The phone call...

So, I called my dad (see 2 posts previous).

I feel a lot better...
Never got to actually talk to him, but my step-mom.
I wasn't extremely surprised that he didn't want to talk, but the message was sent.

The seed planted.

She understood the situation... I told her it was a downward spiral... the longer I waited, the more I knew I needed to call, but the more upset I knew dad would be, therefore, I'd put it off again and again.

Tonight was finally the night I had to say something.
I feel great... I really do. Such a huge weight and burden lifted off my shoulders.

And the good news is that Dad will come around... he's upset and I don't blame him.
I would be too...

I'm just glad he knows that I'm sorry, and that I genuinely do love and care about them...

Airports...

Airports crack me up. Given this post-911 world/nation we live in, it is just a little humorous to stand back and watch the things we have to do to board a plane. Now, I'm in Kansas City, which, surprisingly, is a little nicer than Oklahoma City airport, however, the security measures are the same...

Its been a few years since I've flown by myself... well, before 911 that I've been anywhere on a plane by myself. My friend dropped me off at the airport and told me, "Now, you're probably going to get flagged... "

"Why's that?" I asked him...

"Single male, one-way ticket, backpack... just don't be surprised if you get pulled aside."

Having traveled quite a bit in my lifetime, I figured, "eh, this is a domestic, 1 hour flight... doubtful I get searched at all."

So apparently, a peacoat jacket, a grande white mocha from Starbucks, my Mac, and cool little emo hat are a red flag in the domestic 1 hour one-way flight terrorism department.

"Sir, will you step aside please?"...
"Sure. Everything okay?"
"Yes, I need you to remove your items from your backpack" (given it had already gone through the metal detectors)

*removing items* "That's pretty much it... my laptop, iPhone, iPod, a few sets of reference headphones."

"Sir, I need to take these items to run a test on them"

".... uh... okay"

Now understand, at this point I'm holding my removed jacket and hoodie, standing barefoot inside the terminal while everyone else is skirting by..

I can't say I was the only one... there was a 60 or 70 year old man behind me that they kept making him strip on more article of clothing and then walk back through the metal detector. That was actually quite funny...

I understand that "everyone" is a threat for domestic terrorism. Some more so than others, and that profiling based on stereotypes aren't PC... but c'mon, I struggled with legos and erector sets as a child... not sure that coming up with a high tech bomb at this point in my life is the line of work I really want to go into.

Oh crap, I wonder if they are monitoring my computer when I just typed bomb... dangit... that's 2 b-words.

All in all, I am sitting in the chair closest to the metal detectors just to people watch at this point... their reactions are funny when they are asked to remove an item... its eerily similar to cattle herding... the one guy directing everyone and "prodding" them when they don't know where to go or what to do... "Heee-ya!"

Great weekend though... always tough moving a friend. I hate to see him leave, but its a great opportunity for him and a good thing at this point. Plus, it gives me an excuse to get out of Oklahoma City every now and again and come to Kansas City. Kansas City is actually kind of neat... lots of history here.

I learned a little about myself in this trip...
I'm a pretty horrible listener... I am a 'fixer' and want to always put my 2-cents in... sometimes we just have to be a sounding board and just keep our mouths shut.

Anyone that has ever talked to me knows that it is typical for me to instantly respond with a "Cool!", or "Awesome", or "Wow"... whether or not the situation calls for one of those? It's just my 'reaction' words that lets someone know that I'm paying attention... I really need to get some new words. I found myself being a good listener with poor reactions to subject matter that really is a little deeper than a 'cool'... or an 'awesome'.

I've gotta say though, I learned a lot about God this weekend... about how God still works in situations that are less than desireable. But the key is, he still works!

Praise God.

Alright, calling my boarding letter...

Because the world is round...

I love nights like these... sitting in the back bedroom with my wife listening to The Beatles.
Finished a great night of hanging out with some friends that are soon expecting a little one... always a treat to see them since we haven't seen them in quite awhile.

I took tomorrow off, so I'm enjoying staying up a little later than normal... relaxing a little bit and enjoying my Friday-esque Thursday. So Jamie and I are just sitting, enjoying coffee, enjoying each other and pondering how to spend our new found earnings... haha...

Basically, we finally paid off ALL of our credit card debt, which is awesome... so now our checkbook is feeling a little thicker...

Tomorrow begins my weekend roadtrip. I'm helping a good friend move... off to Kansas City we drive in a U-Haul and a trailer. Happy for him, in starting over and getting back on his feet... and glad I can be of some assistance to him... I know he'd do the same for me.

All of this randomness to say that I'm going to go pack and get an iPod playlist started for my 6 hour trip tomorrow. Then some nice chill music for my flight home on Sunday. Sometimes, there really is nothing like flying on a plane by yourself with a set of headphones and a package of pretzels. If only we had some gingerale in this part of the country, right?

Oh and did I mention that my flight gets in a few hours before the Coldplay show in Oklahoma City? Yep. Pretty pumped about that... I've had a countdown on my computer for the last 5 months counting down the days to this show... and finally its here. And I have tickets!