I was honestly looking forward to some harsh rain and winds despite Fay never gaining hurricane strength.

What’d I get? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Here it is 5 after 10pm on the day the storm hit the shore of Florida, and I haven’t experienced one drop of rain, nor any winds out of the usual for this time of year in my area!

To say I’m ticked is an understatement. I mean, grant it, I got a lot done today that I probably wouldn’t have been able to had the scenario been different, but I was really looking forward to some torrential rain at least.

What really bothers me about this is that it does nothing more than contribute to what I call the “boy-who-cried-wolf” syndrome that my area has seemingly fallen victim to over the last several years. We haven’t had a severe storm in our area since Charley in 2004. The problem with that is everyone is seemingly complacent now. Grant it, Fay was only expected to be a category 1 hurricane when she made land-fall, which really isn’t that bad. HOWEVER, it’s still worth taking note of. It is still worth taking objects that could be come airborne off the patio/porch (most of my neighbors did NOT). IT IS STILL A FORCE TO NOT BE RECKONED WITH. Yet, many, myself included brushed it off. Unfortunately, I fear that very soon, we will not be so lucky.

I truly fear that day.

If you are a Floridian you can NEVER not take a hurricane seriously, yes, Tampa area, we have skirted many of the recent storms, but that only happens for so long. I joked that God protects us because of Pastor Randy and Paul White (of Without Walls fame), but they’ve divorced, so I think the Big Guy, is going to start lifting that bubble He’s had us in. Of course that’s all really stupid and a complete joke, I’m just saying we really need to start taking these storms a little more seriously.

…I’ve managed to have a decision made for me, as far as my new church home is concerned.

Over the last several months I’ve spent a significant amount of time wrestling with this decision. I’ve argued (yes ARGUED) with God on multiple occasions, even making it known that He’s not exactly as smart as people make Him out to be. I posted a couple weeks ago about how I’ve been struggling with trying to figure all this crap out.

Needless to say, from that post forward, to about a week ago I have been in one fight after another with God about the subject. Basically, I’m going to do what I should have been doing all along, and that is be a part of Element, which is the church that Bobby is planting here in Tampa. It’s also basically the church that “Revolution,” the ministry that I considered my church for about 2 years has grown in to. I’ve learned (well not really, because I pretty much knew it already) that despite every inkling in me to not be, I am one of the most judgmental human beings I know. I listened to God in the beginning, grabbed on to the vision He cast in Bobby and ran with it, only to let the judgmental bastard in me get the best of me and let me believe that I couldn’t be involved because too many people were doing it just so they could hop on the “cool train.” (That damn train, I hope it derails eventually)

Anyway, long story short, the immature side of me has spun around in circles, fought off the direction of God, as well as, several significant spiritual leaders in my life for the last several months when I knew the answer from the beginning.

STILL though, I demanded some type of confirmation, and I received it today. I spent 5.5 hours hanging out at where Element will be meeting putting furniture together, cleaning up construction mess, helping hang crap and a variety of other chores before the first preview service this Sunday. I did all of that along side some incredible individuals, people who really are on board with the vision God has cast in Bobby. I realized today that those who aren’t really on board with the mission will eventually be phased out by the large number of folks who are. I’m proud to be serving the Tampa Bay community along side these great folks who are running with the same vision that I’ve decided to run with.

This whole post is flaky, but it’s coming from deep inside me. I don’t know that I could illustrate properly the struggle that I’ve had over the last several months about all this. I do know though that I’ve come out on the other end and while I’m still uncertain of the results, I’m going to go with them. I have absolutely NO IDEA, why God feels the need for me to be involved in all of this, but I’m going to do it in spite of myself. Element is going to do some crazy shizz in the Tampa area, and why my God, who knows just how screwed up of an individual I am wants me to be apart of that, I’ll never know. What I do know is that Element will be my church home, and I’ll do whatever it is I’m told to do to ensure the vision that God has cast in Bobby is carried out.

It’ll be a journey for sure, but after today I’m quite happy going on that journey with my fellow journeyers.

Well, it appears that Florida has it’s first potential hurricane of the 08′ season to deal with.

That’s right folks, mother nature does not take a break because school is returning to session in most of Florida on Monday the 18th. She certainly could care less about the Olympics (I mean after all they’re in China for the love of pete!).

What she does care about is the fact that most of Florida…well West-Central Florida has pretty much become the main character in a boy-who-cried-wolf story over the last several years. We have had many storms suppose to hit us that did not hit us. We’ve had even more that have caused extreme levels of devastation all around us and it really hasn’t woke us up too much.

