. You may be thinking, Randy, how much did they want. They wanted $850,000! HOLY CRAP! 900 sq. ft. I just about crapped my pants. Seriously? 850? Am I going crazy? This is ridiculous. I was in Vegas last weekend for a friends wedding and for the same price i could have purchased a 3,200 sq.ft. home in a gated community with a 1 acre lot. BRAND NEW!!!!!

2. Housing is expensive.

3. It is kind of in BFE

4. Its freakin expensive.

So the move is imminent and I am excited I guess.

Thoughts?

-RC

Anniversary Celebration

Today was a great day in sports. It was a day of remembrance. A day to remember what Jackie Robinson did for baseball and for America. 60 years ago today, #42, made his major league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie overcame the animosity from those who didn't feel African-Americans should be playing outside of the negro leagues. Letters stating that they would KILL Jackie if he played, the constant heckling from the crowds... I could never imagine exactly what it would be like to go through all of that to play a sport. Not only was he the first African-American to play in an all white league but he was also the first African-American to receive from "the Sporting News" Rookie of the Year award and in 1949 the NL MVP. Baseball after Jackie was forever changed.
Today, in memory of Jackie players throughout the MLB wore the retired #42. Even teams like the St. Louis Cardinals and the L.A. Dodgers chose to make it a team effort, all wearing #42. Others, as individuals, who felt honored and moved to wear the number buttoned up the jersey, some players like Ken Griffey Jr. and Carl Crawford wore multiple jerseys. Most of the jerseys worn today in commemoration will be auctioned off for The Jackie Robinson Foundation.
To me reading story after story from players and coaches help me to realize exactly what Mr. Robinson had to go through for something he believed in so strongly. With out him, the sport that I love, wouldn't be where it is today. So thank you, Jackie, for making baseball what it is today!

-RC

How has God blessed you?

I feel, as well as my wife, that one of God's blessings on my life has come in the form of great parking spots. Yes, that's right, great parking spots. Today, Friday, at the Irvine Spectrum my wife and I arrived to eat dinner and walk around. As we pulled up to the parking structure, the electronic sign that tells you how many spots are open read FULL, FULL, FULL... All three levels full. I decided that given my past experiences i would take my chances and try to find a parking spot.
If you have ever been to the spectrum and visited the original parking structure, you might know that there is an open air, "elite" parking space area. Here, approximately 20 spaces are available to the handicapped and a few other lucky souls.
As we entered the structure, the buzz of cars looking for spots seemed to resonate throughout. Cars circling like vultures over a dying animal. People speeding just to find that a spot has already been taken by another waiting car.
After experiencing this for a few seconds i knew that my one and only choice was to head for the outdoor oasis. The parking for those privileged enough to have the fore site of when to strike for the outdoors. I proceeded to head that direction, as i left the structure and into the luxury parking spaces i noticed that of course there was nothing available. Did I get worried? No. I turned to Megan and said... I feel it, one is going to open up. We slowly cruised around and just as i made the turn to head back toward the structure, a lady popped out from what seemed to be behind the bushes, pulled out her keys and walked to her car. I pump my fist as if I was Tiger Woods sinking a 30 ft putt for the win. I knew it! I exclaimed. No more than two minutes after i entered the parking hell at the spectrum our worries and doubts were squashed by a wonderfully close parking spot.
Now you may ask yourself why you just read this entire blog. I can't answer that, but what I can do is give you a little clarity as to where this story is going.
It seems that my "luck" comes in the form of having good parking spots. No matter where we go, or what we are doing, I seem to find good parking spots. Megan actually gets a little baffled as to how I always seem to get these spots. She even went as far as to say, They must have known you were coming. I think the big guy upstairs knew.
In conclusion, in what area do you feel God has randomly blessed you? I'm not talking about family, friends, jobs. I am talking about parking spots, spare change in the pay phone, always being able to find your lost keys... where has God randomly blessed you?

Let me know
-RC

7.4.7

Even better than The Forbidden Kingdom is a movie set to come out on 7.4.7 directed by Michael Bay. Transformers. This is going to be the best movie ever! Finally, I can relive my childhood with the technology of today. In case you haven't seen it click here: Transformers You can click on trailers and see the two different trailers that have been released. Beware it will blow your mind!!



















Long Live Optimus Prime
-RC

The Forbidden Kingdom

In case you didn't know to of the most awesome, non-english speaking, actors are joining hands and making a movie together. The movie is called The Forbidden Kingdom starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

The story is about an American teenager who loves Chinese movies, especially kung-fu. He finds in a pawnshop a stick weapon from the legendary Monkey King. With this stick he travels back to ancient China and becomes part a martial arts warrior clan to try and free the Monkey King.

How awesome is that. Jet Li will play both the Monkey King and the silent monk and Jackie Chan will play a monk named T'sa-Ho...

The movie is set to come out September of 2008

-RC

How Lazy Are You?

Well today I picked up my laundry from the cleaners and I came to the conclusion that my wife and I hate to iron my shirts. The proof came in my drycleaning and its sheer mass. Do you like to iron shirts? If so I may have a full time job for you. Launder, press and starch, please.

Unfortunately in this picture there are three shirts per pile...27 shirts and that is half of my dry cleaning :-(

I hope YOU like ironing
-RC

A Taste of France

Normally I am not a fan of France; the country, the people, the culture. However, there is one area in which i have decided that France is awesome, the crepe.

Megan and I had breakfast down in San Clemente at a little place called La Galette Creperie. It was good. Megan had the Chi Chicken Apple Sausage Scramble and I had the Berries and Cream. If you have never tried it before, I suggest you give it a whirl.






-RC

J-Reezy...Awesomeness

Make your own decision but i think this is an awesome video...

Spring Time...

Can you smell it? Spring is in the air. The smell of flowers blooming, the smell of fresh cut grass, the smell of a recently watered infield. Infield? Yes infield. Baseball is here and for the next six months (hopefully) we will be watching Angels baseball. So grab a hot dog, a soda, sit back and watch big daddy vladdy swing for the fences. I can see why spring time usually means that people have an extra spring in their step, spirits have been uplifted and love is in the air... its baseball and i love it!

Nerf War...It's On!

Down here in the good ol' San Clemente we believe that team building comes in many shapes, sizes, and activities. Once we moved in to our new office space, we felt that a good use of our time and money could be to purchase nerf guns and have nerf wars during work once a week or so. Well a few of us decided to go to Toys-R-Us and purchase a few of the said nerf guns. In the end this is what we came out with... a lot of guns, a black light, some black paint, and an entire closet dedicated to Nerf Awesomeness! Anytime you want to ome down to San Clemente and challenge us, feel free. Here are a few looks into our world. Bring it!