This one I think is different.
Grant it, it looks like it’ll only hit as a Category 1, and perhaps not even a strong ‘cat 1,’ but I was quite surprised while I was picking up some odds and ends at Wal-Mart tonight to replenish (well, actually to create) my hurricane survival kit how many people DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A STORM OUT THERE, much less that it currently has a high probability of hitting the metro Tampa Bay area.

Luckily, I beat the crowds. I have a feeling pandemonium will ensue starting late tomorrow night and in to Tuesday. I could be wrong, we’ll see.

If you have not started preparing for the storm season (like me) then now would probably be a good time to do so. It lasts until November, and who knows what is in store.

For information on what you should prepare for your ‘hurricane kit’ I recommend heading over to Winn-Dixie’s site, they have a great hurricane essentials check-list that you can use.

For up-to-date information on Tropical (Hurricane) Fay, check out National Hurricane Centers website.

Stay safe, and HAVE A PLAN!

Sometimes these quiz things are fun, this one is one of those times.

Interesting stuff, and shockingly (probably not) it hit the nail right on the head.

trait snapshot:
clean, self revealing, open, organized, outgoing, social, enjoys leadership and managing others, dominant, makes friends easily, does not like to be alone, assertive, hard working, finisher, optimistic, positive, likes to stand out, likes large parties, respects authority, practical, high self esteem, perfectionist, dislikes chaos, busy, not familiar with the dark side of life, controlling, high self control, traditional, tough, likes to fit in, conforming, brutally honest, takes precautions

I was inspired by Crystal, who posted her 10 things she’s not afraid to admit today to post mine. Feel free to follow suit.

By the way, these are in no particular order:

1.) I eat Chef Boyardee beef ravioli (both regular and overstuffed) straight out of the can.

2.) I have enormous crushes on Miley Cyrus, Hayden Panetiere, The Olsen Twins, Rachel Bilson and Avril Lavigne (who would probably be irritated to be in the same category as the others)

3.) I some times pretend like I am the star of my own reality show when I’m in public.

4.) I absolutely detest with a passion Apple and Google and hope that one day they meet their demise. (Though, I would feel bad for all their employees)

5.) I go to the mall most of the time just to watch people.

6.) I eat at Golden Corral an average of 3 times a week, though most weeks it is more.

7.) While I subscribe to a crap load of RSS feeds there are only about 10 that I actually read in great detail. The others just get skimmed.

8.) Most of my friends are girls because most guys smell, are obnoxious, and tend to make me feel crappy about myself.

9.) Most of the guy friends I do have are married, engaged or involved seriously with someone and I don’t hang out with them often because I’m way to attracted to their significant other.

10.) I seriously enjoy the taste of Miller Lite beer and drink it for no other reason outside of the taste.

Despite popular belief I think that change is probably one of the greatest feelings to experience.

I am about to experience some insane changes in my life over the next few weeks. One HUGE change actually, which will put in to play a series of other changes that will affect my life. Once things get to a point where an announcement can be made, you most certainly can expect me to make the announcement, however right now it is still in the midst of process, so I must keep my mouth shut.

I am freakin thrilled about this change though as it honestly is the greatest lifestyle adjustment that I’ve made in quite a long time, more on that later though.

Do you embrace change, or does change scare you?

Episode 12 of the Unobjective Intelligence podcast (The Will Young show) is here!

This week:

• I’m stepping up and calling out the parents out there who are letting there kids try to kill people, steel cars and commit crimes. I’m telling you why myspace, the internet, video games, hip hop and all the other crap that everyone blames for our kids problems are NOT the problem.
• We’ll talk about why the “cool train” is a load of crap.
• Finally, I’ll let you in on a little secret about business owners profit margins.

If there is something you’d like to hear on an upcoming episode of the Will Young show please shoot me an e-mail.

You can download the UI podcast by using iTunes with the link on the right, or for those who don’t use itunes, simply click the button that says ‘RSS Podcast’ and download the latest episode to your computer to play in whatever MP3 player it is you use. Sometimes it will show up in a player on this post. If it does, feel free to listen to it there.

It’s no secret that I am a bit of a hip-hop nut.

Yeah..yeah…shut up…I’m a redneck, white boy from the country who is in to hip-hop. GET OVER IT.

Anyway, Tampa has been quite lucky to be home to some insane talent in the hip-hop world. We’re also home to one of the number one hip-hop radio stations in the COUNTRY (WLLD 98.7 FM “WiLD 98.7″) no lie folks WILD is home to some of the biggest names in the industry, Orlando (the program director) being one of them and DJ CHRISTION being another. The two of them just released a mix tape called “Voice of the City: Volume 1.” I have not personally got my hands on it…yet, I will be though.

The last track on the mix tape is a remix of Put On by Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West. Which is one of Jeezy’s best singles yet. The Bay to the Bottom remix, features Orlando (from WiLD), DJ Christion, DJ Khaled, Plies, 2 Pistols, Acafool, Ace Hood, & Tom G all of which are from the 813 (Tampa) and the 305 (Miami) - hints the whole Bay to the Bottom thing.

I’ve got to say, every time I hear this cut I have no choice but to push my piece of crap stereo system to it’s limit and blaze it like nothing I’ve ever blazed before. It also sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. Tampa is coming up in the world of hip-hop and this track proves it. Plus, truthfully, it’s probably one of the best remixes I’ve ever heard…and that’s real.

Head over to WiLD to hear Put On - The Bay to the Bottom Remix. (Look, if you are the type of person who hears hip-hop and says “That music is runing our children.” Please don’t listen to this track so you can send me an e-mail or leave a comment about why hip-hop is ruining the world, because you’re wrong, and quite frankly I don’t feel like hearing your ridiculous explanations. :-)) Otherwise…ENJOY!

**NOTE** “What I’ve Learned” is a new series I am starting here at UI. It will dive into a myriad of different subjects, and what I’ve learned about them during my short time on earth. Hopefully it creates conversation and allows me to learn more about the subject.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. - Mary Schmich - Chicago Tribune

One of the first things I’ve learned about friends is that that the above statement is quite true. After moving back to the area where I grew up after being away for just over 7 years I’ve managed to rekindled a plethora of dormant relationships in the last several months and it has been quite beneficial to my psyche.  I think a lot of people feel the need to leave where they grew up for many reasons. Quite often I hear people say  things like “If I stayed in my home town I’d be eating hay and riding a tractor” or some sort of statement like that. I’ve found though that more often than not it is your hometown, and specfically your home town friendships that determine the course of your relationships throughout the rest of your life. As you get older, you really will need the poeple you knew when you were younger.

I’ve also learned that the more “friends” you allow in to your life, the more drama you allow in to it as well. Think about it, it’s virtually inevitable. When you mix two or more lives together you can expect to inherit some of the other individuals issues. It’s the way life works. That’s why I’ve learned that it’s important to keep the amount of friendships you have to a minimum, as I have for most of my life. I’ve got too much going on to have to concern myself with other peoples issues, or other peoples problems. Now those that I call friend, are the ones who I have said these people are my friend, I’ll give the shirt off my back, I care about their lives, and want to be involved in them. Everyone else, is merely an acquaintance. Someone who, while I want access to their life, I want only limited access. While, I’d drop what I was doing in a heartbeat for a friend, an acquaintance is someone who if I have the ability to make time for I certainly will, but I am not going to go out of my way for an acquaintance.

I’ve learned that a real friend, doesn’t spare your feelings. They’re honest, and if you’re an idiot that could mean that they’re consistently telling you things that tick you off, especially if you’re fairly consistent at screwing up. The beauty of friendship though is that it’s not ‘mean’ or ‘rude’ coming from your friend. It is simply your friend, being a friend. You have a hard time hearing the truth from someone who isn’t your friend, but coming from a friend it’s music to your ears and you sort of expect it, which helps in making it not quite as hard to hear.

Friends, are not neccesary for survival, but they sure do make living a lot easier. Having a myriad of friends is overrated, but for some reason there are folks who feel like they can not live unless they have all their friends. I’ve learned though, after studying my friendships, and the friendships of those around me, those with a few close-knit friends don’t rely on their friends for survival, but certainly get a long a lot better in life then the folks I know who have a crap load of friends.

Most importantly I’ve learned that friends are simply extended family and should be treated as such. I don’t use my friends, and I hope that my friends don’t use me. I’ve known some of my friends for 10 years and others for as little as 10 months, the reality is they’re my brothers and sisters and I love them all.

I am pretty much the last person to find out about the viral internet video hits. Mostly because I hate google, and try to spend as little time as possible on any site related to them.

Crystal posted a video of Matt Harding a.k.a. ‘Dancing Matt’ on her blog, and I traveled over to his blog to find these 3 videos.

All I can say, is like most I’m pretty jealous of this guy. Look how much fun he is having!

Dancing 2005

Dancing 2006

Dancing 2008